zakaluka

Hi,Visual Basic has a really poor reputation because it was very easy to use and so many, many managers without any understanding of how to write software wrote small programs that have now become integral components of companies' workings. The latest VB.NET is quite different.The real question is, what are you creating a toolbar for? If it is for Windows, C++ or any of the .NET languages are your best bet. There are also a variety of graphics libraries available (such as wxWidgets) that will make your life a lot easier.If it is for the net, Javascript / PHP are quite good. You also have the choice of using Python, plain HTML, PERL and a variety of other languages to help you.Regards

(1) Download and install SIMBL - http://www.culater.net/software/SIMBL/SIMBL.php (2) Close Safari (3) Download GreaseKit - http://8-p.info/greasekit/ . Install it by copying the GreaseKit.bundle file to ~/Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins. Create the Plugins directory if it doesn't already exist. (4) Open Safari. You should see a new menu item called GreaseKit. (5) Install scripts by going to userscripts.org - http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ - and clicking the "Install this script" button. (6) When asked, confirm installation. (7) Once it is installed, the script will appear in the GreaseKit menu. (8) The only way to know if it works is to try it out. Regards, Sachin.

Well, the one time I was trying to do this, I was unable to because I did not have Win XP Pro. However, according to this thread ( http://forums.xisto.com/topic/42333-how-to-change-windows-xp-language/ ), you can change the language by installing the English version of SP3 after finishing with the French install. The instructions are included in that thread. Best of luck. By the way, if the manufacturer hasn't provided a CD / CD drive, there should be a hidden partition on your hard drive that contains the setup files so that you can reinstall Windows in case the installation becomes corrupted / unusable. Ask your manufacturer how to activate that partition and restart the installation process. Regards, z.

You can find step-by-step instructions at http://lifehacker.com/5126781/how-to-dual-boot-windows-7-with-xp-or-vista . Note that I don't have Vista or Windows 7 and I haven't tried the instructions for myself (although reading through, they make sense). Follow the directions and don't hesitate to ask for clarification (either on the forum there or here). Regards, Sachin.

They wouldn't be running together unless you are running one of the operating systems within another (using VMWare,VirtualBox or some other virtualization tool). So, for most people, that is not a consideration. Regards, z.

That is definitely incorrect. The only way any kind of stability would be affected is if you were modifying one operating system's files from the the other. The only issue you could have with installing multiple operating system (doesn't matter if on one hard drive or several) is the order in which you install them. For example, if you want to install Vista and XP on one computer, you have to follow the correct instructions so that one doesn't overwrite the other. However, once they are installed, you don't have to worry about one affecting the other without your express permission to do so. Regards, z.

@webishqiptarIf your computer runs Vista smoothly, you don't need to do anything for when Windows 7 is released. The hardware requirements are very similar (if not a little in Windows 7's favor). You don't need to worry about Windows 7 compatibility just yet, since the operating system hasn't even been released. I'm sure all the major companies will release drivers for their hardware ASAP, especially since RC1 is now available. As for applications, Windows 7 (certain versions) will be shipping with a fully licensed Windows XP embedded into the operating system. This means, ideally, that as long as the application runs on XP, it will be able to run on Windows 7.Regards,z.

As others have said, define "best". For me, it would be being able to work for myself. I've worked in corporations before, and I really value the ability to have my own business, be my own boss, and make my own decisions without having someone staring over my should the entire time.Sure, it's harder to get started and stay alive, but a lot more rewarding as well.Regards,z.

Who is your target audience? (1) For large groups that are already online, you might get jobs if you are good. Most major businesses have entire departments dedicated to web development, so they are mostly out of the picture except for subcontracted work. This will only happen once you have a decent portfolio backing you up. (2) Individuals may hire you for small jobs. I've never had much success with this market, except for tech support (a person may want to put all their photographs up on Flickr and have a small site to showcase them, for example). (3) Small business are a very lucratice market. Advertising online is fine if your clients are already web-savvy. However, if they are regular brick-and-mortar businesses that want to develop an online presence (and most small businesses fall into this category), advertising online will result in a VERY low rate of return. Instead, you want to get a few clients in an area you are targeting (let's say your city / neighborhood), then use their sites to convince other small businesses that it is the right decision. Even if they already have a site, show them how your improvements to the site can make it better for them and their customers. Having one-on-one meetings with small business owners is also critical, as they have very low resources to waste on something that may or may not turn out okay. By having samples and numbers ready for them, you will have a much easier time convincing them to go with you. (4) Companies that know what they want and are looking for someone to do the job. Look for jobs posted online. As webishqiptar mentioned, DigitalPoint is a good place to start. Other tech forums are good as well. Sites like Guru ( http://www.guru.com/ ) will help as well to find ready-made jobs. A lot of contract work also depends on word-of-mouth. Once you start providing good service, people will approach you for work, which is always a better feeling that having to go out and find it. Regards, z.

