detect IT

How to resize gnome-do docky

2009-12-30T06:46:00.001-08:00

I just found out how to resize the gnome-do docky:

right click on the gnome-do icon in docky and activate either the trash or the clock
that's the only way i found to get a divider into docky
hover over the upper border of docky (directly above the divider) and you'll get the up/down arrow shown
click and drag up/down to resize docky

that's it ... long search but trivial solution ;)

Software on my diamond

2009-08-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of software i use on a every-day basis on my HTC Diamond

emoze basic [link] to get push mail from my gmail account
goosync client [link] to sync my google calendar (and all my contacts) over the air on a scheduled basis
tomtom 7 [link] as a perfect navigation solution
NoData [link] to be save when i travel abroad (disable all data transfer to save money)
s2u [link] to do a couple of things ... hav a look

this list is just to get a list of software which i have to reinstall as soon as i have enough time to upgrade my diamond to windows mobile 6.5

linktip: 50 Excellent AJAX Tutorials - by smashingmagazine

2009-08-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

have a look at

50 Excellent AJAX Tutorials

just a linktip: code snippets for web developers

2009-08-09T14:51:00.000-07:00

have a look

btw: i really recommend to subscribe to this blog - you can find lots of usefull informations ... have fun

learn jquery with this video tutorials

2009-08-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

this is the first part of the guided video tour about learning jquery from beginner to expert knowledge

this is just the first part of the tutorial list go to in the woods to watch the rest of the tuts

2009-08-07T02:27:00.000-07:00

another video about webdevelopment ... here you can have a look - how to work with css using firebug plugin

Using Firebug for CSS from kristarella on Vimeo.

building webservices using netbeans

2009-08-06T14:20:00.000-07:00

A nice video on how to create webservices using the nebeans ide

restrain google results (date range)

2009-08-03T08:48:00.000-07:00

I was waiting for this feature for a long time. Especially if you are searching for linux related topics, it's usefull to restrain the results.

Google's web search toolbelt has been updated and it now includes an option that lets you find web pages from a user-defined period of time. After performing a search, click on "Show options", select "Custom date range" and enter at least one of the two dates.

here you get more infos

nice talk about user interfaces

2009-07-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

ready to use virtual appliances

2009-07-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

recently i found a really nice site to download virtual appliances.

Turnkey Linux is an open source project that's developing a family of free, Ubuntu-based software appliances which are optimized for ease of use in server-type usage scenarios and can be deployed in just a few minutes on bare metal, a virtual machine and in the cloud.

here are some of the supported appliances:

unfortunately there is no TikiWiki Appliance, maybe i will put it together ...

Google Code doesn't stop asking you for username/password while svn setup?

2009-07-28T11:22:00.001-07:00

Here is the solution ...

check out this link (while you are logged on on google): http://code.google.com/hosting/settings

GoogleCode does have a generated password instead of using your general google password - took me about hours ... at least it felt like ;)

Because it's just hilarious

2009-07-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

software tip for windows mobile!

2009-07-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

I just found this freeware for my htc touch diamond:
Call Firewall 1.4

i will give it a try and report if it's working as expected.

Here is a list of the features:
a. Accecpt all calls - pretty self explainatory
b. Accept call from My Contacts only - accepts calls from contacts only, others are rejected
c. Reject all calls - pretty self explainatory
d. White List - accepts calls only from the white listed nos
e. Black List - accepts all call except from the black listed nos
f. Black List Pattern - any no STARTING from the black list pattern list is rejected.
for eg. if you enter "123", so all nos STARTING from "123" will be rejected
this is a very nice option with which you can block nos from any particular network, country, city , area or whatever you can think of.

updated features:
1. Added option to reject unknown / private / withheld nos
2. Option to Add Accepted calls as calendar appointment
3. Option to Add Rejected calls as calendar appointment
4. Toggle Option to show 'CallFirewall' in 'running programs' / Task Managers
5. Save User Settings so that it remains intact upon restart.
6. Completely revamped UI to accomodate new options

Dell D505 Boot from USB-CD Drive

2009-07-09T06:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday i tried to boot my dell d505 from a external usb cd rom. unfortunatelly the bios change didn't take effect.

If you have the same problem - here is the clue:

Try to remove the internal cd/dvd drive from your laptop and boot it up with the external drive. That could fix the problem.

have a nice day

Grub Error 17: Cannot Mount Selected Partition

2009-07-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

i just tried to install ubuntu on a usb-hdd on my compaq 8510p. Everything seemed to work properly except i got the error:

Grub Error 17: Cannot Mount Selected Partition

the solution was pretty simple:
i switched to edit mode in the boot menue (select a boot-option from the list and press 'e')
then i tried to change the entry root (hd1,0)
changing to hd0,0 worked as expected

to make the whole step permanent i searched in /boot/grub/ for 'hd1,0' and found menu.lst

there i changed the entries for the main- and the compatibility- boot option to 'hd0,0' and restarted the computer

result: works as expected *hurray*

great video

2009-06-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

google demonstrate it's awesomeness!

