Gain & Share Knowlege

Allocation of Memory in C

2009-07-14T22:09:00.000-07:00

Let us understand the layout of Memory in C. There are basically 4 main segments in a C Program:

Data Segment

Code Segment

Stack Segment

Heap Segment

Data Segment: The data segment is to hold the value of those variables that need to be available till the end of the program or throughout the lifetime of the program. The Global variables whose life span is complete program will definitely be allocated in Data Segment. Then comes the local variables but declared as static. The lifetime of a local static variable is that of the lifetime of the program they also come in data segment. So we can say that all the:

1) Global Variables
2) Local static variables

Are allocated in Data segment

Code Segment: The program code is where the executable code is available for execution. This are is also known as the ‘text segment’ and is of fixed size. Another important piece of information to take note of here is that the system may consider this area as a ‘read only’ memory area, and any attempt to write in this area can lead to undefined behavior.
The C complier converts executable statements in a C program- such as printf(“C Program”);- into machine code, they are loaded in the code segment.

Stack and Heap Segment: Stack frames are created in the stack for functions and in the heap for dynamic memory allocation.
The stack and heap are uninitialized areas. The local variables are function arguments are allocated in the stack.
When we do dynamic memory allocation such as the use of the malloc function, memory is allocated in the heap are.

Microsoft Office 2010

2009-06-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

Largest change to Office 2010 is the availability of both a 32- and 64-bit version of the suite. The leaked CTP’s SKU is Office 2010 Professional, which comes with the basic apps (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher) and other more advanced apps (Access, SharePoint, Visio, Groove).

On start up, there are new animated splash screens for each application. The start up times are also remarkably faster than previous versions of the Office suite. Opening Word or Excel can be done in around 2 seconds and Outlook in 4-5 seconds, which is extremely fast (depends upon PC configuration) .

The ribbon menu which was introduced in office 2007 is continued in all of the Office 2010 applications. Some alteration is done to look and feel of ribbon so that it can blend nicely with the upcoming Windows 7 operating system. You can now hide the bulk of the ribbon menu by clicking a small arrow button on the right side of it, which is useful for users with a smaller screen space due to the use of a small screen resolution.

Another major change in the ribbon menu, that is Office application’s menu button, which was formerly round, has been replaced with a colored tab that appears first on the ribbon. The tab’s color depends on the Office program (ie: blue for Office, green for Excel, and yellow for Outlook).
By clicking it will open whole interface transforms into a new menu-window. Along the left side of the window there is a column of options that are specific to the program that’s open. For example, Word’s options include Save/Open/Close, Print, and Share.

Print feature is no longer appears in a new window, but rather a new column where all the various print features can be adjusted. Microsoft has removed one features of Office 2007, the Quick Print button, which used the default print settings and sent the document to the printer in only one click.

Microsoft has added a few security features to Office 2010. The one that users will mostly often come across is when they open a downloaded document in Word 2010. When you do so for the first time, the ribbon is hidden and all editing is also disabled. A red Protected View notification appears letting you know the file was downloaded from the Internet and may not be safe to open. You can then click on "enable editing" and Word will return to normal.

Microsoft will also be debuting its new Office Web, which are online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.

It should also be noted that if you have a previous Microsoft Office suite installed on your PC, such as Office 2007, you can keep them installed alongside Office 2010 (with the exception of Outlook, which it will uninstall for you). If you elect to install Outlook 2010 and you currently use an older version of Outlook, it will move all of your e-mails, contacts, and calendar items to the new version...but export your data to a .PST anyway just to be safe.

If you would like to sign up for the Office 2010 Consumer Technical Preview wait-list, you can visit Microsoft's Web site to sign up. They say that not everyone on the list will be invited to the CTP preview, but it doesn't hurt to sign up now.

gOS Good OS

2009-06-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

gOS or "good OS" is an Ubuntu-based Linux distributed created by 'Good OS LLC', a Los Angeles-based corporation. It is OS with Google Applications and other Web 2.0 base applications.

Good OS is an operating system software company based in Silicon Valley, California, USA an Taipei, Taiwan.

This first version gOS (1.0.1_386) was based on Ubuntu 7.10. On December 1, 2008 Good OS announced its next operating system, Cloud. Cloud can be described as an "instant on browser based application environment".

