Barcamp JB, check list

Barcamp JB is on this saturday. So time to do some preparation. 

So when shopping just now, checklist
1) Sleeping Bag - Check
2) Personal Cleanliness Kit - Check
3) Transportation - Not Check
4) Friday Leave - Probable.
5) Werewolf Card - Check
6) Monopoly - ?

Since My lappy dead. It would be interesting, to see what game people play without their lappy.

Barcamp JB here I come.

Post on "Protecting" Software, from a forum

http://cforum4.cari.com.my/viewthread.php?tid=1414311&extra=page%3D1

This is a link, to a thread in a Malaysian forum. Which is chinese BTW.

Basically the thread starter is asking how to "Protect" a software so that it will not be "Pirated". Which people suggest measures like Patents and DRM device(On USB!!!). Which I think is crazy, because any added cost is not a good thing. Because this actually add more cost on your software. And customer being treat like a thief is not a good thing.

I don't say that the DRM device is NOT secure, NOR will I say it is secure. I just say that it is not necessary.

It also shows that people still think the approach of selling software is selling by the box. Which I think is wrong. If my knowledge from my work is an indication. Software vendor don't just get away after selling the software. There is more work to do for them, support service, training, customization, update.............
Even for desktop software, antivirus actually selling via subscription, and any software will need updates.

Or maybe I misunderstand the thread question, maybe it is about protecting code. Which come to a question, is the thread started afraid of reverse engineering. Which I don't really see as a threat.

Migrate feedburner to google. FAIL!!!!!!

Sometime, it just nice that if I am able to consolidate some of my service together. I got too much. I mean, I have friendster, facebook, multiply, hotmail, yahoo, feedburner.........................

Too much, sometime, I just need consolidate when I have a chance, an example is, feedburner. Turn out that, I can migrate feeds from feedburner to google account. Which is good, one less password to remember, is definitely a good thing.

Unfortunately, it didn't work!!!! I can't get it work. I wonder why. I give the correct password. And username.

So for now I can forget have adsense for feed for now.

p.s I have adsense in this blog now. In the current economic condition. Wish that it would give me some extra much needed cash. Most probably an epic fail anyway.

My Work With The Mainframe.

I am actually working in a bank, working with a mainframe, which is really awkward. Because it is priviledged and strange at the same time. Many people have misunderstanding on the mainframe system.

Well for one, it is not UNIX, it is not old, it is a different animal. And it is menu driven not much on commandline driven, aka ISPF. In fact it is so different, you really need to use it to see it. The heritage of mainframe is really old. Many old concept still inherited in the modern mainframe.

On linux you can create file, just one line of command, or on windows, just right click and create. Not quite as easy on Z/OS aka mainframe. You need to call tso command, then supply with parameter such as Block Size, Record Length, and even Volume Name. Or you can write a JCL script(I would call it a script). That provide the same information. To create a file, then submit it. But there is a command to create a dynamic datasets.

Also the file is different, flat file is almost the same, except we call it datasets. We have vsam file. Which is something like a files with keys. Which effectively an database file. Except it is not quite there. 

On a linux system, you can write a script in a long line if you want it. Not quite on Z/OS, the limit in a line, is 80 byte. Which is the same length on a punch card. Which is interesting. And limiting at the same time.

JCL is the important part of mainframe. It is use to run batch. Yes, we still run program as batch, like the goold old days. It just that we don't use punch card anymore. But program is run by batch. A batch run is different that what I remember in programming. It is like running a few program in a flow. And the jcl is used to allocate, files needed to the program. Depending in a situation, it can take a day, or few days to finish running the batch. Depend on the size of the program, maybe system is the more appropriate term.

Actually there is many many difference. So there will be a part 2. And this should be the beginning, of a long multipart article on mainframe. Which is really based on the one I use in my job. Which I need to filter out some sensitive stuff.

From the darkside, scanning FAIL!!!!!!!

