ACM condemns US presidential e-voting
The world's oldest professional society of computer scientists took aim on Monday at electronic voting machines, recommending they not be used in elections unless they provide a physical paper trail. In a new position statement, the Association for Computing Machinery said that "voting systems should enable each voter to inspect a physical record to verify that his or her vote has been accurately cast and to serve as an independent check on the result produced and stored by the system."
Accidental bugs or intentional malicious code in e-voting machines could affect an election's results. ACM said that a paper trail will provide a way to double-check what's happening inside machines from companies such as Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems -- a feat that would not otherwise be possible. Such systems are expected to be used by tens of millions of voters in the US election this November.
Accidental bugs or intentional malicious code in e-voting machines could affect an election's results. ACM said that a paper trail will provide a way to double-check what's happening inside machines from companies such as Diebold Election Systems and Sequoia Voting Systems -- a feat that would not otherwise be possible. Such systems are expected to be used by tens of millions of voters in the US election this November.
9/28/2004 11:30:00 am: permalink
Ten Fallacies of Software Analysis and Design
Carlos Perez's list navigates around an underlying theme: These fallacies have its roots in our mathematical traditions, which is a world of perfect determinism. Unfortunately this static thinking mindset is prevalent in software engineering. It's important to realize that the world undergoes continuous change, with feedback and side effects that create non-linearities, with time that's relativistic and with humans that are unpredictable. Finally, if its not obvious to you, your software implementation actually interfaces with this reality. Amen to that.
9/27/2004 05:01:00 pm: permalink
Common sense breaks out all over in Brussels
According to Tim Bray, the European Commission wrote to Sun and Microsoft and made two specific requests:
* That we consider taking the Open Office XML Format, currently under construction at OASIS, to ISO for consideration as an International Standard.
* That we implement a set of filters to allow software to interoperate between the Open Office and Microsoft Office XML file formats.
The letter also contained the following paragraph which I think ought to be posted on the office walls wherever IT strategists gather:
Transparency and accessibility requirements dictate that public information and government transactions avoid depending on technologies that imply or impose a specific product or platform on businesses or citizens.
* That we consider taking the Open Office XML Format, currently under construction at OASIS, to ISO for consideration as an International Standard.
* That we implement a set of filters to allow software to interoperate between the Open Office and Microsoft Office XML file formats.
The letter also contained the following paragraph which I think ought to be posted on the office walls wherever IT strategists gather:
Transparency and accessibility requirements dictate that public information and government transactions avoid depending on technologies that imply or impose a specific product or platform on businesses or citizens.
9/27/2004 02:59:00 pm: permalink
TiddlyWiki
What is Mule UMO?
Mule is a light-weight messaging framework. It can be thought of as a highly distributable object broker that can seamlessly handle interactions with other applications using disparate technologies such as Jms, Http, Email, and Xml-Rpc.
The Mule framework provides a highly scalable environment in which you can deploy your business components. Mule manages all the interactions between components transparently whether they exist in the same VM or over the internet and regardless of the underlying transport used.
Mule was designed around the Enterprise Service Bus enterprise integration pattern, which stipulates that different components or applications communicate through a common messaging bus, usually implemented using Jms or some other messaging server.
Mule goes a lot further by abstracting Jms and any other transport technology away from the business objects used to receive messages from the bus.
The Mule framework provides a highly scalable environment in which you can deploy your business components. Mule manages all the interactions between components transparently whether they exist in the same VM or over the internet and regardless of the underlying transport used.
Mule was designed around the Enterprise Service Bus enterprise integration pattern, which stipulates that different components or applications communicate through a common messaging bus, usually implemented using Jms or some other messaging server.
Mule goes a lot further by abstracting Jms and any other transport technology away from the business objects used to receive messages from the bus.
9/24/2004 03:12:00 am: permalink
The UK's new rubbish dump: China?
Clare Wilton, wastes spokeswoman for Friends of the Earth, said: "People will be shocked that some of the newspapers and empty drinks bottles they put out for recycling can end up in China. It's an environmental disgrace. The solution is to expand the UK's own recycling industry. This would be good for the environment, create local jobs and help Britain become a leader in green technology."
