Smit Shah's Blog

Shortcuts	Association
F8/Shift-F8	Navigate compilation errors
Ctrl-D	Move to mini-buffer
Ctrl-Shift-G in mini-buffer or	Open file name in mini-buffer (Ctrl-O seems to open stuff Ctrl-Shift-G does not)
Ctrl-O in mini-buffer
"> command" in mini-buffer	Execute command
Ctrl+/	Move to mini-buffer, typing the leading > for you
Ctrl-Alt-A	Open the command window
Ctrl-PageUp in HTML Design View	Open source view
Ctrl-PageDown in HTML Source View	Open design view
F7 in Form Design View	Open source view
Shift-F7 in Form Source View	Open design view
Ctrl-Alt-L	Solution Explorer
F4 or Alt-Enter	Properties of selected item
Ctrl-Shift-B	Build
F5	Debug
Ctrl-F5	Run, but not debug
Ctrl-Alt-J	Object Browser
Ctrl-Shift-C	Class View
Ctrl-Space when typing a symbol	Complete the symbol you're currently typing or give you a choice of possibilities
Ctrl-Space when entering arguments	Show the function prototype
"-" (no quotes) as the name of a menu item	Menu item becomes a separator
Ctrl-K Ctrl-F	Reformat selection
}	Reformat scope being closed
Ctrl-K Ctrl-C	Comment out selected lines
Ctrl-K Ctrl-U	Uncomment selected lines
Ctrl-}	Match braces, brackets or compiler directives
Shift-Ctrl-}	Select match between braces, brackets or compiler directives
Ctrl-L or Shift-Del or	Delete entire line
Ctrl-X w/ no selection
Ctrl-Del	Delete next "word"
Alt-F6	Next visible pane (not for use with all windows unpinned)
Ctrl-Shift-F12	Jumps to next whatever, depending on what's active, e.g. next find result, next task, next error, etc.
Ctrl-"-"/Ctrl-Shift-"-" (no quotes)	Jumps to last/next place you worked
Ctrl-C in the Class View	Copies fully qualified name to the Clipboard
Ctrl-M Ctrl-M	Collapse or expand a region or outlined block (as marked by the [+] and [-] on the left hand side of the editor).
Ctrl-M Ctrl-O	Collapse everything in the current file
Ctrl-M Ctrl-L	Expand everything in the current file
F12	Jump to the current symbol's declaration
Ctrl-G, line #, Enter or	Jump to line
Ctrl-D, line #, Ctrl-G
Ctrl-I/Ctrl-Shift-I + string	Incremental search for string
Ctrl-R+Ctrl-R	Turn on/off word wrap
Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow	Scroll window up/down without moving the cursor away from the current line
Shift+Alt+Arrows	Column selection (include of line selection)
(Alt+Mouse works, too)

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Yahoo Mail is absolutely worthless

2010-03-22T04:31:00.001-07:00

I have been having this problem for over four weeks now.

Every time I log into my yahoo account it shows the message below.

There was a problem accessing your account. Please try again in a moment.
Error #1

Not sure what the cause is but it stops me from accessing my account.

I was able to access my account yesterday via yahoo's widget on their homepage.

I am not sure if you have run into this issue... but incase you have and know the resolution please let me know

Thanks

Smit.

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Rishi working hard

2010-03-20T20:21:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Go Devils

2010-03-20T14:56:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

.Net 3.5 and Partial Classes and Multi Layered System

2010-03-12T14:26:00.001-08:00

.Net 3.5 and Partial Classes and Multi Layered System

I want to break my project down into 3 layers of code.

Mainly

Website: a whole bunch of pages with a lot of IO via the logic layer
Logic (Test1.Logic) : Build logic on how objects in the database relate to each other on the UI and provide access to them
Data (Test1.Data) : This project will have only one simple DBML file with the database design.

Shortcut

I was hoping to be able to simply create partial classes in the Logic library so I would not have create a brand new set of classes

Unfortunately you can not create partial classes outside the main library which contains your DBML

Solution

I can create a class with the same name under the Test1.Logic namespace, and simply inherit the Test1.Data class.

This gives me all the classes and their methods in the Logic library without a lot of code and now I can build my entire logic in the LOGIC library

Hope this gives you a jump start on your project.

I would use this script to quickly create the LOGIC classes from your DATA classes

DECLARE @TableName VARCHAR(500)

DECLARE tc CURSOR FOR

SELECT Table_Name

FROM Information_Schema.Tables

WHERE Table_Type = 'BASE TABLE'

ORDER BY Table_Name

OPEN tc

FETCH NEXT FROM tc INTO @TableName

WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0

BEGIN

PRINT 'class ' + @TableName + ' : Test1.Data.' + @TableName + '

{

} '

FETCH NEXT FROM tc INTO @TableName

END

CLOSE tc

DEALLOCATE tc

Remember though that you will still need to create the datacontext manually

Have an excellent day.

Cannot add an entity with a key that ...

2010-03-11T11:57:00.001-08:00

Cannot add an entity with a key that is already in use

This ERROR has caused me a lot of aggrevation over the last couple of days as a sniplet that I was using earlier all of a sudden stopped working.

And even when I went back and checked the history it showed no change to that code block.

I read a bunch of articles online (for over 3 days) which led me to believe that the problem was with the LINQ framework and not my code.

Despite strongly disagreeing with the idea to add an IDENTITY column, I finally bit the bullet and added the column but still no luck.

I yelled out in pain "WHY THE HELL WOULD THIS NOT WORK" after a couple of sleepless nights, I tried something else, I tried calling the db.SubmitChanges() function in the begining of my function.

P.S. I am extending my datacontext by using Partial Class

So I had code that looked something like this

Partial Class FancyDataContext

Public Sub AddYahoo()

Dim db as FancyDataContext = Me

Dim NewRecord as New FancyRow

db.Fancy.InsertOnSubmit( NewRecord )

db.SubmitChanges() 'THIS IS WHERE IT ERRORED OUT

End Sub

End Class

I tried variations of my code to see if there was something that I could do to fix this code that was working perfectly fine previously.

