New project for me

I am happy to say that I get to help with a project called Security Linkup (www.securitylinkup.com) it should be pretty fun to do. There are already a few well known people from within the security community working on this.

The person heading this up is Mark Curphey the blog post asking people for help is at http://securitybuddha.com/2007/06/28/security-linkup-dev-team-join-now-please/.

The effect of slow computer hardware on IT workers

*Disclaimer: This post is very very very very biased (but what isn't) but something I run into quite often.

Today I have spent the last 15 out of 30 minutes waiting on my main computer here at my day job. Why? I work for a big place with quite a bit of extra money why can't they just fork out the 1.5k for a decent main computer for me? We have decent test machines but we are supposed to use our slowest box for our primary daily machine. There is a few reasons why this bothers me:

• Second to my brain, my computer is the thing I use the most


• It shows to me that the company really doesn't care about my performance


• Since it doesn't matter to the company if I wait for 2 minutes to open a webpage, they must not care if I surf the Internet for 2 minutes either (i.e. it promotes slacking)


• It pisses me off when I have to wait on my tools, they need to get out of my way so I can finish thinking. If they don't get out of my way my morale sinks

There is a bright side to having slow machines. It means I get paid more for every hour I work because I am doing less work. :)

Currently to lessen the burden I use my home laptop (which my business purchased because I know what good tools do to boost productivity) to check my work email while I am work.

Hopefully when I finally leave the corporate world and work full-time on my business I will not forget that good hardware is a key thing to have.

My friend and I were talking yesterday about what we were doing at work. Here is what his day would look like if we coded it up. I won't do mine because it is even more boring, imho :).

class dayAtWork {

  var $doc = new FakeXsdClass("bigFreakingXsd.xsd");
  var $cleanDoc = new FakeXsdClass("cleanedBigFreakingXsd.xsd");

  function dayAtWork() {
      $this->bootupLaptop();
      for($time = strtotime("now"); 
          $time <= strtotime("now + 8 hours"); 
          $time =   strtotime("now")) {              
        $this->copyFromXSDIfNeeded();
      }
  }


 function bootupLaptop() {
      sleep(15 * 1000 * 60) // Sleep for 15 minutes
 }


 function copyFromXSDIfNeeded() {
     $bNeeded = $this->isTagInNoNoList();

   if(!$bNeeded) {
     $this->deleteCurrentTag();
   } else {
     $this->copyTag();
   }

   $this->doc->gotoNextTag();
 }

 function deleteCurrentTag() {
     $this->doc->deleteTag();
 }

 function copyTag() {
     $this->cleanDoc->insertTag($this->doc->currentTag());
 }
}

Disclaimer: I just wrote this here and it is psuedo code so it isn't perfect so any code-gripes you can keep to yourself :P.

They just can't win

If you didn't know yet Apple released Safari for Windows on Monday (6/11/07). This is kind of cool but one thing that I find interesting is that within 24 hours there were 6 security bugs found. What I find annoying is that some people blame the bugs on the fact that the Windows platform is insecure so that is why the bugs exist. Funny how other browsers don't have these issues (FireFox and IE) or that it also exists in the same Safari beta on OsX. So, how can the OS be at fault?

I guess what people say is true. Technology is a religion :P. Sometimes it just doesn't make sense.

Smart People...

This might be my cynical attitude getting to me but I have noticed something and it seems to be getting more noticeable.

Below are a few statements I have heard over the past few months:
- Microsoft has tons of smart people
- Google only hires the best and the brightest
- FogCreek only hires the rockstars

Now that sounds like a shit-ton of smart people. We will just turn a blind eye to all of the people sitting in Universities doing research. How can there be that many smart people? Either I have a different definition of "smart" or people are just too optimistic about their own and other people's abilities.

Well it is something to think about. I sure as hell don't know the answer, but of course I don't consider myself smart. Maybe I should go ask the people who do consider themselves to be that l33t :P.

Also, yes I know that the examples are all technology companies. I know it happens in other industries it is just I am around technology so those are the examples I can pull out of my head.