Mo! Blog

Islam 4 wives?

2008-07-04T03:24:00.000-07:00

For more Info.

Man can marry four - why not women marry four?

In Islam, why can a man can get married to four women?

What is Oracle ERP, Oracle Applications or E-business Suite?

2008-06-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

Nilesh Jethwa

Lets take an example. Suppose you are running a small grocery shop named "Janata Grocery", so the typical operation as a shop owner is you basically buy groceries from some big seller and stock it in your shop. Now people come to your shop for day-to-day needs and buy stuff from your shop at a slightly higher price than what you originally bought and stocked it in your shop.

Ocassionally you may not be carrying items or run out of stock that people ask for so you make a note of it and promise the person to come back tomorrow and they will get their item. So far so good, now lets name some entities before we proceed and things get complicated. The big seller from whom you buy stock is called as Vendor, the people who come to your shop to buy things are known as customers, the stock in your shop is known as inventory.

So far we have identified few entities that play an active role in your day-to-day operations. As time goes by, your business expands and now you take orders over the phone and provide service to deliver the items to your customers, so you hire people to help you out in maintaining the inventory, do the delivery part and all the necessary stuff to keep the business running smoothly. The people you hire are known as employees.

So in this small shop, you typically manage the bookkeeping activities by hand using a notepad or something similar. Now imagine the same setup on a larger scale where you have more than 10,000 customers, have more than 1000 vendors, have more than 1000 employees and have a huge warehouse to maintain your inventory. Do you think you can manage all that information using pen and paper? Absolutely no way! Your business will come to a sudden stop sign.

To facilitate big businesses, companies like Oracle Corporation have created huge software known in the category of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) as Oracle Applications. Now coming to think of it, Oracle Apps is not one huge software, instead it is a collection of software known as modules that are integrated and talk to each other.

Now what is meant by integrated? First let us identify the modules by entities. For e.g Purchasing and Account Payables deal with the vendors since you typically purchase from vendors and eventually have to pay the dues. Oracle Purchasing handles all the requisitions and purchase orders to the vendors whereas Oracle Accounts Payables handles all the payments to the vendors.

Similarly Oracle Inventory deals with the items you maintain in stock, warehouse etc. Dealing with customers is handled collectively with the help of Oracle Receivables and Oracle Order Management. Order Management helps you collect all the information that your customer is ordering over the phone or webstore etc whereas Receivables help you collect the money for the orders that are delivered to the customers.

Now who maintains the paychecks, benefits of the 1000 employees? right! it is managed by Oracle Human Resources. So you get the idea by now that for each logical function there is a separate module that helps to execute and maintain that function.

So all the individual functions are being taken care but how do I know if I am making profit or loss? That's where integration comes into play. There is another module known as Oracle General Ledger. This module receives information from all the different transaction modules and summarizes them in order to help you create profit and loss statements, reports for paying Taxes etc.

Just to simplify the explaination, when you pay your employees that payment is reported back to General Ledgers as cost i.e money going out, when you purchase inventory items the information is transferred to GL as money going out, and so is the case when you pay your vendors. Similarly when you receive items in your inventory it is transferred to GL as money coming in, when your customer sends payment it is transfered to GL as money coming in. So all the different transaction modules report to GL (General Ledger) as either "money going in" or "money going out", the net result will tell you if you are making a profit or loss.

All the equipment, shops, warehouses, computers can be termed as Assets and they are managed by Oracle Fixed Assets. Initially Oracle Applications started as bunch of modules and as time passed by they added new modules for different and new functions growing out of the need for today's internet world.

So if you come across a module that you are trying to learn and work on, first try to understand what business need is it trying to fulfill and then try to understand what the immediate modules that it interacts with. For e.g lets say you come across Oracle Cost Management module, you will learn that it helps to maintain the costs of items in your inventory and the immediate modules that it interacts with are Oracle Inventory (ofcourse), Oracle Bills of Material, Order Management and so on..
Source

Oracle Applications Home Page

Oracle Applications Documentation

Try Oracle Applications

Oracle Certification Program

2008-06-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Oracle certifications are tangible, industry-recognized credentials that can help you succeed in your IT career and provide measurable benefits to your employer.

Oracle certifications are a reliable validation of training and experience that can accelerate your professional development, improve your productivity, and enhance your credibility.

For IT professionals and managers, each Oracle certification level signifies a benchmark of experience and expertise recognized for its value and relevance in the IT industry. Today there are over 390,000 Oracle Certified Professionals worldwide.

Oracle PL/SQL and Oracle Forms Developer (OCP)
Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associates demonstrate expertise in building database-centric Internet applications for both Oracle9i and Oracle Database 10g. Oracle Forms Developer Certified Professionals gain greater credibility, a higher level of efficiency, and improved job performance as application developers.

To get this certificate you have to pass three stages:
1- EXAM
Introduction to Oracle9i SQL 1Z0-007
OR
Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL/SQL 1Z0-001
OR
Oracle Database SQL Expert 1Z0-047

2- EXAM
Program with PL/SQL 1Z0-147

Now you become an Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associates OCA

3- EXAM
Oracle Forms: Build Internet Applications 1Z0-141

Oracle Certification

Try Some Exams

Why Islam

2008-03-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Oracle Reports 10g

2008-03-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

What Is Oracle Reports 10g?

Oracle Reports is Oracle's award-winning, high-fidelity enterprise reporting tool. It enables businesses to give immediate access to information to all levels within and outside of the organization in an unrivaled scalable and secure environment. Oracle Reports consists of Oracle Reports Developer (a component of the Oracle Developer Suite) and Oracle Application Server Reports Services (a component of the Oracle Application Server).

