Initial Impression – uCertify PrepKit – Exam 70-680: MCTS: Windows 7, Configuring
I have got a offer from uCertify to review their PrepKit and I have accepted that challenge and now I am reviewing 70-680 Exam MCTS Windows 7 PrepKit from uCertify. I followed their instructions and was able to install and download the kit within less than few minutes.
You can open the kit by double clicking the icon from the desktop. I noticed that the user interface is very simple to use and understand with help notes all over the interface.
As you can see, the PrepKit consists of a diagnostic test followed by several practice tests including a handy study helper which provides relevant material for learning the concepts before attempting a test. As soon as I am done with the full review of the uCertify PrepKit I will post it here for your reference.
I highly recommend you to consider the PrepKit if you intend to appear for Microsoft Exam 70-680. If you don’t know, PrepKit consists of a test stimulator (Sample questions) and relevant materials which helps you to pass out Microsoft certification examinations.
Categories: Certification Tags: Exam 70-680, MCTS, uCertify, Windows 7 Configuring
Dreamtech Press Launches Its New Book on Java 7
India’s leading IT book publisher launched its new book on Java 7 by the name Java 7 In Simple Steps. The book was launched at the corporate office of Dreamtech Press, New Delhi, by Ms. Arti Pandey, CEO, Dreamtech Press.
Authored by Kogent Learning Solutions Inc., Java 7 In Simple Steps is an ideal book for beginners to learn Java 7. This book contains code of many executable programs that helps the learner to understand the concepts of Java 7 in a simple way. It is a good choice for readers looking for a book covering maximum core Java concepts along with various examples.
“The aim is to provide the reader a cutting edge in the field of Java, in easy-to-understand style with lots of examples to support the concepts by using a practical approach in presentation”, says Ms. Arti Pandey.
This book has been priced Rs. 199/- and it is available at all the leading book stores across India.
Categories: News Tags: Dreamtech Press, Java 7
Stimulsoft Professional Reporting in New Product Versions
Stimulsoft, a leading manufacturer of software for data processing and analysis, announced today the release of version 2011.3 of reporting tools Reports.Net, Reports.Web, Reports Designer.Web, Reports.Wpf and Reports.Ultimate. These products are united in a single product line called Stimulsoft Reports.
With the release of 2011.3 version the WebViewer component has greatly changed and has become almost like a brand new one. It has been completely rewritten starting with a super new menu, and ending with support for a wide range of interface themes. The new WebViewer was fully tested on all browsers and mobile platforms.
The StiWebViewer component also has a new panel of variables to request parameters. It has a convenient interface that allows the user to easily enter complex settings, such as lists, editable lists with a variable number of elements, and ranges of data types.
For the Date type a comfortable DatePicker (calendar) was implemented. Now there is no need to enter the date manually. When sending data from a panel of variables or resetting to the initial values, changes in the report occur without reloading the page. Also, a new panel of variables is made in accordance with the new design of the WebViewer.
The new version supports the Cross-tab component in Reports.Silverlight. The Cross-tab component is used for processing, grouping and summarizing data from a data source. The results are represented as a table.
Since the last release report-importing utilities have been revised. The developers of Stimulsoft dramatically improved their performance. Much work has been done on importing utilities such as Import.ActiveReports, Import.CrystalReports, Import.MicrosoftReportingServices.
The utility Report Checker, designed to check reports for errors, now provides detailed reports in German (earlier, it only supported Russian and English).
Support for Business Objects is added to all the report wizards used for report designing. This allows them to be used in full strength.
"There is no need to describe what each new release means to us", says the head of the Support Department Ivan Shmatov. – "You know this even better than we do; a lot of work should be done to ensure that our "baby" is not merely a convenient application but your reliable friend and partner whom you can always rely on!"
