Technology posts

Inspecting Network Traffic on Ubuntu Linux

Inspecting network traffic is a pain. Here are a collection of (built-in) tools and techniques for seeing what's going on under the hood in Ubuntu Linux.

Touch UX Trends Started by Apps

It’s interesting to watch how the accepted standard for User Experience (UX) evolves over time. It’s like there is a universal “vocabulary” of actions and gestures. We intuitively understand them and also expect them to be implemented in every app we use.

Some Thoughts Inspired by Nintendo's Hybrid Device, the Switch

Nintendo's hybrid device, the Switch has been hugely popular. What does this tell us about the future of hybrid devices in general?

Conditional E-mails from SQL Server Reporting Services

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a great reporting tool, especially its ability to schedule reports to be sent out via e-mail. But one thing nobody wants is useless e-mails flooding their inbox. Some of the reports I’ve built using SSRS list problem data that needs to be cleaned up. I don’t want those reports getting sent out every day, even when they’re empty. I’m going to show you the method I used to get SSRS to only send a report under the correct circumstances.

What PowerShell Summit Showed Me

PowerShell Summit was a blast. I learned some great new skills and connected with a ton of folks who are as passionate about technology as I am. But even though PowerShell Summit is a conference about Windows PowerShell, attending it opened my eyes to some other important lessons that apply to everyone in IT.

Password Strength is Relative to Attack Algorithm

Passwords are everywhere in our technology laden world. The number of accounts a single person has grows constantly (I sign up for a new web site or service at least once a month). Because of this, it’s of ever-increasing importance to be smart about how you secure your accounts and choose passwords with a high password strength.

Adaptive Gadgetry - Exposing Different Functions as a Function of User Capability

Microsoft vs. Apple, the Fabricated Rivalry

I spotted this headline today:

Thoughts on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview

The Windows Flavor of the Month - "Professional Plus"

The registry in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview indicates a possible new edition of Windows called Professional Plus.

iOS's App Store Comes to the Mac, More to Follow?

The interface that Apple provides to its users on the iPhone and iPad for downloading third party applications has been wildly successful, and now that same experience is coming to the Mac. The creation of iPhone OS (now iOS) when the first iPhone was released forced Apple to rethink many things about a device’s operating system and the way in which the user interacts with it. No doubt, many valuable lessons were learned and it’s impossible that the iPhone and iPad would be so popular if that weren’t the case. I believe extending the App Store to the Mac is, for Apple, a step towards bringing those lessons to OS X.

Apple Renames iPhone OS to iOS

At his WWDC Keynote speech today, one of the things that Steve Jobs revealed is that version 4 of iPhone OS will be bringing with it an entirely new name: iOS. This seems to be a completely logical change considering how little sense it makes to continue to run the “iPhone” OS on an iPad. At the same time, I think this hints at bigger things to come. I think Jobs may well envision iOS as a full operating system that may one day stand shoulder to shoulder with OS X, at least for casual computer users.

Buzz words

Having just attended Microsoft's PDC 2008, including the introduction of the new Azure services platform, I don't think I ever want to hear the word "cloud" again. Buzz words like "cloud computing," "extensible services," and many more can be useful but more often than not I think they have a negative impact on developers. These effects can be seen both outside and inside the development department.