AND

What I found was simply AMAZING.

I simply chagned my code from above to

Partial Class FancyDataContext

Public Sub AddYahoo()

db.SubmitChanges()

Dim db as FancyDataContext = Me

Dim NewRecord as New FancyRow

db.Fancy.InsertOnSubmit( NewRecord )

db.SubmitChanges() 'THIS IS WHERE IT ERRORED OUT

End Sub

End Class

And it errored out.

And Ofcourse, what I noticed was that the function calling my AddYahoo() function was making changes to the datacontext that were not being committed in its block and handing my function the bad data

I did a quick search on LINQ Discard Chagnes and used the article on http://graemehill.ca/discard-changes-in-linq-to-sql-datacontext and created the discard function

Public Sub DiscardInsertsAndDeletes(ByVal data As DataContext)

' Get the changes

Dim changes = data.GetChangeSet()

' Delete the insertions

For Each insertion In changes.Inserts

data.GetTable(insertion.GetType).DeleteOnSubmit(insertion)

Next

' Insert the deletions

For Each deletion In changes.Deletes

data.GetTable(deletion.GetType).InsertOnSubmit(deletion)

Next

End Sub

So my code now said

Partial Class FancyDataContext

Public Sub AddYahoo()

DiscardInsertsAndDeletes()

Dim db as FancyDataContext = Me

Dim NewRecord as New FancyRow

db.Fancy.InsertOnSubmit( NewRecord )

db.SubmitChanges() 'THIS IS NOW WORKING :D YEAY

End Sub

End Class

So at the end of it all it was human error.

My apologies to the MSFT team for doubting them.

Hope this saves you some aggrevation in the future.

Have an excellent day.

Headed to CHASKO on Oak Tree Rd :D

2010-03-05T17:53:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Need For Speed... 115mph or 180kmph :D

2010-02-13T14:02:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

What a beautiful day

2010-02-08T11:35:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Noodles done Indian style ;)

2010-01-25T20:28:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

What a game...

2010-01-24T18:16:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Chrome OS - Yehaw !!!

2010-01-15T08:21:00.001-08:00

Check out this site http://blog.7touchgroup.com/tag/chrome-os-username-password/

I was able to download using the torrent file.

Not really impressed just yet... lets see how it works out.

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Testing my Posterous account

2010-01-05T15:56:00.001-08:00

I am eager to see how this works.

Posted via email from ullfindsmit's posterous

Windows Task Manager

2009-09-28T08:41:00.001-07:00

UNDERSTANDING THE

TASK MANAGER ON YOUR

WINDOWS COMPUTER

Please note that this is an exact copy of the article posted on http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=185778 which I copied on to my blog so incase they moved it a copy would be available. I do not claim any credit for the article or the work done.

The performance tab is always a good thing to keep your eye on. It a valuable tool to monitor performance and troubleshoot performance problems. I will try to explain the confusing data that is presented in the Performance tab of Task Manager.

Note: I know all of us have 2gigs or more of memory, and memory performance is not really an issue but this is just some knowledge you can use. You can tell your parents that you learned something interesting today.

Typical Performance Tab

Numbers look daunting and confusing

Keep in mind that the values expressed in the Physical Memory, Commit Charge, and Kernel Memory panels are in kilobytes. As such, dividing by 1024 reveals the megabyte value.

Graphs:

CPU Usage – This is pretty obvious, it indicates the percentage of processor cycles that are not idle at the moment.

PF Usage – Indicates the percentage of the paging file that is currently being used. This value is sort of misleading, it actually shows the amount of physical memory/page file space being used by your system. Synchronous to Total under Commit Charge (K).

CPU Usage History – Just a graph which indicates how busy the process has been recently, the number of graphs correspond to the number of cores your processor has.

Page File Usage History – Same as CPU Usage History just for your page file usage since Task Manager has been opened.

Now for the data that is confusing but valuable.

Totals Section

Handles – represents the number of specific input/output (I/O) instances running. Displays the total number of resources the OS is working with at one time. Resources can be anything, files, directories, events, processes and registry keys.

Threads – represents the number of objects that are currently executing program instructions

Process – is a single executable program, a process may have multiple threads each of which in turn have multiple handles. If you’re running 3 word documents, there will be three processes running. This corresponds with the number of processes running under the Process Tab

Physical Memory (K) Section

Total – the amount of physical memory that your system has installed and that the OS has detected. According to the graph my system is 2GB.

Available – The amount of physical memory you have available for the system to use. If you find very low ram available continuously, you are going to bottleneck your system, because if you have none available, the OS will resort to using virtual memory and accessing your harddrive.. Time to add some more memory. According to the graph my system has 1.2GB available

System Cache – Not important for system bottlenecks. If you must know, it is an area of memory used by system processes.

Commit Charge (K) Section

Total – How much memory (physical and virtual) is actually in use by program and processes. In the above table i am using 702MB of 4GB of memory (physical and virutal combined)

Limit – this is the maximum possible value for Total. This is the sum of the current pagefile size plus your total physical memory. 4GB is available, 2GB physical + 2GB virtual

Peak – represents the highest combined total of physical memory and virtual memory that has been used since boot up. As you can see I only used a little under 1GB of memory in my highest peak.

Kernal Memory (K) Section

In the Kernel Memory panel, you will find statistics on the memory that is being used by the operating system and device drivers.

Total - value represents the amount of physical memory that the OS uses for core operations and for managing device drivers. In the above example, it comes out to be 83 megabytes

Paged - value represents the amount of memory used by core operations and device drivers that can be moved from physical memory to the page file if necessary. In the above example, it comes out to be 55 megabytes

Nonpaged - value represents the amount of core components and device drivers that can never be moved from physical memory to the page file. In the above example, it comes out to be 28 megabytes

Okay so what does all this tie into, here are some several points which relate to memory and are good to remember. Starting from the top.

