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In the tip Size Matters, I showed you how to find the size of a database (application). ? In the comments for that blog entry, it was pointed out that the"% used" for a database is important to know when creating a new database. ? Today I'll explain what that means.

Looking at the size of my mail file in the image below on the left, you can see that it is 393 MB. ?However, when I push the "% used" button, Notes tells me that the percentage of that 393 MB currently in use in only 82.6%. ?That means that when determining the disk space needed to make a new replica of the database, a closer approximation would be 0.826 X 393 MB, or 325 MB. ?The image on the right is of a new replica, showing that to indeed be the case. ?This difference of about 70 MB might not be much, but on a larger mail file it could make a big difference!

?

So why is a database not 100% in use? ? The simplest explanation is that when new documents are added, the size of the database increases. ? When you delete documents, the space those documents previously occupied is not always automatically used by the next document. ?On the server your Administrators take care of "cleaning this up" for you, but in a future tip I'll explain what you can do to reduce the size of local databases on your computer.

A second item to think about with respect to the size of a local database is how large the Full Text Index (FTI) might be. ?The FTI is what allows you to search for words or phrases in Notes database. ? Using the Database Properties Box again, this time clicking on the second to last tab on the right, you can see the size of the index is 27 MB. ? This is in addition to the number above.



By combining these two sizes, 328 MB + 27 MB, I can calculate that my mail file will require about 350 MB of space on my computer. ? Of course, it is always safer to round up, so in my case I'd make sure I had about 500 MB free before making a local replica, which is what I will explain in the next tip.


Advanced Reading. ? So what makes up the size of a database any way?



There are 3 main items which contribute to the size of a database: ?the design elements, the view indexes, and the documents themselves (plus the white space from deleted documents).

The size of the design elements can be approximated by the size of the database's template. ? For mail files this is normally between 20-25 MB. ?

The size of the views can be found using the Domino Administration client. ?(if you have it installed). ? Highlight the database in the Files Tab, and choose Database - Manage Views. ? Below you can see the view indexs for my mail file around 40MB.



So that means my mail file has approximately 328-25-40=263 MB of documents.

Why does adopted convention seem to conflict with the obvious solution for newby Domino developers?

Now available from Luxology is the first video in its newest training series, aimed directly at Photoshop users. This series of videos is designed to help tap the new 3D capabilities of Photoshop CS3 Extended, even if the customer is new to 3D. (posted by Jennifer Apple for www.PhotoshopSupport.com)

AKVIS LLC has announced the update of AKVIS Decorator Photoshop plug-in to v.1.3. The plugin allows a user to apply a new texture/color to an object while preserving its volume. The new color or texture looks absolutely natural. New to this version: 1.3 fixes a bug that irregularly caused a program crash when applying user textures, there is a new installation method for the MAC, new compatibility with Windows Vista, and updated program documentation. (posted by Jennifer Apple for www.PhotoshopSupport.com)

"They are all beautiful," David Lynch says about Andrzej Dragan's photos. Andrzej has a very unique look to his photos, and many Photoshop artists have speculated about how he achieves the effects found in his personal and commercial portfolio. It's called the "Dragan" effect. I’ve tried a couple of times to trick him into revealing his Photoshop techniques, but he is as evasive as he is mysterious. What follows are some vitals on this photo artist, and some back-and-forth we engaged in a few days ago. Not much is revealed - but that was not unexpected. (posted by Jennifer Apple for www.PhotoshopSupport.com)

Adobe has posted an excellent 41 page PDF booklet that is a super helpful quick reference guide to have around while learning the program. It's filled with some appealing photography and there's an index at the end that makes it very easy to find specific Lightroom help. (posted by Jennifer Apple for www.PhotoshopSupport.com)

Adobe has announced the immediate availability of the highly-anticipated Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Standard editions and Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Standard editions. This revolutionary release of brand-new, tightly integrated, design and development software unites the best of Adobe and former Macromedia product innovation to provide designers and developers worldwide with a broad spectrum of creative options. (posted by Jennifer Apple for www.PhotoshopSupport.com)

Featured posts to the Search Engine Watch blog in the past week, along with recent search-related headlines from around the Web.

The definition of what is and isn't search marketing is expanding to include other related disciplines. The move to social media marketing is seen by many as a natural progression.

A new report from JupiterResearch finds that the majority of search marketers are satisfied with the return on investment they are seeing from search, and expect to increase spending this year.

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Ask.com revealed a new auto-discovery protocol and the addition of Ask.com to the Sitemaps.org group.

Found in the search marketing forums: Title Tag Questions; Is Your White Hat Fading in the Wash?; Redirection of .htm Pages on IIS; and more.

Featured posts to the Search Engine Watch blog in the past week, along with recent search-related headlines from around the Web.

Microsoft Silverlight formerly known by its code name "WPF/E" has now been announced... Read More......(read more)

I’ve talked about this a bit at WDN with Dave in our presentation. A good idea is more likely to origin from an inspiring environment than from an uninspiring work place. I think that’s a great starting point for today’s post. Personally I think it would be great if at the end we all snap a shot of our working environment and inspire each other. How you decorate your personal space is only part of the larger picture of course.

Creativity defined...

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online the definition of "creativity" is as follows:

The ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form.

To me personally creativity is to master and control the random chaos in my head and bring all separate pieces together into harmony. It's making the most out of a complex mental process.

There are many forms of creativity. We designers have a different view than for example programmers. But what people sometimes forget is that a programmer needs to be inspired also. It's not because it looks more boring on the surface that it doesn't have its influence on the end result. A DJ can be inspired by the reaction of the crowd to his music and know what to next.

