7-Zip

	File archive designed originally for the Microsoft Windows operating system. You can use 7-Zip on any computers, including computers in commercial organizations.
	Download Here

Ccleaner

	System optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space.
	Download Here

CDBurnerXP

	Burns CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface.
	Download Here

EasyCleaner

	Searches the Windows registry for entries that are pointing nowhere. EasyCleaner also lets you delete all kinds of unnecessary files such as temporary and unused backup files.
	Download Here

FreeCommander

	Easy to use alternative to the standard windows file manager. The program helps you with daily work in Windows.
	Download Here

ImgBurn

	Small program for burning CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray in Windows
	Download Here

IrfanView

	Popular, fast and small, compact graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista
	Download Here

jZip

	Based on proven and reliable 7-Zip archiving technology. jZip sports an elegant, easy to use yet powerful user interface.
	Download Here

Notepad2

	Fast and light-weight Notepad-like text editor with syntax highlighting. Notepad2 does not need to be installed on your computer.
	Download Here

Notepad++

	Source code editor (and Notepad replacement), which supports several programming languages.
	Download Here

Process Explorer

	Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded in Windows.
	Download Here

XnView

	Image viewer to view, convert, organize and edit graphic and video files. XnView supports more than 400 graphics formats.
	Download Here

http://mintywhite.com/tech/freeware/essential-freeware-programs-for-your-every-day-needs/

#1: OpenOffice

This one goes without saying, offering word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database management, drawing, and Web page editing. Add to that the ability to read and write Microsoft Office files and export to PDF and Flash (among other formats), and you have a complete office suite that should meet every need your office has. The OpenOffice user interface has little to no learning curve, so users will hardly know the difference between Microsoft Office and OpenOffice. OpenOffice is also cross-platform capable, with installation binaries for Linux, Solaris, Windows, and OS X (both Intel and PPC).

#2: Evolution

This is the Linux version of Outlook. Another one-stop shop, only this time it’s all about the PIM. E-mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, advanced searching, desktop integration, shared vCards, junk filters, encryption, LDAP support, iCal support, and much more. And if your company uses an Exchange server, you’re in luck because the Evolution Connector will be able to keep you connected. Evolution tends to be the default e-mail client for the GNOME desktop, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Evolution on KDE (or any other window manager.)

#3: Scribus

This is desktop publishing at its open source finest. Scribus can do almost anything Adobe  Acrobat can do — minus draining your wallet. Scribus does layering, opacity, ICC color management, CMYK color separations, and versatile PDF creation. With this tool, your newsletters, press packets, fliers, books, manuals, etc., are done in-house and on the cheap. I have used Scribus on numerous projects ranging from simple fliers to complex books.

#4: Gnucash

Gnucash is one of the best accounting packages available for Linux. It uses double-entry bookkeeping and is a suitable replacement for individual accounting as well as a small business accounting. Gnucash is one of the only accounting packages that is available across most all platforms (Linux, Solaris, UNIX, OS X, and Windows).

#5: OpenProj

This is the open source replacement for Microsoft Project. OpenProj has an equivalent user interface and functionality similar to Project and is interoperable with Project. OpenProj is released under the CPAL (Common Public Attribution License) license and is available for Linux, OS X, 32-bit Windows, BSD, and UNIX-like operating systems. OpenProj does require Java.

#6: Meeting Room Booking System

MRBS is a Web-based booking system for meeting rooms but can be altered to suit your needs. Although I wanted to include only applications that could be installed locally, I felt it necessary to include this application simply because it’s so useful. For corporate environments that have multiple rooms to book, this small-footprint application is perfect. It can also be modified for use as an appointment book, too. MRBS can do repeated bookings, reports, DAY/WEEK/MONTH views, multiple authorization levels, and multiple language support. The installation is simple but requires both a Web server (Apache) and a database server (either MySQL or Postgres).

#7: GnoTime

Formerly GTT, GnoTime is a desktop application that tracks time spent on projects and offers time-based invoice generation. Numerous reports can be generated (Journal, Activity, Daily, Status, To Do, Invoices, Query, Primer, New Reports, Edit Reports), and the interface is simple to use. GnoTime also includes a diary entry editor for each project. With GnoTime you can embed simple SQL queries into report templates. In addition, GnoTime benefits from autosave. So in the rare event your Linux desktop crashes, your data is safe from loss. GnoTime runs on Linux, UNIX, and OS X.

