Latest News from Perl Developer's Journal

The Development of a Perl-based Password Complexity Filter

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT

If you watch the news regularly, it is easy to notice that in almost any given week some company seems to have experienced an electronic break-in or in some other way experienced a form of computer or network compromise. While computer security professionals can help to mitigate such risks via the proper configuration of firewalls, careful crafting of Access Control Lists, the application of updates, and the judicious application of file permission, among other measures, it’s important that one of the most fundamental ways of improving the security of a computer or network resource not be overlooked – that of a really strong password. To this day passwords remain one of the weaker links in the security of electronic resources, and their potential for exploitation needs to be examined more carefully than ever. With the growing trend of cloud computing-based initiatives, many resources that were formerly enclosed within the wall of a business are now available over a network, thereby mitigating the physical security measures the previously helped to limit access to such resources. Given that many of these cloud-based solutions are accessed via user name and password combinations, a strong password is often the primary form of defense against illicit access.

Microsoft Confirms Itanium Sunset

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:00:00 EDT

Told ya so. Microsoft acknowledged in a blog Friday that it’ll be terminating Itanium support with Windows Server 2008 R2 because, it says, the x86 has effectively caught up with the scalability and reliability needed for today’s mission-critical workloads – anyway the chip never reached critical mass. SQL Server 2008 R2 and Visual Studio 2010 will be the end of the line for the Itanium too. All of the servers currently support the Tukwila state-of-the-art Itanium chip. Microsoft’s lifecycle support will finally end on July 9, 2013, while extended support will go on until July 10, 2018.

HP Servers, Storage, Networking Gets New Marketing Boss

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 22:00:00 EDT

HP has tapped David Shirk, until a moment ago executive VP of global marketing and communications at Siemens, to be senior VP of worldwide marketing of its $54 billion Enterprise Business. The move recasts incumbent Deborah Nelson as chief of staff for the enterprise sales, marketing and strategy unit at HP. Both Shirk and Nelson will report to Tom Hogan, head of enterprise sales, marketing and strategy. HP’s Enterprise Business includes its servers, storage, networking, software and services.

Red Hat Named “Silver Sponsor” of Cloud Expo East

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:00:00 EDT

SYS-CON Events announced today that Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions and a leader in delivering the infrastructure necessary for reliable, agile, and cost-effective cloud computing, has been named “Silver Sponsor” of SYS-CON's 5th International Cloud Expo (www.CloudComputingExpo.com), which will take place on April 19-21, 2010, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Cloud Expo is the world's leading Cloud-focused event since 2007, and is held five times a year, in New York City, Silicon Valley, Prague, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Many of the world's leading public clouds and IT departments leverage Red Hat's legendary value and award-winning technologies to build interoperable, flexible and scalable cloud infrastructures. Combining its technology leadership and broad application ecosystem, Red Hat offers one of the easiest on-ramps to the cloud for both Linux and Windows environments.

Red Hat's REV to Support Desktop Virtualization

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 22:00:00 EDT

The first beta of the KVM-based Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (REV) 2.2 – a rev of the stuff IBM is using for its test & dev cloud – was pushed out the door Monday and for the first time the widgetry supports both virtual servers and virtual desktops. The desktop stuff isn’t standalone anymore. The SPICE (Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments) protocol that Red Hat got when it bought Qumranet about 18 months ago renders the desktops. There’s a connection broker and a web portal where users go to access their desktops. The beta can also do other tricks like import and export virtual machine images and templates from VMware, Citrix and Microsoft using the Open Virtualization Format (OVF) and automatically convert VMware or Xen virtual machines into KVM virtual machines complements of its V2V tool – well, it can if they were Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, 4 or 5 virtual machines to begin with.

GMA Coverage of Pacquiao-Clottey Fight a Disgrace

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:23:00 EDT

Estimates of poverty in the Philippines vary, but it's realistic to say that 40% of the country's 92 million people fall below a poverty line no matter where it's drawn. Another 20% or so struggle to have more than one meal a day. About 25 million fall into an emerging "middle class," but this is a middle class along the lines of the US in 1963.