What makes a workplace inspiring?

For me it's hard to believe (because I've always been my own boss right from school) but there are people who see their workplace as a source of anxiety, stress and despair. A happy worker is creative and productive that's what I've always believed. Let's explore a few ways that can have an influence on the state of mind of the worker.

Listen

One way could be to listen to all ideas and explore them regardless of its origin. Making everybody feel part of the team regardless of his or her job description. In the case of programmers I know that some companies let their employees work on personal pet projects during working hours on a given day in the week. In many circumstances that's the origin of a product or feature that a company later can use.

Play

Another one is let people play during work. I know for example that my friends at Happy Cog have a Wii to play with during business hours. At the Googleplex employees can shoot pool while taking a break in one of several employee lounges. They also have a large idea board and a 2 swim-in-place pools. It doesn't stop there, Google employees can also take an afternoon volley ball break at Mountain View campus. I'm not sure if it's still the case now, but in the past people at Apple were allowed to bring their dog. All this is in place to keep the worker motivated and happy. When a worker is happy he is more motivated and it's not just doing it to receive a paycheck. I like to believe that a web-designer that works at such a motivating place will likely be more interested in using new methods and go the extra mile than a worker that just thinks about his paycheck. It's all about having a passion for what you do and making it pleasant is just one aspect of that process.

Coworking

Another example of an inspiring environment could be to share it with other people. In Vancouver Dave Shea talked about him working at a shared office called 'Workspace'. Two people who also started such a project last year are Tara Hunt and Chris Messina, it's called 'Citizen Space'. It's a nice place in San Francisco which is generally open from 10am - 6pm weekdays. They have a few residents but you can also drop by when you are in SF and use their Wifi etc. They also organize interesting things like a speaker training on the 21st of April. I've met both Chris and Tara and I can imagine working there must be lots of fun and inspiring. Some people also like to work at Coffee houses like Starbucks. I'm not sure if we have those coworking places in Belgium, at least not in the same setup as Citizen Space.

Decorating your workspace

For me the place around me and the things I need to look at are very important in finding my creativity. It comes down to many things like outside view, building (architecture), furniture, color, computer etc. We are still in the exploring stage to decorate our office.

Joyn

I kind of like the idea of something called 'Joyn'. Vitra calls it the platform for the network office. What I like about it is the flexibility that comes with it. On some projects we have to work together more closely and I like the idea of just reorganizing our desks to accommodate for that. If only they would place as much thought in their web presence as in their design : : : sigh : : :

Some examples of Joyn

• BBC London and Birmingham (U.K.)
• Mexx International
• Novartis, Basel (CH)
• The Seattle Public Library, Seattle
• Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), Los Angeles (USA)

inspiring examples

Pixar

At Pixar there aren't any grey cubicles because their employees have the freedom to decorate as they see fit. The end result looks amazing! My personal favorites are the little huts in a row, where each hut is a separate office.

Red Bull London

That's the most advanced I've seen so far to be honest. You're upstairs and you don't feel like taking the stairs, no problem just glide down in the carbon slide instead :) It immediately makes you feel that there's no room for grey and tie wearing salesmen.

Mindlab

The Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs in Copenhagen, Denmark has Mindlab. It's a meeting place for all employees. Its heart is an egg shaped meeting room with walls that are whiteboards so that you can write on any wall.

These offices were also mentioned in this post

Clearleft

The guys at Clearleft did something nice with their new office too. The oversized clothes pegs and letters are a nice touch. If I remember correctly the tables were custom built.

What is your idea? How would you do it?

So what's the perfect working space in your mind? What do you do to get it? Does it have to be modular so it can change often? What makes you feel good? I'm really interested in hearing your ideas about this subject.

Post your office picture in the group

I already did it in the past and would like to do it again, but a little different this time. I've set up a Flickr group called 'Inspiring workplaces'. So if you would like to post your personal space there, that would be super! It's my hope that this group grows to be a big group where you can go to and absorb some inspiration of other people's working space. So go ahead and snap a picture of your desk and become a member and post it to the the group.

How to add your picture to the group

• Become a member of the group
• Upload your picture
• Use 'send to group' and choose the 'inspiring workplaces'

Adding the picture to the comments

• Click 'All sizes on Flickr for the static url and use the code of number 1
• Make sure the width is 640px tops. If not resize it by using the 'width' and 'height' in the code

Every market and every idea is something you can build up or arbitrage against. As long as you are comfortable with the position, don't be afraid to bet against scams.

Ok, so I've been quiet, but I can explain it -- I've been working really really hard on Silverlight and today is our big day! Writing live from NAB, but this is big big big -- read about the details on the links below, and stay tuned, this is only part of the fun, keep your eyes on MIX. Sean Alexander Soma And many others will post, but here is the info for now -- stay tuned! MSDN Silverlight info Silverlight community (coming soon) Read More......(read more)

Having been involved in a few of the notably-mediocre names such as "Windows Presentation Foundation" and "Windows Communication Foundation" and the like, I am very excited that we have landed on a good name for our web client platform... Soma introduced Silverlight on his blog earlier tonight and I hear we are in a demo frenzy down at NAB! There is no doubt that Silverlight will become a core part of the .NET platform (I even added a category for it ;-)). This past week I have been getting ready for my Mix talk (which is about.. you guessed it, Silverlight)... I have been spending sometime with some of the cool stuff we announced at NAB.. Expression Media Encoder is a very slick addition to the Expression Suite and while I haven't really explored...(read more)