Technology Blog

Sometimes I just can’t get over the fact that corporations and government don’t value the concept of quality assurance or testing.

Last week, a man discovered a security flaw with Passport Canada’s website. “that by changing one character in the Internet address displayed on his Web browser, he could view the application forms of others.”

One character! In an age where identity theft is common on the internet, why would an organization have this kind of set up? Sure, it’s a flaw, but come on, that’s a pretty bad flaw, no more how temporary the situation is.

Now, I beta test websites from time to time. I’ve beta tested software applications in the past as well as have years of customer/technical support experience. So sure I know the value of my work. What bothers me, what’s bothered me since I first started working in IT is how often other people dismiss or downplay the need for Quality Assurance.

Would you want to apply for a passport after reading this?

I know I have my reservations. So much so, when it’s time to renew, I’ll like do it by mail.

A great article about the future of facebook got me thinking again about the .com industry and it performance on the stock markets. I remember the first .com I worked for a tech analyst in Toronto had a very small job in one of the Canadian stock exchanges. Their stock grew to $3.50 but by the time we were bought out, they had mishandled finances, and the competition from other software companies made our products obsolete. Stock was barely worth $0.10 when I left.

That was 1997. 10 years later… I’m forever in awe at others reinventing the wheel where internet and web applications have steadily evolved to more sophisticated levels of programming and database management. HTML is now more of a backbone language, no longer the main component of a website. Sophisticated users mean more sophisticated sites.

Facebook reinvented the concept of “social networking” to make it hip, funny, and surprisingly rewarding for those like myself are reconnecting with old friends from years ago. Facebook is what Classmates.com should have been 5 years ago.

It sounds like it’s gaining the attention it deserves.

Go big or go home! These days everyone wants a bigger screen TV, or some are considering projector in their home. If you’re in San Francisco area consider a San Francisco Projector Rental. My brother recently purchased a projector for his home as the only option for a TV. Unfortunately he made the foolish mistake of purchasing one without doing a lot of research on the amount of money a replacement bulb costs for a unit (upwards of $500 just for a bulb). He loved it although it was not cost effective for everyday use. Still, whether you need a projector for corporate or recreational use, renting is a great way to keep your costs low. If you have a big party at your house, $99 for the weekend is an attractive price to entertain your friends particularly during football season! Great for any party such as weddings, birthdays and graduations particularly when you can share digital photos of the event instantly for all to see. Just hook up an S-Video cord to your computer and you’re ready to use a projector with any digital medium

I’ve been observing changes in our educational system for the last 10 or so years as a step-parent and friends to many parents who are not completely happy with how their children are treated within the public school system. The whole concept of education is a debate I’ll leave for a another time. One thing is clear however. There’s value in providing as many different opportunities for your child to learn that go beyond the scope of the public school system. You may want to look at Math Tutors this summer as a way to help build your child’s confidence in a subject that could be confusing for them. I also believe that tutoring can be a way to introduce someone to thinking “outside the box”. There’s more than one way for someone to learn, something that is not enforced in the North American public school system. Private instruction can be a way of supplementing a way of learning what schools are not equipped to provide.

Ok, call me just a little disappointed as I browse through news articles across the net and learn of Apples ‘new’ and ‘innovative’ products. Unfortunately, I’m going to play the doubting thomas in this entry in the same way I did with this post about Apple’s iPhone. Why is Apple introducing a new browser for PC’s called the Safari? What’s the point? The fact that they have captured 5% of the market share of browser is merely because it’s something new that some geeks want to try out, and because of name brand recognition.

The battle of the browsers have existed since the commercial viability of the internet exploded in the mid-90’s. I’ll admit, I was dead-set against Internet Explorer as my browser of choice, given Netscape’s stability, or Mosaic. As a tech support analyst, supporting Netscape was an absolute breeze. It handled HTML language quite well. That is, until HTML evolved just like any other language and more site start appearing that required a dependable browser. Over the years I noticed the marketshare literally reversed over night, and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer dominanted what used to be mostly a Netscape landscape.