For all the responses that assume she is guilty, I would just mention that what exact country she is from will have a pretty big impact on this. There are countries where holding hands with someone you're not married to can result in imprisonment, fines and worse. Having grown up in a place where kissing in public was frowned upon and there were periodic rallies by a major national political party for more "appropriate" behavior in the face of falling morals, I would say that making that assumption is not a given. After all, not everyone has the same attitude towards sex as the US / Western Europe.Regards,z.

Either:a. She is feeling guilty and wants to confess, i.e. she actually did it.b. She doesn't want to be with her current "boyfriend" and wants to dump him, so she tells him she did it (whether or not she actually did it).If she is conservative / traditional, she probably wants to just break it off and hasn't actually done anything.Regards,z.

IPCop does let you do bandwidth throttling / traffic shaping. Take a look at http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ for more information. The version shown here is based on shaping traffic per port. So, you would simply take the ports used by BitTorrent and put the into a low priority category. You can also throttle bandwidth on IP address, but I would have to look at the documentation more carefully to find the reference. Regardless, it can be done. Regards, z.

Use something such as FreeOTFE - http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ . It stands for Free On The Fly Encryption. It is free, obviously, and is compatible with windows, Mac and linux systems. Another solution is TrueCrypt, which is also free. However, I don't know if it has on-the-fly en/decryption support. Regards, z.

I like totem because of how integrated it is with codec's installed through apt-get on Ubuntu. However, I still keep VLC around since it can play almost every media type available without external plugins.Regards,z.

This refers to the interface between the card and the computer. The connection can either be PCI, AGP, PCI-E and so on. Cards with a particular interface are not compatible with a computer that has a different kind of slot, so make sure you only purchase a card that is compatible with your computer.In order, chronologically, the interfaces are as follows:PCI - oldest interface, cards with this interface are hardly released anymore.AGP - introduced in 1997, started phasing out in 2004.PCI-E - latest interface, all the newest cards are released using this interface.So, the newer the interface that your computer has, the more certain it is that the card will be more powerful.Regards,z.

Using a credit card on the internet is only secure if the site is employing some kind of security mechanism. The most popular way of doing that is by using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). The easy way to tell if a site is using SSL is that the web URL will start with https instead of http. Another way you can tell that a site is using SSL is by an indication from the browser: (1) Internet Explorer 7 - A small icon of a lock in the status bar on the bottom. (2) Opera - There is an icon of a lock along with the certificate's base address in the address bar (at least on mine - I believe this can be changed). (3) Firefox - Shows a lock and the certificate's base address in the status bar on the bottom. Double-clicking the lock on any of the major browsers will bring up the site's security certificate information. Other than that, keep a close eye on your credit card statement and report a problem to the company as soon as you find a discrepancy. Considering how many billions of dollars are spent worldwide on internet sales, I'd say your information will be safe as long as you only purchase items from reputable sellers, stay alert and keep your computer free of viruses / trojans / keyloggers. Regards, z.

For a question such as this, you should really take a look at Wikipedia first, since it contains a good description of each technology and even a brief comparison of the 2 (though then you wouldn't get credit on this site ). Both these terms refer to an evolution of how massively complex computations can take place on a large number of systems. The evolution goes as follows: Single-machine supercomputers --> Beowulf clusters --> Grid computing --> Cloud computing --> ... Grid computing basically means taking a group of computers and having them behave as one. However, the software that runs on the "grid" is required to manage the division of the problem among the available resources and integrate the results back into a final solution. The most basic form of this would be a beowulf cluster. The way they differ is that grid computing uses a more heterogeneous computing environment and the machines are more loosely coupled. Thus, the server that's dividing jobs and putting the results together needs to handle errors, computers falling off the grid, faked results, and so on. Before the term "cloud computing" was coined, programs like SETI@Home were considered to be running on grids. Often grid computing is taking place on systems all over the world, not gathered in one place. Cloud computing is the next step to distributed super computing. Cloud computing refers to offering users a scalable environment in which to run their programs, where the user has no idea how the grid is organized, how resources and computation is distributed, and so on. The Google App Engine is a great example of a cloud computing platform. Users write an application without regards to exactly how the work will be distributed on systems, and the platform itself takes care of all that division in the background. It removes a lot of the error-prone work division code from the hands of the user and places the burden of the system itself. The whole purpose of cloud computing is to allow companies to scale their resources to consumer demand without having to invest upfront in a lot of expensive hardware / software. Cloud computing is popular for 2 reasons: The cloud supplier can dynamically support more users on the cloud than normal based on when demand for certain applications spike. In contrast, users just have to pay for the resources actually used as opposed to having to rent additional resources that may or may not be needed. Cloud computing and grid computing are not mutually exclusive. A system like SETI@Home can be considered a cloud infrastructure that depends on grid computing. Cloud computing simply furthers the goal of having a distributed system that can adapt even more easily to changes in components, software demands and so on. Hope this helps, z.