2009-05-30T09:25:00.000-07:00

HTC Diamond and ICS for Ubuntu

2009-05-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

After some days of trying i just found the solution to use my HTC Diamond within Ubuntu.

My Problem was, that the internetconnection was quite slow when i was connected through ICS (internet connection sharing) ... the solution is very simple:

just open your terminal after the ics connection is established and type:
sudo ifconfig eth1 mtu 1392

(probably you have to change eth1 to eth0 or eth2 or wherever your device is mounted)

have fun!

seriously ... NEVER open an email from somebody you dont know!!!

2009-02-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

this is norton ... he's here to help!

here is another piece of great work from beautiful australia ...

how to create a blogger widget - video tutorial

2009-02-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

if you wonder how i choose the tiltle of the post "how to create the LyteBoxify widget" without actually explaining how to create the widget ... watch the tutorial ...

Twittering during the superbowl

2009-02-04T08:24:00.001-08:00

I found a very very nice interactive graphic on nytimes.com ... have a look
very interesting ...

... i really wanna know what kind of ads hulu has ;)

Everything i ve build has come from the frustration that it didnt yet exist

2009-01-31T18:27:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipedia

a video you should see if you want to know, wyh design is way more harder than maths ;) ... have a look

how to create the LyteBoxify widget

2009-01-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

just insert this line of code directly above the closing head tag and add the widget to your blog. That way all your pictures in your posts will have the nice lightbox effect.


<link href='http://www.dolem.com/lytebox/lytebox.css' media='screen' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>

youtube supports embedded high quality videos

2009-01-29T01:43:00.000-08:00

Image via CrunchBase

Since a couple of days youtube supports embedded high quality videos. Therefore youtube added a option to switch to 'HQ' mode via the video player.

Until that release of the video player you had to do a little hack to get hq videos embedded into your site.

You can find the (meanwhile obsolet) hack easily by asking Mr. Google about it.

Further information and image source: link

just to give you an idea - one of the best TV-Series i've seen

just can t stop laughing!!!

2009-01-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

That'll keep me smiling till the end of the weekend :)))

setup websphere mq-series on windows xp

2009-01-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Image via Wikipediaif you've ever been curious about how to setup a test environment for mq-series ... here we go

1) download the trial version [link]
if you already have a working registration you can just download the file - otherwise you have to register

2) unzip the file and start the setup

3) if you see the following screen, you have to install eclipse 3.3 as well (fortunatelly it's part of the downloaded file - just use the button 'CD') ... after that step you have to press Refresh

(click to enlarge)

4) go to Network Connections and choose 'NO'

(click to enlarge)

5) choose your prefered language and start Websphere MQ Installation

6) the installation-wizard will guide you through the installation process (I've used the typical installation)

7) Websphere MQ Wizard will start after a while to guide you through the configuration
if you don't have any domain controllers in your network choose NO (default setting)

8) we don't click 'Setup the default Configuration' ... we will do the configuration in a second

(click to enlarge)

9) start the Websphere MQ Explorer

(click to enlarge)

10) right click Queue Managers - New - Queue Manager ...

(click to enlarge)

11) choose a name for the Queue Manager and assign this Queue Manager as the default Queue Manager
no default transission queue
i've choosen SYSTEM.DEAD.LETTER.QUEUE but it's optional
that's it for now ... click Finish

(click to enlarge)

if everything is correct you'll see something like this

(click to enlarge)

side note: the default port of the Queue Manager is 1414

!!!Finished!!! ... next step will be a basic java app to test the configuration

i feel a bit embarrassed ...

2009-01-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

(click to enlarge)

lotus notes calendar to outlook ...

2008-12-23T08:19:00.000-08:00

Because of the lack of freeware programms i decided to make a notes -> outlook converter by myself. You can try the "pre-alpha" version [here]. Just unzip it and start it with NotesCalCon.jar xxxxx.txt (before you try it you have to export your notes calendar to a structured text file --> xxxxx.txt).

you will then get a file called foo.out which you can easily import in outlook (tab separated values)

i will put the source online soon

merry x-mas

iphone goes linux ...

2008-12-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

I'm pleased to announce that the Linux 2.6 kernel has been ported to Apple's iPhone platform,

sms forwarder on sourceforge

2008-11-27T07:24:00.001-08:00

My Sourceforge - Project "SMS Forwarder" started ... at least i started thinking about the features

here is my first MindMap (created with mindmeister.com)

(click to enlarge)

There will be a project-page available soon (http://smsforwarder.sourceforge.net/)

Error - 404 - File Not Found

2008-11-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

(click to enlarge)

... nice one ;)

Found my ROM!

2008-11-25T04:40:00.000-08:00

Hi,

i just stumbled upon this very NICE rom for my htc diamond (which is still vodafone branded).

