After 1.5 years (!!), Scot's Newsletter has reached a conclusion on the Best [Personal] Firewall Software ... (drum roll) ... (more drum roll) ... Online Armor! Read all about it in detail at Scot's Newsletter!
This blog entry by Scot makes for very interesting reading, not just from an interested-in-firewall-software point of view, but also I believe there are some other big concepts clearly "in play":
- the power of online marketing,
- the power of a respected industry leader,
- the influence a key client has over a product's development,
- the ability and agility with which the 2 final contenders were responding to user requests
- and in the future we'll have to see what happens to both companies!
For now, I am still on the previous version of Comodo as I really have not had the time or requirement to migrate, upgrade or change anything else on my home system.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Scrum and Organisational Patterns
Jeff Sutherland has posted an excellent short entry linking some sources together about how 33 Organisational Patterns of Agile Software Delivery that James Coplien and Neil Harrison formulated actually underlie Scrum. Read Jeff's post for further details: Agility and Organisational Patterns.
Thankyou for reading my blog!
Thankyou for reading my blog!
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono
One of my most influential recent reads: Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono. His books have been recommended to me by various people since I was back in first year university. Writing this blog entry has also inspired me to check for his web site and find the Edward De Bono Portal which makes it easy to access other online resources related to him/his thinking creations.
I read Six Thinking Hats directly after reading Lateral Thinking. Both are really excellent reads, but I discovered that I knew quite a bit about lateral thinking already having been exposed to that mode of thought through many people I know socially and have worked with over the years, in some respects it is a natural way for me to approach problems already. Whilst I highly recommend Six Thinking Hats, it contains many references to a number of thinking concerns, thus I believe you need to read at least one of his others, of which I believe none are better choice than Lateral Thinking.
Why I recommend Six Thinking Hats:
Reason 1: Increase in productivity, both my own, and during team based activities such as meetings or workshops.
Reason 2: I, and many software industry people I have met, pretty much rely on a single very useful and relevant style of creating solutions for problems - namely extreme pragmatism. This works well, but is very limited for a future vision, and business people (aka clients) generally are more interested in the future and the environment created for their people.
Reason 3: Increased knowledge of how I think and how others think is invaluable as we are all knowledge workers - aka thinkers.
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
I read Six Thinking Hats directly after reading Lateral Thinking. Both are really excellent reads, but I discovered that I knew quite a bit about lateral thinking already having been exposed to that mode of thought through many people I know socially and have worked with over the years, in some respects it is a natural way for me to approach problems already. Whilst I highly recommend Six Thinking Hats, it contains many references to a number of thinking concerns, thus I believe you need to read at least one of his others, of which I believe none are better choice than Lateral Thinking.
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
Why I recommend Six Thinking Hats:
Reason 1: Increase in productivity, both my own, and during team based activities such as meetings or workshops.
Reason 2: I, and many software industry people I have met, pretty much rely on a single very useful and relevant style of creating solutions for problems - namely extreme pragmatism. This works well, but is very limited for a future vision, and business people (aka clients) generally are more interested in the future and the environment created for their people.
Reason 3: Increased knowledge of how I think and how others think is invaluable as we are all knowledge workers - aka thinkers.
Friday, 7 March 2008
Psychology of commuting in London - thank you Transport for London
Okay, on one hand, I am totally amazed by how good and useful the http://www.tfl.gov.uk site is for travellers planning their route from point A to point B. Coming from South Africa where one has to drive everywhere because the public transport system is not reliable or completely too unsafe to use, this facility for using a rather complex system of very good public transport is awesome!
However - onto my real point of cleverness on their side. Whenever I am especially bombarded by frequent public announcements of "We are pleased to report that all services are running well / There are no problems reported on the Transport For London services" I have started watching the time pass more closely. And I have started to take greater notice of the uncommented /non-excused pauses that occur during such journeys. And more often than not, my journey time is 20-50% longer on such days, than when such public "All is well" announcements are not as frequent.
This amazing little simple psychology trick works so well: telling people what they want to hear. I have noticed how people on the platform, crowding around waiting for the train to arrive are not as irritated by the fact that they are CROWDING and pushing each other for a place or a seat to sit down on. I have noticed how people are so much more at ease when they are jammed in like sardines and stepping on each others' £5-£500 shoes, and bashing each other with bags or newspapers. It really is amazing for me!
Whereas on a real "normal" day, the trains are less crowded, the platforms are less crowded, and my journey is over almost in a blink of the eye.
Interestingly enough, today was the first time I have noticed another commuter who was clearly irritated by the pauses, the crowding, the sardines, and the personal effects damage. And more noticeably, the fact that they too were going to be arriving late for work/wherever they were going, and they knew this even before the train had departed "as scheduled".
London provides so many little things like this - even the daily free newspapers - that make for easier fulfilment of my motto since arriving in London nearly 1 year ago - "every day an adventure"
However - onto my real point of cleverness on their side. Whenever I am especially bombarded by frequent public announcements of "We are pleased to report that all services are running well / There are no problems reported on the Transport For London services" I have started watching the time pass more closely. And I have started to take greater notice of the uncommented /non-excused pauses that occur during such journeys. And more often than not, my journey time is 20-50% longer on such days, than when such public "All is well" announcements are not as frequent.
