If you are J2EE programmer & had ever needed to generate reports, you would have heard of JasperReports. While browsing, I came across documents called “TechMaps” on JavaBlackBelt.com. TechMaps are excellent visual aids introduction to understand basics of Jasper Reports. Hope this will be helpful to larger community.

What is a TechMap?
A TechMap is a kind of visual article which explains a technology with a minimal amount of words and maximum amount of graphics.

Firefox 3.0 is definitely a major enhancement & competition to Internet Explorer. However, with that comes new bug/ broken functionality.

One such issue that has recently reported by many by employees. In corporate environment, where normally proxies are implemented to limit access to internet, Firefox3 fails to browse internet while a previous version (Firefox2) worked just okay!

It seems the Proxy Auto-Config (.PAC) script doesn’t go well with Firefox3.0. Somehow, for reasons unknown to me, Firefox is not able to read the PAC scripts & thus get the proxy servers. An alternative to this, is to use proxy server names, if you know one.

Generally, if your compnay’s network department uses PAC scripts, you would not know the proxy server. There is a way though, to find proxy servers under the hood.

Solution- Pretty darn simple, I used “TCP Monitor” tool to see which server my Internet Explorer connects. Once I found the proxy server, I used in the Network connection settings in Firefox3. This works for me, hope it does for you as well.

Apple iTunes can help you managing your collection of PDF books. I wasn’t aware iTunes can be used in such way- for anything apart from music files. Apparently seems like even Steve Job may not have thought like this. An article on Dobbs just talks about Radiologists using iTunes.

Author: Garr Reynolds

Publisher:New Riders

Pages: 222
Rating:

This week, I read one more presentation-related book. The last one I read was - “Say It With Charts, Zelazny“. A fantastic read, more focused on how to better present your “Charts”.

PresentationZen on contrast, is on the more wider topic of Presentations. A Presentation may be made using various tools- be it MS PowerPoint or Apple’s Slidenote. Doesn’t matter! What the author Garr has to offer is, simple ideas on Presentation Design & Delivery. Staring with why 99% of Presentation are bore, Garr goes on length to present simple ideas on how to go about designing your Presentations.

6 simple concepts- is all it takes towards better presentation.

The most fundamental use of presentation as per Garr is to assist you. Yes! Presentations ‘assist’ you. So many presentations start with the offbeat bullet points. We have tendency to filll the presentation with as much data as we can. Garr, advise this is not what presentations are meant for. Imagine, if presentations could present all the data, then what is your need to be present on the stage. Bullseye! I never thought about it. Yet, I have seen 99% presentations going the wrong way. Now, let me add my thoughts here- I feel most of the time, we use presentations to give facts or serve as documentation- & not really for actually delivering a presentation. My view, most of us think, word documents have become to ubiqious, which has led people to just skip over it. Hence Presentations are used to atleast have people see the important point. Garr calls this “Slideumentation“- a combination of Presentation & Documentation.

More tip- Presentation should have at most 6-7 words, while a contextful image should be used to drive your point emotionally.

Garr has used Zen comcepts (Simplification by Amplification, Bento) to make his presentations simpler. A Collection of his presentations at the end of book, will give you an idea on how to design presentations. Plus, additional notes by renowned presentation experts like Duarte (www.duarte.com) is much help.

Alas, I have limited time to describe what I feel after reading the book. I just can’t stop praising.

The author, Garr Reynolds is Presentation designer & internationally acclaimed communications expert based in Japan. He shares his experience / tips on presentations on presentationzen.com.

The book is well presented (in line with its subject) with good paper quality. Neat fonts, great context images & easy layout makes joy while reading.

Stock Photos or Stock Photography is using existing pictures of common places, streets, people that can be bought online & is royalty free.

There are many websites today offering some of the largest collection of Stock Photography. Here are some site below:

iStockPhotos.com - my favorite site. I almost always use this while searching for Stock Photos. It also has a simple user interface, with full images dynamically show in DHTML popup when you hover over thumbnails. You don’t need to buy any subscription plans, unlike some site. You just add desired images to shopping cart, & pay for it.

If you are looking to earn some money out of your stock photo collection, then you can submit. Maintaining high quality stock images is their priority. So its not a simple/ straightforward process. They will ask you to submit three samples of your Stock photography. Based on personal evaluation of your submitted stock images, iStockPhoto would accept or most of the time even may reject your application. So only serious professionals are considered.

GettyImages : GettyImages has been into Stock Photography since internet. It also has one of the largest collection of Stock photos. I have observed that many Stock Photo websites get feed from GettyImages.