Cloud Power Panel at Cloud Expo Streaming Live on SYS-CON.TV

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:30:00 EST

Cloud Computing, the long-held dream of computing as a utility, has the potential to transform a large part of the IT industry, making software even more attractive as a service and shaping the way IT hardware is designed and purchased. But if it is already a commercial reality, why does Richard Stallman call it "worse than stupidity"?

Are You Pushing Too Much Paper?

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST

Whether you are an electrical supplies wholesaler or a manufacturer of oilfield equipment, the challenge is the same: Are you maximizing your margins by keeping your administrative processes as streamlined as possible? Or, are you wasting time and money by supporting paper-intensive processes to handle quotes, orders, ship notices, receipt documents and invoices? Unfortunately, many companies face this challenge and feel as if they are pushing too much paper dealing with their suppliers, customers, and transportation providers, but they do not know how to break the cycle.

Sun Announces GlassFish 3.0 Webinar

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 23:15:00 EST

The GlassFish Web Stack is a pre-integrated and optimized AMP stack that provides enterprise-grade support for popular open source components such as Apache Web Server, PHP and mod_jk, among others. Watch this webinar and learn to leverage the AMP/SAMP stack with your existing GlassFish Enterprise Server deployments in your organization.

Google Says "Cloud Computing Is" ...

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:15:00 EST

Techcrunch reports that Google has some implicit suggestions about newspapers, based on the drop-down suggestions it gives when you begin a search with "Newspapers are." It's a nice example of the hive mind at work. But check out the first suggestion Google gives you if you type "Cloud Computing is" into a Google search bar. I won't spoil the surprise here. Interestingly, Google used to give similar suggestions for "SOA is", but the results are now a lot less frank and confrontational than they were a month ago. Does this show a change in general attitude about SOA, or is it just that Google cleaned up the results? hmm.

Share Thanksgiving PowerPoint Photo Albums

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:15:00 EST

Thanksgiving is a happy time in which we have a good rest and reunite with family and friends. In the festival, you must have taken a lot of photos. Do you want to show them through TV, the Web, mobile devices, etc for wide sharing? If yes, one solution is to create a PowerPoint photo album.

The Seven Deadly Sins of Software Test Automation

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:45:00 EST

For the past 15-plus years, organisations have turned to test automation as a way to improve efficiency in the Software Development Life Cycle. Yet despite heavy investment, software testing is still often the bottleneck in the delivery cycle. In a recent survey of CIOs, Original Software found that only 6% were totally happy with their automation. The scary thing is that this is tolerated - It’s the norm!

Cloud Expo New York Call for Papers Now Open

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:15:00 EST

Cloud computing is a game changer. The cloud is disrupting traditional software and hardware business models by disrupting how IT service gets delivered. Entrepreneurial opportunities abound as this classic disruptive technology begins to proliferate, so it is no surprise that SYS-CON's industry-leading International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo series is going from strength to strength.

Cloud Computing Drives Real World Enterprise IT Value

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:45:00 EDT

Cloud computing will no doubt transform the very way traditional infrastructure and application services are being delivered. We hear a lot about the benefits of cloud computing such as improved application development and deployment efficiencies, lower cost of entry, and faster time to provision. But how does cloud computing fit in real world enterprises? In his session at Cloud Computing Conference & Expo, Watson Wat, CTO for Oracle On Demand, will discuss future and current cloud capabilities relative to mainstream IT.

Revolutionizing Security Through Virtualization

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Achieve unprecedented levels of security and efficiency by implementing capabilities available in next generation of security for virtualized environments. Purpose-built security solutions that address the unique demands and opportunities present in the virtual environment can be leveraged to provide government CSOs and security administrators with a level of security and simplicity which is not available in physical world deployments.

Moving Your RIA Apps into the Cloud: Seven Challenges

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:45:00 EDT

Rich Internet Applications has become a de facto standard for enterprise software applications. Cloud computing is becoming the standard for software delivery. However, if you want to move your RIA apps into the cloud, using your favorite AJAX framework and putting them in a third-party hosting is not just enough.