About Reports Builder

Reports Builder is the report-building component of Oracle Reports Developer (a component of the Oracle Developer Suite), a powerful enterprise reporting tool that enables you to rapidly develop and deploy sophisticated Web and paper reports against any data source (including an Oracle database, JDBC, XML, text files, and Oracle OLAP). Leveraging the latest J2EE technologies such as JSP and XML, you can publish your reports in a variety of formats (including HTML, XML, PDF, delimited text, Postscript, PCL, and RTF) to any destination (including e-mail, Web browser, OracleAS Portal, and file system) in a scalable, efficient manner.
Recognizing the differences between Web publishing and paper publishing, Reports Builder provides the power to develop high quality output for the Web and e-business requirements, as well as high-fidelity printed reports. Reports Builder includes:
user-friendly wizards that guide you through the report design process
pluggable data sources (PDSs), such as JDBC and XML, that provide access to data from any source for your reports
a query builder with a graphical representation of the SQL statement to obtain report data
default report templates and layout styles that can be customized if needed
a live editor that enables you to modify paper report layouts in WYSIWYG mode
the ability to add dynamic report output to an HTML page by embedding custom JSP tags within an HTML document
an integrated graph builder to graphically represent report data
the ability to generate code to customize how reports will run
tools that dynamically generate Web pages based on your data
standard report output formats such as HTML, HTMLCSS, XML, PDF, RTF, spreadsheet, PCL, PostScript, and ASCII
client-side parameter validation using JavaScript
the ability to execute dynamic SQL statements within PL/SQL procedures
support for Oracle database objects
event-based reporting (report execution based on database events)
seamless integration of Oracle Reports Developer with OracleAS Portal for administering report security and publishing report output to portlets

Oracle Reports 10g Home Page

Rich Dad Poor Dad 1 of 8

2008-03-14T13:46:00.001-07:00

Brian Tracy: You Are What You Think

2008-03-14T13:38:00.001-07:00

Spanish Woman talks about Woman rights in Islam

2008-03-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Audio Courses

2008-03-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

1-LANGUAGE.com

Listening is one of the best ways to learn language, exposing the learner to large amounts of fluent input while encouraging them to use what they hear in creative output. The Audio Center features 40 Units of English focusing on practical conversations and academic language as commonly found in American universities. Good luck learning English!

Audio Courses

A Guide to Goal Setting

2008-03-01T13:46:00.000-08:00

By Ray Silverstein

Do you make resolutions at the beginning of every year? Resolutions can be powerful tools. In fact, they can help you take your business to the next level. The catch is, once you make a resolution, you have to work to make it come true.

If you want action, you need an action plan. Goal setting is the best way I know to transform lofty resolutions into bottom-line results. Research shows that when entrepreneurs set measurable goals for themselves, they're more like to achieve them.

When you engage in true goal setting, you define your objectives in pragmatic, measurable terms. You also need to identify the resources, time and funds you'll need to invest to attain them. That's how you develop action plans. Once you know where you want to go, the next step is to figure out how you'll get there and how much you're willing to spend on the trip.

Use the SMART System
When it comes to goal setting, the SMART system is simple, down-to-earth and gets the job done. Each goal must be defined so that it meets the following criteria:

S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Timely

Specific, achievable and realistic--Make sure your goals are concrete, concise and attainable. Instead of, "I want to make a lot more money this year," specify "I want to increase my revenues by X percent (a realistic amount) by the end of the year."

Measurable--Frame your goals in such a way so you can measure your progress. For example, plan on measuring monthly or quarterly revenues against last year's figures--something you should be doing anyway.

Timely--Give yourself a reasonable time frame for achieving your goal. Then break it down into smaller, short-term increments. Realistically, you may not achieve that X percent increase early in the year, but you can work toward it. Divide your goal percent increase into monthly or quarterly increments that allows you to build on your momentum. This produces measurable, attainable and short-term goals to pursue.

Record your goals and action plans on paper. Whether you write them down or type them, the very act of recording them will help you flesh out your ideas. Once your plans are complete, you'll have a detailed roadmap with directions to follow.

Review your goals and plans regularly. Make a monthly appointment with yourself if that's what it takes. This will help keep you on track as time unfolds.

Also, beware of "BHAGs"--big, hairy, audacious goals. Super-ambitious goals are great when it comes to long-range planning and decision making, but they don't lend themselves to goal setting. Focus on attainable goals that you can realistically reach within the year.

It's easy to make resolutions, but it's hard to make them come true. No wonder some entrepreneurs make the same resolutions every year, without ever achieving them. Don't let yourself fall into that group. This year, resolve to set SMART goals and action plans.

Source

What is Career Development?

2008-02-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

Career development is an organized approach used to match employee goals with the business needs of the agency in support of workforce development initiatives. In this process:

The purpose of career development is to:

* Enhance each employee's current job performance.
* Enable individuals to take advantage of future job opportunities.
* Fulfill agencies' goals for a dynamic and effective workforce.

Who's Responsible For It?

* Managers are responsible for linking the organization's needs to employee career goals, and can assist employees in the career planning process.
* Human Resources is responsible for designing career paths and employee development programs that help employees reach their goals.
* Each employee is responsible for planning and managing his/her career.

Career Development - Virginia Jobs
Career Development eManual
National Career Development Association

Australia Network - Learn English

2008-02-23T09:41:00.000-08:00

Australia Network - Australia's international television channel - is brought to you by Australia's largest and most trusted broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Offering a rich and diverse range of information and general programming,

In this site you find a variety of programs for English learners.

Study English

Study English - IELTS preparation, is a series of English language programs for intermediate to advanced learners, which develops skills and strategies for both English language study and those preparing to take the IELTS test.

Each program covers a different topic and explores different aspects of the English language. Our content draws on authentic material that you can watch, read and listen to plus study notes, tips and activities for practice and consolidation.

Nexus

Nexus is Australia Network's education program, produced by Australia Network for its viewers in the region. It is now in its sixth year of production, and is produced at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Adelaide, South Australia.

Every day the program features segments on topics such as science, history, business, Australian society, people and places.

We at Nexus aim to inform viewers about topics of relevance and interest, provide opportunities for English language learning, and hope to build a community of viewers.