With Cloud users can browse the Internet seconds after turning on their computer, and can also use it to run applications, like Skype, or a media player. Cloud shows a Dock similar to gOS 3 in the browser window, and will keep loading the main operating system (Windows, Linux, OSX) in the background. An icon in the Dock will tell the user when the main OS has finished booting in the background, and can be used to switch instantly to the main OS, when tasks not (yet) supported under Cloud are needed. A beta test program for Cloud version 1.0 was announced January 30, 2009.

System Requirements:

• Standard x86 Processor
• 128 MB RAM
• 35 MB Storage
• Preloaded in HDD/SSD of PC
• Preloaded in on board flash storage of MB
• Preloaded in CD as Windows Installer
• Cloud does not require additional hardware and is compatible with any operating system

More details please vist: http://www.thinkgos.com/index.html

Get ready for Google Wave!

2009-06-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

Google Wave is a new model for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year. Here's a preview of just some of the aspects of this new tool.

A " Google Wave" is basically a single place where you will be able to check the mails, chat with friends, have access to Video, Google Map and Google Documents all in one in single place. You can say Google mashup using Google Apps. A "wave" is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

Here's how it works: In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content — it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave and see how it evolved.

To get the complete idea we have to wait. Google Wave official website: http://wave.google.com/

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4

2009-06-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

Please note: Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is a public preview release intended for developer testing and community feedback. It includes many new features as well as improvements to performance, web compatibility, and speed. We recommend that you read the release notes and known issues before installing this beta.

Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 is now available for download. It is focused on testing the core functionality provided by many new features and changes to the platform scheduled for Firefox 3.5.

New features and changes in this milestone that require feedback include:

* This Beta is now available in 70 languages.

* Better performance and stability with the help of new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.

* The ability to provide Location Aware Browsing using web standards for geolocation.

* Support for new web technologies such as: HTML5 and elements, downloadable fonts and other new CSS properties, JavaScript query selectors, HTML5 offline data storage for applications, and SVG transforms.

Testers can download Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 builds for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux in 64 different languages. Developers should also read the Firefox 3.5 for Developers article on the Mozilla Developer Center.

Note: Please do not link directly to the download site. Instead we strongly encourage you to link to this Firefox 3.5 Beta 4 milestone announcement so that everyone will know what this milestone is, what they should expect, and who should be downloading to participate in testing at this stage of development.

Introducing iPhone 3G S

2009-06-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

The Fastest iPhone Ever

The first thing you’ll notice about iPhone 3G S is how quickly you can launch applications. Web pages render in a fraction of the time, and you can view email attachments faster. Improved performance and updated 3D graphics deliver an incredible gaming experience, too. In fact, everything you do on iPhone 3G S is up to 2x faster and more responsive than iPhone 3G.

Video

Now you can shoot video, edit it, and share it — all on your iPhone 3G S. Shoot high-quality VGA video in portrait or landscape. Trim your footage by adjusting start and end points. Then share your video in an email, post it to your MobileMe gallery, publish it on YouTube, or sync it back to your Mac or PC using iTunes.

Voice Control

Voice Control recognizes the names in your Contacts and knows the music on your iPod. So if you want to place a call or play a song, all you have to do is ask.

Compass

With a built-in digital compass, iPhone 3G S can point the way. Use the new Compass app, or watch as it automatically reorients maps to match the direction you’re facing.

Cut, Copy & Paste

Cut, copy, and paste words and photos, even between applications. Copy and paste images and content from the web, too.

Landscape Keyboard

Want more room to type on the intelligent software keyboard? Rotate iPhone to landscape to use a larger keyboard in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari.

And many more.......

For more details please visit: http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Microsoft Bing

2009-06-03T20:01:00.000-07:00

Bing Microsoft’s new search engine. Now that Bing is available for use outside Microsoft, here are some quick tips and tricks that will help you do more with Bing.com.

1. Use the full version of Bing

If you are using Bing outside North America, chances are that you seeing a localized version of Bing that may be missing some features. For instance, the Indian version of Bing.com doesn’t have search history and the image on the Bing home page here is not interactive as in the US version.

To explore the full version of Bing, go to this page and set English - US as your default region. You can now enjoy all the Bing features from anywhere.

