Ever wondered why there are billions(just exaggerating) of viruses which affect Windows OSes? You often hear the confidence with which other OS users talk about the security of the OSes they use- no virus attack, secure system and the like.
The fact is simple. Hackers love the thrill of breaking into closed source OSes and applications. Of course there is no thrill in breaking (breaking not the right word here but I am short of words) into open source OSes and applications.
My sysadmin tells me Windows can be as secure as linux depending on how on configures it. There was this virus which crashes down Windows OS but could not crash down his due to his configurations.
There is nothing like a virus free OS. If hackers set their minds to build viruses for every OS they can develop billions for all OSes but the thrill comes in when the source is closed.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Easiest Way = Hardest Way
The easiest way to do things is by doing things the hardest way. This might sound crazy at first sight. Trust me on this every technology which makes life easier was made the hard way. Cars were built the hardest way until production lines came into being where robots fix or build cars. Of course robots were not built the soft way.
As an advocate of doing things the easiest way, I jumped into a situation whereby one has change over 2000 records which follow a specific pattern. My workmates started but I told them to stop since I will be writing codes to get the job done. Thinks the codes were too much? You are absolutely wrong. After analysing the data and comparing and contrasting, I run the first line of code with a sample followed by the second line of code- just 2 lines of code to save hours of clicking.
My workmates were excited as they could go about their businesses for the day. Building codes is the hardest way to do things but in the end it pays off. Considering it took me about 2 hours to analyse and bring the code up to do a work which could have taken 3 to 4 days, I must admit nothing beats the hardest way of doing things.
But it is the course of wisdom not to do things the hard way if technology exists which will make one do things easier.
As an advocate of doing things the easiest way, I jumped into a situation whereby one has change over 2000 records which follow a specific pattern. My workmates started but I told them to stop since I will be writing codes to get the job done. Thinks the codes were too much? You are absolutely wrong. After analysing the data and comparing and contrasting, I run the first line of code with a sample followed by the second line of code- just 2 lines of code to save hours of clicking.
My workmates were excited as they could go about their businesses for the day. Building codes is the hardest way to do things but in the end it pays off. Considering it took me about 2 hours to analyse and bring the code up to do a work which could have taken 3 to 4 days, I must admit nothing beats the hardest way of doing things.
But it is the course of wisdom not to do things the hard way if technology exists which will make one do things easier.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
The like replaces the link
The world of computing is full of surprises. Facebook's like has now replaced link. One may ask how that is possible since the like is itself a link.
Well all I know is users activities on a web page is tracked by the links on which they click. This information is used by webmasters and marketers to serve user prefered pages. Although facebook's like is a link, the like link is what marketters can use to target marketing campaigns. Now the link and the like can be used synonymously.
Well all I know is users activities on a web page is tracked by the links on which they click. This information is used by webmasters and marketers to serve user prefered pages. Although facebook's like is a link, the like link is what marketters can use to target marketing campaigns. Now the link and the like can be used synonymously.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Browser Independent CSS Rounded Corners
This site gives clean css enabled rounded corners without images. http://www.html.it/articoli/nifty/index.html. Developing web applications using strictly CSS in developing rounded corners is the best practise since one will not be punished by Internet Explorer (Web developer's headache). Web developers are frantically looking forward to IE9 as the browser which will relieve them of millenniums of headache.
As a Microsoft disciple, my fellow web developers always make noise into my ears that Microsoft products are the worst on the market. I personally have nothing against any technology. Meeting crazy deadlines is my top priority and any OS which helps me to get things done faster is what I cling to.
Developers can't do without Microsoft since currently, users are still using IE6. Developers don't build software solely for their personal activities. They build mostly for users and the OS that most users use is what should be their target.
Surely developers will be happy with IE9 since rounded corners can be easily made without resorting to images. But the technique above works in all browsers which is why I am crazy about it.
As a Microsoft disciple, my fellow web developers always make noise into my ears that Microsoft products are the worst on the market. I personally have nothing against any technology. Meeting crazy deadlines is my top priority and any OS which helps me to get things done faster is what I cling to.
Developers can't do without Microsoft since currently, users are still using IE6. Developers don't build software solely for their personal activities. They build mostly for users and the OS that most users use is what should be their target.
Surely developers will be happy with IE9 since rounded corners can be easily made without resorting to images. But the technique above works in all browsers which is why I am crazy about it.
Friday, December 17, 2010
The best mysql database diff tool
As an expert in searching for the easiest ways of doing things without stressing oneself up, every now and then, I am assigned a task to perform with a "lazy" tool I know. Today, I was ready to go home when a fellow developer asked me to find him a database diff tool for mysql which will compare 2 databases and show only differences. He initially told me if I could do it on windows since I am a Microsoft disciple. I will be O.K on Ubuntu.