The Cloud Bubble: Is Computing Becoming a Utility?

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:15:00 EDT

The Gartner Hype cycle research shows Cloud Computing as being on the peak of expectations… the very top of the hype bubble roller coaster. Vendors are looking for something to sell, and the consolidation of the data center, reducing operational cost and economy of scale are as convenient of an excuse as anything. There are some fundamental technologies as well that will make a big difference such as Virtualization.

Pixamba CEO Launches Stock Photography Topic on Ulitzer

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EDT

Pixamba CEO David Mail launched today Stock Photography topic on Ulitzer. David Mail is a CEO of Pixamba Ltd., a royalty free stock photography agency and media services company. Pixamba offers microstock and midstock images at affordable prices starting from $0.75/image. Pixamba is also a developer of ProStockMaster software, the first in the world desktop workflow management application for contributing stock artists.

Animation Doesn't Always Require a Computer

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:30:00 EDT

The "Got Talent" franchise is world wide and is running in dozens of countries (Simon Cowell must be making a fortune!!). The Ukraine winner is Kseniya Simonova who won with this amazing animation. If you look you will see that she is using only sand on top of a light table. It is breathtaking.

You Don’t Know Your Competition…

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:15:00 EDT

Let’s make a little wager… I’ll bet you just about anything that I know your competition better than you. “How much?” you ask. Well, how much do you have? Let me immediately apologize for the arrogant nature of the question. However, I still feel confident that I’ll win the bet. Not because I’m smarter, have researched more, or have some innate psychic abilities. It’s because you think of the wrong business — or an incorrect individual — as your competition. Most of us believe our competition is the company that is ...

iControl Languages, Libraries, and IDEs

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EDT

Back in 2001 (wow – seems like yesterday!), F5 introduced the first-ever, open/Web services API for network devices called iControl. With it, it sparked a major shift in the way companies could look at integrating network devices with applications. Leading software vendors figured it out. And, thousands of companies since then have used iControl to build custom monitoring apps, management solutions that more closely fit their internal processes, and even automate some cool stuff including enabling applications to tell the network how to deliver them.

Using a Perl Debugger with Server Side Triggers

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EDT

This article describes a method to use a perl debugger on trigger scripts without advanced interprocess debugging tools. Using a perl debugger with a V4.x server side trigger launched by the server is very difficult and encounters two known obstacles: The server will fire the trigger and the debugger will run in a thread of the detached server process; the debugger will start but will probably not communicate with you. However, if you manually started the server via a shell command then the perl debugger will start, accept input from the keyboard, then you will loose contact with the debugger; it does not have exclusive access to the keyboard because it is running in the context of the detached server process. The next command you type will go to the shell, not the debugger. It gets messy from there.

Wireless Bandwidth: When Is Too Much, Enough?

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:15:00 EDT

The end-user experience is a very unique one. Each person has their own idea of when their experience is "good" enough, and some people (myself included) fall into the category of "when I have too much, then I'll admit to having enough". When it comes to bandwidth to the end-user, this is especially true.

When I lived in Canada, I had a cable connection with 18 Mbps (downstream) to my home, and I thought that was almost "enough". Yet now that I've moved to Europe, I find several companies are offering fibre services, with bandwidths reaching and exceeding 100 Mbps to the home. I now start to look at those as being "almost enough".

In the mobile space, we've seen growth from GPRS and the equivalent of 33.6K dial-up type speeds, to varying flavours of 3G (speeds upwards of 14.4 Mbps in ideal circumstances) and the promise of 100 Mbps bandwidth with various 4G technologies (WiMAX, LTE-Advanced etc).

So I often ask myself, and I often ask customers, co-workers et al, "what would you do with 100 Mbps bandwidth to your mobile device?" Is bandwidth by itself going to open the opportunities for new applications, new services, and most importantly, new revenue streams for the Service Providers? At what point in time does bandwidth become "enough" for the average, paying consumer?