2. Track Companies from the IE Favorites Bar

If you search for a company stock (e.g. GOOG or MSFT), Bing will automatically create a web slice for that company which you may then add to IE 8 and track the performance directly from the favorites bar. You need Internet Explorer 8 to try this feature.

3. Watch Preview of Hulu Videos outside US

Hulu hosts some popular popular TV shows but the problem is that you can only watch these videos if your computer has US based IP address.

However, Bing lets you watch shot previews of Hulu video even outside US. Just search for any TV show episode on Bing Videos (see example) and hover the mouse over any of the video thumbnail to watch a short clip.

4. Save and Email search results

With Bing, you can save your search history on to a local folder inside Bing or to your Windows Skydrive account. Alternatively, you may send your search queries to a friend via email or publish them on your Facebook wall via Bing. You’ll need Silverlight to share queries in Bing.

5. RSS Feeds of Search Results

Unlike Google or Yahoo, Bing offers RSS feeds for their web search results that you can subscribe to inside any feed reader. Your browser should be able to auto-detect the RSS feed of Bing pages or you can append &format=rss to any Bing search URL and convert it into a feed.

This RSS feature is not available for Image or Video search in Bing.

6. Find Pages That Link to MP3 Files or Documents

Bing (and Live Search) supports a unique "contains" search operator that lets you find web pages that contain links to particular file types.

For instance, a search like susan boyle contains:mp3 will show pages that are about the British singer and that also link to MP3 files. Replace mp3 with doc to search pages that contain links to Word Documents.

SOA, SOAP & REST

2009-06-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

A couple of lively debates are roiling the world of enterprise IT, sweeping up everyone from CIOs and system architects to development teams, security officers, and network administrators. The first debate involves the pragmatic value of a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). The second is a dispute between the advocates of SOAP-based Web Services and the advocates of Representational State Transfer (REST)-based Web services to determine which architectural style is best suited to meet the objectives of the agile enterprise.

The SOA Debate

For most vendors and analysts, and certainly for many enterprises, SOA connotes an enterprise-wide initiative to replace monolithic, siloed applications with a collection of broadly accessible services. Vendors, analysts, and architects have been promoting the value of SOA for years, touting the long-term advantage of investing in small, reusable components that can be rapidly assembled to create new services, rather than continuing to rely on lengthy development cycles and large, complex, and cumbersome applications.

SOA has certainly gained momentum in the world of enterprise IT. Recent polls of CIOs show SOA and Web services shooting to the top of the priority list for most enterprises, in many cases bypassing traditional front-runners like security and compliance. Other top priorities, these polls show, include Business Process Management (BPM, the management and optimization of business processes, which are increasingly Web-enabled) and Business Intelligence (BI, the benchmarking and analysis of operational performance). The combination of SOA and BPM makes sense. SOA is about creating an IT infrastructure that can be flexibly deployed to address changing requirements for business operations and business services. SOA, BPM, and BI all have to with agility, efficiency, and visibility.

Given the ever-increasing tempo of the global economy, businesses have a keen interest in becoming more agile. One way to do this is by replacing costly, monolithic enterprise applications, which usually take years to develop and deploy, with a collection of smaller, independent business services that make business logic (e.g., authentication processes, logistics services) available on demand. Over the medium and long term, an architecture that stresses re-usable components will always prove more cost-effective and flexible than an architecture that relies on one-off applications to perform business services.
Nonetheless, some business managers, IT managers, and programmers are rightfully skeptical of the hype that has built up around SOA. SOA implementations take time—usually years. Everyone from SOA vendors to SOA adopters is on a learning curve, trying to figure out what really works and what doesn’t in a SOA deployment. Progress is being made, but most organizations are still in the pilot phase. So far, the results of current implementations have been spotty. A recent study by Nucleus Research found that, so far, only 37% of SOA implementations have delivered a positive ROI.¹

This leads some skeptics to say that SOA is too grandiose, comprehensive, and impractical a vision to meet the pressing needs of business and IT. As the analyst firm ZapThink notes:

Most often, the single cause of failure for SOA is inappropriate scoping of the SOA project. Companies too often seek to make SOA an enterprise-wide effort, even though the business case for that is typically not justified. . . . SOA is simply not appropriate for all problems.²

This perspective, coming from a firm known for its bullish attitude on SOAs, reflects a growing consensus that while SOAs have their value, enterprises would be misguided to try to funnel all their integration and Web services solutions through a grand SOA implementation. SOA should not be all or nothing. Enterprises can take an incremental approach to services roll-outs, sometimes building on SOA and other times, when appropriate, deploying distributed data services around the edge of the IT infrastructure.