This Multilanguage Rom Supports:
Official new HTC Diamond Touch Splash Added.
Diamond Touch Setup Customized
DISPLAY Driver Updated (More Fluid Feeling)
WLAN Driver Updated
GPS Driver Updated
Rilphone Driver (Basic Functions Of Phone Updated)
USB Driver Updated
CE & OS Build Updated To 20755 Of Every Language
Full Kernel Mode 5-7% More Speed Compared To Stock Rom. Credits To My Friend Swtos
ULDR Partition Removed 3 MB More Space Compared To Stock Rom. Credits To My Friend Swtos
G-sensor Calibrator Added From HTC Raphael
Internet Sharing 3 Option Menu Added From HTC Raphael
Touchflo Tweaks Added No Need For 3rd Party Tools
NetCF 3.5 RTM Added
Tweaks Deep On The System
12 MB Stable And Evaluated True Pagepool (Default 8 MB)
OPERA Removed You Can Install Latest Version Yourself! There Is Weekly A New Opera Build Out.
Optimizations To Save Storage Without Removing A Stock Application.
Welcome Center Removed
All Packages Wich Were Added Are From Official Stock Roms. No Modified Cabs Are Used On This ROM.

Please visit xda-developers for further informations or the chance to donate for this wonderfull work!

what you/i should know about XML, DTD and XML Schema

2008-11-20T14:41:00.000-08:00

For some reason (i guess i was way too lazy) I messed up an exam at university. So this post will help me to know about the topics mentioned above.

XML is not just a standard for data-exchange. It's more like the root of a whole family of IT Standards f.e.

Transformation of XML-Documents (XSLT, STX)
Adressing of parts of the XML-Document (XPath)
Connection of different XML-Ressources (XPointer, XLink, XInclude)
Selection of Data from XML-Documents (XQuery)
Data manipulation of XML-Documents (Update)
Creation of XML based Forms (XForms)
Definition of XML datastructure (XML Schema / XSD, DTD)
Signature and encryption of XML-Nodes (XML-Signature, XML-Encryption)
Formatted Output of a XML-Document (XSL-FO)
Markup Language (XUL)
Definition to call functions or methods of another system (XML-RPC)
...

For me the most importand things are ...

how can i use DTD to validate a XML-Document
how can i use XSD (= XML Schema) to validate a XML-Document
how can i use XPATH to get out the data i'm looking for
how can i use XSLT to get a nice looking html out of a XML-Document
[viq*]why should i know about such things[/viq]

*) Very Importand Question

Lets start with Question Nr. 1 "how can i use DTD to validate a XML-Document"

Document Type Definition (DTD) is one of several SGML and XML schema languages, and is also the term used to describe a document or portion thereof that is authored in the DTD language. A DTD is primarily used for the expression of a schema via a set of declarations that conform to a particular markup syntax and that describe a class, or type, of document, in terms of constraints on the structure of that document. A DTD may also declare constructs that are not always required to establish document structure, but that may affect the interpretation of some documents. XML documents are described using a subset of DTD which imposes a number of restrictions on the document's structure, as required per the XML standard (XML is in itself an application of SGML optimized for automated parsing).

We all know how a standard XML-File looks like...



Basic bread
Flour
Yeast
Water
Salt

Mix all ingredients together.
Knead thoroughly.
Cover with a cloth, and leave for one hour in warm room.
Knead again.
Place in a bread baking tin.
Cover with a cloth, and leave for one hour in warm room.
Bake in the oven at 180(degrees)C for 30 minutes.

To validate this XML we create a DTD and link the XML File to this DTD File. To create those Files I use the Freeware called XMLPad.

Before i go on with the DTD-File we have to link the XML-File to the DTD
That's it - now we can start to create rules to validate the DTD ...

Lets create a simple dtd for that example before we look a little deeper into rules to validate

The most importand things to do right now: define Elements and Attributes for the XML-Document. We have to define Elements (name, ingredient, instructions), because there is no way of a valid XML-Document if there are more Elements in the XML File which are not mentioned in the DTD File.

This Elements-Definition should look like

The Syntax of the Element-Tag should be self-explanatory, the only thing you have to consider is that we can have several incredient-tags (therefore we put a '+' right behind the tagname, we can also put a '*' behind to say that ther can be 0 or more incredient-tags or we put a '?' behind to tell the parser, that this attribute is optional).

The next Step is to define a Attribute-list (ATTLIST) for this element. This ATTLIST could look like ...
So we have 3 Attributes for the Element recipe (name, prep_time, cook_time). CDATA defines the type of the attributes (Character Data). That way any XML-Parser knows that there is just text folowing (nothing to do). #IMPLIED tells us if the attribute has to be stated or not (in our case none of the attributes are required / #REQUIRED).

