Mile High Technology Trail Guide

Cross Platform

21 Apr 2008 08:20:54 am GMT -7

[p]The problem with the Macintosh is not its glamorous exterior, the hardware engine under the hood or even its operating system for dummies. No, it’s really none of those and as much as I want to pick those items, I can’t find a good reason. The thing that irks me is a fancy word that the pretentious Macintosh user probably doesn’t understand……cross platform functionality. You see the reason I say this is I believe the usefulness of the desktop computer is fading like a 56k modem. You see now that the world is finally realizing where the ON button is and that the internet, like rock and roll, is here to stay. The usefulness of the desktop environment is being relegated to loading a web browser because the applications developed there are driving the way the desktop is used. I don’t care about how easy the Macintosh operating system lets you drag, drop and play. I don’t care how much you think Windows Vista is a giant loaf. I can’t stand when the two factions have a pissing contest over which platform operates the fastest. Its all for nothing if MySpace, YouTube, Shutterfly, FaceBook or your online banking application can’t be viewed in the same way on a Mac, PC or Ubuntu platform. The point right? Lets all just get along Rodney. Computers all need a common thread at some point, something beyond the hardware or screen resolution. You see the community that programs these wonderful tools you use in the online universe just can’t stand having to write more and more code in order to make every computer happy. Don’t get me wrong, programmers enjoy being paid well to write mumbo jumbo but in the back rooms the frustration mounts in quiet and sometimes loud conversations. To them what matters is that it looks and acts the same in every computer environment and in every web browsing application. You see, more and more will be driven from the web or as we pretentious programmers like to call it, the server-side application. If you own an I-Phone or Smartphone and use the web access side then you know what I am talking about – Wi-Fi everywhere. Most of your data is already stored in some secure data center bunker on a hard drive that you can only hope is backed up. In the end it will take Joe User an epiphany of sorts when he realizes he can’t see his grand daughters picture in a web browser or a million dollar contract or watch a video conference without having to dance through incompatibility. At that point the cool color of your new computer won’t matter so much as your left there standing with your mouse in your hand.[/p]

Linux Shell 101

04 Apr 2008 09:37:49 am GMT -7

[p]This is the first in a series of posts centered around basic Linux Shell Programming. These are commands and scripts that can executed in a terminal services window using SSH. Our first step is to understand the basic system commands and learn how to apply them. What is SSH you say? Well Secure Shell is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged over a secure channel between two computers. Now if you don't know what shell is you probably shouldn't be tinkering without making sure your comfortable with your task. If you do know what shell is and you don't know how to access it then you need some local software to securely connect to the Linux server. Here are some common pieces of software which are SSH capable: [url]http://www.openssh.com/[/url] [url]http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html[/url] [url]http://www.sftpplus.com/[/url] [url]http://www.ssh.comLink[/url] Lets take a look at our first set of commands: [code][b]ls[/b] ---------> Give a simple listing of files. [b]ll[/b] ---------> Give a listing of files with file details. [b]cp[/b] ---------> Copy files. [b]mv[/b] ---------> Move or rename files. [b]rm[/b] ---------> Remove files. [b]cd[/b] ---------> Change directories. [b]pwd[/b] --------> Print working directory. [b]cat[/b] --------> Lists a file or files sequentially. [b]more[/b] -------> Displays a file a screen full at a time. [b]pg[/b] ---------> Variant on "more". [b]mkdir[/b] ------> Make a directory. [b]rmdir[/b] ------> Remove a directory. [b]rm -r[/b] ------> Remove directory subtree with warning [b]rm -rf[/b] -----> Remove directory and subtree without warning [b]chmod +x[/b] ---> Set execute permissions. [b]chmod 666[/b] --> Set universal read-write permissions.[/code] The shell executes commands when they are typed in the command prompt in the correct syntax. Commonly these revolve around the manipulation of options and file names. Here are some usage examples: [b]removing a single or range of files using wildcards:[/b] The shell allows files to be defined by [i]wildcard characters[/i] that defines a range of files. The [b]"*" [/b]wildcard character can substitute for any string of characters, See? [b]rm *.txt[/b] This will delete all files that end with ".txt". The "?" wildcard character substitutes for any single character, See? [b]rm book?.txt[/b] This will delete "book1.txt", "book2.txt", and so on. More than one wildcard character can be used at a time, See? [b]rm *book?.txt[/b] [b]setting file and directory permissions using chmod:[/b] Instruct the shell that the file contains commands by marking it as [i]"executable"[/i] with the [i]"chmod" [/i]command. Each file in Linux has a set of "permission" bits, listed by an "ll" as: [b]rwxrwxrwx[/b] It looks compacted but its just a cracker jack secret code. The "r" gives "read" permission, the "w" gives "write" permission, and the "x" gives "execute" permission. Now, there are three different sets of these permission bits, one for the user, one for other members of a local group of users on a system, and one for everyone who can access the system. You can use "chmod" to set these permissions by specifying them as in this example: [b]chmod 644 myfile.txt[/b] This gives you both read and write permission on the file, but everybody else only gets read permission. You can use the same syntax to set execute permission, or just use the "+x" option: [b]chmod +x mypgm[/b] Now, if you enter the name "mypgm" at the prompt, the shell reads the commands out of "mypgm" and executes them. You can remove the execute permission by using the "-x" option.[/p]