English Bites

English Bites is an informative and entertaining way to improve your knowledge of the English language. Featuring a new story each weekday English Bites provides a detailed review of language, terms and usage.

Living English

Living English is a TV program and website for the English language learner at a beginner, or near beginner level.

Business of English

Business of English is a 15-part series for intermediate to advanced English language learners looks at the language used in everyday business situations such as meetings, presentations and negotiations. Every week we will post a new episode online so you can watch and listen in your own time.

Australia Network - Learn English

Oracle Forms Developer 10g

2007-12-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

What Is Oracle Forms Developer?
Oracle Forms Developer is a productive development environment for building enterprise-class, scalable database applications for the Internet. Oracle Forms Developer provides a set of tools that enable business developers to easily and quickly construct sophisticated database forms and business logic with a minimum of effort.
Oracle Forms Developer uses powerful declarative capabilities to rapidly create applications from database definitions that leverage the tight integration with the Oracle database. The toolset leverages Java technology, promotes reuse, and is designed to allow developers to declaratively build rich user interfaces. Developer productivity is further increased through a single integrated development environment that enables distributed debugging across all tiers, utilizing the same PL/SQL language for both server and client.
Oracle Forms Developer’s tight integration with Oracle Designer enables you to use a productive model-driven development approach. Oracle Forms Developer applications can be automatically generated from business requirements designed in the Oracle Designer modeling environment. These models are stored in the Oracle Repository. Code-level changes made within the Oracle Forms Developer environment can be automatically reverse engineered back into the models, preserving the integrity between the models and the application.

Oracle Forms Developer 10g: Key Features
Rapid application development: Create and modify applications with little or no code
Application partitioning: Drag objects between modules and the database server
Flexible source control: Integration with Software Configuration Manager (SCM)
Extended scalability: Use of server functionality such as array DML, database cursors, or bind variables
Object reuse: Subclassing, object libraries

Oracle Forms Home Page
Oracle Forms 10g Documentation
Oracle Forms Online Help
Creating a Master-Detail Form - Example

BRITISH COUNCIL - LearnEnglish

2007-12-13T08:32:00.000-08:00

LearnEnglish is a portal that links to all the British Council's websites for teachers and learners of English - just one web address to remember.

listening downloads
Develop your English listening and reading skills using MP3 audio files and audio scripts. You can listen to the files online, or download them onto your PC and put them on your MP3 player, then see if you've understood by reading the scripts. You can also read the stories online as you listen, and then do language activities, or print out the audio scripts and read the stories on paper as you listen.

How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories

2007-12-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

How would you like to study at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) for free? It has been nearly six years since MIT first announced their MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) program. More recently, MIT announced that the OCW program, a free and open educational resource (OER) for educators, students, and self-learners around the world, is online and will be completed by 2008. The OCW provides open access to course materials for up to 1,550 MIT courses, representing 34 departments and all five MIT schools. The goal is to include materials from all MIT courses by next year.

MIT provides just one of the 10 open source educational success stories detailed below. Open source and open access resources have changed how colleges, organizations, instructors, and prospective students use software, operating systems and online documents for educational purposes. And, in most cases, each success story also has served as a springboard to create more open source projects.

Colleges

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): MIT is the success story in this category, as this college started the intiative that pulled many colleges from all over the world into the OER initiative. In 1999, Provost Robert A. Brown asked a committee of MIT faculty, students, and administrators to provide strategic guidance on how MIT could advance knowledge and education to students in science, technology, and other scholarship areas. This mission was to literally fulfill MIT's mission statement about how to best serve "the nation and the world in the 21st century."

Based on that premise, MIT's OCW began to provide users with open access to class syllabi, lecture notes, course calendars, problem sets and solutions, exams, reading lists, and even a selection of video lectures in 2003. Eleven other U.S. colleges plan to follow MIT's example, and six of those 12 colleges have offered an online presence (other than MIT):

It would be important to note that the colleges that offer OCW courses are not meant to serve as "distance learning" initiatives. Credits and degrees are not offered through access to open sources and participants don't have access to university faculty with these resources.

Organizations

OpenCourseWare Consortium: The OpenCourseWare Consortium is a by-product of MIT's OER initiative, and its rate of growth makes this a clear success in the educational field. This group now includes members from 16 countries, not including the 14 additional affiliate organizations in its fold. Of these, China is the largest participant with 30 colleges that are active in OpenCourseWare Consortium programs under the organizational group CORE (China Open Resources for Education).

Other groups have also climbed on the open source bandwagon, and some corporations have seen benefits in bringing open source products and services to the arena. Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s offering, Global Education and Learning Community (GELC), now serves as a nonprofit organization that provides an online portal for teachers to share resources and knowledge that would otherwise go undiscovered. Other organizations include (but aren't limited to):

Open Source Education Foundation — Purpose is to enhance K-12 education through the use of technologies and concepts derived from The Open Source and Free Software movement.
School Forge — Mission is to unify independent organizations that advocate, use, and develop open resources for primary and secondary education.
Global Network Academy — Purpose is the research and development of open source tools that promote distance learning and online communities.

Online Encyclopedias

Wikipedia: Wikipedia is the clear success story here, despite the recent row created by user editing. Nothing could be more open than this user-generated online encyclopedia that allows users to modify its contents. With that said, while many universities point to Wikipedia as a starting resource for some projects, few professors will accept a citation The Wikipedia Foundation agrees. from this site. And,

Despite its reputation as an unreliable source, Wikipedia has branched off into various translations and even into other areas like its Wikiversity, a community for the creation and use of free learning materials and activities. Wikipedia's venture also has forged the way for other ventures. The following initiatives validate this Web site's importance, even with a new beginning by Wikipedia's co-founder, Larry Sanger, that will be monitored and edited by registered users:

Citizendium - Sanger's experimental new wiki project.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP) - Stanford University's highly monitored source that meets academic standards and that can be used for citations.
Connexions - A Rice University initiative, Connexions is more than an encyclopedia in that approaches learning in modules (a non-linear approach) that develop into courses. This resource is so free with its content that it even offers to share its technology.