Now we have to continue with the next Element (name) - no attributes, so we just add an ELEMENT-Tag

PCDATA means Parsed Character Data. The only difference is, that in comparison to CDATA the parser will change special characters like the german Ö or Ü to its HTML counterpart.

Let's continue with the next Element (ingredient)
This time we force the parser to check if all of the mandatory attributes (amount, unit) are stated - otherwise we'll get an error.

And finaly we have to define another Element (instructions) which has a sub Element (step), but not a single attribute:
that's it - we don't have to do something else. The DTD File checks if every Element is in the XML File and if every mandatory attribute is stated.

That's just a basic example - to get further instructions on different ways to check your XML you could throw an eye on the DTD site of w3c, wikipedia, or the w3cschool-site.

Question 2: "how can i use XSD (= XML Schema) to validate a XML-Document"
As you probably already realized - DTD is kind of basic validation for XML-Documents. If you want to check something like the right Date format or do a bit more restrictions on values.

XSD provides a set of 19 primitive data types

boolean
string
decimal
double
float
anyURI
QName
hexBinary
base64Binary
duration
date
time
dateTime
gYear
gYearMonth
gMonth
gMonthDay
gDay
and NOTATION

XML Schema, published as a W3C recommendation in May 2001, is one of several XML schema languages. It was the first separate schema language for XML to achieve Recommendation status by the W3C. Like all XML schema languages, XML Schema can be used to express a schema: a set of rules to which an XML document must conform in order to be considered 'valid' according to that schema. However, unlike most other schema languages, XML Schema was also designed with the intent that determination of a document's validity would produce a collection of information adhering to specific data types. Such a post-validation infoset can be useful in the development of XML document processing software, but the schema language's dependence on specific data types has provoked criticism.

In comparison to the DTD File the XSD File looks quite differentm, but you'll still be able to find the element and attribute tags in it.

Let's have a look, how a working XSD File could look like
the next thing you'll realize is, that you link the XML-File to the schema file in a different way (look at the root element recipe)

xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="file:///E:/Daten/XmlPad%20Projects/XML%20via%20DTD/recipe-schema.xsd"

Another interesting point is the sequence of the tags. For me it's just important to know that you have to define a element as a complex type with a sequence to add sub-elements.

Let's have a look on line 6 to 8. There you can find the sub-elements of the root element 'recipe'. Those sub-elements are defined a second time in the XSD File, therefore you put in a reference (attribute ref="...."). On line 7 we put in another new attribute maxOccurs="unboundet" which tells the parser, that this element has to be there once or many times.

Still in the complex-type tag, we can find the attributes (name, prep_time, cook_time) with their data definition (type=xs:string). Then the definition of the root element is finished.

Line 15: The definition of the element name (my personal favourite). You just put in the name and the type.

Line 16-26: Ingredients - We do have Attributes to define, so we put in the complex-type tag. In the shown example you'll find the tags xs:simpleContent and xs:extension. But because of the lack of time (and the fact, that i have no idea what they are doing exactly) i just deleted those tags (delete line 18, 19, 23, 24).

5 Minutes to Static Blogger/Blogspot Pages

2008-11-19T06:26:00.000-08:00

Image via CrunchBase

[edit]for an example you could have a look on my about me page[/edit]

Unfortunately it took a long time till i tried to simplify my former "how-to: Static Pages in Blogger ARE possible" [link], but here we go ...

I use the HTML/JavaScript widget to get the impression of static pages

Step 1: Layout -> Add a Gadget

Step 2: Basic -> HTML/JavaScript

Step 3: Add your static content and save

Step 4: Place it above the "Blog Posts"-Widget

Step 5: save your changes

now we have to hide this gadget (otherwise it would appear all the time before your blog actually starts - see screenshot below) – therefore we have to change the template (do yourself a favour and backup the template before you change something!!!)

Backup your template

Step 6: Activate the checkbox "Expand Widget Template"

Step 7: Search for the string “title='Blog Posts'” – that’s the first line of the post-widget
Your HTML/JavaScript widget should be direct above this widget

Step 8: To hide the widget we have to add a line of code

This way – you will only see the static content if you link to [YOURBLOG].blogspot.com/label/xxx

Step 9: To hide the Blog Posts while you are displaying the static content you have to add the following lines of code

Search for "id='nextprev'" and add the code directly under that line

My new mobile

2008-10-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

Because of the fact that i got my htc diamond recently, there are some topics i won't spend to much time on yet (like the static blogger page widget).

Here is what i want to do

get rid of the f*cking vodafone theme (htc's black theme is much cooler)
sync the diamond with my google calendar
use htc diamond as a modem for my laptop
use htc diamond to chat via skype, icq and msn using just one client app (like miranda on windows xp)
write and publish posts for detect-it.blogspot.com

i already found ways to do some of the mentioned "wanna-have-points", but i'm not quite satisfied yet

SQL Developer - Keyboard troubles

2008-09-25T03:56:00.000-07:00

For some reason SQLDeveloper started to work a bit weird.
- [END] key was not working
- [ctrl]+[v] wasn't pasting anymore
- [shift]+[cursor left] was not marking anything

i found the solution for this problem on forums.oracle.com

set back your accelorators: Tools -> Preferences -> Accelerators -> Load Preset -> Default

youre searching for a new favourite band?

