Category: Technical

Practical Wearable Technology

I keep looking for useful, practical, wearable technology and Google Glass isn’t it. In fact, most of the wearable technology I read about hasn’t impressed me even a little. The problem is that most of this technology has no practical value. At best, it distracts people who are already so distracted that they do things like walk right into fountains while texting. As far as I’m concerned, these people don’t need even a small distraction, much less a major distraction like that provided by Google Glass.

However, Google is working on a practical, useful, wearable technology that apparently isn’t generating much press at all—a smart contact lens for diabetes patients. The new lens monitors a patient’s glucose levels continuously through tears. Instead of having to take readings several times a day (and still missing potential high or low readings), the lens would make it practical to monitor blood sugar continuously. There are technologies currently available that do monitor blood sugar constantly, but they’re inconvenient, restrictive, and uncomfortable. This technology promises to make it possible to monitor blood sugar without disturbing the patient’s daily routine. In fact, with the right configuration, a diabetes sufferer would live pretty much a normal life except for the need to take medications as needed to control blood sugar.

There are other health-related wearable technologies on the horizon. For example, there is Samsung’s Simband that monitors heart rate, blood pressure, and a number of other readings. A device of this sort could make it possible for people with serious health problems to get out of their homes and lead lives that are closer to normal.

Unfortunately, all of these wearable technologies are still in the planning, research, and development phases. Until practical devices appear on the scene, I’ll continue to view wearable technology as yet another disruptive toy with the potential to cause real harm to the wearer. Let me know your thoughts about wearable technology at [email protected].

 

Death of Windows XP? (Part 4)

The last post, Death of Windows XP? (Part 3), was supposed to be the last word on this topic that won’t die, but as usual, it isn’t. The hackers of the world have figured out a new an interesting way of getting around Microsoft’s plan to kill Windows XP. It turns out that you can continue to get updates if you’re willing to use a registry hack to convince Windows Update that your system is a different version of Windows that is almost like Windows XP Service Pack 3, but not quite. You can read the article, How to get security updates for Windows XP until April 2019, to get the required details.

The hack involves making Windows Update believe that you actually own a Point of Sale (POS) system that’s based on Windows XP. The POS version of Windows XP will continue to have support until April of 2019, when it appears that Windows XP will finally have to die unless something else comes along. It’s important to note that you must have Windows XP Service Pack 3 installed. Older versions of Windows XP aren’t able to use the hack successfully.

After reading quite a few articles on the topic and thinking through the way Microsoft has conducted business in the past, I can’t really recommend the registry hack. There are a number of problems with using it that could cause issues with your setup.

 

  • You have no way of knowing whether the updates will provide complete security support for a consumer version of Windows XP.
  • The updates aren’t specifically tested for the version of Windows XP that you’re using, so you could see odd errors pop up.
  • Microsoft could add code that will trash your copy of Windows XP (once it figures out how to do so).


There are probably other reasons not to use the hack, but these are the reasons that come to mind that are most important for my readers. As with most hacks, this one is dangerous and I do have a strong feeling that Microsoft will eventually find a way to make anyone using it sorry they did. The support period for Windows XP has ended unless you have the money to pay for corporate level support-it’s time to move on.

I most definitely won’t provide support to readers who use the hack. There isn’t any way I can create a test system that will cover all of the contingencies so that I could even think about providing you with any support. If you come to me with a book-related issue and have the hack installed, I won’t be able to provide you with any support. This may seem like a hard nosed attitude to take, but there simply isn’t any way I can support you.

 

Texting and Common Sense

I had written a post some time ago entitled Determining When Technology Hurts that caused quite a stir. Some people accused me of being anti-technology (a luddite, which is actually a misnomer because the Luddites weren’t anti-technology either). If you read the post again, you’ll find that I’m actually pro-technology, I simply espouse common sense when using it. Using the right technology at the right time is an essential component of using technology responsibly and gaining the maximum benefit from it.

