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December 28, 2008

2008: a reflection

A lot of things has happened in 2008. On the job-related side, I got my first job early in 2008 (January), the one I left after one week (can't stand the working environment, low pay, like hell). Don't want to talk about it. Then I move to another job (software developer), very relaxed environment, enough pay to support my lifestyle (at that moment). I really learned a lot there, from my colleague and boss, mostly about software related stuff.

At that time, I joined an English course, just to spend my free time. It's quite fun though, to know some cool friends (especially the pretty ladies) and teacher. The course feels like a refreshment after a frantic day at work.

After three months in that job, I luckily got accepted in a big corporation. After I graduated, I never really look for a job in big company, unlike most of my friends. At that time, I thought, maybe this is the chance for me, and it came just in time, my contract just about to end. Then I moved to Jakarta, big city, traffic jam, hot weather, for good.

The first two months in my new job was training time. The company sent me, and about 40 other people from ASEAN, to KL, Malaysia, for 6 weeks training. Wow it is DEFINITELY the best time in my 2008, and probably life (until now). It really change me in some sort of ways, teach me about professionalism, integrity, cultural diversity, and especially friendship. Sometimes I look at the pictures taken at that time and remember what a wonderful time I had there, and how lucky I am to have that chance.

Fast forward a few months, by the end of 2008, I had a huge decision to make. Whether to stick with the company or move on. After the training, I really don't have a lot of things to do there. So I used those time to learn a lot of things from the web, from books, from other people. See what people are doing, how they do their job, etc. My point is, I was very bored with my job there, and I tried to look for alternatives. Don't blame me for being bored. Then the offer came. I've said my farewell to my friends, and now I'm waiting for the next job to start.

On the personal side, life's been boring in this 2008. No new breakthrough that really noteworthy. I've made some personal improvements, some new skills that I've never think of, some new ambition for the future. I spent quite a lot of time with family this year since I live in the same house with them now. Bought (and read) a lot of books (quite surprising though), but haven't really finished a video game, and the most important: I quit World of Warcraft! Wow, that sure is difficult.

In late 2008, I have a plan involving Fitness First. I think I have quite successful there, but it sure costs money. Well, maybe it really worth the effort. My latest ambition in 2008 is to create my first 3D game. Ha, I've heard of that some years ago, but nevertheless, that is still my number one unaccomplished dream. I've learned some 3D stuffs, game engine, even Maya. It's really exciting. Maybe I'll consider it as a hobby, a difficult and exciting one.

So, here are the things I have accomplished in 2008:
  • Some certification, mostly about soft skills, that I got from my training in Malaysia.
  • I had to do call stuffs, reminding people about some event. That's considered new to me, who usually work as developer.
  • Lose several Kgs, enough to make most of my clothes unusable.
  • Quitted from 3 jobs in one year. Wow that's awesome!
  • Bought and read 15+ books. I don't mind spend a lot for books.
  • Got a credit card! Yay!
  • Stopped some bad habits, started some good ones.
  • Got a new job abroad.

That's my 2008, summarized, with some details intentionally left. Gotta start to write my 2009 post now.
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December 15, 2008

Leaving to the unknown

Six months, a personal record for me. Working in such a great place has been an exciting experience. Maybe you wonder, six months? For me, and maybe some other people, finding a place to work is not an easy matter. Sometimes, you just have to choose, decide, even if your decision is against the common logic (switching job in this time of recession? Ha!). At certain point in life, one has to make an important decision. I have received a lot of opinion, suggestion, wise words, encouragement, discouragement, boo-hoo, and more, but in the end, I'm the one who have to decide.

This job has been a life-changing experience for me. Really. I have learned a lot of new things, unlearned a lot of things as well. I took whatever I can take, new knowledge, new friends, learning opportunities.

And here I am, leaving a nice place, to the unknown. I don't know what will happen next, what kind of monster I'm getting myself into. But whatever it is, I will try to take whatever I can take, every learning opportunities, every new friend I might get, every mistake I might make.

