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Top ten books of 2007

As 2007 draws to a close, lists of the best books, both fiction and non-fiction, have started appearing. (This list will be updated in due course.)

The 10 Best Books of 2007 by New York Times

10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid, screams a headline from techrepublic.Copy and paste the link below to read the article.

http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10881-6075621.htmlrom

Interesting writing and editing resources

http://perfectly-write-words.blogspot.com/
http://chompchomp.com/csfs01/csfs01.htm (Exercises)
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00001517.shtml
http://www.proz.com/topic/21937
http://www.prc.dk/english/manuals.htm
http://www.journalism.ku.edu/school/bremnertest.shtml (editing test)
http://www.getitwriteonline.com/archive/022703.htm

My glossary of storage terms

Direct Attached Storage (DAS) - term used to describe a storage device that is directly attached to a host.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) - is a data storage mechanism that uses special devices connected directly to the network media. Facilitates clients to access stored data through a server or in a direct way. Connection achieved using either a storage device interface such as Integrated Drive Electronics, or more commonly through the Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI).

Storage Attached Network (SAN) - is a discrete network of servers and storage devices (RAID, tapes) attached together through a high-speed interconnect like the Fibre Channel.

SSD - Short for solid state disk, a high-performance plug-and-play storage device that is a lot faster than conventional rotating hard disks.

Virtualization - Virtualization is a proven software technology that makes it possible to run multiple operating systems and multiple applications on the same computer at the same time.

ILM - ILM or Information Lifecycle Management is Short the creation and management of infrastructure that maintains data stored.

Ethernet – Ethernet is a standard for local area networks) that allows multiple computers to connect on the same network using IP as the communication protocol between server - server, server - workstation, workstation - workstation, server - data storage, workstation - data storage.

SCSI – Small Computer Systems Interface is a way for all data storage devices to communicate over a common protocol standard.

iSCSI – An IP-based standard for linking storage devices over a network and transferring data by carrying SCSI commands over IP networks. iSCSI supports a Gigabit Ethernet interface at the physical layer.


RAID – Short for Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks, a group of disk drives that employ multiple drives in combination for fault tolerance and performance.

Technical writing offers a lucrative career

India's national newspaper The Hindu says "technical writing offers a lucrative career."

How to cite web pages

Imagine this: The deadline is near and you're stuck with something. Because you are unable to cite the source for a particular line in your report. You feel you will have to change the deadline.
Worried?

Here are tips on how to cite web pages in your report or article:

MLA style

APA style

10 Mistakes Technical Writers Make

A few good tips for wannabee technical writers.

10 Mistakes Technical Writers Make

Basics of C for Technical Editors

Let me start with the following example:

# include

main ( )

{
printf ("hello, world\n");
}

All C programs starts with the execution of the function main. All C programs must include a function with the name main.

The round brackets or parentheses means that main is a function.

The empty brackets mean that the function main expects no arguments.

The statements of the function are enclosed in curly brackets or braces.

C statements are expression statements: an expression followed by a semicolon. For example,

i = 0; or i = i + 1;

printf prints the characters within the quotes on the screen. Thes characters "hello, world\n" is called a string or character string or string constant.

Strings are always put between inverted commas.

A semicolon after characters indicates that it is a statement.

"n' is the escape sequence, because when ENTER is pressed it goes to the next line and not a new line or paragraph.

VARIABLES: In C, there are two main types of variablesC: numeric variables that hold only numbers or values, and string variables that hold text, from one to several characters long.

Al variables are declared first. The declaration consists of the variable type name and a list of variables. For example,

int fahr, celsius

This declares the variables fahr and celsius.

A variable can also declared with an initializer that consists of an equals sign (=) and an expression, that is usually a constant.


Note: Characters must always be put between single quotes.

Compared to variables, value of a Constant never changes.

OPERATORS: Operators are symbols used to tell the computer to do a certain mathematical or logical manipulation. For more, read this tutorial on Operators.

Statements: C statements are in the form of expressions followed by a semicolon. For example,

i = 0; or i = i + 1;

Boolean expressions checks true or false.

ARRAYS: Array is a variable that can hold more than one value. For example, int a[10]; declares an array, named a, consisting of ten elements.

This is how a fucntion will look like in C:

Return-type function name (argument declaration)

{
declarations and statements
}

POINTERS: Pointers point to a memory address or a variable that stores a memory address. For an editor, the key to locate a pointer is the absence or presence of the asterik or *. A pointer declaration will have the form, *;

Different levels of computer programming

The different levels of computer programming are:

1. First generation-Language the computer can obey instantly. In the form of 0's and 1's. The command tells the computer what to do and the operand tells the computer where to find and store the data.
2. Second generation-Also called Assembly language. In this language 0's and 1's are replaced by symbolic codes written by humans. This include mnemonic codes and symbolic addresses. The instructions are of 3 parts;Label or tag (symbols defined by coders), OP code (code that tells the computer what to do) and Operand (tells the computer where to store and locate information).
3. Third- Also called High-level languages-More procedure and problem solving oriented. Language is written using alphabets, numbers and special characters. Rules called Syntax is developed. Eg: C, Fortran, COBOL, Java.
4. Fourth-Non-procedural, Very High-Level language. Applications can bew created and information easily gathered. Eg: IBM's Query, MS Office, MS Visual Studio.
5. Fifth-Also called Natural language.

Notes: All Source programs must be translated using a Translator to machine language called Object program.

Assemblers converts Assembly language to machine language.

Interpreter translates high-level language to object code, compiler converts high-level source code to object programs.

New sites I stumbled upon

1. http://www.tutsbuzz.com/ - Online tutorial site. Focussed more on popular 2D, 3D, audio, video programs and many of common programming languages.

2. www.juicewire.net- Online photo sharing site. 2GB of space free for users.

3. www.cafescribe.com - Free e-books download site.

4. www.funadvice.com - A typical Q&A site.

AuthorIT for Content Management

AuthorIT is a Content management system for technical writers to produce single-sourced document sets.

Essential Tools for all

1. Audiograbber - an excellent CD-ripper for Windows 95/98/NT
2. Audacity - A free, open source software for recording and editing sounds in Linux, Mac OS X, and other operating systems.
3. Zortam Mp3 Media Studio - An all-in-one Mp3 aplications.It includes MP3 Organizer/ID3 Tag Editor(Mp3 Tag Editor),CD Ripper with freedb/ID3 support,Wav/Mp3
4. WavePad - a wav editor and MP3 editor, and supports a number of other file formats including vox, gsm, Real Audio, au, aif, flac, ogg and more.
5. k-Lite Codec Pack - a collection of codecs and related tools

Content Protection Solutions Online Video Sharing sites

Philips launched its MediaHedge service to help online content owners gain better control over copyrights and other things.

Take a look at what Philips says. Is You Tube listening?