Eric Cosky

If you are still using FTP to access your website, it's time to close that gaping security hole. Every time you log in, your passwords are being sent in plain text which is exposing yourself and your host to risk of attack by anyone with access to the hardware between you and your host. That's a lot of people. Fortunately, there is a replacement for FTP that solves this security problem: SFTP, or "SSH File Transfer Protocol". In plain terms, it's a secure replacement for FTP.

In the field of USB missile launchers, there is a bit of competition. This year I was able to conduct side by side tests of two of the more well known missile systems: The Chinese V2 Foam 3-G Missile Defender and the Dream Cheeky USB Missile Launcher. In a strange twist of fate, both systems arrived within days of each other and I could finally perform a comparison between the systems without either manufacturer giving my some line about how it was an old model. These are fresh, right off the line, state of the art USB missile launchers and neither brand will have any leeway from me during the analysis. At this time, I am not aware of any other entries to this sector so this may very well be the first and only product comparison ever made on the subject. This article will determine which of the two is the winner in the contest for USB Missile Launcher of the Year, 2006.

I'm not usually one to get terribly excited about Microsoft Office (and that's an understatement), however the next update to this suite of applications is perhaps the most significant one ever. I think it may have the potential to affect developers who may not have expected Office to provide any functional benefits to the application development process. While there are many new features, far too many to list and I am sure there are more than I realize, there is one change that has the potential to have a significant impact to developers. Specifically, the Office applications are no longer just client applications. As I understand it, the Office applications are now capable of providing services, much like a web server or other back end application where there is no visible user interface and instead provides support services for other applications that build upon the functionality. Of course, the applications continue to provide all the features you expect from a client standpoint when used in that manner - you can still edit documents, spreadsheets and so forth just like you always have. However, with the new services features, it now becomes possible for developers to programmatically take advantage of all the abilities of the Office applications in the context of a UI-free server application. This is a fundamental change in the way office applications can be used; by separating the user interface of the client from the logic of the underlying application services, the office applications can now provide their functionality as an API to any managed code application.

I just returned from a trip to Alaska where I broke 10,000 photos on my Nikon D70. It's been a great camera during the past 20 months; it has been the source of a much frustration and eventually, great satisfaction. Hitting 10,000 photos inspired me to write a bit about my experience because prior to owning this camera I had next to zero knowledge about photography. My previous video experience gave me a leg up on composing and the bare mechanics of how to take a decent picture when I could use the automatic modes, but after a while I started seeing the shortcomings of the automatic modes and thus began the real learning process as I began experimenting with all the other settings this camera provides.

Here's a cropped portion of photo 9999. While it isn't the best photo of a breaching whale, I'm pretty happy with it because I've gone from being a full-auto user to almost complete manual control of all settings which is the case in this photo. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this was the lucky image, I still consider myself lucky to get anything resembling focus and decent lighting much less both with such excellent subject matter. I wouldn't have picked this as my best photo (obviously it's a bit dark and the whale isn't perfectly focused) it just happens to be the one that rolled the odometer over so to speak.



The full size version of this photo and many more can be seen on my gallery site.