Developer Shed :: Weekly Newsletter

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	Nov. 26, 2009

Welcome to the latest issue of the Developer Shed newsletter. It's been a long time coming, but Microsoft Outlook 2010 Beta has finally caught up with Office Suite. To learn more, check out this article we're highlighting from eWeek. Click the link for the full story.

You'll find everything you are looking for in the useful articles on our web sites this week. Dev Shed readers delved more deeply into factory methods in PHP and learned about the Yahoo Site Explorer Inbound Links API. If you're more inclined to Microsoft-related technologies, check out ASP Free for a look at the Windows Workflow Foundation.

Website designers and developers learned about image replacement techniques in CSS courtesy of Dev Articles. Meanwhile, Hardware fans will dig the diverse reviews on Dev Hardware this week, which include the new Call of Duty installment and Microsoft's new Zune. Don't forget that these two sites publish original content five times a week, so you'll want to check back often.

If you're an SEO professional, you'll want to take notes while reading SEO Chat this week. You'll benefit from the last part of a three-part series that shows how to apply the Six Sigma method to SEO projects. Those new to owning a website will want to read Dev Mechanic, where you can learn the basics of email marketing and search engine optimization.

That's not all. Webhosters and Codewalkers also offer up a batch of fresh content. And don't forget the great content on Scripts and Tutorialized.

As always, thanks for reading. Until next week,
Developer Shed Staff

ARTICLES

	Dev Shed		Web Hosters
	ASP Free		Scripts
	Dev Articles		Tutorialized
	Dev Hardware		White Papers
	SEO Chat		Weird Cool
	Dev Mechanic		News You Can't Use
	Codewalkers

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Rational Build Forge Express eKit
Rational Build Forge Express Edition is an automation framework that packages the latest enterprise-grade technologies into a reliable, flexible and robust configuration designed and priced specifically for small to midsize businesses. The new Rational Build Forge Express eKit provides you with valuable resources - including a case study, podcast, demo, and articles - to help you increase staff productivity, compress development cycles and deliver better software, fast.
Learn more.

Build Forge Express demo: Enabling software delivery excellence for small and midsized businesses
This demonstration gives you an overview of IBM Rational Build Forge Express Edition, a global offering that provides a framework to automate and execute software processes. Rational Build Forge provides a software assembly line that can support all of your tools, technologies, and platforms so you can achieve a repeatable, reliable, and traceable build and release process.
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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:
	What does Jenny have in store for you this week? Only one way to find out. That's right. Send a check to editor@developershed.com. Sad Chicken is back and here's something that will cheer him up...a Thanksgiving Dinner. Guess what we're serving? Baw-aw-aw-awk. Watch the video!

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Implementing Factory Methods in PHP 5 by Alejandro Gervasio, 2009-11-24 If you've ever developed desktop applications using mature object-oriented languages like C++ and Java, then it's possible that you've found yourself saying a few funny phrases such as “I need to implement a factory method within this class,” or in the worst case: “this class needs to implement a factory method, but I don't have a single clue about how to do that.” Surprisingly, you can implement these factory methods pretty quickly and easily in PHP 5, as this six-part series will show you. Read the full article.	Merging a File Split for FTP Upload using PHP by Codex-M, 2009-11-23 This is the second part of a tutorial on file splitting during an FTP upload. In this part, you will learn the details of file merging and implementation. The split PHP script was thoroughly discussed in the first part. It is highly recommended that you read that part to easily understand this one. Read the full article.
Getting Data from Yahoo Site Explorer Inbound Links API using PHP by Codex-M, 2009-11-19 In the first part of this two-part series, you learned the importance and principles of Yahoo Site Explorer's inbound links API with respect to search engine optimization. If you read that part, you should already have your application ID, which will be used in your PHP script to make API calls. Also discussed in the first part is how to formulate the GET Request URL, and how to understand the responses from the inbound links API. In this part, you will start consolidating all of those inputs and implement what you've learned using a PHP server side scripting language. Read the full article.	Method Chaining: Adding More Selecting Methods to the CodeIgniter Library by Codex-M, 2009-11-18 In this ninth part of an 11-part series on method chaining, I will add three new chainable methods to the custom CodeIgniter model class we built in previous parts. You should find this a straightforward process, especially if you have a decent background in this framework's database class. Read the full article.

