Programming News

CAPTCHA Finsihed?

2008-04-16T02:20:00Z

I just read a post that both Windows Live and Gmail CAPTCHA(Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart) has been successfully cracked by spam bots. Does this signal the end of CAPTCHA. Personally I never liked the system as it was becomming harder and harder for humans to input the charecters correctly. Is there a better system? What would it be? I would love to here your guys input on improving a dying system or comming up with something new. I would love to here from you guys and what as programmer would be a better system them CAPTCHA.

Read the article here

Tips for choosing the right Content Management System(CMS) for your Website

2008-02-07T20:18:00Z

Thinking about adding a CMS to your website or thinking about implementing a CMS type solution to your website? Don't know where to start, well have no fear, I am here to give you some tips on choosing the right CMS for your website A content management system, or CMS, is a web application designed to make it easy for non-technical users to add, edit and, well, manage content, articles, and blog posting. Using a CMS for your site means that you can easily update data on the site while maintaining the style look and feel( via skinning). I am going to specify which CMS you should use BASED on what you want to accomplish for your site:

I want to: Speak my mind or Write a blog

CMS to use: Wordpress
Why: Wordpress is quite simple the easiest, most extensible blog CMS out there. Not only is its interface easy to navigate but due to the wealth of plug ins available it is almost impossible NOT to find a custom plug in to do what you want. You don't even need to log in to Wordpress to create a blog post. You can simply set up a email account and email your post to that email and Wordpress will publish it (Just make sure no one but you knows that email address or else its Spam galore). Already have a blog on Blogspot or some other site and dread migrating the content to Wordpress? Well dread no more as you can use Wordpress import feature to import all you content from blogspot.com. With thousand of themes available as well as new features being available and the wealth of plug ins available, Wordpress is a bloggers dream.
What you should know:PHP and CSS
Demo
Username: admin
Password: demo

I want to: Have Forums, Downloadable files, maybe Post a picture or too and possible Write a blog

What CMS to use: Community Server
Why: Community Server(CS) has everything you need and more built in and its free(this site uses Community Server). Think that because it uses Asp.net CS is slow? Community server is used in larger scale apps (such as the Myspace.com forums) to small site like these. It gives you everything you need to create a site that has multiple use functions. You can create a page for photos, write a blog, mirror content(licensing is required) create forms, publish articles(albeit in a some what limited form) CS is easy to install, gives you tons of administration options and makes managing all of it a breeze.
What you should know:C#, ASP.net, Microsoft SQL, and HTML
Demo
Registration Required

I want to: Publish Articles or create a News site

What CMS to use: Joomla
Why: One of the older and more respected CMS out there. Joomla administration interface makes organizing you content extremely simple. want multiple section with many different categories? Done in a couple of mouse clicks. Want to archive older articles, create new content, trash a incorrect article, post in multiple languages? Done, done and done. Need custom menus, post a hot story to the front page, and move content around? Joomla article manager makes all these task a breeze.
What you should know:CSS
Demo
Registration Required

I want to: Support a Open Source Project with a Wiki and Bug Tracker

What CMS to use: TikiWiki
Why: TikiWiki is a great little CMS that can do a bunch of things but its main strength is its ability to create Wikis fairly easily. If you need a CMS to support a open source project, then TikiWiki is the place to start. Not only will you get a Wiki but you will get a bug tracker,Forums,Blogs,Articles,Image Gallery,Map Server,Link Directory, and on top of that it supports Multi-Languages. Its a great CMS for the technical projects that you are thinking of implementing.
What you should know:PHP, CSS, MySQL
Demo
Username: admin
Password: demo

I want to: Have a CMS that can do almost anything

What CMS to use: Drupal
Why: Drupal is the swiss army knife of CMS. Drupal in reality can do everything. Need a resource library where users can download files, done. Need a custom registration page that ask specific questions, Drupal profiles does the job. Need a site with multiple looks and many different themes for different sections? You can create multiple view with multiple themes. Need something extremely configurable and modular, Drupal has tons of modules that you can and create anything you want. Drupal is simply the most powerful CMS that is content driven.
What you should know:PHP(a must), CSS
Demo
Username: admin
Password: demo