When I read about people doing all sorts of weird things while trying to text, the only thing that comes to mind is that they really need to reconsider their use of the technology. Obviously, it doesn’t work to text and drive at the same time, yet people continue to do it. The latest nonsensical use of technology that I read is about people who insist on texting 911, rather than call. It turns out that most 911 call centers aren’t equipped to handle texting, so texting doesn’t produce a useful result.

However, the problem is more subtle than simply not reaching 911 when you really need the service. After having had to call 911 several times to help my wife as a caregiver, I’ve learned that the officer responding to the call often needs more information. A text can’t provide this information, but a call can. The officer can request additional information that can make the difference between saving and losing a life.

The FCC has mandated that 911 centers do indeed implement a texting interface, but has no power to enforce it. The main reason for the texting interface is to address accessibility concerns for people who truly can’t call 911. It’s not meant as a method for perfectly able bodied people to text instead of calling. The truth is that even with a text interface, 911 works better with a call simply because a call allows for complete communication that is usually faster than texting will allow.

When working with technology, it pays to think things through and use the appropriate technology for a particular need. Let me know your thoughts on texting 911 at [email protected].

 

Death of Windows XP? (Part 3)

Questions continue to come in from readers who are still using Windows XP despite the fact that Microsoft is only marginally supporting it. Yes, it’s the operating system that refuses to die and readers really are confused as to why Microsoft has decided to kill what is obviously a popular operating system. They’re in good company. In fact, some authors, such as John Dvorak, have gone a lot further in their negative comments regarding the demise of Windows XP. The point is that Microsoft is quite determined to force anyone they can into using Windows 8.1, whether it works for them or not. It doesn’t seem to matter that people still have perfectly usable systems that are happily running Windows XP without problem.

My first two posts on this topic, Death of Windows XP? and Death of Windows XP? (Part 2) should have addressed any questions that people reading my books might have. Essentially, I recommend updating to Windows 7 (for business users) or Windows 8.1 (for consumers) when your hardware begins to die of old age or your needs change.

 


I no longer have access to a Windows XP system, so I’m not able to provide support for my old Windows XP books at this point in time. If you have one of my old Windows XP books, you’ll need to use it as is. I haven’t purposely gone out of my way to orphan the books, but the technology is old and I simply don’t have the resources to provide support for these books any longer. In addition, none of my current programming books are designed for Windows XP developers.

In the meantime, you need to ensure that you get security updates. Microsoft has extended a limited level of security support until 14 July 2015 that includes malware signatures and the associated engine. You won’t receive any sort of bug fixes. In order to enhance the security of your environment, you may want to consider these changes to your system:


  • Use a browser that receives regular security upgrades, such as Chrome or Firefox (IE is a bad choice because Microsoft won’t update it).

  • Remove any software that is prone to security problems, such as Java.

  • Rely on an account with limited privileges, rather than use the Administrator account.
  • Update any application software as often as is possible.
  • Keep the number of installed applications as small as is possible.
  • Examine your system (especially your hard drive) for signs of intruders (such as unexplained processes) on a regular basis.

  • Stay offline whenever possible.

These strategies can help you out for a while, but they’re short term solutions. Eventually, you need to go offline permanently (such as when using the system to run older games) or upgrade to something newer. Please let me know whether you have any additional questions about Windows XP and how it affects support for my books at [email protected].

Death of Windows XP? (Part 2)

The fact that Windows XP, despite some pretty aggressive attack by Microsoft on its own product, is still alive isn’t in doubt. Of course, there is the matter of support to consider. Microsoft has decided not to provide any more support for Windows XP unless you’re a big company or government organization with immensely deep pockets and have a lot of cash to spend. Stories abound about the Dutch and British governments forking over huge bucks to keep their copies of Windows XP patched. Of course, the IRS is in on it too. (Microsoft begrudgingly decided to provide security updates for Windows XP until 14 July 2015 after a lot of complaining.)

