Active Directory

Active Directory

Active Directory provides a method for designing a directory structure that meets the needs of the organization. Active Directory stores information about network resources, as well as all the services that make the information available and useful. The resources stored in the directory, such as user data, printers, servers, databases, groups, computers and security policies are known as objects.

An object is a distinct named set of attributes that represents a network resource. Object attributes are characteristics of objects in the directory. For example, the attributes of a user account might include the user’s first and last names, department, and email address, etc.

The core unit of logical structure in Active Directory is the domain, which can store millions of objects. All network objects exist within a domain, and each domain stores information only about the objects it contains. Active Directory is made up of one or more domains. A domain can span more than one physical location. There are several new concepts introduced with Active Directory, including the global catalogue, replication, trust relationships, DNS namespaces, and naming conventions.

The primary Active Directory administration tasks are configuring and administering Active Directory, administering users and groups, securing network resources, administering the desktop computing environment, securing active directory & Managing Active Directory performance. The primary Windows 2000 Active Directory administration tools are the Active Directory administrative tools, Microsoft Management Console, and the Task Scheduler.

The Active Directory Installation Wizard

The Active Directory installation wizard can perform the following tasks:
Add a domain controller to an existing domain.
Create the first domain controller of a new domain
Create a new child domain
Create a new domain tree
Install a DNS server
Create the database and database log files
Create the shared system volume
Remove Active Directory services from a domain controller

To launch the Active Directory Installation Wizard, run Configure your server on the Administrative Tools menu of the Start Menu.

As you install Active Directory, you can choose whether to add the new domain controller to an existing domain or create the first domain controller for a new domain.

User Account Administration

A user account provides a user with the ability to log on to the domain to gain access to network resources or to log on to a computer to gain access to resources on that computer. Each person who regularly uses the network should have a unique user account.

Windows 2000 provides different types of user accounts: local user accounts, domain user accounts, and built-in user accounts.

Local user account: With this account a user logs on to a specific computer to gain access to resources on that computer.

Domain user account: With this account a user can log on to the domain to gain access to network resources.

Built-in user accounts: These accounts are used to perform administrative tasks or to gain access to network resources.

Creating Local User Accounts:
1. Start --Settings---Control Panel---Administrative Tools---Computer Management
2. Expand the Local Users and Groups snap-in, right click Users and select New User.

Local user accounts can’t be created in the Domain Controller and is possible with the Clients only.

Creating Domain User Accounts:
1. Start Programs Administrative Tools Active Directory Users and Computers
2. Click the Domain, right click the Users container, point to New, and Click User

. In the New Object-User dialog box, set the domain user name options and click Next to obtain Password Properties.

User Account Properties

A set of default properties is associated with each user account that you create. After you create user account you can configure personal and account properties, logon options and others. For domain users, these account properties equate to object attributes.

You can use the properties that you define for a domain user account to search for users in the directory or for use in other applications as objects’ attributes. For this reason, you should provide detailed definitions for each domain user account that you create.

a) Setting Personal Properties: Four of the tabs in the Properties dialog box contain personal information about each user account. These tabs are General, Address, Telephones, and Organization.

b) Setting Account Properties: Use the Account tab in the Properties dialog box to set options for a domain user account.

Setting Logon Hours: Set logon hours to control when a user can log on to the domain.
Setting the Computers from Which Users can Log On: Setting logon options for a domain user account allows you to control the computers from which a user can log on to the domain.

Creating User Profiles

A user profile is a collection of folders and data that stores the user’s current desktop environment, application settings, and personal data. A user profile also contains all of the network connections that are established when a user logs on to a computer, such as Start menu items and mapped drives to network servers. User profiles maintain consistency for users in there desktop environments by providing each user with the same desktop environment that he or she had the last time that he or she logged on to the computer.

Advantages of User Profiles:

More than one user can use the same computer, and each receives desktop settings when he or she logs on.
When users log on to their workstation, they receive the desktop settings as they existed when they logged off.
Customization of the desktop environment by one user does not affect another user’s settings.
User profiles can be stored on a server so that they can follow users to any computer running Windows NT or Windows 2000 on the network. These are called roaming user profiles.
Application settings are retained for applications that are Windows 2000-certified.

Profile Types:

There are three types of user profiles:
Local User Profile: A local user profile is created the first time you log on to a computer and is stored on a computer’s local hard disk. Any changes made to your local user profile are specific to the computer on which you make the changes.

2. Roaming User Profile

Windows 98

Windows 98

Basic Elements of the Windows 98 Interface

It's important that you know the name and function of each graphical element in a Windows screen, because each element causes some effect when clicked.
Windows desktop containing multiple application windows. The identifies the parts of a typical Windows 98 screen.

Program and Document Shortcut Icons

You can place shortcut icons on the desktop that point to program or document files. Clicking an icon starts the program or opens the document in the appropriate application. By modifying the shortcut's properties, you can control how the program's window opens.

Folder Icons
Clicking a shortcut icon that points to a folder will open the folder into a window. A folder shortcut also acts as conduit to the actual folder. For example, dragging a file from the Windows Explorer and dropping it onto a folder shortcut places that file into the folder the shortcut points to.

Desktop
The Windows Desktop covers the entire screen and lies under all icons, windows, and objects. It is the container for shortcut icons, taskbar, desktop toolbars, and program windows. When the desktop displays active content such as a Web site or Channel bars, it is known as the Active Desktop.

Active Desktop

The Windows desktop becomes the Active Desktop when it displays active content such as Web components or links to Web data or an active channel. It can contain hyperlinks that open programs, documents, or Web sites. It also can display information that frequently updates through an Internet or intranet connection.

My Computer

The My Computer shortcut gives you access to all the resources in your computer, hard drives, CD-ROMs, Control Panel, printers, and so forth. The My Computer window displays the same resources as the left pane of the Windows Explorer.

Network Neighborhood

If you are connected to a network, click Network Neighborhood to open an Explorer Window displaying all your network resources. You can connect or disconnect from network drives, find computers on the network, or use network resources such as shared folders and files.