* If the Commit Charge Total value regularly exceeds the Physical Memory Total value, your system has to rely more frequently on the much slower page file (virtual memory). Its time to add more physical memory.
* If the Commit Charge Total value is near the value of Commit Charge Limit value then WTF are you doing, not only did you use up all your physical memory but also you used up all your virtual memory. Your computer is at its knees begging for mercy.
* If your Commit Charge Peak value is near the Commit Charge Limit value then you are completely maxing out at one point or another during your computer being turned on. Your computer is at its knees begging for mercy once in a while for a few seconds.
* If your Commit Charge Peak value comes close to or exceeds the Physical Meory Total value, your computer had to access virtual memory once or twice. Performance might not be affected, but you are at the upper limit of using all your memory.
* More than 50% of the core operating system components and drivers can be swapped out from physical memory to the page file, moving such portions of the OS can significantly yield a performance hit. This again indicates the advantage of using more physical memory.

Class Dismissed

SILVERLIGHT APPLICATION WONT LOAD WHE...

2009-09-03T13:32:00.001-07:00

SILVERLIGHT APPLICATION WONT LOAD WHEN DEPLOYED TO PRODUCTION
WORKS ON DEVEVLOPMENT LOCAL MACHINE UNDER LOCALHOST

You have to setup the MIME TYPES for the website on IIS.
To do this follow the steps below

Start IIS
Select Site
Go to Properties
HTTP Headers
MIME Types
Add the following types below
.xaml    application/xaml+xml
.xap    application/x-silverlight-app
.xbap    application/x-ms-xbap

Enzzoy

ASP.Net asp:Menu Safari Browser Error...

2009-08-26T06:27:00.001-07:00

ASP.Net asp:Menu Safari Browser Error no dropdown

Just like everyone else, I used the standard off the shelf menu control (replacing my SPRY menu) to get better server side functionality.

So I brag about the upgrades to the system with a friend of mine, he pulls out his IPhone and tries to navigate through the site and sure enough, the menus dont work.

So much for "cross platform" controls.

Well, the solution is fairly simple, add ClientTarget="uplevel" to the <@Page declaration.

<%@ Page Language="VB" .... ClientTarget="uplevel"%>

However, if you have the menu on the Master page (like I did) it does not make sense to write this on every page (too time consuming) instead, add one of the ASP.Net's special folder called "App_Browsers" and add a file "safari.browser"
And simply add
<browsers>
<browser refID="safari1plus">
    <controlAdapters>
      <adapter controlType="System.Web.UI.WebControls.Menu" adapterType="" />
    </controlAdapters>
</browser>
</browsers>

This should do the trick.

Hope this helps.

Alwayz
Smit

IE8 Favourites do not work

2009-07-07T14:04:00.001-07:00

IE8 Favourites do not work
Class Not Registered Error

Please refer to the site http://iefaq.info/index.php?action=artikel&cat=42&id=133&artlang=en

Error 30 Name '__o' is not decl...

2009-07-07T12:34:00.001-07:00

Name '__o' is not declared.

If you've run into this issue, simply add a <%=""%>just under the FORM tag.

A member defining the identity of the object cannot be changed.

2009-05-01T13:50:00.001-07:00

ERROR:

Value of member 'PrimaryKeyColumn' of an object of type 'TableName' changed.

A member defining the identity of the object cannot be changed.

Consider adding a new object with new identity and deleting the existing one instead.

If you get this error, let me make it simple for you.

You have a varchar primary key which is different then your main table's primary key.

LINQ is CASE SENSITIVE so if the two tables with the same primary key do not match you will see this error.

The simple solution that I fould was to run the update statement below

UPDATE TableName

Set PrimaryKeyColumn = UPPER( PrimaryKeyColumn )

This made sure that the table has all uppercase values

LINQ TO SQL AUDIT TABLE

2009-04-28T08:14:00.001-07:00

We have been using LINQ for over 18 months now.

The functionality and development speed is great.

However, we found it really hard and time consuming to log changes.

I have looked at several online tutorials, most of them want you to use their class libraries. Others make it way too complex for simple tracking.

Below is the goal and changes done to the system.

1) Create a SQL table to track changes.

This table will grow as the logs increase so I recommend backing up the logs as time progresses.

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[AuditLog](

   [UserId] [uniqueidentifier] NULL,

   [TableName] [varchar](250) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS NULL,

   [FieldName] [varchar](250) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS NULL,

   [FieldValue] [varchar](7500) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS NULL,

   [AuditDateTime] [datetime] NULL

) ON [PRIMARY]

GO

CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX [IX_AuditLog_ForTable] ON [dbo].[AuditLog]

(

   [TableName] ASC

) ON [PRIMARY]

GO

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_AuditLog_ForUser] ON [dbo].[AuditLog]

(

   [UserId] ASC,

   [TableName] ASC

) ON [PRIMARY]

GO

2) Add the table to the DBML file.

This way you can use the existing datacontext and simply tag on the connection to save your data.

3) Overload the SubmitChanges function.

Unfortunately you can not override the function, so the only option is to create your own definition.

We did not pass any parameters during the save function, if you do, the definition might be different for you.