My previous post on this topic, Death of Windows XP?, discussed some of the pros and cons of keeping the aging operating system around. In general, it’s a good idea to update to Windows 7 if you have equipment that can run it. Windows 8 has received a lot of negative press, especially for business needs. After working with it for a while myself, I see it as a good consumer operating system, but not necessarily something a business would want to use. Even with the updates, Windows 8 simply forces the user to work too hard to get things done in a manner that businesses would normally do them.

What surprised me this past week (and it shouldn’t have) is that some larger organizations are taking matters into their own hands. For example, if you’re a Windows XP user in China, you can get updates for your Windows XP installation from Qihoo 360. The point is that it appears that Windows XP will continue to receive patches and security updates even if Microsoft isn’t involved. This process almost reminds me of what happened to IBM when it started to drop the ball on the PC. At one time, everything revolved around IBM, but then the company made some really bad decisions and third parties had an opportunity to take control of the market (which they promptly did).

Whether you believe Windows XP is worth saving or not isn’t the issue. What the whole Windows XP scenario points out is that Microsoft is losing it’s grip on the market, even the desktop market where it once reigned supreme. What are your thoughts about Microsoft’s future? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Choosing an Example Type

It can be difficult to choose just the right kind of source code examples to include in my books. In fact, readers often write to ask why I didn’t choose a different kind of example for a book. For example, a lot of readers tend to prefer console applications because they’re:

 

  • Straightforward
  • Easy to understand
  • Easy to write
  • Demonstrate the code clearly
  • Don’t rely on any automation


Given these reasons, it would seem as if I’d use console applications for all of my examples in all of my books. In fact, these benefits (and others) are the reason I used console applications in C++ All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies. In fact, to this list, you can add the benefit of the same example code running on multiple platforms to the list. The same example code runs on Mac, Linux, and Windows platforms with the GCC compiler. Even with this book, however, I’ve had readers write to ask why I didn’t use a different compiler or IDE and why I didn’t include examples that demonstrate the ability to use C++ to create user interfaces in anything but Visual Studio (the new edition of the book won’t include the Visual Studio examples).

Some books don’t lend themselves to console applications. For example, one of the purposes of Microsoft ADO.NET Entity Framework Step by Step is to show how you can use the automation provided by Visual Studio to write your applications with less code and in significantly less time. Not everyone likes the automation and I’ve actually had a few readers ask why I couldn’t write the examples using a console application format. The problem is that few people use the Entity Framework with console applications and the automation is there to simplify things. I understand that other books may provide console application examples, but I chose to provide the examples in a form that the majority of my readers would use in a real world setting.

Trying to come up with a book that pleases everyone is simply impossible because everyone has different needs. It all comes down to people wanting the best deal possible in a book, which means seeing an example that uses their environment on their platform and demonstrating precisely the kind of code they need to write. It’s an unrealistic expectation for any book. My Getting the Most from Your Technical Reading Experience post explains how you can optimize the purchasing experience to obtain the best book for your needs. The caveat is that no matter how good the purchase is, the book will never answer all of your questions and most definitely won’t answer them in precisely the way you need them answered for fulfill an application development requirement.

Of course, I’m always open to your input. It’s the reason I run this blog and ask for your input in nearly every post. My purpose in writing is to answer as many questions as I can for as many readers as I can in the best way possible. Sometimes that means I need to take a step back and rethink a particular process I’m using, technique I’m applying, or perspective I’m pursuing. I encourage you to continue contacting me at [email protected] with your book-related queries. I always use your input to help create better books in the future.

 

Red Herrings

Whenever a new exploit surfaces, such as Heartbleed, and the media focuses all its attention on it, I have to wonder whether the exploit may not be a red herring—a bit of misdirection used to keep our attention focused anywhere other than it should be. It’s true that this exploit is quite terrible. It affects any server running Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TSL) software based on OpenSSL, which is actually supposed to protect people engaged in confidential transactions. Supposedly, Windows and OS X servers are immune to the exploit, but these servers often rely on services offered by servers that are affected, so everyone is suspect at this point. It’s my understanding that the exploit is incredibly easy to implement and doesn’t leave any trace once the perpetrator has gone. Fortunately, there are also ways to fix the problem and most sites will likely have it fixed within a couple of days.