Start

Click Start to display a menu of programs, documents, and Windows tools. All Windows features are available through Start or from one of its submenus. Start is displayed at the left end of a horizontal taskbar or the top of a vertical taskbar.

Taskbar

The taskbar is easily accessed to show you all programs currently open and running. Click a program button in the taskbar to activate the Window containing that program. The taskbar is movable and can be relocated or resized to anywhere onscreen. You can hide the taskbar so that it displays only when the pointer touches the screen edge containing the taskbar.

Channel Guide

The channel guide is displayed both on the Active Desktop and in Internet Explorer. It gives you easy access to specialized Web sites that can send information to your browser at predefined times. Web sites that use a channel include a navigation map that enables you to find information more quickly.

Desktop Toolbars

Desktop toolbars give you quick access to frequently used programs, documents, folders, and hyperlinks; clicking a button on a toolbar opens that program, document, folder, or Web site. Toolbars are more accessible than desktop shortcuts because you can move and resize them as well as hide them against the side of a screen. When you move the mouse pointer against that side of the screen, the toolbar is displayed, ready for use.

Shortcut Menus

Shortcut menus display menus that contain the most appropriate actions for the item on which you right-click. This is a real time-saving feature.

Property Sheets

Resources in Windows such as the desktop, printers, shortcut icons, disks, folders, and so forth have associated property sheets. These property sheets display fixed and changeable characteristics (properties) about the item. Display property sheets through a menu selection or by right-clicking the item and then clicking Properties.

Using the Mouse

Nearly all actions in Windows and Windows programs can be controlled with the mouse. Most people, after they become familiar with Windows, use a combination of mouse actions, reserving a few keystroke combinations for frequently repeated commands.

CAUTION: Windows 98 can be configured to use the Web style single-click with a mouse rather than the Classic style double-click to complete some Windows actions. Learn about these two styles in the following sections.

Dragging Items with a Mouse

Dragging with a mouse selects multiple text characters or moves graphic objects such as windows. Dragging is the same whether you have single- or double-click selected. Place the mouse pointer over a movable object, such as a file icon; then press and hold down the left mouse button. Continue holding the button down as you move the mouse. The object will move with the mouse pointer. When you have positioned the object where you want it, release the mouse button to drop the object.

TIP: Select multiple items on the desktop by clicking on the desktop and dragging the selection rectangle that displays so that it surrounds the items. Release to select all objects within the rectangle.

Right-Clicking to Display Shortcut Menus

Most objects in Windows and Windows programs have a shortcut menu associated with them. This shortcut menu contains frequently used commands appropriate to the selected item. For example, the shortcut menu that displays when you right-click selected text includes the commands Cut, Copy, and Paste.
In some situations, such as dragging a file onto the desktop, you can drag using the right mouse button. When you release the right mouse button, a shortcut menu will display that gives you the choices of Move Here, Copy Here, and Create Shortcut(s) Here.

TIP: Hold the Shift key down as you right-click a file or folder to get a menu listing every available command.

Activating with Classic Style (Double-Click Methods)

When Windows is configured in classic style, a single-click selects an item, such as a file, folder, or shortcut, and a double-click activates it. You can select adjacent (contiguous) items by clicking the first file in a list and then holding the Shift key as you click the last file you want selected. All files between the first click and Shift+click are selected. To select multiple nonadjacent files, click the first file; then hold the Ctrl key down as you click additional files in the same folder. Ctrl+click a selected file to deselect it.

Activating with Web Style (Single-Click Method)

Changing Windows 98 to use a Web style of navigation makes the mouse work on the desktop or in Windows and Internet Explorer as it does on Web pages. A single click activates an item. For example, a single-click on a desktop icon opens the icon's program or document.

NOTE: If you have just switched to the Web style, you might find yourself occasionally opening more files and folders than you want. What you might find occurring while in Web style is that you open a folder in the Explorer's right pane the old way, with a double-click, only to find that you've activated a program or document. What has happened is that the first click opened the folder and the second click activated a file or program.

To select a single desktop item, or a file or folder in Explorer, move the pointer over the item and pause. The focus, highlighting, will move to that item.
To select multiple adjacent items on the desktop or in the Explorer, move the pointer over the first item and pause until it is selected. Do not click. Hold down the Shift key and move the pointer smoothly until it is over the last item you want selected; then pause. All items between the first and last will be selected.
To select nonadjacent items on the desktop or in Explorer, move the pointer over the first item and pause until it is selected. Do not click. Hold down the Ctrl key and smoothly move the pointer over the next item to select and pause until that item is selected. Continue the process of holding the Ctrl key, moving and pausing until each nonadjacent item is selected.
Activate or run multiple selected items by right-clicking one of the items and selecting Open or another appropriate command from the shortcut menu.

Using the Microsoft Intellipoint Mouse

Microsoft's Intellipoint mouse was released coincidentally with the release of Office 97. This new mouse has a small wheel between the left and right mouse buttons. Rolling the wheel with your index finger enables you to scroll without using scroll bars, pan in any direction, zoom documents using different magnifications, expand/collapse outlines, and drill down or up in worksheet data. The features available depend on the program.

CAUTION: Only programs designed to work with the Intellipoint mouse take advantage of its features.

Windows XP

Windows XP

According to Microsoft, Windows XP is the most important software release for the company since they launched Windows 95. If you are currently running Windows 95/98/Me, Windows XP will bring a lot more stability and security to your workstations. However if you are already running Windows 2000, Windows XP isn't that much of jump. Our Windows XP FAQ is designer for Administrators and power users who may be considering migrating to Windows XP.

Windows XP is Microsoft's newest desktop operating system for both consumers and businesses. Over the past few years, Microsoft has been building and supporting two completely separate versions of Windows. Windows 95/98/Me was designed for consumers with an emphasis on ease of use, compatibility, and multimedia capabilities. At the same time, Microsoft created Windows NT for businesses who need security, and reliability. (NT version 5.0 is now called Windows 2000). The Win9x and WinNT versions of Windows may look the same, but they have a very different code base, and don't use the same drivers. Windows XP builds on the stability and strength of the Windows NT/2000 Operating System, while incorporating the usability of Windows 95/98. Although Microsoft has referred to Windows XP as a merging of the code base between Windows 95/98 and Windows NT/2000, it has a lot more in common with Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) and is sometimes referred to as NT 5.1

Why are there multiple different versions of XP?