SOAP vs. REST

Another debate focuses on a closely related topic: Web services, the delivery of application and data services using HTTP and other Web-based technologies.

Web services provide a convenient and powerful interface between applications. This is, in part, because Web browsers and Web servers are now ubiquitous, and it makes sense to leverage this familiar client/server infrastructure for new services. It’s also because Web services have the potential to deliver automated and ad hoc services that span multiple enterprises and organizational domains. And finally, it’s partly due to customers demanding that new applications and services be able to integrate with products from other vendors.

The promise of SOAs based on Web services drove the creation of the SOAP and WS-* standards and for a long while it seemed that SOA meant SOAP and WS-*, and the terms became nearly synonymous. Meanwhile on the public Internet, different kinds of Web Services such as the data access APIs provided by sites like Flickr, Google, Amazon, Yahoo and the data available from other sources like RSS feeds —all based on simple RESTful interactions—were being rapidly adopted for a wide range of loosely coupled, integrations.

The success of simple, public RESTful Web services caused some developers to reconsider using the increasingly complex WS-* and SOAP to achieve their SOA objectives. They then began to promote REST for SOA³ as a credible alternative that could be successful without any of the overhead or complexity of SOAP or WS-*. Therein lies the debate: SOAP vs. REST.

Web services developers seem to be confronted with a choice: either develop services based on SOAP interfaces, the WS-* family of specification, or develop services based on a more bare-bones REST infrastructure based primarily on a few basic HTTP commands (GET, PUT, POST, DELETE). The SOAP and WS-* specifications were developed to provide reliable, secure messaging for mission-critical applications. But they add complexity and overhead to services. In contrast, programming in a REST style is simpler and faster. It omits some of the rigorous controls available with SOAP, but often these controls are not needed for internal services, or the same level of control and security can be achieved through the standard techniques developed for VPNs and security of Web traffic.

Given the business need for more information from more sources, it’s understandable that some business managers and IT teams would want to take advantage of the rapid development cycles enabled by REST. The promise of direct access to services, via sophisticated, interactive interfaces made possible by AJAX and Web 2.0 programming techniques, is too attractive to pass by. Analyst firms, who formerly promoted best practices based on SOAP and WSDLs, now concede that IT organizations have been right to prefer REST for most of their Web services solutions. Anne Thomas Manes of the Burton Group, for example, states flatly that the future of Web services is REST.⁴

But many SOAP supporters are alarmed by the growing popularity of REST. They worry that REST’s popularity comes at the expense of the more rigorous programmatic discipline derived from the SOAP and WS-* standards, and that REST is undermining the primary objectives of SOA: Instead of contributing services to a strategically important, tested, and sanctioned collection of enterprise services, REST developers seem to be creating “quick-and-dirty” Web solutions, many of which may turn out to be unique, un-reusable programs—as much a “one-off” as the monolithic enterprise applications they are designed to replace.

How should one make sense of this debate? Even in organizations that support the vision of SOA and are pursuing SOA implementations, how should programmers meet their urgent, short-term deadlines (e.g., the data feed needed for the BI dashboard, which is just as high priority as the SOA initiative) until the comprehensive roll-out is complete? Is there room for a middle way, an approach that acknowledges the value of structured SOA based on SOAP and WS-*, while enabling developers to solve problems efficiently in the here and now?

The Router Analogy

One way of understanding the best use of SOA, SOAP, and REST is to compare them to other areas of IT infrastructure where the requirements are pervasive, yet still vary tremendously across the enterprise. One such area is network infrastructure. Today, no one would disagree that a network needs both switches and routers. But when switches first appeared there were people that considered them a throwback to the earlier days of bridged networks. Even among routers, there are two fundamentally different types designed for completely different needs, yet everyone today would agree that each has its place. Core routers route packets between other routers within the core of the network, while edge routers route packets from the core of the network to other networks. No IT organization would confuse the two types of routers. They serve different purposes, and many enterprise networks needs both types.

