Adobe adds bar codes to PDF forms

David Becker wrote on CNET News.com on Tues.9th March 2004, Adobe adds bar codes to PDF:

"Adobe Systems is set to expand its electronic forms with new capabilities for adding bar codes to forms based on the company's portable document format.

Recipients of a PDF form fill it out on their PC using the free Adobe Reader, which will also get a bar code plug-in, with the space allotted for the bar code automatically filled in as data is entered. A single bar code can represent up to 2,000 characters of data.

When finished, the form is printed out. The recipient uses a scanning device or fax machine to read the bar code, sending the results to a server running decoding software being developed by Adobe, Baum said. The server then feeds data into a corporate database or other backend systems.

The Acrobat and Adobe Reader plug-ins, as well as the decoding server, all are planned for delivery in the second half of 2004."

A Transforming Experience for Content Management?

On CMSWatch, Steve Heckler, President of Accelebrate, wrote on 2004-03-04 , A Transforming Experience for Content Management? -- Featured Product:

During the past five years, XSLT (Extensible Style Sheet Language Transformation) has emerged as the “Babelfish” of the XML world, translating XML documents into other XML and text formats. XSLT combines a versatile, tag-based scripting language with XPath, a powerful language for selecting specific sections or data within XML documents. The advent of XSLT 2.0 could mean even more power and capability for XML-based content management systems.

Another not-so-permanent archive

(Australian-IT: crossroads | Stuart Fist, MARCH 02, 2004:- Another not-so-permanent archive:

So what is the likely life of your CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-RW disks today ?

The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has a Data Preservation Laboratory looking at these problems, and it has come to the conclusion that the scientific answer to all these questions is: 'not very long'."

These are only preliminary results at present. It says:-

• true gold coating is better than any of the silver-coated (aluminium, etc) disks


• CD-R is clearly the most reliable disk recording system.


• the NIST hasn't damned DVD-R as much as I expected, which suggests that DVD's advanced error-correction systems really work.


• disks should be stored upright.


• Disks need to be kept away from circulating air to reduce corrosion and evaporation of the plasticisers.


• Plastic sleeves are probably better than jewel cases.


• Storage should be cool, but not freezing, and dark.


• Humidity of about 40 per cent and a clean atmosphere.


• The NIST condemns the practice of using adhesive labels on the disk surface.

Test Web pages in multiple browser versions

Test Web pages in multiple browser versions - Builder - CNETAsia: "By Michael Meadhra, Builder.com | Thursday, February 26 2004 "

One of the challenges that Web builders face is testing their Web pages in various browsers. It's not enough to know how your page will appear in the current version of your favorite browser—you also need to test all of the other browsers that your site visitors might use. If you're working on a Web site that's open to the public, you also need to test multiple versions of each browser.

Finding older browser software - If you don't have what you need archived on a CD somewhere, you can turn to several online resources......

The problem with IE - Now the Solution - running concurrent copies of IE of differing versions....

Six "must-haves" for productive software teams

Six "must-haves" for productive software teams - Builder - CNETAsia: "By Bruce Hadley, Builder.com | Friday, February 27 2004 "

CEO Tim Bigelow of Performance Software says, "When your entire bet is riding on custom development, you have to be good at development—that's obvious. But the part that many custom developers leave out is delivery."

Bigelow focused on the six items that he says are required "must-haves" for any software company looking to create highly-productive software teams.

1. Hire high-performance people


2. Define and develop a high performance culture


3. Insure proper training and adequate mentoring


4. Build innovative tools that make your job easier


5. Optimize project methods and processes


6. Focus on accurate weekly metrics and standardize project planning