tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55619308939568029972024-03-13T21:29:54.910-07:00A journey (I'm not Tony).andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-23789678067818498812011-02-06T12:51:00.000-08:002011-02-06T12:51:41.826-08:00RAD<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">As a programmer I've always preffered to use the good old emacs as an editor, with traditional programming languages such C and Perl. When I lost my job a few months ago, I had a look for jobs and find my way back into the workforce. I was surprised to find that most jobs were for PHP and C#/vb, which I had no experience.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8ybQvZ9p84g/TU8ISpnl8kI/AAAAAAAAABI/Z43WFyNP_qI/s1600/tpci_trends.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8ybQvZ9p84g/TU8ISpnl8kI/AAAAAAAAABI/Z43WFyNP_qI/s400/tpci_trends.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Programming languages by market share.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Looking at the above graph from TIOBE software you'd think that most jobs would be for C and Java, which is what I had expected. I was surprised then to find that there were hardly any (one for C and four-five for Java) and that it was dominated by vacancies for vb and C#.<br />
<br />
I recognise the fact that windows was not designed with programmers in mind, and hence has very weak environment for software development. That's one of the reasons why I only used windows when I had too (some assignments needed it). Now looking at the job market it seems I'll have to move to windows in order to get out my current low paying job and to somewhere I can work forwards. This is especially disappointing given the fact that I very much dislike Visual studio (which is what nearly all commercial windows programming is done on). Alack-a-day!<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-13202669766053316322011-02-05T15:30:00.000-08:002011-02-05T15:31:27.400-08:00Windows 7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I have an opinion on alot of things, and many of them could very well be incorrect, but windows is something I knew I was right about. A bit back a friend brought me his PC to repair it; he said he wanted mac os x installed because he kept getting viruses. I looked into it and found he didn't have compatible hardware so i just installed XP on it again (Vista is megashit), however within a couple of hours of a fresh install Kasperspy was already telling me it had caught a virus.<br />
<br />
This is the kind of problem that makes me hate windows. Windows also has an "unpleasent" feel about it. It doesn't feel very well designed, vista wasn't much better than XP in that regard although they had polished over the ugly surface of XP. I was just happy that I had Mac os x installed and was free from this hellhole called windows.<br />
<br />
Recently however, I decided to get 7 after reading many good reviews about it. As I sit here typing on this alien OS that feel totally different to my usual experience of Windows I have come to the conclusion they managed to get at least some things right.<br />
<br />
The future looks brighter for Micro$soft.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">(sorry couldn't resist the dollar)</span></div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-22256589797258150822011-02-03T11:21:00.000-08:002011-02-03T11:21:53.302-08:00Overeating + awesomeness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">For a long time I've been "pigging out", literally gorging myself every time I felt slightly hungry. Lunchtime lasts around half an hour, which is fairly typical, however when you take into account the fact that I eat around four lunches a day plus snacks it no longer looks so innocent.<br />
<br />
Somehow I don't put on weight. Maybe it's my metabolism or something but no matter how much i eat I can't seem to get fat. Rest assured I am making the most of this while it lasts, I usually eat around 700 calories in one sitting so it's working out at quite a few thousand.<br />
<br />
As for exercise? yeah i do a few hundred push ups but thats not exactly a calorie burning exercise, just for getting some muscles on my arms.<br />
<br />
I can only hope my "luck" continues and I don't suddenly change into an obese blob ;-).</div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-84172278133971542172011-02-01T15:14:00.000-08:002011-02-01T15:14:35.698-08:00Runescape > WoW<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I don't play games often, and when I do I play runescape even though it's graphics are super-shit when compared with WoW. "Are you retarded?" I hear you asking, because its PvP is 150000% (thats ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND PERCENT) better than in WoW. Once you've killed a motherfucker in runescape you get all his shit, and you can feel very satisfied that he's pissed. You've got to watch out of course that you don't get killed yourself and let some fucker take all your shit and laugh at you, but thats one of the thing thats so good about it, there's a risk as opposed to WoW where you don't lose anything and all you get if you win are some shitty honor points.<div><br />
</div><div>RUNESCAPE FTW!</div></div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-5773391059420368792011-01-31T14:00:00.000-08:002011-01-31T14:04:11.216-08:00Mac os x on my (non-apple) laptop.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Mac os x is a beautiful OS, usually shipped on equally appealing hardware. Problem: I'm not willing to fork out $1500 for a computer, so I decided, after some research, to get a laptop with compatible hardware and install Mac os x on that. I chose to use the iAtkos S3 disc which is a modified version of 10.6.3, since it comes with lots of drivers and save me having to mess around with memory sticks etc.<br />