Three things that I remember from my time here: proactiveness, positivity, and resilience. It is very true, and I can see it from my experience and my colleagues'. You can't hope for something to happen without doing anything. The one who bring positive values to the team will shine, and make a difference. And even though you made mistakes, take it as a learning opportunity, bounce back and do not get discouraged. I think I have to bring those words wherever I go.
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December 05, 2008

It's okay

I'm not alone.

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November 24, 2008

Favorite Apps in Windows

Here's a list of my favorite applications in Windows. Why Windows? Because currently I'm using Windows machine.
  1. Twhirl. It's a tiny apps, twitter client, built on top of Adobe AIR. It's a real productivity killer. The interface is nice, customizable, and it has a lot of features: lookup, friends/followers, integration with TwitPic and URL shortener service.
  2. Chrome. Yes, it's the brand new browser from Google. My favorite feature of Chrome is "Create Application Shortcut", which lets you create an icon for a web apps that you frequently use and launch it in its own window like a native apps. I use this feature for Gmail, Google Reader, RTM, and some others. By the way, Chrome is a beta software (like many Google products) and still have a lot of limitations, like it cannot render my company's internal portal properly.
  3. FlashGet. It is a good download manager for Windows. Even better, it's free and supports torrent files too.
  4. HyperSnap-DX. It's a program for making screenshots. It could capture the whole screen, certain application window, and certain area in many forms (square, circle, square-with-round-edges, etc).
I don't really have a lot of favorite applications in Windows. Maybe I'll write the Mac version later. What about you?
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November 23, 2008

Contacts Synchronization: Macintosh and Windows Mobile

I've been looking for a free solution to move my Contacts in my mobile phone (Windows Mobile 5) to my MacBook (Address Book.app). Why? I don't know why, maybe just for precaution, just in case I have to replace my phone or I lost it. I'm fully aware of software like Missing Sync and SyncMate. I don't want to pay for Missing Sync, and from SyncMate's website, they say that it doesn't support my phone (HP iPAQ rw6828).


I am also aware of Dashwire, a very good web application that lets you sync your phone (contacts, SMSs, call logs, pictures, videos) to the web. And I have done that as well. But they don't provide a way to synchronize those data back to the computer, only mobile phones.

One day, I bumped up to this web application called Soocial. It says that it lets synchronize your contacts in PC, Mac, Gmail, and mobile phones, even Blackberry, for free. Wow, what a promise. Apparently, they haven't implemented all of those features. The only available features are synchronization from PC (MS Outlook), Macintosh, Gmail, and some Nokia, LG, and Sony Ericsson phones (but not Windows Mobiles and Blackberries).

I finally managed to copy my phone's contacts to my mac, for free. Here's how, and I assume you already have a copy of Windows (XP or Vista) and Outlook, or able to get access to it somehow.
  • Install windows, and Microsoft Outlook (2003 or 2007) on it. Lucky me I have a (legal) copy of MS Outlook, I got it from a door prize.
  • Download either Activesync (if you use Windows XP) or Windows Mobile Device Center (if you use Vista). Search for it in Google or Microsoft site. I downloaded and installed WMDC. It's free but it require a valid (i.e licensed) copy of Windows.
  • Plug your phone to the Windows. If you're like me, running Windows in virtual machine, make sure that Windows detects your phone. It should automagically detected by the WMDC (or Activesync).
  • Tell the software to sync your contacts, and whatever else you want to sync. When it's done, check your Outlook contacts whether it contains the contacts from your phone.
  • Now go to Soocial, register (if you haven't had an account), log in, and go to Connection, and pick Outlook. It should provide a link to download a software to let you sync your Outlook contacts to the web.
  • After you installed the software, run in, set your user name and password in it, and start the sync. You might find out that the Windows sync software for Soocial isn't that good (i.e. crappy), but it should do what the label said.
  • Check your Soocial contacts page when you done with that, it should shows your contacts.
  • Go to your Mac, go to Soocial website, and download the sync software for Mac. Install it like the instruction says, and you could find it in System Preferences. Input your log in information to the software and start syncing. Note that if you already have some contacts in your Address Book, you should back it up (File->Export in Address Book.app), just in case.
  • You're done, and your Address Book should contains whatever contacts in your phone.

