AverageCoder.Net - Programming - Software - Techie Stuffs

Sweet Home 3D, a free home design software

Posted by Daniel - 330 Views

If you want to build a house I bet you want to have a plan on how you’re going to build it. Speaking about home design, would it be great if you can see the preview of your home in 3D view? Well I just recently found a good free software to do it, it is Sweet Home 3D.

If this is the first time you heard about it then I am telling you that in my opinion, it is a very good software considering that it’s free.

The interface is good and the 3D rendering is done in real time, so every time you put an object such as furniture, doors, wall colors, room size, and even the roof, the 3D window will update it immediately.

The standard furniture included in the Sweet Home 3D setup package are enough for you to design a good looking home but furniture and other objects can also be downloaded from the internet. It’s fun, you should try it :)

26x Optical Zoom on a Compact Digital Camera?

Posted by Daniel - 520 Views

It’s fun to check what has been improved among some high-tech consumer electronics products such as cellphones with higher megapixels on its camera or a digital camera with 26x optical zoom such as OLYMPUS STYLUS SP-590UZ especially when it is a compact camera even the look is closer to a pro camera.

I first spotted this one on cameranker.com, a pretty good looking site covering digital cameras and it also provides a ranking feature, familiar and easy to use filtering menu inluding the color of the camera but it lacks of advanced search and compare feature.

OK, back to 26x optical zoom on a compact camera. Compact means easy to use even I don’t think it’s easy to carry since the size is quite big but the most exciting is to know that it has 26x optical zoom to boost your zoom range deeper into the object details. read more..

Windows 7 Release Candidate is now available

Posted by Daniel - 520 Views

Today is Friday, May 22, 2009 and if I am not mistaken the beta version offer of Windows 7 will remain active for several months to go but I just received an email from Microsoft that Windows 7 Release Candidate is now available for download.

If you are running Windows 7 Beta or Windows XP, you?ll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean installation of Windows 7 RC. After installing Windows 7, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files. If you are running Windows Vista, you can upgrade to RC.

There are some new features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of “touch,” but they may require advanced or additional hardware. The features and functionality you find in the pre-release product may not appear in the final version of Windows 7. Some notable Windows Vista features and components have been replaced or removed in Windows 7, including the classic Start Menu user interface, Windows Ultimate Extras, InkBall, and Windows Calendar. read more..

Microsoft Excel Import External Data Problem: When Microsoft Query doesn’t recognize some of your parameters

Posted by Daniel - 6,858 Views

This is a summary pulled from a discussion on IT-Toolbox with Alejandro Rodriguez titled “Excel query doesn’t allow me create 3rd paremeter for a criteria“. He said there he was having a problem with Mirosoft Excel’s Import External Data feature. He posted on the forum that Microsoft Query is not recognizing one of his query parameters.

I got curious about it and then I tried a simple test against Microsoft Query via Excel Import External Data feature, and Yes! Microsoft Query is not recognizing some of my test query parameters. If it does recognize the1st and the 2nd parameters, why it does not recognize the 3rd? I have no idea why, but I guess it’s a bug and they forget to debug it - so be it :D

Microsoft Query allows you to enter a hard coded SQL statement with parameters directly into the editor but it didn’t work as I described previously so we need to figure out another way to get around it.

As we know that most Database servers allow you to create a stored SQL statement for future use such as “query” on MS-Access and “stored procedure” on SQLServer. This ability gives me an idea:

What if I create an MS-Access query which can accept parameters and then call it from Excel’s Import External Data feature? Can Microsoft Query recognize all the parameters with this kind of method? The answer is Yes! Microsoft Query is recognizing all of the parameters.

Following are the steps on how to call stored procedure to Import External Data into Microsoft Excel. Some steps may look strange but based on my tests, each of them needs to be taken correctly,

read more..

The Lack of Chances is the Source of Poverty, Can we make a different?

Posted by Daniel - 1,247 Views

It’s a post to join the shout for Blog Action Day about poverty. I live in a 3rd world country where this issue is still one of the biggest. For most cases, poverty in my country is caused by the lack of chances to get a proper education, lack of knowledge to find a better way to make a living and it’s not because they are lazy, in fact they are more diligent than some of us, they just don’t have the chance.

I remember watching The Secrets movie which is talking about a mindset on how to get a wealthy life, a success in many areas of your life just by using your mind.

Well, it may works for most of us because we have the infrastructure to do it or at least we have the information on how to start it, but for the people who don’t have any chance to access the infrastructure, who still thinking nothing except about how to feed their family on daily basis, it needs more than a mindset to get them out from poverty.

As Sonia Simone said in a different words that “the problem they are facing is not an illusion. It can not be easily ignored by thinking that it’s not there“, it’s real and it has been happening from generation to generation. It needs actions from others to help them out by giving them a chance to do it.

Nothing can be blamed. But it’s just sad to see who capable of doing something to make a difference still done nothing about it. I am not trying to be provocative so you can be a full time volunteer to overcome poverty - no, since not everyone has the calling for it, I just want to say that we can make a different by doing what we can do at the moment, no matter how small it is.

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