Welcome to Newbies Paradise!

Hello!

It is my great pleasure to offer you two more chapters of the PHP lessons. They are the beginning of the third part: "The full power of PHP". And this is not a lie. Although you've already discovered that PHP is a powerful language, you still don't know many very interesting things!

So, let's start with the first one. You will learn how to use one of the perhaps most useful function of PHP: include().
It is used in barely every website. It allows you to insert PHP code of one file into another. This is very useful for menus for example. Instead of copying the PHP code on each page where the menu is displayed, you simply use the include function to insert it where it belongs. Moreover, if you have to modify it, you'll only have to edit it once! Kinda interesting for you lazy programmers, isn't it?

The second one will teach you the use of many other PHP functions among which htmlspecialchars(), str_replace(), nl2br(). Let's make it clear: you won't be able to live without anymore!

Hi!

Once again, we are really happy to announce that we are releasing 2 new chapters today.

4) Writing data

After having seen how to read in the database, you'll learn how to write data. Simple actions will be taught : adding data, modifying data and deleting data.
This will then enable you to start using MySQL on your website.

The best way to see what you are able to do is practicing. So let's get into it!

5) Practical: creating a mini-chat

The second practical of our PHP tutorial will teach you how to create a mini-chat for your website. This is a good way to start using MySQL and PHP, because you'll be mixing the two for a challenging application.



The next chapters will be the first ones of part III, which will contain lots of practicals. See you!

Hi everybody!

As promised, here are some new PHP chapters: PhpMyAdmin and Reading data.
They will allow you to learn how to work on a database, as well as reading and organize your data, thanks to a pretty detailed chapter.

It is now only a matter of days before we release the last two chapters of Part 2 (including a practical), with which you will complete your knowledge of the database!

Obviously, I wouldn't fail to mention and thank those who worked on it: zamani, ixM, TiTophe, FFMx, jixer, speedking, jni.
I hope I'm not forgetting anybody...



Enjoy your reading!

Hi everyone,



I'm very glad to release the next chapter of the PHP tutorial. We'll now try to release at least a chapter a week so you can enjoy reading the best tutorials in the whole world again.

The first chapter released is also the first chapter of the second part which will teach you how to use databases with both PHP and MySQL. Newbies Paradise, for example, uses a database to store users' data, messages of the forum and so on. A good website has to use a database to be really dynamic.

So enough chit-chat and let's go!

Enjoy!

The Mozilla firm's leading product, although unknown a few years ago, has experienced a huge evolution since version 1.5 and is now offering the long-awaited version 3.
It has been done up like new, from the rendering engine to the interface (even though the latter hasn't changed so much).
Let's go through this new version together, and see what arguments it presents to convince all kinds of users.

A new rendering engine

Firefox's rendering engine (i.e the part of the browser enabling to transform HTML code into something that can be displayed), Gecko; was updated and is currently going through the Acid 2 test. So we can estimate that Firefox 3 is respecting the standards better than its predecessor.

However, Firefox cannot pass Acid 3 yet. It reaches 71% for this test. Note that the Acid tests 2 and 3 are not exhaustive and are being more and more criticized regarding their relevance.

An improved design

The interface is quite staggering, if we compare it to Firefox 2.
First, the default design is different according to the operating system you are using. There are even differences between the desktop managers under Linux.



Next, we can notice that the personal toolbar (the toolbar containing the bookmarks) includes a button to return to the home page, and a folder listing the most visited pages, the pages booked recently, etc. This is enabled by the use of SQLite, a very light D.B.M.S. to handle the bookmarks.

We also observe the suppression of some dialog boxes, replaced by information bars, above the tab bar. Not only is it a bit less annoying but it also allows to validate the storage of a password once we are sure that it operates.

A new star-shaped icon appears next to the address bar. If the star is yellow, the page you are displaying is already bookmarked. If it is white, the page you are displaying is not. In this case, one click will do to bookmark it.

The download manager was improved as well, now featuring a search box. Besides, when typing a particular word in the address bar, we get all pages containing this word in their address listed. It allows to find a page recently visited more quickly.

Even more coming...

We have seen the major changes brought by Firefox 3, nevertheless there are others that you might be interested in:

• A tab "catalog" makes its appearance in the plugin manager. This tab offers to download and install recommended plugins.
• An improved support for colours.
• A better font.
• A full screen zoom that enlarges the whole page, including images, which was not the case before.
• The history settings were rethought, to become more convenient and intuitive.
• Better support for the <canvas> tag.
• Increased security.
• Support of the web applications when you are offline.
• Firefox 3 is lighter and faster (it takes less room in the main memory) than Firefox 2.
• A better management of plugins (you can activate or disable them as much as you like in the plugin manager).
• The websites' identification button on the left of the address bar.
• The multiple selection.

Bugs being fixed

One of the big problems for Firefox was memory leaks. On occasion, Firefox happened to consume high quantities of the main memory unnecessarily (apparently around 200Mo).

With Firefox 3, one of the developers' goals was to find and fix what created these memory leaks problems. More than 350 memory leak sources were found and fixed. So Firefox 3 is really less avid for main memory than its predecessors.

What about security?

Firefox 3 is also doing pretty well with security. First, the anti-phishing protection has been improved. From now on, you only have to click on the icon on the left of the address bar to know if the site has been verified or not.