This amazing little simple psychology trick works so well: telling people what they want to hear. I have noticed how people on the platform, crowding around waiting for the train to arrive are not as irritated by the fact that they are CROWDING and pushing each other for a place or a seat to sit down on. I have noticed how people are so much more at ease when they are jammed in like sardines and stepping on each others' £5-£500 shoes, and bashing each other with bags or newspapers. It really is amazing for me!
Whereas on a real "normal" day, the trains are less crowded, the platforms are less crowded, and my journey is over almost in a blink of the eye.
Interestingly enough, today was the first time I have noticed another commuter who was clearly irritated by the pauses, the crowding, the sardines, and the personal effects damage. And more noticeably, the fact that they too were going to be arriving late for work/wherever they were going, and they knew this even before the train had departed "as scheduled".
London provides so many little things like this - even the daily free newspapers - that make for easier fulfilment of my motto since arriving in London nearly 1 year ago - "every day an adventure"
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Organizational Patterns of Agile Software Development by James O. Coplien and Neil B. Harrison
Covering a very wide spectrum of software team related issues from distributed remote team participation to architecture, to project control and team building.
This great book is highly relevant and useful in my team lead and architect roles yesterday, today, and I am 100% sure tomorrow also!
James Coplien is quite an interesting guy. I've read a bunch of his essays in the past which have been quite enlightening. You can find them on "Cope's" web site.
Reason 2: In my studies of Organisation Behaviour, Industrial Psychology, Business Management and Human Resource Management, there were a number of consistent themes that were delved into deeply in this book, which has a great deal of real world emphasis and quick illumination, whereas the theory texts are more verbose and not as readily applied.
Reason 3: It is also consistent with my past experiences of organisation behaviours that were dysfunctional as well as those cases where organisations were extremely functional.
Reason 4: Like the Gang of Four's Design Patterns, this book now somehow "lives" in the back of my mind (knowledge was deeply absorbed and incorporated into my thinking without conscious study) so that when I encounter situations I can either more clearly identify what's going wrong, and what possible patterns could be applied, in which possible sequences, in order to address the problem(s), or simply refer to this reference book and delve deeper into the issues and solutions effectively and efficiently.
Reason 5: People I have already referred it to have come back to me and been as astonished by it.
Thankyou for supporting!
This great book is highly relevant and useful in my team lead and architect roles yesterday, today, and I am 100% sure tomorrow also!
James Coplien is quite an interesting guy. I've read a bunch of his essays in the past which have been quite enlightening. You can find them on "Cope's" web site.
Why I recommend Organizational Patterns of Agile Software Development:
Reason 1: It is based on a great deal of research which looks to be scientifically thought out, hypotheses were created, samples statistically selected and information collected and then analysed carefully. So its fairly safe to refer to it and the cases/patterns mentioned that worked or failed.Reason 2: In my studies of Organisation Behaviour, Industrial Psychology, Business Management and Human Resource Management, there were a number of consistent themes that were delved into deeply in this book, which has a great deal of real world emphasis and quick illumination, whereas the theory texts are more verbose and not as readily applied.
Reason 3: It is also consistent with my past experiences of organisation behaviours that were dysfunctional as well as those cases where organisations were extremely functional.
Reason 4: Like the Gang of Four's Design Patterns, this book now somehow "lives" in the back of my mind (knowledge was deeply absorbed and incorporated into my thinking without conscious study) so that when I encounter situations I can either more clearly identify what's going wrong, and what possible patterns could be applied, in which possible sequences, in order to address the problem(s), or simply refer to this reference book and delve deeper into the issues and solutions effectively and efficiently.
Reason 5: People I have already referred it to have come back to me and been as astonished by it.
Thankyou for supporting!
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Agile Project Management - a place to start
Over the past 2 years whenever anyone has asked me "What is Agile Project Management"? or "What is Scrum?" I have been pointing them at Ken Schwaber's talk at Google. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to get into a debate about Scrum, nor about Ken Schwaber, nor even about my Scrum Master Certification.
I do however like this Scrum video as it is a clear and concise summary related (closely) to Agile Project Management that can be absorbed within an hour of time.
Thankyou for supporting!
I do however like this Scrum video as it is a clear and concise summary related (closely) to Agile Project Management that can be absorbed within an hour of time.
Thankyou for supporting!
Scot's Newsletter nearing decision about Personal Firewall Solution!
I have been following Scot's Newsletter for a couple of years now and have especially been following his reviews of personal firewall solutions. I like his reviews because he tests the products from a usability perspective as well as actual firewall security. At the moment the 2 leading providers are pushing Release Candidates faster than he can make a decision because they keep making changes that he has suggested or complained about! (competition is a great thing!)
His 2 leaders at the moment are: Online Armor Personal Firewall and Comodo Personal Firewall. They are both free for personal home use and as a current happy Comodo Firewall user I am watching to see if I should jump ship again. His previous recommendation was Jetico which I also liked.
The latest independent firewall leak test results are really enlightening. Make sure you are safe!
His 2 leaders at the moment are: Online Armor Personal Firewall and Comodo Personal Firewall. They are both free for personal home use and as a current happy Comodo Firewall user I am watching to see if I should jump ship again. His previous recommendation was Jetico which I also liked.
The latest independent firewall leak test results are really enlightening. Make sure you are safe!
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