My First Personal Laptop

Once you have a desktop of your own, the next thing you wanted to have will be a laptop. And these days the laptops are no more a status symbol which only hi-fi guys can afford. But I never had a compelling reason to buy one as I had good desktops at both office and home. And I knew that laptops are much cheaper and better in US than in India. So I kept telling myself that I will buy my first laptop when I reach US one day.

When I landed here few months back, company gave me a laptop to work. This was the first time I was using a laptop for my day to day work. It wasn’t that exciting as I thought and soon I started having wrist pain. The only advantage I found was the mobility (which is of course the main purpose of laptops) that helps me use my computer from any where. Now I use external keyboard and mouse to make working on laptops more comfortable. I even wear a wrist-pad to reduce pain and also to prevent things like carpel tunnel syndrome.

Now that my wife is also here, need for another computer came into my thoughts. There were lots of things to consider when I was finally ready to buy my first laptop. The biggest question was whether I should wait for Vista to launch so that laptops come with pre-loaded Vista. This was important as the Vista was much dependent on hardware capabilities and I should not end up having a laptop that cannot support latest OS. The next thing was the screen size. I never liked those bigger laptops which makes carrying them around very difficult though the screen helps in better movie watching experience. But I wanted a wide screen where the screen can accommodate all my ‘Code Window’ even though the ‘Properties Window’ is made visible in Visual Studio.

Regarding the brand, I never had a second thought. Dell was the number one choice for value for money. It had good and reliable laptops at very reasonable price. Deals2Buy (http://www.deals2buy.com) had many Dell deals displayed regularly and I kept watching till Dell started shipping laptops with Vista.

I also compared different editions of Vista and found Business as the best one that suites me. Ultimate had extra features like bit encryption which I am not going to use any way.

On 2007 January 28, Dell site started displaying laptops with Vista. So I placed the order online from home. I chose the ‘Dell Inspiron E1405’, which was smaller and had RoadReady design. The Dell site offered choosing components and I picked the best available options in each section. But the next day when I discussed this with my colleague I noticed that I missed to notice the processor type. It was ‘Core Duo’ and not Core 2 Duo’. I called Dell immediately and requested for a change and the additional cost was just 50 dollars.


So here is the final specification:
Dell Inspiron E1405 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5200 (1.6GHz / 2MB L2 Cache / 533MHz FSB), 14.1 inch wide screen LCD Panel, 2GB RAM and 120 GB Hard Disk, with Genuine Windows Vista Business. I have the complete details at http://wayfarer.bizhat.com/about/laptop1.html

On 2007 February 05, this laptop got delivered at my apartment here in Dallas and I immediately fell in love with that. I will write more about my usage experience later on.

Meeting Scott Gu From Dallas

I found this out from internet. The original creator of ASP and ASP.NET guru, Scott Guthrie is coming to Dallas to present the latest technologies from Microsoft. He is a General Manager within Microsoft’s Developer Division. The presentation was hosted by North Dallas Dot Net User Group and was a free event after work time at 6 PM with free dinner.



Didn’t think any further and decided to attend, though the place was bit far from my office. Attempt to get few colleagues along also failed. But my friends came from Commerce.



The session was very lively and interesting. He covered tips and tricks in ASP.NET and LINQ in detail. The presentations are available here

Photos by Giovanni Gallucci of www.TheAgencyBlog.com.

SQLAnalyzer

Introduction
SQL Analyzer is an open-source utility tool for developers working with SQL Server. It is a stand-alone windows application that can be used to connect to a SQL Server and analyze various database objects in the server. Features include fast searching, code generation and reporting.

Features
1. Connects to different versions of SQL Server (7, 2000, 2005)
2. Lists out different database objects like Tables, Views, Stored Procedures and User Defined Functions in different panes enabling a quicker search and with following additional features:
a. Tables
i. Lists column properties (name, type, length, etc.)
ii. Lists data in a grid where it can be sorted by columns
iii. Lists Referring and Referred tables
iv. Lists triggers and other dependent objects
v. Generates SQL scripts for Insert, Update, Delete, Select and Create
vi. Exports data in a table as Insert SQL statements
b. Views
i. Displays the data in a grid where it can be sorted by columns
ii. Displays the content text of the view
c. Stored Procedures
i. Displays the parameters and its properties
ii. Displays the content text of the stored procedure
iii. Generates VB and SQL codes to execute a stored procedure
d. User Defined Functions
i. Displays the parameters and its properties
ii. Displays the content text of the User Defined Functions
3. Provides a basic query window for execution of SQL statements.
4. Provides Search inside db objects. This feature can be used to search for a text (like table name or an author name) that appears inside a stored procedure, view or user defined functions.
5. Generates Excel reports of database objects with details of table properties.
6. Easy backup and restore options

Limitations
The tool was developed in VB 6.0, targeting SQL Server 2000 and on Windows 2000 Professional. A thorough testing on other versions is not done, though it appears working fine on other versions of SQL Server and Windows. Minor errors are expected.

