Recently in Work Category

We often keep hearing about some PHP integration at some level or the other in all the major open source IDEs. But frankly, none of them seemed much useful to me. I somehow never liked PDT from Eclipse (and for some reason I don't like Eclipse at all :S). Now the latest milestone release of Netbeans has a cool addition: PHP Integration that really kicks! Just to mention a few highlights: great intellisense for both the builtin library functions as well as our own, full support for class browsing and intellisense for object oriented PHP as well, integrated debugger, live error checking and much much more. Do check out if you are a PHP developer! You might no longer need the expensive Zend studio to have a smooooth PHP development experience.

Below is a screen shot with some of the candies demonstrated, click to enlarge:

CutePDF is a software that lets you convert any printable document into a PDF file - and that too very easily. You simple have to select 'File > Print' and select the CutePDF option.

You can find the details here. I've been using it for a long time now and I really find it useful - it puts no ads, and it keeps the original formatting intact - which is so nice I'd say.

TrueSpace, one of the popular 3d production systems in the market - is now free. Here is a piece of art produced using TrueSpace:


It used to sell at a price around $600 before Microsoft acquired the parent company Caligari some time back.

TrueSpace, which is now actually a Microsoft product, is available for download at www.caligari.com (free registration required).

Different people have come up with different opinions about this relatively surprising news - to set free a $600 product. But the general opinion is that Microsoft has taken this step to compete with Google's SketchUp - which is also available for free - and allows you to upload content to Google Earth directly.

Here is an excerpt from the official blog posting:

As you'll recall, several months ago we acquired Caligari because of their advanced 3D toolset - trueSpace (among other assets). I've always felt sketchy about other 3D freeware, so starting today trueSpace 7.6 is now available for download.....FOR FREE! And, there is a direct connection into Live Search Maps so you can create SUPER high resolution 3D models using trueSpace, then right from the environment upload the model into Live Search Maps as a collection item. Once you've created your collection, you can import your collection into your Virtual Earth application and BAM you have your own custom 3D models in your Virtual Earth application. We'll host the models right in our 3D collections cloud! This is going to be a long post - get some coffee and make it diesel.

TrueSpace is way ahead in terms of features and power when it comes to comparison with SketchUp - so time will tell how the audience react to this.

I personally use Blender 3D, but choice is always good.

I was traveling through the web and found this. It is a really good collection of free (GPL'ed) icons. I think you must have a look if you are a serious or a hobbyist designer.

Part of what I do to seek pleasure is teaching some undergraduate students about the concepts of computer programming. While I try and explain the ideas which are in my mind, and pass them to the young developers out there in front of me, I often feel proud, so proud, that I am able to develop an interest level in them. I feel fascinated by the fact that the student is learning to program not because the student has to, but because the student wants to. That's something very important when you are starting to learn something, and it's always much more fun.

I've seen that the students like to ask questions that may have no logic in your world of things as a teacher - but extracting what they want from their questions and successfully delivering them back is a really rewarding exercise.

And every time I am the teaching assistant of a particular course, I end up finding some students who are really very promising - with great potential within them to lead the rest. I just love the way they approach things - the focus that they have when solving a problem. They're coding as if no one else is watching them, and I love it!

I don't know if it happens just with me, but I've noticed that I can tell by just looking at a person first time how good that person is, in any particular area they may be in. It's the charm of the personality such people have perhaps, that gives me such an impression straight away. Or I'm just lucky at making wild guesses.

It has happened a lot of times with me - that I have a look at a person - or just talk to that person once, and then in my mind I just get a certificate telling me that the person will make it big - will be a distinction or is already a distinction (even if i don't know). And after some time, I get to see that the person who I met has really excelled at all the things I thought s/he would excel at. And it's just so refreshing, and fun.

It's probably one great thing about great people: they won't tell you how great they are, but still you can't help but notice the charisma that they hold.

Thanks to God - it is one of the greatest of gifts to have from God - to be able to meet and know great people.

Talking about how technology affects human lives, well, here is a great example. I was talking to Munir some time back and suddenly he started giggling as if somebody finally gave him a "chocolate" after 2 years' gap. Once he felt he can settle down and type something else than just 'hahaha' or 'lol' or 'hehehe', he told me that his boss at his previous workplace is getting engaged this Sunday - but the twist? he is in Bahrain - and the rest of the necessary people to be involved are in Pakistan. So, it's going to be a "Remote Mangni" - nice buzz word after "web 2.0". We've been hearing about such stories of "online nikah" and all that - but we find it inconvenient for some reason. But is it really inconvenient? or just unconventional?

I'm sharing (with Munir's permission, of course) this chat transcript between him and his boss:

Boss says:
arranged hae

Munir says:
nice

Munir says:
buhat buhat mubarak ho

Boss says:
yes ..but I am in bahrain

Munir says:
phir?

Boss says:
remote ho gi..mairi taraf say ammi pehnayen geen ring

Munir says:
really

Munir says:
lush

Howz that!? =)

Oh. I know, the world is short of good people, but please, I'm not one of those who lose hope easily. So if you are one of those who happen to:

- be smart enough

- know how to code

- have an eye for design and have basic 2d image manipulation skills (knowledge of vector stuff is a big +)

- pretty relaxed with html

- somewhat relaxed with css and javascript

- preferebly relaxed with any server technology such as php or asp.net

In a nutshell, relaxed enough to do real world web work.

Find yourself in? cool! read on:

What you get? a nice friend (me), freedom to ignore the previous point, exciting cool projects (web 2.0 mostly and then some boring ones), handsome amount of money if that matters and yeah, many opportunities to relax (read learn) with time.

So, send me your stuff, your work, or.. URLs.. or anything that shows you're good at my email address (found in the 'About Me' page).

The better you are, the better the chances to get the coolest projects with great bounties.