Need to make a photo copy of my certs for office use. Which suppose to be easy right. At least I expect it to work seamslessly on Vista. NOT QUITE!!!!!!!

First Paint do not detect the scanner, but Vista did. Then I have to rely on picasa to to get it. I mean, you rely on third party software just to scan a information. Maybe I just get used to having software that is preinstalled to able to use my hardware.

I mean, even on linux, it have gimp installed by default. And chances is it have xsane installed by default, aka it is a linux software to do scanning. And I am able to scan something, or just use gimp to acquire an image(via xsane). I mean, suddenly on windows, I have to rely on picasa which I downloaded myself, scan the image. It is really crazy.

Windows is user friendly? Really I have doubt for it. I am able to do the same task by just few clicks on linux.

p.s Now if canon just release drivers. even better open Interfaces to the scanner of mine, the quality will be really nice on linux.

From Startup Camp: Part 2

Todays Startup Camp, is interesting in many way. Not as many session. But I spent many time in conversation.

The most interesting one is Jimmy(really he is much older than me, I should call him Uncle Jimmy). He is a game designer. He have some real interesting old school game. I mean, it reminds me that game, can be simple, and nothing involve computer. And his business is nice. Business wise, his business is mostly from outsite malaysia. Which is really amazing.

And I spend sometime on the bootstraping business using open source talk. Nothing surprising, as Colin said, preaching to the choir. So most of these guys, knows open source already. It just that I don't see trolls a lot. But I seen one, which is ignorant. I mean SQL server free? I know people tend to goes toward open source, unless, you are working in the most conservative IT department in the world(The place where I work). Or you are ignorant.

The ignorant one, I seen them before.

Oh yeah, second day is mostly social event. Talking playing with (uncle) Jimmy's game. Hehe, real fun!!!
And that is what barcamp is about

From Startup Camp

Yesterday is the beginning of Startup Camp, held in conjunction of the Global Entrepreneur Week(GEW).

Basically it is a barcamp, yes, another unconference. And like any barcamp, it is very casual. Which surprisingly, not many people know that. The talk is good, but I forget the bring my camera. (Again). Unlike any barcamp, actually currently only one held in malaysia for now anyway. This is pretty focused on startup.

There is 3 tracks, going that day, which is the social entrepreneur, technopreneur, and general entrepreneur. The social entrepreneur track is very interesting, more toward exploring the idea of social entrepreneur. Which is fun. The technopreneur track is more toward, funding(I wonder why?), it is also more techie oriented, aka tech startup(it is a technopreneur track). And finally the general entrepreneur track, is pretty, general, aka how to start business etc.

Why on earth I am there. Actually I kinda hope to start a business. But mostly because my friends are there.

From the darkside, the anticlimax

So I installed virtualpc, even though it is not officially supported on vista home premium(which is WOE).

So I get Singularity. THen I realize, this is boring, using it is boring.

Probably the source code is more interesting.

from the darkside, trying to get VirtualPC FAIL!!!!

Basically singularity 2.0 RDK have been released. Which is known to run well on VirtualPC.

Which the idea is really simple, just get VirtualPC and install it right....
WRONG!!!!

Turn out that VirtualPC cannot run on vista home premium. Which is another "What On Earth" event of my life.
It limiting me simply because I don't have Vista Business or Ultimate.

It is disappointing, give me an OS that limit what I can do is disappointing. And worst make me no reason to keep it. Unfortunately it is not my PC isn't it.

At least I know, I wouldn't get a Windows for my own personal machine.

Will be busy 'camping' on the next few weeks

There will be a 2 barcamp activities for the next few weeks,

Startup Camp will be on 22-23 November, will be held is Plug and Play center, in the Gardens Midvalley, Kuala Lumpur, for Global Entrepreneur Week. The focus of this camp, is on entrepreneur. Well it is a Global Entrepreneur Week.

