Developer Shed Weekly News for 2010-02-18

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Feb.18, 2010 Welcome to the Developer Shed newsletter. You may have heard the launch of Google's latest product, Google Buzz, did not go off without a hitch - eWeek has the story; be sure to check it out. You'll notice we published fewer articles this week due to President's Day, but you're sure to appreciate the selection. On Dev Shed you'll learn about the Swift Mailer framework, which lets you build email programs quickly and easily. On ASP Free you'll read about TrueCrypt, and learn how to design and create web forms in ASP. Website designers and developers reading Dev Articles learned about the Active Record in Rails. Dev Hardware readers, meanwhile, read reviews of laptops and mobile devices this week. This week's SEO Chat articles walked readers through designing an online quiz with Google Docs, and put the WordPress database under a magnifying glass. If you've been wanting to make your WordPress-based website more secure, or make your own backups, you will definitely want to read this tutorial. For those new to website ownership, Dev Mechanic keeps you on top, with a look at Google Social Search and the effect this new service from Google is likely to have on your visitors. But wait, there's more. If you have a wireless network set up, or are thinking of setting one up, you'll want to check out Web Hosters; this week's article shows you how to secure it. If you've used the model-view-controller design pattern in your programming and want to take it to the next level, Codewalkers introduces you to the Hierarchical MVC pattern. And Scripts and Tutorialized feature some of the best content from our readers. As always, thanks for reading. Until next week, Developer Shed Staff

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It's edgy! It's irreverent! It's all about technology! It's News You Can't Use, and you won't want to miss it! View this week's edition to learn the answers to these burning questions: Late Night with DevShed Hulk returns. Plus Jenny brings us all the news that's weird.. Watch the video!

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Using Swift Mailer's Cc MIME Header 2010-02-17 In this fourth part of a series, you will learn how easy it is to send carbon copies of an email message with the Swift Mailer library. The secret is the use of its setCc() method. Read the full article. Using Sendmail and Mail() with Swift Mailer 2010-02-16 In this third part of the series, I explain how to configure Swift Mailer to work seamlessly with the “sendmail” Unix program and the “mail()” PHP function. This process is extremely straightforward, so you shouldn't have any trouble understanding how it functions. Read the full article. Using Different SMTP Transports with Swift Mailer 2010-02-11 In this second part of the series, I develop a couple of examples that demonstrate how easy it is to send email messages by using different SMTP servers, thanks to the versatility provided by the Swift Mailer PHP library. Read the full article.

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Design and Create Web Forms in ASP .NET 2010-02-17 Adding web forms adds interactivity to your web pages. You can see web forms almost everywhere on the Internet. These are used as contact forms, web tools or any type of web pages that gather user input. One quick question: how do you add a web form to your ASP .NET website? In ASP .NET, not only are things simpler, but this tutorial will guide ASP .NET beginners in designing their own web form that accepts user input values processed on the server side. Read the full article. Creating a Hidden Encrypted Partition with TrueCrypt 2010-02-16 Welcome to the third part of a three-part series on encrypting partitions with TrueCrypt. In this part, you'll learn how to create a hidden encrypted partition that even TrueCrypt won't know is there, and how to mount your partitions. Read the full article. Creating a Standard Encrypted Partition with TrueCrypt 2010-02-11 Welcome to the second part of a multi-part series on creating encrypted partitions with TrueCrypt. Last time I showed you how to create a partition on your computer in preparation for encryption; I also explained how to get TrueCrypt onto your machine. Today, we're going to create a standard encrypted partition. Read the full article.

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Associations and Dependencies with Active Record 2010-02-17 In this second part of a five-part series that delves deeply into the Active Record of Rails, you will learn about associations and dependencies. This article is excerpted from chapter five of the book Beginning Rails: From Novice to Professional , written by Jeffrey Allan Hardy, Cloves Carneiro Jr. and Hampton Catlin (Apress; ISBN: 1590596862). Read the full article. Advanced Active Record: Enhancing Your Models 2010-02-16 If you're ready to go beyond the basics of the Active Record on Rails, this five-part series is for you. You'll learn how to use it to enhance your models. This article is excerpted from chapter five of the book Beginning Rails: From Novice to Professional , written by Jeffrey Allan Hardy, Cloves Carneiro Jr. and Hampton Catlin (Apress; ISBN: 1590596862). Read the full article. Preloading Images with CSS and JavaScript 2010-02-12 While this principle is well known among web developers and designers, it's worth repeating: never assume that a web site's users will wait patiently for its contents to be delivered. In a world where data must be rendered to the consumer as fast as possible, making this assumption can literally kill any web project, regardless of its size. This multi-part series will show you how to speed up the loading of images on a web site. Read the full article. Scaling and Moving Web Page Elements with the GX JavaScript Animation Framework 2010-02-11 Welcome to the final installment of a series introducing the GX JavaScript animation framework. This series gets you started using the most relevant features that come bundled with this powerful jQuery plug-in, and backs up the theoretical concepts with numerous, easy-to follow code samples. Read the full article.