2008-08-31T15:35:00.000-07:00

... here you go ... watch out the red paintings ...

i'd once the honor to hear them live in brisbane (best place you can probably be!!!!), australia ...

take a second and listen to them

static pages in blogger ARE possible

2008-08-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

This how-to is still "under construction" I just published it, because i think lots of people are suffering the same problem

[update]New Version available![/update]

Watch out my static 'About me' - page

'cause of a mysterious motivation boost i sat down yesterday night in front of my laptop, and tried to find is a way for "real-looking" static pages on blogspot.

and to make a long story short there is a way, to get professional looking static pages!

... i will still invest some work into this topic, but for now i will show you how it works with my 'quick-and-dirty' method (the breaking idea comes from hoctro's adding a frontpage tutorial).

here we go ...

1) let's start
add a page element (HTML/JavaScript) somewhere in the layout and drag it to show up before the 'blog post' section

2) change the layout
go to Layout - Edit HTML and enable the checkbox for Expand Widget Templates (do yourself a favour and SAVE your template before you change it)

3) search for the head-tag
and add the following lines of code directly after this tag

4) after the closing head-tag
you should find the body-tag - there you add onload='doIT()'

[body onload='doIT();']

5) now the magic happens!
search for your widget you added in step 1 (title) and add line 4 and 12

[b:widget id='HTML5' locked='false' title='About me' type='HTML']
[b:includable id='main']
[!-- static content starts--]
[b:if cond='data:blog.url == "http://[YOURBLOG].blogspot.com/search/label/xxx"']
[!-- only display title if it's non-empty --]
[b:if cond='data:title != ""']
  [h2 class='title'][data:title/][/h2]
[/b:if]
[div class='widget-content']
  [data:content/]
[/div]
[/b:if][!-- static content --]

6) we are nearly finished ...
search for widget blog1 and add lines 3 to 5

[b:widget id='Blog1' locked='true' title='Blog Posts' type='Blog']
[b:includable id='nextprev']
[b:if cond='data:blog.url != data:blog.homepageUrl']
[script]document.getElementById('Blog1').style.visibility='hidden';[/script]
[/b:if]

7) last one ...
edit your HTML/Javascript Widget you added in step 1
open the html view and add these lines

after that step, you can finally add your content!

So That's IT ... i know - it's not the easiest way, but i'm thinking of rewriting it to make it a bit easier. Maybe i even create a own widget to make it more comfortable to use

bothered by microsoft part 3 (msvdm + ie + word = troubles)

2008-08-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

ok, it was a nice time to play around with msvdm (microsoft virtual desktop manager) but now its time to get rid of this immature piece of crap and search for alternatives.

i already found a solution i could live with, for the problem with excel (disappearing toolbar) but yesterday while i was trying to finish my mastherthesis (yes - i use ms word to write it), msvdm caused serious problems.

i think you should try to prevent having one instance of ms word running "in one virtual desktop" and another one "in a second virtual desktop". i think msvdm caused a crash of ms word, because i closed ms word in one desktop, hoping that it has no effect to the other instance. BAD IDEA! ...

another really annoying bug is, that msvdm is not really able to handle iexplore (i know i should change to firefox) on several virtual desktops.

That's it my friend msvdm - we had a nice time, but i think we just spent to much time together ... It's not your fault, it's ... well ... actually ... it is your fault - i hope the uninstall routine doesn't cause any troubles

randy pausch ... one more time - my hero of the day, the week, month ...

2008-08-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

one more time RANDY PAUSCH!

god bless ya!

export bug in SQLDeveloper 1.5.1

2008-08-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

I just experienced that Oracle SQLDeveloper 1.5.1 has a bug, if you try to export a result as a insert-script.

The delimeters in the VALUE clause are dots instead of commas.

To fix this you have to change your preferences (Tools-Preferences-Database-NLS Parameters). There you set Group Seperator to , (comma) and change the Decimal Seperator to . (dot)
!!! it is important to change the Decimal Seperator as well - it wont work if Group- and Decimal Separator are the same !!!

