February 11, 2009

XP and Vista Uptime

If you leave your computer running 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), you might be interested in determining the amount of uptime that has accumulated since your last reboot. Luckily, it's very easy to find that information in both Windows XP and Vista. Let's take a look!

Tracking Uptime in Vista

To find Vista’s uptime, right click on your taskbar and select Task Manager.

Now, with the Task Manager open, click on the Performance tab and you'll see the amount of uptime listed under the System cialis free offer section.

Tracking Uptime in XP

To find the uptime in XP, go to Start, Run, type in "cmd" and then click OK.

That will bring up a command prompt. Type in “systeminfo” (without the quotes) and then hit Enter. It will take a few minutes for the analysis to complete and get your results, but when it's finished, you'll see your uptime listed in days, hours, minutes and seconds.

Find your uptime today!

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February 10, 2009

How to make your website really, really fast

February 9th, 2009

Posted by Andrew Mager

Steve Souders knows how to make a website speed through a web browser.

cialis ejaculation href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/mager/3267072847/” title=”Steve Souders from Google by magerleagues, on Flickr”>Steve Souders from Google

And he works at Google, one of the fastest websites around.

Web performace is a two-pronged beast: efficiency and response time. Efficiency deals with the scalability challenges of building a top 100 global website. You have millions of users and billions of page views, and it’s awe-inspiring to understand the full scope of the backend architecture of something that large.

The set of directions that the HTML document gives to every process really determines the speed of the page.

On iGoogle for example, only 17% of the page is backend, non-cached data and needs to be requested each time. The rest is front-end processing.

80-90% of the end-user response time is spent on the front-end. Start there when you want to figure out how you can make your site faster.

If you can cut this front-end time in half, your users will notice it.
Offer greater potential for improvement and notice simple performance tweaks on the backend too.

14 tips for performance

  1. Make fewer HTTP requests
  2. Use a CDN
  3. Add an Expires header
  4. Gzip components
  5. Put stylesheets at the top
  6. Put scripts at the bottom
  7. Avoid CSS expressions
  8. Make JS and CSS external
  9. Reduce DNS lookups
  10. Minify JS
  11. Avoid redirects
  12. Remove duplicate scripts
  13. Configure ETags
  14. Make AJAX cacheable

YSlow is a Firebug extension that gives developers the chance to analyze every slow part of your website and test it against the 14 points mentioned above.

O’Reilly Velocity is a web performance and operations conference co-founded by Souders and Tim O’Reilly. There should be some really good talks this year.

Souders also taught a class at Stanford called High Performance Websites.

Why focus on Javascript? They have a huge impact on the page load time.

Time spent on the front end

AOL has about 5 scripts accounting for about 60 or 80% load time.

Why focus on Javascript?

Facebook has about a megabyte of Javascript.

Why focus on Javascript?

JS is downloaded sequentially, even if the HTML document has already been downloaded. It won’t draw anything on the screen unless the script is finished downloading.

Cuzillion is a tool that does batch testing on webpages.

Cuzillion from Steve Souders

HTTPWatch is his preferred packet sniffer.

If you can split the Javascript in what’s needed to render and “everything else”, you will dramatically improve your page load time. Microsoft has a whitepaper that talks about how this can be done automatically with something called Doloto. Look at the source code of MSN.com and see how they do it.

Steve Souders from Google

But even if you can split the initial page load, you will still have external scripts that will have an impact on your page.

There are many ways to make your scripts load all at the same time. XHR evaluation is an option but you are open to XSS attacks and all scripts must have the same domain.

Fast websites by Steve Souders

Putting a script in an iframe causes the JS to be downloaded in parallel with other resources on the page. You can use the DOM method for creating the head element using createElement.

Try the <script defer src="file.html">. This works in IE and FF 3.1, but it’s not the best method. Domains can differ and you don’t have to refactor your code though.

Don’t even use the document.write method. It’s terrible for many reasons.

It’s always good to show busy indicators when the user needs feedback. Lazy-loading code sucks, but the user needs to know that the page isn’t done.

Ask yourself three questions:

  • What’s the URL of the script?
  • Do I want to trigger busy signals?
  • Does this script have to be executed in order or not?

Fast websites by Steve Souders

Sometimes the user is waiting for their inbox to load, and you need the scripts to load in order. Other times it won’t matter.

The best part: none of these techniques are that hard to implement.

Don’t let scripts block other downloads either.

Stylesheets load in parallel, but if you have a stylesheet followed by an inline script, parallel downloads are broken.

Also, use link instead of @import.

