ComputerScope (them of the free monthly magazine that somehow I’ve never been able to subscribe to) have a nice directory of Irish Web links.

The useful people that they link to include:

(Irish) Information Systems Security Organisation
Institute of Project Management of Ireland
Institute of Business Analysis and Consulting
Telework Ireland

Computerscope (for Business) are part of the same stable as PC Live (consumer) and Smart Company (Small Business).

As if to prove what a subversive medium blogging is, famed Irish blogger Bernie Goldbach is celebrating his millionth visitor to his site.

I’m not sure of the cost to revenue ratio is for traditional newspapers online, but I’m sure that Bernie is doing very well by most measures (thanks to Google Adwords).

In the 60’s, the Auto industry used to say ’safety doesn’t sell’ - the thinking was that buyers were more interested in new features like whitewall tyres or the latest radio. That begun to change with Ralph Naders Unsafe at any speed and manufacturers became liable for their safety defects. Now any car that doesn’t do well in the Safety rankings won’t do well in the salesroom.

When it comes to Security, are your business applications still stuck in the 60’s? Until recently it was thought that ‘Security doesn’t sell’. That has begun to change as buyers become aware of the possible threats that are out there. One such initive aimed at end users is Make It Secure (it’s run by the Irish Government, so excuse the photo’s). Once users are aware of the risks they are going to demand that providers of software solutions , do much much better.

Dear Paul,

You can place a link from your website to ours, but we request that you
include a credit to ireland.com/The Irish Times and a link to our home
page at: http://www.ireland.com/
Further information on copyright is available at
http://www.ireland.com/about/copyright/
We do not currently provide a page from which we link to other sites.
Thank you for your interest in ireland.com

Please do not hesitate in contacting us with any further queries.

Kind regards,
(Name and address supplied)

The Perfect Gift - choose any frontpage
from The Irish Times dating back to 1859
http://www.ireland.com/frontpage/

Bill Gates has told Microsoft to prepare for a ’sea change’ in the way it does business as it moves from ‘Software as product’ to ‘Software as a Service’, delivered over the web.

As if to hammer home the point, Google have launched a new service , Google Base, allowing you to host almost any (searchable) content online.

It’s good to see the return of innovation.

Developer.ie have blogged about the new Google Analytics tool.

Google Analytics answer the question of ‘why do people come to my site’ and ‘where do they come from’ and ‘what do they do when they get here?’

Previously , your options were (a) Spend a lot of money on an analytic tools (b) use the tools (if any) that come with your webhost. Google has know made this technology available for free, with reports like the one below.

More information at: www.google.com/analytics

Another Irish Blogger (Damien Mulley) writes about his recent experience in moving Blogs - he seems to have a similarly difficult time as I did.

Reminds me of an Ad one of the ‘Big 4′ consultants used to have - the one about a ’sticky website’. It’s ironic that the ultimate in Sticky websites (both in terms of hard-to-move and keep-people-coming-back) ends being created by the users themselves.

The BBC are running an article on how Store cards (the sort that give you bonus points with your shopping) could save your life.

The basic idea is that information that the supermarkets are already gathering (to profile area’s so they know what products to put on shelves, and to profile you as a customer) can be used to predict health risks.

I used to do similar work (not for any of the Major Supermarkets) and it is amazing/slightly worrying how much information can be ‘bought’ off the shelf like this. It’s good to see the technology being put to a good use.

Fellow Louth Man Gerry McGovern has just published his latest monthly newsletter.

Gerry is very strong on web site usability. Some items that are obvious when you see them (but you could spend years trying to figure out through trial and error) are:

• Have your web site do one thing and one thing well.
• Cheap is good on the web (but few people will admit it).
• Customers will put up with a bad web site if they can still get what they want

(more…)

First week of masters course in software engineering.

This weeks training was on refactoring - Notes to follow , but broadly using fowlers book on refactoring (http://www.martinfowler.com). Fairly industry standard stuff , but might give you pause for thought before diving in and copying/pasting left right and centre.

On a practical side , the course uses a lot of Java / J2EE , Eclipse and Tomcat, with quite a high level expected in these (e.g. the refactoring group assignment expected these to be built on a bare machine before the refactoring proper could begin - easy enough if you’ve done it before , but not really the object of the course!!)

The course itself is on UCD’s Belfield campus , and is run for 3 weeks a year (part time) with exams in June.

Remember the car stickers from years back saying ‘my other car is a Porsche / Mini / Rusty old Beetle’.

This post feels a bit like that - after writing a couple of articles for O’Reilly books, the invited me to start blogging on their website. So far they haven’t realised their mistake and taken away my login.

Warning before clicking on the above links: The content in the above articles and reflects the technical side of my split personality!

If you look at our company website you see that we now have a UK telephone number listed. No, we haven’t splurged on a Penthouse London office, but instead are using the wonders of modern technology (Voice over IP- VOIP) to provide the service.

