The Dev Shack » Technology

The Killer iRobot Is Here

mfleming — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 11:15:06 +0000

Sometimes you come across some cool technology that you must share. This iRobot video is one of those. Definitely some cool technology involved here.

Today’s DDoS Attacks Due to Cyber Warfare?

mfleming — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:41:53 +0000

I am sure that most of you are aware of today’s attack against Twitter. The attack crippled the service for a good portion of the day. News is coming out now about the attack, and according to an article by The New York Times the attack could be related to cyber warfare. The article cites Bill Woodcock, an expert in this area, who believes the attack was a result of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. Woodcock stated the attack was not like a normal DDoS attack, as these attacks were using spam emails to overwhelm the service. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come.

The Ripple Effect of Cyber Warfare

mfleming — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:44:34 +0000

I have been interested lately in the various areas of warfare in our current times. The major focus of current situations WILL involve cyber warfare as part of any conflict. Many folks are under the impression that conflicts between other countries than their own really will not change their lives that much. If you are of this belief, read the post titled Collateral Damage written by Robert X. Cringely on is blog. He lays out the ripple effect of a cyber warfare in other countries, for example a conflict between India and Pakistan. With a great deal of large companies outsourcing work to these countries, any type of cyber attack could be devastating. As Cringely points out an attack could cripple customer support for many banks and PC companies or even attack source code repositories.

It is a well written post that will leave most people stunned once they consider the “what if” scenarios. I totally agree with Cringely that any conflict in the modern era will have a cyber warfare component. I would also argue that the first “shots” fired in a conflict could very well happen in the cyber world.

The Eight Levels of Programmers

mfleming — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:00:03 +0000

Jeff Atwood has posted one of those articles that make you think over at Coding Horror. He explains what he feels are the eight different levels of programmers. 1 is the lowest and 8 is the highest level on the scale. The post is basically asking where do you see yourself heading in your programming career, and what do you aspire to be. It’s a quick read that will make you think for a bit where you currently fit into the list and ultimately, where you see yourself by the end of your career. It’s also fun to see where you think others you know in your field fit into this list. So where do you fit into this list?

10 Skills Developers Will Need

mfleming — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:09:58 +0000

Justin James at TechRepublic posted an article yesterday that covers his opinion of the 10 skills developers will need in the next 5 years. You can read his article and I’m sure you will agree with some of his items and there will be some you take a different view on. Here are my thoughts:

I agree 100% with the first item in the list, that you should already know or learn at least one of the most popular languages (.NET, PHP or Java). That does not mean you need to be proficient in every one of them, but I would agree that you should be in the process of at least being very proficient in one of these. I know and love ColdFusion, and as long a Adobe updates and stands behind the product I will use it. I have started some deep learning of .NET (with C#) and it has expanded my horizons. After being reluctant about .NET at first, I can now say it like it. Knowing more than one language will also help you to determine what platform will be the best for your projects in the future. A certain platform will not always be the best solution to a particular problem. Having a knowledge of other languages will help you make the right decision and be successful.

I am not sure if Justin was listing his items in order of importance, but if he was I would disagree with having mobile development listed as the last item in the list. Mobile applications are gaining steam every day and there is one important factor that seems to get overlooked sometimes. Depending on your application, most organizations are looking to put a little part of that on a mobile device or at least have a website that displays well on a mobile browser. Take a look at the most popular websites currently, those like Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc… They are started on the web, but you can find tons of dedicated mobile apps for your Blackberry, iPhone, etc… that take advantage of those technologies. I may have moved this item up a little further in the list.

I do agree with item four on his list, knowing and understanding web services. Web services easily allow you to release an API or some other hooks into your application. This easily allows third party integration with your application, which is getting more and more common every day.

That’s it for my thoughts. What are your thoughts?

Jack Dorsey Explains the Beginning of Twitter

mfleming — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:04:06 +0000

The Los Angeles Times has a very nice post on how Jack Dorsey and his pals started Twitter. It's an interesting read, especially when he details the inspiration behind it all. Believe it or not, his first thoughts revolved around bicycle messengers, and their status. He also goes into detail on how they decided on the name as well. He says the name Twitter means "a short burst of inconsequential information". That may be the best explanation of what Twitter is!

This is just another example of how some folks can take a very simple thought and turn it into the next big thing.

Tweet Wisely!

mfleming — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:54:28 +0000

Just saw this post on Danger Room. First of all, the title is awesome and second it's a reminder to post wisely whilst using Twitter. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) is addicted to to Twitter, and was surprised to see on a trip to Iraq that he had service on his Blackberry. So Hoekstra went to tweeting. Now, you would not think that was a big deal, except he posted he was in Iraq and the congressional trip was supposed to be a secret. Uh oh!

Google Thought Entire Internet Was Malicious

mfleming — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:32:28 +0000

Oops! That's the word from Google today after a "human error" led to malicous warnings from all results returned from a search. They initially placed the blame on non profit site StopBadware.org, but since have admitted the error was in fact the fault of Google. Google has proven that everyone does indeed make mistakes!

Read the full details at cnet.com.

Uh, Which Button Do I Press?

mfleming — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:33:39 +0000

The image below is a shot of the cockpit of the space shuttle. Please, make sure you press the right button! Click the image below for the full size picture.

Facebook an Unlikely Tool in Israel-Hamas Conflict

mfleming — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:59:19 +0000

Below is a link to a NY Times piece on how people were using Facebook to voice their sides in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Amazing how powerful the Internet is today.

Revolution, Facebook Style via the New York Times