Online Collections

Online collections, whether specific or general, have enriched educational experiences for anyone with Internet access. Some sites charge for access to their collections, like Picture History. Some sites charge for some services like copying and research, yet offer open digital access to a variety of materials (like The Library of Virginia). In this category, the student is safe to use most of these resources as a citable source, as these collections contain many primary source materials. But, just like any brick-and-mortar archive or library, some online open sources are limited by a lack of funds.

For instance, you might see notices like the one that Virginia Commonwealth University professor Roice Luke and University of Richmond associate professor Darrell Walden put out to the general public. They've asked for volunteers to help them digitalize the Virginia Freedmen Project, a collection of records from The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, a federal agency established in 1865 that assisted freed slaves in becoming citizens after the Civil War.

Project Gutenberg: This open access project seems to fade in comparison to the updated presence provided by Google Scholar Beta. However, Project Gutenberg — launched in 1971 by Michael Hart — provides the first example of a free library project and the first producer of free electronic books. And, despite the fact that flashier faces have moved into this arena, Project Gutenberg still enjoys over two million downloads per month.

The Internet Archive also shores this category as an example of an open access resource. This nonprofit online library includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived Web pages in their collections. Like a paper library, this archive provides open access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.

It's impossible to offer all the online research materials available online, so I'll point you to the Directory of Open Access Journals so you can find documents that might fit your interests.

Operating Systems

Linux: Without hesitation, Linux provides the success story in this category. Linux was created by a student (Linus Torvalds) in Helsinki in 1991 with the assistance of developers from around the world. Linux is free, it shares its work with everyone — including competitors — and its business model is motivated primarily by adrenaline, altruism, and peer respect rather than by money. Yet, Linux's functionality, adaptability and robustness has made it the main alternative for proprietary operating systems, especially where budgets are a main concern.

Look for Ubuntu to enter this category as an up-and-coming success story. This particular Linux distribution combines the breadth of Debian and includes the latest Gnome release in its download. It's based on a user-friendly interface for the individual who wants to wean himself from proprietory systems (such as Microsoft Windows or Mac OS).

Based on the philosophy that "It Should Just Work", Ubuntu provides solutions that can be used on the desktop or on servers. Many librarians have embraced Ubuntu as a solution to proprietary operating costs and licensing fees. Additionally, Ubuntu offers Edubuntu as an open source OS targeted to schools and other educational environments.

You can use Netcraft to "peek" into a Web site's platform to determine if its claim to "open" source or access extends to its OS and to its server as well.

Software

The open source software/free software (OSS/FS) category is broad, so the means to narrow this niche down to one single success story is more difficult than any other in this list. Plus, there's a minor difference betwee OSS and FS, as OSS implies open access to source code as well as to distribution and licensing. FS, on the other hand, implies that the code, distribution, and licensing are up to the individual who uses the software. This difference seems minor at first glance, but if you read closely you'll realize that an individual can sell FS materials for profit (see the Free Software Foundation for further clarity).

OpenOffice.org: Based on a focus in education and a pattern of high usage within educational structures (students and instructors), OpenOffice.org provides the success story in this category. This software makes the transition from educational environments to business applications with its multi-platform office productivity suite. Owned by Sun Microsystems, this front-end application seeks to replace proprietary software (such as Microsoft Office) with its broad language offerings and its features as well as with its collaborative efforts with users. Look for continued efforts to combine other open source applications, such as Mozilla's Lightning, which combines the Sunbird calendar with Thunderbird email.

Running neck-to-neck with Open Office is the Sakai Project, an "online Collaboration and Learning Environment" that seeks to replace many proprietary educational software in classrooms from kindergarten to college.

Browsers

Mozilla Firefox: This browser probably doesn't need an introduction or an argument as the success story for this category. But, to be fair, it should be mentioned that all products offered through the Mozilla Firefox Web site are available free-of-charge for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers in more than 35 languages. This compatibility and availability meets all the standards suggested by the OpenSourceWare Consortium and its major supporter, the The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Education

Open source or access projects are receiving attention in the classroom as well. While many projects have relied on cooperation between developers and user groups — and they still do — colleges are now seeing the wisdom in creating an atmosphere that encourages an understanding for these resources.

Google: Google provides the success story here, simply because their apps bring books, scholarly journals, maps, news, patent searches, docs and spreadsheets, and even API code to any browser or OS. Google has won the hearts and minds of many instructors and students. But, that's not the only story behind this success. Google offers a page for educators to learn how to use these apps in the classroom. Google employees are out into the field in efforts to reach University of Washington classes as well.

Other educational options are few and far between at this point; but, since Carnegie Mellon West's Software Management program has incorporated a course about open source software into its program, you might expect other schools to follow suit.

Individuals

With resources like EDUCAUSE that focus on how open source projects can benefit teachers and students, the clear success story in this category belongs to the people who — whether for economic reasons or for the sheer delight in learning to use a "free" resource — belong to the educational side of this open source movement:

Instructors: Instructors, along with their educational institutions, have made the decision that open source venues supply the economic solution to problems defined by school budgets. Although the learning curve is not easy at times, instructors from preschool to Ph.D. levels have found resources that help them to decide what to use, when to use it, and how it's all done. These resources are often delineated by subjects, countries, and languages, but all can find resources on the Internet — like through the EduResources Portal — that can lead to solutions for open source questions.

Students: Although some students feel that programs like the OCW deprive a student of the bond that often comes from a student/instructor relationship, most students have embraced open sources and open access with a budget-minded joy and with a skeptical eye toward college programs. An MIT survey of users showed that about a third of freshmen who were aware of MIT's OCW site before attending the university said it made a significant impact on their decision to enroll.

