Dropbox is my friend

I use Dropbox on a daily basis. Like the Force in Star Wars, it helps bind my universe together. Without it, I would be losing files, getting different versions confused, and losing access to important documents when I need them most. Here’s how I use Dropbox to be a computing Jedi.

Shared file storage

Because Dropbox is reachable via the cloud over the Internet, I can get to it from any Internet-connected computer or device. I have an iMac and a Macbook Pro at work, a Mac mini at home, and an iPad 2 that I carry with me when traveling. All three have access to my Dropbox folder. I use it to move files from one device to another as well, saving me the hassle of connecting them to a network or using a thumb drive (which is just a tiny version of a Sneakernet connection).

Shared information

Working in IT, I have a lot of passwords that need to be remembered. I’m pretty good at memorizing the ones I use most often, but there are many that I rarely use and it’s not feasible to remember them all. I store them in a plain text file within an encrypted volume. I only have to decrypt that volume and my passwords are readily available. Since they’re stored in a plain text file, they are viewable from any device.

Financial records

I recently purchased a Fujitsu Scansnap personal scanner and have been scanning my bills and receipts into PDF form. I store them in encrypted form, organized in folders, within my Dropbox account. I can access these documents whether I’m at work, at home, or on the road. One of the biggest advantages I see with this approach is the peace of mind I have knowing that my financial records are safe and secure in the event of a house fire or other physical disaster.

Other records

I not only store bills and receipts within my Dropbox account, but also other specific bits of information that I need in case of emergency. This includes important contact information, VIN numbers and maintenance records for my vehicles, account numbers, even high quality photo scans of ID cards and my passport. A friend of mine tipped me off to this approach when her physical passport was stolen while traveling through South America. She was able to use her scanned copy to continue her travels (your mileage may vary; some border folks don’t even believe the real thing).

Dropbox is fast, easy to use, convenient, safe, and secure. I wish it was built into all operating systems, both desktop and mobile, rather than being an add-on (free though it may be).

I dream of universal content and applications

Back in the late 90′s I had an idea that seems obvious yet still has not come to fruition. When we want to watch a movie, we know that we can place a DVD in any DVD player and watch it on any TV. When we want to listen to music, we know that we can plug any pair of headphones into any MP3 player and hear the tune. When we want to play a CD, we know that we can insert the disc into any CD player and hear the music.

We are assured that our content can be played on any hardware, and although the specs of the equipment may vary slightly — screen size, song capacity, amplifier wattage, etc. — we know that it will still function without needing to know any of the internal workings of the device itself.

So why doesn’t this apply to our computer applications and content?

My idea entails users owning some kind of small, personal storage device with a universal interface, basically a USB flash drive. It could also be a smart phone. They could sit down at any computer, insert their storage device into the universal port or plug in a standard cable, and access their content and applications. Even their interface preferences would travel with them; i.e. desktop background, font and color scheme, etc. There would be no application compatibility issues. There would be no operating system compatibility issues, either. The leading operating systems available today all do the same things, they just perform them in slightly different ways. Most of those differences are arbitrary, and a few exceptions aside, they perform them equally well when all is said and done.

To take this idea one step further, a user’s content doesn’t even have to reside on a physical storage device that they carry around with them; it could exist in the Cloud. The use of Dropbox comes close to making this concept a reality but application and operating system compatibility remains an issue.

We are slowly crawling toward this becoming a reality, albeit at a glacial pace. Some file formats, such as PDF and RTF, are becoming standards and are read/write compatible between many different applications and operating systems. But the transparent compatibility I’m talking about still remains merely a dream.

The irony is that my vision is already technically feasible. Solid-state technology offers the high capacity and small form factor needed for users to contain a reasonable amount of content. Embedded encryption within those devices exists to keep that content secure. Cloud services exist to provide access to content in the absence of a physical device, or backup that content when a physical device is used. The problem is ownership of operating systems and applications — there is no consensus on which OS should be used, who should provide it (and get the revenue), nor on which applications should be used to create and manage that content.

This is a classic example of free enterprise holding the little guy back, all for the sake of making an extra buck.

90/10

I have been a programmer since 1983. In that time I’ve learned a few dozen languages and have been paid to write code in 25 and counting. Over the course of my career, I’ve learned a few things that might seem contradictory to popular belief.

Syntax is to programmers what vocabulary is to writers. To learn a programming language means knowing the syntax of the available commands and functions and knowing how to arrange them in the best possible way for the given circumstances. There are 9 different ways to program the same cat for any given language, so a great deal of how ‘best possible way’ can be defined is purely subjective. But ultimately it all comes down to syntax.