Craig The Cheap-O

17 Mar 2008 03:02:21 pm GMT -7

[p]Craigslist. I love the concept. Its like what e-Bay used to be - an inexpensive place to market services and wares. Of course e-Bay has turned into a 'pay me for every feature including the listing itself' type place. Craig's saving grace is the ability to post for free. Very sheik in the day and age. However, when it comes to the job posting sections it appears the users have one thing in mind. Post a job worth $1000 and go fishing by asking somebody to respond and subsequently do it for a whopping $100. This you see poses an issue for responders who are not students learning the trade or more to the point, know what they are doing. Some of the more typical rookie posts include things like; [quote][i]Looking for experienced freelance programmers to join an exciting opportunity! [p]Must be versed in MySQL, PHP, JAVA, J2EE, .NET, .ASP, C++ along with ability to administer advanced techniques in Linux and Windows and Solaris server environments. You must be able to speak fluent Spanish, French, Russian and Japanese. Must be willing to commute 45 miles to our offices. Desired attributes are a team player, take direction well from folks who don't understand or believe in market value.. We don't have any funding and we are looking to create the new face book. Willing to pay $13.25.hour or $15.25 with all the experience listed here. [/i] [/quote][/p] [p]So lets be honest. Even somebody thats desperate for employment with those kinds of skills wouldn't touch an opportunity like this. For one if you want to build the next FACE BOOK you're going to need a lot of programming hours. Did i say a lot? I meant it. Second, to get anybody on-board that actually knows how to build it quickly and efficiently your going to pay market rate. Market rate for desperate programmers starts at $35 and runs up to $100 per hour. It gets so funny that you laugh yourself into it not being humorous at all. I love the people asking for $10 graphic artists, $100 websites and $200 database projects. I have some advice for those who post away with mysterious response information for their company, no telephone number, website or valid email.....Learn to do it yourself. I mean it cant be that hard to do if your offering $10/hour right ? Here is some advice for you fledgling posters with crappy websites or the glamorous idea of building the next YOUTUBE. [b]1)[/b] [i]Post your company information. If you want somebody to believe your opportunity is for real then you won't have any problem posting a little bit more about yourself. I don't mean War & Peace, just something to add credibility to your offer.[/i] [b]2)[/b] [i]Post the project! Don't offer everybody the same old [i]'need a website ASAP' [/i]comment. Include what your looking to do with some basic detail. Programmers can sniff out the cut and paste synopsis pretty easily.[/i] [b]3)[/b] [i]Post your budget. If its a full/part time opportunity then post the maximum your willing to pay for cripes sake and save us the time of a personal response.[/i] [b]4)[/b] [i]Don't leave us with the PAY: DOE (translation - we don't know how much to offer or what this is actually worth so we're fishing for luck) or the the 'up to $10/hour' comments. If you want to open a burger stand then your in the right price range. Think something like this; $20 for somebody who just started in the business, $35 for somebody with decent experience and up to $100/hour for the guru that can get the project done with cutting edge skill.[/i] These are just a few simple guidelines to get the right person in front of you to complete your project. Because if you fish with cheap bait your either going to get a flood of responses from third world India or every local high school graduate looking to use your web project for target practice. It's up to you. What's your project really worth?[/p]

Free Internet Radio

18 Feb 2008 05:55:13 am GMT -7

[p]Internet radio "stations" are accessible from anywhere in the world via an internet connection � with this it's possible to listen to a station web-casting out of Osaka from Denver, Memphis or even Stockholm. This makes it a popular service for expatriates and for listeners with interests not adequately served by terrestrial radio stations. Internet radio stations broadcast a wide variety of content including news, sports, talk and all kinds of music genres. Internet Radio has since it's inception been something of a novelty to the general radio listening public. Only those 'savvy' users armed with a broadband connection and the knowledge of where to find the station. Furthermore you really need a dedicated user who actually sits in front of the computer and listen to your station. Especially with all the competition vying for the digital users time and space on their digital media devices like personal music libraries, cable television, you tube, terrestrial radio and even your cell phone with its growing feature set. Even with all that vying for the ol' attention span there is still a fan base out there for internet radio. Radio on the internet has been around for well over a decade with the first ones popping up on the webs landscape in 1993. But over that time most stations are still donation driven or subscription based with only a few generating revenue from using an advertising model. Because of this only a few stations have been profitable and a recent decision in May of 2007 by the Copyright Review Board (CRB) may have finally killed off many of these stations with a drastic change to the structure that governs the fees they pay for content. The arguments over royalty fees has been going on for a long time now and as usual involves the feet dragging of the record companies who have failed to embrace changing from an analog world to the digital world. It pits the International Webcasting Association, representing the broadcasters, against SoundExchange, a royalty collection organization with ties to the RIAA. The deciding body that regulates the fees is a branch of the Library of Congress called the Copyright Review Board, which has been hearing arguments on this issue for several years. What we are talking about is an unrealistic fee structure created by the naive establishment that will prevent station owners from broadcasting music and events that simply isn't available from mainstream media. Maybe your thing is Brazilian trance, progressive rock, German death-metal or perhaps lost jazz recordings floats your boat. These are opportunities that we're starting to be filled by independent internet broadcasters and people we're tuning in. Internet broadcasting has struggled to find a profitable niche in the media landscape so far, but that may change as improved networks lower bandwidth costs and wireless access becomes more prevalent. The new rules raise the possibility that few broadcasters will be in business as these changes take place. That, in turn, may ultimately harm the music copyright holders, as there will be one less outlet for exposing people to music that's new to them. [/p]

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19 Sep 2007 08:22:15 pm GMT -7

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