Ranking the Top 10 Hollywood Hackers

2008-01-17T03:20:00Z

THE LIST: Top 10 Hollywood Hackers
by Omar

I was watching "Live Free or Die Hard" and its plot revolved around a hacker taking down the entire united states. It got me thinking: Where does Thomas Gabriel rank among the greatest hacker Hollywood has ever produced? So I sat down and made a list and ranked all the hackers that appeared in a Motion Picture. My criteria was not believability but ability. I did not judge the realism of the hacking scene, I simply judged each hacker on what he/she could or could not do. For example #5 on the list ranks higher then #6 because #5 can hack government security and #6 only hacked a casino. Speed of the Hack was important if it took one hacker 1 minute to hack the NSA and it took another hacker a couple of days then the first hacker would be considered better. So here is the list of the Top 10 Hollywood Hackers as judged by a true programmer, but first who didn't make this:

Honorable Mentions

Trinity - The Matrix(1999)
Why she didn't make the list: I actually had her very high on the list but then I realized that she only was a hacker inside the matrix. Which meant all she had to do was call Apoch and have him download to her brain all the info on being a top level hacker. Unlike Mouse who had to actually hack and write code outside the Matrix. Some might be surprised that NEO is not on this list but really what did he do? All we see him do is give a guy a disk in the first movie which could have contained anything from the guys homework to Neo fixing his excel spreadsheet.

John Connor - T2 Judgment Day(1992)
Why he didn't make the list: Not enough body of work(maybe The Sarah Connor Chronicles will change this, but seeing how he came from 1993??? and now is 2007 technology definitely passed him by, he can't even clear his browser history) We saw him hack some ATM and card readers but that is all.

Luther Stickell - Mission Impossible (1996)
Why he didn't make the list: Tom cruise ran the show and although his work was impressive he didn't get his hands dirty enough to be on this list

Glen Whitmanm - Transformers (2007)
Why he didn't make the list: He seem like a competent hacker and probably could do a lot only thing is he got arrested before we could see what he has truly made of. Also real hackers aren't scared of the cops and would never sell out a hot girl.

10. Dennis Nedry - Jurassic Park (1993)
Why he's on the list:He wrote over 2 millions line of code , programmed the entire pack AND he hacked into the system to shut it down. He also created a virus that shut down the whole park.
Why he's not higher: Why he obviously is a talented coder, but essentially he hacked his own program which is less impressive then hacking a unknown system.
Famous Quote:"Dodgson, Dodgson, we have Dodgson here! See? Nobody cares. Nice hat! What are ya tryin' to look like - a secret agent?"

9. Mouse - The Matrix (1999)
Why he's on the list: He could hack the Matrix, create virtual reality simulation programs and more then likely wrote half of the software that the crew used to do anything in the Matrix. He also created the girl "In the Red Dress". It easy to be a hacker inside the Matrix(see honarable mentions) but hacking the Matrix outside the Matrix took real talent.
Why he's not higher: Real hackers don't die in the first half of the movie.
Famous Quote:"That's exactly my point. Exactly. Because you have to wonder: how do the machines know what Tasty Wheat tasted like? Maybe they got it wrong. Maybe what I think Tasty Wheat tasted like actually tasted like oatmeal, or tuna fish. That makes you wonder about a lot of things. You take chicken, for example: maybe they couldn't figure out what to make chicken taste like, which is why chicken tastes like everything. "

8. Dade 'Crash Override' Murphy - Hackers (1995)
Why he's on the list:He crashed Wall Street at the age of 11 and somehow kept up with the latest hacking technology despite not being able to go near a computer tell the age of 18. He also could infiltrate Corporate security,organize a DOS attack and take over the occasional TV network. Why he's not higher: Too pretty, too well dressed and had too much game for a real hacker.
Famous Quote: "I'm taking over a TV network."

7.Lyle aka 'The Napster"- The Italian Job (2003)
Why he's on the list: He could hack into almost any state and government computer and he also could create convincing computer CAD simulation in real time 3D graphics. He also hacked the Los Angeles Traffic network to change the lights as he wanted(anyone living in L.A. would kill for that power).He also claimed he was the real inventor of Napster.
Why he's not higher: Stupidity, that fact that he choose LAX and to run his hack over a AIR card or a wireless network where bandwidth was no guarantee loses him some points. Plus he should be thankful that he didn't invent Napster with all the legal trouble the company has faced.
Famous Quote: "I am The Napster."

6. Livingston Dell - Ocean's 11(2001)
Why he's on the list: He can hack casino security which anyone will tell you is not easy. He has could hack both hardware and software with a strong ability to bypass any encryption. He also did some social hacking, although he was not very good at it.
Why he's is not higher:More of a techie then a true hacker. We never see him writing code and he has trouble keeping his cool
Famous Quote:"I'll explain later."

