David Yin's Blog

Great lottery on TemplateMonster.com

2008-06-26T18:40:33Z

TemplateMonster.com is one of the most famous Template resource site in the world.

It is going to hold a lottery with give-away to any participant.
TemplateMonster.com will expose two of TemplateMonster's website designs. In order to take part in the lottery one should vote for one design or the other.

The design which gets the most votes becomes the winner. Note the best design is chosen during two weeks period.

And here are the benefits for users to take part in the lottery:

- everyone who participates in lottery gets the free Icon Set. All icons included into this free Icon Set also relate to patriotic and 4th of July topic;

- also everyone who participates in lottery has a chance to get one of the special prizes.

The special prizes are:

- 1 Gift Certificate giving the opportunity to get any product from Template Monster database for free;
- two 80% discount coupons for purchasing any product from Template Monster database;
- three 50% discount coupons for purchasing any product from Template Monster database.

Note everyone who purchases any product from Template Monster during this promo will get the Icon Set that I've mentioned for free.

It sounds great. The process is simply.
1) Click the event page link. Fill in your name and email and choose the design you like, then click vote button.

2) Then you will get an email looks like below, to confirm your participating and show you the link to download the free set of icons.

Hello,
We thank you again for participating in the 4th of July lottery from Template Monster.
To show you how grateful we are we provide you with a FREE Iconset that you may download by clicking a link below:
Download link shown here
Thank you.

That's all. Now join the 4th of July Special on Template Monster.

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Update MovableType to 4.12 now

2008-06-20T16:48:00Z

It is a Movable Type Security Update.

Today we are releasing Movable Type 4.01b and Movable Type 4.12. These are free mandatory security updates for all Movable Type 4.x users.

via

Action now, upgrade your MT installation. It is a Security update.

I have some MT 4.1 installation on Dreamhost. I update them just two minutes ago.

It is simply and easy to update.

1) SSH to server.

2) wget http://www.movabletype.com/download/personal/MTP-4.12-en.tar.gz

3) tar -xvzf MTP-4.12-en.tar.gz

4) cp -r -f . ~/sitedir/mtcgi/

5) login MovableTyep and done.

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GNOME 2.22

2008-06-19T22:25:53Z

I use Ubuntu 8.04. It is shipped with GNOME Desktop.

Gnome 2.22 now.
You may want to read its release notes.

Go to Gnome official site to find out more.

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Another Ten PHP Optimization Tips

2008-06-12T19:38:15Z

I wrote PHP Optimization to improve performance. Now I have another ten PHP optimization tips for you.
1. Single-quoted strings.
Use single quote when possible. It is faster than double quote. If it is string only, just pick single quotes.
2. The way output data.
Could you point which is the fastest way to output from below?

print "Hi my name is $a. I am $b";
echo "Hi my name is $a. I am $b";
echo "Hi my name is ".$a.". I am ".$b;
echo "Hi my name is ",$a,". I am ",$b;

The last one is actually the fastest operation.
3. Use single-quotes around array indexes.
So, $x['sales'] is alway best format and fast.
4. Don't use short open tags.
<?php is formal tag.
5. Use regular expressions only when you really need it.

When doing string operation, like replace part of string. strtr is the fastest.
str_replace is faster.
preg_replace is slow.
6. Don't use functions inside a loop declaration.
Bad:

 
for ($i = 0; $i < count($array); $i++) {
//stuff
}

Good:

 
$count = count($array);
for($i = 0; $i < $count; $i++) {
//stuff
}

7. Never rely on register_globals or magic quotes.
When building new program, do not use it.
The next three is a good habit for coding, not only for PHP, but to all language coding.
8. Always initialize your variables.
9. Document your code
10. Code to a standard.

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Microsoft Security Patch for June 2008

2008-06-11T22:04:30Z

3 Critical Patch

Vulnerability in Bluetooth Stack Could Allow Remote Code Execution (951376)

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (950759)

Vulnerabilities in DirectX Could Allow Remote Code Execution (951698)

3 Important Patch

Vulnerability in WINS Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (948745)

Vulnerability in Active Directory Could Allow Denial of Service (953235)

Vulnerabilities in Pragmatic General Multicast (PGM) Could Allow Denial of Service (950762)

Go to check you Windows Updates now, before the virus or hacker break your system.