Moreover, Firefox 3 also verifies if the sites you are browsing are not installing viruses, spywares, and other malevolent software programs. When you download a file, it automatically checks if the said file is not infected, using the anti-virus program installed on your system.

Firefox 3 and its world record

It has caused such a stir that it is almost impossible not to talk about it! Firefox 3 wanted to break (or establish) the record of the biggest number of downloads in 24 hours. The downloads counted for this record are those of the 17th of June of 2008, Firefox 3 release date.
On D-Day, as it was named, the downloads managed to reach the huge number of more than 8 million!

Conclusion

If you like Firefox, this new version will certainly suit you . If you don't know this browser yet (or if you'd rather use another one), it may actually make you change your mind. The memory leaks correction, its main drawback, is a very good thing.

However, some extensions for Firefox 2 remain incompatible with this browser.

• Download Firefox 3

Update: That was an April's fool by the way

Hello everybody,

I'm really glad to share this great news with all of you. Thanks to the ads on Newbies Paradise, we've been able to save a lot of money these last months. We decided that it was time to give Newbies Paradise a new look which would give it something special, something really different to what we've been used to.

Although it was a little bit expensive (around 1000 €), we are really satisfied and we think that the result is worth the price.

We are now thinking about saving enough money to buy a beautiful Flash banner that would possibly pop-up at each page loading to emphasize the ads.

We hope that you will enjoy the new look of Newbies Paradise and also find its contents easier to use since the new design is particularly light and helps to focus on the text.

I would also like to thank all of you for having clicked on the ads and therefore allow us to buy this delightful design.

The entire Newbies Paradise team.

P.S. It was supposed to be a secret but M@teo21 is now writing a tutorial which will explain how to create your own OS (like Microsoft Windows Vista for example) with JavaScript, HTML and assembly language !!!

So far, Microsoft’s MSDNAA program has allowed students to download some of their softwares (such as Visual Studio 2005 Professional and SQL Server 2005, among others) for free. Recently, the company launched a similar program called DreamSpark.

Free Developpement Software

Just like the MSDNAA program, DreamSpark is only for students. It is available in 11 countries: the United States, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Sweden and China. If you are a student and live in one of these countries, you will have access to this new program.

Microsoft plans to add more countries to this program. So if you are unable to download the software, you need to wait. Here is the software selection:

• Visual Studio Professional Edition (2005 and 2008);
• Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition;
• SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition;
• Microsoft ® Expression ® Studio;
• XNA Game Studio 2.0;
• And many others ...

This list is not complete, you can find all the modules on the program; as you can see, it is mainly development tools. If you are interested in the DreamSpark program, you should visit the website, which was set up for the occasion, and select the software you want to download.

Specifically, how do we get this famous software?

You should first go to the detailed data sheet for the software you want (which you can find here). Here, you will see three icons: Sign In, Verify and Download. Click on "Sign In".

Once connected, you will be asked where you live; you can either choose your region on the world map, or directly choose from the drop-down menu on the right. Once you've indicated your country, you must choose your school or your institution, as shown here:

Reaction from the Open Source world

The main players in the world of open source softwrare have not taken the news positively. AFUL (fr), the French Association of Users of Linux and free software, whose goal is to promote free software, see it as a "Last Chance Operation".

On the one hand, a certain satisfaction is created, because if Microsoft has implemented this system, it is good for recovering customers in the college market, which has almost disappeared (people are using Apache and MySQL more than Windows Server and SQL Server). Free softwares would be a threat for Microsoft, and they are facing it..

On the other hand, Free software companies are not reassured by the economic aspect Microsoft's operation. Indeed, it is a question of free and non-release of the sources. They are not sure that what is free today would be free tomorrow. The AFUL is worried and warns that Microsoft is only trying to make people dependent on its softwares. A student who has worked with Windows software for five years will tend to keep using the same software in his professional life.

Thanks to Linktim for his reaction paragraph in "the world of free software"

Enjoy !

In this news we will overview the 12 cities recently added to the Google Maps Street View, the new Gmail version available in 37 languages, and to finish, the new version of the Android's SDK.

Google Maps Street View

From what I know, we've never talked about Google Maps Street View on Newbies Paradise before, which is why it is important to introduce it to you. It is actually a Google Map function, that enable new views which lets you browse certain streets. Indeed, these panoramic views (360°) almost make you feel like you are there.

This function, which already created controversy about people's private lives who live around these views, is only available in the United States, in only about twenty cities. It is on Google Earth where we can see that 12 new cities have already been added, including Salt Lake City and San Antonio. All available cities can be found here.

The new Gmail available in 37 languages

Gmail developers recently introduced the second version of Gmail, the Google's mail service. This new version is now available in 37 languages, and brings some new and interesting functions to Gmail.

Developers have added color labels, chat groups, smileys, a new adress book, and some keyboard shortcuts. Gmail's whole code was revised.

If you don't have the new version yet you will have to wait for the update. It will be done soon.

New Android's SDK

The Mobile World Congress was standing in Barcelona, Spain, from the 02/11 to the 02/14. A new Android-based cell phone presented, and was even tested by visitors.



Android is the Mobile OS developed by Google for smart-phones or PDA's. The new development kit was released a few days ago, under the cute name "m5-rc14", and you can download it here. The code and the design were both reviewed.

Conclusion :

• Google Maps
• Android main page
• Android on Wikipedia

Enjoy .

Thank to the NTS for translation.