<br />
I burned it to a DVD stuck it in and booted up. After reading the instructions I formatted my disk into three partitions (Mac, Windows, Debian) and proceeded to the driver selection screen. This was the toughest part, selecting drivers for my hardware, but I managed it without to much hassle and after ~30 minutes my computer booted up to the beautiful sound of mac os x playing to my ears.<br />
<br />
Using it, I can't tell the difference in performance between this and a "real" Macbook pro. It was a fair bit of effort but now that I have a fully working macbook pro 12" for under $750, it seems worth it.</div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-54265748943525336302011-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:002011-01-22T16:11:53.076-08:00C++ vs Java<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">C++ is one of the most hardcore, awesome languages to have graced the computer world. It's raw power and speed combined with excellent OOP support, which makes it one of the best. But recently I've turned my eye to java. Java is alot of the things C++ isn't; it's slow, with automatic memory management, forced OOP and alot of other things that make it very different. I have, however been finding it to be very productive since I started programming in it.<br />
<br />
I started out by making a (not so) simple program to check my mail and tell me if it's found anything. I was blown away at speed and ease in which I completed it. All the restrictions sucked, but my code looked plain awesome, which, coupled with it's short length in comparison to doing it in C++, had me hooked.<br />
<br />
After completing a few more projects, I have come to the conclusion that Java certainly has it's place in my toolbox. I still enjoy coding in C++, and I prefer to do my work in that if it's not going to drag it out, but my old view (perhaps caused by ignorance) that Java was plain retared has definetly changed. </div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-4184083252833070382010-11-08T13:40:00.000-08:002010-11-08T13:40:52.841-08:00Mac os x vs windowsNow there are many of these comparisons on the internet, which usually end up with the windows side saying macs cost to much blah blah blah. But thats not what I'm dealing with, this is Mac os x vs Windows and with no messing about, heres why mac os x is better (even on a pc):<br />
<br />
No viruses:Typical response is that no one bother writing viruses for the mac. True, but that doesn't take away the hassle of having to deal with them on windows. +1 for mac os x<br />
<br />
Great programming environment: This is one many people aren't concerned about, but mac os x with its unix foundation is MUCH better than windows for programming.+1 for mac os x<br />
<br />
Smooth, resource efficient graphics: If any of you have had to disable aero because it's slowing the computer down, you'll know what i'm talking about. Mac os x is much quicker and doesn't feel as cumbersome as windows.+1 for mac os x<br />
<br />
Ease of use: Now, this is where many windows fans say "well, we're not stupid we don't need it dumbed down". So what? You deliberately make things difficult to prove you're not dumb? The fact is, the easier the better. If its simpler I don't have to spend so much time on it, meaning i can actually get things done.+1 for mac os x<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Total score:</div><div>Mac os x: 4</div><div>Windows: 0<br />
<br />
<br />
So there you go, conclusive proof that mac os x is better, you can thank me for solving the mac vs pc debate later ;). Any objections?</div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-51086176414034321212010-11-07T09:07:00.000-08:002010-11-07T09:07:05.271-08:00Screw the people...yeahThe Daily Telegraph has reported on a £30bn railway project for a super fast track between london and birmingham. Not a big deal, the gov is finally doing something for the people, right?<br />
Wrong. The total population of birminghm and london is about 8 million, giving a cost of £3750 per person, even though the vast majority aren't going to use the railway. £3750 is enough to buy a car and at 10L/100km it costs roughly £25 pounds to drive to birmingham from london, yet the current slow train, neverminds the superfast one, costs £40 economy fare. Add that you can do what you want with a car, not just drive between birmingham and london, make this a very hard shafting for an already very sore bunch of people. Why would the government do this?<br />
Well, if they bought the people a car each, they would then be better off, plus having to pay less to travel. This way the people stay poor, and end up paying more so they're doubly worse off.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-18403112970014078872010-11-06T01:37:00.000-07:002010-11-06T01:37:48.013-07:00Results<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/108/4/6/FFFUUUUU__by_AmyJusta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/108/4/6/FFFUUUUU__by_AmyJusta.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>My assignment results have just been returned from my latest politics exam. I scored 57%. 57 fucking percent. My tutor gave me a meagre 50 words of feedback for a 1200 word essay which he marked so low, was he trying to mark it as quick as possible? Maybe grab a few extra minutes playing Runescape or what? Fuck.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-22870529721050693192010-11-05T12:07:00.001-07:002010-11-05T12:08:27.837-07:00Firefox add-ons<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Firefox add-ons</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I was reflecting on the inherent awesomeness of Firefox and its obvious superiority to the other browsers, when I realised that a very useful feature is that it is so easy to download and install plugins and that there are so many available. So on to the main point, here are my favourite three plugins:</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