BarcampJB will be on 6-7 December, in MSC Cyberport, in Johor Baru. This will be the second barcamp held in Malaysia. And it will be a sleep over too.

In the spirit of barcamp, it will be organized by volunteer. And it would be an interesting event. So register while registration is open. I will be there too.

from the darkside, redux: powershell part 3

So I played with powershell, again. Realize that my idea that program cannot be opened is quite wrong.
Turn out that most does work, I tested the command line program anyway. So netstat, ping etc, does work.
So let say, I want to extract some data from such a program, I use netstat here.

netstat|select-string '8080'

Let say I wanted to see all the 8080. It would work like linux, or unix. Except we don't use grep, we use
select-string instead.

It just day 3, still have more to compare.

from the darkside, redux: powershell part 2

Windows is getting boring here. But there is still some place for fun. Which is powershell.
I started by typing, in the shell

get-command

This shows the list of command. Which can scroll so far. And as a long time linux user, i put

get-command|more

It actually worked. Hmmmm.

But still how to connect to networking using powershell, and what is the equivalent of grep?
More to explore.

p.s OK so I spent very little time on this anyway. So there should be more. Maybe I should stop playing spore for once

from the darkside, redux. Poweshell

Was looking at powershell, for my adventure in the darkside. It is interesting because it have unix commands.

What's cool, it shows some capability of unix. What's not cool, really, it is just that. Anything special not from what I see yet. Why the heck you have a list-cmd. I just use tab......

Can't really call programs like unix shell. I am actually hoping to on ie from it. No avail. On unix, comands is really just a program, no more no less. It is just program that have parameters. No specialize command, like powershell.

It is really different. In fact the output is different too. It is scripting, looks the same. Will be some adventure, later

p.s where is grep anyway!!!!!!

@fossmy

Was spending my day yesterday @foss.my. I should spend my time on talk. But I spent too much time on ubuntu booth. And got too tired at the same time, I wonder why.

p.s Remind me to take my camera today......................

phone got cut off

Have to online at cybercafe, because, the phone line @ home got cut off, TMnet should give warning. Eitherway, looks like have to cough up cash to pay the bills

playing archeologist @ the job

My job at the bank involves software testing. As a tester. It can be boring at time. And trying to find defect on a huge system can be crazy. And my team testing a software that is huge......real huge and messy.

It just happens I am free(and bored), at the company. So I dig around with the codes. Looking at codes and copybooks(cobol equivalent of a header). Seeing what it does etc. It is like looking at a old writings, writen in a style few would understand. And like digging at the sites.

The hard part is, the system contains hundreds of copybook, and hundreds of working codes, not to mentions JCL script. Some is commented, often not all contain the enough information. And I still try to find the documentations. The full documentations I mean. Piece together a few at a time.

The prelimentary result is, a few of the copybook is found, and it is not documented(not sure how it would help in the work). And still a lot more to dig.

Lesson learnt, file-aid is a useful tools on the mainframe. And cobol is verbose, but readable. And lastly, looking at how different mainframe and other platform software look is interesting.

From the darkside, aka laptop died...................

So my lappy finally died. Since I still pissed @ HP, I probably get another one, that would be around christmas.
So for now, I will be in the darkside, the darkside is more pleasant than I thought. Erm I mean, I am on windows vista now.

Except several thing happens.
1) I have to resort to xchat on windows for IRC, and vlc too. And maybe later cygwin..........
2) I tried on c#, I try to refresh my knowledge on .net. So I get visual studio express. What happens is, I cannot start a project. Because it cannot access the registry. From forums, turn out that I need to run the program as administrator. Which is crazy, never heard that I need admin access to use a development tools. Not on linux anyway.
3) Because I like to play with alternative OS. Only to find out that, virtual PC, don't support OS other than windows. So I have to resort to virtual box.

Conclusion, eventually, I probably use more open source on windows. Than proprietary program. Because I didn't work as I thought. Probably it just another adventure on the dark side