But that doesn’t mean that every enterprise network needs both kinds of routers. Department LANs, small offices, and home offices typically require only edge routers. Conversely, a large telecommunications company might have an entire division that runs exclusively on core routers, using no edge routers at all.

It’s clear that a services architecture shares many of these network characteristics. At its core, the architecture requires an essential set of stable, high performance services. These are often implemented with an Enterprise Services Bus (ESB). The ESB provides messaging and transactional services for tightly coupled integration with applications. It’s a centralized function, like the function of a core router. But, analogous to a network “edge,” there’s also a “services edge” that supports varied, loosely coupled integrations with endpoints such as Web sites, desktops, departmental applications, hosted applications, public Web sites, search and mapping services, RSS feeds, etc.

Does every integration require an investment in a SOAP/WS-* based SOA? No. These SOAs are like core routers. They’re great for certain operations, but they’re not appropriate for all operations. Other integrations, which take place at the functional edge of the enterprise infrastructure, can take advantage of technology that lends itself to more rapid and flexible development and deployment.

Cloud Computing Security Issues

2009-05-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

In the last few years, cloud computing has grown from being a promising business concept to one of the fastest growing segments of the IT industry. Now, recession-hit companies are increasingly realising that simply by tapping into the cloud they can gain fast access to best-of-breed business applications or drastically boost their infrastructure resources, all at negligible cost.

But as more and more information on individuals and companies is placed in the cloud, concerns are beginning to grow about just how safe an environment it is.

1. Every breached security system was once thought infallible

2. Understand the risks of cloud computing

3. How cloud hosting companies have approached security

4. Local law and jurisdiction where data is held

5. Best practice for companies in the cloud

Every breached security system was once thought infallible

SaaS (software as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service) providers all trumpet the robustness of their systems, often claiming that security in the cloud is tighter than in most enterprises. But the simple fact is that every security system that has ever been breached was once thought infallible.

Google was forced to make an embarrassing apology in February when its Gmail service collapsed in Europe, while Salesforce.com is still smarting from a phishing attack in 2007 which duped a staff member into revealing passwords.

While cloud service providers face similar security issues as other sorts of organisations, analysts warn that the cloud is becoming particularly attractive to cyber crooks.

"The richer the pot of data, the more cloud service providers need to do to protect it," says IDC research analyst David Bradshaw.

Understand the risks of cloud computing

Cloud service users need to be vigilant in understanding the risks of data breaches in this new environment.

"At the heart of cloud infrastructure is this idea of multi-tenancy and decoupling between specific hardware resources and applications," explains Datamonitor senior analyst Vuk Trifković. "In the jungle of multi-tenant data, you need to trust the cloud provider that your information will not be exposed."

For their part, companies need to be vigilant, for instance about how passwords are assigned, protected and changed. Cloud service providers typically work with numbers of third parties, and customers are advised to gain information about those companies which could potentially access their data.

IDC's Bradshaw says an important measure of security often overlooked by companies is how much downtime a cloud service provider experiences. He recommends that companies ask to see service providers' reliability reports to determine whether these meet the requirements of the business. Exception monitoring systems is another important area which companies should ask their service providers about, he adds.

London-based financial transaction specialists SmartStream Technologies made its foray into the cloud services space last month with a new SaaS product aimed at providing smaller banks and other financial institutions with a cheap means of reconciling transactions. Product manager Darryl Twiggs says that the service has attracted a good deal of interest amongst small to mid-tier banks, but that some top tier players are also being attracted by the potential cost savings.

An important consideration for cloud service customers, especially those responsible for highly sensitive data, Twiggs says, is to find out about the hosting company used by the provider and if possible seek an independent audit of their security status.

"Customers we engage with haven't been as stringent as we thought they would have been with this".

How cloud hosting companies have approached security

As with most SaaS offerings, the applications forming SmartClear's offering are constantly being tweaked and revised, a fact which raises more security issues for customers. Companies need to know, for instance, whether a software change might actually alter its security settings.

"For every update we review the security requirements for every user in the system," Twiggs says.