<ul><li>Foxyproxy, pretty much the ultimate proxy plugin allowing to enable/disable your proxy very easily. Its also very easy to install new proxies and you can even use more than one proxy at a time.</li>
<li>Tineye image search, a very handy feature for finding higher res versions of an image or even tracking down people who have posted an image. The goggle of the image world.</li>
<li><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>User agent switcher, easily switch between useragents. You can make it look like your using IE on windows NT to safari on a mac, with just a couple of clicks.</li>
</ul></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">If you're on firefox i suggest you go download these immediately. If you're not on firefox, well, why the hell aren't you?</div>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-21367711114375208622010-11-05T04:28:00.000-07:002010-11-05T04:28:04.237-07:00Moving to C++Well, after finishing my latest bit of C code I've finally decided I've had enough. No more shall I put up with stupid string functions, no more shall I be annoyed at not being able to declare variables in for loops, no more I say, shall I have to put up with C's miserable void, that must be inserted into the parameters of function that don't take arguments. C++ , with the speed and power of C and the clean syntax, and classes, and templates, and not to mention strings. Yes C++ is the future.andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-77126327499118668402010-11-04T00:47:00.000-07:002010-11-04T00:50:48.367-07:00Power of the people?Recently I've been thinking about the broken promises of the UK government. Society clearly voted for what it wanted, and if the people were the ones in control they would have gotten it. However the government turned tail on a shitload of promises meaning, the people didn't get what they wanted, what they voted for, what THEY decided the politicians should do and what the politicians said they would do. Anyone else noticed this cycle?<br />
Labour is voted in because the tories did a bad job, then a couple of elections down the line, the tories are voted in again because the labour are doing a bad job, it's a cycle. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Prime_Ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom">This link</a> shows that very well.<br />
<br />
Another thing that needs to be cleared up: the UK is not a democracy, it is a republic. In a republic the people elect leaders to decide matters on their behalf, in a democracy the people directly decide matters themselves you can check it out in wikipedia or a dictionary if you don't believe me. We're all in this together, eh?andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-84299488889598584862010-11-03T12:55:00.000-07:002010-11-03T13:07:54.118-07:00DoS studiesWell, I've recently been learning about denial of service attacks, and I must admit it is an intriguing subject. Some info:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>The SYN flood method of DoS attacks is perhaps the simplest and spoofs the ip address, so it can't be traced.</li>
<li>The SYN flood methods (illustrated in the first, rather funny picture) works by sending an ip header with an invalid sender IP address. When the server responds with an ACK packet there is no reply, so it resends it several more times and then finally closes the connection. This is a lot of resource usage for each packet.</li>
<li>When several computers are used in a DoS attack it is called a Distributed DoS attack or DDoS attack.</li>
<li>Another method of causing denial of service, and more effective than the simple SYN flood method is the Slowloris method.The Slowloris method is however traceable because it relies on creating a connection meaning the ip has to be sent. The Slowloris method is also ineffective on IIS servers. </li>
</ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">DISCLAIMER: THE AUTHOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY BE CAUSED USING INFORMATION POSTED ON THIS BLOG. IT IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PUROSES </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">ONLY.</span></span></div><ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8ybQvZ9p84g/TNG9lHbn1NI/AAAAAAAAAA0/2HNt1fgu3pU/s1600/DOS.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8ybQvZ9p84g/TNG9lHbn1NI/AAAAAAAAAA0/2HNt1fgu3pU/s640/DOS.gif" width="444" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(LOL'd)</td></tr>
</tbody></table></ul>andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5561930893956802997.post-49569642459841535222010-10-29T09:36:00.000-07:002010-10-29T09:36:32.591-07:00First set of assignments sent offFinally I've completed the first set of assignments for my OU course that started this october, namely:<br />
MST121 using maths<br />
DD203 power, dissent, equility<br />
T175 networked living.<br />
<br />
They were quite tough especially DD203, which started with a 1200 word essay(gah) and took me the best part of a week.The other weren't so bad, but T175 wanted some weird crap trying to force me to post to the forums, wtf?andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266555912942122240noreply@blogger.com0