Bigger is better

I saw many people build their PCs with 2 or more monitors, and I like it. But the problem is buying 2 or more monitors needs to spend more money (about 300 bucks for one 22" monitor). It excess my pocket. At the end I decided instead of buying 2 monitors, I bought a 24" Dell UltraSharp monitor (only 378$ for a second hand one), and I have no regret. (And there is a good news, now the price is dropped to 358$)

A bigger monitor gives me more room to work. I don't need to move my head around like I would used many monitors. Also it helps to focus on my work, it's important thing. And in my spare time, I can enjoy full HD movies with my family.

Maybe someday I will buy another 24" monitor. But now I'm happy with my decision. It's worth to spend :-)

Some screenshots, they are big :-)

TeamCity 4.0 is released

JetBrains released TeamCity 4.0 today. For the new features of version 4.0, you can find out here.

Hope that I will have more chances to use TeamCity because, from next year, I will apply SCRUM, TDD and CI in practice with new job :-)

Create link logo yourself - a nice marketing idea

Today I found that I can create the link logo for IntelliJ IDEA myself (they call it "Banner Meccano!" - What's the heck?). I think it's a nice marketing idea. "Let's your lovely users to show their proud about your product themself" :-)

You can see how to create and create a link logo for IntelliJ IDEA yourself here: http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/features/linklogos.jsp. And you can found my link logo on the right-bottom bar :-)

Syntax highlight source code for Blogger

Just add this code fragment to your template

<link href='http://t800t8.googlepages.com/SyntaxHighlighter.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://t800t8.googlepages.com/shCore.js'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://t800t8.googlepages.com/shBrushCSharp.js'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://t800t8.googlepages.com/shBrushJava.js'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://t800t8.googlepages.com/shBrushXml.js'/>
<script language='javascript' src='http://t800t8.googlepages.com/shBrushSql.js'/>
<script language='javascript'>
    dp.SyntaxHighlighter.BloggerMode();
    dp.SyntaxHighlighter.HighlightAll('code');
</script>

And write your source code inside this <pre> tag

<pre name="code" class="python">
    // source code
<pre>

You can get the source code for SyntaxHighlighter here: http://code.google.com/p/syntaxhighlighter/downloads/list

Pocket the Eight

JetBrains has just released IntelliJ IDEA 8 today and it has a bunch of new features. And here are the features of my choice:

+ SQL-92, MySQL, SQLite with coding assistance and Console to run SQL scripts from the IDE
+ Struts 2
+ Subversion 1.5 merge tracking support
+ JavaScript debugger
+ UML class diagrams with navigation to the source code and refactorings

In the near future, maybe I will work more with Java, especially with web programming, so IntelliJ IDEA 8's new features can help me a lot :-)

QOpen - Quick open an application on your PC

Do you want to open an application, file or folder quickly? Try to use QOpen (QuickOpen).

With QOpen you can assign shortcut keys to open an application, file or even a folder as you want. Every applications, folders or files can be opened by pressing Win key + Space + [asiggn key]. Example, you assigned "NP" for Notepad, you can open it by pressing Win key + Space + N + P.

Maybe you will tell me that you can assign some hot keys like "Ctrl + Alt + ...". But I don't like it because many applications can use same hot key so it will conflict, especially when I'm using IntelliJ IDEA.

And more, it's very light-weight application (about 60KB). Nice application :-)

Catching fishes on the road

Wanna catch fishes on the road? Go to Hanoi, Vietnam now, immediately. It's 100% real.

Help yourself to stand out of the crowd

When you want to apply a new job, what will help you to stand out of the crowd? For sure, it's your resume (or CV). The employer will read it to find out what you've got and done (experience, knowledge,...), and to know that you're suitable for the job or not.

When you write your resume, you can learn many tips from the books which teach you write it. Example: Use short but clear statements, use active voice, use the verb in past participle when describe about your experience,... But, IMO, they're not enough. What you should do is making the difference, and the difference will help you to stand out of the crowd.

How to make the difference? Actually, it's up to you and your creativity. But I can give you one example I applied and received a good result at the first time I used it. Usually, in your resume, you will list the projects you worked for with a short description and your responsibility. I did the same thing but I ONLY list the projects I was interested in with the title "MOST INTERESTING PROJECTS". Yeah, right, the title is thing which makes the difference.