Here is a link to Souders’ UA profiler. It’s a chart of all the compatibilities among all browsers regarding fast loading pages. Or as Souders puts it, a “community-driven project for gathering browser performance characteristics”.

He also built something called Hammerhead, which adds a little tab to Firebug that tells you the load time of the page. It also clears the cache in between load times. You can compare websites side by side too.

In HTTP 1.1 you can do transfer encoding in chunks. Your browser can un-gzip even a partial HTML document and start parsing it before the stylesheet is even loaded. CNET.com does this.

IE7 will open two connections per server name, unless the traffic is HTTP 1.0. Optimize images with smush.it

Takeaways

Focus is on the front end. Many front end engineers are learning on the job, kinda teaching themselves. It’s an under-represented but a critical part of the web community.

Everything is going Javascript. It’s the most painful thing to deal with on the page, and we need to identify and adopt some best practices in that space.

Speed matters. If you are waiting, you get bored and frustrated. When Google slowed down 500ms, they lost 20% traffic. Yahoo sped up their search results page only 400ms, and they got 5-10% faster. Amazon ties a 100ms latency to 1% sales loss. A faster page has an impact on revenue and cost savings.

Here is a link to Steve’s presentation »

Souders wrote High Performance Websites in 2007.

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February 9, 2009

10 simple things you can do to improve your writing

  • Date: September 30th, 2008
  • Author: Jody Gilbert

If you’re like much of today’s workforce, you need to have halfway decent writing skills to succeed at your job. But if you don’t have time to work on those skills, mastering a few basic rules can still make a big difference.


Maybe you’ve never penned a single blog entry, never been asked to write a progress report, never had to read over a colleague’s work for errors, and never had to send a critically important e-mail message to your boss. If that’s the case, you’re free to go now. But for most of us, a certain amount of writing is part of our job — and unfortunately, our efforts aren’t always as effective as they should be.

We’ve talked before about some of the big blunders — grammatical mistakes and misused words — that find their way into our written communications. Now, let’s consider some of the general best practices that contribute to clean, consistent writing. These pointers are based on TechRepublic’s in-house conventions, which are based on commonly recommended guidelines. (In other words, you don’t have to agree with them. And of course, variations may exist depending on what country you live in.)

The good thing about following a few rules in your writing, even if some of them seem arbitrary or trivial, is that it frees you up to concentrate on what you’re trying to say instead of trying to figure out why something doesn’t sound right or worrying that it’s just plain wrong.

And there’s this: People will notice when your writing is tighter and more consistent. I guarantee it.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: Echoes

Bad practice: Repeated words or phrases set up an echo in the reader’s head or a “Didn’t I just read that?” glitch that can be distracting.

Example:

  • Several “but”s or “however”s or “for example”s in one paragraph (or in nearly every paragraph); a series of paragraphs that begin with “Next”
  • A favorite crutch word or phrase used throughout an article (”ensure that,” “as such”, “that said”)

Best practice: Vary the language to avoid annoying or distracting readers with repeated words. Even better, get rid of some of the repeated verbiage, which usually turns out to be overkill anyway.

#2: Nonparallel list items

Bad practice: We often use an inconsistent structure for lists or headings.

Example:

We will cover these topics:

  • Backing up the registry
  • The Registry Editor is your friend
  • Using REG files
  • Use a GUI tool
  • Searching the registry
  • Take advantage of Favorites
  • Clean the registry

Best practice: Reword where necessary to make the items parallel.

#3: Agreement problems

Bad practice: Sometimes we lose track of what the subject is, and our verb doesn’t match.

Examples:

  • Neither of the editors are very smart.
  • The dog, as well as the goat and chicken, are easy to parallel park.
  • One-third of the company are color blind.

Best practice: Scrutinize the subject to determine whether it’s singular or plural. It’s not always obvious.

#4: Referring to companies, organizations, etc., as “they”

Bad practice: A company — or any collective group that’s being referred to as a single entity — is often treated as plural, but it shouldn’t be.

Examples:

  • I wish Wal-Mart would get their pot hole fixed.
  • Microsoft said they’ll look at the problem.

Best practice: Unless there’s some compelling exception, use “it.”

#5: Hyphenating “ly” adverbs

Bad practice: “ly” adverbs never take a hyphen, but they pop up a lot.

Examples:

  • We like to avoid commonly-used expressions.
  • Click here for a list or recently-added downloads.

Best practice: Don’t hyphenate ly adverbs. The “ly” says “I modify the word that comes next,” so there’s no need to tie them together with a hyphen.

#6: Using “which” instead of “that”

Bad practice: We sometimes use “which” to set off an essential clause (instead of “that”).

