2007 May
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
by James Connors
I am currently working on a project for ISPS that simply doesn’t want to work correctly. Sure, the project wasn’t commissioned by anyone in particular but rather, it was the manifestation of seeing a need and fitting a solution to that need. That need is of documentation.
So what is this project that you speak of, James? Well, our office administers somewhere in the neighborhood of 1700 computers and 2 data centers… that equates to about 50 - 100 support tickets per day… we’re a busy shop. Users break things, download programs they shouldn’t, contract viruses, or just flat our fry the computer at times. As a department, we have some unique ways of fixing these ailments but they aren’t set down anywhere.
For this reason, I have taken it upon my self to produce some sort of support repository that would be an easy place to update solutions to various computer problems. For example:
This week, our office has seen a number of cases where users, particularly laptop users, have contracted the notorious VUNDO or VIRTUMUNDO virus. This particularly nasty computer virus blocks anti-virus software, locks itself away with guard dog dll’s and even changes it’s name at logoff through a registry rewrite.
Some people may be scratching their heads at all of that, but if you’re still with me, then you’ll realize how nasty such a program is. In fact, there isn’t an anti-virus product out there that takes care of everything related to VUNDO, therefore 3rd party programmers have made effective programs freely available. But where are they?!
This was what I faced this week - a learning curve on how to attack such a problem as a computer virus that did not tell me where it was laying. Rather, it hid from me with all it’s heuristic intelligence. If we had at hand the necessary documentation to deal with the problem, I would have been able to resolve the infection in a matter of hours (time for the computers to run the various cleaning utilities) rather than having the issues drag on over night.
To this end, I am building a support wiki that will rule the world!… or just our department (with a little luck and some group buy-in). For privacy purposes, I will not disclose the URL to this website but anyone interested is welcome to email me for more details.
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007
by James Connors
Premise
Today was the first time that Redmond has reached out to put money into my pocket. About a week ago, I received a phone call asking me to work with a market research firm to speak about their product - Microsoft Office Live. The whole program is software as a service - in other words, you pay for programs as if they were a subscription with varying levels of functionality and support for different price points. I think the whole concept is ok in form but Microsoft’s implementation has been horrific at best - they seem to get that, hence the focus groups targeting users that signed up but then almost never went back.
Body
Upon arrival at a rather interesting office building, I was asked once again to screen and answer questions that pertained to the study. It’s ok… I guess, but it was the third time that I was screened (the first at the initial interview request and the second upon the confirmation of the appointment). I understand the need to be thorough but I think it’s a bit much to answer the same questions three times over. The desk attendants showed me to a waiting area with some warm sandwiches and soda. As more people arrived, it became clear that they weren’t going to take everyone and lo and behold they took only three of the crowd that had assembled.
I didn’t hear what became of the others because I was called into the room for the focus group. There was the stereotypical mirrored glass behind which researchers were scrutinizing our every move and phrase. This is normal to me now since I have completed a number of different focus groups around the Boston area. The warmup questions were similar and always landed just short of what we were there to discuss. I think that it was an interesting contrast between we three chosen ones - one artist lady that didn’t know anything about computers that AOL didn’t tell her - one would be start-up guy that thought he knew everything about computers but had a financial advisor’s background - and then me, the college kid that works in IT working towards a degree in MIS. It was clear that I had the most technical knowledge of the bunch. I’m not making that distinction because I’m “better” so to speak but rather because they drew a good diverse background - a fair cross section of the possible future users.
An hour later we had decided that the program wasn’t useful because it was too hard to navigate and wasn’t giving the user what it needed when it needed it. In other words it wasn’t user friendly or intuitive. As a group we had given the researchers some targeted feedback that I think was worth our $130 honoraria… If I do say so myself. It will be interesting to watch over the next few months to see if anything from our small panel actually makes it to the end product at Microsoft.
With that, I bid you adue - I’m hoping that these will come more often now that final exams are over for me. I definitely appreciate your readership and hope that you stay tuned!
Monday, May 7th, 2007
by James Connors
What is it? I think that Web 2.0 is more than just a name, more than a simple idea of sharing. No, Web 2.0 is the future of technology. Think about it - what websites have become some of the biggest money makers in the near history? Mark Zuckerberg, the 20 something founder and CEO of Facebook.com, was offered 1 billion dollars for his social networking website and now supposedly waits for a $2 Billion Offer. There’s big business where people can come together and create something for almost nothing.
I don’t think that we should be afraid of this move though - rather I feel energized by these developments. A fellow blogger hit the nail right on the head on his personal blog. People no longer wait for mail from the postal service, nor do individuals require years of experience in order to have their part in the information super highway. I’m just a college student that enjoys sharing his perspective on the world, especially where it comes to computers and technology but that doesn’t discount my contributions.