One of the world's largest technology companies, Google, has invested a lot of money into the cloud space, where it recognises that having a reputation for security is a key determinant of success. "Security is built into the DNA of our products," says a company spokesperson. "Google practices a defense-in-depth security strategy, by architecting security into our people, process and technologies".

However, according to Datamonitor's Trifković, the cloud is still very much a new frontier with very little in the way of specific standards for security or data privacy. In many ways he says that cloud computing is in a similar position to where the recording industry found itself when it was trying to combat peer-to-peer file sharing with copyright laws created in the age of analogue.

"In terms of legislation, at the moment there's nothing that grabs my attention that is specifically built for cloud computing," he says. "As is frequently the case with disruptive technologies, the law lags behind the technology development for cloud computing."

What's more, many are concerned that cloud computing remains at such an embryonic stage that the imposition of strict standards could do more harm than good.

IBM, Cisco, SAP, EMC and several other leading technology companies announced in late March that they had created an 'Open Cloud Manifesto' calling for more consistent security and monitoring of cloud services.

But the fact that neither Amazon.com, Google nor Salesforce.com agreed to take part suggests that broad industry consensus may be some way off. Microsoft also abstained, charging that IBM was forcing its agenda.

"Standards by definition are restrictive. Consequently, people are questioning whether cloud computing can benefit from standardisation at this stage of market development." says Trifković. "There is a slight reluctance on the part of cloud providers to create standards before the market landscape is fully formed."

Until it is there are nevertheless a handful of existing web standards which companies in the cloud should know about. Chief among these is ISO27001, which is designed to provide the foundations for third party audit, and implements OECD principles governing security of information and network systems. The SAS70 auditing standard is also used by cloud service providers.

Local law and jurisdiction where data is held

Possibly even more pressing an issue than standards in this new frontier is the emerging question of jurisdiction. Data that might be secure in one country may not be secure in another. In many cases though, users of cloud services don't know where their information is held. Currently in the process of trying to harmonise the data laws of its member states, the EU favours very strict protection of privacy, while in America laws such as the US Patriot Act invest government and other agencies with virtually limitless powers to access information including that belonging to companies.

UK-based electronics distributor ACAL is using NetSuite OneWorld for its CRM. Simon Rush, IT manager at ACAL, has needed to ensure that ACAL had immediate access to all of its data should its contract with NetSuite be terminated for any reason, so that the information could be quickly relocated. Part of this included knowing in which jurisdiction the data is held. "We had to make sure that, as a company, our data was correctly and legally held."

European concerns about about US privacy laws led to creation of the US Safe Harbor Privacy Principles, which are intended to provide European companies with a degree of insulation from US laws. James Blake from e-mail management SaaS provider Mimecast suspects that these powers are being abused. "Counter terrorism legislation is increasingly being used to gain access to data for other reasons," he warns.

Mimecast provides a comprehensive e-mail management service in the cloud for over 25,000 customers, including 40% of the top legal firms in the UK.

Customers benefit from advanced encryption that only they are able to decode, ensuring that Mimecast acts only as the custodian, rather than the controller of the data, offering companies concerned about privacy another layer of protection. Mimecast also gives customers the option of having their data stored in different jurisdictions.

For John Tyreman, IT manager for outsourced business services provider Liberata, flexibility over jurisdiction was a key factor in his choosing Mimecast to help the company meet its obligations to store and manage e-mails from 2500 or so staff spread across 20 countries. The company is one of the UK's leading outsourcing providers for the Public Sector, Life Pensions and Investments and Corporate Pensions leading. "Storing our data in the US would have been a major concern," Tyreman says.

Best practice for companies in the cloud

* Inquire about exception monitoring systems
* Be vigilant around updates and making sure that staff don't suddenly gain access privileges they're not supposed to.
* Ask where the data is kept and inquire as to the details of data protection laws in the relevant jurisdictions.
* Seek an independent security audit of the host
* Find out which third parties the company deals with and whether they are able to access your data
* Be careful to develop good policies around passwords; how they are created, protected and changed.
* Look into availability guarantees and penalties.
* Find out whether the cloud provider will accommodate your own security policies

Linux in Windows

2009-05-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

"Ulteo Virtual Desktop an open source application that nicely integrates into your Windows Operating System and allows you to work as a full Linux system.Its main benefit is that you can run Linux and Windows applications simultaneously within the same desktop environment without rebooting the system."

