- DepsonQ Path -

Photo - Oil Lamp

A picture taken in a restaurant during my new year eve dinner. Happy New Year 2008 :)

Get more information about oil lamp from Wikipedia.

[EPL] Derby vs Liverpool (26-12-2007)

Result:

Derby vs Liverpool : 1-2

• Derby - James McEvely (67)
• Liverpool - Fernando Torres (12), Steven Gerard (90)
• Stadium: Pride Park Stadium, England
• Attendance: 33,029
• Referee: A Wiley
• Match Report

Goal Highlights: 

Install Microsoft AppLocale in Windows Vista

Microsoft AppLocale is a launcher application that makes it possible to run non-Unicode applicatons in a locale of the user’s choice (Wikipedia). The AppLocale utility allows users to run a legacy application without changing to the code-page/system locale needed by that particular application. AppLocale emulates the code-page required by that legacy application without changing the machine’s system locale. The tool is supported by Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. However, there is no any updated version for Windows Vista and error will occur during the installation.

This installation problem might cause by the User Account Control in Windows Vista. You can try to turn off the User Account Control before installing Microsoft AppLocale. The error might not happen and the utility tool will be installed properly. Fortunately, there is another alternative to install the program without taking the risk by disabling the User Account Control.

1. Run elevated Command Prompt by right-clicking on Command Prompt on Start Menu>Accessories.
2. Select Run As Administrator.
3. Click on Continue when the User Account Control dialog prompt pops out.
4. Change the directory to the folder that contains the installer package (apploc.msi).
5. Type apploc.msi to start the installation.

At the end, the utility tool will be completely installed in Windows Vista.

Download Microsoft AppLocale

Windows Live Translator Beta

The beta version of Windows Live Translator is available now, and it looks similar to Altavista’s Babelfish or Google Translator. Users can input a text or select a web page for the translation. Currently, the service offers support for 11 languages including, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese simplified, Italian, Korean, Russian, Arabic and Dutch. However, there are some interesting features offer by Windows Live Translator. You can translate a web page and switch into different views. There are four views available right now, which are:

1. Side by Side
2. Top/Bottom
3. Original with hover translation
4. Translation with hover original

I tried to translate a news adapted from Sin Chew Daily with both Windows Live Translator, Google Translator and Babelfish.

Just take a look on the result :)

Read the rest of this entry »

Use Parameters in SQL command

When you are trying to work with data, you probably need to filter the results based on certain criteria. Normally, user will input the specific value and it will be used for the SQL query. The SQL query formed will be assigned to an instance of SQL Command object for further processing. Hence, the SQL query can be built dynamically and pass to a SQL Command object. Just take a look at this example, where a user would like to filter the customers by the first name.

SqlCommand queryCmd = new SqlCommand("Select * from tblCustomers where 

first_name = '" + userFirstName+ "'";", sqlConnection);

In fact, this is not an ideal way to build a query. The input variable, userFirstName, is normally retrieved from the user input, such as TextBox control. If any string is placed into the input control, it will be added into the SQL string. This might create the interest of hacker to put in malicious code and control on your computer. Besides that, SQL injection can be performed easily in such situations, visit here for more information about SQL Injections.

Therefore, you can try to use parameters in your SQL command instead of building the query dynamically. The data placed in the parameter will be treated as field data and not part of the SQL statement. This will help to build a much more secure application. The process of using SQL Parameters will be illustrated as follows:

1. Construct a SQL Command object with command string and parameters.
2. Declare a SQL Parameter object, with proper values assigned.
3. Set the SQL Parameter object to the SQL Command’s Parameter property.

Code Snippet:

SqlCommand queryCmd = new SqlCommand(”Select * from tblCustomers where first_name = @userFirstName;”, sqlConnection);

SqlParameter firstNameParam = new SqlParameter("@userFirstName",

userFirstName");

queryCmd.Parameters.Add(firstNameParam);

Finally, you are done with it. When the SQL Command executes, the particular parameters will be replaced by the specific SQL Parameter object. So, try to apply parameters in building your SQL query for security reason. You can refer to the MSDN Library for more information about SQL Parameter. Please correct me if I made any mistakes here. 

** The code is written in C#.

PhotoHunt - Two

It is a pair of cute turtle statue, and the picture was taken in Yongdusan Park, Korea. The two little turtle statues just matched with the theme of PhotoHunt this week, TWO. Yongdusan Park is a favorite rest place of the citizens in Busan, Korea. It is situated on Mt. Yongdusan, which was formerly known as Mt. Songnimsan. When you reach up there, you can see a lot of senior citizens walking around, talking and resting there. It would be a nice place for the city folks to rest their mind and relax themselves after having a busy day.

Besides the turtle statue, there are some major features you can visit in the park listed below:

• A statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin
• A memorial tower commemorating the April 19th student uprising
• A stele containing the National Charter of Education
• A flower clock
• 120 meter-high Busan Tower

Read the rest of this entry »

Windows Presentation Foundation

Windows Presentation Foundation, WPF, formerly code named Avalon, is a component of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0, empowers users to build the next-generation of Windows users experiences. It is directly related to XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language), providing a consistent programming model for building application and separating the User Interface with the Business Logic. WPF allows building interfaces that incorporate documents, media, two- and three-dimensional graphics, animations, Web-like characteristics, data binding, audio, video and much more.