That's a good link. Might I also recommend the Ubuntu Guide, maintained by the University of Latvia - http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu_Trusty . It contains a lot of good step-by-step instructions to get people up and running quickly without having to learn about the whole Linux rigmarole. Regards, z.

If you want a very flashy site, Flash (ironically) is a decent application. Dreamweaver has a decent semi-WYSIWYG setting as well. Be aware that most applications that write all the code for you tend to do a very poor job at it. That's why its good to know what's going on behind the scenes so you can fix problems when they pop up.However, there's not much you can't do with plain HTML, CSS and SSI (server side includes), with some basic PHP added in for flavor. What kind of website are you developing?As for the other 2 you mentioned - Photoshop is an image editor and 3DS Max is a 3D modeling tool. They'll create items you can use on websites, but won't make entire sites for you.Regards,z.

As random truth mentioned, shell scripts are NOT the same as web scripts. JScript is NOT javascript. Shell scripts are written to be executed on the command-line interpreter. On windows, this is the command prompt. On linux, this is the terminal running a variant of 'sh' (like bash). Web scripts, on the other hand, are designed to add more functionality to static HTML pages. I'm going to add some confusion to the mix: certain languages can be used to write both shell scripts and web scripts. Take Perl, for example. In this case, you could write a "shell script" that runs using the perl executable on your local system. You can also write a Perl script that will run on a web server. However, their purpose is totally different. Regards, z.

I personally use and recommend Eclipse. It is a fantastic environment, lots of "productivity enhancing" features. It is written in Java as well, but uses IBM's SWT instead of Swing for the GUI, making it much faster than pure Java applications (SWT is similar to wxWidgets in concept, in that it wraps the native platforms controls as much as possible).Regards,z.

If you're looking for a free compiler, Mono is your best bet - / . MonoDevelop is a decent IDE for programs written in .NET languages on linux. Portable.NET is an alternative to Mono - http://www.dotgnu.org/pnet.html . It is not even close to Mono in terms of reputation, but it exists. I do not know its current functionality or problems. Those are they only 2 non-MS compilers that I know of for C#. There are free compilers for many other languages available, but they would obviously require you to learn the language (such as Python, Ruby and so on). Regards, z.

There are free solutions available for linux, however, they are definitely inferior to Windows / Mac OS X commercial offerings. Check out http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ for a good list. Regards, z.

Think of shell scripting as a full programming language that allows you to write "software" using regularly available linux commands. So, a shell script, either on linux or on windows (yes, windows also has shell scripts), will contain commands. If you want to learn more about shell scripting, take a look at http://www.freeos.com/guides/lsst/ and http://www.shellscript.sh/ . Also, reading the info / man page for bash (I would call it the most popular linux shell environment for desktop computers) will give you all the information you need to create shell scripts. If you are interested in using shell scripts on windows, look at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms950396.aspx . Windows provides JScript and VBScript for use on its systems. However, there are better alternatives available, like Auto It ( https://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/ ). Regards, z.

Well, I won't argue that the package distribution system for linux is unnecessarily fragmented compared to windows. However, certain distributions are working to make this better.For example, if you download a .deb package to a debian/ubuntu based system, double-clicking the file will launch the installation (and it's very simple). I believe the same is true for .rpm files on Fedora.The major times you will have a problem for this is when you have to compile the program from source yourself. However, by not installing it system-wide (just put it, for example, in a directory called 'programs' under '/home/username/'), you avoid a lot of the problems like orphaned files, conflicts when a package does become available, and so on.Regards,z.