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Sanyo Incognito SCP-6760 for Sprint 2010-02-17 The Sanyo Incognito SCP-6760 is a horizontal flip phone for Sprint users that is ideal for messaging. While it does have some design flaws, the overall feature set makes it a viable choice as an affordable messaging phone. You can get the Incognito for $49.99 after rebates and a two-year contract from Sprint. Read the full article. HP Pavilion dv6-1375dx and Sony Vaio VGN-NW270F/S 2010-02-16 Today we're going to review a pair of 15-inch mainstream laptops, the HP Pavilion dv6-1375dx and the Sony Vaio VGN-NW270F/S. Each have points to recommend them; one of them could be right for you. Read the full article. LG 32LH20 and Westinghouse SK-32H640G 2010-02-12 Today we will review a pair of affordable flat panel LCD TVs. If you're ready to get one and want to make sure you get the best bang for your buck, keep reading. We'll be looking at the LG 32LH20 and the Westinghouse SK-32H640G. Read the full article. HP Pavilion dv4-2045dx and Toshiba Satellite U505-S2970 2010-02-11 Once again it's time to review some mainstream laptops found at retail stores near you. Up to the plate today is the HP Pavilion dv4-2045dx and the Toshiba Satellite U505-S2970. Read the full article.

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WordPress Database Tutorial: Security, Backup and Efficiency Tips 2010-02-17 WordPress is currently the most important open source website publishing software. It has diverse applications, ranging from self-publishing content (blogging) to acting as a full-fledged content management system. Yet, only a few tutorials give serious emphasis to the WordPress database, which is the core of WordPress operations. This tutorial seeks to remedy this situation. Read the full article. Design an Online Quiz Using Google Docs 2010-02-16 In this article, you will learn how to build an online quiz using Google Docs. Popular applications of this can be found at websites for online universities and schools. If you are planning a website that offers online training and assessment, Google Docs saves you a lot of time in designing an online quiz. This is particularly true if you are not an expert web developer. Read the full article.

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Protecting Your Wireless Network with Tools Anyone Can Use 2010-02-17 Wireless networks are wonderful things, giving users greater freedom to work or play wherever they want, within range of the network. Unfortunately, as with most good things, they carry some dangers. This article will explain what those dangers are, and how and why to protect your wireless network from them. Read the full article. Set Up and Encrypt Your First Wireless Network at Home 2010-02-10 Setting up your first at-home wireless network is relatively simple. It is when you need to make your network secure that things can get a bit hairy. After all, knowing what you are doing is important. A misstep can mean that you have to reset the whole thing and start again. Feeling uncertain? Keep reading. Read the full article. Protect Yourself Against Leaked Passwords 2010-02-03 Recently, twenty thousand passwords were stolen on the Internet. Was yours one of them? Even if you were lucky enough to dodge the bullet this time, who says your precious account information will stay safe in the future? Learn why you need to be cautious with your passwords, and how to safeguard them from being leaked. Read the full article.

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Tutorialized is dedicated to programming, designing, and many other tech related tutorials. Submit Your Tutorial Today! Straighten Crooked Photos Learn how to easily straighten crooked photos in Photoshop. Read the tutorial. Basic Drag and Drop in Flash 8 How to create basic drag and drop with Flash 8. Read the tutorial. Blend Techniques With Layer Mask Learn blending techniques by using this layer mask. Read the tutorial. Grails Services and Google Maps A guide to using them. Easy tutorial and simple to read. Read the tutorial. Flash Zoom In and Zoom Out A Flash zoom in and zoom out application with Actionscript 2.0. Read the tutorial. Google AdSense Split Testing Guide to maximizing your revenue with a small PHP script. Read the tutorial.