Other student benefits to using open source and open access include:

An increase in educational opportunities for those who can't access a classroom.
The ability to see the value and quality of courses offered before making an application to a college.
Access to supplemental learning materials.

Finally, I should point out that a fine line between open source and open access has been defined as well. Open source, according to the linked article, "refers to any enterprise where data (e.g. journal article, piece of software) may be modified by the relevant community and those modifications may be recontributed to the larger whole." Open access, on the other hand, has come to mean data — like peer-reviewed documents — that may be read without charge. But I would argue that a person can modify how open access materials are perceived when these documents are cited in new theoretical works.

The terms within the "open" educational realm, just as the formats listed in the categories above, will continue to evolve as "open" education permeates society beyond the college campus. If you take part in the success stories listed above, you may discover new success stories that are developing every day.

Update (3/8/07):

Since this article was published, we've received numerous e-mails and responses to our choices for the "10 Success Stories" listed above. The loudest protest concerned our Moodle omission, and a slap on the wrist is deserved for that oversight. We were most impressed with the Open Office transition from education to business, so our measurements for success went beyond the educational platform in this instance. We apologize for our omission, and we'll be anxious to see how Moodle fares when we decide to update this list at a later date.

Some readers noted that MIT went with a commercial option (Microsoft Content Management Server 2002) for their content management system. We recognized this matter as MIT is "open" about this choice and they state their reasons behind their selection. (They do use Linux for their operating system.) Still, we stand behind our selection because MIT has motivated many other higher learning institutions to incorporate open access to materials online, and because MIT's efforts behind the OpenCourseWare Consortium could not go unrecognized.

We also understand that our criteria for judging weren't that apparent to our readers. We made our choices based upon the following:

Initial offerings, i.e. was this choice the first to offer open access/open source materials and platforms, and if not, have they been around long enough to influence how open source/open access is perceived within a given category?
Their readership levels, but even more so on how they've affected and continue to affect learning at all levels. (Although the focus remained primarily at the college level for this article.)
How that choice altered the open source/access aspects in other areas, both geographically and as inspiration for further development.
Their popularity based on international access and language offerings.
Not judged on the amount of money used/needed to gear up, expand, or to continue operations.

With that said, so many open source apps and open access tools (such as Elgg, Lams, Plone, Dspace, .LRN, LogiCampus, etc.) have joined this movement with so many offereings that it's impossible to mention them all here. Additionally, we didn't set out to add more than one link to each category, but we felt that all the sources mentioned deserved notice. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, for example, offers more than encyclopedic information and they're definitely more citable than Wikipedia. But, once again, we stand by our choices for this go-round based upon our criteria (except for Moodle) .

We think that this educational movement is vital and necessary, and that all open source/access tools should be heralded. Thank you to all who made their voices heard on our choices and about your choices as well.

Source

Investigate Before You Invest

2007-12-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

By Brian Tracy

You should spend at least as much time studying a particular investment as you do earning the money to put into that particular investment.

The Law of Investing - investigate before you invest. This is one of the most important of all the laws of money. You should spend at least as much time studying a particular investment as you do earning the money to put into that particular investment.

Check Every Detail
Never let yourself be rushed into parting with money. You have worked too hard to earn it and taken too long to accumulate it. Investigate every aspect of the investment well before you make any commitment. Ask for full and complete disclosure of every detail. Demand honest, accurate and adequate information on any investment of any kind. If you have any doubt or misgivings at all, you will probably be better off keeping your money in the bank or in a money market investment account than you would be speculating or taking the risk of losing it.

Money is Easy to Lose
The first corollary of the Law of Investing is: "The only thing easy about money is losing it." It is hard to make money in a competitive market but losing it is one of the easiest things you can ever do. A Japanese proverb says, "Making money is like digging with a nail, while losing money is like pouring water on the sand."

The Best Rule of All
The second corollary of this law comes from the self-made billionaire, Marvin Davis, who was asked about his rules for making money in an interview in Forbes Magazine.

He said that he has one simple rule and it is, "Don't lose money." He said that if there is a possibility that you will lose your money, don't part with it in the first place. This principal is so important that you should write it down and put it where you can see it. Read it and reread it over and over.

Time Equals Money
Think of your money as if it were a piece of your life. You have to exchange a certain number of hours, weeks and even years of your time in order to generate a certain amount of money for savings or investment. That time is irreplaceable. It is a part of your precious life that is gone forever. If all you do is hold on to the money, rather than losing it, that alone can assure that you achieve financial security. Don't lose money.

Be Smart About Investing
The third corollary of the Law of Investing says: "If you think you can afford to lose a little, you're going to end up losing a lot."

There is something about the attitude of a person who feels that he has enough money that he can afford to risk losing a little. You remember the old saying, "A fool and his money are soon parted." There's another saying, "When a man with experience meets a man with money, the man with the money is going to end up with the experience and the man with the experience is going to end up with the money." Always ask yourself what would happen if you lost one hundred percent of your money in a prospective investment. Could you handle that? If you could not, don't make the investment in the first place.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to apply this law immediately:

First, think back over the various financial mistakes you have made in your life. What did they have in common? What can you learn from them? Accurate diagnosis is half the cure.

Second, invest only in things that you fully understand and believe in. Take investment advice only from people who are financially successful from taking their own advice. Play it safe. It's better to hold onto your money rather than to take a chance of losing it, along with all the time it took you to earn it.

Source

Amazing Water Therapy

2007-11-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

Introduction
- Drink six (6) glasses of water (1.5 liters) everyday and avoid medicine, tablets, injections, diagnosis, doctor fees, etc.
- You can never believe before practicing.