Video calls and video conferencing were supposed to drive the initial 3G rollouts, with nearly every model of 3G enabled mobile phone including a front mounted camera for voice calls. Heck, video capable home phones were predicted in the 1950s and 1960s, yet there are still very few available units, and probably even less demand (despite the fact that the wired infrastructure exists in the Western World to support them now).

Video calling was largely a wash in the mobile space, and instead mobile TV became the rumoured killer application for 3G handsets (and beyond). Once again, mobile TV did not have the take-up rate that was expected (or perhaps hoped for) by the operators. Yet sites like Youtube have flourished, even over the mobile networks.

Back onto my original point, and that is regarding mobile bandwidth. Would having 100 Mbps, or even 20 Mbps available to each individual handset drive the creation of new, killer applications for the end-user, and a new revenue generating business model for the Service Providers? What are the limiting factors in driving mobile applications? Is it bandwidth? Is it the lack of pure, IP transport? Is it user interface (screen size, keyboard size, cursor control etc)?

Perhaps a whole new generation of smartphones will be developed, with larger screen sizes yet more portable than our current notebook (or even Netbook) computers? Perhaps a smartphone / mobile internet device that is completely dockable. IE, at home, you have a docking station that you plug into, with a larger screen, keyboard, mouse etc. Yet when you leave for the office in the morning, you take your smartphone / MID with you, and your 'PC' becomes something that you carry everywhere.

The cloud computing concept has returned, and we now appear to have the bandwidth for it to really take hold. Perhaps cloud computing will drive the adoption of 4G technologies more than anything else; not just your data, but your applications hosted online as well, and licensed by the Service Provider (there's that new revenue stream). In fact, while Apple has the AppStore, and RIM has the Blackberry AppWorld, Google has come out and said that locally run applications are not the wave of the future, and that all apps will be cloud based.

Even the next generation of Microsoft Office (2010) will have a free, online version.

So yes, I can see a viable use for 20 Mbps (or greater) bandwidth to my mobile device. And I can see areas in which the operators can start planning now on how to monetize those applications.

The Return of Relationship Alpha for Most

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:30:00 EDT

Recently, Scott McKain, good friend, world-class speaker and author of several best-selling books (his latest is the just-published “The Collapse of Distinction – Stand out and move up while your competition fails.”), met with me to discuss “the importance of the Return to Relationship Alpha”. Through the Value Added Institute and McKain Performance Group, Scott makes his living teaching Fortune 500 companies and leading financial services firms how to bridge the gap between what their organization offers and what clients crave. This is what Scott had to say:

Will Social Media and Ulitzer Replace Traditional Media Sooner Than Later?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 EDT

M&A activity slowed significantly throughout the Information Industry in the 1st Half of 2009, as the total number of announced transactions fell by 29% and aggregate value dropped by 45%, compared with the same period in 2008. These trends indicate that while desire to do deals has been tempered, it does exist; but focus has shifted to smaller, strategic transactions.

Arbor Networks' Peakflow SP 5.0 Integrates Fingerprint Sharing

Tue, 19 May 2009 08:30:00 EDT

Arbor Networks has announced the availability of version 5.0 of Arbor Peakflow SP, the industry's leading network-wide infrastructure security and traffic-monitoring platform. The new Peakflow SP 5500 device nearly doubles the performance and scalability of the previous version. Peakflow SP now includes ATLAS-enabled fingerprint creation, alerting and mitigation; deeper visibility into the performance and security of business critical applications; and enhanced reporting capabilities that allow service providers to analyze traffic to and from peers, by markets and by geography.

Cloud Computing Bootcamp May 18-19 in Prague, Czech Republic

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:45:00 EDT

Always sold-out Cloud Computing Bootcamp will show you how to take advantage of the cloud. Cloud computing is an opportunity for businesses to implement low-cost, low-power and high-efficiency systems to deliver scalable infrastructure. But moving to a cloud infrastructure is not necessarily as nice and clean as the providers would want you to think.

Introducing Agile: Hidden Benefits (and Some Challenges)

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:47:00 EDT

Our next presentation was by Stefan Meier, Associate Director, Software Development, Information Sciences Department at XDx. Xdx is a biotech company that relies on software and technology for their Molecular Diagnostic Technology. They assess patients who have had a heart...