5.Stanley Jobson - Swordfish (2001)
Why he's on the list: He can hack the NSA computer in less then a minute with a pretty girl *ahem* taking up some of his attention. He also could also break government encryption and hack any banking system.
Why he's is not higher: First off Hackers do not jump and dance around during their hacking session and everyone knows REAL hackers don't drink wine, also hackers work with code not some rubix cube looking 3D grid.
Famous Quote:"Nothing is impossible."

4.Martin Bishop - Sneakers (1992)
Why he's on the list: He transfered Richard Nixon's personal assets to left wing groups in the 60's no less. He is probably the greatest social hacker of this group. He can walk into any office, bank and complete the hack and make it look easy.
Why he's is not higher: Despite his early hacking exploits, his team really does the brunt of the work in the movie, still given his experience and social abilities a great hacker none the less.
Famous Quote:"You know I could have been in the NSA, but they found out my parents were married."

3. Theodore Donald 'Rat' Finch - The Core (2003)
Why he's on the list: Could hack almost anything, the FBI, NSA, you name it he could hack it. Given unlimited resources he could even control the whole Internet.
Why he's is not higher: Tough choice not to move him higher but he lacks the social hacking skills of the two below.
Famous Quote:"You want me to hack the planet? OK, if I decide to do this, I'll need an unlimited supply of Xena tapes and Hotpockets."

2. Thomas Gabriel - Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
Why he's on the list: He shut down the country. He took down the traffic system, crashed wall street, took over the satelite that controls the TV waves and initiated a "Fire Sale" where everything must go. He also could tap into Air Forces frequency and give false orders.
Why he's is not higher: Real hackers don't carry guns and he delegated a lot of the work to other hackers but he was the man behind the vision, plus he was a little bit of a pu$$y.
Famous Quote:"On your tombstone it should say "Always in the wrong place at the wrong time"""

1. David Lightman - War Games (1983)
Why he's on the list:The original hacker is still the greatest hacker, he could combine the discreetness of a social hacker with strong technical hacking skills, he was a hacker before anyone else knew what it was. Despite the fact he was still in high school he hacked into a secure government facility and almost caused World War III. He could also change his grades, and some how get streaming video (with sound) to work in 1983. Plus he was smooth with the ladies.
Why he's is not higher: Can't get higher then #1 some would question whether he could be hacker in the modern world, I say imagine if David continued hacking to this day how good would he be?
Famous Quote:"Umm... Your wife?"

Thats the list, leave some comments and let me know what you think.

Top 5 Most Innovative and Usefull Web Sites of 2007

2008-01-09T06:27:00Z

I hate Top 10 list but love top 5 list. Why, its simple, I like to keep things short and sweet. Before I continue let me explain what I mean by Innovative Web Sites. I don't me technically innovative or sites that create a new paradigm. I am talking about site whose ideas were so simple and executed so elegantly that you bang your head on your desk and say to your self "Why didn't I think of THAT!!" I also choose websites that either contained a amazing amount of content (no .4) or combined different element to make a new idea (No .2) With our further delay My Top 5 Innovative websites of 2007 in reverse order

5. Digg.com

Why it Made the List: A prime example of what a .net 2.0 community application should be. Digg works off the the simple premise of letting the community decide what other should see. Digg is simple, see a interesting post and vote for it for others to see. If they like it, it causes a domino effect until it reaches the wholly grail of the front page. Digg is a equal oppurtunity community as even smaller sites might get great exposure(it has been know to shut down a server or two). Digg is community ran and what 2.0 is and should be.
What it can improve on: The site would benefit by being able to customize you home page by filtering content and creating you own channels. Also the communtiy uses can be brutal.

4. GameRankings.com

Why it made the List: In the old days (2005) in order to find if a game was good we would log into our favorite gaming website(s)/magazine and read the review, or we would ask our friends if a game they had played or heard about was any good. Problem was that we soon found out that people, as well as websites, had very different ideas of what they considered good. We also found out there is a lot bias out there *cough* GameSpot *cough* that is sometimes driven by advertising, and different personal taste. Along comes GameRankings.com and it changes everything. No longer does one have to ask around or check out different website to see if a game is worth spending $50 dollars of their hard earn cash on. GameRankings consolidates all reviews from all major reputable websites and gives it a score based on a average of all those rankings. It also goes one step further and even includes order games and games systems. (Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for the N64 is still the number one ranked game of all time at the time of this post) For the amount of content that the website contains alone gives this site a spot on this list.
What it can improve on: The interface is starting to show its age, and the search capabilities could be a little more specif but all in all a great site