The list of changes is not limited to things described above. Read more about them on the website http://www.stimulsoft.com/AllNews.aspx
New Discounts and Gifts
Christmas and New Year are coming. This is the time of the year when wishes are made and dreams come true. Stimulsoft Company is pleased to offer its clients several very attractive Christmas offers. Check them out here: http://www.stimulsoft.com/ShowNews.aspx?id=2270
About Stimulsoft
Stimulsoft is a leading supplier in the reporting tools market for all major development platforms from Microsoft, as well as for Flex, PHP, and Java. The company´s customers are many large and small commercial organizations, governmental, educational and nonprofit institutions, as well as commercial organizations, in more than 130 countries around the world.
Get more information about the product, its documentation, video tutorials, and download the demo version of the product at the company´s website http://www.stimulsoft.com
Categories: Press Releases Tags: stimulsoft, Stimulsoft Professional Reporting
Infolinks Self-Serve Ads Marketplace Reaps Rich Dividends
Nowadays, many webmasters employ Google Adsense to monetize blogs or websites. However, webmasters are constantly on a lookout to implement multiple revenue generation capabilities on their websites in their quest to earn increased income.
Infolinks is a very popular In-Text advertising network service, which allows you to place text based ads on your website. In order to place Infolinks ads you will be required to register and add your blog. You will receive an email from as soon as the support team approves your blog.
You will be required to place unique code on your blog and the ads will be served immediately via a smart algorithm from the servers of Infolinks. You will be able to view double-underline links over certain portions of your content that upon hovering over a word, open a small bubble with an advertisement inside. Your blog will earn revenue when visitors to your site click on the links displayed on your blog.
Infolinks recently announced the launch of the first and only Self-Service Marketplace, which enables advertisers to quickly and easily create an In-Text Advertising campaign, with various targeting options. From my point of view, this type of advertising service has proven to be a viable and cost-effective alternative when compared to Google Adwords.
According to Tomer Treves, Chief Marketing Officer, Infolinks new self-service model now makes it easy for anyone familiar with Google Adwords to quickly launch an In-Text Advertising campaign.
While other services such as Google Adwords match advertisements to relevant keyword searches, Infolinks Marketplace enables web users to open the advertisement in a contextually relevant environment making them much more open to the advertiser’s message.
Infolinks self-service In-Text Advertising Marketplace includes the following features
| Feature | Purpose |
| User Friendly | Create an In-Text advertising campaign in minutes |
| Keyword Selection | Select and own your branded keywords across the Web |
| Keyword Bidding | Segment your geographic and vertical market budgeting |
| Advanced Optimization | Customize your reach and maximize ROI |
| Real-Time Reporting | Monitor and continuously improve your brand lift |
As I mentioned above, Infolinks In-Text advertisements are revealed only when the consumer hovers over a highlighted keyword in relevant content and opts-in to see the advertisements that interest them. As of the time of this writing, Infolinks delivers In-Text advertising campaigns across 250 billion pages of content reaching over 350 million unique visitors.
Future Course of Action
Are you a …
Publisher – Register for the Infolinks Program – Place Ads – Earn Money
Advertiser – Register for Self-Serve Ads Marketplace
Categories: News Tags: Infolinks, Self-Serve Ads Marketplace
Optimizing Windows 7 Pocket Consultant
In this article, Anand examines the release of Optimizing Windows 7 Pocket Consultant book published by Microsoft Press and released by O’Reilly Media.
When you start working with Windows 7, you’ll see at once that this operating system is visually different from earlier releases of Windows,” says William Stanek (@williamstanek), author of Optimizing Windows 7 Pocket Consultant (Microsoft Press, $24.99 USD).
“What won’t be readily apparent, however,” Stanek continues, “is just how different it is—and that’s because many of the most significant changes to the operating system are under the surface. These changes affect the underlying architecture, not just the interfaces—and they were some of the hardest for me to research and write about.
In this book, I teach you how features work, why they work the way they do, and how to customize them to meet your needs.”
Portable and precise, Optimizing Windows® 7 Pocket Consultant delivers ready answers for optimizing the performance of your Windows 7-based PC. Zero in on core tuning, customization, and troubleshooting tasks using quick-reference tables, instructions, and lists.
Topics include system boot and startup, software and hardware, search and indexing, system health, and personalizing the interface. You’ll get the focused information you need to solve problems and get the job done.