    Public Overloads Sub SubmitChanges(ByVal AuditChanges As Boolean, ByVal UserId As String)

        If AuditChanges Then
            Dim cs As System.Data.Linq.ChangeSet = Me.GetChangeSet
            For Each ChangeInsert In cs.Inserts
                Dim type As Type = ChangeInsert.GetType()
                If type.Name.ToUpper = "AuditLog".ToUpper Then
                    'Dont Audit the Audit Table
                    Exit Sub
                End If
                Dim properties() As System.Reflection.PropertyInfo = type.GetProperties()
                For Each p As System.Reflection.PropertyInfo In properties
                    Dim NewAuditLog As New DealerInventory.AuditLog
                    NewAuditLog.AuditId = Guid.NewGuid
                    NewAuditLog.UserId = New Guid(UserId)
                    NewAuditLog.FieldName = p.Name
                    NewAuditLog.TableName = type.Name
                    NewAuditLog.FieldValue = Left(DebugTextWriter.GetString(p.GetValue(ChangeInsert, Nothing)), 7500)
                    NewAuditLog.AuditDateTime = Now

                    Me.AuditLogs.InsertOnSubmit(NewAuditLog)
                Next
            Next
            For Each ChangeUpdates In cs.Updates
                Dim type As Type = ChangeUpdates.GetType()
                If type.Name.ToUpper = "AuditLog".ToUpper Then
                    'Dont Audit the Audit Table
                    Exit Sub
                End If
                Dim properties() As System.Reflection.PropertyInfo = type.GetProperties()
                For Each p As System.Reflection.PropertyInfo In properties
                    Dim NewAuditLog As New DealerInventory.AuditLog
                    NewAuditLog.AuditId = Guid.NewGuid
                    NewAuditLog.UserId = New Guid(UserId)
                    NewAuditLog.FieldName = p.Name
                    NewAuditLog.TableName = type.Name
                    NewAuditLog.FieldValue = Left(DebugTextWriter.GetString(p.GetValue(ChangeUpdates, Nothing)), 7500)
                    NewAuditLog.AuditDateTime = Now

                    Me.AuditLogs.InsertOnSubmit(NewAuditLog)
                Next
            Next
            For Each ChangeDeletes In cs.Deletes
                Dim type As Type = ChangeDeletes.GetType()
                If type.Name.ToUpper = "AuditLog".ToUpper Then
                    'Dont Audit the Audit Table
                    Exit Sub
                End If
                Dim properties() As System.Reflection.PropertyInfo = type.GetProperties()
                For Each p As System.Reflection.PropertyInfo In properties
                    Dim NewAuditLog As New DealerInventory.AuditLog
                    NewAuditLog.AuditId = Guid.NewGuid
                    NewAuditLog.UserId = New Guid(UserId)
                    NewAuditLog.FieldName = p.Name
                    NewAuditLog.TableName = type.Name
                    NewAuditLog.FieldValue = Left(DebugTextWriter.GetString(p.GetValue(ChangeDeletes, Nothing)), 7500)
                    NewAuditLog.AuditDateTime = Now

                    Me.AuditLogs.InsertOnSubmit(NewAuditLog)
                Next
            Next
        End If

        MyBase.SubmitChanges()
    End Sub

The code above is a quick and easy way to add auditing to your LINQ to SQL library.

If you have any questions or suggestions please feel free to email me at ullfindsmit@gmail.com

As alwayz

Enzzoy

Smit.

2007-11-15T08:31:00.000-08:00

Server Crash / Power Lost / File Corrupt

One of our mobile computers lost power and the server file got corrupted.

Here is what we did...

Backup the data (.mdf) file! Just in case. We take no responsibility
for anything that happens following this procedure.
EXEC sp_detach_db 'dbname' -- this will detach the database from
the server
Restart SQL Server
The database may still be seen in enterprise manager, but just ignore
it.
Create a new database with the same name or a different name. You
will have to use a different physical file name, which is fine.
Stop SQL Server.
Rename the new data file that was created to something else (ex: add.bak
to the end)
Rename the old data file that you want to restore to the name of the
newly created file (the same name as the file you changed in the step
above)
Start SQL Server
Now the db will still be suspect but you now have a log file.
Switch to emergency mode on the database. You do this by doing the
following:
1. Right click on the database root node in Enterprise manager and
  bring up the properties.
2. Under the Server Settings tab, check of "Allow modifications
  to be made directly to the system catalogs".
3. click ok
4. Now go to the master database and open the sysdatabases
  table.
5. Find the suspected database in here and modify the status column,
  setting it to: 32768. This will put it into emergency mode.
6. stop then start sql server
Now here's the tricky part and I'm not sure how this will work on
a single install, i was lucky enough to have SQL Server 2000 installed.
But anyways, open up the Import and Export Data (DTS) program from the
start menu. And you want to copy data from the old database to a brand
new one. Just copy tables and views.

Reference: http://www.spaceprogram.com/knowledge/2002/06/recovering-from-deleted-log-file-on_12.html

2007-04-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 9
Head-On commercials

HeadOn is a topical product intended for headache relief, produced by Miralus Healthcare, which claims it is a homeopathic remedy. HeadOn's notoriety came in part due to its advertisements on cable and daytime programming on broadcast television which consisted of using only the tagline "HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead" repeated very quickly three times, accompanied by a video of a model using the product. Inn September 2006 a new advertisement debuted on US channels; the opening is the same as the original HeadOn, with the words "HeadOn, apply directly" occurring before the sound fizzles out while a person walks on and mocks the tagline, stating "I can't stand your commercial, but your product is amazing!", "Hate your commercial, but love your product", or "HeadOn, your commercial is so annoying, but you got a great product!". The previous advertising campaign which was used to promote HeadOn included the phrase "Should I know about HeadOn?", but was changed in late June 2006.

The company used focus groups to try a number of potential commercials; with one focused solely on repetition; its results were incredible. The focus groups recalled the ads much more than with any other method. A number of people have considered the ads annoying. Dan Charron, vice president of sales and marketing, told the Los Angeles Times that nobody in the focus groups had told him that the ads were annoying.

