The Document Foundation has launched the free office productivity suite LibreOffice 3.3, now available for download. LibreOffice 3.3 is it’s first stable release for Windows, Macintosh and Linux.

Document foundation is an independent self-governing meritocratic Foundation, created by leading members of the OpenOffice.org Community.

You can download, install and distribute LibreOffice freely, with no fear of copyright infringement.

What’s outstanding about LibreOffice?

LibreOffice is a feature-packed and mature desktop productivity package with some really great advantages:

• It’s free – no worry about license costs.
• No language barriers – it’s available in a large number of languages, with more being added continually.
• LGPL public license – you can use it, customize it, hack it and copy it with free user support and developer support from our active worldwide community and our large and experienced developer team.
• LibreOffice is an Open Source community-driven project: development is open to new talent and new ideas, and our software is tested and used daily by a large and devoted user community; you, too, can get involved and influence its future development.
• Because the development process is completely open, LibreOffice has been extensively tested by security experts, giving you security and peace of mind.
• You get a simple-to-use yet powerful interface that is easy to personalize – Microsoft Office users will find the switch easy and painless, with a familiar look and feel.
• Compatible with all major competitors’ file formats. You can easily import files from Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint and many other formats, and can easily save to Microsoft Office and other formats when needed.

What does LibreOffice give you?

Writer is the word processor inside LibreOffice. Use it for everything, from dashing off a quick letter to producing an entire book with tables of contents, embedded illustrations, bibliographies and diagrams. The while-you-type auto-completion, auto-formatting and automatic spelling checking make difficult tasks easy (but are easy to disable if you prefer). Writer is powerful enough to tackle desktop publishing tasks such as creating multi-column newsletters and brochures. The only limit is your imagination.

Calc tames your numbers and helps with difficult decisions when you’re weighing the alternatives. Analyze your data with Calc and then use it to present your final output. Charts and analysis tools help bring transparency to your conclusions. A fully-integrated help system makes easier work of entering complex formulas. Add data from external databases such as SQL or Oracle, then sort and filter them to produce statistical analyses. Use the graphing functions to display large number of 2D and 3D graphics from 13 categories, including line, area, bar, pie, X-Y, and net – with the dozens of variations available, you’re sure to find one that suits your project.

Impress is the fastest and easiest way to create effective multimedia presentations. Stunning animation and sensational special effects help you convince your audience. Create presentations that look even more professional than the standard presentations you commonly see at work. Get your collegues’ and bosses’ attention by creating something a little bit different.

Draw lets you build diagrams and sketches from scratch. A picture is worth a thousand words, so why not try something simple with box and line diagrams? Or else go further and easily build dynamic 3D illustrations and special effects. It’s as simple or as powerful as you want it to be.

Base is the database front-end of the LibreOffice suite. With Base, you can seamlessly integrate into your existing database structures. Based on imported and linked tables and queries from MySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft Access and many other data sources, you can build powerful databases containing forms, reports, views and queries. Full integration is possible with the in-built HSQL database.

Math is a simple equation editor that lets you lay-out and display your mathematical, chemical, electrical or scientific equations quickly in standard written notation. Even the most-complex calculations can be understandable when displayed correctly. E=mc².

LibreOffice also comes configured with a PDF file creator, meaning you can distribute documents that you’re sure can be opened and read by users of almost any computing device or operating system.

Download LibreOffice now and try it out today.

These scenarios can be done using the free SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Services edition. This edition includes the SQL Server 2008 Express database engine as well as graphical administration tools and the Reporting Services server components for creating, managing, and deploying tabular, matrix, graphical, and free-form reports(SQL Server 2008 Express Advanced can be downloaded here).

URL: http://ssrsphp.codeplex.com.

SQL Server Reporting Services SDK for PHP in a nutshell

The SDK offers a simple Application Programming Interface (API) to interoperate with SQL Server Reporting Services. The API provides simple methods to perform the most common operations:

• list available reports within a PHP applications,
• provide custom parameters from a PHP web form,
• manage the rendering of the reports within a PHP application.
•  

The API is built on top of the SQL Server Reporting Services Web Service API using SOAP as the underlying communication mechanism. PHP applications can then manage reports, parameters, credentials, and output formats with SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services.

The design of the report is created with Business Intelligence Development Studio which comes with SQL Server 2008 Express with Advanced Services. Developers can alter the style of the output formats to fit their needs.

From Reporting Services in SQL Server Express Edition,your access to remote data sources (SQL Server, OLEDB, ODBC, MySQL, Oracle and others) goes through a SQL Server Express instance installed on the same server, using either:

• a linked server feature to allow your application to connect to a data source by creating views pointing to the original database.
• importing of data so you can extract data from the original datasource and import it into the SQL Server Express instance.