#8: GIMP

I realize that graphics software isn’t always included in lists of necessary office software — but if your office does any of its PR or marketing in-house, graphics tools are a necessity. And when using Linux, GIMP is the de facto standard for graphics creation and/or manipulation. GIMP is to Linux what Photoshop is to OS X and Windows. But GIMP goes Photoshop one better because it’s cross-platform ready. You can install GIMP on Linux, OS X, or Windows. It features a customizable interface, photo enhancement, digital retouching, hardware support, a huge range of file format support, plug-in support, its own scripting language, filters, and a host of other outstanding features.

#9: Pidgen

Many corporate businesses have started regarding instant messaging as a legitimate form of interoffice (or inter-cubicle) communication. And Pidgin is one of the finest of the instant messaging clients. Pidgen works with nearly all of the instant messaging services and can have multiple accounts configured. It’s released under the GNU License, it’s free, and it works on Linux, UNIX, Windows, and OS X. Pidgen supports file transfer, typing notification, spell-check, buddy pouncing, away messages, etc.

#10: K3b

What office doesn’t back up data? None, if they employ safe business practices. And the CD offers one of the safest means of data backup. K3b makes backing up to CD simple. Not only can you do multiple backup types (audio, data cd, data dvd, copy cd, iso cd, iso dvd), you can save the backup information to a file. If you do the same backup regularly, all you need to do is open up the particular backup file and click burn. (No more having to drag and drop or hunt for particular files/folders to back up.) K3b can also blank CDR-Ws, retrieve TOCs, and write cue/bin files. K3b is available only for Linux and has been optimized for KDE.

This short list includes software that can easily handle much of your day-to-day office needs and do it on the Linux operating system. The software listed here is simple to use, reliable, (mostly) scalable, and business ready. Of course, this is a generalized list. Far more specialized office-type software is available on the Linux platform. One of the best places to look for such software is in your Install Software tool, such as Synaptic or Yumex. (The tool you have will depend upon the distribution you use.) Fire that tool up and look through the various categories (a good place to start is the “Office” category) to find what you need.

Linux is an outstanding platform for the office. It is flexible, cost-effective, reliable, secure, and enjoys a small learning curve. So if you’re doubting Linux can take over your office software needs, doubt no more!

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=423

There are 3 ways to do it.

1. Use following command-

iisweb /delete “/”

2. Recreate the folder with the same name in the c:\inetpub\wwwroot and then restart the IIS (use iisreset.exe). You will see the virtual directory with the same name in the IIS window, now remove the virtual directory.

3. Use the following command-

c\inetpub\wwwroot\cscript adsutil.vbs DELETE “W3SVC\1\root\”

http://sanjaysainitech.blogspot.com/2007/06/error-alias-lmw3svc1rootwebapplication.html

#1: Public library

As obvious as this resource is, I am always surprised at how many people never think of it. Though some of the material may not be the latest, you might be surprised, especially if you have access to a fairly large metropolitan library. Do not forget about videos and DVDs either, especially for training on less technical, common applications, such as QuickBooks or Microsoft Access. If you are looking for business or methodology training, you may also want to look for audio books. You may not be able to find detailed information on the Rational Unified Process (RUP), but Six Sigma and other initiatives in which your company or client may be involved may well be there. Audio books also enable you to convert idle drive time, or exercise time, into a value-add for you and your client.

If you are stuck in a small town with limited resources, consider approaching a larger library system to become a guest patron. Many times this is available to the public for a fee, but your local library may also have a reciprocal agreement with them, in which case access to the other library system may be free. Also, if you do teaching at a school of any type, you may be granted access to a library system if you can show proof of your status as a teacher.

University libraries are another rich store of material from which you can learn new skills. But unless you are a student at the school, it may be less than straightforward to check out materials. If the university is state-funded, you might be permitted to check out material if you are a resident of the state. If the university you approach does not permit you to check out material, you can always make a routine of camping out there for a couple of hours each week and learning on the premises.

#2: Company library/resources

Many companies have their own libraries and training that are available for the asking. Training is usually a part of human resources, so you might start there if the company doesn’t have a formal training department. If you are an independent consultant, does your client have a library you could tap into? It has been my experience that clients are generally quite willing to open up their training to outside consultants, especially if the training makes the consultants more effective in working with them.