Photos.com : Another good collection of Stock images. But you need to buy a minimum monthly subscription plan for $99/ month.

public-domain-photos.com : This site offers public domain photos that are free price & royalty-free. Sometimes being free does put restriction on quality, but do give it try first before visiting paid sites.

Fotolia.com, GettyImages.com : A good resource similar to iStockPhotos.

How you can use Stock Photo?
Let me repeat a cliche- “A Picture speaks Thousand Words.” There are many areas you can use Stock Photos- be it personal or official.

• Presentations: Use a compelling picture on issues of global warming, than putting loads of facts. This is what helped Al Gore succeed in presenting Global warming to worldwide audiences & even got him an Oscar for his documentary.
• Websites: use Stock photos along with website text to make your point. I have seen many good examples where people have used stock photos to project their company’s professional image.
• Documentation: Icons, small images can be effectively used in documents.
• Blogs Banners: I have personally used one of the images from iStockPhoto to create a banner for my blog - RohitBlog.com. You should consider outsourcing your design requirements for right reasons. In my case, designing a banner was small tasks which not many free lancers would have taken, And in the end, it was gratifying experience.

Here’s an fascinating words on “Power of Positive Language” that came to me from my friend - Chetan. This is from India’s 11th President Dr A.P.J Abdul Kalam. Read on…

“I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young age. Not only did my dad understand that specific words affect our mental pictures, but he understood words are a powerful programming factor in lifelong success.

One particularly interesting event occurred when I was eight. As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn’t realize the tree could break or I could get hurt. I just thought it was fun to be up so high.

My older cousin, Tammy, was also in the same tree. She was hanging on the first big limb, about ten feet below me. Tammy’s mother also noticed us at the exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of wind came over the tree. I could hear the leaves start to rattle and the tree begin to sway. I remember my dad’s voice over the wind yell, “Bart, Hold on tightly.” So I did. The next thing I know, I heard Tammy screaming at the top of her lungs, laying flat on the ground. She had fallen out of the tree.

I scampered down the tree to safety. My dad later told me why she fell and I did not. Apparently, when Tammy’s mother felt the gust of wind, she yelled out, “Tammy, don’t fall!” And Tammy did… fall.

My dad then explained to me that the mind has a very difficult time processing a negative image. In fact, people who rely on internal pictures cannot see a negative at all. In order for Tammy to process the command of not falling, her nine-year-old brain had to first imagine falling, then try to tell the brain not to do what it just imagined. Whereas, my eight-year-old brain instantly had an internal image of me hanging on tightly.

This concept is especially useful when you are attempting to break a habit or set a goal. You can’t visualize not doing something. The only way to properly visualize not doing something is to actually find a word for what you want to do and visualize that. For example, when I was thirteen years old, I played for my junior high school football team. I tried so hard to be good, but I just couldn’t get it together at that age. I remember hearing the words run through my head as I was running out for a pass, “Don’t drop it!” Naturally, I dropped the ball.

My coaches were not skilled enough to teach us proper “self-talk.” They just thought some kids could catch and others couldn’t. I’ll never make it pro, but I’m now a pretty good Sunday afternoon football player, because all my internal dialogue is positive and encourages me to win. I wish my dad had coached me playing football instead of just climbing trees. I might have had a longer football career.

Here is a very easy demonstration to teach your kids and your friends the power of a toxic vocabulary. Ask them to hold a pen or pencil. Hand it to them. Now, follow my instructions carefully. Say to them, “Okay, try to drop the pencil.” Observe what they do.
Most people release their hands and watch the pencil hit the floor. You respond, “You weren’t paying attention. I said TRY to drop the pencil. Now please do it again.” Most people then pick up the pencil and pretend to be in excruciating pain while their hand tries but fails to drop the pencil.

The point is made.

If you tell your brain you will “give it a try,” you are actually telling your brain to fail. I have a “no try” rule in my house and with everyone I interact with. Either people will do it or they won’t. Either they will be at the party or they won’t. I’m brutal when people attempt to lie to me by using the word try. Do they think I don’t know they are really telegraphing to the world they have no intention of doing it but they want me to give them brownie points for pretended effort? You will never hear the words “I’ll try” come out of my mouth unless I’m teaching this concept in a seminar.

