Design matters

2008-01-31

Hide every application in the system tray!

Today I've tried a software called TrayIt! From its name you can see what it is for. ;-)

Yes, it's used normally to hide an application into the system tray.

Usage from the author's website:

TrayIt! runs on Windows 95/98/Me, NT/2000/XP/Vista and does NOT require any installation.
Simply create a new folder and place TrayIt!.exe and TrayIt!.dll there. When started, TrayIt! will show a dialog box with a short explanation how to use it. You may choose to load TrayIt! on system startup by selecting "Option" and checking "Load TrayIt! on StartUp" box.

You can temporarily put any window in the system tray by keeping down the button when minimizing the window.

To always keep window in the system tray when minimized, click with the RIGHT mouse button on the corresponding icon created in the tray in the previous step and check "Place in System Tray" in the popup menu.

Clicking with the right mouse button on the minimize icon will bring TrayIt! context menu for this window. Just check "Place in System Tray" in the popup menu to make window always go to the tray.

Please note that context menu will work only for the standard minimize icon and will not pop-up if the program use skins like MS Media player.

It's really useful because many programs don't provide the funtion of "minimize to the system tray". Currently I use it to hide the opera in my system tray and it works!

Download it!

2008-01-24

HOWTO: Set Up a CVS Repository Server under Linux

Since I want to use CVS as my project version control system, I decide to set up a CVS server on a Linux box.

I try to follow the instruction from [HOW-TO Install and Configure a CVS Repository Server] to get my work done, but there are so many problems happened.

First of all, the Linux is an old SuSE Linux distribution. CVS is already installed on the machine, which can be checked in the graphical config tool "yast" or "yast2".

Since I don't want to specify the passwords for every cvs user, it's better if the cvs server can use the users of the Linux sytem. It can be achieved by adding a line in the /config file.

Assumed that you create a repository in the directory /usr/local/cvsroot with the command:

cvs -d /usr/local/cvsroot init

then CVS will create a directory /CVSROOT under /usr/local/cvsroot. The config file of cvs is right in /usr/local/cvsroot/CVSROOT/. Open it and find a line like:

#SystemAuth=no

change it to

SystemAuth=yes

Then CVS knows you want to use the password of the users from the system.

I intend to use the machine as a CVS Repository Server, that means, the repository should be accessed remotely.

In order to do that, the cvs pserver should listen to the port 2041, which is enabled by inetd or xinetd. Since both are not existed in my system, I download the xinetd from its website.

After extract the downloaded source, you can use the command

tar -xvf xinetd-version.tar.gz

to extract the source codes.

Change your current path to ./xinetd-version, then just execute the following commands to install xinetd:

./configure
make
make install
cp xinetd/sample.conf /etc/xinetd.conf
cp xinetd/xinetd /etc/init.d/

Modify the file /etc/xinetd.conf so that it will run the cvspserver automatically:

service cvspserver
{
socket_type         = stream
protocol            = tcp
wait                = no
user                = root
passenv             =
server              = /usr/bin/cvs
server_args         = --allow-root=/usr/local/cvsroot pserver -f
}

Now start xinetd with

/etc/init.d/xinetd

After such a long long process, the CVS server should be running on the machine now. You can verify it by:

cvs -d :pserver:username@localhost:/usr/local/cvsroot login

I must say, it's somehow frustrated to set up such a CVS server if you find there are so much difficult on your way. :(

2008-01-18

Faroe Islands

法罗群岛1

Photo©Marco Paoluzzo

Situated in the heart of the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic at 62°00’N, the Faroe Islands lie northwest of Scotland and halfway between Iceland and Norway.

Photo©Marco Paoluzzo

The archipelago is composed of 18 islands covering 1399 km2 (545.3 sq.miles) and is 113 km (70 miles) long and 75 km (47 miles) wide, roughly in the shape of an arrowhead. There are 1100 km (687 miles) of coastline and at no time is one more than 5 km (3 miles) away from the ocean. The highest mountain is 882 m (2883 ft) above sea level and the average height above sea level for the country is 300 m (982 ft).

My Dream Place.

2008-01-17

Project management

There are a lot of softwares for project management. Microsoft Project is the most famous one of them. But what if you want to use such kind of softwares under Linux and Mac? VM? Not a good solution.

Now, if you like Open Source Software, OpenProj is a very good substitution. It has not only Windows version, but also Linux and Mac version.

So try it.