Therapy Procedure
Early morning, after you get up from bed, (without even brushing your teeth) drink 1.50 liters of water i.e., 5 to 6 glasses. Let us all know that ancient Indians termed this therapy as “Usha Paana Chikitsa”. You may wash your face thereafter.
Here it is very essential to note that nothing else, neither drinks nor solid food of any sort should be taken within 1 hour before and after drinking these 1.5 liters of water.
It is also to be strictly observed that no alcoholic drinks should be taken the previous night.
If required, boiled and filtered water may be used for this purpose.
It is difficult to drink 1.5 liters of water at one time, but you will get used to it gradually.
Initially, while practicing you may drink four glasses first and to balance two glasses after a gap of two minutes.
You may find the necessity to urinate 2 to 3 times within an hour, but it will become normal after quite some time.

By Research and Experience
The following diseases are observed to be cured with this therapy within the indicated days as below:
Constipation - 1 day
Acidity - 2 days
Diabetes - 7 days
Cancer - 4 weeks
Pulmonary TB - 3 months
BP & Hypertension – 4 weeks
Note:
It is advised that persons suffering from Artheritis or Rheumatism should practice this therary thrice a day, i.e. morning, midday and night, 1 hour before meals for one week; and twice a day subsequently until the disease disappears.

How Does Water Act?
Consuming ordinary drinking water by the right method purifies human body. It renders the colon more effective by forming new fresh blood, known in medical terms as “Haematopaises”. That the mucousal folds of the colon and intestines are activated by this method, is an undisputed fact, just as the theory that new fresh blood is produced by the mucousal fold.
If the colon is cleansed then the nutrients of the food taken several times a day will be absorbed and by the action of the mucousal folds they are turned into fresh blood. The blood is all important in curing ailments and restoring health and for this water should be consumed in a regular pattern.

Life is Short, Just go for it

What's PL/SQL?

2007-11-16T11:47:00.000-08:00

- Stands for Procedural Language extension to SQL.
- Is Oracle Corporation's standard data access language for rational databases.
- Seamlessly integrates procedural constructs with SQL.
- Provides a block structure for executable units of code. Maintenance of code is made easier with such a well-defined structure.
- Provides procedural constructs such as:
* Variables, constants, and types.
* Control structures such as conditional statements and loops.
* Reusable program units that are written once and executed many times.

Benefits of PL/SQL
- Integration of procedural constructs with SQL.
- Improved performance.
- Modularized program development.
- Integration with Oracle tools.
- Portability.
- Exception handling.

PL/SQL Block Structure

DECLARE (Optional)
Variables, cursor, user-defined exceptions
BEGIN (Mandatory)
- SQL statements
- PL/SQL statements
EXCEPTION (Optional)
Actions to perform when errors occur
END; (Mandatory)

A PL/SQL Block consists of three sections:
* Declarative (optional): This section begins with the keyword DECLARE and ends when your executable section starts.
* Executable (required): This section begins with the keyword BEGIN and ends with END. The keyword END should end with a semicolon.
* Exception handling (optional): The exception section is nested in the executable section. This section begins with the keyword EXCEPTION.

Block Types
There are three types of blocks that make up a PL/SQL program:
* Anonymous blocks: These are the unnamed PL/SQL blocks that are embedded within an application or are issued interactively.
* Procedures: These are the named PL/SQL blocks. These blocks accept inbound parameters but won't explicitly return any value.
* Functions: These are the named PL/SQL blocks. These blocks accept inbound parameters and will always return a value.
The difference between a procedure and a function is that a function must return a value to the calling program.

PL/SQL Technology Center
PL/SQL Language Reference

What's Your Personality Type?

2007-11-13T07:04:00.000-08:00

Knowing your "type" unlocks powerful insights that help you understand yourself and others as never before. Knowing your type, and also learning about the personality types of those around you is an amazing tool that can make you happier and more successful in every aspect of your life.

Join the millions of people who have found more satisfying careers and have improved all of their relationships, by understanding Personality Type.

Discover your personality

Personality Development

2007-11-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

Personality development is the developing a personality cult so as to create a strong positive impression about self with the targeted group, or in general; and more pertinent aspect of such personality is to maintain and prove in a long run.

Ten Imp. Points for an Ultimate Personality:

· Appearance.

· Intelligence.

· Smartness.

· Trustworthy, High integrity and Responsible.

· Knowledge, in depth.

· Management.

· Efficiency.

· Economic independence.

· Morality / Character.

· Being beneficial / advantageous.

Strong negative aspects to spoil personality:

· Unhygienic

· Hurting attitude.

· Useless approach.

· Non-beneficial communication.

· Untrustworthy, Irresponsible, Lack of integrity.

· Below average performance.

· Powerless egoism.

· Financial indiscipline.

· Mismanagements.

· Uncontrolled burst of negative emotions.

The four aspects influencing personality are:

Physical, Social, Psychological and Philosophical.

Physical personality depends upon pleasing personality indirectly supported by health, strength and withstanding capacity.

Social personality’s main factors are: social values, communication skill, attitude and economic independence especially in relation with wealth.

Psychological personality is in tune with personal values, approach, thinking pattern, emotional management and influenced by knowledge, intelligence and smartness.

Philosophical personality is on account of maturity of values.

Main factors for developing a strong personality in social environment:

1. Pleasing appearance.

2. Beneficial communication.

3. Adapting and adhering to social values in interactions.

4. Developing confidence of

(a) Sincerity, integrity and trust.

(b) Completing duties, fulfilling responsibilities in time.

(c) Economic independent, but not being miser.

5. Additional spices for the best impression:

(a) Awareness and alertness.

(b) Useful application of: knowledge in depth, positive intelligence and defensive smartness.

(c) Self-Confidence, Initiative, dynamism, leadership qualities, will-power and self-discipline.

(d) Adaptive to moral values.

Main factors for developing a strong personality in working field:

1. Sincerity, integrity and trust.

2. Awareness, alertness and grasping capacity.

3. Beneficial communication skill.

4. Useful application of required knowledge in depth, positive intelligence and defensive smartness.

5. Non dependence of economic condition other than for rightful privileges.

6. Completing duties and fulfilling responsibilities in time and absolute accountability.

7. Pleasing appearance with good health.

8. Social interactions in tune with institutional decorum.

9. Sensible thinking inspite of emotionally charged, or embarrassing, circumstances.

10. Dynamism in positive approaches, initiative in new skills and adaptive to institutional policies.

11. Being in tune with changing times; especially so with changing technologies in the respective line.

12. Not to be with:

(1) Creating helplessness, self satisfaction at others’ cost, egoism, sadism, criticism, putting blame on others to escape, irritating communication, untrustworthiness.

