Category Archives: Technology

Success And Endeavour Mean A Lot Today

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 This week’s topic on GBE2 is Success, and I couldn’t think of exactly what to write about, until this morning, when I checked the NASA web site to see when the space shuttle Endeavour was due to land, and it was just under an hour away.

Landing safely at 2:35am at Kennedy Space Center on 1st June, this was the last mission for Endeavour, the last of the shuttles to be built, and I had to reflect on what a successful project the space shuttle program has been.

Although there have been several truly low points in the program, the breaking up of Challenger 73 minutes into it’s launch on 28th January 1986, and the equally sad loss of Columbia on 1st February 2003 just minutes before it was due to land, if we step back and look at what the space shuttle program has achieved, it’s remarkable.

Since the first flight of the shuttle on 12th April 1981, 30 years ago, man has built an orbiting space station, which is not just an American but an international effort.

The shuttles have been back and forth to the International Space Station over a hundred times, have both launched as well as captured and repaired satellites, including the Hubble Telescope.

STS-120 (1) The launchpad 12 miles away across the Indian River, waiting for the launch of Discovery from Kennedy Space Center.

NASA has proved that it is possible to build a re-useable space vehicle, and other than problems with the heat shield, which caused the loss of Colombia, I have never ceased to marvel at how smoothly the shuttle comes into land, especially if you consider that it’s descent and speed are far greater than any conventional airliner..

We have overcome many problems while constructing the space station as well, and I think if you look back, the Space Shuttle Program has been nothing but an outstanding success.

Congratulations to the crew of Endeavour on what has been another successful mission, it’s good to see you back on the ground.

Good Luck also to the crew of Atlantis, who are due to depart on it’s last mission in July, the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program.

While I remember the Apollo Program and the missions to the moon in the late 1960’s, it’s remarkable to think that for many people, the space shuttles have been operating for most if not all of their lives.

It will seem strange not being able to witness a shuttle launch again, but the next generation of shuttles might be even more impressive.

This article was a project for the week for GBE2 (Global Blogging Experience) and was based on the word “Success”.

Some Things Never Change In IT

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Although I have worked in the IT industry for longer than I car to remember – since the mid 1970′s since I know you are going to ask anyhow, I never cease to be amazed by the number of strange acronyms that exist.

Every so often, when I change jobs or have to use some new software, I come across some new acronyms that I have never heard of before, and the worst thing is that every piece of documentation that I find on that software assumes everyone knows what they mean.

I am used to working on the IBM iSeries (although I prefer to call it by it’s original name of AS400) mini-computer, but recently I have had to try and become familiar with Object Oriented Programming (OOP) which is like trying to teach an old dog new tricks.  It’s just so completely different to everything I have done before.

Although I have used some Java routines before to create an Excel spreadsheet from an RPG (Report Program Generator) program, I have done this by cloning an existing program, and not needed to fathom out too much exactly how it works.

Now, however, I need to do create an Excel spreadsheet that is rather more complex in nature, and need to look more into how these Java routines work.

Having found documentation on this, I quickly became aware of a number of acronyms that meant nothing to me, yet obviously mean a lot to those who work with Java.  When I did manage to find an article on what the acronyms all mean (thanks to my trusty Google), I chuckled to see what a sense of humor the creators had.

The first thing that I kept finding is that the Java implementation kept mentioning the Jakarta Project.  I realized eventually that this was a name given because Jakarta is a city in Java, not because the project had any connection with Indonesia.

Next I keep finding references to POI, which to me mean those pompoms that Maori women in New Zealand twirl around when they are dancing.  In this case however, POI stands for Poor Obfuscation Implementation, and related to this is POIFS (Poor Obfuscation Implementation File System).  Well the whole thing is pretty obfusticating to me…

It’s well known that the format behind Microsoft Excel is pretty awful, and so the next acronyms I come across are HSSF (Horrible Spreadsheet Format), HDF (Horrible Document Format) and HPSF (Horrible Property Set Format).

You think I am jesting?  Just take a look at this article from Javabeat and it’s all for real!.

 It’s bad enough when you have to learn a new programming language, but when the documentation is filled with acronyms that you are not familiar with, it just adds a whole new level of obfuscation.

Maybe I should just make this my word for the day…

Do The Taskbar Shuffle

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I don’t know about you, but when I power on my PC, I always open tasks in the same order, and expect to see the tabs in the taskbar appear in the same sequence.

Have you ever found that for some unknown reason Windows resequences these tasks for you, and it’s impossible to change the sequence back?

Yes I know, call me anal retentive, but I am a creature of habit ok, and it really annoys the heck out of me!

I have even gone as far as to close all the tasks and re-open them, which is annoying when you have a lot of browser tabs open.

Apparently Microsoft have fixed this in Windows 7, and users can now drag the tabs to the order that they want, but help is also at hand for those of us using Vista or even XP (like me).

A small FREE program called Taskbar  Shuffle provides this functionality, and it’s just brightened up my day, having seen my 8 open programs do a quick random reordering.

It’s easy to install, did I say FREE, it’s free of viruses too, and you can download it from the Nerdcave.

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think.

Internet Marketing: Fake Review Sites

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We’re all Internet Marketers these days: whether we’re selling our own products, affiliate marketing or just blogging – we’re putting something up on the Web that we want other people to buy/eat/read/consume. There are millions of us, literally, and so of course there are huge numbers of people who see us as a market ourselves. Just published a few blog pages? Waited a week and had a comment from one friend? Gone to Google and typed “how do i get more visitors to my site?”. You’re a potential customer for somebody who knows the tricks and techniques.

Sadly, you’re also a potential mark for someone who loves newbies, especially newbies who’ve put their toes in the marketing water. Imagine a credit card held in those clenched toes and there will be a thousand beady little eyes lighting up as they sense fresh blood, There will also be a lot of genuine sources of help, genuine sources of information, free and paid for. Your innocent Google query will return more hits than “Britney Spears Naked” used to – so how do you sort the wheat from the chaff? How do you find out if Paul’s Infinite Free Links (PIFL) is worth buying?

Check the URL: If it looks anything like www.piflreview.com, forget it – if the product name and the word review appear in the domain, assume it’s a fake review.

Check for duplicated text: Go to the main pifl site, cut and paste a sentence into Google advanced search – if it appears over and over, ignore the sites – they’re either mine or affiliates who can’t be bothered rewording my sales blurb.

Nice big BUY links: If it claims to be a review but features several buy links, usually with an affiliate code on, it’s a fake.

Does it have any hard info? Does the review actually tell you any details about what it does, how it does it, good and bad points? Or is it just a load of waffle with one message “it’s good, buy it”?

Forums should be safe? Not necessarily: look to see who owns and runs them – anyone can set up forums in minutes and then pay cents for fake posts.

You’re better off hunting for a larger site that specialises in reviewing a wide range of products. Look for good and bad reviews, look for serious comment on how a product works. It may seem like a lot of work but if you don’t want to waste your money and your time, it’s worth it.

For further discussion of this and related topics, see Avoiding Internet Marketing Scammers. For some info on products that are definitely kosher and some more sources of free advice have a look at Five Internet Gurus Reviewed. And good luck with your search.

What Are Full, Differential and Incremental Backups?

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Those of us who work in the Information Technology industry should be familiar with the terms Full Backup, Differential Backup and Incremental Backup, but for many people outside of the computer industry, these terms are often confusing.

I hope to clarify this here, and to help anyone who is looking to backup their computers at home find the best way to do this.

Read the full article here:
Full, Differential and Incremental Backups : What Do These Mean?.