XP will initially be released in two different versions: Windows XP Professional (for businesses) and Windows XP Home Edition (for consumers.) Although the kernel for both operating systems are the same, the Home Edition is a stripped down version of the Professional version. Its main focus is the consumer home PC market, and it is designed to be easier to use. Much of its interface assumes that you have a full time internet connection and that your primary online activities are browsing, e-mail, instant messaging, listening to MP3 and online music, and sharing photos and other digital media on the web. XP Professional is designed for business and advanced home users who need security and enhanced networking capabilities. You can only get these versions when you purchase a the specialized hardware directly from the manufacturer.

What are the feature differences between XP Professional and Home Edition?

XP Professional and XP Home Edition share the same kernel (the "guts" of the operating system), and this kernel is based on the Windows 2000 operating system. The differences between them are in the level of security they provide, networking capabilities, and advanced features. For business users, Windows XP Professional is very similar to Windows 2000 in its feature set. XP Professional supports multiple processors, multiple monitors (up to 9, a built in backup program, and advanced networking capabilities (such as IPSec.) All of these features are missing from XP Home Edition. Another important distinction between the two versions is that XP Home Edition cannot join a Windows NT/2000/2003 domain. If you wish to network with other PC's in your home or office, you must be part of a workgroup. If you're a "power user" purchasing Windows XP for your personal workstation, Windows XP Professional is a better choice than Home Edition, if you can afford the price difference. Windows XP Professional is also more than Home Edition, which is an important consideration for users with a full time high speed internet connection.

What does the "XP" stand for?

The official Microsoft answer is that XP stands for "experience", in the sense that they are combining their years of experience creating two very successful desktop operating systems into one really great product. Pundits have come up with their own definitions of XP, including "eXPensive" and "eXtra Profits"

What are the system requirements?

It seems that Microsoft has always configured its Operating Systems for the future generation of hardware, and XP is no exception. Unless you bought a PC recently, you'll probably want to upgrade your desktop PC before you upgrade your OS. Below is a table of bare minimum and recommended hardware requirements, as well as our "real word" recommendations.

When considering these system requirements for your workstations, keep in mind that RAM is a larger bottleneck than CPU speed. (i.e. Adding 256Mb of RAM will give you a better performance boost than upgrading your processor speed by 200 - 300 Mhz). Windows XP is also designed to take advantage of Intel's Pentium 4 instruction set (SSE/SSE2), so you'll see slightly better performance on the newer processors. XP Professional also supports multiple processors.In addition, Microsoft recommends that your BIOS should be newer than January 1, 2000 if you wish to use the hibernation and advanced power management features of Windows XP.

What are the upgrade paths for Windows XP?

For Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 Systems:

You can upgrade to Windows XP Professional only.
For Windows 98, 98SE, and Windows Me Systems:

You can upgrade to either Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional.

For Windows 95 Systems:

There is no upgrade path. You'll need to buy the full version of Windows XP and perform a clean install.

What about Product Activation?

The product activation feature of Windows XP (and Office XP) is designed to discourage casual copying of the software. Once you load Windows XP and type in the Registration Code, it creates a unique ID for your workstation based on your system configuration and prompts you to register that ID with Microsoft within 120 days, or your Operating System will no longer function. Although the process only takes a few moments to complete over the web (and slightly longer over the phone), this requirement has caused a storm of controversy. Product Activation is only required on the retail and some OEM versions of Windows XP and not on the volume licensing program that most businesses use. Windows XP upgrade licenses acquired through one of Microsoft©s volume licensing agreements, such as Microsoft Open License, Enterprise Agreement, or Select License, will not require activation. Installations of Windows XP made using volume licensing media and volume license product keys (VLKs) will have no activation, hardware checking, or limitations on installation or imaging.

What information is transmitted to Microsoft when I activate Windows XP?

The Installation ID created by Product activation is specifically designed to guarantee anonymity and is only used by Microsoft to deter piracy. The Installation ID is comprised of two different pieces of information © the product ID and a hardware hash. The product ID is unique to the installation of Windows and is created from the unique product key used during installation. (The product ID can be found by viewing the Properties of My Computer. The hardware hash is an eight byte value that is created by running 10 different pieces of information from the PC©s hardware components through a one-way mathematical transformation. When you activate your product over the web, the installation ID is submitted to Microsoft, and then a digitally signed certificate is sent back to your PC. Activation is not product registration. The only information required to activate is an Installation ID created by the software and, for Office XP and Visio 2002, the country in which the software is being installed. No personally identifiable information is required to activate.

Can Product Activation be bypassed?

Within a few days of its launch on October 25, 2001, hackers released a "crack" that disables XP's product activation feature. This "crack" is being passed around the Internet contains a set of instructions for setting a registry key that disables activation. Microsoft made the existence of this registry key public to its technical beta testers telling them where it was and how to set it to disable activation, and included it as a testing tool. Some users who are suspicious of the product activation feature have decided to use this tool, but it is likely that Microsoft could release an update that counteracts it so I wouldn't recommended. Business can be eligible for volume licensing (which doesn't require activation) for as little as 10 licenses. Which means if you have 5 PC's running Windows XP and Office XP, you qualify for the program. Check with your Microsoft rep for details..

What happens if I don't activate Windows XP?

If you don't complete the product activation process after 30 days, Windows XP will still boot, but you'll be unable to launch Windows until you call the Microsoft Clearinghouse and enter the code.

I rebuild and/or upgrade my PC all the time. How many changes can I make before I have to reactivate Windows XP?

The Windows XP Product Activation Code is based on a combination of 10 system hardware settings, including CPU, NIC card, RAM, Video card, sound card, etc., If your machine has a PCMCIA slot (most laptops), you can change 9 of the 10 items before you need to reactivate XP. For most desktop systems, you can change up to six items, however changing the same component repeatedly counts only as one change. Also, adding additional components doesn't count as a change. If you purchased a new PC with Windows XP preloaded from the manufacturer, the product ID is linked to the BIOS, so you can technically change as many hardware components as you wish, as long as you don't change the system BIOS.