(2) Laziness, lethargic attitude, falling into helplessness, unusual attitude, useless/boom-ranging approaches, irresponsibility, ignorance, borrowings, unhygienic/disliking appearance.

Main factors for Self development:

1. Self-discipline especially against temptations.

2. Not telling lies.

3. Attainment of maturity in distinguishing good and bad, and development of discipline to do such good and will-power to stand against such bad.

4. Performance of accepted role-play with fulfilling duty, responsibility and accountability.

5. Love and gratitude.

6. Using sensibility rather than becoming emotional.

7. Listen and gather but take your own decision.

8. Don’t accept failures, but rectify mistakes in such failures.

9. Skill to do, will to achieve and thrill to help.

10. Try to create happiness around you even at your own personal cost.

11. Helping should always be motto of life without expectation in return.

12. Be selfish within such level of: don’t give away your owns if meant for fulfilling your duties.

13. Thinking should be positive so that your attitude and approaches will also be positive.

14. Learn useful knowledge, develop positive intelligence and equip with defensive smartness.

15. Time shall be managed to such optimum level either for usefulness, or for relaxation.

16. Have such hobbies so as to convert the remaining time to be useful.

17. Dependence should be a strategy to get the things done.

Other notable points:-

1. Favourable social interactions are possible by pleasing appearance, beneficial communication, happy creating attitude, and mutually useful approach with maturity in social values.

2. In-depth knowledge should be useful.

Positive intelligence should be beneficial.

Defensive smartness should be protective.

3. Criticism is the self-defensive mechanism to cover up one’s own inefficiency.

4. Not telling a lie is not wrong but it doesn’t mean to tell the truth; however, not telling truth should be for a positive aspect without absolute selfishness.

In other words, personality development depends on:

· Character and Conduct.

· Theory of relativity, Perceptions and Values.

· Awareness and alertness.

· Health, wealth, in-depth knowledge, positive intelligence and defensive smartness.

· Self-Confidence, Will-Power and Self-Discipline.

· Duty, responsibility and accountability.

· Moral Values.

Source

Who Is Allah ?

2007-11-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

Some of the biggest misconceptions that many non-Muslims have about Islam have to do with the word "Allah". Many people have come to believe that Muslims worship a different God than Christians and Jews.
This is totally false...

Allah (God)

Islam is the complete submission and obedience to Allah (God). The name Allah (God) in Islam never refers to Muhammad (peace be upon him), as many Christians may think; Allah is the personal name of God.

What do Muslims believe about Allah?

1. He is the one God, Who has no partner.

2. Nothing is like Him. He is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation.

3. He is All-Powerful, absolutely Just.

4. There is no other entity in the entire universe worthy of worship besides Him.

5. He is First, Last, and Everlasting; He was when nothing was, and will be when nothing else remains.

6. He is the All-Knowing, and All-Merciful,the Supreme, the Sovereign.

7. It is only He Who is capable of granting life to anything.

8. He sent His Messengers (peace be upon them) to guide all of mankind.

9. He sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last Prophet and Messenger for all mankind.

10. His book is the Holy Qur'an, the only authentic revealed book in the world that has been kept without change.

11. Allah knows what is in our hearts.

These are some of the basic guidelines Muslims follow in their knowledge of God:

1. Eliminate any anthropomorphism (human qualities) from their conception of Allah. His attributes are not like human attributes, despite similar labels or appellations.

2. Have unwavering faith in exactly what Allah and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) described Allah to be, no more, no less.

3. Eradicate any hope or desire of learning or knowing the modality of His names and attributes.

4. Believe totally in all the names and attributes of Allah; one cannot believe in some and disbelieve the others.

5. One cannot accept the names of Allah without their associated attributes, i.e. one cannot say He is Al-Hayy - 'The Living' and then say that He is without life.

6. Similarity in names (or meanings) does not imply similarity in what is being described (referents). As a robotics arm differs from a human arm, so the "hand" of Allah is nothing like a human hand, His speech is nothing like human speech, etc.

7. Certain words are ambiguous or vague in their meanings, and thus may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Only those meanings that are in accordance with what is specified by Allah and His Prophet (peace be upon him) are acceptable.

Source

BBC Learning English

2007-11-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

The site is intended to help you improve your learning of the English language. Throughout the site you will find short courses, quizzes, grammar, vocabulary, audio and video that will help you to improve your English.

In this site you find many section such as:

* News English
Provide vocabulary definitions and explanations for the language of authentic BBC news reports. There is a big archive of stories going back to 2001 and there are three new stories published every week.
* Business English
In this section you can discover English language as it is used for work and business.
* Watch & Listen
Here you can improve and practise your English with activities that involve listening and watching.
* Grammar & Vocabulary
* Communicate
* Quizzes
* The Flatmates
* Webcast
* For teachers
* Downloads

BBC Learning English

What is SQL?

2007-11-08T07:14:00.000-08:00

* SQL stands for Structured Query Language
* SQL allows you to access a database
* SQL is an ANSI standard computer language
* SQL can execute queries against a database
* SQL can retrieve data from a database
* SQL can insert new records in a database
* SQL can delete records from a database
* SQL can update records in a database
* SQL is easy to learn

SQL is a Standard - BUT....

SQL is an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standard computer language for accessing and manipulating database systems. SQL statements are used to retrieve and update data in a database. SQL works with database programs like MS Access, DB2, Informix, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, etc.