I have always said that software development is about meeting deadlines and Windows OSes make me meet crazy deadlines like crazy. I googled the search term, got this mysqldiff, used it in a customised wamp installation for Ubuntu on two databases. Log in failed several times. I migrated to my wamp. It was great but it failed to show the exact data which represent the difference. It just replaces the content of the old database with the new one.
That was no my task. I googled again and got toad for mysql. I am currently on Windows XP(Work machine - I use Windows 7 on my HP laptop) but it was not compatible with it. All I had to do is search again. After hours of search, I came across PhpMyDiff, googles great tool for determining mysql database difference. I installed it in Wamp, used it and it did what I wanted. But not exactly what I wanted.
I needed the SQL INSERT SCRIPT which represent the difference in the databases. The best tool I have seen so far is SQLYOG. It did exactly what I wanted. I was glad I could get such tools online.
I have always said that software development is about meeting deadlines and Windows OSes make me meet crazy deadlines like crazy. I googled the search term, got this mysqldiff, used it in a customised wamp installation for Ubuntu on two databases. Log in failed several times. I migrated to my wamp. It was great but it failed to show the exact data which represent the difference. It just replaces the content of the old database with the new one.
That was no my task. I googled again and got toad for mysql. I am currently on Windows XP(Work machine - I use Windows 7 on my HP laptop) but it was not compatible with it. All I had to do is search again. After hours of search, I came across PhpMyDiff, googles great tool for determining mysql database difference. I installed it in Wamp, used it and it did what I wanted. But not exactly what I wanted.
I needed the SQL INSERT SCRIPT which represent the difference in the databases. The best tool I have seen so far is SQLYOG. It did exactly what I wanted. I was glad I could get such tools online.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Learn Computing From The Kids
Like it or not, the younger generation is well-versed in technology than the older generation. Of course, they have to be since they are born into technology. It is their time and they have to do their very best to master the current concepts in technology. The reason, information technology empowers one to accomplish things which otherwise could have taken centuries to accomplish in split-seconds.
How do you explain when the so-called experts in computer security build what they view impenetrable systems only to be broken into by a lad of two(just exaggerating). I think it is high time the old folks humbly went to the younger folks to seek ways to do things right.
I have personally coached a kid who I deem crazy in logic than I do. I learn a lot from them. In actual fact, I wouldn't have mastered several concepts if I humbled myself not.
Humility should be the breath a computing professional breathes. It pays a lot and from personal experience, there is no better way to compute than to humble oneself and learn from other professionals because no matter your level of expertise, others know something you don't know or you have not heard of before.
Nothing pays than being humble.
How do you explain when the so-called experts in computer security build what they view impenetrable systems only to be broken into by a lad of two(just exaggerating). I think it is high time the old folks humbly went to the younger folks to seek ways to do things right.
I have personally coached a kid who I deem crazy in logic than I do. I learn a lot from them. In actual fact, I wouldn't have mastered several concepts if I humbled myself not.
Humility should be the breath a computing professional breathes. It pays a lot and from personal experience, there is no better way to compute than to humble oneself and learn from other professionals because no matter your level of expertise, others know something you don't know or you have not heard of before.
Nothing pays than being humble.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Doing things the hard way
Every profession has changed and so is programming. The days of hard coding in less advanced text editors is over. Years of debugging effort is now replaced with instant error hinting in advanced code editors like Visual Studio .Net, Eclipse, NetBeans, you name it.
One coder told me lazy coders code using those tools. I asked them to tell me if they will say doctors are lazy when they technology to diagnose patients, and do their various maneuvers.
If developers spend centuries thinking about what others do and make it easier for them to do it, what's really wrong with developers simplifying the tasks they always do.
Getting current means using the current technology to speed up tasks. I had rather used technology to speed up meeting deadlines than waste a whole lot of time doing things the hard way.
Who cares. Software engineering is about meeting crazy deadlines. It's not about spending centuries doing tasks which will take someone 2 seconds to accomplish.
I will continue using technology to the fullest.
One coder told me lazy coders code using those tools. I asked them to tell me if they will say doctors are lazy when they technology to diagnose patients, and do their various maneuvers.
If developers spend centuries thinking about what others do and make it easier for them to do it, what's really wrong with developers simplifying the tasks they always do.
Getting current means using the current technology to speed up tasks. I had rather used technology to speed up meeting deadlines than waste a whole lot of time doing things the hard way.
Who cares. Software engineering is about meeting crazy deadlines. It's not about spending centuries doing tasks which will take someone 2 seconds to accomplish.
I will continue using technology to the fullest.
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