September 2007 Archives

Steve Yegge, the blogger I had evaluated previously, created yet another well-written, relevant post, that as IST majors, I think would certainly be beneficial for all of us to read. In this blog entry, Steve details some common blunders that job applicants in the tech world make, including himself, and how to remedy these common errors.

As usual, Steve's style is casual, humorous, and easy to read, yet still maintains an expert stance and air of authority.

Steve is the man.

I love RSS. Having news delivered to me, instead of having to go hunt it down is awesome. According to this Engadget article which popped into Google Reader the other day, Microsoft has apparently released Windows Vista's much-needed Service Pack 1 to a select few beta testers.

A number of improvements are noted, including

a much snappier logon experience, a new option in the Disk Defragmenter "allowing you to choose which volumes you would like to defragment," improvements in responsiveness when resuming from Hibernation / Sleep modes, and interestingly enough, slightly improved battery life on a tested laptop.

In addition, there's a number of "reliability packages" being tested which supposedly:

* Increased compatibility with many video drivers. * Improved visual appearance of games with high intensity graphics. * Improved quality of playback for HD DVD and Blu-ray disks on large monitors. * Improved reliability for Internet Explorer when some third party toolbars are installed on Vista. * Improved reliability of systems that were upgraded from XP to Vista. * Resolves an issue where creating AVI files on Vista may get corrupted. * Improves the performance of Vista's Memory Manager in specific customer scenarios and prevents some issues which may lead to memory corruption.

With all these issues finally being addressed, I might just switch my Lenovo X61 back to Vista. Hurry up, Microsoft, and release this.

Social networks are powerful tools. Similar to graphical representations for easy comprehension of mathematical data, they allow one to quickly and visually analyze the connections between various nodes in any type of network. Just as they can be useful for mapping out business relationships, or one's "friends" list on a social networking site, they can be used to map out the connections and relationships of enemies. The enemy, in this case, is the terror network known as Al Qaeda.

TrackingTheThreat.com hails itself as "a database of open source information about the Al Qaeda terrorist network, developed as a research project of the FMS Advanced Systems Group". Present on their site is a "Network Navigator" that enables one to visually see the relationships between various terrorist leaders, terrorist attacks, global locales, and many other important points of information. Being open source, this site most certainly contains no confidential or classified government information, though, it can certainly help offer one a better understanding of the workings of this terror network.

As there is a vast amount of information contained within the database, the ability to expand, condense, and rearrange particular nodes is a very welcome addition. One can visualize individual paths between nodes, or the entire network at once, if one feels so inclined. (I pity the person's computer who attempts to do so, however.) Because of the huge amounts of information on global terror networks, I believe plotting them visually is the only practical means of doing so. Pages and pages of cross-referential text would be nigh useless. Given the information contained in this visualization, one could plot all the data geographically, which they actually did using the Google Maps API, available both on their home page, and in large format here.

As evidenced above, there's a number of ways data can be plotted. The human mind, being able to visualize concepts better than ponder them abstractly, will certainly absorb and comprehend information presented in a graphical format better than that which is not.

Through all the rapidly-evolving technological innovations so prevalent in our society today, there is one unmistakable trend I've noticed, both in my observations and personal experience. I believe that there is a definite trend toward digital media convergence over the Internet infrastructure.

During my experiences doing computer services for people, I set up a number of Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) systems that ran on medium-scale Local Area Networks. These systems provide the performance and scalability of multiple-line traditional phone services, while reducing cost and overhead by running on the same existing internet connection, using spare bandwidth to carry much more efficient, compressed voice data.

Cable television systems are also becoming progressively more digital. As shown in this report by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, digital cable services have seen a 267.2% increase in subscribers between 2001 and 2006. This is the same exact cable infrastructure that carries small-business and residential Internet communications. Reading through Stephen Dodge's blog, I stumbled across this article, from the New York Times, detailing NBC's plan to begin offering their programming via download.

