Friday, 22 August 2008
Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Bye, bye, RealPlayer
I have been using RealPlayer for some years now just for listening to Internet radio. I know a lot of people dislike RealPlayer but I found a way to fiddle with the settings and get something that gave a look and functionality that worked for me.
I recently installed it on a new computer, the latest version of the free player. Well, I have to join the crowd that dislikes RealPlayer because the version I installed is not possible to customise to make it usable for me. So...
Bye, bye, RealPlayer and hello WinAmp.
I recently installed it on a new computer, the latest version of the free player. Well, I have to join the crowd that dislikes RealPlayer because the version I installed is not possible to customise to make it usable for me. So...
Bye, bye, RealPlayer and hello WinAmp.
Monday, 11 August 2008
Phone amnesia
It has probably happened to you too. The mobile phone is turned off and you suddenly need to know your PIN code to get it going again. It happened to me the other day.
The first time you enter the incorrect code you think, I must have pressed the wrong button somewhere. You enter the code again and really try to be aware of what you are doing. Normally this is where the phone open its arms and welcomes you. But not for me.
That is when the confusion really hits you and you start to go through your mind troubleshooting what you just have experienced. You can only come to one conclusion.
My phone has forgotten my PIN code.
That is what happened to me. I never tried a third time but I left the phone running so my pocket had a go at it with no success. When I eventually found that PUK code I managed to convince the phone what PIN code it has. Let us hope it sticks this time.
The first time you enter the incorrect code you think, I must have pressed the wrong button somewhere. You enter the code again and really try to be aware of what you are doing. Normally this is where the phone open its arms and welcomes you. But not for me.
That is when the confusion really hits you and you start to go through your mind troubleshooting what you just have experienced. You can only come to one conclusion.
My phone has forgotten my PIN code.
That is what happened to me. I never tried a third time but I left the phone running so my pocket had a go at it with no success. When I eventually found that PUK code I managed to convince the phone what PIN code it has. Let us hope it sticks this time.
Thursday, 7 August 2008
The hammer for RIA
I listened to the lively debate regarding Rich Internet Applications (RIA) on The Java Posse podcast, episode 198, and I really have to agree that it is a really bad name for it. A RIA is no more than a more beefy web application.
Having had my primary focus outside of the web application sphere for a long time I have noticed the hammer and the nail mentality inside the sphere. You know, if the only thing you have is a hammer (web application) everything looks like a nail (application ideas).
I have seen this myself some years back where a company wanted a web application which should show graphs where you would be able to interact with the graph like zooming and dragging and such. Of course, one of the requirements was also that the application should not need any additional software to be installed and this was before the AJAX acronym was publicly known. I saw no way of making a good solution within a browser since what they really wanted was a rich internet application so my recommendation had to be that a desktop application should be deployed.
No deal that time.
It is some sort of perverted idea that every application user interface could be realised in a web browser. I don't really think that is the case and even if it was true, the browser is not the ideal environment for all productivity tools. Imagine having your development IDE in a browser window.
I think you should use the tools that fits the requirements instead of trying to fit the square pieces in the round holes. I am working with rich internet applications today but I Swing my hammer.
Having had my primary focus outside of the web application sphere for a long time I have noticed the hammer and the nail mentality inside the sphere. You know, if the only thing you have is a hammer (web application) everything looks like a nail (application ideas).
I have seen this myself some years back where a company wanted a web application which should show graphs where you would be able to interact with the graph like zooming and dragging and such. Of course, one of the requirements was also that the application should not need any additional software to be installed and this was before the AJAX acronym was publicly known. I saw no way of making a good solution within a browser since what they really wanted was a rich internet application so my recommendation had to be that a desktop application should be deployed.
No deal that time.
It is some sort of perverted idea that every application user interface could be realised in a web browser. I don't really think that is the case and even if it was true, the browser is not the ideal environment for all productivity tools. Imagine having your development IDE in a browser window.
I think you should use the tools that fits the requirements instead of trying to fit the square pieces in the round holes. I am working with rich internet applications today but I Swing my hammer.
Wednesday, 11 June 2008
Security without trust
Can we really have security without trusting someone or something?
I came to think about that the other day when trying to improve a server backed desktop application authenticating itself through a third party by popping upp a web browser showing the third party login form. As there are no really good web browser components for Java that you can use without too much hassle I was thinking about doing a Swing form which would post the information to a web page over SSL.
The suggestion was considered insecure and was rejected. When I thought about it I came to the conclusion that this was a matter of trust or should I say distrust. Why was such a solution less secure than popping up a web browser transmitting the same sensitive information? For some reason the third party felt more secure if the information was handled by a random web component from any developer than from a Swing solution by me.
It is all a matter of trust and to have security you must trust someone. When you go to a secure web page you must trust Thawte or Verisign, or whatever certificate authority has issued their security certificate, has done a good job validating the certificate owners identity. Whenever you register on a web page you trust that the site will keep your information secure.
Security is a matter of trust. Who do you trust?
I came to think about that the other day when trying to improve a server backed desktop application authenticating itself through a third party by popping upp a web browser showing the third party login form. As there are no really good web browser components for Java that you can use without too much hassle I was thinking about doing a Swing form which would post the information to a web page over SSL.
The suggestion was considered insecure and was rejected. When I thought about it I came to the conclusion that this was a matter of trust or should I say distrust. Why was such a solution less secure than popping up a web browser transmitting the same sensitive information? For some reason the third party felt more secure if the information was handled by a random web component from any developer than from a Swing solution by me.
It is all a matter of trust and to have security you must trust someone. When you go to a secure web page you must trust Thawte or Verisign, or whatever certificate authority has issued their security certificate, has done a good job validating the certificate owners identity. Whenever you register on a web page you trust that the site will keep your information secure.
Security is a matter of trust. Who do you trust?
I am not an early adopter
This is the first time I write a blog entry so you can definitely say that I am no early adopter when it comes to this weblog thing.
The same goes with Java. I did some pathetic attempts back in the 90ies but not until beginning of this century I really got into it and got really hooked.
But I guess it's a good thing that I am a late adopter. It is better to learn from other peoples misstakes. Life is too short to make them yourself.
This it for you, mom.
The same goes with Java. I did some pathetic attempts back in the 90ies but not until beginning of this century I really got into it and got really hooked.
But I guess it's a good thing that I am a late adopter. It is better to learn from other peoples misstakes. Life is too short to make them yourself.
This it for you, mom.
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