Sending plastic bottles to China is "barmy", said Mike Croxford, manager of Newport Wastesavers, which collects 50 tonnes a month of plastic from 50,000 homes in south Wales. "We should be dealing with the stuff here, but the reality now is that most plastic in Britain is going abroad. I don't think the public knows where some of it goes. If they knew it was going right round the world, they might not encourage it."
But other recyclers said it was better to send rubbish to China to be recycled than to put it in landfill in Britain. Andrew Simmons of the Peterborough-based waste charity Recoup buys millions of plastic bottles from UK councils, bales them up, and sells them to a reprocessor who then sells them on to Europe or, increasingly, to China. He rejected claims that Britain was dumping its rubbish on China and said that the environmental cost of sending bottles thousands of miles was negligible compared with making "virgin" plastic bottles from oil.
Sending plastic bottles to China is "barmy", said Mike Croxford, manager of Newport Wastesavers, which collects 50 tonnes a month of plastic from 50,000 homes in south Wales. "We should be dealing with the stuff here, but the reality now is that most plastic in Britain is going abroad. I don't think the public knows where some of it goes. If they knew it was going right round the world, they might not encourage it."
But other recyclers said it was better to send rubbish to China to be recycled than to put it in landfill in Britain. Andrew Simmons of the Peterborough-based waste charity Recoup buys millions of plastic bottles from UK councils, bales them up, and sells them to a reprocessor who then sells them on to Europe or, increasingly, to China. He rejected claims that Britain was dumping its rubbish on China and said that the environmental cost of sending bottles thousands of miles was negligible compared with making "virgin" plastic bottles from oil.
9/24/2004 02:47:00 am: permalink
Hidden cost of the hardware upgrade cycle
Britain is throwing out more than 1m tonnes of electronic "e-waste" such as broken computer monitors and discarded mobile phones every year, and new government figures show that more than ever is going abroad. Last year, 23,000 tonnes of IT and electronic equipment was shipped out illegally, mostly to China, west Africa, Pakistan and India...
What's in a typical 27kg (60lb) desktop computer?
Plastics - 6.26kg
Lead - 1.72kg
Silica - 6.8kg
Aluminium - 3.86kg
Iron - 5.58kg
Copper - 1.91kg
Nickel - 0.23kg
Zinc - 0.6kg
Tin - 0.27kg
Also present are trace amounts of manganese, arsenic, mercury, indium, niobium, yttrium, titanium, cobalt, chromium, cadmium, selenium, beryllium, gold, tantalum, vanadium, europium, and silver.
· Source: Microelectronics and Computer Technology corporation (MCC). Electronics industry Environmental roadmap
What's in a typical 27kg (60lb) desktop computer?
Plastics - 6.26kg
Lead - 1.72kg
Silica - 6.8kg
Aluminium - 3.86kg
Iron - 5.58kg
Copper - 1.91kg
Nickel - 0.23kg
Zinc - 0.6kg
Tin - 0.27kg
Also present are trace amounts of manganese, arsenic, mercury, indium, niobium, yttrium, titanium, cobalt, chromium, cadmium, selenium, beryllium, gold, tantalum, vanadium, europium, and silver.
· Source: Microelectronics and Computer Technology corporation (MCC). Electronics industry Environmental roadmap
9/24/2004 02:42:00 am: permalink
IT Recruitment is fundamentally flawed
On the plus side, the number of over-45s in the IT industry is growing. But the downside is that IT employers have yet to fully realise the demographic time-bomb they have ticking away in their recruitment policies.
Across the UK, the workforce is ageing and soon the proportion of under 35s in all areas of employment will be at a record low. As fewer young people enter the industry - and 'A' Level entrants for computer studies are at an all-time low - we cannot afford to allow people with vast experience of IT to be discarded.
The research also suggests the number of women in UK IT has almost halved in the past four years, and that the adoption of flexible working practices is way behind other sectors - the latter a particular irony considering the number of organisations trying implement mobile systems. [Source: Computing magazine]
Across the UK, the workforce is ageing and soon the proportion of under 35s in all areas of employment will be at a record low. As fewer young people enter the industry - and 'A' Level entrants for computer studies are at an all-time low - we cannot afford to allow people with vast experience of IT to be discarded.
