IT Professional, who's that?

Is that a superhuman...batman? Might be...

            Some 20-30 years ago to be an IT professional it would require one to have a scholar degree, some good practice in the field and simple ability to express yourself. CEO's would except you to know technical specifications, be good/perfect at calculus and other technical information. Within last 20-30 years many things have changed: programming has gone from lab/factory workspace to home userfriendly environment, there are many new programming platforms and also there are tons of new devices to programm. Also there was a large increase in the number of users and not to mention the diversity of age of these users.  So if you try to imagine the features of an it profesional today you need to think about the tasks he/she(IT) will have to perform. Firstly he/she will have to know what IT is doing, so IT will either have to have a diploma or tons of practice in the field, in most cases both are required. Secondly: since most of occupations require us to communicate with clients IT has to be an excelent speaker. Thirdly: in reference to the previous point IT has to be understanding. And lastly(might as well be the most important ability) IT has to be able to adapt to new situations and challenges. It is not sufficient enough to be best in one particular part, you have to adapt to the situation and develop necessary qualities based on the current factors.

            In conclusion I would say, yes, you have to be Bruce Wayne to be an IT professional.

Left and right of software ergonomics

Software development has had its ups and downs. There are good examples of great innovation as well as total failure. But as it says "we learn from our mistakes".

                As one of the best examples in improvement of software ergonomics I would bring out the creation of keyboard shortcuts. It absolutely does not depend on the program you are currently using. If you have to work daily with keyboard you will tend to look for shortcuts to certain commands, since they lower the time you have to spend on the task. Probably the most known shortcut for regular(windows, sorry do not own a Mac) user is alt+tab combination, since it allows its user to swap between windows without great effort.

                 Keyboard shortcuts are typically a means for invoking one or more commands using the keyboard that would otherwise be accessible only through a menu, a pointing device, different levels of a user interface, or via a command-line interface. Keyboard shortcuts are generally used to expedite common operations by reducing input sequences to a few keystrokes, hence the term "shortcut"

I am sure everyone of you is using one or more(probably more) daily, even if you do not notice it.

                As a not so positive example i would bring out Windows 8. Now i am not saying that it was absolutely bad. No, it was just received with great criticism. The big leap with Windows 8 was the ability to use it on touchscreen . The developers added some of the new ideas but the public was not ready for the innovation.  Soon after the release the model  8.1 was announced.

                The upgrade addressed a number of criticisms faced by Windows 8 upon its release, with additional customization options for the Start screen, the restoration of a visible Start button on the desktop, the ability to snap up to four apps on a single display, and the ability to boot to the desktop instead of the Start screen.

                With a number of other add-ons. After the upgrade the operating system was quite well received and is still being used. Now we have to wait for the number 10. Thumbs crossed...

Open-source vs traditional proprietary software.

           The open source movement is a broad-reaching movement of individuals who support the use of open source licences for some or all software. Open source software is made available for anybody to use or modify, as its source code is made available. Open source software promotes learning and understanding through the dissemination of understanding. The main difference between open-source and traditional proprietary software is in user and property rights, the conditions of use imposed on the user by the software license, as opposed to differences in the programming code.

            Today I would like to point out some of the most popular open source software products with a comparison of proprietary software. As by this time i consider Google Chrome to be the most popular web browser. Another great example is Mozilla Firefox and as a final example I would like to point out Internet Explorer.

            Chrome - features a minimalistic user interface, with its user-interface principles later being implemented into other browsers and allows users to synchronize their bookmarks, history, and settings across all devices with the browser installed by sending and receiving data through a chosen Google Account, which in turn updates all signed-in instances of Chrome. Google releases the majority of Chrome's source code as an open-source project Chromium. Chrome was assembled from 25 different code libraries from Google and third parties such as Mozilla's Netscape Portable Runtime, Network Security Services, NPAPI, Skia Graphics Engine, SQLite, and a number of other open-source projects. Google Chrome is a prime example of software development from people to people. As before chrome came out leading developer was Microsoft with IE. As we all know Microsoft is not cheap. I believe that open source sofware can change our environment. Programmers who support the open source movement philosophy contribute to the open source community by voluntarily writing and exchanging programming code for software development.

            Mozilla Firefox can be counted as a predecessor of Chrome. Mozilla Firefox (known simply as Firefox) is a free and open-source web browser developed for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The Firefox project began as an experimental branch of the Mozilla project by Dave Hyatt, Joe Hewitt and Blake Ross. The Firefox project has undergone several name changes. It was originally titled Phoenix, which carried the implication of the mythical firebird that rose triumphantly from the ashes of its dead predecessor, in this case from the "ashes" of Netscape Navigator after it had been killed off by Microsoft's Internet Explorer in the "First browser war". In general Firefox have tried to resemble Chrome after the exploding success of latter. In general if something would happen to Chrome I would switch over to Firefox.

            Internet Explorer Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It is one of the most widely used web browsers, attaining a peak of about 95% usage share during 2002 and 2003. Its usage share has since declined with the launch of Firefox (2004) and Google Chrome (2008), and with the growing popularity of operating systems such as OS X, Linux, iOS and Android that do not run Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer has been subjected to many security vulnerabilities and concerns. Much of the spyware, adware, and computer viruses across the Internet are made possible by exploitable bugs and flaws in the security architecture of Internet Explorer, sometimes requiring nothing more than viewing of a malicious web page in order to install themselves. Overall IE was one of the first browsers that let its user to connect with the world. In my opinion due to arrogance of Microsoft and because of the fact that they were the explorers in the field they managed to let through some faults which were later used by "bad" people. Because of that and some other speculations that cover Microsoft people have withdrawn from using it. Both Chrome and Firefox offer userfriendly, secure and easy to use environment.

            

Online piracy

Piracy has been a problem since many decades before computers were invented. But nowadays "Napster" can be considered as the beginning of modern online piracy. Napster was a pioneer in peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, operating from 1999 to 2001, it became popular despite the established presence of other file sharing methods due to its user-friendly interface and its overall ease of use. While downloading and sharing music was free it was also illegal and shortly after Digital Millennium Copyright Act was passed. Due to it Napster was closed and Law was victorious for some time. But it was only the beginning. Many were displeased but as one door closes another one opens and there were opened many platforms of P2P file sharing. One of the most popular is PirateBay.

            The start of a new millennium was full of opportunities and lawsuits. But to consider average income of a european or american person. Does he/she really need to steal private digital property? Although there are many reasons for each individual to act, people are starting to see the real reasons for piracy. C.Engström and R.Falkvinge bring out some solutions to this mess.

            They respect the authors and do not wish to harm their intellectual property. But they also think that collecting copyright fee over a period of ones life + 70 years is absurd. It really ties up hands of people who might want to create something new with the existing material. Also i agree with the authors that copyright material should be taxed only when used for commercial purposes. Peer-to-peer file sharing should be free for personal use.

            Engström and Falkvinge brought out some interesting points, that are hard to understand for ordinary people. Anyone who wishes to read the full case can follow the link.