Minimum requirement:

1) x86-based PC with a modern 32-bit CPU

2) 512 MB RAM

3) 4 GB of free HD space is required.

Key Features

Windows and/or Linux Application delivery

The Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop delivers applications based on Linux servers or Windows Terminal Services remotely from any browser (java enabled), to any desktop (Windows, MacOS, Linux, thinclient), anywhere (WAN-enable).

Available applications available by default include the full OpenOffice office suite, Firefox web browser, Thunderbird email client, kopete and pidgin Instant Messaging clients. Thousands others can be installed and deployed by the system administrator.

End-user Web Interface

Access to applications is delivered via a customizable and user-friendly web interface. Users are delivered either a full desktop or a single application.

Easy and centrally managed Administrator Web console

A comprehensive administrator web console is provided to define all the settings, manage users, applications and servers.
A native wizard enables an easy application publishing process. Applications are installed through packages.

Collaboration for users and IT support

Users can collaborate easily together in real time, each having a view of the same desktop. IT can control the application to help the end-user.

Microsoft Windows integration

The Open Virtual Desktop delivers Linux based applications on a Windows Desktop in a browser. Cut, paste and printing are all enabled.

Microsoft Active Directory and authentication

The authentication process is facilitated through Windows Active Directory and also through any LDAP server.

Microsoft or Linux File Server

User files can be stored either on a Windows or Linux server using SMB/CIFS and WebDAV(*).

Monitoring, logging, reporting, load-balancing

Windows and Linux application servers monitoring, loggin and reporting capabilities are provided to the OVD administrator.

Load-balancing is available on applications servers. It can be customized with various parameters.

Security

The Open Virtual Desktop uses SSH-tunneling to secure the entire communication process.

And many others!

Other features include:

session recovery/reconnection
support for many languages and keymaps
possible installation of an Ulteo application server and Session Manager on a single server is possible by using a dedicated DVD ISO image
SSO ready through our API

5 minutes installation

The Open Virtual Desktop is easy to install with a fully automated installation process.

System recommendation

Servers for OVD Application servers: x86 servers w/ dualcore or quad CPU. 1GB or more RAM per 20 concurrent end-users. Supported Host OS: Ubuntu 8.04.1, RHEL 5.2, Centos 5.2, Fedora 10 + generic Linux install.
Servers for Windows applications: Windows 2003 Server+Terminal Services on any hardware. Note: expected support for Windows Server 2008: June 2009.
Servers for OVD Session Manager: any Pentium class x86 server w/512MB or more RAM. Host OS: Ubuntu 8.04.1, RHEL 5.2, Centos 5.2, Fedora 10 + generic Linux install.
Note for OVD ApS and SM servers: it's possible to install everything on only one server for evaluation purpose.
Client: Sun Java 1.5/1.6 enabled browser: Firefox 2+, Internet Explorer 7+, any platform.
Network: 100Mbps or more LAN
User directory servers: Active Directory on Windows Server, or LDAP server are currently supported.
Fileservers: CIFS, WebDAV(*)

(*) WebDAV support available June 2009

Ready Steady, go!

Its setup file is about 510 MB in size which is available at: http://www.ulteo.com/home/en/ovdi/openvirtualdesktop/download?autolang=en.

After downloading it successfully, double click on the set-up file that is a .exe file. You will be greeted by a welcome screen simply follow the on screen instructions, and if everything goes fine then within five minutes Ulteo Virtual Desktop will be installed on your Windows system. Run the Ulteo Virtual Desktop and you will see a panel at the top of the screen. You can browse through all the Linux applications by using the drop-down menu and even you can configure the panel according to your liking by using the Configure Panel option.

The default user will be created with user name 'me' the password for the user 'me ' is 'me' it self so the username and password both are same. The 'root' user password is also 'root'. It contains many useful commands to work on Linux Command Line Interface (CLI). You can start KDE by using the startkde command.

Now whenever you plan to uninstall the Ulteo VD from your Windows simply go to the Windows control panel and under the Add or Remove Programs section, you will find Ulteo VD. Uninstall it the way you uninstall any other software in Windows.