View more details and sample application on: http://blogs.msdn.com

Additional highlights include Maven 3 and HTML5 editing support; a new GridBagLayout designer for improved Swing GUI development; enhanced support for executing and debugging standalone Java EE applications; and enhancements to the Java editor.

Release Highlights include:

• JDK 7
  • Project Coin support
  • Editor enhancements: Code completion, hints
• WebLogic Server
  • Streamlined and faster deployment to WebLogic
  • New server runtime node displaying deployed applications and resources
  • JSF integration with server libraries
• Oracle Database
  • Simplified connection wizard
  • Guided installation to JDBC driver
  • Editing and deployment of stored procedures
• GlassFish
  • GlassFish 3.1 support
  • Domain restart and log viewer for remote GlassFish
  • Enable and disable deployed applications
• Java
  • Maven 3 support
  • JUnit 4.8.2 integration and various JUnit improvements
  • Remote HTTP URLs supported for Javadoc in libraries and Java platforms
  • New improved visual customizer for GridBagLayout
• Java EE
  • Improved support for CDI, REST services and Java Persistence
  • New support for Bean Validation
  • Support for JSF component libraries, including bundled PrimeFaces library
  • Improved editing for Expression Language in JSF, including code completion, refactoring and hints
• Web Languages
  • HTML5 editing support
  • JSON formatter
• PHP
  • Generate PhpDoc
  • Rename refactoring, Safe Delete Refactoring
  • PHP 5.3 – Support for aliases
• C/C++
  • Easy import of project from user’s existing binary
  • New Project type when user’s source files are located remotely
• NetBeans Platform
  • Annotations for generating Action registrations in the layer
  • Performance enhancements & tight integration with Profiler
  • Additional NetBeans API changes

NetBeans IDE 7.0 Beta is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese, as well as in several community-translated languages. Visit the NetBeans IDE 7.0 New and Noteworthy page for additional information and development updates.

The final release of NetBeans IDE 7.0 is planned for March 2011.

Download beta from :- http://download.netbeans.org/netbeans/7.0/beta/

Book : http://www.20thingsilearned.com/

The book contains the following 20 articles

1. What is the Internet? (or, “You Say Tomato, I Say TCP/IP”)
2. Cloud Computing (or, why it’s ok for a truck to crush your laptop)
3. Web Apps (or, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Appiness”)
4. HTML, JavaScript, CSS and more (or, this is not your mom’s AJAX)
5. HTML5 (or, in the beginning there was no <video>)
6. 3D in the Browser (or, browsing with more depth)
7. A Browser Madrigal (or, old vs. modern browsers)
8. Plug-ins (or, pepperoni for your cheese pizza)
9. Browser Extensions (or, superpowers for your browser)
10. Synchronizing the Browser (or, why it’s ok for a truck to crush your laptop, part II)
11. Browser Cookies (or, thanks for the memories)
12. Browsers and Privacy (or, giving you choices to protect your privacy in the browser)
13. Malware, Phishing, and Security Risks (or, if it quacks like a duck but isn’t a duck)
14. How Modern Browsers Help Protect You From Malware and Phishing (or, beware the ne’er-do-wells!)
15. Using Web Addresses to Stay Safe (or, “my name is URL”)
16. IP Addresses and DNS (or, the phantom phone booth)
17. Validating Identities Online (or, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”)
18. Evolving to a Faster Web (or, speeding up images, video, and JavaScript on the web)
19. Open Source and Browsers (or, standing on the shoulders of giants)
20. 19 Things Later… (or, a day in the clouds)

You are here because you use internet/web and so I recommend you read this even if you are not a tech guy.

This illustrated book is designed for HTML5-compliant browsers and will not work with Internet Explorer or the other older browsers.

1st I tried to get directions from my home to my office at Technopark, Trivandrum.

From Google map

Other routes

We have 3 main routes to reach there.

1. Thiruvalla -> Kottarakkara -> Kilimanoor -> Aatigal -> Kazhakkutam – This route is not listed in the map
2. Podiyadi -> Mavelikkara -> Kayamkulam -> Aatigal -> Kazhakkutam – This route is not listed in the map
3. Harippad -> Kayamkulam -> Aatigal -> Kazhakkutam – This route is not listed in the map

Only 2 routes are listed in the map.

One is Thiruvalla -> Chaganachery -> Alappy -> Harippad -> Kayamkulam -> Aatigal -> Kazhakkutam – This route is listed in the map.

They are correct but very long.  Via NH47 is 177KM if we follow the directions in google maps but we have other route, via NH47 which is less than 120KM.  In this route I can directly goto Harippad(14kms from home), but if i follow google’s direction, I have to travel more than 60km to reach Harippad.

So first your search the direction to get a small idea about the routes and then search in between places for another short routes or ask someone else . But I am sure this service is very helpfull to get an initial route and then process the route to get the shortest route.