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jQuery UI 1.5 release

2008-06-09T16:52:12Z

It is good news Today.

One API to Rule Them All

Stability, Debugging, Testing and jquery.simulate

The Need for Effects: Enter Enchant

Roll Your Own Themes: ThemeRoller!

Plugin Stabilization and Enhancements

jQuery UI v1.5:

Final Release: http://ui.jquery.com/download

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PHP Optimization to improve performance

2008-06-06T23:44:17Z

When coding in PHP in variety ways, some way is simple, some is not. But there must be one better way that can provide better performance.

Here is a list of 63+ best practice to optimize PHP code performances

I learn some from it.

echo is faster than print.

require_once() is expensive

If you need to find out the time when the script started executing, $_SERVER['REQUEST_TIME'] is preferred to time()

str_replace is faster than preg_replace, but strtr is faster than str_replace by a factor of 4

It's better to use select statements than multi if, else if, statements.

Close your database connections when you're done with them

$row['id'] is 7 times faster than $row[id]

Do not use functions inside of for loop, such as for ($x=0; $x < count($array); $x) The count() function gets called each time.

When echoing strings it's faster to separate them by comma instead of dot. Note: This only works with echo, which is a function that can take several strings as arguments.

Do NOT use SQL wildcard select. eg. SELECT *

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Tux Paint

2008-06-03T21:49:02Z

I would like to introduce this Free Paint program. Tux Paint.

My daughter, Grace, loves it. She still remember that she played it one year ago when I use Edubuntu.
Actually, I installed it in Windows XP yesterday.

Yes, this program is Open Source and can run on a variety of platforms, including all versions of Windows (including Tablet PC), Mac OS X 10.3 and up, Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD. It works well on older, slower systems, as well as thin-clients such as LTSP, Citrix® and Windows Terminal Services. It even runs on some handheld computers!

Let's see a screenshot.

Look, kids will like it. This drawing program for children ages 3 to 12 (for example, preschool and K-6 in the US, key stages 1 & 2 in the UK). It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program.

If you have a kid in this age range, just click here to download and install it.
I promise your child will say thank you to me.

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MovableType 4.2 RC release

2008-05-30T03:46:09Z

Just got the news about MT 4.2 rc release.

It looks like a small upgrade for new features.
Let us have a close look about it.

A faster and more efficient user experience
More design options and our simplest and most powerful templates yet
The best, most effective anti-spam solution

In the first feature, the most important is described as below:

Completely Rewritten Search - Movable Type's venerable built-in search system has been rewritten from the ground up to be modernized, much more flexible, and lightning-fast. Now it's easy to create custom-filtered views of your content.

MT-search is heavy CPU load script on my host.
If the new search can solve it, I would like to keep use it instead of Google Search.

It announced that Common tasks in Movable Type 4.2 are up to 100 times faster.
Do you believe it?

I would like to have a road test of it on MovableType Beta Unofficial Blog.

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Indoor HDTV Antennas

2008-05-27T18:56:31Z

There are some free-on-air HDTV channels in the big city, such as Vancouver and San Francisco.

Requirements:
1) HDTV with ATSC

An ATSC tuner, often called an ATSC receiver or HDTV tuner, allows reception of ATSC digital television (DTV) signals broadcast over-the-air by TV stations in North America and South Korea. Such tuners may be integrated into the television, VCR, digital video recorder, and set-top box which provides audio/video output-connectors of various types.

2) HDTV Antennas
I prefer Indoor antennas.
It is a list of Indoor TV Antennas for HDTV

3) HDTV TV station/channel
Digital Television/HDTV Channel List in San Francisco Bay Area
(within 100 miles of San Francisco)

Now new HDTV set with HDTV programs.

If you watch free broadcast television using an antenna on a TV set that has an analog tuner - and don't subscribe to cable, satellite or other pay TV service - you will be affected by the transition.* You can upgrade to DTV by taking one of three steps:

* Purchase a DTV converter box.
* Purchase a digital TV set
* Subscribe to cable, satellite or other pay TV service

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Google Hacks 2.0 - Web Camera Hack

2008-05-22T22:55:04Z

Let's see some hacker skills on Google Search.
Enter following query into Google Search box.

inurl:"viewerframe?mode=motion"

Click any results, you will see the real-time webcam.