Stanek adds, “This book provides tips, best practices, and examples of how to fine-tune all major aspects of Windows 7. It won’t just teach you how to configure Windows 7; it will teach you how to squeeze every last bit of power out of it and make the most of the features and options it includes.”
About the Author
William R. Stanek has more than 20 years of experience in systems management and advanced programming. He is an award-winning author who’s written more than 100 books, including the popular Windows Server® 2008 Inside Out. He is Series Editor for the Pocket Consultant line of books from Microsoft Press®.
About the Book
Optimizing Windows® 7 Pocket Consultant
Publisher: Microsoft Press
By William R. Stanek
Print ISBN: 9780735661653
Ebook ISBN: 9780735661646
Pages: 208
Print Price: $24.99
Ebook Price: $19.99
About Microsoft Press
Microsoft Press is a division of Microsoft Corporation. Established in 1985, Microsoft Press publishes self-paced learning materials on Microsoft products and associated technologies. Microsoft Press products are available in a variety of formats for individual users, IT professionals, and developers. Since 2009, Microsoft and O’Reilly Media have shared the editorial direction and development of Microsoft Press products. O’Reilly also handles sales, distribution, customer service, and some administrative functions.
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
Categories: Books Tags: Optimizing Windows 7 Pocket Consultant
IconWanted.Com – a helpful free resource for UI designers, software developers and webmasters
High-quality interface icons are just as important for a successful product, site or online service as are its interface, performance, functionality, ease of use and many other aspects comprising the user experience.
Icons are on the front of any software solution, thus immediately creating a lasting impression about the overall quality of the product and professionalism of its creators.
Aha-Soft has been always committed to creating top-quality icons for the industry professionals and is now launching a dedicated resource featuring hundreds of professionally crafted interface icons that can be browsed and downloaded free of charge.
Aha-Soft is glad to announce the launch of IconWanted.Com – a searchable catalog of free, high-quality interface icons for anyone looking for an affordable and hassle-free way to drastically improve the quality of their program interfaces.
The site is based on a search engine that enables users to quickly find the necessary icons in over 200 icon collections currently featured on the site. Each icon collection can also be browsed individually.
The icon view page allows users to switch between three background types (white, transparent, black), view the icon in all of the available sizes and download it with a single mouse click in one or all supported formats (IconWanted.Com currently supports icons in ICO, PNG, GIF, BMP and JPEG formats).
The built-in search functionality makes it possible to search icons by name, size, license type and style, while viewing can be organized by category, author or style. The basic site features are available to all users without exceptions, while registered site members get access to several advanced functions, and namely:
- Possibility to download an entire collection of icons with a single click
- Possibility to add icons and collections to personal favorites for ease of navigation
- Possibility to rate icons on the scale of 1 to 5
Site registration is 100% free. Users can also watch for site updates by subscribing to the site’s RSS feed or email newsletter, or by checking out the site’s Twitter, Facebook and Google Buzz accounts. All information about new icon collections will be posted there.
The idea is very simple. The more good icons there are on the market, the more good-looking interfaces we´ll see in the future.” says Dmitry Costenco, webmaster of Aha-Soft.
We thought that it would be a great idea to create a centralized and easily searchable storage of interface icons for various types of programs and solutions, and offer it to the public for free.
We really hope our new site will help many people out there get their projects done in time and the way they envision them. With more and more valuable contributions made to the site, it will grow to eventually become what we hope will be a one-stop-shopping center for UI icons – except that in this shop, everything will be free.
About Aha-Soft
With one of the largest selections of stock icons and custom small graphics on the web, Aha-Soft represents the growing demand for professional icons and icon creation tools throughout the development and graphics communities. The company offers icons and related products in convenient packages and in single purchases to suit any and every development need.
Categories: News Tags:
Privacy and Big Data – New from O’Reilly Media
This article examines the release of the book titled Privacy and Big Data by O’Reilly Media. Authored by Terence Craig and Mary Ludloff, the book explains how privacy affects the data and vice versa.