With digital content becoming more and more prevalent, the line between our television and computer is becoming rapidly blurred. Gone are the days of separate telephone, cable, and Internet infrastructures. Consolidating everything into one global, interconnected network will maximize intercompatibility between devices, scalability of networks, and flexibility of geographical location. I believe this is the future, both for entertainment and communications.

The three corporate blogging policies I reviewed are those of Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Yahoo.

Sun Microsystems' Blogging Policy:
http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/blogs/policy.html

IBM's Blogging Policy:
http://www-03.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/jasnell?entry=blogging_ibm

Yahoo's Blogging Policy (PDF):
http://jeremy.zawodny.com/yahoo/yahoo-blog-guidelines.pdf

All of these companies are well-known technology corporations, and are on the forefront of new communications technologies, so they are most likely aware of the dangers of the powerful communications medium of the Internet. This is, naturally, reflected in the content of their blogging policies.

For example, Sun's blogging policy states a number of things. Management approval is not required for blogs posted by Sun employees, nor is it prohibited to talk about happenings at work. It is, however, prohibited to "publish the recipe to one of our secret sauces". This is found in IBM's and Yahoo's policies as well. It is also common to all policies that information should be well-presented, and provided in a professional manner, with proper use of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Present in all policies is a call to use one's common sense in deciding what information should be made public, available for the whole world to see. I think this is the single most important element of either a blogger's code of ethics, or a company's blogging policy.

I find that Sun's blogging policies interest me the most. It is unique that Sun encourages their employees to create interesting posts, which is logical, as nobody will have an interest in reading a dull, uninteresting blog. Furthermore, Sun encourages their employees to write only on subjects they know, lest they be corrected (and potentially embarrassed) by an expert on a particular subject. Employees are representatives of a company, and if an employee makes amateurish comments on a particular technological project, a professional correction could have undesired results for the company.

With the information I gathered, I compiled a list of some of the best blogging practices that I found, in my opinion:

1. Do not let blogging interfere with your work.

2. Do not reveal company secrets. Check with management if you feel information may be sensitive.

3. Write only on subjects you are knowledgeable about.

4. Present your information in a professional, quality manner.

5. State, in a disclaimer, that you speak for yourself, not necessarily the company.

6. Ensure that your blog is interesting to read. Nobody will read what you have to say if it's uninteresting.

7. Maintain a means of feedback, both public and private.

8. Use common sense.

The two blogs our group, Team Multivac, chose for this blog comparison/analysis are those of Steve Yegge, software engineer for Google, and David Cheong, a former software engineer, now pursuing entrepreneurship.

We find that Steve's blog is more anecdotal, with a unique blend of humor and narration about happenings at Google. Steve also shares a larger amount of personal information with us than Dave does. A large portion of Dave's posts consist of a summarization of tips for success in the professional world, not just software engineering. Dave has worked in the corporate world as a software engineer. Now on his way to entrepreneurship, he shares what he's learned over the years with his readers. Both blogs have a somewhat casual air about them, with neither of their language becoming too formal and stiff to read.

Steve's blog does use a bit of software development jargon, as he assumes most of his audience to be other software engineers, or others knowledgeable about the subject. Dave uses terminology pertaining to the professional world, as his target audience most likely consists of professionals. Dave's entries are "filed" under certain subjects, which can act as a form of tagging. These include such words as "entrepreneur", "personal development", "motivation" and "productivity".

Both of these blogs, while their creators share a common profession, are distinctly different in their content. One chose to remain in the corporate environment, as the other instead chose to pursue independent work, and these differences become evident as one reads through the two blogs.

While browsing the Internet during bouts of "microboredom", I happened to stumble across the rather unique blog of Stevey Yegge, a software engineer that works for Google. He began this blogging project on Blogspot, which is yet another acquisition of Google's. He's a rather knowledgeable fellow, presenting interesting insights on subjects such as programming, technology news, interviewing, and various other elements of his job at Google.

Just a few interesting entries include:

September 01, 2007 - Stevey's Tech News, Issue #1 - Steve presents some amusing "tech-industry stories".