The exploit is an eye opener for users who have grown complacent about Internet use over the years. Most of the articles I read about Heartbleed don’t even address the user, but the user is the real loser. It’s the user’s information that is gone forever without a trace and the user who will likely bear the brunt of the financial problems caused by Heartbleed. Even if a company is forced to pay some sort of compensation to the user for the loss of information, the compensation will never fully repay the user for the inconvenience and loss of reputation that such an exploit causes. Unfortunately, the user continues to pay a price long after the exploit is forgotten in the form of lost opportunities and an inability to make use of certain services due to a loss of reputation caused by the exploit.

However, I began this post by talking about red herrings—the misdirection often found in the plot of detective novels. I find it interesting that this bug was introduced in December 2011 and is only now making headlines. This means that Heartbleed was a usable, viable means of grabbing information surreptitiously for over two years. It makes me think that there must be other kinds of exploits of this sort that nefarious individuals are currently using to grab every last bit of information possible about you. All the media attention on this one particular exploit is taking the spotlight off those other exploits. Perhaps Heartbleed has outlived its usefulness and was actually made visible by the hacker community on purpose for the purpose of hiding the true activities of these individuals. Of course, there is no way of knowing.

What all this leads me to believe is that individuals must exercise good judgement when engaging in online activities of any sort. No one will fix your credit report or reputation once ruined and counting on the financial community to make amends simply won’t work. These people are rich for a reason—they know how to hold onto their money (as in, you won’t get any). In addition, software is always going to contain errors because programmers are human, so you must count on future exploits every bit as bad (or potentially worse) than Heartbleed. With this in mind, consider taking these suggestions to moderate your online behavior and make it a little more safe.

 

  • Use strong passwords that are easy to remember so you don’t have to write them down.
  • Change your password relatively often (every month or two works pretty well).
  • Use different passwords on every site you visit.
  • Never engage in transactions of any sort with any organization you don’t know.
  • Rely on a single credit card for financial transactions and never use the credit card for any other purpose (better yet, rely on an online-specific financial aid such as PayPal).
  • Don’t expose more information about yourself than necessary.


There are other ways in which you can protect yourself, but if you follow these few techniques, you can avoid a considerable number of security issues. The point is that Heartbleed is a scary exploit and there are probably a hundred other exploits, just as scary, already in play out there. Someone will always want your information and just handing it over to them seems like a bad idea, so take steps to personally keep your information secure. Let me know your thoughts about security red herrings at [email protected].

 

Death of Windows XP?

There have been a lot of stories in the trade press about Windows XP as of late. A number of readers have written to ask about the aging operating system because they’re confused by stories from one side that say everyone is sticking with Windows XP and stories from the other that say people are abandoning it. Windows XP is certainly one of the longest lasting and favored operating systems that Microsoft has produced, so it’s not surprising there is so much confusion about it.

Microsoft is certainly putting a lot of effort into getting rid of the aging operating system and for good reason—the code has become hard to maintain. Development decisions that seemed appropriate at the time Windows XP was created have proven not to work out in the long run. Of course, there are monetary reasons for getting rid of Windows XP as well. A company can’t continue to operate if no one buys new product. It must receive a constant influx of funds to stay in business, even a company as large as Microsoft. In short, if you’re Microsoft and you want to stay in business, rather than service what has become an unreliable operating system, you do anything it takes to move people in some other direction.

On the other side of the fence are people are are simply happy with the operating system they have today. The equipment they own is paid for and there isn’t a strong business reason to move to some other platform until said equipment breaks. The reliability of computer equipment is such today that it can last quite a long time without replacement. Theoretically, based on reliability alone, it’s possible that people will continue to use Windows XP for many more years. I have such as system setup to hold my movie database and to play older games I enjoy, but I don’t network it with any other equipment and it definitely doesn’t have access to the Internet.