If there is a cost associated with the training, however, reimbursement can be complicated, as clients usually lack a process for accepting that type of payment. Very large companies have particularly difficult time accepting money for training, but do not give up. Your client’s department may still be willing to carry your training if they see a material benefit.

#3: Vendor training

It is to a vendor’s advantage to have you use their product, and use it effectively. To that end, many vendors offer training for little or no cost. This training is made available in a variety of formats, including:

• Training sessions at conferences and trade fairs
• White papers
• Online tutorials
• Online/on-demand videos
• Special training events

You will not find a five-day intensive training session available for free, but you can still learn quite a bit from these free vendor resources. The more prepared you go into a vendor’s event, including being armed with questions, the more you will gain from the experience.

#4: Podcasts

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular among the typical channel of technical media and vendors. They include product information or interviews with experts in a particular field and tend to cover fairly narrow topics, such as the software quality topics offered by StickyMinds. There are also a number of resources from more public sources, such as iPod and YouTube. These may come from a number of academic sources, or they may be the product of someone who simply has a passion for the subject.

#5: Webinars/webcasts and virtual trade shows

One of the greatest developments for people who actually have to work for a living, webinars and virtual trade shows offer a no-travel way to accomplish in an hour what used to take an entire day. Virtual trade shows are not as well attended by vendors as live trade shows, but as vendors figure out how to use the new venue, I expect more will start to join in. Advantages, besides the obvious lack of travel and enormous time savings, include having a fairly narrow topic focus and relatively easy access to representatives. There are also some pretty awesome networking opportunities, as well.

Webinars usually consist of an industry expert providing general information, followed by product information from the sponsoring vendor. The product typically has some tie to the overall topic, and many times, the product information portion of the webinar may be as informative as the general topic portion. If the sponsor has a broader interest in the industry, such as an association or a publisher, the entire webinar may be information-oriented, with no product application.

Various webcasts can be found at TechRepublic, as well as at other publishers.

#6: Associations and user groups

National organizations typically have a number of resources that you, as a member, can participate in. These may include online libraries, peer forums, and training courses. There may be a cost associated with some of this training, and access to some of the resources may require a paid, or premium (read: more expensive), membership. But when you consider that a membership to the Association of Computing Machinery, for example, can give you access to more than 1,100 books online, in addition to their journals and proceedings, it might well be worth the annual membership fee.

User groups, or other local groups that share your interest in a particular topic, offer a great forum to learn and share information for little or no cost. Special interest groups (SIGs) within the user group offer further topic specialization and can be a tremendous way to learn or be mentored. Check with vendors that interest you, as they may maintain a list of user groups in your area that relate to your product. Microsoft, for example, has a site with user group information, as do other major manufacturers. Consider, also, simple word of mouth and the “community calendar” section of your local paper to find out about upcoming meetings of groups that may interest you.

#7: Volunteering

The best way to learn is by doing. However, most companies are not willing to pay you while you learn. If you have all of the books and tutorials, but just need to get your hands dirty, why not volunteer to do a project for someone for free? Churches and nonprofits might need some work done that you can help with. A new Web site, a donor tracking system, or automation of monthly billing are all things that might benefit them and can give you the hands-on experience you need to approach a prospective employer or client. This is an especially good approach if you are trying to retool yourself with some new technology, or least a technology that is new to you.

This same approach can be applied in an incremental fashion with existing work you may be doing. Can you work a little beyond your current job description? If you are working within an old development methodology, for example, but want to try what you have learned about RUP, redo a portion of your work in the style of the new methodology, such as use cases. There is nothing like trying a skill on a real project to give you a real sense of the process, and sometimes a real sense of how much you still need to learn. Who knows — besides getting some great experience, you might even start to convert your team to the new process (but don’t get your hopes up).

#8: The Internet

Who has not Googled to learn more on a topic or to clear up an office dispute on the origins of some phrase or song lyric? This same resource is a great learning tool. A simple topic search can produce content from college courses, vendor training, and government information sites. Don’t be surprised if some of this content offers better explanations than some text books.

Online publishers are another great source for information to enhance your skills. Consider dropping a topic that interests you into the search field at a site such as DevX, and you may be surprised how much detail you will find.

