Buying a new laptop

If you are going to buy a laptop using Microsoft Windows, make sure it has Windows 7. Windows 8 is not good, hard to use and took a lot of time to learn. Thus Microsoft force to make Windows 8.1 as a new free upgrade.

http://www.extremetech.com/computing/155747-windows-8-1-will-be-a-free-upgrade-will-begin-public-beta-testing-on-june-26.

Also, make sure the CPU support supports Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT) along with many advanced technologies as I mentioned on my previous post. I preferred Intel® Core™ i3, i5 or i7 processor.

Your laptop should have:

• 15.6" monitor screen. 
• At least 1.9 GHZ Intel® Core™ i3 processor 
• At least 4 GB RAM expandable to 8GB or 16GB
• Built-in high-speed wireless 802.11b/g/n and Gigabit Ethernet LAN. 
• Two or more USB ports.
• Built-in front camera.
• At least 3 hours battery.

My experience with Android Studio

I love to learn or try a new thing everyday. Yesterday, I downloaded Android Studio and installed on both Mac OS/X Lion 10.7  and Ubuntu 13.04 laptop. Here is the screenshot of Android Studio my MacBook Pro.

I'm still figuring out how to fix this error: "emulator: ERROR: unknown skin name 'WXGA720'" when  attempt to load Android Virtual Device without using Eclipse Juno to launch the AVD first.

For Ubuntu 13.04, I must using Oracle Java Development Kit instead of OpenJDK to run Android Studio. With Eclipse IDE, I can use OpenJDK. Here is the screenshot when I make a new Android project imported from my GitHub account:

I also trying to install Android Studio on Microsoft Windows. To save time, you need to read carefully the note on http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/studio.html

Since this is a preview release, I don't expect much. I hope Google will make Android Studio tool better.

Error when add the StoreManagerController on MVC Music Store Tutorial Part 5

When I followed the MVC Music Store Tutorial using Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Web on Windows 8, I got this error:

Unable to retrieve metadata for 'MusicStore.Models.Album'. Using the same DbCompiledModel to create context against different types of database servers is not supported. Instead, create a separate DbCompiledModel for each type of server being used.

No idea. Let google for a solution. Here a solution from ITorian (http://www.itorian.com/2012/10/unable-to-retrieve-metadata-for.html) :

After I delete this line in web.config, it worked: 

     connectionString="Data Source=|DataDirectory|MvcMusicStore.sdf"

     providerName="System.Data.SqlServerCe.4.0"/>

Thank the author of ITorian.com.

What did I do last weekend?

Look at this picture :)

I played with Microsoft ASP.NET MVC 4, Visual Studio 2012 on Windows 8. Actually Windows 8 hosted on my Apple MacBook Pro. On my Dell laptop, I used Google Chrome on Ubuntu. I love to learning a new thing everyday.

Transact-SQL statement terminator

Although the semicolon is not required for most statements in this version of SQL Server, it will be required in a future version. For more information, see Deprecated Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2008.

Read more at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms177563(v=sql.100).aspx

A Safe Job Search

Just got this useful message from Monster.com, I repost here For Your Awareness (FYA):

Monster makes protecting job seekers a top priority. We'd like to remind you of what you can do to help keep yourself safe during a job search. 

Know What to Avoid
Some employment scams appear as job postings or classifieds while others may target victims through unsolicited email. Below are the most common scams: 

Money-Laundering Scams
Money launderers offer "jobs" with commissions or pay as high as $2000 per day to process checks on behalf of foreign nationals. They recruit local citizens to "process payments" or "transfer funds," because as foreign nationals, they can't do it themselves. Learn more about money laundering scams here.» 

Reshipping Scams
Reshipping scams typically require job seekers to receive packages of stolen goods-frequently consumer electronics-and then forward the packages, often outside the United States. Those who fall for reshipping scams may be liable for shipping charges and even the cost of goods purchased online with stolen credit cards. Read more about reshipping scams here.» 

Pre-pay/Work at Home Scams
Although there are genuine jobs working at home, many "offers" are not valid forms of employment and have the simple goal of getting victims to make an initial "investment." Find out more about avoiding these scams.» 

Protect Yourself 
What seems like a lucrative job offer could cost you your savings and more. Learn to identify the signals of an employment scam to protect yourself. A few simple steps and a little bit of information can keep your job search safe and effective! Learn more by visiting Monster's Security Center. 

If you see a questionable job posting or suspect misuse of the Monster website, please report the suspected fraud to Monster. 

If you think you have been a victim of fraud, immediately report the fraud to your local police and contact Monster, so steps can be taken to ensure your safety. We also recommend that you file an online report with The Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center. More information on how to conduct a safe job search is available through the Federal Trade Commission's website. You can also check out LooksTooGoodToBeTrue.com.

Further reading:
Should I provide my social security number when I apply job online?

Java Vulnerability

After learning about Java vulnerability from the Department of Homeland Security's United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), I checked all my browsers in all computers: Ubuntu Linux, Apple Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows to make sure Java is disabled. To test whether Java is working on my computer, go to this URL http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp

Here are the screenshots from my Windows computer:

Java was disable on Google Chrome 23 on Microsoft Windows. Oops. I need to update Google Chrome to the latest version Google Chrome 24. Always keep your browser up to date.

'No working Java was detected on your system.' Good. Java was disabled on Mozilla Firefox 17. Again. I will update Firefox to version 18. On Ubuntu, it was 'Something is wrong. Java is not working'.

Java was disabled on Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.

Next, I went to Control Panel to update Java to the latest version Java 7 update 10 and unchecked the check box 'Enable Java content in the browser'.

 Before clicked the 'Apply' button

After clicked the 'Apply' button

Unchecked the 'Keep temporary files on my computer'

Internet Explorer after unchecked the check box 'Enable Java content in the browser'

Java was disabled on Opera ran on Ubuntu 12.10

Java was disabled on Safari ran on Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5