Should I deploy Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional in my company?

If you are planning to deploy Windows 2000 before January 2002, or are already deploying Windows 2000, you should probably stick with Windows 2000. If you are planning a deployment after June 2002, you should consider Windows XP Professional. The stability and compatibly issues are about the same, but you'll get a longer life cycle out of Windows XP in terms of support from Microsoft and third party vendors.

Is there an XP Server?

No, there isn't. "XP" is only the designation for the Microsoft's desktop Operating System. The newest server version is Windows Server 2003 and was released in April 2003. Microsoft has decided to split the development and release cycles of desktop and server operating systems to better serve their customers. Consumers (and the PC industry) like frequent OS updates to keep up with newest trends and hardware. Corporations don't like to update their infrastructure and retrain their IT staff that frequently. So, you can expect Microsoft to release a new desktop operating system every 2-3 years, and a server operating system every 4-5 years.

Will my software run on Windows XP?

Windows XP is built on the Windows 2000 kernel, so for business users who are already running applications on Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000, the upgrade should be pretty smooth. Microsoft says that over 90 percent of Windows 2000/NT and Windows 9x applications distributed in North America in the past three years already work on XP. Notably, one of the applications that doesn't work is Novell Client 32 V4.80. This incompatibility will have an impact for business users who are still running in a Novell environment, but I'm confident that Novell will probably release a new client within the next few months. For home users who are more interested in gaming, there are several issues with older games that rely on DOS. A large percentage of the games we've tested in our labs work just fine with XP, but serious gamers may want to consider dual booting XP with Windows 98 to support legacy games, and older controllers. Also, since XP is a new operating system, your system and disk utilities, as well as AntiVirus software will not work with Windows XP and will need to be upgraded.

What about Hardware Compatibility?

According to Microsoft, Windows XP supports 12,000 devices straight out of the box, including the top 1,000 best-selling devices sold during the year 2000. At this writing, over 300 hardware devices have earned the new XP logo--meaning they've been subjected to higher testing standards. However there are still a large number of hardware devices that aren't compatible and are waiting for updated drivers. These include multi-function printers/scanner/fax machines, web cams, CD writers, etc. You can use Microsoft Compatibility Advisor to check your system before you upgrade, and/or check with your hardware manufacturer to see if they've posted new drivers for Windows XP. Please keep in mind that it is the hardware manufacturer's responsibility to write XP compatible drivers for their products - not Microsoft's. In fact, not supporting a new operating system is a tactic used by some manufacturers in order to get you to upgrade your current product. Microsoft released an avalanche of technical details, driver guidelines, and beta software to manufacturers a full year before Windows XP shipped in order to give them as much as lead time as possible. In a random survey of legacy (pre-2001) printer and scanner drivers available for XP, we noticed a definite support trend that favored the higher end (and higher profit) devices and left entry level models (or those commonly given away with Win95/98 PC's) unsupported. It's really not that hard to write a driver (or update software to work with Windows XP) but some manufacturers just refuse to do it. You should always check the status of your existing hardware before upgrading to XP.

What about performance?

There has been a lot of Microsoft bashing going around in the press and on discussion forums regarding XP's performance and most of it has been crap. Many of the published evaluations you'll see are between the Win9x platform, which isn't really fair because XP is built on the NT/Win2000 code base. Of course it's faster and more stable than the 5 year old code for Windows 9x (including Windows Me). However, when you compare Windows XP with Windows 2000 they're pretty evenly matched. On systems with +600Mhz processors and 512Kb of RAM, our XP installations run just a hair faster than the same systems running Windows 2000. XP also has a definite advantage over Windows 2000 on Pentium 4 processors.

How stable is Windows XP?

We were very skeptical when we first loaded Windows XP Professional on our lab PC's, but for the most part, we've been happy with the new Operating System. Our "clean" installations of XP Pro on a variety of desktops and laptops went smoothly and have been very stable. We did run across a few upgrade issues as well as unexplained lockups on a single test system (a Dell Latitude C600), which turned out to be a faulty memory module. That said, we get a lot of hostile e-mail from users who are having nothing but problems with XP Home Edition and Professional. After a bit of investigating, most of their issues seem to be preventable (user inflicted) causes and not inherent instabilities with XP. I'm not saying XP is perfect - it does have it's share of bugs. But you can improve XP's (or any Microsoft operating systems reliability by following these guidelines:
Only use hardware that is on the Hardware Compatibility List -. This ensures that the products and drivers went through rigorous testing and are supported by Microsoft. If you're trying to use a Win9x or Windows 2000 driver to make your legacy hardware work, you'll probably start having stability issues.
Place all of your systems are on a UPS (not just a surge protector). Power fluctuations can lead to unexplained system problems and data loss.
If you can, always try to install Windows XP on a clean system, instead of upgrading a current installation.
Be selective with your software. Third party software isn't always written to Microsoft's standards, and can cause instabilities. Games and freeware/shareware utilities are the usual culprits, but poorly written system utilities can cause problems as well. Constantly installing and uninstalling various programs may leave behind residual registry entries and system files that can slow a system over time, and cause instabilities
Don't run third party themes or freeware screensavers - Many of these are written by amateurs, and you just never know what you're getting. Screensavers look nice, but are usually unnecessary with modern displays. Try choosing the "blank screen" option as a screensaver, or have the monitor power down when not in use.
Don't run third party system utilities - Many of the "system utility" packages on the market don't work as well as advertised, and can cause more problems than they solve. Think carefully before installing these. In our opinion, they're just not worth it.
Don't over tweak your system - We set up our systems the way we like to work when XP is first installed and then leave it alone. I work on several desktops and laptops every day, and don't really have a need to change systems setting, fonts, colors, themes, screensavers, performance settings, network settings, power setting, etc., In a survey of corporate help desk calls, 80% of problems were traced back to something that the user did themselves. This usually involves constant tweaking and experimenting that leads to stability issues. We have a standard build that installs the applications we use, gets rid of the default Blue XP theme we find so annoying, and locks down security settings. That's about it.
Perform routine system maintenance. This means performing a full virus scan, defrag, and cleaning out the temp files routinely. You should also check event logs for potential problems, and keep up on the latest system updates from Microsoft.