I have learned that regardless of the language I’m coding, I use the same 10% of the syntax to write 90% of the code.

As a team leader, I would rather hire someone who artfully utilizes 10% of the code to produce reliable applications than someone who relies upon esoteric syntax to solve relatively simple problems. It’s like that old saying, “Never use a big word when a diminutive one will suffice.”

Users never read documentation. I have written a lot of it, too. I have worked on projects that ate more time producing end-user documentation than was spent writing, testing, and deploying the application. And no one read it. At best they’ll click a “Help” button within the program, but most users don’t even do that. They pick up the phone and call a geek or write an email to complain (the sound of crickets tells you the program either works as advertised or no one is even using it at all).

Inline documentation — comments amidst the code — is the most useful kind of documentation, but even that has a fine line that is easily crossed. The original programmer can comment their code too much, reducing the signal-to-noise ratio. Completely yet succinctly comment what isn’t immediately obvious, leave the rest alone.

Psychology plays a huge role in being a successful programmer. The stereotypical coder has a poor sense of fashion, pasty skin and questionable hygiene, and is anti-social on their better days. The successful coder, however, is intuitive and utilizes interpersonal skills and habits that would make Dale Carnegie proud. Being able to talk with users (not to them) using language they can understand is invaluable. Before the programmer can even think of how to build the application they must first obtain a complete and thorough understanding of what the customer wants and what the customer needs. Those two are seldom the same, but they do overlap. A programmer that is only moderately skilled with a core slice of the available syntax can produce great things if they have the ability to effectively communicate with their client and translate their needs and wants into actionable functionality. Otherwise all they’re doing is skillfully navigating a flawed map that points to disappointment and destruction.

Do computers hate humans?

“Never anthropomorphize computers; they hate that.”

We all like to joke that computers hate us. Some people find it impossible to operate a computer without it breaking down. I tease one of the scientists at work about it because technology is like water to his oil. Or is it a snake to his mongoose? Technically speaking, computers are just electrons zooming around physical pathways that we create. They have no feelings and they certainly don’t hold grudges.

Or do they?

During my freshman year of college, we discovered that the mainframe didn’t seem to like one particular student. In FORTRAN class, we all entered the same code into our terminals which was executed by the same computer, but for some reason Brian’s code always returned an error while everyone else’s code ran fine. Brian entered his code again (it was a simple program; a glorified “Hello, world!”) and consistently got the same bogus results.

So we got empirical on it. First we had Brian enter the code on a different terminal. Error. Then, back at his original terminal, we had someone else enter the same code under their account. Success. That eliminated the terminal as the issue. At this point the professor was involved and expressed a very keen interest in how it would turn out.

The next experiment was to use Brian’s terminal and logged in using his account. Another student typed in the code, but Brian entered the ‘execute’ command and hit enter. Error. We repeated the experiment but had a third student enter the execute command and hit enter. Success. By now the entire class was hovered around Brian’s terminal, looking over his shoulder like spectators watching a close game of hockey.

Through a process of elimination, we removed the terminal and the user account as a factor. We verified the code was being entered exactly the same every time (it was only three lines of code). Changing only one factor at a time, we narrowed everything down to the human element.

The last experiment involved one student typing in the code, a second student typing in the ‘execute’ command, and Brian simply pressing the ENTER key to run it.

Error.

Repeat and have the prof press the ENTER key.

Success.

The mainframe didn’t like Brian. I think he changed his major.

Theft!

Over the holiday weekend, during the wee hours of the morning, someone broke a back office window and snuck into our building at work. They stole some computers and other various pieces of computer equipment. After tallying what is missing, we consider ourselves lucky. It was clear the thieves were after stuff they could carry and easily sell rather than targeting our data and information.

Most people consider backups to be a pain in the neck, useful only for restoring a file accidentally deleted. Creating rotating backups that are stored offsite is more trouble than it’s worth to most users.

The fact is, physical security is just as much a threat as random file deletions or the more glamorous hack attack people read about. We not only suffered the physical loss of expensive equipment, we lost the expensive time spent to generate our work product as well as potentially damaging exposure of secure information (passwords, employee data, financial data, etc.)

The value of backing up your data is only part of the picture. Keeping it physically secure through site security is critical. Encrypting sensitive data is also very important. All three go hand in hand when it comes to covering your ass, so to speak.

Another blog

As if I don’t already have enough going on in my life already, I’ve started another blog — my third. This one chronicles my journey toward writing and publishing a fantasy novel.