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Windows 8
by jkabaseball, 2009-11-24

Windows 7 has barely been out a month, and we're already starting to talk about Windows 8. Windows 7 was leaps and bounds better than Vista. Will Windows 8 be the same for 7? Let's take a look at what we've heard and what we'd like to see.
Read the full article.

Completing a Business Layer with Windows Workflow Foundation
by O'Reilly, 2009-11-23

In this conclusion to a three-part article, we'll finish our discussion of how Windows Workflow Foundation can help us create an important layer of an application. It is excerpted from chapter four of the book Building a Web 2.0 Portal with ASP .NET 3.5 , written by Omar Al Zabir (O'Reilly, 2008; ISBN: 0596510500). Copyright © 2008 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O'Reilly Media.
Read the full article.

Building Applications with Windows Workflow Foundation
by O'Reilly, 2009-11-19

In this second part of a three-part series, you'll see how Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) helps you to build workflow-based applications. It is excerpted from chapter four of the book Building a Web 2.0 Portal with ASP .NET 3.5 , written by Omar Al Zabir (O'Reilly, 2008; ISBN: 0596510500). Copyright © 2008 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O'Reilly Media.
Read the full article.

Building the Data and Business Layers Using .NET 3.5
by O'Reilly, 2009-11-18

If you'd like to learn how to use Windows Workflow Foundation and LINQ, keep reading. This three-part article explains how to use those technologies in the context of a portal. It is excerpted from chapter four of the book Building a Web 2.0 Portal with ASP .NET 3.5 , written by Omar Al Zabir (O'Reilly, 2008; ISBN: 0596510500). Copyright © 2008 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission from the publisher. Available from booksellers or direct from O'Reilly Media.
Read the full article.

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Assigning Negative Indentation to Hyperlinks for Image Replacement by Alejandro Gervasio, 2009-11-24 In this third part of a six-part series on image replacement techniques, I demonstrate how easy it is to apply the image replacement method developed by Mike Rundle simultaneously to H1, H2 and <a> elements on the same XHTML page. Read the full article.	Indenting H2 Elements as a CSS Image Replacement Technique by Alejandro Gervasio, 2009-11-23 In this second part of a six-part series on image replacement techniques, I demonstrate how to use the technique you learned in the previous part on all of the H2 headers contained in a sample web document. This technique is fairly straightforward, so you shouldn't have any major problems using it within your own web pages. Read the full article.
Image Replacement CSS Techniques by Alejandro Gervasio, 2009-11-20 Image replacement is a useful approach for solving certain web design problems. In this first article of a series that examines this technique, we take a closer look at an image replacement approach that relies on assigning a large negative value to the "text-indent" CSS property to hide the text wrapped by a web page element, thus unmasking its background image. Read the full article.	Using BlueTrip`s Success, Notice and Error CSS Classes by Alejandro Gervasio, 2009-11-19 Welcome to the final installment of a series on the BlueTrip CSS framework. Made up of seven comprehensive tutorials, this series shows you how to master the main CSS classes that come bundled with BlueTrip through a decent variety of code samples. Read the full article.
More Uses for the Thin and Caps CSS Classes in BlueTrip by Alejandro Gervasio, 2009-11-18 In this sixth part of a seven-part series on the BlueTrip CSS framework, you will learn how to assign the "thin" and "caps" CSS classes to H2 and H3 elements of a web page. The use of these classes makes the elements look more elegant and visually appealing. Read the full article.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 by KC Morgan, 2009-11-24 Modern Warfare 2, the next installment in the Call of Duty gaming franchise, has been one of the most anticipated games of the year. With preliminary sales estimates predicting purchases of 11 million or more units by the end of 2009, some economists think this game could even help pull the United States out of its economic slump. Such is the power of video gaming. Read the full article.	New Advances in TV and Computer 3D Technology by Joe Eitel, 2009-11-23 Everything old is new again. While it first emerged in the 1950s as a passing fad, 3D technology for movies is making a comeback. Yes, you still need to wear special glasses to see it, but that might not be true much longer...and some manufacturers are determined to make the 3D leap from the movies into your living room. Keep reading to find out the state of the art. Read the full article.
The Yukyung Viliv S7 and the Dell Inspiron 14 Laptops by wubayou, 2009-11-20 In today's reviews we will look at two laptops that are different in many ways. First, we'll check out the Yukyung Viliv S7 with its hybrid Netbook/tablet nature, and then the mainstream, mid-sized Dell Inspiron 14. Read the full article.	Microsoft Zune HD (32GB) by wubayou, 2009-11-19 The Microsoft Zune HD is a product of much trial and error from the manufacturer in an attempt to wrest market share from the omnipresent iPod. While it has certainly experienced its troubles in the past, the newest version, the Zune HD, is a much stronger competitor from Microsoft that could help the company gain some ground in the portable media player market. Today we'll take a closer look. Read the full article.
Sony PSP Go by wubayou, 2009-11-18 The PSP Go is the fourth generation of the popular handheld gaming console from Sony. It may have a distinguished pedigree, but does it live up to what we expect from the line? Today we'll take a closer look. Read the full article.