The internet has become much more than a way to post or find information; it has become a tool for everyone to use. No one is kept out, no certifications or resume required - just an interest and a dream. I hope that anyone reading these posts are enjoying the time that I spend here because I enjoy it and that’s why I do this. The ability to teach, share, or even argue is a freedom I enjoy and wish to bring to everyone that wants to listen and participate.
Thursday, May 3rd, 2007
by James Connors
Intro
It wasn’t too long ago that Ubuntu launched their new open source linux release, Ubuntu 7.04 Fiesty Fawn. Later that day, the Ubuntu servers crashed under the unprecedented load from enthusiasts attempting to pull the new release. But what is Linux and what does it mean to be open source?
Definitions
Linux is an operating system (OS) similar in function to Macintosh OS X Tiger and Microsoft Windows Vista. These programs run your computer and allow the user to interact with the machine and complete operations. Wikipedia defines Linux as: Linux (IPA pronunciation: /ˈlɪnʊks/) is a Unix-like computer operating system family. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and of open source development; its underlying source code is available for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute freely. The kernel - or core - runs like Unix and has a similar reputation for stability. But Unix is text only so the latest version of Linux provide user interfaces that resemble those that Mac or PC users operate. In some cases, Linux interfaces are easier to use and customize than their corporate counterparts.
I’ve been saying a lot about open source on this blog, but what is it really? It sounds highly technical and scary - let’s try to clean it up a bit. Open source products are a different way of developing, designing, and ultimately releasing a software product. All programs run on a source code that is the backbone or spine of the application - it holds it all together and like our spinal cord, communicates or coordinates the many processes of a software program. Traditionally, corporate software designers like Microsoft opt to hold the source private so that others cannot duplicate or change the programs they distribute. This ensures market security but stagnates 3rd party development and kills customization.
Open source projects do just that, they “open” the source code and distribute it along with the program they’ve developed. Now 3rd party programmers and customers can view and alter the underlying code that runs their programs in order to customize their programs. A number of different software licenses are used by developers to control their products but this is beyond the scope of this article. Open source is gaining popularity throughout the world because it pulls on the expertise by many in a community feel to maintain and develop projects. You probably know a few open source projects. RedHat Linux, Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird, Wordpress, and many more. All of these projects have huge user bases and programming community support that keeps them fresh - Ubuntu is no different.
Ubuntu
So let me talk about the crux of this entire post -> UBUNTU 7.04 Fiery Fawn! I just have to say that this Linux release is amazing. I haven’t had much experience with Linux yet just because all of my work has been on Windows PC’s and Apple Mac’s so far - I wanted to try it out. I’m really happy that I chose to launch into Linux with Ubuntu. The UI is flawless and easy to use - maybe even familiar. It features easy access to the terminal as well as customization and system control panels. But I think the best part is that it’s FUN! I can’t think of too many OS’s that I would call fun.
Right from the get go, I knew that this was a different kind of OS. Ubuntu is distributed in ISO disk image formats that you must either virtually mount to a drive or burn to a CD. These CD’s are what is known as LIVE-CD’s because they will boot and run the operating system from the CD-ROM drive without changing anything about your computer. I could try out the UI and use all of the features of the program before deciding to install. When I did decide it was time, Ubuntu did the installation right from the LIVE-CD interface rather than the nasty text interface that you have to install windows from. It was so easy.
15 Minutes later I was using Ubuntu on a crappy old Dell laptop. I didn’t need to find drivers, programs or anything - it was all there. As the computer booted into it’s new operating system, I was greeted by fresh graphics and fun sound effects. I wanted to play and play I did. I spent an hour just going through everything in the OS and trying to learn more and more. As of today I’ve even installed Flash into Linux and used it a number of times. So… what’s that’s about all I can muster right now, but I’ll be getting back to this and posting an update in the next week. I’m really excited to use this even more.
Conclusion
Ubuntu is a dynamic and refreshing departure from the standard graphical interface such as Windows and Mac. I was excited to play with it and learn and try out this new product. I know that I can take it for a ride any time I want or program modules and customize my own version. I could even sell it if I wanted. I suggest that everyone should take a few minutes and try it out - it’s so easy. There’s also a Server release that features customizations and 1 touch LAMP (Linux, Apache, MYsql, and PHP4) installation - something that every webserver needs.
This operating system is a huge step in the right direction for open source projects and I feel that if someone wants to step into the Linux/open source realm, this is a great first OS to play with.