How secure is Windows XP?

Again, this depends on what you are comparing it to. XP is vastly more secure than Windows 95/98/Me (which didn't have any security), and is on par with Windows 2000. There has been a lot of hype about the Remote Desktop and Remote Assistance features which can allow another person running Windows XP to interact with your desktop, however there are several adequate safeguards in place to keep someone from doing this without you knowing it, and so far hackers haven't figured out a way to exploit it. Another controversial topic is Microsoft's use of full raw sockets API in Windows XP that could theoretically allow hackers to use XP workstations as "zombies" in a broad based denial of service attack. Of course these issues are in addition to any programming errors, code glitches, and oversights that may come up in the course of any operating system release.

What did you like or dislike about Windows XP?

I suppose the two most frequent complaints about Windows XP is the new interface and Windows Product Activation. I personally hate the new "Playskool" interface. I half expect a purple dinosaur to pop up and give me instructions. (Shudder) Thankfully, a few mouse clicks will change it back to the "classic" interface. The next thing we hated was Windows Product Activation. Although the web activation was painless and took only a few seconds, it still feels a bit like "Big Brother" and makes us a little uncomfortable. We also had mixed reviews about the "clean" desktop. On the default XP setup, there is only one icon on the desktop - the recycle bin. This is a welcome departure from the multitude of AOL icons and other junk cluttering the Win9x desktop, but over the years we've become accustomed to using the "My Computer", "Network Neighborhood" and "My Documents" desktop icons. (Fortunately, you can get these back with a few mouse clicks) Fast user switching was a disappointment since it doesn't work if you're logged into a Windows 2000 domain. (We haven't tested it using an NT 4.0 domain). On the plus side, we like the built in support for compressed files, the Help system is vastly improved (it even provides hyperlinks to related TechNet articles), the support for digital cameras and scanners is excellent, and there other several smaller "features" that are useful to administrators. For example, we like having the ability to automatically synchronize the time on our laptops using an internet web server when we aren't logged into the domain, and we like the that XP preloads popular printer drivers into the default installation so you won't need to provide your XP installation CD every time you need to print to a new printer. Overall, we like Windows XP as a desktop operating system. To borrow a phrase, it's a small step up from Windows 2000 Professional, and a giant leap from Windows 95/98/Me

Is it worth the upgrade?

If you are currently using Windows 95/98/Me or Windows NT 4.0, Windows XP will most likely be a worthwhile upgrade. You'll like the speed, security, and stability of XP, but may have some issues with hardware and software compatibility. The new user interface is well suited for non technical computer users, but seems to drive the hardcore computer geeks crazy. (Thankfully you can easily switch it back to the classic Win9x look) Home users may be better off buying a new PC with Windows XP preloaded rather than try to upgrade the hardware and OS on an older system. Businesses and power users that are already running Windows 2000 will probably not see a significant reason to upgrade.
The general user response based on feedback and newsgroup postings is mixed. over 7,000 users where evenly split on their reviews of XP Home Edition. 54% liked it, 46% hated it. and noticed that a majority aren't really legitimate issues with XP. People expect the operating system to stay stable no matter how poorly third party software is written. They expect XP to be 100% compatible with cheap or out of date hardware, and blame Microsoft for the lack of drivers. They expect all programs written for Windows 95/98/Me to work on XP. And if they buy a new system with Windows XP preloaded on it, and it crashes, they blame Microsoft and not the OEM's crappy hardware configuration. These are the same issues that have been raised for every Windows release since Win95. While being completely crash proof regardless of the abuse the operating system is subjected to is a lofty goal for any operating system, it's a bit unrealistic. Windows XP is certainly not perfect, it's not crash proof, and it's not compatible with every piece of hardware and software. But it is a vast improvement over Win95/98/Me and Windows NT 4.0 in terms of ease of use, security, stability, and performance. XP Professional is also on par with Windows 2000 Professional in these areas, but easier to use. If you're concerned about compatibility with your old software or hardware, you may wish to consider dual booting Windows XP with your older operating system, or simply keeping your old PC up and running for a while and running Windows XP on a new PC.

Professional Photos websites

Professional Photos websites
http://www.photolibrary.com/

http://www.istockphoto.com/

http://www.picturequest.com/

http://www.dreamstime.com/

http://www.bravenet.com/

http://www.vistaprint.ca/

Photo upload Websites

http://photobucket.com/

http://shareapic.net/


Website & Logos

http://www.godaddy.com/ [Domain available name]

http://www.flashmo.com/ [complete flash templates]

http://www.designload.net/ [website Templates]

http://www.logoyes.com/logocreator.php [Cartoon Logos ]

http://corporatelogos.ws/Logos-Portfolio/portfolio.php?tab_id=1&logocat_id=1
[ Sample Logos ]

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http://www.ebuddy.com/

website ranks
http://www.alexa.com/

E-Book Up load
http://www.rapidshare.com/

destroy some site
http://www.netdisaster.com/


Online Radio

www.airtamil.com

www.aahaafm.com

PHP Websites

PHP Websites

http://www.w3schools.com/php/default.asp
http://www.php.net/
http://www.tizag.com/phpT/
http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php
http://www.webmonkey.com/programming/php/tutorials/tutorial4.html
http://www.php-mysql-tutorial.com/
http://devzone.zend.com/node/view/id/627
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/feedbackphp.shtml
http://www.killerphp.com/ [PHP VIDEO TUTORIAL]
http://msconline.maconstate.edu/tutorials/PHP/default.htm
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/php/article.php/3472391
http://mgeisler.net/php-tutorial/
http://weblogtoolscollection.com/regex/regex.php
http://www.webestilo.com/en/php/
http://www.clockwatchers.com/php_main.html
http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200004/200004.htm
http://tut.php-quake.net/
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/phptutorial2.shtml
http://www.hudzilla.org/phpbook/
http://www.phpfreaks.com/tutorials/130/0.php