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Case Study: Six Sigma Methodology for SEO
by Codex-M, 2009-11-24

In the previous article in this three-part series, you learned the details involved in forming a Six Sigma team and were introduced to the various tools and guidelines involved in going through the DMAIC Six Sigma methods. In this last part, you will see everything in action through a complete case study.
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How Search Engines Handle the Meta Robots Tag and Robots .txt
by Codex-M, 2009-11-23

A lot of questions still exist about the Meta robots tag and robots.txt despite the popularity of these terms with any search engine optimization professional. In this two-part series we will attempt to answer these questions scientifically by doing an experiment and collecting data.
Read the full article.

Implementing Six Sigma Methodology for SEO
by Codex-M, 2009-11-18

In this second part of a three-part series, you will learn how to start using Six Sigma methodology as part of your search engine optimization strategy. Introduced here are the tools, templates and detailed guidelines that are required for a complete and successful implementation.
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Choosing a Web Host for Your WordPress Blog
by Katie Gatto, 2009-11-18

So, you have decided to share your knowledge with the world by starting your own blog. You have just about everything picked out and you are ready to go. Now all that you need is a host for your blog. If you are not careful, you could make a big mistake. Keep reading for a helpful guide.
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Security Vulnerabilities of Web Applications
by Tony Antal, 2009-11-11

We live a world where we're more frequently giving out our contact details like e-mail addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses, and even critical information such as our credit card numbers along with their expiration dates. We somehow think that prestigious companies do their best to secure their websites. While that may be true, the reality is that there are myriads of security vulnerabilities lurking everywhere.
Read the full article.

Packet Sniffing with Wireshark
by Tony Antal, 2009-11-04

Wireshark is akin to some superstar or diva in the land of networking and security. Simply put, it is the most popular, award-winning network protocol analyzer. It not only sniffs packets, it does much more. In this article we will first explain what packet sniffing is, how it works, and why you should sniff. After that, we will lead you on your first sniffing session done professionally with Wireshark!
Read the full article.

Check out the amazing tutorials from IBM developerWorks and see what all the buzz is about!

Hello World: WebSphere Service Registry and Repository
Manage, govern, and share services across your organization by using WebSphere Service Registry and Repository. Follow the hands-on exercises to learn how to navigate the Web interface to publish, find, reuse, and update services.

Building JavaScript applications with JSEclipse
Using JSEclipse, JavaScript programmers now have their own Eclipse plug-in that provides many important features to aid in the development of JavaScript applications. JSEclipse gives JavaScript developers the same ease of use that Eclipse has been providing in the Java language and others for years. Learn to use this tool, while creating a colony of evolving "creatures" on your page.

Learn how to install and use the Rational Asset Manager Eclipse client
In this tutorial, you can learn how to install and configure the IBM Rational Asset Manager Eclipse client, explore the different views in the Asset Management perspective, learn various search techniques, work with existing assets, and submit a new asset.

Improve your build process with IBM Rational Build Forge, Part 1: Create a continuous build and integration
Learn how to implement a build management system that uses and extends your existing automation technologies. This tutorial shows, step-by-step, how to install and configure IBM Rational Build Forge to manage builds for Jakarta Tomcat from source code.

Build Web services with transport-level security using Rational Application Developer V7, Part 1: Build Web services and Web services clients
Build secure Web services with transport-level security using IBM Rational Application Developer V7 and IBM WebSphere Application Server V6.1. Follow this three-part series for step-by-step instructions about how to develop Web services and clients, configure HTTP basic authentication, and configure HTTP over SSL (HTTPS). This first part of the series walks you through building a Web service for a simple calculator application. You generate and test two different types of Web services clients: a Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) client and a stand-alone Java client. You also handle user-defined exceptions in Web services.