As a final note, it will be great if Soocial could provide a better sync software for Windows, and for Windows Mobile as well. Even better if Missing Sync provide a free version, or SyncMate support my phone.
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November 20, 2008

Microsoft Excel Limitation

This morning, I have to do something (simple calculations) in excel  *sigh* documents. I have to append data, and make adjustment to some formulas I have created before. The formula contains a series of nested IFs. It was made by me as a quick and dirty solution, without really thinking about future usage of the document or formula.


Apparently, as more data being inserted and I add more columns to check with the IF, excel keeps telling me that my formula is wrong. I tried to change it several times, triple check the parentheses, and retype the formula from scratch. I was frustrated, am I that stupid and can't get a stupid IF formula to work. In frustration, I search for enlightenment to Google. As I typed "nested if excel formula", the first hit excerpt shows that there are limitations.

A well known limitation to Excel is that you cannot "nest more than 7 functions 

What? Excel only support SEVEN nested IF functions? What kind of limitation is that? Is it that difficult to make it support 8, or 10, or 100, or unlimited?

I don't want to know why they choose 7. I don't care. I'll live with 7 nested IF, just like everyone else. Thanks to excel, now I have to rewrite all my formulas in this file. Not that it's difficult to do. It's just a waste of time. Good stuff excel.

*I wonder whether OpenOffice and iWork Numbers have this limitation too*
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November 18, 2008

Current Favorite Song

Dewi "Dee" Lestari - Peluk

menahun kutunggu kata-kata, yang merangkum semua
dan kini kuharap ku dimengerti, walau sekali saja pelukku
tiada yang tersembunyi, tak perlu mengingkari
rasa sakitmu, rasa sakitku
tiada lagi alasan, inilah kejujuran
pedih adanya, namun ini jawabnya

lepaskanku, segenap jiwamu, tanpa harus ku berdusta
karena kaulah satu yang kusayang, dan tak layak kau didera

sadari diriku pun kan sendiri, di dini hari yang sepi
tetapi apalah arti bersama, berdua namun semu semata
tiada yang terobati, di dalam peluk ini
tapi rasakan semua, sebelum kau kulepas selamanya
tak juga kupaksakan, setitik pengertian
bahwa ini adanya, cinta yang tak lagi sama

lepaskanku, segenap jiwamu, tanpa harus ku berdusta
karena kaulah satu yang kusayang, dan tak layak kau didera

lepaskanku, segenap hati dan jiwamu
dan tak layak kau didera, kau didera
dan kini ku harap ku dimengerti, walau sekali saja pelukku

To play mp3s in your browser, you will need to have Javascript turned on and have Flash Player 9 or better installed.
Peluk by Dewi Dee Lestari  

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November 18, 2008

The Term "Leader"

In many news, I've read a lot about the term "leader". For example: <A Company> is the leader in <a field/software/something>. After you read enough news, you'll realize that every other company is a leader. For me, it is quite confusing, because in my (simple) perception, there should be only one leader.

Apparently, there's this thing called "leader" in "magic quadrant" (from Gartner, a company who compares companies' products in may areas). Every company who falls in that quadrant is a leader. Moreover, the so called "quadrant" is not a finite space, and I think it could contains as many "dots" (i.e companies) as possible.

As for the leader quadrant itself, imagine its rectangular shape, with "higher leader" positioned more to the top-right, and "lesser leader" positioned in bottom-left area. This morning I saw a chart showing Oracle, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, Sun Microsystem as "the leader". That's basically almost everyone in the industry. And maybe they'll post their own news somewhere, stating that they are the chosen leader.

