Categories
web

Core Hours for Programmers

We’re thinking about implementing Development Core Hours. This article outlines how another company does it:

https://medium.com/@nannerb/development-core-hours-cd60328a4584

The concept is awesome since I know I have a ton of little distractions that can happen throughout the day. And when a developer gets out of his train of thought, it can take a good chunk of time to get back into it.

Categories
web

When Women Stopped Coding

NPR published an intriguing article called “When Women Stopped Coding,” which surprisingly shows that the number of women in programming fields has dropped significantly. You hear so much today about getting kids into coding and girls coding groups, but I feel like a lack of women is coding is a problem from the 90’s, not now.

It’s sad to see this as a growing issue, the programming fields could always benefit from more diversity.

Screenshot 2014-10-21 13.09.48

Categories
web

PHP: A Great Language to Know

According to W3Tech PHP is used on 82% of websites using server-side programming languages. I had no idea that PHP had such a large market share. In the web development community you hear a decent amount about Rails or Node.

Screenshot 2014-10-20 15.01.50

It makes me feel more special and yet less special. The code I write is more maintainable out of the sheer popularity of the language, meaning there are probably more developers who could maintain any projects I write.

Categories
web

PHP Password Protection – Alternative to HTACCESS

I was trying to put some password protection on a single file the other day using an htaccess file, but was getting all sorts of weird server errors. So I did some searching and a little research, and I figured out a way to mimic htaccess password protection with php.

// Check if Username and password correct or ask for them
if(($_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_USER'] == "myusername") AND
($_SERVER['PHP_AUTH_PW'] == "mypassword"))
{ ?>
Protected Content Here
<?php } else {
// Ask for username and password
header("WWW-Authenticate: " ."Basic realm=\"Protected Area\"");
header("HTTP/1.0 401 Unauthorized");
// Show failure text after several failed attempts
echo "This area is protected by a valid username and password";
}
?>

Categories
Uncategorized

The Finances of Bicycle Commuting

Check out this infographic for national bike month!

 

Just goes to show that cars are costly!

Categories
Uncategorized

No: Tough but Necessary

Saying “No” to a project, a friend or colleague is tough. When you enjoy what you do it’s tough to not get excited about a project and jump right on-board. But if you want to stay excited and not get burned-out or feel overwhelmed, then No is necessary. Seth says it best:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/05/no-is-essential.html

Categories
Uncategorized

Anti-Virus – What a Joke

I’ve always hated anti-virus software. It slows your computer down by using massive resources. It prompts you for updates and other garbage, and of course it’s not free.

I’m the “Computer Guy” that most of friends (and my friends friends) contact when their computer is not working. About 98% of computers I find infected with viruses or malware have anti-virus software installed and running. Now my personal experiences are backed up with this article:

http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/05/antivurus-pioneer-symantec-declares-av-dead-and-doomed-to-failure/

Mr. Dye estimates antivirus now catches just 45% of cyberattacks

There you have it! Straight from the horses mouth!

Categories
Running

Illinois Marathon

I recently completed the Illinois Marathon, read about it here:

http://www.adventuresofnateandjen.com/blog/illinois-marathon/

Categories
web

Data Storage Rules

One of my colleagues sent me a link to a great page on Standford’s website defining their data storage rules. With so many processes moving from paper to online it’s important to make sure users know how and when they can collect certain information. I’ve experienced quite a few staff members in departments collecting social security numbers online using non-secure webpages and data being stored in non-encrypted databases.

So pages like this are needed now more than ever, especially as we see more and more data breaches.

Categories
Uncategorized

Flickr: Still The Best Online Photo Option

Flickr turns 10 today, and without a doubt they are still the best option out there for storing/sharing your photos. I have over 91,000 photos in my Flickr account, and I’ve been using it since 2008. I’ve tried some other options such as Shutterfly, but nothing works as good as Flickr. Flickr stores your full quality photos, they have a great API so you can easily re-download your photos, or use the API to display them on websites.