Dude.. don’t think about Travelling Salesman problem

Running XP in windows 7 XP mode

Windows XP Mode (formally Virtual XP) is a new feature in Windows 7. It’s a licensed, virtualized copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3 running inside Microsoft’s own Virtual PC framework. Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses move to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides you with the flexibility to run many older productivity applications on a Windows 7 based PC.

When I heard about this feature I thought “what’s new in this? We can install other OS using MS Virtual PC or VM ware”. But now I understand why this is a new feature.

The core of XPM are Virtual PC 7 (VPC) and the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) protocol. All you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7.

Client virtualization software, like Windows Virtual PC  is a pre-requisite to use Windows XP Mode. So first I installed a Windows update – Windows Virtual PC (Beta)(KB958559) : Windows Virtual PC (Beta) is the latest Microsoft virtualization technology that allows you to run many productivity applications on a virtual Windows environment, with a single click, directly from a Windows 7-based PC.

After rebooting my system, I installed Windows XP Mode Beta . It’s a single executable file, 445MB of size. Installation was straight forward, need to set only few setting like where you want to install, password etc. If anybody tried installing XP or any other operating system using MS Virtual PC or VMWare or any other virtual achine in any other operating system, you know that that installation is just like normal OS installation, have to set all those settings, need normal installation time etc etc. Also after installationn you need to allocate a good amount of RAM and other system resources for the virtual machine,  which degrades overall system performance. But Windows XP Mode surprised me.

Installation took only few minutes and launched XP. It is so fast, and taking only very less system resource, just like a normal medium windows application. Since it uses Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) protocol, the interface is little different from previous Virtual Machine mode, it’s like lognined into an XP machine using Windows Rremote Desktop application.

Now if you want to use XP machine, you can install Windows 7 with Windows XP Mode

Files:

Windows Virtual PC: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=65e1c5eb-df9b-415f-b2d6-27f6ef5dceb9&displaylang=en

Windows Virtual PC Beta: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0E8FA9B3-C236-4B77-BE26-173F032F5159&displaylang=en

I tried Mac OS X version of Chromium. Download the zip file, unzip it and run Chromium.  

The first site I tried is google.com. But got the error message “The webpage is not available”. So i thought it is not working and then after some time I tried my site and it loaded without any problem . Then I tried many other sites and all those loaded, probelm is only with google sites, Google, Gmail, orkut.. all showed “The webpage is not available” message. 

Downloaded the linux version, want to try it after some time.

For detailed review check: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10237981-2.html

Download Chromium from: http://build.chromium.org/buildbot/snapshots/

Chromium

Chromium

Checkout these screenshoots. .

I loaded the CD in to the drive and booted from the CD. 1st I checked CD for any errors, it took around 2-3mnts. Then I searched for an update option and i couldn’t find any update option in the list. So I decided to go for a clean install. I set my keyboard, timezone and the next step was to select the install location. I choosed manually partition option, I had my previous linux partition(ext3) and the swap space. I choosed those and formated the ext3 with new ext4 file system.

Copying the new files took around 10 mnts and then I restarted my machine. I choosed my username and password and skipped importing users settings from my Windows Vista.

Ubuntu desktop screenshot

All these installation took around 20mnts and I got my desktop .

I had problems for detecting bluetooth, wireles, sound and touchpad with previous releases. This  time everything detected automatically and even I connected my mobile via bluetooth and transfered the files.

Only one time i got bluetooth and wireless icons on the system tray. I don’t know where those icons went after a reboot.

Then I connected to the internet and installed few softwares. I installed Wine and then gtalk, yahoo and chome using Wine. None of them is working . Chrome is not loading any pages, signed in gtalk but no text is showing(check the screenshoot). Pidgin is working but I can’t signin with my google apps id.

Uubuntu 9.04 screenshot

Gtalk in Ubuntu with Wine

1) X.Org server 1.6/GNOME 2.26. The first part gives you peppier video performance, while the second gives you a really, nice integrated desktop.

2) Evolution 2.26.1. Evolution is now a complete and total Linux replacement for Outlook.

3) Fast Booting.

4) Ext4 file-system support. Ext4 is simply faster than Ext3 without the stability problems.

5) Linux kernel 2.6.28-11.37. Improved disk performance; better SSD (solid-state drive) support; and superior virtual memory scalability.

Ubuntu 9.4 login session

For me:

• Total installation time: Around 30mnts to get the desktop.
• Got login menu in 26 seconds and then desktop in 10seconds. So total around 36 seconds booting time.
• Shutdown time: 15seconds.

Problems facing

• Webcam is not yet detected.
• Sound is very very low.

I am playing around it and now no power here. So itz the time to shutdown the system and will write in detail in the coming days.

• Download Ubuntu
• Upgrading to Ubuntu 9.04