Improve your build process with IBM Rational Build Forge,
Part 2: Automate builds for a real-world Tomcat project
Learn how Rational Build Forge can extend a simple compile and package build process by adding customization and deployment capability. Go from a manual method to automating: checking for code changes; getting the latest source; compiling and packaging; customizing; copying to and restarting a deployment server; and sending e-mail notification that a new version is available.

Application development for the OLPC laptop
The XO laptop (of the One-Laptop-Per-Child initiative) is an inexpensive laptop project intended to help educate children around the world. The XO laptop includes many innovations, such as a novel, inexpensive, and durable hardware design and the use of GNU/Linux as the underlying operating system. The XO also includes an application environment written in Python with a human interface called Sugar, accessible to everyone (including kids). Explore the Sugar APIs and learn how to develop and debug a graphical activity in Sugar using Python.

Test terminal-based applications with Rational Functional Tester
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Tutorialized is dedicated to programming, designing, and many other
tech related tutorials.

Submit Your Tutorial Today!

Actionscript Mouse Events
Learn to respond to different mouse events like clicks and hovers.
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Fireworks
We are going to learn to use the brush tool to create fireworks.
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Simple Photo Flash Menu
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Replace strings in TXT files through PHP.
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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.

EzUploads
EzUploads utilizes CGI upload methods to a PHP site back end. You are able to upload unlimited file sizes. Supports Ascii Captcha.
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MultiUser Chat Software
Multi operator ASP script based chat messaging software contains full support of Ajax technology. Learn more.

DepthStats
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The Ultimate Twitter Guide
by Kathy Gatto, 2009-11-23

People seem to be of a mixed opinion about the value of Twitter. This mostly stems from the mixed results that users of Twitter have had when it comes to using the tool in terms of traffic and SEO. Keep reading for a guide that will help you get the most out of this micro-blogging tool.
Read the full article.

Create a Vlog
by KC Morgan, 2009-11-20

You would love to reach out to the world with a blog, but every time you try to write something, you get stuck. Maybe text isn't your medium. Never fear; there's a blog style designed just for you. It's called a vlog (short for video blog), and it just might change the way you think about blogging.
Read the full article.

Your Top 10 SEO Dont's
by Kathy Gatto, 2009-11-18

The world of search engine optimization, or SEO, can be complex. There are a lot of people who want to tell you what you should do in order to improve your rankings. You will find advice by the barrel full on what you need to do, but less on what you should avoid. This article goes some way toward remedying that situation.
Read the full article.

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Choosing a Web Host for Your WordPress Blog
by Gabor Bernat, 2009-11-18

So, you have decided to share your knowledge with the world by starting your own blog. You have just about everything picked out and you are ready to go. Now all that you need is a host for your blog. If you are not careful, you could make a big mistake. Keep reading for a helpful guide.
Read the full article.

Migrating from Windows to Wine
by Gabor Bernat, 2009-11-11

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice, we all know better. When one tries to apply a theory, anything that can go wrong, will. Last week I presented Wine. This tool/compatibility layer ensures that Windows applications will run smoothly under UNIX-based operating systems. That's the theory; today we'll see how much difference there is between theory and practice.
Read the full article.

Wine: Not Another Emulator
by Gabor Bernat, 2009-11-04

"Wine Is Not another Emulator." This is the recursive acronym hidden in the name of an application to which someone might direct you if you wanted to know how to run your Windows applications under a Linux distribution. However, what is hidden under the hood of this small kit you downloaded to make it happen? Keep reading and we shall find out.
Read the full article.

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Google - One Step Closer to Utter Domination?

Since arriving on the scene, Google has dominated the search industry. With a simple, sleek design and a powerful set of algorithms, it quickly clawed its way to the top of the food chain. In recent years the Goog has stretched its arm and taken on the software, mobile, and operating systems sector. What else is left for the tech behemoth?

Rumor has it the next move is the logical one - hardware. Hinting a while back that one day the desktop computer would become obsolete in its current form, the gossip around the cooler is that Google may release their own netbooks - and get this - for free.

Of course free is a relative term. The netbooks probably won't be all that powerful, and that is the point. They will mostly be used as secondary computers, ones you take on short trips, or use if you need to search the internet or write that term paper. With the ability to plant ads in desktop apps, this seems like a smart move on Google's behalf - slap some ads in your word processor and spreadsheet program and it is a win-win for everyone. Free computer for you, a new revenue stream for Google.