Future of MySQL & Java

2009-05-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

"Oracle has taken over Sun Microsystems."

Oracle Corporation has agreed to buy California-headquatered Sun Microsystems in a $7.4 billion ($9.50 per share) deal. The question that comes in our mind is what would happen to MySQL, which sun has recently acquired for a whopping US$ 1 billion? Many had feared Oracle may kill MySQL-but the lure of reaching out to enterprise customers through Sun's sales team seemed to offset the threats. Now, we are talking about the biggest proprietary database firm acquiring the fastest growing open source database project- that's tricky.

Experts got mixed views. Some believe that MySQL is now too strong to be killed, and hence Oracle would be smart enough to use it and expand its base in new markets, while others believe it might try to slow down MySQL's growth so that is does not end up competing with Oracle's own database.

What about OpenOffice.org? Will Oracle use it to create problems for Microsoft on MS Office turf? After all, Larrry Ellison, Oracle's big boss, has been quite open about his anti-Microsoft sentiments, and this could be a good chance for him. Plus, OpenOffice.org also powers the Symphony project of another of Oracle's competitors-IBM. How closely will the two teams work, I wonder.

Then there's Java too, which was also open sourced by sun. Ellison is beaming with pride abou this acquisition. His famous quote about Java still it all, "...the most important software Oracle has even acquired". So, there's nothing to worry about Java.

In a nutshell- Java's future is certain. MySQL and OpenOffice.org is anyone's guess.

Interface in C++

2009-05-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

"Interface: Interface is a group of related methods with empty bodies. As interfaces are implicitly abstract, they cannot be directly instantiated except when instantiated by a class which implements the said interface. The class must implement all of the methods described in the interface, or be an abstract class."

An interface is a contract, a specification that concreteclasses MUST follow. It defines method signatures but cannot have any implementations; the latter must be provided by the classes that implement the interface.

C#,Java differs from C++ in this regard because C++ lacks native language support for interfaces. As a C++ programmers if you want to make interface in C++ you have to create an abstract class with all its method as pure virtual function.

Example of Interface in C++:
=========================
class Student
{
public:

void display(){}=0; //Pure Virtual Function
void setdata(){}=0; //Pure Virtual Function

};

-------------------------------------------

class StudentImplement:public Student
{
public:

void display()
{

cout<<"Display Logic";

}
void setdata()
{
cout<<"Setdata Logic";
}
};

Future is Cloud Computing

2009-05-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

"Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users point of view they need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure "in the cloud" that supports them."

Business need Cloud Computing:

Todays Businesses want the flexibility to outsource the provisioning of infrastructure to people who can be presumably more efficient at it than they can be. The motivation is going to come really from having other people provide the —power, the day-to-day management, the reliability, uptime and so forth. Businesses want to have the option of moving their application loads into, and equally importantly back out of, this outsourced infrastructure as they see fit.
From the consumer point of view, ultimately the user wants his information to belong to him and not to any particular device. Increasingly, individuals are characterized by a body of digital information. And that information needs to live on over a period of decades—the rest of our lives—beyond the lifetime of any device you might have. So most of us will become customers of an "information bank" and in so doing become dependent on the cloud. You can see this trend already starting with hosted e-mail services like Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc.

What are the challenges?

How do you operate at this scale, how do you make things essentially bulletproof in terms of reliability, security and privacy. Those are tough things to do. There are a lot of companies who don't realize there is a discipline and an approach to operating a service that is different from developing a software product. Companies have to learn that as they go forward.

How does cloud computing fit in the context of the history of computing?

We are in a big transition from a device-centric world to an information-centric world. It's going to be about how do you make the information useful and available and make that the center of people lives instead of specific devices. Devices will have to cleave to the information rather than the other way around. IT infrastructure, the plumbing, will fade away for most users and businesses, and will increasing be left to professional providers.

Is there a risk of a lock-in if companies start relying on a cloud provider?

There is going to be the classic tension between the interest of the user who wants things to be standardized, portable and to have choice and the interest of the provider who wants to have a very sticky relationship with the customer.

Who will run these clouds?

There will be a variety of companies who want to make a business of it. And we don't believe it will come down to two or three guys at the end. We think it will be hundreds of outfits who want to provide these services. Like Google, Amazon etc.