Much of what constitutes Big Data is information about us. Through our online activities, we leave an easy-to-follow trail of digital footprints that reveal who we are, what we buy, where we go, and much more. This eye-opening book explores the raging privacy debate over the use of personal data, with one undeniable conclusion: once data’s been collected, we have absolutely no control over who uses it or how it is used.
“The days of Internet anonymity are over,” says Mary Ludloff, who shares her Twitter handle (@bigdatapbi) with coauthor Terence Craig for reasons that become increasingly obvious the more you read Privacy and Big Data (O’Reilly Media, $19.99 USD).
“Wherever you go, whatever you do, anywhere in this world, some device is tracking and collecting information about you,” Ludloff continues. “Our personal information is now a multi-billion dollar business.”
Personal data is the hottest commodity on the market today—truly more valuable than gold. We are the asset that every company, industry, non-profit, and government wants. Privacy and Big Data introduces you to the players in the personal data game, and explains the stark differences in how the U.S., Europe, and the rest of the world approach the privacy issue.
You’ll learn about
• Collectors: social networking titans such as Facebook, Twitter that collect, share, and sell user data
• Users: marketing organizations, government agencies, and many others
• Data markets: companies that aggregate and sell datasets to anyone
• Regulators: governments with one policy for commercial data use, and another for providing security
Craig adds, “Just like pirated movies, your private information is part of a worldwide shadow economy worth billions of dollars. The Internet is like Vegas: what you do there stays there—forever. If you want to keep something private, keep it off the net.”
About the Authors
Terence Craig is the CEO and CTO of PatternBuilders, a “big data” analytics services and solution provider that helps organizations across industries understand and improve their operations with advanced analytics. With over 20 years of experience in executive and technical management roles with leading-edge technology companies, Terence brings a unique and innovative view of what is needed—from both an operational and technology perspective to build a world class hosted analytics platform designed to improve companies’ and organizations’ profitability and efficiencies.
Mary Ludloff is Vice President of Marketing for PatternBuilders. Mary is an innovative marketing executive with more than 20 years of experience in enterprise software. She brings an in-depth understanding of how to develop and implement strategic program initiatives that span marketing disciplines—ranging from the traditional corporate and marketing fields to the latest developments in digital marketing
About the Book
Privacy and Big Data
Publisher: O’Reilly Media
By Terence Craig, Mary E. Ludloff
Print ISBN: 9781449305000 �
Ebook ISBN: 9781449304997 �
Pages: 106
Print Price: $19.99 �
Ebook Price: $16.99
About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
O’Reilly is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Spreading the knowledge of innovators.
Categories: Press Releases Tags: O'Reilly Media, Privacy and Big Data
C# Custom Number Formatting
Very often the inbuilt numerical formatting in C# will be insufficent and you will want to apply the custom formatting for your numbers.
The String.Format method is very flexible and can be used to apply custom formatting rules. The # character informs the Format method how to format the numerical value, for example to forma the number 12000.12 as 12,000.12 use can use the format “#,#.##” as in the below code:
double dbl1 = 12000.12;string outputStr;outputStr = string.Format(“This is a custom formatting example {0:#,#.##} “, dbl1);Response.Write(outputStr);In this example the , character is used to denote the thousand separator and the ## after the decimal place denotes that a maximum of 2 numbers should appear after the decimal place. Therefore the double 12000.1 would be formatted as 12,000.1, if you wish two decimals places always to be shown (ie 12,100.10 in this case) you should use the ’0′ character after the decimal place:
outputStr = string.Format(“This is a custom formatting example {0:#,#.00} “, 12000.1);You can also add additional characters before and after the formatting string. Thus to format the value as $ 12,000.12 use the format string “$ #,#.##” , or even “#,#.## US Dollars” would output “12,000.12 US Dollars”.
The % character will multiply the value by 100 and then add % character to the end of the string. Thus for the double value 12 the format string “{0:0.00 %}” will output “1200.00 %”. Note that you can use the # character in place of the 0 character as per the formatting rules above and so “#,#.## %” in this case would output “1,200 %”.
Categories: C# Tags: Custom, Formatting, Number