From many perspectives, reports of the death of Windows XP are likely premature. The latest statistics still place the Windows XP market share above 27 percent. Even when Microsoft’s support goes away on April 8th, many third party vendors will continue to support Windows XP. What Microsoft’s end of support means is that you won’t get any new drivers for new hardware or upgrades to core operating system features. However, you can still get updates to your virus protection and Windows XP will continue to operate with your existing hardware.

For most people, the question of whether to keep Windows XP around hinges around the simple question of whether the operating system still fulfills every need. If this is the case, there really isn’t any reason to succumb to the fear mongering that is taking place and move to something else. However, once your equipment does start to break down or you find that Windows XP doesn’t quite fit the bill any longer, try moving along to something newer.

As to the essential question about the level of Windows XP support I’m willing to provide for my books, it depends on the book. My system no longer has development software on it because developers have moved on to other platforms. So, if you ask me programming questions about Windows XP, I’m not going to be able to help you. To some extent, I can offer a little help with user-level support questions for a few of my older books. However, I won’t be able to cover issues that my support system doesn’t address any longer, such as connecting to a network or the Internet. In sum, even though I can offer you some level of support in many cases, I can’t continue to provide the full support I once did. Let me know about your Windows XP book support questions at [email protected].

 

Understanding the Effects of REM Sleep on Writing

A lot of people wonder how authors sometimes make the creative leaps they do in books. Of course, part of it is natural gift. Writing does involve some element of innate ability-a requirement that has been proven to my satisfaction more than a few times. Another part of the creative leap is mindset. When you spend a great deal of energy looking for something, you’re bound to eventually find it. We can target how our minds process information and therefore, control the resulting output to some degree. Hard work also comes into play-the best authors research their topic heavily (even in the fiction arena).

However, the obvious factors alone can’t account for the creative leap. Something more is at work than these elements. Over the years I’ve come to understand that part of what makes me a good author is my subconscious. An ability to take information stored during my waking hours and turn it into patterns as I sleep is part of the writing process for me and most likely many other authors as well (whether they realize it or not).

Sleep alone isn’t enough to generate the informational patterns, however. Over the years I’ve read articles such as REM Sleep Stimulates Creativity and Sleeping on it – how REM sleep boosts creative problem-solving. In fact, because the topic interests me so much, I’ve probably read a hundred or so such articles and a few books as well (such as, A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative). Getting sufficient Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is an essential part of the creative process. In graphing my own productivity over the years, I’ve found a correlation between the quantity of REM sleep (and most especially, remembered dreams) and the quality of my output. Sometimes quantity is also affected by REM sleep, but the best writing I’ve done is when I’ve had enough REM sleep.

The onset of REM sleep usually occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep. The sleep cycle varies between light and REM sleep depending on the person. A number of other factors also seem to play a role in my own personal sleep cycle. For example, I tend to get more REM sleep after a day of moderate physical exertion, mixed with plenty of research time (non-writing time). Marijuana is also known for its ability to help users get some sleep. Keep in mind that the amount needed for successful onset of REM sleep will differ from one person to the other. That being the case, if you are searching for answers to how much is a nickel of weed or similar questions related to marijuana units then explanations provided in BuyMyWeedOnline might help with your understanding.

Eating no more than two hours before I go to bed is also a factor and I also try to create a restful environment conducive to sleep. In fact, more than once I’ve taken a two hour nap after performing research to overcome writer’s block. The technique works quite often. (Shorter nap times don’t appear to provide any advantage because the REM sleep cycle may not even occur or is of insufficient length to derive a solution to the problem at hand.)

As part of the dreaming cycle, I’m often able to employ lucid dreaming techniques (or what is commonly called directed dreaming). However, more often than not I simply wake with the answers to the questions I had when I went to sleep and quickly write them down. It’s a technique authors have used successfully over the centuries to great effect.