Want to Earn Cash & Fame Writing for ASP Free Developer Shed is actively seeking fresh, new writing talents for our Microsoft Windows technology site. We're looking for Windows programmers, system administrators, and more to provide our readers with the latest, up-to-date techniques and strategies. Here's your chance to earn some cash, gain some exposure, and beef up your resume! If you would like to join our team, email your name, a description of your qualifications, and the topic areas you would like to cover to contact_editor@developershed.com.

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Scripts is dedicated to developer and programming related scripts both commercial and free, and for all OS platforms. register | add scripts | link to us h2desk Help Desk Software h2desk is the powerful way to provide online support to your customers. Create, manage, and overlook unlimited staff and more. Learn more. PHP Store Pixel Ads PHP Store Pixel Ads comes with advanced settings including the ability to use interlaced images, and much, much more. Learn more. Framework for WEB Development You will be able to develop easily and really fast grids, reports, graphics, filters, forms, and more. Learn more. Inventory Bookkeeping Billing accounting software generate various accounting reports including final report, stock reports, sales reports, and others. Learn more. Time Tracking TimeTracking is a web based time tracking application. It allows you and your team to enter time spend on different task while working. Learn more. Remote PC Monitoring Software Network asset database administration freeware utility generates software auditing and management reports. Learn more.

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Will Google Social Search Affect Your Traffic? 2010-02-17 Google dominates on the Internet, a go-to Web address for countless online surfers. When this powerful site starts considering a new option which will provide surfers with a brand-new way to find content, it's time to start paying attention. Find out how Google Social Search could affect the traffic that comes to your content pages. Read the full article. How to Use Facebook for Promotion 2010-02-12 Facebook has managed to become a standard for all other social networking sites. Offering a staggering amount of apps, games and extras, this Web site is currently the third most popular in the United States (Alexa, October 2009). That is one popular social networking site. When you consider the sheer amount of traffic this Web site reaches, you might start to get a few ideas. Learn how to use Facebook for promotion, and harness some of that popularity for yourself. Read the full article.

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Implementing the Hierarchical Model-View-Controller Design Pattern in PHP 5 2010-02-17 Without a doubt, the Model-View-Controller design pattern (also known by its acronym as MVC) is a very popular architectural paradigm these days. This article, the first in a series, will show you how to implement a more advanced version of this design pattern, known as the Hierarchical Model-View-Controller pattern. Read the full article. Install Slackware on Your Old PC 2010-02-10 Slackware may be what this flavor of Linux is called, but you can not be a slacker if you want to install Slackware. Do not be afraid. If you have even some basic skills you can install Slackware. Well, with the help of this tutorial, that is. Read the full article. Firefox Plugins You`re Not Using (and Should!) 2010-02-03 According to many different statistics, Mozilla Firefox is the most popular Web browser among US-based Internet users. This single browser commanded a nearly 50% share of online users in 2009 (w3schools, November), numbers consistent with the last few years. But are you taking full advantage of everything the Internet's most-used browser has to offer? Find out more about the many Firefox plugins you're not using -- and should! Read the full article.

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Spin the Wheel, Click to Chat While it's always been possible to talk to random strangers, the Internet takes it to a new level with Chatroulette. Run by a 17-year-old high school student in Moscow, the web site allows you to have video chats with strangers all over the world. Some are stranger than others, though; this service is definitely not for the squeamish, or those who have not reached the age of majority. Visitors entering the site will see two large black boxes and an area for text chat. Clicking the “play” button at the top will cause a stranger's face to appear in the top box, and a notice asking if you'll let the site access your video camera; clicking “allow” will cause your image to appear in the bottom box. If you don't immediately start a conversation, you can click Next to go to the next person â€" and so can the person who just appeared, rather like a roulette wheel. While it is possible to have an intelligent conversation, it's easy to guess the motivations of many of the chatters. Video chat with strangers dates back to the 1990s, with CUCME (“see you, see me”); the technology has become much more widespread since then. Indeed, some computers now have built-in web cams, which should probably be disabled if they're used by children. The service makes excellent use of the Internet, but it's also one more thing which parents will need to discuss with their children, and teach them to watch out for. While the site does have a disclaimer that it's not intended for use by those under the age of 16, it does not ask for a birth date. Read more about this

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