There has been a very aggravating trend lately with banking sites.  More and more banks are finally joining the rest of the world a number of years later, by updating their web sites to support mobile devices.  Not completely surprising, considering bankers are the most overly conservative group on the planet. But without fail so far, each […]

<rant> The web has been around now for over two decades. Whether it was a practice used during the internet’s early “wild-west” period, or something not well thought out, it is time for these practices stop.  Here is my list of practices to avoid and even openly condemn. Re-type your email address Re-entering an email address was a very […]

“The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers.”  — Steven Harris As a software developer, it is sometimes difficult for me to watch technology evolve into the current direction it has taken:  Software as a Service (SaaS).  I have been programming both […]

As a lot of people have done or are doing, I moved my finance tracking off the old (read: previously) reliable Quicken desktop application, to a provider on the web.  I love the convenience of having quick access on all devices I use and wherever I am. But there are still things I will not […]

The ABA Journal recently published an article dated Feb 1, 2015 (ironic, since today is January 28, 2015) which discusses the effects of a recent Supreme Court decision regarding software patents. In an earlier post here, I described the problem of broad patents with no practical development of the idea itself.  There is a movement […]

Recently, it was revealed that the NSA is able to break common encryption protocols used on the internet.  You can read the article here: http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/5/4698808/most-common-encryption-protocols-are-useless-against-nsa-surveillance But, to me, it’s not really that much of a revelation.  And taking the article’s claims at face value will cause the user to miss a practical side of security […]

Verizon FIOS is a fiber-optic system capable of delivering very fast internet feeds to residential consumers, in addition to its TV service. With upload speeds in excess of 25Mb, and download speeds in excess of 50Mb (its currently capable of 150Mb), you would think that this service beats cable internet and DSL internet hands down. […]

I recently moved and had to setup a new home network. Because of the length and number of walls limiting effective radio coverage in the new house, I opted to put in two wireless AP’s: one at the front in the living room where the main input is, and one at the back of the house […]

Isaac Asimov, the famous science-fiction writer, died not long ago.  In the obituary I read about him, there was one interesting statement he was quoted as saying during his life.  One day, while apparently resting in his yard, he came up with the concept of bouncing a radio signal of a man-made object in space […]

I have been a software developer for over 30 years now.  That includes time as a kid playing with technology, time as a student, and professional and non-professional work.  Over that time I have encountered a lot of bad designs, and some good designs in systems and software.  I also have, like every person in […]