How to download
The SQL Analyzer tool is freely available on net (Executable and source code) at http://wayfarer.bizhat.com/downloads/sqlanalyzer.html (On this page, right-click on the download link and choose ‘Save target as…’). Any queries, comments or suggestions about SQL Analyzer should be posted here.

My Windows Malayalam Experience

When Microsoft released Windows XP Language Interface Pack for Malayalam recently, I downloaded thinking that it would just help me localize application in Malayalam Language. I didn't bother to read much about it, before I installed it on my home computer. It asked for re-booting and I was taken back by seeing the Malayalam login screen. There were more surprises after logging in. The 'Start' button was named 'Aarambham' and all the default windows applications were in Malayalam.

I had seen forwarded emails and SMSs where in those imaginative people had visualized how a Windows XP Malayalam version named 'Janalukal XP' will have menus like 'Rakshikkoo...' (Save), 'Ellarem Rakshikkoo...' (Save All), Vettoo (Cut) and Ottikkoo (Paste) and Kuppathotti (Recycle bin). It was really funny and I had laughed a lot discussing these things with friends and creating more such equivalent words in Malayalam.

Now I was really amused to see the original Windows Malayalam items. All the default
applications were in Malayalam and the menu was having commands like 'Samrakshikkuka'
(Save), 'Ithaayi Samrakshikkuka' (Save All), ‘Murikkuka’ (Cut) and 'Ottikkuka’ (Paste). Recycle bin was called 'Punarupayogathotti'! After having fun for a while, I slowly realized how bad I am in my own mother tongue. The words like 'Prathisthapikkuka' (Replace) Chaithanyam (Refresh) confused me a lot, and the only way I could manage to do things in, was by remembering the icons and the usual places of items/commands in the English version. Who could ever imagine menu named ‘Paryaveshanam’ will open up our usual windows explorer and you need to click on 'Gunaviseshathakal' to see the properties of any files!


After an hour of real fun (Pity us… reading words in our own language is now like reading a joke, when we compare them with their English equivalents which we are used to since years), I tried all the shortcuts using 'L' to change the language back to English. Nothing worked! Then my aim was to locate Control Panel for some settings. Nothing worked!! At last I found the Language Pack listed in 'Nilavil Samsthapikkappetta Programukal' (Add/Remove Programs window) and managed to uninstall it to get my familiar interface back!

I don’t think any computer literate Malayali would love to have a Malayalm version of operating system to do his or her day to day works. Post your comments on this.

Bill Gates at Bangalore

“You have seen him on billboards… you have seen him on TV… you have seen him in news papers…. And now…. See him…. Live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....... Billlllllllllllll Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaates!!!!!!”

And there he is… slowly walking to the center stage… through the cloudy smokes in the background… that gave him an outlook of a super hero… and of course, he was welcomed like one… with cheers and screams and applause… that made him say “This is the most liveliest crowd I have ever seen”!

The 5000 strong developer community in Bangalore then settled down, listening with all ears to their idol and super model.

This was the first time, I am attending an event of this kind, and the experience was overwhelming. Microsoft’s Ready Launch Tour 2005 on December 9th at Palace Grounds in Bangalore to launch the products Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and Biztalk Server 2006 was indeed a show of its kind. The number of security check points at the venue itself is a proof for that. I have been examined by five or more security persons, which included metal detector checks and frisking the body.

Bill’s speech was more or less like a technical presentation, as most of the time, he focused on the exciting new features of the products he launched. Then there were detailed demonstrations by his team on each product that included working samples and presentations.

Bill Gates appeared again on stage… this time to answer some selected questions from developers. He looked more energetic and the session was lively, unlike his previous speech. He mentioned about his ‘Upma’ breakfast and said he enjoyed it. He still does snippets coding to understand the latest languages like C#, but however it was in 1983, he did complete coding for a product. When asked about cricket, he said he is happy that the Indian cricket team is using a Windows MediaCenter PC to watch their opponent’s movements closely!

After the event, the participants were given a carry bag containing CDs and DVDs of trial versions of these latest softwares and some product brochures besides a waist pouch as gift.