Now, you can try to create a WPF application with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Beta 2. Before that, you can create WPF application in Visual Studio 2005 but you need to install several Software Development Kit (SDK) to get the jobs done. WPF offers two main application types, which are Standalone and Browser-Hosted (XAML Browser Applications) for the developers. You can check the differences between these two application types here.

Read the rest of this entry »

PhotoHunt - Funky

Do you know what is this? It is actually an alcoholic beverage native to Korean, known as Soju. The drinks really fit with the theme, Funky, as this alcoholic beverage has an offensive smell. Unlike beer or other wine, Soju taste like some chemical substance for me. It is clear in color but not easy to drink. In fact, it contains about 20% to 45% alcohol by volume. Although it is hard to drink for me, but just give a try when you visit to Korea.

Customs:

While most Koreans will understand foreigners are unaccustomed to their drinking traditions, they will generally follow these norms themselves and notice favorably when foreigners comply. Most, if not all, of these customs are applicable in Korea regardless of the drink.

• Soju is usually drunk in group gatherings.
• It is against traditional mannerisms in Korea to fill one’s own glass. They wait for someone else to fill their empty glass. Others are expected to fill the glass, and are eager to do so as soon as they spot an empty glass.
• A glass should not be filled unless completely empty.
• If one’s glass is going to be filled by a superior, one should hold the glass using two hands. Similarly, when pouring soju for an elder, one holds the bottle with two hands.
• If a senior gives an empty soju shotglass (usually his/hers) to you, it means that the person is going to fill the glass and wants you to drink it. You do not have to drink it bottoms up, but at least you have to act like you are drinking it (sipping is okay). And if you drink “the glass” and make it empty, then turn the glass back to the senior who gave it to you. You are not supposed to turn it back soon, but holding it for a long time is considered rude.
• Koreans say “one shot”, a challenge to down your glass in one gulp.
• When drinking in front of elders (people older than you), you should always turn away from the elder and then consume. Drinking the shot while facing the elder is disrespectful.
• When drinking among friends of equal social stature, it is often considered overly formal to use two hands when pouring or receiving a drink.

(Adapted from Wikipedia)

Microsoft Tech-Ed SEA 2007

Microsoft Tech-Ed SEA 2007 is Microsoft’s premier & largest annual conference in the South East Asia region. IT professionals and developers from different countries in South East Asia converged on this event, to experience new products, interact with peers, learn from technical experts, knowledge sharing from industry leaders and enjoy food and drink. For your information, Microsoft Tech-Ed SEA 2007 will be held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre this year from 10th September to 13th September.

In this four-day events, you can get technical training, information and resources to help you leverage your knowledge, widen your perspective and improve your skills. Before going further on, I would like to highlight some of the special features for this event. There are 6 technical tracks with more than 120 breakout sessions featured by different speakers from Microsoft Corporation. Moreover, you can get the chance to learn and expose to the new technologies through the Hands On Labs.

The six technical tracks are listed as follows:

• Architecture & Team Development Track
• Developer Technology Track
• Enterprise Data Management Track
• Messaging & Collaboration Track
• System Management Track
• Web Development & User Experience Track

Hence, you can customize a suitable learning program for yourself from these different sessions.

Tech.Ed SEA 2007: Turn “Doing your job” into “Making your Mark”, there are different sessions demonstrating latest technologies from Microsoft, including system architecture, planning, .NET Framework development, data management, office system and different operating systems. I believe that most of the users are long-waiting for the triple-launch (Visual Studio 2008, Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008) scheduled on February next year. In fact, these products will be introduced in this event, and get to know more detailed information in each sessions.

Personally, I would like to join the developers track as it suit my interest. It would be a good chance to know more about Visual Studio 2008, code-named “Orcas” and the development of .NET Framework 3.0. Besides that, the integration of LINQ in C# and Visual Basic will be introduced in one of the sessions. Windows Presentation Foundation would be another great session that I would like to highlight, as it is the graphical subsystem feature of .NET Framework 3.0, and related to XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language). Furthermore, architecture and team development track would be another great attraction as it would be good to learn about system planning, architecture and software development lifecycle. In fact, it would be another good option for me to look into the data management track as it covers of business intelligence, data mining and data warehousing.

At time being, I had been to the Business Value Launch Malaysia organized by Microsoft, and it was really a great event. I believe that Microsoft Tech.Ed SEA 2007 will be another great attraction for the IT developers. It would be my pleasant to join the largest Microsoft’s annual conference in this region, but sadly I missed out this opportunity. I have been long waiting for the event since I missed it last year, but I could not participate in this year again as I am doing my industrial training in Korea right now. Anyway, I will keep updating this blog with these technologies and development to share with the readers. Microsoft, Your Potential, Our Passion.

Promotional Offers:

Visual Studio 2008

Visual Studio 2008, code-named Orcas is the successor to Visual Studio 2005, and it would be launch together with Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 at 27th February, 2008, in Los Angles.

The next version of Visual Studio, Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2008 (formerly known as, Microsoft Visual Studio code name “Orcas”), will provide an industry-leading developer experience for Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and the Web. In addition, it will continue in the Microsoft tradition of development language innovation. To enable early feedback, this page provides links to Community Technology Preview (CTP) and Beta releases of Visual Studio 2008, and for technologies that we plan to include in it.

Visual Studio 2008 is focused much on the development of Windows Vista, 2007 Office System and Web Applications. However, it will bring a new language feature, LINQ, new versions of C# and Visual Basic languages. Besides that, Visual Studio 2008 also delivers Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) visual designer and some improvements on .NET Framework.

Read the rest of this entry »