The research also suggests the number of women in UK IT has almost halved in the past four years, and that the adoption of flexible working practices is way behind other sectors - the latter a particular irony considering the number of organisations trying implement mobile systems. [Source: Computing magazine]
9/24/2004 01:44:00 am: permalink
We are what we do
Many of us perceive a yawning gap between what needs to be done, and what we can personally influence. Worldwide, 30,000 children die of preventable illnesses every day; 42 million people are living with, and dying from, HIV/ AIDS; and average income declined in 54 countries in the 1990's.
Yet, the scale of these problems simply induces a state of paralysis in us as individuals. Most of us think that we have to leave the achievement of change to Governments, Big Business or professional lobbying organisations. Yet we know in our hearts that this is not enough.
The question is not whether we should act alone, but how we can act together.
We Are What We Do is not another charity. It's not an institution. It's a movement. We are not trying to raise money. We are trying to prove that the solution to the world's big problems is to aggregate millions of small actions. Small actions performed not by saints or 'do-gooders' or radicals, but by anyone and everyone...by you, your neighbours, colleagues, friends, family.
Interested? Sign up for one of the actions now!
Yet, the scale of these problems simply induces a state of paralysis in us as individuals. Most of us think that we have to leave the achievement of change to Governments, Big Business or professional lobbying organisations. Yet we know in our hearts that this is not enough.
The question is not whether we should act alone, but how we can act together.
We Are What We Do is not another charity. It's not an institution. It's a movement. We are not trying to raise money. We are trying to prove that the solution to the world's big problems is to aggregate millions of small actions. Small actions performed not by saints or 'do-gooders' or radicals, but by anyone and everyone...by you, your neighbours, colleagues, friends, family.
Interested? Sign up for one of the actions now!
9/21/2004 05:23:00 pm: permalink
Eclipse Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet
Eclipse has good support for keystroke bindings - the problem is getting an overview of which key / keys provide the shortcuts for which actions. (Individual shortcuts are accessible in the IDE via Window/Preferences/Workbench/Keys...) The solution? This excellent PDF.
9/21/2004 10:56:00 am: permalink
Creative Commons and XMP
Just came across this application of XMP in the Creative Commons project for open licensing of non textual data. Nice :-)
9/20/2004 04:59:00 pm: permalink
Eclipse Visual Editor at 1.0 RC3
Looks like the Eclipse VE project has made another release. Not sure if it's related or not, but the latest copy of Dr Dobbs contains an interest-piquing article about the VEP...
9/20/2004 04:18:00 pm: permalink
So many LiveCD distros, so little time
I just ducked out of a Knoppix vs Mepis debate (started by Kingsley, who else?!), and thought I'd check on the number of LiveCD distros currently available. The answer apparently is thirty-eight.
9/20/2004 02:03:00 pm: permalink
Switching to Subversion
Mike Mason has been championing Subversion for a while now: this article covers the ground you need to know to successfully make the switch from CVS :-)
9/20/2004 11:37:00 am: permalink
Seeking closure
Martin Fowler forgot about Python in his recent blog entry about closures -- fortunately Ivan Moore stepped up to fill the gap.
9/20/2004 10:33:00 am: permalink
Python 2.4
WhatsNew includes Generator expressions and function / method decorators, plus the usual preformance improvements and clarifying fixes.
And some nice sort implementation features.
And some nice sort implementation features.
9/18/2004 09:51:00 pm: permalink
Who says quality doesn't come cheap?
I saw a rave review of the "Skullcandy Skullcrushers" headphones on the TV of all places. They came top of the class, beating Bose and Sennheiser, and all for a reasonably low price. Must remember to get some ;-)
9/17/2004 02:38:00 pm: permalink
Productivity = Quality Management x IT Investment
The results showed that a one-point improvement on the five point scale in management practice produced a 25 per cent increase in the company's total factor productivity (a measure that includes both labour and capital productivity)... [and] additional computing power delivered higher productivity but with a much more modest impact. The difference in productivity generated by increased IT investments was a mere quarter of that from improved management practices.
So, turning to the ongoing debate, does this mean that IT does not matter? Well not quite. What the results show is that when better management practices were combined with increased IT investments, the increase in productivity was several times larger than by increasing IT or improving management practices alone.
