The Sony PlayStation Network’s massive failure and yakking-up of confidential user data, both personal and (possibly) financial, has been well documented. User names, passwords, email addresses, and other information have definitely been stolen. Financial information such as credit cards? Sony “can’t rule it out”.
Of course they can’t. Stealing data isn’t the same as stealing silverware. It’s easy to tell if the forks and spoons have been swiped – they aren’t there anymore. But data that has been stolen is still there, comfortably ensconced in its rows and tables. It might be possible for Sony to search logs and audit files and compare them with the attack vector (if they can figure it out) and conclude that no unauthorized access took place. But even if they succeeded, who would be silly enough to believe them?
Read more »»
True – a distinct likelihood when one starts a professional blog near the end (not necessarily planned) of one’s professional career Given the IT racket’s slow recovery, I figured this is as good a time as any to retire. And the allure of not having to (a) go to work or (b) worry about getting freelance/contract work done at home or on the road was too much to resist.
Not that I’m complaining – I started writing software professionally (assembly language and COBOL) in 1973. I’ve done it or taught it ever since. It’s time to call it a career and get on with the rest of my life. My only regret is that nobody is happy enough to see me go to give me a gold watch.
Am I closing down Kokomo Beach – the blog, not the municipal water park? No, I may still feel the occasional urge to shout something into the ether. I just won’t feel guilty about not doing it.
Microsoft wants to drop support for Windows XP. They have agreed to continue to allow downgrades from W7 (primarily for enterprise customers and netbook buyers) but they have discontinued support for XP SP2. Support for XP SP3 will continue into 2014. In an eWeek.com article, Don Reisinger offers ten reasons why Microsoft must offer long-term support for XP. (I had to read the story on my desktop, of course.)
According to a study Reisinger cites, of 278,498 corporate and public sector PCs analyzed, “almost half are still running Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2.” Analysis and marketing firm Net Applications reports that as of June 2010, XP is running on 62% of the world’s PCs.
Read more »»
I’ve been using Microsoft Windows since I realized that my 8-bit Kaypro wasn’t the wave of the future. Not on phones, mind you – I could never see downgrading from Palm to one of Microsoft’s many mobile versions and I doubt I’ll see a compelling reason to downgrade from Android to the Windows Mobile 7 either. A downgrade to iPhone + AT&T is equally unlikely.
Read more »»
Note: My thanks to the Droid Bugs blog for detailed instructions on capturing Droid screenshots on a PC via USB cable.
 |
While reading my email (Gmail) on my Motorola Droid this morning, I found several industry newsletters waiting for me. That last one caught my eye, so I opened it to find … |
Read more »»
PhpStorm 1.0 and WebStorm 1.0 have been released by JetBrains. Pricing is about where I had hoped it would be – and even better until September 1, 2010.
For PhpStorm
- Commercial license until September 1, $149, $199 after
- Personal license until September 1, $49, $99 after
- Freebies are available for classroom and open source project use
For WebStorm
- Commercial license until September 1, $99, $149 after
- Personal license until September 1, $39, $69 after
- Freebies are available for classroom and open source project use
Both IDEs are available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux and both have 45-day trial downloads available.
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with JetBrains in any way and have no financial interest in the company or its products. I have been using the PhpStorm beta for several months.
I’ve been trying to decide how to replace/ refurbish my aging self-built home workstation (XP, 4 GB RAM, 2.13Ghz Core 2 Duo processor). I have all the software I need for a software and web development powerhouse, so I need a platform to really take advantage of the toolkit.
With those thoughts in the back of my mind, I came across an article on Tech Republic entitled “Dust off that dinosaur computer”. Naturally, that got me thinking about – not my next, but my first computer (ca. 1983).
Read more »»
The Sony PlayStation Network’s massive failure and yakking-up of confidential user data, both personal and (possibly) financial, has been well documented. User names, passwords, email addresses, and other information have definitely been stolen. Financial information such as credit cards? Sony “can’t rule it out”. 