Mouse

Mouse

Introduction of a mouse

Mice first broke onto the public stage with the introduction of the Apple Macintosh in 1984, and since then they have helped to completely redefine the way we use computers

The modern windows – based PC needs a pointing device to position the cursor on the screen and to issue commands. There are several possibilities, but by far the most common is a mouse

MICE

Ø Contains a micro controller and firmware
Ø The ‘Rolls Royce’ of mice is the optical mouse
Ø The most common is the opt-electronic
Ø It is used with GUI system to give graphical inputs.
Ø It is cheap and easy to use.
Ø It is a high precision input device

Type of Mouse

Scroll Mouse

Track ball mouse

Optical mouse

Wireless Ergonomic finger trackball mouse

Basic Mouse Operation

Ø As you move the mouse on a flat surface the ball turns the rollers inside and sends signals to the computer, the computer then translates these signals into the movement of the mouse pointer.

Ø When the disk rotates, it alternatively closes and opens a photo sensor assembly. The number of interruptions the sensor senses, gives the amount of mouse’s movement in X and Y direction

Ø The mouse has two or three buttons, which are used for various purposes.

How Computer Mouse Work
Inside a Mouse

· The main goal of any mouse is to translate the motion of your hand into signals that the computer can use. Almost all mice today do the translation using five components:

· A ball inside the mouse touches the desktop and rolls when the mouse moves*he underside of the mouse's logic board: The exposed portion of the ball touches the desktop

Two rollers inside the mouse touch the ball. One of the rollers is oriented so that it detects motion in the X direction, and the other is oriented 90 degrees to the first roller so it detects motion in the Y direction. When the ball rotates, one or both of these rollers rotate as well. The following image shows the two white rollers on this mouse:

The rollers that touch the ball and detect X and Y motion

The rollers each connect to a shaft, and the shaft spins a disk with holes in it. When a roller rolls, its shaft and disk spin. The following image shows the disk:

A typical optical encoding disk: This disk has 36 holes around its outer edge.

On either side of the disk there is an infrared LED and an infrared sensor. The holes in the disk break the beam of light coming from the LED so that the infrared sensor sees pulses of light. The rate of the pulsing is directly related to the speed of the mouse and the distance it travels

A close-up of one of the optical encoders that track mouse motion: There is an infrared LED (clear) on one side of the disk and an infrared sensor (red) on the other.

An on-board processor chip reads the pulses from the infrared sensors and turns them into binary data that the computer can understand. The chip sends the binary data to the computer through the mouse's cord.

The logic section of a mouse is dominated by an encoder chip, a small processor that reads the pulses coming from the infrared sensors and turns them into bytes sent to the computer. You can also see the two buttons that detect clicks (on either side of the wire connector).

keyboard

keyboard

The keyboard is the primary input device. (The mouse is also a primary input device but lacks the ability to easily transmit textual information.) The keyboard also contains certain standard function keys, such as the Escape key, tab and cursor movement keys, shift and control keys, and sometimes other manufacturer-customized keys.

The computer keyboard uses the same key arrangement as the mechanical and electronic typewriter keyboards that preceded the computer.

The Main Keys (a,b,c,...) on the keyboard behave like a standard typewriter.

Modifier Keys (Ctrl, Alt): These keys have specific functions in software programs when used in combination with the letter keys. For example, to do Ctrl 'A' you would hold down the modifier key Ctrl and tap the A key once. In general, the Ctrl key on a PC = the Command key on a Mac; the Alt key on a PC = the Option key on a Mac. Macintosh's also have a third Modifier key: Control.

Function Keys: These include the Esc and F1 through F12 keys at the top of the keyboard, as well as the Home, Help, End, Del, Page Up & Down keys located above the arrow keys. Their functions are different depending on the software program that you are running. They can sometimes be programmed.

Arrow Keys: Located in between the number pad and the main keys, the arrows let you move around in most programs.

Number Pad: If the NumLock is on (turn on/off with button in upper left-hand corner of number pad), the number keys give numbers. If it is off, the keys act like the arrow keys (8 is up, 2 is down, etc.).

Indicator Lights: Located above the number pad, they tell you if the NumLock or Caps Lock are on.

Keyboards are used to give inputs in the form of text.

All keyboards have keys for basic cursor movements such as carriage return, delete, page up/down, cursor movement keys etc

Keyboard Types

[1]XT Keyboard

[2]AT Standard

[3]AT Enhands

Working of Keyboard

The keyboard consists of a keyboard controller looking after the scan matrix. The scan matrix is a set of crossing lines. At each crossing, a small switch is located above which a key is present supported by a spring

The key that is pressed is determined by activating the vertical lines and determining from which horizontal line a signal is detected. The key pressed is identified by the vertical and the horizontal line.

Data transfer is serial

Keyboard Buffer

The data from the keyboard is held in the keyboard buffer, which is managed by two pointers - read pointer and write pointer.

The write pointer points to the next location in the buffer onto which data can be written. The read pointer points to the location from where data can be read.

Computer platform

Processor Internal Architecture

Dispatch ports in the Pentium 4 processor

Processor Internal Architecture & Buses

Basic instruction flow

One useful division that computer architects use when talking about CPUs is that of "front end" vs. "back end" or "execution engine." When instructions are fetched from the cache or main memory, they must be decoded and dispatched for execution. This fetching, decoding and dispatching takes place in the processor's front end.

Problem Solving

Problem Solving

Well-defined problems

In a well-defined problem, it is clear what the problem is and the solution is clearly specified as well. That is, the solution can be recognized clearly when arrived at. Well defined problems often have generally known solutions.

They are solved using standard methods, methods of similar problems, or methods of analogous problems Problem → Analogous standard problem → Analogous standard solution → Solution

Examples: puzzles, simple games, and lower level mathematics, science, and engineering.

The class of well-defined problems include computationally intractable problems, the solution requires more time and/or space that is available. Therefore, an alternative solution must be found which involves the use of heuristics and approximations.