It’s a good example of how the internet lets Small and Medium Irish Business play with the big boys. Previously, we’d either have to use either serviced Offices (like we had at the Regional Development Centre in Dundalk), or take on somebody full time for the job.

Just got the news that one of our products , Red-Piranha , is in line for a Digital Media Award.

While it’s good that the Red Piranha project is being recognised, these guys have some thoughts on the awards process in general.

Should we enter anyway and reap the marketing benefits? what this space to find out.

Booked some flights yesterday with British European (was Jersey European) to fly from Dublin to Exeter.

It’s a good website, but a good website in the same was that a 5yr old BMW 5-Series is a good car. Everything is there and it works, but it just looks a little bit dated.

On one level it works very well (after all, I booked by flights and am now looking forward to my Trip). On the other hand, it could be that bit better. Some suggestions

• Use Ajax to make the user less aware that they are using a web site and more ‘just let me book my flights’
• Better date / price selection. If you want to move your flight forward / back a day it doesn’t show the price until after you’ve made the selection. I was working with the team on AerLingus.com when they came up with show a week before and after the date with prices.
• Get rid of the ‘do not push a button until we confirm your flights’ thing. Of course people are going to push the big red button. The use of Ajax (to do polling to see when the back-end system is finished) and Intelligent use of session numbers (it’s built using Struts) to avoid ‘double booking’.

Did I hear the works Struts and Ajax? As a complete co-incidence, here’s an article I wrote on how to implement all of this.

OK, now that I’ve got that off my chest, I can look forward to Cornwall.

I wasn’t sure about this one at first, but a copy of my CV is now available online.

The reason I wasn’t sure is because of privacy concerns, both for myself and the companies that I work for.

I resolved the problem by using an online format, with a lot less detail (e.g. where I have worked for Clients of Clients such as Government Departments, I have just left it at that level and not named names!) If you are interested and want to see more detail , you can contact me here.

From Javaworld.

One of the good (and surprising) things is how much of the infastructure to run Enterprise Java Applications that you can get for free. You may decide to go for an all commercial offering, but just knowing that you could switch to open software keeps the vendors honest and quality standards in the industry high. Open products are available for everything, from the web browser to the web and application server, through to the operating system to run whole thing!

The one exception to this is Databases. Yes, MySql is a very good product , and is getting better all the time especially as version 5 will have enterprise features such as triggers and procedures. But could you honestly recommend a switch from Oracle to MySql? Come to think of it, could recommend a switch between any of the big 3 (Sybase , Oracle and Microsoft Sql Server?) - Java people talk about being ‘Database Neutral’, but the reality is that the disruption of switching outweights the costs involved.

All of which makes the latest announcement from Oracle all the more interesting .. Oracle have just announced a MySql competitor in for the form of Oracle 10g Express. It’s in pretty much the same space as MySql (ideal for web projects, new projects, lightweight projects’ and is free to use and distribute. Where it does have the edge is (a) people can use it to learn Oracle skills and (b) a reduced cost of migration to the ‘real’ version of Oracle.

Last week, in the spirit of shameless Self-promotion and networking, joined the Irish Computer Society (ICS). The particular event that I was interested in (IT Contractors meeting) has been ‘postponed until the new year’, but at least I’ve got all the paperwork in and I’m now a member.

While there is more than an element of truth to the Groucho Marx quote ‘I never wanted to be a member of a club that would have me’, there are one or two interesting things going on at the ICS. They’ve just had an IT Architects forum and some other industry / sector specific stuff like Health.

They also are running a programme called ’skills cert’. Basically the ICS act as a trusted 3rd party and vouch for the skills listed on your CV. I’m hoping (but not holding my breath) that it will catch on …

Finally made the leap from writing on Blogger.com to using Wordpress. I had 20 minutes set aside to do it before the batteries on my laptop died. Did I make it? Yes , with 15 minutes to spare.

Why can’t all software be this simple to use?

Before I got into IT, I was involved in Supply Chain Management - the stuff that gets your Cornflakes from a farmers field to your breakfast table.

One of the biggest problems in retailling has been an abundance of supply - unlike the previous 100 years where you could ‘never get anything in Ireland’ , be it staple foodstuffs or the latest Gucci Handbags, these are now available at Brown Thomas and shops all over Dublin (the Handbags, not the potatoes).

Unfortunately, shelf space can’t increase at the same rate, so most shops are stocking only the ‘Hits’ - the products that appear to the lowest common denominator of the mass market. This is a problem if you music tastes go beyond ‘Busted’, if you want an extra special Christmas present or or part for your Hifi that ‘they just don’t make anymore’

Step forward the internet. If you look at the success stories of the internet - Amazon, EBay, Online Travel, they all aim at the estimated 50% of purchases that are individual rather than mass market. Read the Wired Article here that explains more.