Examples:

  • The meeting which was scheduled for 1:00 has been cancelled.
  • The option which controls this feature is disabled.

Best practice: The commonly-accepted (haha) convention in American English is to set off a nonessential clause with the word “which” and a comma. One good test is whether the information is extra — not essential to the meaning of the sentence. If the clause is essential, use “that.”

#7: Wordy constructions; deadwood phrases

Nothing is worse for a reader than having to slog through a sea of unnecessary verbiage. Here are a few culprits to watch for in your own writing.

Has the ability to can
At this point in time now
Due to the fact that because
In order to to
In the event that if
Prior to the start of before

#8: Using “that” instead of “who”

Bad practice: Some writers use “that” to refer to people.

Examples:

  • The bartender that took my money disappeared.
  • The end user that called this morning said he found my money.
  • The folks that attended the training said it was a waste of time.

Best practice: When you’re referring to people, use “who.”

#9: Inconsistent use of the final serial comma

Bad practice: One convention says to use a comma to set off the final item in a series of three or more items; another (equally popular) cialis dosage options convention says to leave it out. But some writers bounce between the two rules.

Examples:

  • Word, Excel, and Outlook are all installed. (OR: Word, Excel and Outlook are all installed.)
  • Open the dialog box, click on the Options tab, and select the Enable option. (OR: Open the dialog box, click on the Options tab and select the Enable option.)

Best practice: Decide on one convention and stick to it. Those who read what you’ve written will have an easier time following your sentence structure if you’re consistent.

#10: Using a comma to join two dependent clauses

Bad practice: Commas are a great source of controversy and often the victim of misguided personal discretion. But there is this rule: Two dependent clauses don’t need one.

Examples:

  • I hid the ice cream, and then told my sister where to find it.
  • The user said he saved the file, but somehow deleted it.

Best practice: If the second clause can’t walk away and be its own sentence, don’t set it off with a comma.

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Backing Up Ain’t Hard To Do…

Tech tips 204

Backing Up Ain’t Hard To Do…

By Bryan Lambert – Sunday, February 8, 2009

PullQuoteIt’s been a mantra forever. Something that you know you should do. It runs the fine line between “it needs to be done today, but I’ll do it tomorrow”, between bits being there and then being gone forever. It’s backing up your hard drive. In this Tech Tip we’ll be looking at some different options for backing up your drive and see why it’s not only more important than ever to back up but it’s also easier than ever as well.

What’s Bits Got To Do, Got To Do With It?

Hard driveIt happens every day: a hard drive fails, a virus wipes out data, a simple mistake wipes out years of memories. Let’s face it, though information can be broken down to bytes and then to bits – when it’s gone – when it’s REALLY, REALLY gone, that empty feeling hits you like a sledge hammer and you realize that it’s all gone – and that you never did a backup. But, like many, you may be confused by the array of backup options available, and may even be a bit confused about what a backup is.

Backing up simply means archiving your data somewhere other than the place that the data already is. So, something like a system restore point, while very helpful for setting the system back to a point before things may have “gotten out of control” is great for getting a system back to normal – but it doesn’t back up data. Undeleting data accidently erased (such as a picture or a document file) can be done relatively simply by looking in your recycle bin, or using free utilities such as Recuva, this also is no substitution for having a copy of that picture or document somewhere else (very helpful with a drive failure). While there are many ways and strategies cialis costs to back up your data, three very basic solutions work well for many people.

Don’t Be Singing Those Ol’ Backup Blues

DVD BurnerIn the olden days (like 15 to 20 years ago) backing up was commonly done on tape, a duplicate hard drive or even floppy discs (yes, I still have 45 or so floppy discs floating around in a long forgotten corner of my garage containing my 8088 XT backup). These days with DVD burners, super large external hard drives and even economical USB flash drives, backing up has never been easier. While there are several excellent third party back up programs available – there are simple backup utilities built directly into Windows and Mac operating systems that will work fine for many. For example, if you have Windows Vista, check out the Backup and Restore Center where you can literally back up one file or the entire hard drive. And on Max OS X 10.5, Time Machine offers timemachinea terrific way to back up important files quickly and easily. If you have one of these operating systems, I highly recommend checking these utilities out and seeing if they suit your needs. If you have Window XP Professional, there is also a backup utility built in (also available on Windows XP Home Edition, though not loaded by default). Of course, if you’re the adventurous type, you can back up files manually (quick and easy to do with devices such as a USB flash drive where you literally copy the files you want over).