#9: Continuing education

Continuing education programs, also called adult education or community outreach, offer nondegree classes that are generally conducted in the evening for a modest fee. Besides the stereotypic class on how to weave a basket, many programs also offer database, networking, and a number of other technology classes. Many of these programs are run through high schools and colleges, so if you are not aware of any programs in your area, start by checking with your local high school, career center, or university for contact information.

#10: Community college

State-run community colleges generally offer a number of affordable classes you can take without seeking a degree. Many of these colleges offer technology and programming classes. Because you have probably not taken the prerequisites for the class, you may need the permission of the instructor, but that should not be a problem if you are already a professional in the field. These programs are usually far less expensive than your typical week-long vendor training and are usually scheduled during the evening to minimize the impact on your workday. There may also be for-profit community colleges in your area. But since they may lack public subsidies, be prepared to pay substantially more for their course offerings.

One less hurdle

Limited time, family demands, and travel may still keep you from dedicating to learning a new skill, but if you’re creative, cost doesn’t have to be an obstacle. In fact, the nature of some of these suggested training alternatives lend themselves nicely to working around the time and travel constraints that are so often a barrier. Take advantage of as many of these training approaches as you can, and you will have one less hurdle to moving your career forward.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=417

When that phone rings, the clock starts running. The sooner you can resolve the caller’s problem, the better off both of you will be. Here are some tips to help.

#1: Remember Occam’s Razor

One useful principle I’ve learned is that of Occam’s Razor: The simplest explanation for a situation is often the correct one. Yes, your customer’s blank monitor might have been caused by sunspots, in connection with an electrical storm this morning. But isn’t it more likely that the signal cable or the power cable is loose or unplugged? Eliminate the simple causes before trying the more complex ones.

#2: Ask carefully about the “simple” causes

Be careful in determining these simple causes. Your customer, particularly one who has technical ability, may be offended. To minimize this possibility, consider apologizing in advance, or using “the system” as your foil. For example: “I’m really sorry to ask, but you did already check to see that it’s plugged in, right?” Alternatively, you could say, “I’m sorry, I have to ask this, or else I’m in trouble with my boss….”

#3: Use open-ended questions at the start

Open-ended questions are designed to gain as much information as possible from the customer. In the case of problem determination, you want such information, because you want to eliminate or focus on particular causes of the customer’s problem. Open-ended questions generally require sentences to answer; they can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” Using a courtroom analogy, an attorney who’s doing a direct examination of a witness will use open-ended questions. That’s because the witness is either the client or someone who’s allied with the client.

#4: Use closed-ended questions to confirm

Closed-ended questions are designed to confirm your current understanding. At this point, you’ve gained valuable information from the customer and now want to confirm it. For example, you could ask, “You’re saying you did install release 3.5, is that correct?”

Be careful not to move too quickly into asking closed-ended questions because you might shut yourself off from valuable information.

#5: Empathize with the caller

Customers who call with a problem have more than a technical issue. They almost always have an emotional reaction as well. It’s important to address this emotional aspect, because the way you do so determines their satisfaction with your work. Take a second to say you’re sorry for the problem and that you want to get it resolved as soon as possible.

#6: Help the caller help you

If you need information from the customer, make it easy for him or her to provide it. Are you looking for a serial number from an equipment label or tag? Then tell the customer where it is (e.g., the first line or second line of the tag). Also, if you can, tell the customer the structure or format (e.g., it’s a six-digit numeral or it’s a10-character alphanumeric, with three letters followed by seven digits).

#7: Explain why you’re asking them to do certain things

A customer with a technical problem has enough anxiety as it is. If you ask that customer to do seemingly unrelated tasks, you could increase that anxiety, causing a negative reaction. To reduce this possibility, explain to the customer why you’re asking him or her to do something and how it relates to resolving the problem. If your customer is technically proficient, describe the result of what you’re doing. It can save time and may prevent insulting the customer’s intelligence. For example, instead of saying, “Okay, click on Start, then highlight Run, then type regedit,” consider saying, “Okay, we need to edit the registry. If you want, I can step you through how to get there.”

#8: Identify what’s unique about this customer

What’s different or special about this customer, if others don’t have the same problem? Is this customer in a different building, or attached to a different server, or using a different release of software? Knowing the answer could help you narrow things down.