I don't know why it doesn't work if you change the General Export Parameter to , (comma) but the workaround works just fine.

need some inspiration OR my hero of the day

2008-08-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

just found that video on youtube - even if it's off topic i think everybody should get a chance to learn a lesson ... so watch it - seldom saw something more inspiring

btw. i'm currently watching the long version ... and if you listen carefully somewhere around 2:50 you'll realise that it's not completely off topic ;) ... love his kind of humour

randy pausch - rest in peace and deepest symphaty!

bothered by microsoft part 2 (msvdm and excel troubles)

2008-08-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

i'm currently using msvdm (microsoft virtual desktop manager) and excel and had to realise that it's not working in a harmonic way.

if excel is active and you switch to another (virtual)desktop, then back again - one more time microsoft's annoying bug-devil hits you (the menu bar disappears).

i did a little online - research and found some workarounds

make yourself a makro to reload the toolbar-file (excel11.xbs)
described here http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-1064036.php
it will also help to minimize the excel window before you leave to another virtual desktop
which is not really a solution for this problem - but it seems to work

both of the workarounds work, but i'd actually recommend to

make a simple shortcut (classic windows shortcut) to the toolbar-file (excel11.xbs) which should be located somewhere like c:\documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Application Data\microsoft\excel\ and
assign a keyboardshortcut like [ctrl]+[alt]+a.

it'll work perfectly fine everytime you lose your toolbar (and you dont have to bother the macro editor ;))

bothered by microsoft

2008-07-29T04:18:00.000-07:00

if you are using jstats for your joomla-site you probably have the same problem ...

a lot of visits from an ip address in this NetRange 65.52.0.0 - 65.55.255.255. You can do a lookup for the ip address in a whois database like http://cqcounter.com/whois/ and you'll see that the bot/spider who is bothering you is a service from microsoft.com

To get rid of all the visit counts you can try to insert the ip-address in your jstats_bot table and hope that jstats will recognise it the next time as a bot.

here is the sql code to insert the new bot

INSERT INTO `DATABASE`.`jos_jstats_bots` (
`bot_id` ,
`bot_string` ,
`bot_fullname`
)
VALUES (
NULL , '65.55.11', 'microsoft.com'
);

my new favorite site

2007-12-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

http://thepiratebay.org/legal

>   Dear Frederik,
>
> Hello.

Hi! Please, learn to quote properly in your e-mail messages.
You can learn from how I do - I promise you that proper
quoting is not patented.

> - We know all about your immature responses to rights owners.

What did you expect? I mean, I still wet my pants damnit, but
only when I'm scared by big mighty policemen like you. Now you
need to pay for another cleaning :-(.

...

> Not when the ultimate content (ie. of the combined torrents)

What the [my mom told me not to swear, so I deleted this word] is
a combined torrent?

> belongs to third parties ... ... these are their rights to
> exploit, not yours (as you shall no doubt discover).

Now that's what I call a miserable attempt at a cliff-hanger.
Let me guess, you failed your literature classes? Just like you
failed law school and the police academy, and became MR WEB SHERIFF.
John, is that you?

TMEdit Joomla Fileupload - "does not exist Problem"

2007-12-17T19:31:00.000-08:00

change the config.php.ini file in \joomla\mambots\editors\tmedit\popups\ImageManager\ ...

either the entry for $BASE_ROOT or the entry for $BASE_DIR is not correct ...

i had to change the $BASE_DIR because it seems like $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']; doesn't really return the correct directory

before
$BASE_DIR = $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'];

after
$BASE_DIR = "E:/FTP/User/www/test/";

if your user-directory isn't the same like the $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT']; you probably also have to change the show_image - function in image.php file (same directory) to make everything working

before
$img_url = $BASE_URL.$img_path.'/'.$img_file;

after
$img_url = '/user/test.$BASE_URL.$img_path.'/'.$img_file;

good luck ;)

Wikipedia Competitor Being Tested by Google

2007-12-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

found an article in the online version of the ny-times regarding one of googles newest toys (even if im a fan of google ... i think that approach wont work) ...

By MIGUEL HELFT

Published: December 15, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO — Google is testing a new Web service intended to become a repository of knowledge from experts on various topics, one that could turn into a competitor to Wikipedia and other sites.

BackTrack 3 Beta is out!

2007-12-14T03:35:00.001-08:00

Remote Exploit has done it! Again!The best security Distro, in its leanest, meanest and sexiest form ever.An official announcement is due tomorrow, and until then, the ISO and USB images are available on torrent.

read more | digg story

check out http://www.offensive-security.com/

joomla gallery2 user synchronization stops

2007-12-13T21:40:00.000-08:00

after the port of my joomla site i had the same problem with the g2 picturebridge like i had when i implemented it the first time ... the user synchronization just stopped without any further progress and without any error message

if you have the same problem try to setup all of the users you see in the user management dialog of the gallery2 component in gallery2 manually - then try to do the sync - now the problem should be gone ...

joomla port - gallery2 picture bridge - fatal error

2007-12-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

Fatal error: Undefined class name 'galleryembed' in xyz\mod_g2bridge_image.php on line 71

if that seems familiar to you you have to change the gallery2 module settings in your joomla-administration (thx to joomlaportal.de)

Gallery 2 Path
Gallery 2 Url
Login URL

due to the Gallery2 FAQ (How can I move my gallery installation from one server to another?) a port of my local Gallery2 version would be to complex therefore i decided to re-install it on the isp-server and change the theme afterwards ...

joomla port - images, css, js gone after putting it live?