So, turning to the ongoing debate, does this mean that IT does not matter? Well not quite. What the results show is that when better management practices were combined with increased IT investments, the increase in productivity was several times larger than by increasing IT or improving management practices alone.
9/17/2004 11:00:00 am: permalink
The Evil Empire attacks USB
There IS a new USB standard in the works and it is at the heart of Microsoft's sudden interest in USB security. Co-developed with Intel, the new USB standard specifically excludes Linux and probably OS X devices as well. I'm told the Intel folks are quite embarrassed about this, but feel powerless to do anything about it. The new standard will be sold to USB device makers as a chance to replace every device they've already sold, and PC makers will be told they can do the same with every desktop. But for non-Windows computers the likely result will be that Windows-standard USB devices will no longer be compatible, which means there will have to be two USB standards, and the non-Windows variety will have lower sales volume and therefore higher prices. Going further, the PC standard will lead to motherboards that will be hostile to Linux, and will likely mean that loading Linux will result in a PC with inoperative USB ports. This, too, could mean dual motherboard standards, again with the Windows variety having higher volumes and lower prices. Scary stuff: full story at I, Cringely
9/17/2004 10:51:00 am: permalink
The Eight Fallacies Of Distributed Computing
Thank you Peter Deutsch for compiling this list of major fallacies:
1. The network is reliable
2. Latency is zero
3. Bandwidth is infinite
4. The network is secure
5. Topology doesn't change
6. There is one administrator
7. Transport cost is zero
8. The network is homogeneous
1. The network is reliable
2. Latency is zero
3. Bandwidth is infinite
4. The network is secure
5. Topology doesn't change
6. There is one administrator
7. Transport cost is zero
8. The network is homogeneous
9/15/2004 04:45:00 pm: permalink
EmPy - Python-style Templating
EmPy is a system for embedding Python expressions and statements in template text; it takes an EmPy source file, processes it, and produces output. This is accomplished via expansions, which are special signals to the EmPy system and are set off by a special prefix (by default the at sign, @). EmPy can expand arbitrary Python expressions and statements in this way, as well as a variety of special forms. Textual data not explicitly delimited in this way is sent unaffected to the output, allowing Python to be used in effect as a markup language. Also supported are callbacks via hooks, recording and playback via diversions, and dynamic, chainable filters. The system is highly configurable via command line options and embedded commands. Scripting a scripting language - wierdly compelling :-)
9/15/2004 04:41:00 pm: permalink
Put a penguin in your Pocket
From DeveloperWorks: Installing Linux™ on your iPAQ can be a great way to breathe new life into aging hardware or make an existing tool even better, particularly if you are a fan of Linux on the desktop. You can leverage your existing knowledge and enjoy the benefits of familiar (pun intended) free and open source software on the move. In this article, learn how to turbocharge your HP-Compaq iPAQ PDA with Linux. Something that really caught my eye was the mention of a special 'pypaq' distribution of the 'Familiar' Linux distro...
9/10/2004 05:38:00 pm: permalink
We need three planets to sustain us
If everyone in the world lived like the average person in Britain, we would need three planets to sustain us. On average, Britons use up 5.4 hectares of the earth's natural resources every year, well above the global average of 3.4 hectares. According to Earthday, an environmental pressure group, the Earth can only sustain 1.8 hectares per person. So how do you know when you are consuming too much? Earthday has built a web application that calculates your "global footprint" from a multiple choice quiz. If you are serious about reducing your global footprint, it is not easy. Redefining Progress, a partner pressure group, recommends ditching the car, going vegetarian and flying a lot less often. (From the Guardian Web Watch)
9/10/2004 10:23:00 am: permalink
RESTful best practices
This is a great article about best practices for Representational State Transfer (REST) web services [that] have won the hearts of many working developers. For example, Amazon's web services have both SOAP and REST interfaces, and 85% of the usage is on the REST interface. Compared with other styles of web services, REST is easy to implement and has many highly desirable architectural properties: scalability, performance, security, reliability, and extensibility. Those characteristics fit nicely with the modern business environment, which commands technical solutions just as adoptive and agile as the business itself.
9/03/2004 11:32:00 am: permalink