Sure, we now have Firefox. Aaaah, the guys at Mozilla have not let me down. And many of the geeks I know have come to appreciate Firefox. The fact that Apple is trying to show up to the party a little late with their Safari browser is a little amusing to me.

Say with the Mac people guys. For real. I don’t see Safari dominating the browser wars anytime soon.

I’ll be the first to say that I’m a 35 year old guy, who loves gadgets and the night sky, but never owned a telescope. The primary reason for that is, I never owned a house in an area that afford good night time viewing of stars. That however, has changed. I’m also aware that astronomy requires a lot of knowledge of the night sky, and serious astronomers get heavy into math, which has not been an strong area interest of mine.

I have a funny feeling that’s all going to change with meade telescopes. And check out the specs on this point and shoot meade telescope. Claiming you need no previous knowledge of the night sky, all you need to do with this gadget is point to a celestial object and it will identify it for you.

There’s no other way to describe this gadget as far as I’m concerned: it’s just plain cool.

Apple To Roll Out IPhone On June 29.

There’s been a lot of buzz around Apple’s iPhone set to be released June 29, but after reading the above article I can’t help but be a little disappointed. Internet access and storage for music and video are two great features that one can come to expect for *most* smart phones. As early as 2001, I recall telling my partner that I couldn’t wait until the day cell phones combine, storage, and highspeed cell internet access *as well as* 802.11b/g WIFI access in order to take advantage of highspots now commonplace all over the world. And you know what? I’m still waiting for an affordable option that includes internet, storage, digital camera, and wifi.

Apple’s iPhone if this article is correct is set to be launched with 4-8 gigabytes of storage. Not bad. But not too good given the $499-599 price tag. While it appears to be as top quality as most smartphones out there, with perhaps more emphasis on widescreen and other media enriched features, it’s not likely be revolutionary.

Where’s the wifi access? Is this a conspiracy amongst cell providers? It makes me wonder. Is the storage built in, or flash? If built in, 4-8 gigs will soon seem limiting to most people.

And with that, I must confess, the search for me continues: 6 years later.

It’s about time that cisco get into the game of “fusion” technology. By fusion I mean combining electronics in the home and making things more streamline.

Cisco’s CEO recently quoted in the article link below said it best: “What matters in the home is simplicity,” says the 57-year-old Californian whose receding blond hair gives the impression of an aging surfer. “People don’t want separate features and services running on different devices.”

And amen to that.

Click here to read more

Recently, I had this tech blog approved by PayPerPost. I’ve been working on other blogs for a couple of months and use payperpost to help compensate my time already spent on writing articles. If you have a passion for any topic that comes to mind and want to start earning extra money, it’s possible to do that with PayPerPost without deluting the content of your blog. Now that I’m writing in two main blogs (a third is on the way), I try to keep writing about as many topic specific articles for each blog that I’m working on. Provided you’re writing for a topic that fits under one of several categories on PayPerPost, writing for pay can not only be rewarding but also motivating to keep your blog up to date.

Since joining PayPerPost, I’ve written 15 articles for an average compensation of about $7.50 for 100 words per post (average), for roughly 15-20 minutes of work per article. I love the math with this because this works out to be roughly $30 US per hour. Not bad!

I caution newbie bloggers though to first create a blog that you will be able to keep up to date on a regular basis. PayPerPost works best with bloggers who are dedicated to their blog, and like introducing products and services to their readers. Be creative. Be fun. A lot of advertising posts call for some creativity to articles. Last week I was paid $15.00 to post a 1 minute video on Youtube. Creativity isn’t my strong point, but it was a fun experience, I did something new (video blogging), yet I was able to keep on topic with my diet blog and get paid for it.

You might even make a friend or two as PayPerPost is very dedicating to offering a supportive community environment for fellow bloggers to post about their experiences or discuss support topics related to PPP.

Check them out. Have Fun.

Well no surprise, sooner or later we’d learn about Microsoft finally jumping into the VoIP wars that are going on. Also no surprise, they’ll be integrating these with existing office software platforms.

http://www.echannelline.com/usa/story.cfm?item=22009