This is the quick link here.

There are other ways to see the web camera without permission.
intitle:"Live View / - AXIS"

intitle:"snc-rz30 home"

intitle:"WJ-NT104 Main"

inurl:LvAppl intitle:liveapplet

inurl:indexFrame.shtml "Axis Video Server"

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Highlight source code in the post

2008-05-21T22:06:34Z

There is a great highlight tool written by javascript.
syntaxhighlighter is a Google code project.
It is easy to use and looks perfect.
The following are some examples.
1) PHP script

//
// Pull the array data from the lang pack
//
$j = 0;
$counter = 0;
$counter_2 = 0;
$faq_block = array();
$faq_block_titles = array();

for($i = 0; $i < count($faq); $i++)
{
	if( $faq[$i][0] != '--' )
	{
		$faq_block[$j][$counter]['id'] = $counter_2;
		$faq_block[$j][$counter]['question'] = $faq[$i][0];
		$faq_block[$j][$counter]['answer'] = $faq[$i][1];

		$counter++;
		$counter_2++;
	}
	else
	{
		$j = ( $counter != 0 ) ? $j + 1 : 0;

		$faq_block_titles[$j] = $faq[$i][1];

		$counter = 0;
	}
}

2) CSS script

.tag1{
font-size: xx-large;
color: #6588c7;
}
.tag2{
font-size: x-large;
color: #5578a7;
}
.tag3{
font-size: large;
color: #4568a7;
}

This code project covers C++ C# CSS Delphi Java Java Script PHP python Ruby Sql VB XML/HTML.
Let's discuss how to use it in MovableType.
1) Download the package from the project site.
2) Decompress it and put the files in the the site.
I suggest put all js files and clipboard.swf in the /js/ folder.
Put css file in the /css/ folder.
3) In the MT templates, edit the footer template.
Add following code after the last div tag.

<link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/css/SyntaxHighlighter.css"></link>
<script language="javascript" src="/js/shCore.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="/js/shBrushCSharp.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="/js/shBrushPhp.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="/js/shBrushCss.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="/js/shBrushJScript.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" src="/js/shBrushSql.js"></script>
<script language="javascript">
dp.SyntaxHighlighter.ClipboardSwf = '/js/clipboard.swf';
dp.SyntaxHighlighter.HighlightAll('code');
</script>

I will use PHP, CSS, JavaScript and SQL or C Sharp source code only.
4) It is all.
When make a new post in the Movabletype.
Choose None in the format drop down menu.
Put the following code around your script in the post.

<pre name="code" class="js"> ..... </pre>

Do not put the following code between the script.

<?php ?>

The class will tell which kind of code to be highlighted.
Check the aliases here.
5) The problem is it is not support html code.
You can use my Code converter to convert the html code and paster it into the post.

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Have a US bank accounts for Canadians

2008-05-21T09:20:11Z

I alway want to have a US Bank account for some reasons. Do you want it?
As a Canadian, I can visit US any time without Visa.
Let me tell you the reason why Canadian needs a US Bank account.

I do buy some stuff from eBay. More and more seller just sell item to US or ship to US address only. The most big issue is they just accept the payment in confirmed address. That means I have a Canadian Paypal account. I can not buy anything as a gift to US address. You may ask why not buy it from a Canadian seller. The answer is less Canadian seller on eBay.
If I have a US Credit Card with US billing address, I can link it to my new US Paypal account and make it as confirmed address. Then I can buy or sell in USA.

And also some online merchants, such as Amazon, has two sites. One for US customers, one for Canadian customers. If I use a user account in amazon.com, I can make an order and ask them ship it to Canada. It accepts Canadian credit card and will ship the orders to US address. If I want some books, I have to use amazon.ca site. You know, the price on these two site are different. The international shipment may tax related.

And some online merchants, do not accept Canadian credit card.

That make me think about to have a US credit card and a cheque account.

The following is the real-time chatting between CSR of Bank of America and me.