3. RedFin.com

Why it made the List: The real estate market is suppose to be dead. RedFin.com is doing everything it can to keep it alive. As a person who has developed Real Estate software, I have never seen a more intuitive, user friendly, and data intensive site as RedFin.com. Not only can you search most of the country, you can even see a map of all surrounding houses for sale, check out the MLS(Multiple listing service) listing, see the appraised price via Zillow.com, observe the surrounding neighborhood in a overhead view via Microsoft Earth and check out the community statistics. The wealth of information is staggering. This is what Web 2.0 was suppose to be. A collaboration of different ideas all serving a single purpose. Redfin.com does that almost better then any other site I have seen.
What it can improve on: The site is a little slow and requires a very high speed connection. The interface is a little cluttered and the user can be bombarded with too much information(not always a bad thing when looking for a house).

2. Fark.com

Why it made the List: Ah Fark the great time waster. The "I have 10 minutes at work with nothing to do" kind of site. Submit a interesting link and the staff at fark will determine if it is worthy and label it with a category like "Obvious' ,"Interesting" and "Florida". The stories are diverse, interesting and sometimes warrant a head shaking or a laugh. Fark is always worth a daily look and fills those 15 minutes at work or at home when you need a metal break or have some time to kill
What it can improve on: The filtered content remove most of (not all) of the junk that usually clogs these websites. Also some would say that the site is too filtered as all of the submitted content must be approved before it will be posted.

1. Woot.com

Why it made the List: Woot.com is the kind of site that makes you want to bang your head on your desk over and over again asking yourself "Why didn't I think of that?". The idea is simple: For every day, one and only one product will be sold. The site will occasionally deviate from the one-product-per-day model for a “Woot-Off”, where a succession of products are available for a period of unannounced length, usually 24-72 hours( can anyone say "Bag O' Crap) Add in hilarious descriptions and blurbs of the product for sale, Woot.com is the kind of site that makes you visit it daily just to see what deals are available. Finally to sweeten the deal everything is $5 dollars to ship.
What it can improve on: Not sell out. The idea is great, the Woot off are cool, the community is bargain price driven overall a great site.

Any comment of feedback (be nice) is encouraged.

The O

The Future of the Web?

2008-01-09T06:24:00Z

I think sometimes on what the future of the web holds. I have seen everything from simple html script to full blows Ajax applications. Some yesterday asked me what was the future of the Web, as in what was the next big thing. I though about his question and decided to play Nostradumus and give out my predictions:

Prediction 1: The Death of the operating System(Hosted Applications)

Web 3.0 all about the hosted applications. What does this mean? This means that what ever OS you are using DOESN'T MATTER any more. I predict a huge jump in MAC users and Linux. Everything you need will now be a web application meaning that you don't need vista, Mac OS X or Linux, all you need is a operating system tha can support a web browser.
Prediction 2: Single Page Websites(AJAX is comming):
Imagine going to a ecommerce site such as Amazon and entering a product that you would like to purchase. Clicking on the search button will open a panel on the page where you can scroll through the products you would like to purchase. After seeing something that you would like to buy you click on the "Buy" link that opens another panel where you enter you credit card and shipping information and click purchase which pops up a LightBox window with your receipt.Ajax is going to make all this and more possible. There will be a smaller and smaller seperation between desktop app and web apps in the future.
Prediction 3: Group Driven Content
We have seen Community driven content( YouTube, Digg, etc) and we seen user driven content (MySpace, Friendster, Facebook) hell we even seen a single person drive content(fark.com). The next step? It will be group driven content. The problem with content today is that there is a) too many items that you have no interest in b) With Rss feeders most of the content is already seen by the time you log on to your favorite content driven sites and c) A lot of the content bears no interest to you. This is where group driven content will emerge. It might be a group of friends sharing links or a class room researching dinosaurs, the possibilities are endless.

Prediction 4: Death of Capcha, Open ID's turn?

It has been tried before(Passport anyone?) but Open ID has a chance to succeed. CAPTCHA is going the way of the dodo. Its stupid and getting harder and harder to use. I have to sometimes enter it three times before I can even make out the letters and words (and pray to god they are not case sensitive). Open ID might change that, it will validate you as a person and be the Social Security number of the web( ya like thats going to work)

I will revisit this next year and see how many predictions came true tell then.