FreeagentIf you’re like most people, you probably are just fine if you have to restore a system back to an original configuration using the original restore partitions or install disks – but what you really want to save is the important stuff. Stuff like music, videos, games, documents and (very important for many people) photos. With nearly everyone having cheap digital cameras, you can easily lose years of photos if you don’t have them backed up. For these crucial, personal files you may want to consider some third party solutions. One solution that is very popular is to purchase an external hard drive with an integrated backup program. Many hard drive manufacturers (such as Seagate and Western Digital) offer external drives to help back up large amounts of data. Some of these external drives even have such cool features such as one touch backup or continuous file saving. yahooWith One Touch Backup (sometimes abbreviated OTB), you literally touch a button on the external drive that you plugged into your PC and your files are backed up – neat, simple and quick. With continuous backup, you set it up and forget about it – it’s done for you automatically. Another consideration would be an offsite storage solution (very helpful in situations, such as a house fire, where your backed up data could literally burn up with the original PC). High speed internet and free and pay backup services such as Yahoo! Briefcase or Symantec’s SwapDrive as well as other well-known online sites such as Mozy, Carbonite, iBackup, and iDrive, make these great options to use alone or in conjunction with the backup solutions mentioned above.

I’m Not Crya-crya-ing Over Lost Data

BabyAgain, while there are other backup techniques we didn’t touch on in this Tech Tip, using some or all of these backup suggestions (using the programs already built into your operating system, using an external hard drive and using a web based, off-site backup solution), you’ll find that there really is no more excuse for putting off backing up the important files on your computer, easily, simply and regularly. You find that backing up really isn’t that hard to do.

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February 5, 2009

Microsoft offers to just ‘Fix it’

When people encounter a problem with their PC, they often go to the Web and do a search to see if others have had the problem. If they are lucky, someone has found a fix and listed the steps on either a support document or within a user forum.

 

Now, they may have an even better option.

 

Over the past six weeks, Microsoft has quietly added a “Fix it” button to a few of the thousands of help documents on its Web site. When clicked, the computer then takes all the recommended steps automatically.

 

An example of the “Fix it” button that has started showing up in some Microsoft help documents, offering users a one-click solution.

 

“If we know what those 15 steps are why shouldn’t we just script it,” said Lori Brownell, Microsoft’s general manager of product quality and online support

The “Fix it” option is still fairly rare, showing up in around 100 different help documents. The effort is growing rapidly, though, up from just four such fixes when the program quietly began in December.

 

Microsoft continues to offer users the option of doing things on their own cialis cheapest if they either don’t trust Microsoft or just like being in control.

“We’re not trying to hide anything,” she said.

 

The first fixes included a number of common issues, including restoring a missing Internet Explorer icon to the desktop, how to enable the DVD library in Vista’s

Windows Media Center as well as what to do when encountering the error message in Street & Trips 2008 that “Construction information for routes could not be downloaded”

 

For now, Microsoft is having to go back and search its archives to see which of its problem solving tips can be automated. Eventually, it hopes to create the automated fixes at the same time the help articles are created.

 

Where it can, Microsoft is also adding the “Fix it” option into the error reporting tool built into Windows. Initially, all users could do when a program crashed was send a report to Microsoft. More recently, the system has started checking to see if there is any information on the issue. Next up, said Brownell, is offering the option to have the issue solved automatically.

 

Long term, the company has even broader hopes.

 

While it would like to just eliminate bugs and glitches, Brownell said that is not an attainable goal.

 

“We’d love for our customers to never have problems,” she said. “We’ll never ship bug-free software as hard as we try.”

Instead, she said she is aiming for a day when Microsoft’s products themselves will be able to spot problems and proactively offer fixes. As an example, she noted that in Exchange, it’s a pretty safe bet that once one gets low on disk space, bad things will happen. Making sure that users take action before problems occur is an example where the company is headed.

 

Another example, she said, would be for Microsoft to be able to notify users if they are running two drivers that others have found to conflict with one another. Assuming the appropriate privacy safeguards were in place, Brownell said it would be great for the user to be alerted and offered a fix before a problem occurred.

That proactive world is still largely a vision rather than a reality. That said, Brownell said that the company is putting in place some of the plumbing necessary to make such things possible.

 

With Windows 7, Microsoft has added an “action center” that Brownell said offers the underlying capability needed to serve up fixes within the operating system. She said that she would expect some opportunities for that over the life of the product, though the current beta version of Windows 7 has few examples of that.

Personally, I’d just like to see the “Fix it” button extended to other areas of my life. I’d really like one that would make travel plans, fill out my expense reports and

hire a plumber. That would make me (and my partner) much happier.

 

For what would you like to see a “fix it” button?

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