My first Personal Blog !!

This is my first ever personal blog post and am excited to be part of the elite club of bloggers !!!

Splash Screens and non-rectangular windows

While searching, I found a very interesting article in a blog. It was about to create a splash screen. This article is extracted from that site. Check out for the link of the blog at the end of the article.

Visual Studio Add-Ins Every Developer Should Download Now

Visual Studio provides a rich extensibility model that developers at Microsoft and in the community have taken advantage of to provide a host of quality add-ins. Some add-ins contribute significant how-did-I-live-without-this functionality, while others just help you automate that small redundant task you constantly find yourself performing.

This article provides some of the best Visual Studio add-ins available today that can be downloaded for free. (Click on the links to explore them !!!)

They are:

TestDriven.NET  (www.testdriven.net)
GhostDoc  (www.roland-weigelt.de/ghostdoc)
Smart Paster (http://weblogs.asp.net/alex_papadimoulis/category/5341.aspx)
CodeKeep (www.codekeep.net)
PInvoke.NET (www.pinvoke.net)
VSWindowManager PowerToy (http://workspaces.gotdotnet.com/vswindowmanager)
WSContractFirst (www.thinktecture.com/Resources/Software/WSContractFirst/default.html)
CopySourceAsHTML (www.jtleigh.com/CopySourceAsHtml)
Cache Visualizer (http://blog.bretts.net)

There are also a lot of add-ins that can be purchased for a reasonable price(Though, I never bought one …) for some better options, as in some cases they can add some tremendous functionality to the IDE..

Happy Coding !!!

Note: GotDotnet Site is closed. Instead Microsoft has come up with MSDN Code Gallery. You can visit the site at http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/

Protect ur mobiles !!

To avoid explosions and to prolong Li-ion batteries usage, I have  listed some warnings:

• You can recharge a lithium-based battery frequently, but you shouldn’t recharge it more than it’s necessary. You use to recharge your cell phone for hours? Forget it!
• If the device needs to be kept stored for a lengthy period of time, keep the battery in a cool place at 40% state-of-charge. The website http://www.batteryuniversity.com stated that a Li-ion battery stored for a year at 40% charge lose 4% of its permanent capacity, and one stored at 100% charge lose 20% of its capacity.
• Keep your cell phone away from water, sand, dust and humidity. Short-circuiting can also explode your device.
• If your handheld gets wet, remove the battery and let your cell phone dries before put it back.
• Do not freeze the battery. When the battery gets warm again, it can be humid and cause damage to the battery’s circuit.
• Do not place your cell phone in a hot car.
• Do not carry your cell phone in your pocket.
• Do not use plastic cases to protect your cell phone. They can overheat it.
• Do not open the battery. Do not even try it!
• Prefer original and authorized accessories and batteries.

Recovering Scratched CD’S

 Every user has had trouble with a scratched CD. In the case of data CDs (CD-ROM), the drive cannot properly read the CD, giving rise to reading errors. In the case of audio CDs, the CD skips when we play it.