Annoying or not, the fact is that almost everyone who has watched the commercial a couple of times remembers it. As the saying goes, "Even bad publicity is good publicity", they definately got viewers attention. They however have had problems with the Better Business Bureau. BBB has asked Miralus Healthcare, not to market their product as a cure for headaches. Irrespective of BBB's stand, their commerical did get people to notice them. I would say that their marketing campaign was a success.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeadOn

2007-04-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

Accordion Hurricane Shutter
(AHS)

Accordion Hurricane Shutter (AHS) manufactures and installs hurrican shutters for individuals.
Their core products are

Garage Door Brace
Aluminum Hurricane Panels
Clear Lexan Hurricane Panels
Hurricane Fabrics
Bahamas Shutters
Colonial Shutters

Their products are better in quality and not just meet but exceed the requirements set forth by the State of Florida. Their customer relations is the best amongst their competitors. They make sure their customers are satisfied with the service. Their professionalism and direct communication with their customers is a good indicator. They take the quality of their product seriously and do not cut edges to make a higher margin. AHS being a small company does not have the amount of awareness as some of their competitors do. Because they do their entire manufacturing onshore and with equity while striving to provide excellent quality, their cost of goods sold (COGS) tends to be higher then some of ther competitors. Their promotional campaigns have helped them build awareness, but they could do more with their marketing expenses.

Their customers can be individual home owners or commercial building construction companies. Majority commercial builders are looking for low cost alternatives, which for AHS would not be a good match. However, if the approach home builders, who offer their products as an optional upgrade, they might be able to gain sales volume, however it will be at a lower margin. If they try to do direct sales to customers (individual home owners) they have to spend additional marketing dollars to gain market awareness and market share. The margins are however higher. So, the home builders can be refered to as wholesale and individuals as retail. Currently they need volume for their business, hence having builders help boost sales seems like a good idea. And later on when have a stable volume, they can go for higher margin sales.

Some of the hurricane shutters offered by AHS help decrease insurance payments, which would be a good marketing hot button. For someone who is planning on buying a home, it seems like a good idea to add that to the total cost of the house and pay it in installments over the life of their home mortgage. They can even talk to local insurance companies, and have them approve and recommend their product. which would help sales and customer satisfaction. The word of mouth business is becoming more and more critical as competition increase. Their excellent track record and a long list of satisfied customers will help referal sales.

Promotional Plan

Build a more professional looking website with information categorised by relevance and have customer testimonials
Provide subscription to visitors on hurricane updates
Provide subscriptions to AHS deals
Provide information about advantages of working with AHS, boast about the quality of AHS products
Order paper prints of the attached image and drop it at target home communities
Build an online order / estimate / communication portal for customers as a good percentage of their leads are coming from their website.
Build multiple websites to draw more customers to final site.
Provide informative seminars to home owners at colleges and universities to build awareness.
Give out as many discount coupons as possible to draw more customers and increase awareness.

http://www.flshutters.com/
http://www.hurricaneshuttersflorida.com/
http://accordionhurricaneshutters.com/

2007-04-11T14:59:00.000-07:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 8
Comcast ads on target market

Comcast is currently the largest provider of cable services in the United States. They offer services in broadband cable, broadband cable, digital content, broadband phones and content as part of their service packages. In the recent years they have been acquiring a lot of major cable providers. They have also acquired some telephone providers and internet providers along the road. They acquired Adelphia cable in 2005.

Some of their most recent advertisements on cable have been about how their advertising service provides you a target market. They have been playing the same single commercial at regular interval on prime time television. The commercial starts of with a dumbbell flying in the air with a swoosh sound. For the first two seconds, the dumbbell keeps flying to indicate the distance it is going and then it hits a black male walking alongside a black female on the side walk. The black male has a white and red band on his chest hanging over from his neck indicating a target sign. It then shows a serious of people in different setups each having a target sign hanging over their necks. The concept is simple; we will help you find customers in your target market. The message is clearly conveyed via their commercial.

I think that it is a great commercial. Their content is simple and easy to understand. The manner in which they present it is very appealing. Almost all business owners can associate themselves to the pain of being able to target their advertisements only to their target market, whereby they can decrease the marketing expense and have more qualitative return on their marketing expenses. As a business owner, one would be tempted to try out their service and see how the returns are. For a company that needs to target a market based on property prices (ex: Accordion Hurricane Shutters), this model would be a blessing. Also it could be targeted to students by only showing it in areas near schools, etc. This idea of being able to broadcast your campaign to your target customers is an awesome concept and sure to be successful.

2007-04-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 7
P&G Damage Control Ad Campaign

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is focused on providing branded consumer goods products. The Company is organized into three global business units: Beauty and Health; Household Care, and Gillette GBU. Its products are sold in over 180 countries around the world primarily through mass merchandisers, grocery stores, membership club stores and drug stores. P&G also owns IAMS and Eukanuba brand pet foods. In late feb the FDA (Food And Drug Administration) started getting complains about animals being sick. In end of Feb they started testing food items claimed to be the cause. In arround mid march more tests were conducted to test the food and tissues from animals affected by the food. By end of march there were lot of news about various companies recalling their products due to a possibility of contaminated contents.

Events like these cause great deal of concern for pet owners. If a brand recalls its products due to lack of quality, it leaves a bad impression on customers. The contamination has already been blamed for a lot of animal deaths. There are various animal associations that are protesting such carelessness. In such a situation, if a pet owner looses one of their pets to illness caused by their product, they will loose them as a customer. For this reason a lot of times, companies would start advertising to their customers, trying to gain back their trust and loyalty to their brand.

P&G made a good move by running those ad campaigns in papers. This would help win customer confidence and it may even help gain market share from their competitors who are not currently advertising their products. It is extremely important in case of events like the one they have on hand that their customers remain loyal to their brand. Also them being a big company allows them to have a big marketing budget for their campaign.

References:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/04/pet_food_recall_timeline.html
http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003567366

2007-03-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 6
FREE stuff helps marketing

Corporate marketing or product marketing can be done in several different ways. One of the ways companies have been marketing for a long time is by giving out free stuff. This method helps gather a decent crowd. Free signs always get attention. Marketers take advantage of the fact that it does and place their banners and posters with offer information in locations where they are bound to catch your eye. The term FREE is usually highlighted in the entire advertisements, which is what draws more attention. Similar strategies are also being used for radio and television marketing, where companies try go reach a bigger audience by marketing it as a free product. The idea of giving out free stuff always draws a crowd. Most of the free stuff usually carries a logo or an advertisement about the sponsoring company. So when an individual takes that item to work or at home or even to school others curiously enquires about it and thus helping increase the awareness about a company. Getting a customers attention is winning half of the battle. Most products on the market are good, but its the competition that makes it harder to sell, so having the customers attention definately helps increase market awareness.