So, my point is, the term "leader" sometimes used loosely. I think I will be skeptical the next time I read about some people claims that their pencil product is the leader (in writing-with-pencil-and-paper industry), or insurance product, or programming language, or anything.
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November 09, 2008

Genesis: A Joke

  1. In the beginning God created the Bit and the Byte. And from those he created the Word.
  2. And there were two Bytes in the Word; and nothing else existed. And God separated the One from the Zero; and he saw it was good.
  3. And God said - Let the Data be; And so it happened. And God said - Let the Data go to their proper places. And he created floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks.
  4. And God said - Let the computers be, so there would be a place to put floppy disks and hard disks and compact disks. Thus God created computers and called them hardware.
  5. And there was no Software yet. But God created programs; small and big... And told them - Go and multiply yourselves and fill all the Memory.
  6. And God said - I will create the Programmer; And the Programmer will make new programs and govern over the computers and programs and Data.
  7. And God created the Programmer; and put him at Data Center; And God showed the Programmer the Catalog Tree and said You can use all the volumes and subvolumes but DO NOT USE Windows.
  8. And God said - It is not Good for the programmer to be alone. He took a bone from the Programmer's body and created a creature that would look up at the Programmer; and admire the Programmer; and love the things the Programmer does; And God called the creature: the User.
  9. And the Programmer and the User were left under the naked DOS and it was Good.
  10. But Bill was smarter than all the other creatures of God. And Bill said to the User - Did God really tell you not to run any programs?
  11. And the User answered - God told us that we can use every program and every piece of Data but told us not to run Windows or we will die.
  12. And Bill said to the User - How can you talk about something you did not even try. The moment you run Windows you will become equal to God. You will be able to create anything you like by a simple click of your mouse.
  13. And the User saw that the fruits of the Windows were nicer and easier to use. And the User saw that any knowledge was useless - since Windows could replace it.
  14. So the User installed the Windows on his computer; and said to the Programmer that it was good.
  15. And the Programmer immediately started to look for new drivers. And God asked him - What are you looking for? And the Programmer answered - I am looking for new drivers because I can not find them in the DOS. And God said - Who told you need drivers? Did you run Windows? And the Programmer said - It was Bill who told us to !
  16. And God said to Bill - Because of what you did you will be hated by all the creatures. And the User will always be unhappy with you. And you will always sell Windows.
  17. And God said to the User - Because of what you did, the Windows will disappoint you and eat up all your Resources; and you will have to use lousy programs; and you will always rely on the Programmers help.
  18. And God said to the Programmer - Because you listened to the User you will never be happy. All your programs will have errors and you will have to fix them and fix them to the end of time.
  19. And God threw them out of the Data Center and locked the door and secured it with a password.
  20. GENERAL PROTECTION FAULT
Taken from here .
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November 05, 2008

Data Masking

What is data masking?

Let me give you an example. You have developed this super-cool system, which can crunch big data instantly (just example). You show this to your client, and he wants a demo, using production-like data. But sometimes, you can't just copy the data as is, because it contains some confidential data, such as name, social security number, email address, etc. You need something like that data, but not exactly that one.

To protect the confidential data, one usually modifies that data (by UPDATE-ing all sensitive data to scramble it). I had experience like this, where we used dummy data, which contained people named "ABCDE". It's difficult to debug, because everything looked the same. Another way to do this is with data masking. With data masking, you could anonymize your data, and preserving its properties (length, field type, format). See the picture below.

Its main usage is for development and test environment, where people need production-like data, but constrained with confidential issues. Another example is when you want to outsource some parts of your system, you could provide test data without revealing your customers' phone numbers. I remember this one time, I worked as developer, and our test data contained data about people in a city who're customers of the only electricity company in this country (which is basically everyone). So, I was able to see who hadn't paid their electricity bill, who had the biggest spending in electricity, and their telephone numbers. Even for the test, we used production database, and tested the system by paying the electricity bill of certain people (they got free electricity for a month). I don't think they have policy on customers' confidential data, but I think they should, and if they do have that kind of policy, they're in big trouble. I don't want some outsource developers messed up electricity in my house, by changing my payment status, and the electricity company could cut off my electricity, and then the developers come to my house and laugh.

So, back to topic, Oracle has this product option for its database, called Data Masking. You should check it out.

Link:

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