Lenovo Acquires Hush-Hush Start-up

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 07:00:00 EST

Lenovo said Wednesday that it has acquired Seattle-based start-up Switchbox Labs Inc for some undisclosed sum, and that Switchbox co-founders Michael Sievert, Robert Dickinson and Blake Ramsdell will join Lenovo. Sievert, an ex-Microsoft VP who also did stints at AT&T Wireless and E* TRADE Financial, will be a Lenovo senior VP and report to CEO William Amelio. Switchbox was focused on developing new consumer technologies that Lenovo said are “confidential,” but will

RightScale Goes Multi-Cloud

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EDT

RightScale, the Santa Barbara cloud management start-up, has gone multi-cloud. Besides Amazon’s EC2, where its users reportedly have hundreds of thousands of instances running, RightScale widgetry now works on GoGrid and UK-based FlexiScale clouds too. It’s also working with Rackspace Hosting to support its Mosso and CloudFS infrastructure.

IA and RIA - You Know More Than You Think You Do

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:45:00 EDT

For the last couple of years, there has been a lot of giddiness around the creation or Rich Internet Applications or RIAs. Their fluidity, animation and ability to present and manipulate large amounts of data makes them readily appealing to businesses that want to go beyond the linear processes that HTML web sites offer. They are becoming more common and the demand from clients is increasing. What’s the buzz about? In this session Travelocity's Principal Information Architect will share his experience and some things he has learned about RIAs that validated much of what he already knew.

120 Billion Web Pages Indexed by Cuil

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:30:00 EDT

'Our significant breakthroughs in search technology have enabled us to index much more of the Internet, placing nearly the entire Web at the fingertips of every user,' said Tom Costello, CEO and co-founder of Cuil, a new search offering that claims to have indexed 120 billion Web pages, three times more than any other search engine.

Microsoft Reorgs After Key Exec Bolts

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 10:15:00 EDT

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is now running the company's Windows, Windows Live and Internet properties after Kevin Johnson, the president of the company's Platforms and Services Division (PSD) and a key player in the failed Microsoft-Yahoo talks, bolted to Jupiter Networks, where he will be CEO. Microsoft said PSD would be split into two groups, Windows/Windows Live and Online Services, both reporting to Ballmer.

This Man Should Be Fired from His Job as a Magazine Editor

Thu, 22 May 2008 08:15:00 EDT

This man, whose name is Keith Ward, should be fired from his job for basic incompetence as the editor of a magazine, and here's why. He posts a blog entry on May 6, 2008, in which he writes: 'Virtualization Journal, coming in second, declares itself the winner,' and he continues 'I have no problem with competition. I think it's good for Microsoft, VMware, Cisco and AT&T. It's just as good, and healthy, for IT publications. I do have a problem, however, with publications that either a) Outright lie, or b) Are woefully ignorant, and don't check facts before they publish something.' What are you Keith, are you on drugs?

ActiveState Celebrates 20th Anniversary of Perl with Release of ActivePerl 5.10.0 Build 1001

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST

ActiveState announced the release of ActivePerl 5.10.0 Build 1001, the complete, ready-to-install Perl distribution for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, and AIX. Today also marks the 20th Anniversary of Perl, introduced on December 18, 1987, by Larry Wall. Millions of developers worldwide rely on ActivePerl. Complete and ready-to-install, the free ActivePerl distribution includes core Perl, popular modules, the Perl Package Manager (PPM), and complete documentation. The ActivePerl 5.10.0 Build 1001 is available now.

ActiveState Announces Release of Faster, Smarter and More Powerful ActiveTcl 8.5

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 09:00:00 EST

ActiveState announced the release of ActiveTcl 8.5, in conjunction with the official release by the Tcl Core Team of version 8.5.0 of the Tcl dynamic language and the Tk GUI toolkit. Over four years in development, this release is a major advance over earlier versions.

Telco Perl Powers Telephony With Linux

Thu, 19 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

Could this really be 'the most exciting development in telephony since the advent of the PBX'? Read on and decide for yourself!