I remember when I was in school doing my bachelors, Citigroup used to be on the campus quite frequently giving out free t-shirts for applying for their credit card. Their agents always drew a big crowd. I remember me and all my friends signing up for those offers. The t-shirts that they gave out had their logo on them. So every time we wore them to school, our friends would joke about where we got them from. But at the end of day, it did get us talking about Citigroup. As a matter of fact, here I am four years out of school still writing an article about it.

I would say that this does help build market awareness. However, on the flip side this kind of marketing is expensive. The marketing expense are comparatively higher and the per lead expense also increases. I also remember us at times, signing up multiple times, under different names to get the free stuff they had to offer. Hence, the quality of leads also tended to detoriate as the word got around. In general I think if the companies and their agents are cautious enough, they could walk away with valuable leads and it definitely helps increase awareness.

2007-03-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 5
Mortgage Lending Companies Marketing Strategy

Most of today's home buyers use some kind of financing for their homes. There are mortgage lenders which provide a loan to borrowers holding their property; in our case their home as a collateral. Their properties are valued by qualified and certified individuals or companies commonly known as appraisers. They value the property based on its condition, location and age. The lenders offer a loan to borrowers up to a percentage of the property's value. Generally, if the borrower is borrowing more than 80 percent of the property's value, the lenders secure the loan by requiring a PMI or Primary Mortgage Insurance.

A couple of years back during the real estate boom, lending companies came up with a new type of loan called "Interest Only" loan. Traditionally borrowers would pay a monthly payment from which a part would go towards the interest and a part towards the principle. With the interest only loans, they borrowers did not pay anything towards their principle but only the interest on their loan. These kinds were highly profitable to the lending companies. Because they get higher returns on their investment, and even after the life of their loan, they still have the original amount. The borrowers were happy because they had lower monthly payments. These loans were also for a short period, and their rates would adjust after that.

This was a great marketing strategy which fueled further sales for the lending companies. To stay competitive, companies also started lending to borrowers with "less than perfect" credit scores. Since last year, the federal interest rates have gone higher and those borrowers who bought new homes in hopes of having an affordable home are now worried. Increase in these interest rates would directly impact their monthly payments, and for borrowers who just cutting even, this increase would bring them to a point where they might start falling behind on their payments and end up foreclosing the property.

This situation is bad for the borrower and the lender. Because prospective buyers know that the lenders are eager to sell, they wont offer what would be the "market price" of the property. Also, due to the recent slowdown in the real estate market, the price of these properties have gone down as well. Hence a lender who lent eighty thousand dollars for a hundred thousand dollar home, now the home being depreciated to seventy thousand, and only earning interest would be loosing money doing business.

I think that marketing should help drive up sales, but not to the extent that it becomes a liability instead of an asset. A balance has to be attained between margin and volume.

2007-03-14T13:08:00.000-07:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 4
Capital One's New Ad campaign

Capital One is one of the leading financial services provider in the country. They provide various loans for individuals and businesses. They also provide banking facility to their customers. Their target market is customers with a little less then perfect credit rating. They provide loans at a higher interest rate than their competition for such individuals. Most customers have a low credit limit, but something that they can use on a daily basis.

Interest rate is not their best trait and so they don't really talk a lot about that. But they have been emphasizing on their "no hassle" strategy. Where they are trying to sell to their customers the ease and honesty with which they do business. They have created this feeling amongst credit card users that its usually very difficult to redeem your cash-back bonuses, your free airline miles or other benefits from your credit card company. And that Capital One will not hassle you with what is yours. This gives an individual some sort of mental comfort knowing that they will be rewarded with what they deserve based on their terms and conditions. Their previous ad campaigns focused on the "no hassle" concept. Continuing that same concept, they moved into criticizing other companies for being really unfair on their rates and the "what's in your wallet" phase. Where they show a bunch of people from middle ages being unemployed because Capital One took away the hassle from borrowing and hence their customers switched to Capital One.

In their recent ad campaign they have been making fun of the terms and conditions that credit card use to issue credit cards. Most credit card users find it really hard to understand the financial jargon's used in the terms and conditions of their credit cards. More over there are certain conditions which might have been amended to the existing conditions without the knowledge of credit card owners. Using this insecurity as a marketing tool, they are targeting their customers with something that they can associate themselves with. All their advertisements are light and interesting which most television viewers enjoy watching, and it conveys the message intended.

Overall, I think that Capital One has been successful in creating a brand image of being a hassle free, reliable credit card company.

2007-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Best Superbowl commercial:
Careerbuilder.com
1. Is the super bowl the correct target audience for this product?
It is human nature to want more out of your current job. Everyone can relate to the feeling of not enjoying their work, and having to just survive the week for a paycheck. Majority of the viewers would consider looking onto CareerBuilder.com to check the kind of opportunities listed there before changing their jobs. Currently the job market is quite hot and the number of individuals switching jobs has increased compared to the last couple of years.
2. Was the ad memorable? Why?
The punchline made it memorable "Don't just survive the week". The idea is that majority of employees would rather be home if they were getting a paycheck without working. Or the'd rather be in a different position or a different company or under a different supervisor give a better opportunity. So in order to pay their bills they work and they survive through the week hoping to get paid on friday.
3. Was the product name memorable? Why?
I had prior knowledge of the website and have used it previously. They displayed their product name at the end of each commerical making it easier to remember instead of having faded text over video.
4. Were the products benefits memorable and clear? Why?
Yes, their message was easy to understand. If you are unhappy with your current job, please visit careerbuilder.com to find a better job then your current one.