February 10, 2007 - The Next Big Language - Steve shares some thoughts on programming languages and language design.

And, rather appropriately,
January 23, 2005 - You Should Write Blogs - An entry written on an old Amazon blog, Steve links to this entry hosted on his Googlepages account, on why he recommends the practice of blogging

An interesting element of Steve's blog - apparently Google does not take kindly to employees discussing upcoming Google projects on their personal blog. This is discussed in the following statement found in "The Next Big Language" -

Note: after I wrote this entry, one or two commenters speculated that I might be talking about something Google is doing. They're barking up the wrong tree: I may not be the smartest feller ever to fall off the cabbage truck, but I'm not -that- stupid. The speculation in this blog is all based on stuff I've read on the net. It's purely my own ideas and opinions, and I don't speak for Google (nor in today's entry, even -about- Google). You'll have to look beyond Google for clues about NBL. Enjoy!

This policy is quite common. With the advent of blogging, it becomes even easier for employees to publish vital company secrets, either knowingly, or unknowingly, online. Concerns for this are detailed in this Informationweek story. (September 9, 2002 - Beware the Blog in your Company's Future)

Tagging isn't really used in this blog, though, with Google's efficient search technologies at work, they're not entirely necessary. The amount of personal information revealed about Steve is rather limited; there's nothing online that I would say could pose a potential threat. All that is really given is a photograph, a name, and a job title/description. Still, anyone dedicated enough could find more information available online, I'm certain.

Do yourself a favor, check out Steve's blog at http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/

Google is absolutely incredible. It was one thing when Google Earth permitted one to look into their own backyard from their computer, but now Google Street View enables nearly anyone to look into the front window of your house. At its current rate of growth, I personally estimate that Google will become fully self-aware by 2012.

Sure, now it all looks innocent, but one more prime element of Google's plan for world domination is Google Reader (http://reader.google.com), an easy, convenient way for me to get all my news in one place. While Google Reader doesn't necessarily offer a great deal of features aside from those of a simple RSS reader, it does do everything it should do quite well, with a simple, intuitive interface similar to Google's other online software solutions, while incorporating Google's excellent search capabilities for one's RSS feeds. I primarily, however, chose Google Reader for its integration capabilities with the remainder of my Google Account. The capability to display the same RSS feeds whilist browsing my Gmail account is extremely convenient. Just like Google's stranglehold on my email, documents, and online purchases, they're offering me another way to distract myself with convenient, rapid information access from sites like Digg, Slashdot, and CNN.

The Google Reader is also a really great way to keep up on the exciting new technologies Google is constantly churning out. Honestly, these guys must get sacked if they haven't developed three new Google Apps by lunch break every day. Only time will tell if our soon-to-be sentient Google overlord is a kind, benevolent entity, allowing us to continue with our lives so long as we continue feeding it vital personal information, or a malicious, sinister being, capable of using its vast information resources and computing power to force humans into subterranean exile. The Google Revolution is coming. Be ready.

“But mom!” said the young boy of eight, “I know how to use a computer!” He watched, through the sea of plastic and styrofoam packaging, with eager anticipation as his mother and father unboxed their first computer, an Apple Macintosh Performa 638CD.

“This computer is for work, it is not a toy,” said his mother. “The school district has given me an email address, and I need this to check it.”

I’ll never forget the first time I used a computer of my own. I had played Oregon Trail on old Apple II machines at school, but, this Performa was different. It had an enormous 8 MB of memory, a blazing 66 MHz processor, and a spacious 500 MB hard drive, though, none of this could compare to the most important component of that machine for me. It was a 14.4 kbps dial-up modem.