2007-12-12T18:52:00.000-08:00

after porting a joomla-site from my local computer to a isp-server i had the problem, that all the pictures css and js files seemed to be gone ... if you have the same problem you should check your configuration.php file in the root joomla-directory ...

take care that $mosConfig_live_site entry is correct (thx to joomlaportal.de) ...

here are the changes you have to do in the configuration.php file (thx to joomlaportal.de)


$mosConfig_host = 'xyz'; // database-server ('localhost')
$mosConfig_user = 'xyz'; // database-user
$mosConfig_password = 'xyz'; // database-password
$mosConfig_db = 'xyz'; // database-name
$mosConfig_absolute_path = '/xyz'; // absolute path without ending /
$mosConfig_live_site = 'http://www.domain.tld'; // domain without ending /
$mosConfig_cachepath = '/xyz/cache'; // absolute path to the cache-directory without ending /

joomla xampp to webserver

2007-12-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

recently i made a homepage for a friend of mine using joomla as a cms and the powerful gallery2 image gallery ... right now the site is working on a xampp-based environment on my computer and i have to port it onto a web server (ISP)

i don't have to be a prophet to know that there will be some problems during this procedure ...

here is the way i want to do the port ...

export the mysql-db to a dump-file (joomla + gallery2)
import the mysql-db on the mysql-server from the isp (joomla + gallery2)
transfer the directories to the isp
customize the configuration.php - file

... that's the plan ... let's see what happens

issue 1 - pictures, css, js files gone!?
issue 2 - gallery2 errors

my php guestbook gets spammed

2007-11-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

for some reason a guestbook i coded in php gets spammed since about 1 week - app. 10 entries per day with content like this

cBlE3U
[URL=http://xxx-link]girls kissing girls[/URL]

[URL=URL=http://xxx-link]xxx words[/URL]

[URL=URL=http://xxx-link]xxx words[/URL]

[URL=URL=http://xxx-link]xxx words[/URL]

[URL=URL=http://xxx-link]xxx words[/URL]

i don't have the time to implement capatcha right now so here is a short work-around how i fixed it temporarily

original code


$id = time();

$name = addslashes($name);
$email = addslashes($email);
$homepage = addslashes($homepage);
$message = addslashes($message);
...

$pos = strpos($message,"[url");

$sqlcommand = 
  "INSERT INTO guestb (id, ...) VALUES ('$id', ...)";

mysql_query($sqlcommand) 
  or die("Error: " . mysql_error());

echo "thx for your entry";

modified code


$id = time();

$name = addslashes($name);
$email = addslashes($email);
$homepage = addslashes($homepage);
$message = addslashes($message);
...

$pos = strpos($message,"[url");

if ($pos === false) {
  $sqlcommand = 
       "INSERT INTO guestb (id, ...) VALUES ('$id', ...)";
    
  mysql_query($sqlcommand) 
      or die("Error: " . mysql_error());
}

echo "thx for your entry";

W3C - Validation aka The Lying Button

2007-10-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

While surfing the internet you often find one of those buttons

or other links to the w3c-validator sites - but have you ever tried to click them???

They should be an evidence for good web-design and valid code

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential.

W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. On this page, you'll find W3C news, links to W3C technologies and ways to get involved. New visitors can find help in Finding Your Way at W3C.

We encourage organizations to learn more about W3C and about W3C Membership.

here a short list of pages i tried to validate with a (not) surprisingly result (btw "I know that this side doesn't validate (>290 Errors). But hey - At least i don't even try to pretend it would.")

... it's a funny amusement, but i'm not bored enough to continue ;)

you can find many of them here [google]

Miranda - Skype Emoticons 3.5.0.239

2007-10-28T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is a pack for use with IEview.Includes all 72 emoticons from version 3.5.0.239 of skype.Also includes 15 hidden emoticons.They all are exactly the same emoticons like in skype.This is very helpful for these who work with skype plugin to chat from miranda.Now they seen the same thing like the skype users.

If you use Skype Emoticons 3.5.0.239 (like app. 5960 other users of miranda & ieview) you probably realised, that this icon-set unfortunately replaces : with the (blush) icon which is really annoying.

Here is the solution (or reason) for this behaviour

Open the file skype.asl ...