Unfortunately, there are many different versions of the SQL language, but to be in compliance with the ANSI standard, they must support the same major keywords in a similar manner (such as SELECT, UPDATE, DELETE, INSERT, WHERE, and others).

Note: Most of the SQL database programs also have their own proprietary extensions in addition to the SQL standard!

SQL Database Tables

A database most often contains one or more tables. Each table is identified by a name (e.g. "Customers" or "Orders"). Tables contain records (rows) with data.

SQL Queries

With SQL, we can query a database and have a result set returned.

SQL Data Manipulation Language (DML)

SQL (Structured Query Language) is a syntax for executing queries. But the SQL language also includes a syntax to update, insert, and delete records.

These query and update commands together form the Data Manipulation Language (DML) part of SQL:

* SELECT - extracts data from a database table
* UPDATE - updates data in a database table
* DELETE - deletes data from a database table
* INSERT INTO - inserts new data into a database table

SQL Data Definition Language (DDL)

The Data Definition Language (DDL) part of SQL permits database tables to be created or deleted. We can also define indexes (keys), specify links between tables, and impose constraints between database tables.

The most important DDL statements in SQL are:

* CREATE TABLE - creates a new database table
* ALTER TABLE - alters (changes) a database table
* DROP TABLE - deletes a database table
* CREATE INDEX - creates an index (search key)
* DROP INDEX - deletes an index

Source
Oracle SQL Language Quick Reference
Oracle SQL Language Reference

The Bootstrapper's Bible - 4 Ringo was the Luckiest Beatle

2007-11-07T07:09:00.000-08:00

By Seth Godin

There are no guarantees in life, but the odds are that if you can take care of these nine things in your business, the rest will take care of itself.

RULE 1: FIND PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT CASH LESS THAN YOU DO
Borrow money from the people who have the greatest interest in your success: your suppliers and your customers.

RULE 2: SURVIVAL IS SUCCESS
Donʼt take this survival advice too far. But take it. Money now is better than money later.

RULE 3: SUCCESS LEADS TO MORE SUCCESS
The more you do, the more you do. Being in front of people will lead to new opportunities, new products, new engagements. Be in motion, because customers like motion.
1. Gives you positive cash flow
2. Teaches you things you didnʼt know
3. Builds your reputation
4. Builds your credit rating
5. Puts you in contact with smart people and potential customers

RULE 4: REDO THE MISSION STATEMENT AND THE BUSINESS PLAN EVERY THREE MONTHS
Learn as you go. Change as you go. Building a business from scratch is like walking through a maze with many, many doors. Once you open one, 100 new doors present themselves.

RULE 5: ASSOCIATE WITH WINNERS
Four groups of people will dramatically influence how your business evolves:
» Customers
» Employees
» Vendors
» Peers

RULE 6: BEWARE OF SHARED OWNERSHIP
(OR, WHY RINGO WAS THE LUCKIEST BEATLE)
Here are five principles to consider when you sit down and start talking about shared ownership:
1. PLAN FOR SUCCESS.
2. IDEAS AREN’T WORTH MUCH.
3. ALWAYS LEAVE BOTH SIDES AN OUT.
4. MATCH COMPENSATION WITH PERFORMANCE.
5. NEVER, CONFUSE PROFIT PARTICIPATION WITH GOVERNANCE.

RULE 7: ADVERTISE
From the first day, allocate a percentage of your income to marketing. Do marketing before you take out money to pay yourself. Letters, phone calls, banner ads, space ads, even TV—theyʼre all cheaper than you think. And youʼve got to spend the money to get the money back.
THE FOUR MOST IMPORTANT RULES OF ADVERTISING
1. SPEND REGULARLY ON ADVERTISING.
2. PERSISTENCE IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS.
If you persist, directing your advertising to the same people over and over and over again, youʼll make a dent.
3. BE CLEAR.
4. TEST AND MEASURE.

RULE 8: GET MENTORED.
To find a mentor, you need to take some initiative. Finding the right person in the right industry at the right stage of her career takes some homework.
I recommend two steps in acquiring a mentor:
1. PICK THE RIGHT PERSON.
2. MAKE IT EASY FOR THE MENTOR TO SAY YES AND EASY TO SAY NO.

RULE 9: OBSERVE THOSE LITTLE BIRDS THAT CLEAN THE TEETH OF VERY BIG HIPPOS

Good luck. Have fun. Thanks for reading.

Download "The Bootstrapper's Bible"

Two Requirements for Rapid Promotion

2007-11-06T07:28:00.000-08:00

By Brian Tracy

To increase your own personal income, you must be in a position to influence the company's income, to somehow increase revenues or cut costs.

To increase your own personal income, you must be in a position to influence the company's income, to somehow increase revenues or cut costs. So look at your company and look for a job where you can become more valuable.

Develop Good Work Habits
Perhaps the fastest way to bring yourself to the attention of your superiors is to develop good work habits. Most people are time wasters. They waste not only their own time but also that of others. They work at 50% or less of capacity. And because of this, they have a hard time getting ahead.

Move Fast When Necessary
But if you develop a reputation for speed, dependability and quality work, you will immediately stand out from the majority. In a survey of 104 chief executive officers, 84% of them agreed on two qualities that would most mark a person for rapid promotion. The first was the ability to set priorities, to separate the important from the unimportant.

Develop A Sense of Urgency
The second quality that they noted was the habit of getting the job done fast, a sense of urgency. Less than 2% of people have a sense of urgency and they are always the ones on the fast track.

For many reasons, people respect those who get the job done quickly. When you develop a reputation as being the person who your boss can rely on for fast, high quality work, your future is assured. And if your boss doesn't appreciate you for these qualities, there are plenty of other bosses who will.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do to develop the key qualities for rapid promotion.

First, make a list of everything that you have to do, before you start. Set priorities on your list. Always work on the task that your boss considers to be the most important and stay with it until it is done.

Second, develop a sense of urgency. Do things quickly. When you have decided that a job is important, start on it immediately and work at it continuously until it is done.

Source