Portable Office

Recently, I've installed many OS on my computer to test some frameworks and setup environment to build some Proof Of Concept. So, I can not centralize all of necessary working information: emails, chat log, documentations because I usually switch between OS.

One more disadvantage, when I go home and need to check old emails in company. I have to do remote desktop to the computer in my office - because all of old emails were downloaded into that computer.


To solve all of these issues, I decided to build a portable office for my own.

Requirements of the ideal portable office

1/ I can centralize all necessary information (emails, documents, chat log) in work just in one place
2/ I can take them into any place.
3/ I can work with them offline (in VietNam, there are some places that you can not access to Internet). These information can be synchronized automatically when the Internet connection can be accessed.
4/ The computer at my home is Ubuntu, so I need all of these information can be accessed from that easily.

Build the portable office

Step 1: Download and install necessary softwares

I found a good place that contains a lot of portable applications that I can use (http://portableapps.com/apps).
At the first step, I download all of necessary below portable softwares:

• aMSN portable: using for chat with MSN.
  
• Pidgin portable: using for chatting with YM, MSN, Google Talk, ...
  
• Mozilla Thunderbird portable: using for emails
  
• Firefox portable: I need firefox portable because I need to save all bookmarks and extension necessary for offline working.
  
• PNotes portable: I use this application to take notes. It helps me package all notes with me to anyplace :-)
• Taskcoach portable: this helps me to organize my tasks in one place
• Keepass: I have many accounts and password. This helps me to collect all of them

I install all of them into an USB in the folder: PortableApps.

Step 2: Install extensions for some softwares to help me to work offline

With firefox, I install Google Gear to work offline with Google Docs. Actually, I haven't tried this with my Ubuntu computer at home. Hope it works. Moreover, I installs all other extension to help me work efficiently with Firefox.

With thunderbird, do the same things.

Step 3: Just a little bit effort to work with my Ubuntu

Portable Apps works very nice with Windows OS in my company. But when I plug my USB into Ubuntu at home and run them with Wine. It can not save chat log and emails to USB. Why?
Just a simple thing, the user I am logging in is not the created user for files and folder on USB. Just do one thing with the PortableApps folder

Go to terminal and browse to the USB disk, type the command to change owner for PortableApps

chown -R myusername PortableApps

One more command to change mode to all folders and sub folders
chmod -R 777 PortableApps => this is very stupid, but you can assign your custom mode.

Now these apps can be run OK.

Do you want to try?

ASP.NET MVC - how to implement the plugin architecture

A long time ago, I've built a framework in ASP.NET based on ideas of Joomla (call it Joomla.NET). I improved some weak things in the Joomla architecture and port it to ASP.NET. However, the most favorite thing I like in Joomla is its plugin architecture. So, when ASP.NET MVC is emerging, the first question I put in my mind is: how I can implement the plugin architecture with this?

The most difficult thing to implement this with MVC is: we must have some ways to include all things related to a specific plugin (View, Controller, Model) into one assembly (dll) to package it. If we can do that, the rest thing of Plugin architecture is only the implementing a loading mechanism to load plugin and run.

I do not have much time to answer this question at that time.
Recently, I've found a great article about this.

http://www.wynia.org/wordpress/2008/12/05/aspnet-mvc-plugins/


This inspires me to update my JoomlaNet framework with MVC architecture. Currently, I am very busy with others. I will be back to JoomlaNet in the future.

Thanks J Wynia for this article.

Windows 7 running on Ubuntu

Today, I decided to install Windows 7 to develop a solution in .NET 3.5 and run with IIS 7.0. Unfortunately, I've installed Ubuntu already. I love it :-) So, I choose the solution to install it in VirtualBox.


Anyways, the Windows 7 looks great although it's not an official release version.
See it on my computer:

 

There are some small issues after installing:
1. It can not recognize the Shared folders of Virtual Box automatically like Windows XP. I have to share the folder in the host machine and use network drive mapping in Windows 7 to share data.
2. It can not recognize my USB: currently, I don't know why. However, I am using the solution for issue 1 to solve this also.

Update 1:
I found a new solution to solve issue 1: actually, Windows7 does not show shared folders in \\vboxsvr but it can recognize them. You just need to open the Console to run "net use" command and map it with a specific drive.

Example:
net use T: \\vboxsvr\SharedFolderInVirtualBox

T is the drive letter that you want to map.

Questions of Extreme Programming

I am very interested in XP. Currently, I am learning practices from XP and trying to apply them into real projects that I take. However, there are some difficult questions that I am looking for answers. I hope I can find them from you.


1/ If I use XP, how can I answer the cost of software to my customer?
2/ How to convince customer to use XP ?
3/ In XP, estimation is based on the team. How I can create the draft estimation without team (because team is always built after signing contract)?
My estimation may not match with the estimation of the real team.
4/ When XP can not be applied?
5/ How to apply XP with a big team (>50)?
6/ What are standards of a developers to join into XP game?
7/ What are big pitfalls in XP?
8/ How to apply XP with a part-time group and work from far distance?


If you find more questions, please put into this list.
If you find the answer, please comment.
Thanks.

My new channel for VN friends

Hi all,
I've created a new blog: http://trandangkhoa-vn.blogspot.com (all articles will be written by Vietnamese there). This blog is used to share my ideas, feeling and note all memories in my life. See you there, all of my VN friends.

I will keep updating this blog also.  I use this blog for sharing experience in work and technology. If you know Vietnamese, you can find another person of mine in the new one.


happy new year and happy new blog! (http://trandangkhoa-vn.blogspot.com)