Free PDF reader

PDF stands for Portable Document Format and is the file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993, for document exchange purposes. PDF is used for representing documents in a device-independent and display resolution-independent fixed-layout format.

To read a PDF document, the most widely used program and the one that comes to mind immediately is of course Adobe Acrobat reader (now Adobe Reader). It’s totally free, but look at the gigantic size! 22.3MB for Adobe Reader 8.1! What on earth has Adobe included in this latest version of the program? I don’t know because it scared the hell out of me. I don’t need 22.3MB to read a PDF file… I have alternative PDF readers and they are free too.

Let me present you the world’s smallest PDF viewer/reader, Cool PDF Reader which includes the capability to view, print, and convert PDF files to TXT, BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, WMF, EMF, and EPS. It is only 655KB… hundreds of times smaller than the fat Adobe reader!

Cool PDF Reader

This program is so small that you don’t even need to install it, you just need to download the exe and run it straight away to use it. I tested this program and found that it’s good for reading small and simple PDF files. When your PDF file gets bigger, the program tends to slow down tremendously and becomes sluggish… not sure if this is caused by running the program on Windows Vista though.

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PC Fair 2007

PC Fair is here again! To be exact, it should be PIKOM PC Fair (II) 2007, and was concluded last Sunday at KL Convention Center. This was the second PC Fair in 2007, with another one coming up at the end of the year. I believe this sort of exhibitions are great for PC business operators to make hugh amount of money from clearing their old stocks. You say correct or not?

This time it’s held at KL Convention Center, adjacent to the Petronas Twin Towers. So getting there was a little easier compared to last time when it’s held at PWTC. I had nightmares at PWTC… I am sure you don’t want to hear about it. Anyway, I am sure you are all geared up waiting for the hot PC Fair babes! Now, let me present you some hot pictures!

PC Fair 2007

Please say “hi” to these MSI girls. Aren’t they lovely? MSI is a very well known manufacturer in PC components, especially in the motherboard department. I had great fun checking them out… I mean the motherboards on display. 🙂

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Show friendly error messages on ASP pages

It’s frustrating when you are doing your programming and errors keep popping up but you don’t know what’s wrong with your codes because the error messages are too friendly. That’s what happened to me when I tried my ASP program on this new IIS7 which I have just installed. Bloody hell, the error message from one of my ASP page was:

An error occurred on the server when processing the URL. Please contact the system administrator

What the message failed to say was, what should you do if you were the system administrator?

Well, the solution to this is to ask IIS7 to return the exact error to the browser. Don’t return a lame message which tells nothing. To do this, you need to open the IIS Manager.

Navigate to Web Sites > Default Web Site > ASP > Debugging Properties.

Friendly error messages

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Let’s join Streamyx Sucks

Are you satisfied with your Streamyx connection lately? Stable and no intermittent connection? You have no complaints whatsoever on the speed of Malaysia’s largest broadband company? – If you answered “yes” to all the above, then most likely you are a very light Streamyx user who have not online for the past few days.

Slow Streamyx
(Image from soufulow.com)

Anyway, if you want Tmnet to improve their Streamyx service, then come join anti-Streamyx gang at Streamyx Sucks. As of 30 July 2007, they have more than 800 Streamyx haters in their list, and when they have achieved 1000 haters, they will launch an Anti-Streamyx community. They will also start a Streamyx Sucks T-Shirt Design Competition. Just imagine having thousand of people wearing those t-shirts on the streets! By then only I guess Tmnet will start to listen to its customers!

What are the alternative broadband services in Malaysia?

Sexy IIS7

I had so much of fun using IIS7 (Internet Information Services) in Windows Vista. You know why? See below and you will understand…

IIS7 Sexy

Now, there’s one more solid reason for you to upgrade to Windows Vista. You don’t get this in Windows XP, that’s for sure!

Install IIS in Windows Vista

Frankly, I haven’t been using ASP nor program in ASP for quite a long time. Tday I got to code a website project in ASP… ah, why they never upgrade to the newer ASP.NET? Anyway, then I realize my new laptop doesn’t come with IIS (Internet Information Services). By default this resource hungry web service is not installed. Now, being new to Vista, I had to click around quite a bit to find out how to get this IIS to work.

Installing IIS

First thing is to install IIS. Here’s how you do it.

  1. Go to Start > Control Panel > Programs.
  2. Under Programs and Features, click “Turn Windows features on or off”.
  3. Check “Internet Information Services”.
  4. Click OK.

As you can see above, it takes a few simple steps only, though it’s hidden deep inside the Control Panel.

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Cool Web 2.0 badges

One of the most happening thing on the web now has to be Web 2.0. So, what actually is Web 2.0?

Web 2.0, is actually a phrase coined by O’Reilly Media in 2003 and popularized by series of conferences after that especially the first Web 2.0 conference in 2004. It specifically refers to a perceived second generation of web-based communities and web services, or in simple terms web-based applications.

If you inspect carefully, you will find almost all Web 2.0 websites have a few of the following elements in common:

  • Simple and clean web design
  • Simple and user friendly navigation
  • Bold logos
  • Big text
  • Strong colors
  • Clever user of gradients
  • Use reflections in their design
  • Cute icons
  • Star icons and graphics

Web20 badges

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Generate your software online with this online compiler

Wow, this is really amazing. I have never seen anything like this before, imagine you can now write, run, debug and compile a complete program online with a new web programming interface called CodeIDE. I have the feeling that this will become many programmers best friend because they will be able to access to this best friend from anywhere as long as there is Internet connection. 🙂

Online compiler

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20 fantastic open source downloads

Folks at PC World has recently compiled a list of 20 fantastic open source software. Yes, these software are free but that doesn’t mean they are no good. Many of these programs are superior to packaged or commercial software. Among the 20 software listed, I have personally tried some of them, and my favorites are the following few:

7-Zip
I know Microsoft Windows includes a built-in archiving utility that can compress and decompress files in the .Zip format. But, what about other formats, such as gzip, tar, bzip2, and rar. The solution is to use 7-Zip.

EMule
EMule is a great file-sharing client which lets you search for, download, and share files with other users.

DOSBox

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