If you “try” and do something, your unconscious mind has permission not to succeed. If I truly can’t make a decision I will tell the truth. “Sorry John. I’m not sure if I will be at your party or not. I’ve got an outstanding commitment. If that falls through, I will be here. Otherwise, I will not. Thanks for the invite.” People respect honesty. So remove the word “try” from your vocabulary. My dad also told me that psychologists claim it takes seventeen positive statements to offset one negative statement. I have no idea if it is true, but the logic holds true. It might take up to seventeen compliments to offset the emotional damage of one harsh criticism. These are concepts that are especially useful when raising children.

Ask yourself how many compliments you give yourself daily versus how many criticisms. Heck, I know you are talking to yourself all day long. We all have internal voices that give us direction.

So, are you giving yourself the 17:1 ratio or are you shortchanging yourself with toxic self-talk like, ” I’m fat. Nobody will like me. I’ll try this diet. I’m not good enough. I’m so stupid. I’m broke, etc. etc.”

If our parents can set a lifetime of programming with one wrong statement, imagine the kind of programming you are doing on a daily basis with your own internal dialogue. Here is a list of Toxic Vocabulary words.

Notice when you or other people use them.

Ø But: Negates any words that are stated before it.
Ø Try: Presupposes failure.
Ø If: Presupposes that you may not.
Ø Might: It does nothing definite. It leaves options for your listener.
Ø Would Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn’t actually happen.
Ø Should Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn’t actually happen (and implies guilt.)
Ø Could Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn’t actually happen but the person tries to take credit as if it did happen.
Ø Can’t/Don’t: These words force the listener to focus on exactly the opposite of what you want. This is a classic mistake that parents and coaches make without knowing the damage of this linguistic error.

Examples:

Toxic phrase: “Don’t drop the ball!”
Likely result: Drops the ball
Better language: “Catch the ball!”
Toxic phrase: “You shouldn’t watch so much television.”
Likely result: Watches more television.
Better language: “I read too much television makes people stupid. You might find yourself turning that TV off and picking up one of those books more often!”

Exercise: Take a moment to write down all the phrases you use on a daily basis or any Toxic self-talk that you have noticed yourself using. Write these phrases down so you will begin to catch yourself as they occur and change them.

I love Firefox; it has plethora of add ons providing every single niche feature you imagined. One such Add on is - FoxClocks. You need to install FoxClocks as Firefox add on first. Then, just some simple configuration to display different timezone timings. Now, stick to that meeting in a different timezone.

Author:Edward De Bono

Publisher: Facts On File

Pages: 208
Rating:

Thinking Course: This is perhaps those rare books which I took to reading but never finished. Reasons? Can be simply one or many. At some point, I lost interest. May be because I started reading much more interesting (to me) books like “PresentationZen” & “Start It, Sell It”. Apparently, its more to do with the book itself.

I feel weird that Ed De Bono’s books never evoked much interest in me. Possibly, I am already accomplished Thinker. But no, I was hoping to find some practical examples/ tools to apply in real life.

The author has described many Thinking tools. But, I think ‘those’ tools would work very well in ideal life. I liked the underlying concept behind the book. As per Mr Bono, traditional education (Lo! Another one commenting on traditional education), has been lacking on teaching its students “Thinking Tools”. What we have been taught is information, but never tools that can help in Thinking/ Decision process. The book might have succeeded in its objective, but to me the ideas presented were abstract.

Please note these are my views, not necessarily applies to a good author like Mr Bono. May be I will progress enough in future to reread the book. You can check Amazon page for reviews- some agree with me, while others don’t.

Author:Joe John Duran

Publisher: Wiley

Pages: 240
Rating:

Ever wondered what it takes to start a business? let alone thought of selling it later to earn a Mint! Joe John Duran does exactly that. First, few words for the author. Mr. Duran is CFA. He co-founded Centurion Investments with other partners. The company went to on to manage billions dollars of investment & later was sold to GE Capital in 2001 (just after September 2001 attack).

Mr. Duran explains 20 “vital secrets”, Real world anecdotes and step-by-step strategies to build and sell a successful business. Each Vital Secret starts with a African fable, later, Mr Duran explains what the Vital Secret should mean to you (as an Entreprenuer) & What you shoud do to make the Vital Secret work for you. It’s not just author’s real life experiences, but what makes it special & a ‘genuine’ is interviews author made with many Entrepreneurs who once started their business & then sold for good profit.

I thought, selling your business can be easy one, sign agreement & puff! Your bank account swells while you retire. Not entirely true, Mr Duran dismiss this illusion, as lot goes in to selling process. His experiences on negotiating contract with GE Capital is truly exhilarating.

This book doesn’t need more words from me. I recommend you read this book, if you are a newbie looking to start your business, or already has a business & needs advice on selling it to most profit.