#9: Determine what’s changed recently for this customer

Similarly, you’ll want to ascertain whether anything has changed with regard to the customer. Has he or she moved to a new location or had a system upgrade? On the other hand, was the customer left behind when others went to that upgrade?

#10: Does the problem “stalk the swap”?

If you’re dealing with hardware or equipment issues, check to see whether the problem “stalks the swap.” If it does, you have pretty good assurance that the piece you swapped is the piece that’s causing the problem. Let’s say you’ve narrowed a connectivity problem to either the network adapter or the patch cable between the PC and the wall jack. When you replace the network cable with a new one, the problem goes away. To make sure, though, take that old cable and use it with another PC that has a good connection. If the connectivity problem appears with the second PC, you can be pretty sure the cable was the problem.

#11: Document the problem after it’s resolved

Once the problem is fixed, document it in your problem ticket. If you have no ticket system, at least let your co-workers know via an e-mail or text. Also, discuss what happened with the customer if he or she did something that caused the problem. If you can prevent it from happening again, both you and the customer benefit.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=403

FlashGet / Free Download Manager

Nothing beats these for download management. There’s torrent support in both these software. Flashget integrates very well with most popular browsers and the latter has support for downloading flash video files. Check out more free download managers.

uTorrent

Lightweight, feature rich, and encryption for your torrent downloads. Simply the best torrent client out there. It’s even got a Web based UI that can be used to control it via a remote interface.

DownThemAll

If you just don’t want to have multiple apps for just the sake of downloading, try the DownThemAll add-on for Firefox. DownThemAll is an excellent download manager and accelerator that is constantly being developed.

FileZilla

FTP client that has got it all. It’s cross platform, and has drag and drop and speed limiting features. Multi lingual interface is available as well.

BitMeter

Bitmeter can be used to track download and upload speeds, and also bandwidth consumption. A little tool to estimate the time it’ll take to download a file is also inbuilt. Check out more bandwidth monitors.

Universal Extractor

These days, most files you download are compressed, and so an uncompressor becomes indispensable. Universal Extractor is very superior than any other archiving tool, and virtually supports every other archiving format you can think of.

CCleaner

CCleaner can clean up the temporary files and other installation mess that appears once you complete your downloads. An uninstaller and a registry cleaner are built in to CCleaner.

http://www.killertechtips.com/2008/03/30/windows-free-software-download/

Here are some things I have discovered or that have been passed along to me by colleagues, which anyone who is developing applications should not overlook. By following some of these recommendations, you can help ensure you are producing the best quality product possible.

#1: Clarifying user requirements

As you spend more time developing an application, you can sometimes predict some of the requests of your customers. Don’t take this for granted and assume you know more than your users do. When you receive the requirements, spend some time with them and review their specification to confirm you are on the same page. Not doing so can end up costing you time as you rework the application later on.

#2: Collaborating

Call it brainstorming, call it peer code review, call it whatever you want — but just make sure you collaborate with those around you. Bouncing ideas off others will help you identify any holes in your potential solution and might even help you develop a solution better than your original design.

#3: Version control

Anybody who has ever had his or her code stepped on or deleted knows the value of a good version control system. It doesn’t matter if its CVS, ClearCase, or even Visual Source Safe. Get it, learn it, and use it. You don’t want all your hard work to be blown away with a few mistaken keystrokes.

#4: Basic system testing

Most developers don’t like to test. Or maybe I should say most developers hate testing. But it’s crucial for you to do your own testing before you release it to anybody else. Nothing will get your testing group upset and knocking on your door quicker than receiving code that doesn’t perform the basics. Make sure entry screens allow input, check that you can’t enter a letter where only numbers are allowed, verify that reports actually print information and that columns add up — the basic stuff.

#5: Usability

Early in my career, I designed a screen for a group of data entry users. I thought my design was so slick. The system had all the bells and whistles they needed and then some. I was just about ready to install it when it was pointed out to me that the users almost never used a mouse. My design had added some buttons to the screen and had them lifting their hands from the keyboard over and over. Not efficient for them and very humbling for me. Spend some time to learn about the types of usability issues your customers may have and everybody will be happier.

#6: System performance

In this era of instant gratification, it’s hard to satisfy end users. When they click on a button, they expect that the system will immediately respond. Or they may have the misconception that overnight processes really should take only an hour or two. When developing your application, ensure that you understand what type of response the users expect and require.