You can check it out here: www.ruckerworks.net/writer/

Tip: Use Scrivener for organized writing

Scrivener is a writer’s tool made by Literature and Latte that goes beyond mere word processing. It provides features that help you stay organized and on-track during the entire writing process. They say it best: “Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.”

I am currently using it to write a novel, but Scrivener can be used by many different professions: researchers, screenwriters, playwrights, lawyers, journalists, academics and students, technical writers, and more.

Scrivener costs $45 and is available for Mac OS X. They just came out with a Windows version, too! A free trial is available so you can check it out before you buy it. It comes with a useful and informative tutorial to get you started in just a matter of minutes.

Tip: Track vehicle mileage and maintenance with Evernote

I am going to start posting various tips and tricks for computers, applications, and mobile devices. This particular post is the first in a series of tips for Evernote, a fantastic tool I use to stay organized.

Use Evernote to track vehicle maintenance. Create a notebook for each vehicle and start a new note for every maintenance event (oil change, tire rotation, etc.)

You can even track mileage. Record fuel consumed and miles driven every time you fill up the tank. Use tags to denote which vehicle it is and what event you’re recording (fuel, oil, tires, repair, etc.)

If you drive a vehicle for work, use Evernote as a trip log. Enter the starting odometer reading and the reason for your trip. When you’re done, record the ending odometer reading in the same note. The IRS requires a trip log when seeking per-mile deductions on work-related travel.

Steve Jobs, 2/24/1955 – 10/5/2011

As many of you probably know by now, Steve Jobs — co-founder of Apple — passed away yesterday. He had been battling pancreatic cancer for several years and finally succumbed to that deadly disease.

Jobs had many qualities, but two stand out to me in particular. His priority was producing the best product possible rather than products that produce the best profit possible. He also stayed true to his vision. He was probably the most consistent business leader I’ve ever seen and to have the kind of belief in your vision that he exhibited is very inspirational to me.

It will be very interesting to see how Apple, Inc. [AAPL] evolves now that Jobs is gone. Tim Cook had some time working alongside Steve Jobs as co-CEO so hopefully the company continues to maintain the same Right Stuff that made it strong in the first place.

Rants and Raves

Rants and Raves

The summer of 2011 is fast coming to an unofficial close now that Labor Day Weekend is upon us. There is less sunlight each day, kids are returning to school, and geeks like me look at our pale legs and think, “I should have spent more time outdoors this summer.” It’s a great time to review some of the gadgets, services, and software that I have found helpful, useful or useless so far in 2011.

Rave: Apple iPad 2

I purchased my iPad 2 in late May and have used it at work, home, and when traveling. I ride a motorcycle and go on multi-day trips solo around the west coast every year. I used to take a 7″ Asus EEePC netbook on my trips, but the iPad changed all that. It’s fantastic for catching up on news, weather forecasts, route planning (maps!), and staying in touch via email, chat, or even video conferencing with family and work. It’s compact, easy to use, holds a charge forever, and is great for watching movies while snuggled in my tent on camping trips.

Rave: Mighty Wallet

Although it’s not related to technology, I think my Mighty Wallet is so awesome it deserves mention here. I discovered the Might Wallets from a TV commercial. They’re made out of Tyvek, that indestructible stuff under the siding on your house, it’s more or less waterproof, tear proof, and gets softer over time. They’re inexpensive, $15 plus shipping, and come in a large variety of very creative patterns. I got the kind that looks like a topographical map and it gets comments every time I pay for something. www.mightwallets.com

Rave: Parallels Desktop

I use a Mac and have since 2004. I have used every mainstream desktop operating system available since the MS-Dos 3.x days, including Linux and even OS/2, and have found that OS X is the most refined, stable, and productive operating system available today. It’s not perfect, but it’s the best of what’s available. However, Microsoft Windows, for all it’s detraction and bad reputation, serves a purpose as well. Parallels Desktop lets me run Windows inside my Mac seamlessly, safely, and smoothly. VirtualBox is a free alternative that works great for most users, and I highly recommend it, but if you have to really push the envelope with your guest OS, Parallels is the way to go.

Rave: Evernote and Dropbox

I guess this could be considered two raves, but since Evernote and Dropbox allow me to do essentially the same thing — synchronize tasks and files between multiple computers and devices — I’ve listed them together. Evernote is where I keep my to-do items, and because it quickly and seamlessly (there’s that word again) keeps them synced up between my iPad and computer, I can stay on task and ahead of schedule more easily than ever before. Dropbox helps me keep important files available regardless of which device is in hand at the moment, regardless if it’s my home computer, my laptop, my work computer, or even my iPad. To me it should be built into every OS as a part of standard functionality.