Ill-defined problems

In an ill-defined problem, it is not clear from the beginning what theproblem is and thus, what a solution is. Therefore, finding a solution requires in addition, finding out what the real problem is. Solving and specifying the problem develop in parallel and drive each other. Ill-defined problems usually have unknown solutions. The solutions found are often such that they still could be improved and it is up to the problem solver to decide when enough is enough. Ill-defined problems include:
[i]Computationally intractable problems which require heuristic solutions.
[ii]Approximate solutions
[iii]Unexplored problem domains

Wicked problems

Wicked problems are similar to ill-defined problems, just much worse. Furthermore solutions are very difficult, if at all, to recognize as such. In other words, stating the problem is the problem.
[i]often contain contradictory requirements
[ii]often the problem changes over time
[iii]there is uncertainty if the offered solution is the best solution or is even a solution requires an inventive/creative solution Problem → Inventive insight → Solution

PROBLEM SOLVING: DEVELOPING ALGORITHMS

PROBLEM SOLVING: DEVELOPING ALGORITHMS

The divide and conquer aspect of software development; it focuses, exclusively on algorithm development.

Problem solving is a "polymorphic" term used to cover any apparoach to determining unknowns (or "undones") based on a set of initial conditions...Most people think of problem solving in terms of math problems (this applies anything that uses math e.g. science, economics, etc.), but we also consider writing a theme, planning a trip, improving a curriculum, etc. as problem solving exercises. (Even my task of trying to find a way of helping a "group" of prospective computer scientists develop "individual" algorithmic problem solving solving skills is a problem - but NOT one that has a clear, single answer.) As diverse as these "problem solving examples" are, they all have one thing in common - once the problem is solved, the "problem solving" is finished (with the exception of "my" problem). This is NOT true in problem solving associated with software development; in software development, solving the problem is only the first step. The unique feature of problem solving in software development is the need to determine "every" step in the problem solving process so that they can be "programmed" so that a machine (the computer) can repeat the process over and over using different inputs. There are two paradigms in software development, algorithmic and object oriented; actually the object oriented approach includes algorithmic development, so developing algorithms is part of every software development project.... Therefore, in the following presentation we are NOT talking about problem solving in the traditional sense (solve it and stop); we are focusing on problem solving strategies associated with software development (solve it and program it). In fact we are not considering object-oriented development, but focusing on its subset, structured algorithm development (SAD), the problem of developing an efficient algorithm that satisfies a set of requirements, i.e. given specific inputs, the algorithm will perform, efficiently, a well defined task that results in specific outputs - I think that "task automation" is a more specific, descriptive name for this than "problem solving"

[1] Learn how to use SACs (Structured Algorithm Charts), a "tool" for visually developing algorithms
[2] Identify the basic constructs of "structured" algorithms and how they can be combined

[i]constructs: sequence, selection, and repetition
[ii]two ways of combining constructs: sequential and nested

[3]Gain experience developing structured algorithms (problem solving in software development) using SACs for:

[i] selections in sequence and nested
[ii]repetition in sequence and nested
[iii] combined selections and repetitions

[4]Integrate the preceding, into a generalized structured algorithm development strategy

1.INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURED ALGORITHM CHARTS (SAC):

The strategy for software development has (at least) four distinct phases, Analysis, Design, Implementation, and Maintenance, including Testing within each phase. The first two phases, Analysis and Design, are "language independent", i.e. occur before any source code is written. During these phases, language independent representations of algorithms (pseudocode or schematic diagrams) or software models (UML diagrams) are used to facilitate critical and creative thinking as well as to record design features. In this presentation we are focusing on SAC diagrams, a nonstandard, but (in my opinion) the most "powerful" language independent representation of algorithms; we use them to facilitate both the analysis and design phases - in particular the later.

Regardless of their representation, all algorithms consist of a collection of "statements" some of which are "control structures" that govern the flow of execution of the algorithm.

Regardless of their representation, fundamental statements include those for:

[a]starting and stopping; stopping includes the termination of a procedure or function after which control is returned to a higher level algorithm that "called" the procedure or function.

[b]input and output; this can involve:

[i]different "kinds" of input, e.g. interactive input from a keyboard, reading data from a file, etc.
[ii]different "types" (a very special word in computer science!) of input, e.g. numbers (integers, mixed numbers, etc.), text, etc.

[c]processing, e.g. math operations, text manipulation, etc.

Processing statements have one of two fundamentally different forms:

[i]Concrete statements that can be executed by a computer, e.g. the addition of two numbers, the concatenation of two character strings, a while loop, an if-then-else statement, etc.

[ii] Abstract statements are those that can NOT be executed by a computer. Obviously, they must be replaced by concrete statements - before one moves to the implementation phase where you translate you algorithm into source code. Usually abstract statements are written in terms of named modules (sub algorithms, procedures or functions), within which concrete statements are written.

A block of statements is a collection of statements (both concrete and abstract); they may be "boxed" together just for convenience, but usually they are replaced by modules (subalgorithms, procedures or functions).

[d]control structures; all algorithms consist of a "sequence" of statements where the flow of execution is modified by two control structures ( Here is where 99.9% of the problem of algorithm development arise.):

[i]selection which allows a single block of statementss to be executed depending on specific conditions; see section 2, below.
[ii]repetition which allows a single block of statementss to be repeated depending on specific conditions; see section 2, below.

[e]Using SACs is one of several ways to developing sturctured algorithms. To learn the SAC way of representating algorithms, see the following (which are presented in sequence, so you can read them all at once). Note that the SAC technique is not standard, but it can be easily translated into traditional algorithm representation formats like flowcharts or pseudocode, which have (loose) standards. On the other hand SACs have significant advantages over traditional flowcharts and especially pseudocode; to paraphrase Confuscious, "A SAC is worth a thousand pseudocode words!" In fact a "blank" SAC diagram is a "power tool" that can help you "generate" the most efficient structured algorithm for the task you want to program - be sure to look out

for this as you work through the exercise problems in section 3, below; if this is not apparent to you, after you finish, be sure to ask me what this means! To begin learning how to use SACs study the following:
SAC symbols and formats.
Rules for constructing a SAC.

The fundamental "INPUT-PROCESS-OUTPUT" sequence.