Worst Superbowl commercial:
Budweiser Select
1. Is the super bowl the correct target audience for this product?
Most viewers consume beer. It would be a good marketing idea to have an advertisement during the game.
2. Was the ad memorable? Why?
No, the ad was not memorable. The audio was not clear enough for viewers to figure out what the conversation was. Could not figure out what it was about, even after watching it for three times.
3. Was the product name memorable? Why?
No, name to generic "Select" figured out the name the second time I watched it on youtube.com. They should have had a punchline somewhat similar to what Doritoes did for their ad.
4. Were the products benifits memorable and clear? Why?
No, it either did nto mention the benefits or if it did they werent clear. Watching the commerical for a couple of times still did not convey what they were trying to say abou their product.

2007-02-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 3
Ad based Free Online Radio

Yahoo Inc. is the pioneer in online radio stations segment. They have a huge customer base from their mail service that enjoy this service for free. They have a collection of over two million songs which are catalogued based on time, genre, and user preference. They also allow users to create their own radio stations where they can mix and match various artists across genres, time ranges, and style. The users can even ignore specific artists or songs if they prefer. They have a paid version of the same service. With the paid version the members agree to pay a specific amount for free unlimited, uninterrupted access to their music library. Yahoo also has an online music store where members can buy songs. In addition to their audio collection, they also have a vast collection of music videos. The music videos are cataloged as well by genre, artist, time and user ratings etc.

Most of today's workforce uses computers in one way or another. Having an online radio station with a huge collection of songs provides a one stop shop for users. Their collection being updated on a regular basis keeps helps it retain its existing customer base. Their service being free makes it even more appealing to online music listeners. A major piece of their free radio station segment generates revenue by placing audio commercials in between songs being played on their radio stations. To support their free service for the video stations, they place static and video images while viewing their video stations on the side of the video player. The idea again is to provide customer advertisements specific to customers preferences. So if a member who likes listening to hip-hop songs would be interested in a concert coming near their city. This provides a higher return on advertisement expense for the concert hosting company and a better revenue for Yahoo. If there is a song that is highly preferred by a specific age group then displaying advertisements regarding events targeted for that age group would provide higher conversion rates.

I think that the customer centric model is what will help marketing and advertising companies succeed in the future. Because the advertisements target specific customers, based on their interests the conversion rates are higher. Over time I would expect Yahoo Inc's revenues to increase at a steady pace.

Trip to San Jose, CA Dec 2006 - Jan 2007

2007-02-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

2006Dec - San Jose, CA

2007-02-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 2
Billboards in the virtual world

Almost all travelers in todays day and age use the internet to get directions from one location to another. About a decade back MapQuest.com was the only free provider of directions to online users. Microsoft came up with MapPoint but the service was not free and the software cost a bundle. But since Google launched Google Maps(based on the original product by keyhole, which Google purchased), its been a different exprience for the online users. Google maps provides quick easy and precise directions from one location to another. Their maps load quickly, the user interface is more intuitive and there is minimum clutter (unwanted advertisements) on the page. Google Maps currently only provide maps in a 2D (Two Dimentional). To be able to view maps in 3D you need to install Google Earth on your machine. They also integrated local resturants, movie places, hotels etc. in Google Earth which makes the product lore valuable to users. Microsoft realizing this potential customer base launched its MapPoint service under the new Live.com concept that it has been trying to push. Their product Live Maps provides 2D images similar to Google Maps. They continue to have a rich user interface which makes the exprience better. They also added a new feature, which currently google does not have, called 3D. It requires the user installing a small software which will enable them to view 3D maps from within their website. In order to generate revenue and continue to provide this service for free, Microsoft inserts relevant advertisements into map. For example: if you are searching for an address, you will also see advertisements for hotels, that look like billboards on the map indicating that there is a hotel nearby the address, it will also provide information about the hotel on that billboard. They plan to extend this concept to city maps used in games like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) where the game could have such billboards of actual companies and help drive down the cost of developing the actual game. Hence driving down costs and creating value for customers.

This is a fairly new concept where the users view advertisements on maps and games. The information is non-intrusive hence users would not dislike its existance. The idea is to create value for customers, and by using marketing/sales models that help increase revenue at no additional cost to the users seems to be suitable for software services industry. The 3D rendering of information made it easier to understand and more human-like. This is a huge market with a lot of users who are always interested in better information. This product provides information specific to a location hence making it more direct to a user as apposed to random advertisements.

This strategy is fairly new and still in Beta by Microsoft. It is too early to comment on wether it would succeed at its goal or not. But based on the past trends that Google has set, it seems reasonable to say that Microsoft's idea of a 3D virtual billboard of the future will be successfull.

http://www.betanews.com/slideshow.php/Virtual_Earth_3D/143/3

http://www.betanews.com/article/Microsoft_Launches_Virtual_Earth_3D/1162850835

2007-02-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

Smit N Shah

Article # 1
Microsoft Video Advertisement on various websites.

With the technology available today, consumers prefer to do their homework before going out into the market to buy a product. They check customer reviews and feedback on various websites prior to investing in a product. CircuitCity.com has a great user review section for all of their products which makes it easy compare products side by side. CNet.com has their own company reviews and also customer feedback on their articles. They cover almost all technological products from laptops to MP3 players. They have recently also added motor vehicle reviews to their portfolio. Microsoft has started marketing its products online on a such websites. They play a video commerical prior to playing the actual review on CNet.com. In other words if I as a future customer, go to CNet.com to survey a product, they play a fifteen to thirty second video commercial prior to the actual review. This forces me to watch or atleast hear the commercial before I get to see what I actually want.