The point is that REM sleep is a required component for many creative endeavors. It’s not just authors who require REM sleep, but anyone who is involved in any sort of creative effort. A lack of REM sleep may be why engineers on a team are unable to create a useful solution to problems or why developers write buggy code. There is certainly nothing mysterious about the process, except why more people don’t employ it. I’ll admit, I sometimes struggle with my REM cycles which actually made me look into pages such as this overviewing how to get your Arkansas marijuana card, recently I’ve become interested to see how medical marijuana could impact my REM sleep and therefore lead me to a more energized healthy life too.

For some people, sleep as a whole, let alone REM sleep, can be difficult to achieve. Things like insomnia can mean that sleep is a real challenge, and therefore REM sleep is unachievable. Things like turning off electronics before bed or looking into new mattresses like the Best Latex Mattress Australia based can help. Hopefully, with these small lifestyle changes, you too can achieve REM sleep and increase your problem-solving skills.

What is your take on REM sleep? Do you ever stuff your head full of information and then go take a nap to solve problems? If not, would you be willing to give the technique a try after reading this article? Let me know your thoughts (and the results of any experiments) at [email protected].

Odd Nature of Chicken Eyes

When it comes to thinking about how input is perceived, few people think about chickens. However, the whole range of perception has attracted my attention because I see the topics as being interrelated in various ways. I find it interesting that chickens actually have a kind of vision that most of us can’t really imagine. For one thing, instead of the orderly array of cones that humans have, chickens have a disorderly set of cones that actually rely on a different state of matter from those in human eyes. Chickens see color better than humans do and they see a wider range of colors. Humans see red, green, and blue. Chickens see red, green, and blue as well, but they can also see ultraviolet and have a special motion detecting cone (for a total of five cone types to our three).

There are a number of reasons I’m interested in the topic. Of course, we raise chickens and the more I know about them, the better. My interest goes way beyond just raising the chickens though. When I wrote Accessibility for Everybody: Understanding the Section 508 Accessibility Requirements, I experimented with all sorts of techniques for improving a human’s ability to interact with the world. A lot of people might think the book is focused on special needs, but really, it’s focused on accessibility of all sorts for everyone. When a hunter uses a scope to see a long distance in order to hit a mark, it’s a form of interaction that could easily fall into the accessibility category. The hunter is compensating for the lack of long range vision by using a scope (an accessibility aid of sorts). The scientific examination of chicken eyes could lead to discoveries that will help us create accessibility aids that will allow humans to see a vast array of new colors naturally, rather than through color translation (where a color we can’t see is translated into a color we can see), as is done now.

The potential for such study goes even further. Most people don’t realize that men are naturally less able to see color than women. For example, 8 percent of men are colorblind, but only 1/2 of one percent of women have the same problem and usually to a lesser degree. Even odder, some women possess a fourth cone so they can see a vast array of colors that most people can’t even imagine. Only women have this ability. However, it might be possible to provide men with the same color perception through the use of an accessibility aid—one possibly modeled on the research done on chicken eyes.

The ways in which this research could help us out are nearly endless. For example, we rely on the superior smell capabilities of trained dogs to sniff out bombs and drugs. Chickens, as it turns out, can be trained as well (not to the degree that dogs are trainable, unfortunately). It might be possible to train chickens to alert to color discrepancies that only they can see. We could use trained chickens in the same way we currently use dogs.

There are other ways in which this research could benefit us. The actual chemistry of a chicken’s eye is unique. Studying the chemistry and discovering how it works could yield new compounds for us to use.

We look at various animals and think they’re only useful in one way. However, the more time I spend interacting with our animals, the more I come to realize that they really are useful in a host of ways. The next time you look at a laying hen, consider the fact that she can see things you’ll never even imagine. Let me know your thoughts about chickens, the unique nature of chicken eyes, and accessibility at [email protected].