2. THE BASIC LOGIC CONSTRUCTS (CONTROL STRUCTURES) OF STRUCTURED PROGRAMMING:

Regardless of their representation, there are only two control structures (although there are several forms of each) that alter the normal sequential flow of algorithm execution thus governing the logic of the algorithm.

[a] "selection" where, "if" a selection condition is met (i.e. it is "true"), a single block of statements (selected from one or more alternative blocks) is executed before the original sequence is continued. (The "block" selected by the selection construct can include any type instruction including other blocks and/or control structures - there is no limit.)

[b] "repetition" where a single block of statements is repeated a specified number of times before the original sequence is continued. (The "block" selected by the selection construct can include any type instruction including other blocks and/or control structures - there is not limit.)

Regardless of their representation, there are only two ways to organize control structures:

[a]Sequential control structures are independent, i.e. occur one after another.
[b]Nested control structures mean that one control structure "contains" other control structures within them.

To see the SAC way of representating control structures, see the following (which are presented in sequence, so you can read them all at once).

[a]SAC REPRESENTATION OF SELECTION CONSTRUCTS: If you are only interested in seeing how SAC selection constructs are written then ignore the EXERCISES; these are part of the hands-on approach to algorithmic problem solving in section 3, below.

[b]SAC REPRESENTATION OF REPETITION CONSTRUCTS: If you are only interested in seeing how SAC repetition constructs are written then ignore the EXERCISES; these are part of the hands-on approach to algorithmic problem solving in section 3, below.

3. HANDS-ON EXERCISES IN CLASSIC ALGORITHM DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS:

STRUCTURED ALGORITHM CHARTS and ALGORITHMIC PROBLEM SOLVING is an organized approach to using selection and repetition (both in sequence and nested) in simple but classic algorithmic problems. If you have not read the first three sections of this document, start at the beginning. If you are ready to begin the problem solving exercises start at

SAC REPRESENTATION OF SELECTION CONSTRUCTS. ( Beginners, e.g. COSC101 students should only use if-the-else for selection and while () for repetition.) If you want an overview of the problems before they are presented here they are:

System Development Cycle

System Development Cycle

Before the start of the development of the project, the framework of system development processes has to be recognized. There are a number of different paradigms of software development, namely, the waterfall approach, the evolutionary development, formal specification and system assembly from reusable components [SO96]. Among these software development paradigms, the waterfall model is widely used for practical systems development.

System Development Cycle – Waterfall Model

Design Process
As quality of the application depends strictly on the system design, the design model for the project must be carefully selected. The design process involves developing several models of the system at different levels of abstraction [SO96]. Formality and detail are added as the design is developed with constant backtracking to correct earlier, less formal designs. Such feedback mechanism allows earlier designs to be improved.

The design process employed in this project will consist of 4 activities. They are:
(1) Architectural Design
(2) Procedural Design
(3) Database Design
(4) User Interface Design

There is no rigid boundary between the above stages but stage identification is useful to make the design visible and thus allow it to be manageable.

System Design Process

Design Methods
Two design strategies are widely adopted by software design. They are, namely, functional design and object-oriented design.

In this project, functional approach of system design will be followed. And the following structured design methods will be applied to the corresponding level of design as escribed in the previous section.

Data Flow Diagram :- will be applied to Architectural Design where system is modeled using data transformation.
Pseudo Code :- will be applied to Procedure Design to translate DFDs into procedural description.
Entity Relation Model :- will be applied to Database Design to describe the logical data structures employed in this system.

System Design Overview
The Motion Data Acquisition System is designed to help students understand the relationships between motions and kinematics graphs that describe the motions. This system can be integrated into the lesson in many different ways: Lecture demonstrations can be given by teachers to show how real data is collected and analyzed; Hands-on video experiment lets students explore themselves to the videos in their own paces; After-school practices are also possible for low ability students to revise the experiments. Undoubtedly, the Motion Data Acquisition System is a flexible and integrated system that collaborates the teaching and learning activities for kinematics. The following diagram shows the relationships between the Motion Data Acquisition System and its external entities.

XML can Separate Data from HTML

XML can Separate Data from HTML

With XML, your data is stored outside your HTML.
When HTML is used to display data, the data is stored inside your HTML. With XML, data can be stored in separate XML files. This way you can concentrate on using HTML for data layout and display, and be sure that changes in the underlying data will not require any changes to your HTML.XML data can also be stored inside HTML pages as "Data Islands". You can still concentrate on using HTML only for formatting and displaying the data.

It is important to understand that XML was designed to store, carry, and exchange data. XML was not designed to display data.

XML is used to Exchange Data

With XML, data can be exchanged between incompatible systems.
In the real world, computer systems and databases contain data in incompatible formats. One of the most time-consuming challenges for developers has been to exchange data between such systems over the Internet.Converting the data to XML can greatly reduce this complexity and create data that can be read by many different types of applications.

XML and B2B
With XML, financial information can be exchanged over the Internet.
Expect to see a lot about XML and B2B (Business To Business) in the near future.
XML is going to be the main language for exchanging financial information between businesses over the Internet. A lot of interesting B2B applications are under development.

XML can be used to Share Data
With XML, plain text files can be used to share data.
Since XML data is stored in plain text format, XML provides a software- and hardware-independent way of sharing data.
This makes it much easier to create data that different applications can work with. It also makes it easier to expand or upgrade a system to new operating systems, servers, applications, and new browsers.

XML can be used to Store Data
With XML, plain text files can be used to store data.
XML can also be used to store data in files or in databases. Applications can be written to store and retrieve information from the store, and generic applications can be used to display the data.

XML can make your Data more Useful
With XML, your data is available to more users.
Since XML is independent of hardware, software and application, you can make your data available to other than only standard HTML browsers.Other clients and applications can access your XML files as data sources, like they are accessing databases. Your data can be made available to all kinds of "reading machines" (agents), and it is easier to make your data available for blind people, or people with other disabilities.

XML can be used to Create new Languages
XML is the mother of WAP and WML.The Wireless Markup Language (WML), used to markup Internet applications for handheld devices like mobile phones, is written in XML.