Advantages of Internet marketing is the broad reach it has to consumers. The Web is not just nationwide - it's worldwide. This means that your product or service can be viewed by people just about anywhere in the world. Compared to other forms of advertising, Internet marketing can reach a far larger number of people. Another advantage is that when you put your money into it, you won't have to put too much. Not only is online marketing fast and easy, it's relatively inexpensive. Compared to other forms of promotions, it is far more affordable and cost effective. Among the other advantages, it can also help you reach your target audience of consumers. These features of online marketing make it a great promotional strategy. Moreover the users viewing this commerical are already using a computer hence provides a perfect target market. Through email marketing, you can reach thousands of people at once. This provides an awesome platform for promoting their products directly to customers instead of intermediate vendors.

Marketing a software product to a user on the internet makes the most sense. The reason being, only someone using the existing technology can value the features and functionality of a newer technology. Moreover, a person visiting a website for user reviews would be a technologically savvy. Hence this would be a perfect target audience for the advertisement. Also, the user wont mind watching it for a short time as long as they get what the came for (the review).

Marriage Pictures

2006-09-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Marriage Pictures

Jun 30, 2006 - 45 Photos

Top 25 Explanations by Programmers when their programs don't work:

2006-05-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

1. Strange...
2. I've never heard about that.
3. It did work yesterday.
4. Well, the program needs some fixing.
5. How is this possible?
6. The machine seems to be broken.
7. Has the operating system been updated?
8. The user has made an error again.
9. There is something wrong in your test data.
10. I have not touched that module!
11. Yes yes, it will be ready in time.
12. You must have the wrong executable.
13. Oh, it's just a feature.
14. I'm almost ready.
15. Of course, I just have to do these small fixes.
16. It will be done in no time at all.
17. It's just some unlucky coincidence. Did you restart your system?
18. I can't test everything!
19. Didn't I fix it already?
20. Even if it does not work, it does not matter. It will not impact anything.
21. It's already there, but it has not been tested.
22. It works, but it's not been tested.
23. Somebody must have changed my code.

Ahmedabad - Google Earth

2006-04-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

2006-01-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

Dining Room... :D

2006-01-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Kitchen...

2006-01-22T16:53:00.001-08:00

Office...

2006-01-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

Living Room...

2006-01-22T16:51:00.001-08:00

Snow snow everywhere....

2006-01-22T16:51:00.000-08:00

Nice Lights

2006-01-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

250 Conen St.

2006-01-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Master Bedroom @ NJ (Haresh Bhai)

2005-10-28T00:12:00.000-07:00

mah kousin Pikal @ Ausi.... enzzoy ;)

2005-10-28T00:11:00.000-07:00

Naman w/ grannies

2005-10-28T00:09:00.001-07:00

2005-10-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

2005-10-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

Ring Ceremony.... \:D/ Oct 25th 2005

2005-10-28T00:04:00.001-07:00

mastikhor...

2005-10-28T00:04:00.000-07:00

Tulsi Resturant..... Pinky's Farewell Oct 24th 05

2005-10-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Pinky's Farewell Party....

2005-10-21T00:43:00.000-07:00

Me and Naman @ my home.... Oct 20 2005....
India @ Jan 05

2005-10-09T00:27:00.000-07:00

Oct 8 05 Navratri time...... me @ Dunkin Donuts.... w/ friends
India @ Jan 05

2005-09-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

Smile.... its party time :D

2005-09-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

The Gang... wishing Dhaval Farewell....

2005-09-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Dhaval Mavani's Farewell Party

2005-09-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

Its Me again @ Dhaval's Farewell party (Aug 21 05)

2005-08-31T23:16:00.001-07:00

Clearwater, Florida (July '03)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:16:00.000-07:00

Anandi ba and Mani ba..... source of wisdom.....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:12:00.001-07:00

Ahmedabad skyline....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:12:00.000-07:00

Mah Bro Neel..... :D
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:11:00.001-07:00

Pragna masi and Megha with Alpu mami and her mom.... (Naranpura, Ahmedabad)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

UTTRAYAN YEAY !!!
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:10:00.001-07:00

Kanjani with Pranlal dada....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

Mani BA with aaditya @ home, Ahd
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:09:00.001-07:00

Aayush, Sneha, Sapan, Rikta aunty, Kanjani....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Sneha.... >:D< mah lil sister....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:08:00.000-07:00

Bowling team....( Dad, Saumya, Guddu-Kruti, Mukesh mama)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

The batting team.... (Gopal kaka, Paresh uncle, Sapan, Rakesh masa, Kirti mama, Rita kaki, Rikta aunty, Priti mami, Kalpna mami)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:05:00.000-07:00

Cricket..... Yeah Dil Mange More...
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:04:00.001-07:00

India's Fav TP.. Cricket (Mukesh mama batting, maa fielding)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Aauyshi and Aaditya @ home (Hari-Om, Ahd)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:03:00.001-07:00

Shyama, Neel, Anushka, Maa, Rita kaki, Asha foi, Pikal, me......
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:03:00.000-07:00

Jiju and Anuskha... Tractor trip @ Vadagam, Gujarat
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

Govind kaka, Me, Akalpit, Dad and fua... @ Lunch (Malpur, Gujarat)
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:01:00.001-07:00

Lunch @ Malpur....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hasmukh fua and Asha foi.... @ Malpur, Gujarat
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:00:00.001-07:00

maa... asha foi and Rita kaki...
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

Hasmukh fua and dad...
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:59:00.002-07:00

I had a hard time convincing them to do this.... :D :P
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:59:00.001-07:00

wow.... that stuff is AWESOME...
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:59:00.000-07:00

Saumya, Shyama, Neel, Pikal, me & Bhavnakaki @ Dhansura Highway for dal-bati.....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:58:00.000-07:00

Premila foi & Charul ben.....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

Premila foi, Tina bhai, Munni ben, Maa.....
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:56:00.001-07:00

Charul ben, Anuskha, me & Munni ben @ Talod...
India @ Jan 05

2005-08-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

Keyur, me, Neel & Pratik @ Rajvadu...
India @ Jan 05