Geek Humor – There’s No SQL really!

Writing by on Wednesday, 27 of July , 2011 at 10:59 pm

Why No SQL? When it comes to your typical application, it seems like a no-brainer to go with MySQL (MariaDB for anti-Oracle folks) or maybe  PostgreSQL.

But when it comes to applications that want to store really massive amounts of data every second (Gigabytes per second) even Oracle could have major pain scaling.

I haven’t played around with any of the NoSQL databases yet, but here’s an interesting video I found on YouTube. Read the comments on YouTube :)



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Category: YouTube

AutoHotkey a nifty little program for Windows users

Writing by on Wednesday, 27 of July , 2011 at 10:37 pm

AutoHotkey is a really nifty mouse and keyboard macro program that lets you automate your usual “repetitive” boiler plate tasks and play them back with a key-stroke.

I constantly had to type the username/password to login to my work application and found AutoHotkey could easily do it for me.
Here’s an example of a simple macro (Ctrl+Alt+A) that’ll fill up my login form and submit.

^!a::
Send admin{Tab}password{Enter}
return

Here’s a demo of the tool and if you’re impressed Download AutoHotkey!


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Category: Tips and Tricks,Tools

WordPress Update requires upgrading to PHP 5.x and MySQL 5.x

Writing by on Wednesday, 27 of July , 2011 at 9:19 pm

After upgrading to WordPress to 3.2 all hell broke lose! I wasn’t able to even see the blog …

Your server is running PHP version 4.4.9 but WordPress 3.2 requires at least 5.2.4.

So I went ahead called my hosting provider and upgraded PHP and was able to see the blog but couldn’t add/update new posts…

You cannot update because WordPress 3.2 requires MySQL version 5.0 or higher.

Don’t Panic (These 5 steps worked for me and will probably get you past your little hurdle).

  1. Backup your database (This is probably a MySQL 4.x database)
    1. If you don’t know which database then
    2. Open up Path_To_WP_Blog/wp-config.php
      1. define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘jb007’); // The name of the database
      2. define(‘DB_USER’, ‘jb007’); // Your MySQL username
  2. Create a new MySQL 5.0 database
    1. Note down credentials (Your hosting provider should have a way to get this for you)
      1. $hostname
      2. $dbname
      3. $username
      4. $password
  3. Restore the Backed up 4.x database on the new 5.x database
    1. Your hosting provider should have a way to get this for you
  4. Update the wp-config.php
    1. From the credentials you noted down in Step 2
  5. When you login to your admin, WordPress may require a further update which is a painless click of a button and then you should be good to go!

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Category: Hosting/Web,Wordpress

Citizen Eco-Drive Skyhawk A-T JY0010-50E Review

Writing by on Monday, 18 of July , 2011 at 5:55 pm

Looking to buy really good wrist watches? I just got a new Citizen Skyhawk A-T and here’s an initial review on some of it’s features:

– Titanium Construction (keeps it light, approx. 12oz)
– Atomic Timekeeping (USA, Europe & Japan)
– Eco Drive Solar Powered
– 2 Alarms, Chronograph, Perpetual Calendar
– World Time in 43 Time Zones
– Back lit Display (for the LCD)

It’s looks great, stands out and is a very light watch given all it’s features. (You’ll have to shell out $200 more for the Titanium version.) Very impressive dials wrt the detail and fine craftsmanship that’s gone in. The amber back-light display is a nice new addition. You’ll never have to adjust the time nor the calendar on the 1st of the month. Time is accurate to the second.

Citizen SkyHawk A-T Eco Drive JY0010-50E

Keep in mind that the Atomic Timekeeping may not work in all areas at all times. Usually at night the Atomic signal is strong and by default the watch checks and set’s the time every night at 2am, 3am and 4am. Now trying to do anything real with the watch (like manually setting the time, the time-zone, resetting it etc.) is challenging, because it will definitely require you to read the manual. But it’s simple enough once you read the instructions.

So far, I love it but I’ve had it only for a couple of days. I would recommend this for someone who’s looking to buy a watch that will last!

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Category: Uncategorized

Google+ First Impression

Writing by on Wednesday, 13 of July , 2011 at 4:32 am

I’ve been playing with Google+ for about an hour now and here are some initial thoughts:

  • Fantastic, simple, intuitive, very Google like UI
  • Easy to find and add friends (moreover looks like Google figures out contacts through GMail, Android, Buzz, Profile etc.)
  • Not sure how the circles work yet (who can see what and how much)
  • Very Facebook like (with some additional circle business)
  • Great integration with Picassa, Buzz and so on… (I’m sure they’ll integrate easily with Google Calendar etc. etc. soon)
  • I’ve received notifications on several friends etc. who added me, but not sure why the “Have Shivdev in circles” doesn’t list them all
  • I just need to know the rules behind how everything is being displayed
  • Pretty barren at this point – Not too much activity since it’s so new
  • I’m yet to explore the Hangout, WebCam and other conferencing features yet, but I’m pretty sure they’ll be great

Now that Google has a REAL social network

  • Does Facebook need to be worried?
  • How does this affect LinkedIn’s Stock?
  • Would Google+ be as successful as Facebook?
  • Are the BRIC countries going to adopt Google+?

It’s not Twitter and though it addresses some of Facebook’s Privacy issues and being available on the Android Market (soon to be on all Mobiles/Tablets if it has not already) , it’ll be very interesting to see how and if Facebook users will transition over to Google+ and what lies in its future.

Oh, and what’s Microsoft’s plan now?

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Category: Reviews

Java 7 Released

Writing by on Tuesday, 12 of July , 2011 at 6:52 pm

JDK 7 Early Access came out after almost 5 years.

The Sun has set and with Oracle’s first official Java release we’ll see how things play out for Java and the community.

More new features to read about!

I’m tempted to try it out with Eclipse Indigo, but I’ll hold off until the P4Eclipse plugin works with the new 3.7 release.

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Category: Java

Shivdev Kalambi's Blog

Shivdev Kalambi is a Software Development Manager, previously a Principal Software Engineer at ArcSight/HP. With over 16 years' experience in software development, he's worked on several technologies and played different roles and contributed to all phases of projects. Non-tech activies include Ping-pong, Rock Climbing and Yoga at PG, Golf, Skiing, Swimming & a beer enthusiast.