#7: Comments in your code

Comments are the bane of many developers’ existence. We want to spend our time writing code not writing about code. But most of us have been tasked at some point with going in and maintaining somebody else’s work. If you’re like me, you may have sometimes found it so confusing that your first reaction was to rip it all out and start over. My experiences have taught me that even by adding some very basic commenting around sections of code and trying to use descriptive variable names and the like, you can have a significant positive impact on the next person who has to maintain your legacy.

#8: Logging

When you’re developing applications (especially those without any type of user interface), make sure you build some helpful logging solutions into the code. There are few worse things for a developer to do than to try to debug an application with little visibility into what is going on when it is running.

It doesn’t have to be overly complex. Maybe just writing out some of the values of your variables or counters at certain places in the code or when it hits certain subroutines. You can set it up so it logs only when a particular environmental condition exists (maybe a specific text file exists in a directory). Trapping anything that is going to help you track down and resolve issues quickly is what you’re going for here.

#9: Keeping your skills up to date

Still coding in something a few years old? Many people work for companies run by legacy applications that are past their prime. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore what’s going on in the world around you. A lot of the new technologies out there can be integrated and could provide a boost to you and your company. Take some time to try to understand them a bit, and who knows when you can use it to your advantage.

#10: Taking pride in your work

One thing I always thought about and tried to pass along to my teams was the concept of having pride and ownership in the applications we were responsible for. I never wanted to hear that my applications weren’t working at their peak capabilities or that users were unhappy. And if we did hear about a problem, we would go out of our way to do everything we could to rectify the situation immediately.

It doesn’t matter if you are a head-down developer in a large organization, a systems designer, or a single jack-of-all-trades for your own company. Taking some of these ideas into consideration will not only help you produce a better end product but it will also allow you continue to evolve yourself and your career to the next level.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=368

Yet all too often, these hard-to-find (and hard-to-hire) employees are neglected once they come on board. While proper compensation is, of course, a large part of employee retention, the top programmers need more than a great pay check. Here are 10 reasons why your star programmer might be looking to leave, and what you can do to convince them to stick around.

#1: Poor pay

No one works purely out of a charitable nature. So when your best people feel like their pay is severely out of line with market standards, they may start to view other pastures as being much greener than yours. Your worst enemy in retaining the stars is the thought, “I am the worst paid senior developer in this town.”

I see a lot of companies that look at what the market is like only when they hire someone. Meanwhile, your best people are often aware of what is happening in the market consistently. If you have not re-evaluated your pay packages in a while, you need to. While the package may have been competitive when you hired someone three years ago, your best employees may be able to get a substantial raise by making a lateral move (if not taking a higher level position) to another employer.

#2: An uncertain future

The best people often have no intention of leaving until something out of the ordinary prompts them to stick their toes in the job market waters. At one company where I worked, the trigger for a mass exodus was the sale of the building our employer was renting to a major company that obviously was not going to keep leasing to us. A lot of people panicked and wondered whether the loss of the office space would prompt a move of the operation to another city. Instead of sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop, they left. At another company where I worked, a large layoff spooked those who survived, and they left as soon as they could.

There is little you can do to prevent these outside influences from occurring, but you can do a lot to reassure your people when they do happen. Your best programmers are not dumb; they know when you are trying to puff them up with hot air instead of being forthright. When these events happen, give your people the straight truth and show them what you and the company are doing to prevent the need for your stars to lose their jobs. It’s a tough path to walk, but too many managers cave in to the temptation to cover up the problems – and those cover-ups tend to drive people out even faster.

#3: A tyrannical manager

Some managers don’t just think they need their finger on the pulse of the organization, they think they need their jackboot on the back of the organization pinning it to the floor. While micromanagement may be needed for entry level and junior employees to help guide them, senior programmers resent it. After all, if you don’t trust them to make their own decisions, why did you hire them instead of junior people?

Other managers simply do not know how to overrule a decision made on technical grounds for business reasons in a way that shows respect for the technical people involved. When your superstars feel like they are always under the microscope and will be punished if they take independent action, they will leave. So lighten up and loosen up a bit. Remember, these people are the cream of the crop, and they can make technical decisions on their own. If you do need to override them for business reasons, make sure that they understand why it is happening, that their views were fully considered and noted, and that they will not be held responsible for the outcome.