; Pack of smileys for use with IEView plugin.
;
SelectionSize = 25, 25
;------------------------------------------
;              Skype CODE START
Smiley = "01.gif"  , 0, ":) :-) :=)"
Smiley = "02.gif"  , 0, ":( :-( :=("
Smiley = "03.gif"  , 0, ":D :-D :=D :d :-d :=d"
Smiley = "04.gif"  , 0, "8) 8-) 8=) B) B-) B=)"
Smiley = "05.gif"  , 0, ":o :-o :=o :O :-O :=O"
Smiley = "06.gif"  , 0, ";) ;-) ;=)"
Smiley = "07.gif"  , 0, ";( ;-( ;=("
Smiley = "08.gif"  , 0, "(sweat) (:|"
Smiley = "09.gif"  , 0, ":| :-| :=|"
Smiley = "10.gif" , 0, ":* :-* :=*"
Smiley = "11.gif" , 0, ":p :-p :=p :P :-P :=P"
Smiley = "12.gif" , 0, "(blush) :$ :-$ :=$ :">"
...

change line 17 (mismatching brackets) to


Smiley = "12.gif" , 0, "(blush) :$ :-$ :=$ :>"

restart miranda and the error in the replacement will be gone

COBOL is forever

2007-10-25T19:32:00.001-07:00

while i was doing some research form my master thesis i found this article ... check it

a nice article about COBOL ... it's past, current and future usage & some interesting statistical figures

read more | digg story

gmail's automatic address saving

2007-10-23T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was curious what addresses are displayed in the "To:" Field in gmail and started to guess ...

are those the e-mail addresses from

the contact-list
the sender field of received mails (read/unread mails)
the receiver field of sent mails
a combination of sender/receiver field (all of inbox/outbox, history, recent ...)
...

after reading some discussion group threads it seemed to be the first option - contact list

but how does it work that a email-address gets into my contact-list without doing anything? ... or better - when does google save the e-mail address into the contact-list?

I started a test and

set up a new gmail account
wrote an e-mail from the new account to myself
checked when the e-mail address gets into my contact-list

here is the result

received email from email-address not in contact list

e-mail address didn't appear in the "To:" field neither in the contact-list

opened email from email-address not in contact list

e-mail address didn't appear in the "To:" field neither in the contact-list

replyed to email from email-address not in contact list

e-mail address is saved in contact-list & appears in the "To:" field

HTML Form validation with js & php processing

2007-10-07T20:21:00.001-07:00

I searched for a simple script which validates a html-form and if everything is alright submit the form to a php script ... i didn't really find something so here is a simple one of mine

1st - create your form with the js-validation


 onsubmit="return k_checkForm(this);" 
 method="post">
Name: 
Number:

2nd - put a validation js somewhere in the html file (preferable in the head section)

3nd - php-script (server.php) here you can access the variables like this


echo $_POST["name"]; 
echo $_POST["phone"];

labelcloud bugfix

2007-10-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

after some debugging i found the reason for the js-error ie reported all the time ...

here is a simple solution ... ignore the Statement 'Don't change anything past this point ----------------- ' in the script-part and replace


function s(a,b,i,x){
  if(a>b){
      var m=(a-b)/Math.log(x),v=a-Math.floor(Math.log(i)*m)
         }
  else{
      var m=(b-a)/Math.log(x),v=Math.floor(Math.log(i)*m+a)
      }
  return v
}

with


function s(a,b,i,x){
 var m = 1;
 var v = 1;

 if(a>b){
    if (Math.log(x) > 0)  {
       m = (a-b)/Math.log(x);
    } else {
       m = 1;
    }
    var v=a-Math.floor(Math.log(i)*m)
 } else {
    if (Math.log(x) > 0)  {
       m = (b-a)/Math.log(x);
    } else {
       m = 1;
    }
    v=Math.floor(Math.log(i)*m+a)
 }
  
 return v;
}

now you shouldn't have any problems ...

embedding label cloud into blogger

2007-09-26T00:49:00.001-07:00

Here is a short description of how to embedding a labelcloud into blogger ...

The originally script was written by phydeaux3 and modified by Seige ... i just wrote this post to try how the syntaxhighlighter works you'll find more informations regarding this topic here (phydeaux3 & Seige)

1) CSS. Goes anywhere between the tags b:skin and /b:skin, preferably right before the end tag


/* Label Cloud Styles
----------------------------------------------- */
#labelCloud {text-align:center;font-family:arial,sans-serif;}
#labelCloud  .label-cloud li{display:inline;background-image:none !important;padding:0 5px;margin:0;vertical-align:baseline !important;border:0 !important;}
#labelCloud ul{list-style-type:none;margin:0 auto;padding:0;}
#labelCloud a img{border:0;display:inline;margin:0 0 0 3px;padding:0}
#labelCloud a{text-decoration:none}
#labelCloud a:hover{text-decoration:underline}
#labelCloud li a{}
#labelCloud .label-cloud {}
#labelCloud .label-count {padding-left:0.2em;font-size:9px;color:#000}
#labelCloud .label-cloud li:before{content:"" !important}

2) Widget. Goes anywhere between b:section id="'sidebar'" and /b:section (replacing the first b:widget id="'Label1'" ... line)

()

regarding to internet explorer 6, there is a js-problem (illegal statement) but the script works fine with Safari&FF - i'll chase the problem when i find some motivation - sorry

Problem solved - here you can find what to do