2008-01-07

Cron job with the log file

Today I need to write a cron job to make some sql queries automatically executed. Also a log file with the date is necessary according to my boss. :-)

So here is the solution:
---------------------------------------------------------------
# Date in Format yyyymmdd_hhmmss:
SQLNAME=/home/sybase/logs/table_`date +%Y%m%d`_`date +%H%M%S`.sql

# Every day at 23 o'clock the sql query will be executed
00 23 * * * root /opt/sybase/SYBSsa9/bin/dbisql -nogui -c "eng=enginename;dbn=dbname;uid=user;pwd=password;" /opt/sybase/SYBSsa9/bin/whatever.sql >> $SQLNAME
---------------------------------------------------------------

Some explainations:

SQLNAME is a variable name. It consist two parts, the normal text and the date. Notice to that, please always enclose the date part in backticks ( ` ) , otherwise it will be not executed. This variable can be used later with the format $SQLNAME
dbisql is the command line tool for Sybase. In whatever.sql you can write the sql queries you need.

2008-01-04

Sybase Anywhere SQL

Sybase Anywhere provides a possibility, which different clients with different date sources can be synchonised with a central DB server. Its manual is here: http://manuals.sybase.com/onlinebooks/group-pbarc/conn5/sqlug/

The SQL of Sybase is a little different from the standard SQL, for example:

>> Clearing a table "dummy"
delete dummy;

>> Output to a file
select * from dummy;
output to 'dummyfile.sql'

More helpful commands can be found at [selectorweb]

2008-01-02

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of xxx bytes exhausted

Happy New Year to all!

2007 is already the past now. I hope I can keep writing in this new year 2008, not so lazy like in 2007. :)

So today's topic is a PHP error.

During a migration of a Drupal site, after I make a 100% copy of the test site to the new site and change every settings for the new one, then the new site shows me the terrible message!

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 654321 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 12345 bytes) in /srv/www/user/bla/blub/file.php on line 123

What goes wrong? The test site runs like a charm and the process of migration should be okay.

In PHP, there is a enviroment variable called memory_limit. It varies by your web hosting provider. By default it's 128M, namely 128 MB memory. Since the web hosting provider want to spare some hardware costs and provides more accounts on a shared server, so the value of memory_limit will be changed to 16M sometimes! If you are like me to use some modules in Drupal (that's what makes Drupal attractiver than others!), because every module will eat some memories, so your Drupal installation will reach the memory limit very soon!

Now here is the solution:

Contact your web hosting provider to beg them for a bigger memory_limit, which is hard to be satisfied.
Try to switch off some Drupal modules to save the memory. It can be done only through Database manipulation such as in PHPMyAdmin.

If you have to choose the second way:

Go to the table "system", you will find almost every module has a feld called "status". 0 means not selected, 1 means enabled. Try to set the status of some modules such as statistic, color, etc to 0. After that you should see your new site without the above error. If not, eh.... you must switch more modules off. What a pity!

Most important, after the DB manipulation you should go to administer -> site configuration -> modules to save your configuration and run the update.php, otherwise the Drupal will lose some module-special configuraions.

2007-11-04

Don't let people tell you what you can't do

It's a word from the movie "pursuit of happyness". People always like to give advice and their opinions on your things even they have no idea what happened. So there are some typical words can be heard from those people:

1. Your dream is unrealistic. What’s unrealistic is trying to live your life working at a job you don’t love doing something you hate for the rest of your life while regretting trying to live your dream.

2. You’re screwed if it doesn’t work out. No, you’re not. In fact, the worst possible scenario is that you go back to what you would be doing if you hadn’t pursued your dream. That’s the worst possible scenario.

3. You weren’t cut out for that. Who’s to say that? If you don’t fit the
stereotype for your dream then you’re the one to break the mold. You will
stand out.

4. You can follow your dream someday. Someday will never come. Follow your dream today.

5. Only a few people “make it.” That’s because they lack the drive, determination, and will that you have. You’re one of the few.

6. You should just be safe and get a job. In fact, a job is even more dangerous than pursuing your dream. Not only do you feel terrible doing something you don’t want to do, but with two simple words your livelihood can change. “You’re fired.” When you’re pursuing your dream, you’re the only one that can stop you.

via [Ravi Vora]

2007-10-19

Some cool wallpapers

More can be found at [GuiStyle]

2007-10-15

The Worst Domain Name

The name of a domain is somehow first impression to a visitor, so if there are something wrong with the domain name, terrible things could happen.

Look at the following domain names:

Who Represents www.whorePresents.com
Experts Exchange www.expertSexchange.com
Pen Island www.penisLand.net
Therapist Finder www.theRapistfinder.com

Have you found the horrible things? Yes, misunderstanding is worse than misspelling...

More can be seen at evarest online.

2007-10-06

How to become a word guru?

If you have seen the popular american TV series "Prison Break" Season 2, you must have got a deep impression by the character T-bag.