#4: Office politics

Programmers, as a group, generally do not enjoy playing office politics. Most of them just want to come in to work, do a great job doing the things they love to do, and keep learning and doing new things in the process. Getting involved in budget squabbles, playing the “blame game” over project failures, and participating in turf wars over responsibilities and resources just are not on their agenda. Programmers in these kinds of environments usually want to get out. So don’t involve them.

As a manager, part of your job is to shield your team from the office squabbles. Let your team know that they should refer these problems to you and show them that you’re working hard to keep them out of the internal brawls. Your people will appreciate your taking the fire for them and allowing them to do their jobs in peace.

#5: Work/life balance

It is impossible to hammer on this point enough. Your best programmers work hard. Most of them work a lot more than 40 hours per week. This can and will cause severe burnout, especially after a long stretch, such as what usually happens at the end of a project. It is up to you to make sure that they don’t burn out, even if they don’t see it coming. Sometimes, employees hoard vacation time throughout the year, so that they can have a long vacation during the winter holidays. (Or they’re saving it for another big event, like an upcoming childbirth.) Other times, employees feel guilty about asking for time off in the middle of a big project. And of course, in many organizations, taking time off is fairly irrelevant since people on vacation are constantly being called, and they return to a huge mountain of work.

It is possible, but not easy, to make sure that your people take time off and get to relax while away from the office. For starters, offer people a three-day paid weekend here and there (much easier for salaried employees) when it won’t harm a project, without deducting it from their accrued vacation time. And when people are on vacation, get them to leave the laptop in the office and spread as much of their workload out to other people so they come back refreshed and don’t have to burn themselves out again playing catch-up.

#6: Stale job

Your best programmers probably do not want to be doing work that they find unchallenging or that does not teach them anything new. They became really good by doing and learning new things, not by sitting around writing boring, easy applications. When you offer these high achievers nothing but busy work, they get restless – and that restlessness can take them out the door. Periodically take the time to talk with your people and make sure that they’re working on projects that are at an appropriate level of difficulty and that are holding their interest. It is usually better to transition bored employees to more interesting projects than to lose them altogether.

#7: Stalled projects

For many reasons, some projects just never seem to make progress. Customers are indecisive, requirements keep changing, there is a lack of resources… the list can go on forever. High achievers like to be successful, and top programmers are no different. When your best people are on projects that are going nowhere fast, they feel useless and get frustrated. Eventually, they leave. While no manager likes having these projects to begin with, recognize the fact that these kinds of projects kill morale. Take steps to keep the spirits up in the ranks.

#8: Lack of recognition

People who are among the best in any given field often expect to be treated as a cut above, and with good reason. It may not always be possible to treat your best people to bowls of M&M’s with all of the brown ones removed, but it is quite within your power to treat them like they are topnotch people. One way of showing recognition is to defer to their judgment, as previously mentioned. You can also give them a bit of latitude to experiment and take risks. Your best people should have enough responsibility to do things like use some advanced techniques that you would not let a less experienced developer use. Giving them this chance shows them that you recognize their ability and that you trust them. You should never treat them like a junior or entry-level developer. That would make them think their years of experience are not valued or maybe not even noticed.

#9: Poor environment

Some environments just are not conducive to employee retention. In addition, your best people will probably have the most opportunities to leave, and they’re less likely to need their current job as a resume builder. Put those things together, and you have a recipe for high desertion rates. So what can you do? Try to improve your environment. This covers a wide range of things, from the office furniture to the condition of the carpet to the difficulty in finding a parking spot to the attitudes of co-workers. Not everything is under your control, of course, and some people will never be happy no matter how great things are. But if you put some effort into improving the environment, your employees will notice.

#10: Things outside of your control

Many managers tend to assume that their employees’ satisfaction is completely their responsibility. This is simply not the case. Just because your star is grumpy does not mean that it is your fault. His family might prefer it if they moved to another city, or her commute may be too long. You have no control over these things. While most employees will be reluctant to say, “I’m looking to leave” regardless of the reason, employees do verbalize unhappiness with non-work problems more than work-related issues. If you hear an employee mention a problem that a change in employers might correct, take heed.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=346

#1: Which character data type should I use?

