Review: RapidSVN for Windows

While working with Linux and PHP, I used RapidSVN as my preferred client to manage my source code. However, after I made the switch from Linux system administration to .NET development, I used TortoiseSVN and that was pretty cool with the Windows Explorer (shell) integration.

I tried RapidSVN 0.9.6 (March 2008 build) for Windows today and found it to be less than acceptable in terms of stability. The first time I launched the application after installation, I did a Checkout to a new directory and RapidSVN simply crashed after about 2-3 minutes of getting the files from the source code repository. I then tried a clean up (which was under the 'Extras' menu item). I tried getting the source code again, but to no avail so I guess I'll have to work with a different source control repository to try it out.

Perhaps I'll get to use a newer version of RapidSVN sometime soon? I'm really looking forward to a stable release.

If you want to try RapidSVN 0.9.6, you can get a copy from here.

Fedora 10 Released Today!

The much-awaited Fedora 10 was released today. It is based on the 2.6.27 Linux kernel. You can view the entire feature set here.

iFrame Background White in IE

I was a little surprised when a page that I developed using IFrames appeared fine in Firefox and Safari, but in Internet Explorer the background of the iFrame appeared white, overlapping another element on the page.

The way around this behavior is to set the allowtransparency attribute of the IFrame tag to true i.e. add the following to your IFRAME tag.
allowtransparency="true"

Google Whacks Dying Out

I've tried searching for the most recent 5 Google Whacks from the Google Whack site and just one of them continues to remain a Google Whack - "sensex underhairs".

So what happens to these Google Whacks, you ask? Well, when the words are put up on GoogleWhack.com, Google indexes them and that's when Results 1 to 1 of 1 loses the magical 1s. Then, there are bloggers and news reporters who write about them.

The hunt for Google Whacks just keeps getting harder and harder.

PS: Are you wondering what a Google Whack is? Visit http://www.googlewhack.com/rules.htm to find out.

Identity Columns in MS SQL Server

Identity columns in MS SQL Server from Nitin Reddy on Vimeo.

Yet Another Deathcast

Abraham Biggs (alias CandyJunkie), a 19-year-old teenager from Florida, committed suicide last Wednesday while providing a live video feed via his webcam. The cause of his death was drug overdose.

A video of the incident can be found here.

Software Engineering Conferences

International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE)
http://www.icse-conferences.org/

Working IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture (WICSA)
http://www.wicsa.net/

Association for Computing Machinery: Special Interest Group on Software Engineering (ACM SigSoft)
http://www.sigsoft.org/

Working Conference on Reverse Engineering (WCRE)
http://swerl.tudelft.nl/wcre2008/

IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance (ICSM)
http://www.icsm2008.org/

Themes in GMail

GMail has introduced a super-cool themes so you can customize the look of the interface. I particularly like the Ninja and the Graffiti themes. The Tea House theme require a really high resolution - my 1280x800 isn't enough and I have to scroll vertically to see the tea houses. Most of the themes work with just about any resolution though.

You can access the themes from the Themes tab under Settings.