What made me surprised is his fancy grammar / vocabulary. He can use different words to describe one thing. This ablity comes from his childhood, when his father forced him to recite a whole american english dictionary!

From the script of Episode 17 "Bad Blood":
YOUNG T-BAG: Ten synonyms for destroy. (closing his eyes, remembering) Annul. Mutilate. Liquidate. Abrogate. Quell. Ravage. Expunge. Demolish. Extinguish. Extirpate.

I always find me short of words, no, no, no, I don't mean I cannot say any word, but only quite normal words, like "destroy". :-)

Internet provides a lot of possibilities to let us learn something online. I used to learn those synonyms of words from the GRE-preparing book. Now we have a better way to explore the world of words - Roget's Thesaurus of English words and phrases.

With the word "destroy", I got 60(!) result with the same meaning of "destroy". So, it's really time to learn some thesaurus [thi-sawr-uh s] if one wants to become a word guru. Like a chinese proverb says: There is no royal road to learning.

2007-10-01

Use WinFlip to simulate the Flip3D effect under XP

For those people who admire the shining effect of switching windows - Flip3D under Windows Vista but have only Windows XP, here is a good news. WinFlip is such a very little eye candy to simulate the cool effect. It's extract & run ready without more configurations needed. Most important, it uses less resource (More precisely, it can adjust its effects on hardware performance automatically) and is free to use.

Usage:

use WinKey + Tab to switch between windows. WinKey + Shift + Tab to switch backwards.

Click here to download the latest version 0.41. More information can be found on:

Main Site: http://www.tokyodownstairs.com/ (already down for a few days :-( )

Official Mirror Site: http://winflip.stylekings.de/

New version comes also with mouse gestures. So just try it.

2007-09-28

Selected Firefox themes

Here are some pretty themes for firefox. So if you're already tired of the default style of firefox just like me, try one of them!

Other Software

FOXSCAPE - Netscape

Office 03 - Microsoft Office 2003

Outlook 2003 Blue - Outlook 2003

Special

Abstract Classic - icons with angles

Baby Blue/ BB - pink and blue

Bible Fox - Christian symbols

Glowy Green - dreamy colors

Littlefox for Firefox - for small resolution

MidnightFox - neon with black

OldFactory Black - old style control panel

PimpZilla - earth

Pink Paula / PP2 - pinkie for teenagers

RedShift V2 Beta - red and black

Scribblies Brite - for kids

ShadowThunder II Sunbeam - bright yellow

Walnut for Firefox - Wooden

Operating Systems

iFox Smooth - Mac

Macfox II - Mac OS

Metal Lion - Vista - Vista

Netscape Windows 3.1 - Windows 3.1

Ubuntu Human Theme - Ubuntu

Ubuntu Tango Theme - Linux

Vista-aero - Internet Explorer 7

Themes

HalloFF - The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Halloween - Browser with ghosts

Lineage 2 - Game: Lineage 2

NASA Night Launch - Can even style numerous extensions.

Red Cats (green flavor) - for cat lover

The Simpsons - German version

tuxof - Unreal Tournament 2004

X-Mas (Light) - Christmas

So what do you like mostly? :-) <- this symbol is 25 years old, btw.

2007-09-27

Pack all in one with Bundled Wrapping Method

For those people who are always en route, here is a excellent wrapping method to pack all needed clothes in a compacter way.

More details can be seen at http://www.onebag.com/pack.html

2007-09-23

A new MSN smiley collection: Tuzki

My most used IM software is MSN Messenger. So I do collect many funny smiley. :) Now here is the newest collection of my smiley. It's really popular....

Download it here. Don't tell me you don't know how to install them....

2007-09-17

Photography by Quang-Tuan Luong

Recently I am busy in finding a job, making some interviews. So the update on this site is somehow delayed. Today I found some terrific photographies by Quang-Tuan Luong.

Born in France, from Vietnamese parents, he was originally trained as a scientist (Ecole Polytechnique X84, PhD University of Paris), who made a few contributions to the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing.

Twenty years ago, his life was transformed by the wilderness of mountains. Now he is a photographer, so we have chance to see all his beautiful photos. :)

So, enjoy!

AT: http://www.terragalleria.com

US National Parks

QT Luong has photographed in extraordinary detail each of the 58 US National Parks, resulting in this unique collection of more than 4000 pictures.

North America

From sea to shining sea, the natural landscapes and cities of Canada, Mexico, and the USA including an extensive California gallery.

Asia and Israel

The surprising people, traditional culture, and temples of Japan, South-West China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar.

Europe

Historic cities and small towns of Belgium , France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, full of ancient ruins, monuments, fountains, castles, churches, cathedrals, old homes and streets.