My favorite music growing up became the symphony of that dial-up modem. Following the melody of PPP handshaking, accompanied by the low undertones of username and password authentication, an entire world was made available through a beige box sitting on a small desk. Knowing how to use this machine proved to be an invaluable skill throughout my years of education; learning did not end when the school bell rang. When I wanted to learn more about any particular topic I had studied in school, I simply went to Yahoo to research the topic. Mathematics, science, history, it was all available to me. The woeful inadequacies of my rural school’s library system became painfully evident throughout my years of elementary education. Our weekly library class attempted to teach us the significance of the Dewey Decimal System, and proper usage of the card catalog. In the fourth grade, I was assigned to do a report on space travel. I attempted to consult our elementary school’s most recent collection of Encyclopedia Britannica, dated 1965. As far as that collection of antiquated books was concerned, we hadn’t even landed on the moon yet. A quick Internet search quickly remedied the situation, providing my report with information on everything I needed, up to, and including, the most recent space shuttle missions. I also communicated with others my age in early JavaScript chat rooms, all of us simultaneously discovering this vast information resource available to us. It was this early experience with the Internet that enabled me to realize my interest in computers at a young age.

I then took my interest in computers and began a computer service at the age of 13. I did everything from basic PC repair, to Internet connection setup and small-scale networking. Word of my services spread, and by the time I had graduated from high school, I had been setting up and securing local area networks for area businesses, school districts, police departments, churches, and medical practices. I attempted to show the people I worked with what enhanced connectivity, not only internally, but to the Internet, made possible. In turn, it was through these experiences in working with people, consulting with them about their needs in a business environment, and applying technological solutions to fulfill those needs that I was able to decide what I wanted to do later in life.

I am not a computer science type of person. Working to merely develop technological solutions is not enough for me. I require the human element of the equation; I need to relate to the people who are going to be using the technology. It is this necessity that led me to the major of Information Sciences and Technology. Advancements in information technology are not made for the sole purpose of achieving greater amounts of data throughput. Information technology is entirely inseparable from the people who use it. Every bit of data transferred means something to somebody. Whether a request for background information on a crime suspect through a county’s crime reporting VPN network, or accessing remotely-stored digital X-Ray images, the productivity enhancements of instantaneous data access, regardless of physical location, are undeniable. The same holds true for academia. Having all my course materials consolidated through one online management interface greatly simplifies managing coursework.

Presently, I am a data convergence fanatic. I require my contact, calendar, and communications information to be universally accessible in as many places as technologically feasible. Upon my arrival here at Penn State, I spent hours configuring Microsoft Outlook to look to a mapped network drive for its data files, so my calendars and other information would be accessible from nearly anywhere on campus, as Outlook is designed to work in a local environment, solely on one machine. While this works, it seems entirely contradictory to the present trends in personal data management. With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, such as the browser-based suite of software applications provided by Google, I believe local file storage will one day become obsolete. I foresee vital bits of information, such as one’s Google Account login credentials one day becoming nearly as important as one’s social security number. Even now, should the security of my Google Account be compromised, a potential identity thief would have access to a devastating amount of information. My bank account information is stored within Google Checkout. My Google Documents would be available for public viewing or deletion. Many personal and other sensitive emails, many of which contain login credentials to other online identities, as well as access to my PSU email account could be found in Gmail. For this reason, I think the number one future concern not just for myself, but the Internet as a whole will be the importance of data security. It’s undeniable that people are continually migrating more and more of their personal identities to the online realm, and assurance of the security of these identities will prove to be paramount.

As members of the first generation that truly grew up with the Internet, it can be safely said that it has had a profound impact on all our lives. Nearly everyone who used the Internet from a young age progressed with their friends through various stages. Most remember their first time using a search engine, as well as their first Hotmail account. Having your own email address provided an incredible sense of validation of oneself; you were somebody. Many proceeded to make “Expage” websites, while networking with one another though ICQ and AIM. Nearly everyone in our generation recalls the heyday of the Napster/Kazaa music downloading craze, the social networking craze, in which everyone seemed to get a Myspace at once, then finally the maturation of social networking, as our peers largely migrated from Myspace to Facebook. All of these represented the essence of what the Internet was, a place where we created content, it wasn’t fed to us. The Internet was ours, and still is, now, more so than ever.