Welcome to an online chat session at Bank of America. Please hold while we connect you to the next available Bank of America Account Specialist. Your chat may be monitored and recorded for quality purposes. Thank you for your patience. Chat InformationYou are now chatting with Randy C. Welcome to Bank of America. How can I help you complete your online checking or savings application today? Randy C: Hello! I see that you selected that you are interested in opening a new account . I can definitely help find the best account for your needs. I hope your day is going well! Did you find the account you liked or would you like a recommendation? You: I am a Canadian. Can I have an account in BOA? Randy C: Hi there! The online application will require that all applicants to be a US Citizen with a SSN to verify your identity because of US law, however, you may open a new account at any bank in the US with your passport, without any problem. Randy C: The bank will also let you open a free checking, savings and even apply and open a credit card. You: I will have a trip to San Francisco. That means I can do it there. Randy C: Absolutely, you can open the accounts anywhere in the US using your passport, even while visiting San Francisico. You: Do I need a US address? Randy C: Not at all, that's the great news, You may open it even with a non US address, then online banking will be provided for you to use back in Canada You: Great. Randy C: May I answer any additional questions for you today? You: Anyway, can I use my parents' address in SF as account address? Randy C: Sure, you can choose to use your parents address in SF then change it to a Canadian address later, if you need to. You: Any annual fees on Cheque, Saving, and Credit Card account? Randy C: None at all, you can request a free checking savings and credit card without any annual fees. The bank will also help you find the best credit card for you to qualify You: That's good enough. Thank you very much. Last text message receivedRandy C: Your welcome! It was great chatting with you and a pleasure assisting you today! To close this chat session, please click the Close button in the upper right corner of this chat window. Thanks for choosing Bank of America. Have a great afternoon!

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Watch TV online - TVU

2008-05-21T08:54:22Z

Just know this site and service and software, TVU networks

You don't need to sign up. Just download the client software and launch it.

There are hundreds channels can be watched through it.

Of course you need the high speed Internet to keep TV video smoothly.
A typical TVU channel has a bandwidth of 280-400; channels with bandwidth under than will usually be of lower quality. Channels with a bandwidth of 400-550 will be high-quality. Channels with bandwidth over 550 can work well, but only if the broadcaster and the viewers have very high-speed Internet connections.

I watch ROC President Ma's speech live yesterday. Good video quality of TVBS-N.

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Backup server on Ubuntu

2008-05-20T22:21:39Z

I have a Home Server at home.
It should have following functions:

Printer server;

Fire sharing server;

AMP server, including Apache, MySQL, PHP for testing purpose;

P2P client to download something for fun with web interface;

Backup server, to backup the files on the desktops in home lan.

P2P software, I use aMule.

Backup, I want to use Restore, but failed. They don't have the release for Ubuntu 8.04. Someone said it is good on 7.10.
A lot of request for the 8.04 version posted on its forum. I have to wait for the new one.

The way to install Restore is here:
http://distro.ruffdogs.com/restore/

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Install XP SP3 on Compaq Presario SR1520nx

2008-05-15T08:34:15Z

I tried to install SP3 on my wife's Compaq desktop. It has Windows XP Home Edition.

In the first time. I installed SP3 within the Windows Updates. When it restarted after the installation, it did not boot normally. It failed and auto-rebooted, then stay in the boot menu.
I can boot in the Safe Mode.

So I remove the SP3 and downgrade it in Safe mode.

I don't know what's wrong with SP3 or this Compaq.

Later I Googled a guide tell me the problem is created by HP (Compaq).

First problem, affecting AMD-based computers with OEM images, primarily HP Desktops
Just like Compaq Presario SR1520nx. It has AMD Sempron 1.8 GHz CPU and SIS chipset.

To double check the problem, do the following steps.
You may not see the error code because the computer reboots too fast. ( Just like me)To force the computer to stop when it crashes, you need to set an option during startup. To do so, hit the F8 key during restart right when you see the black Windows XP screen come up. Then select the "Disable automatic restart on system failure" option, as shown below:

If you see a STOP error code of 0x0000007e, that's it.

If you have an AMD-based computer, however, you do not need the intelppm driver and can disable it. Boot into Safe Mode by hitting the F8 key as above, but select Safe Mode instead. You will need your Administrator account to log on in safe mode. To disable the driver, take the following steps:

If you booted into safe mode you can run "sc config intelppm start= disabled"
Be caution, there is a space between "=" and "disabled".

If this was your problem, the computer should now reboot just fine.

The guide is from Jesper Johansson's blog. He is a Microsoft MVP in Windows Security.
Thanks to this guy to give the information and solution.