Use character data types to store values you don’t evaluate in mathematical equations, even if the data consists of numeric characters. For instance, use a character data type to store names, addresses, ZIP codes, and phone numbers. SQL Server offers several character data types and deciding which to apply is confusing only if you don’t know the differences between them. Table A gives a quick comparison of char, varchar, nchar, and nvarchar.

Table A: Character data types

Here are a few general rules that should help:

• Don’t use nchar or nvarchar unless you truly need it. (Unicode provides a unique number for up to 65,536 characters. ANSI, the one most of us are most familiar with, has only 256.) Unless you’re working with an international application, you probably don’t need a Unicode data type.
• Use the smallest data type necessary, but make sure it can accommodate the largest possible value.
• Use a fixed-length data type when the values are mostly about the same size.
• Use a variable length when the values vary a lot in size.

#2: Which integer type should I use?

Use integer data types to store numeric data that the application evaluates as numbers. Table B compares the four integer data types.

Table B: Integer data types

Assigning the appropriate integer data type isn’t as confusing as choosing a character data type. Simply use the smallest integer data type that accommodates the largest possible value.

#3: What’s the difference between numeric and decimal?

There’s no difference between the numeric and decimal data types. Use them interchangeably or use one or the other to store integer and floating-point numbers scaled from 1 to 38 places, inclusive of both sides of a decimal. Use this data type when you need to control the accuracy of your calculations in terms of the number of decimal digits. The following table lists the exact storage size for this data type, depending on size, as listed in Table C.

Table C: Precision storage requirements

#4: What’s the difference between float and real?

The only differences between float and real are their minimum and maximum values and their required storage, as compared in Table D. Use float or real to store approximate values, where precision can’t be represented (e.g., Pi).

Table D: Float and real data type restrictions

The real data type is the same as float(24) – a floating data type with 24 digits to the right of the decimal point.

#5: What’s the difference between smalldatetime and datetime?

Both smalldatetime and datetime store a combination date and time value, but the minimum and maximum values, accuracy, and storage size are different, as compared in Table E. Use datetime even when all dates fall into smalldatetime’s range, if you require up-to-the-second accuracy.

Table E: Smalldatetime and datetime restrictions

#6: What’s the difference between smallmoney and money?

Use both smallmoney and money to store currency values. However, the minimum and maximum values for both differ, as compared in Table F. Both data types are accurate up to ten-thousandths of a monetary unit.

Table F: Smallmoney and money restrictions

#7: Where’s the Boolean data type?

SQL Server doesn’t have a Boolean data type, at least not by that name. To store True/False, Yes/No, and On/Off values, use the bit data type. It accepts only three values: 0, 1, and NULL. (NULL is supported by SQL Server 7.0 and later.)

#8: What happened to text, ntext, and image?

SQL Server is phasing out text, ntext, and image. There’s no way to know how long SQL Server will support the older data types. Upgrade legacy applications to varchar, nvarchar, and varbinary.

#9: How do I assign a cursor or table data type?

You don’t, at least not in the traditional manner. You don’t assign these data types to a column. You can use cursor and table only as variables:

• The cursor data type allows you to return a cursor from a stored procedure or store a cursor as a variable.
• The table data type returns a table from a stored procedure or stores a table as a variable for later processing.

#10: What is a user-defined data type?

SQL Server lets you create custom data types that are based on system data types. Create a user-defined data type when you specify the same limitations often. For instance, if many tables contain a state column, base a user-defined data type on SQL Server’s nchar (see #1) with a length of 2 and name it State. Then, choose State as the column’s data type, instead of specifying nchar(2). It requires about as much work, but it’s self-documenting and easy to remember. This example is simple; usually a user-defined data type is a bit more complex.

#11: Does SQL Server 2008 have any new data types?

SQL Server 2008 has several new data types:

• date stores only date values with a range of 0001-01-01 through 9999-12-31.
• time stores only time values with a range of 00:00:00.0000000 through 23:59:59.9999999.
• datetime2 has a larger year and second range.
• datetimeoffset lets you consider times in different zones.
• hierarchyid constructs relationships among data elements within a table, so you can represent a position in a hierarchy.
• spatial identifies geographical locations and shapes – landmarks, roads, and so on.

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=355

MoreGen will also insert the filenames into a C# project automatically.

MoreGen is designed to update the definition when your database is updated.

http://code.google.com/p/moregen/