Gearing Up Windows (to make it usable)

At my workplace I am using Windows Box. I have been using windows since Windows 3.1.x when we use to boot with DOS and then run it to get the GUI. Windows was never this difficult to adjust :( for me.

I have never use windows for my work, I mean I start my career on a Linux box and I just loved it. Customize it the way you like, you always have alternatives for every thing, the community is absolutely wonderful and all of it is open source, Linux is just great specially when you really like to play with software ohh forgot this blog is not about Linux ;).

Due to some environmental constraint I have to use windows, (I have FC 8 as the other booting OS and CentOS in a VM) I was having real hard time on adjusting to windows so I start gearing it up.

I am just listing tools I have install to make windows usable (For me of course):

yod'm 3d: Just can't work without multiple desktop, unfortunately its no longer free-ware, 1.4 is the last free version and its hosted by KLT. My personal experience with Yod'm have been very good, it's a portable application i.e. you don't need to install it and it works straight away.


TrayIt!: Yeah I don't like many application at my Taskbar, I have seen people using 3 even 4 rows taskbar :-0, come on guys use multiple desktop with Tray IT! .
Application which are likely to be accessed from multiple desktops (Your development IDE for instance) should be in system tray, application which just runs in the background (Like real player) should never appear in the taskbar. Tray IT! can do all this (and much more) for you and It is absolutely free.


clipX: Clipboard, yes that's it I just need a good clipboard application and clipX is just great, just press the hotkey and select what to pate.

MoRUN.net Sticker Lite: Instead of using notepad and multiple files to log or temporarily hold things I use sticky notes, again they don't take your taskbar space, you can access them with hotkeys and you don't save as they get saved automatically, MoRUN.net Sticker Lite will do all this fro free.

launchy: Do I really need to say anything? What people still click on start button, click on there desktop icons and use default file manager, with Launchy you just use Hotkeys.

ExplorerXP: I need a tabbed interface File Manager, Its absolutely mandatory I just can't work without a Multi Tab file manager. ExplorerXP Is one such good freeware (for non - commercial use) file manger.

QTTabBar: Multi Tab file manager is so mandatory for me that I have installed two of them, Even if by chance the default file manager is open I can get tabs with QTTabBar. Its an Add-In that gives Tab Browsing Feature to your Explorer. Folder grouping, histories, etc and I love it :). There is just one prerequisite for windowsXP which is Net Framework 2.0 or later should be installed on your system.
My email client is Thunderbird with quite a few addons (reminderfox, Provider for Google Calendar, Lightning, MinimizeToTray, Minimize To Tray Enhancer, Display Mail User Agent to name a few ).

If you are wondering why don't I have screen shoots and all that, I am writing this on Ubuntu 8.10 and I am @ home.

P@SHA ICT 2008 Awards: I am so happy

We just had P@SHA ICT Awards 2008, I am extremely happy with the outcomes. That was a one cool event, The event was covered by CIO Pakistan, @DrAwab And @Selfexile were twitting the event as it happens and a Live Blog was hosted at Ideas Hut website (futher details ). I am so happy with the event :-).

Why I am this }---||---{ Happy?


Well there are two reasons
1. The company which I have just started working for, got the award for "Best of Digital Media & Entertainment Applications" (WINNER - Converged Media Solutions – PixSense ). But this ain't the primary reason of my happiness (They are an excellent company and were bound to win this :) ), so the the primary reason is reason no 2. which is:
2. The award for Best of Startup Applications. I am a software Testing professional and award was won by "Kraysis" which is to the best of my knowledge the only company in Pakistan, specialized in all kind of Software Testing solution and yes they are the partner of Zephyr in Pakistan.

I posted a Blog about Testing market in Pakistan on 14th august 2007 . As a software tester I know this is what we really miss in Pakistan, companies providing Testing Solutions.

There are bazillion companies around the globe which provide software testing solutions but there aren't many in Pakistan. I am extremely happy atleast there is a company now (actually I am following them for more then a year see my blink ) providing software testing solutions and they are doing great.

They were named in the STARTUP Watch-List by UK based Technomics International, they have partnership with Coverity Inc and Zephyr and yes they have won the award of Best Startup (source: http://www.kraysis.com/Deatilednews%20.php ). As a Software Tester from Pakistan I am so happy to see them grow.

But.. They still miss one thing the really need to mobilize the local Software Testing community. I mean they should arrange workshops, conferences, meetups and all those cool things. I would love to see conferences like GTAC or AST Conferences happing in Pakistan and I would love to play my role in them.

With startup like Kraysis and there growth over the year or so, I am very hopeful about the Software Testing community of Pakistan.

Update: Even more happier :-), both of the above mentioned have won awards at APICTA in Jakarta. PixSense has won the Asia Pacific ICT Award and Kraysis has won the APICTA Award for the Best Startup in the Asia/Pacific region.
Further details.

Sauce Labs Inc - accelerate Selenium and web application functional testing

Sauce Labs Inc - accelerate Selenium and web application functional testing

Posted using ShareThis

Changing Subversion credentials in Hudson

I was in a need of changing the Credentials of subversion for a project, unfortunately i was not able to find any straight forward link in manage panel. So the Quick hack to achieve this is:

1. go to http://[Hudson_Home]/hudson/scm/SubversionSCM/enterCredential
2. Enter the URL of subversion repository
   
3. Click on Username/password authentication
4. Enter User name and password for the repository
5. press OK

thats it.

So in my experience there is an inverse relationship between certification and testing talent -J Whittaker

"So in my experience there is an inverse relationship between certification and testing talent." -J Whittaker
http://blogs.msdn.com/james_whittaker/archive/2008/09/11/on-certificiation.aspx
Such an important Statement by Such a Great Tester, got to post a following link :-)
Regards,
----------------------------------
Ahmed Mubbashir Khan
"I do not make Softwares, I make them better"

Evaluating Continuous Integration: Itself

I am not writing about how to evaluate a CI Server, if one needs to evaluate them the best resource I can suggest is CI Feature Matrix just list out your requirements before going to this page, and see which one is the best fit for you. Just for the idea of current state of CIS see What Continuous Integration Server are you using in 2008?.

Evaluating CI Server is not the important part: Once we have decided that we will have a CI server in-place, personally I don't think evaluating the CI server is the important part , I have played with quite a few continues integration servers (just to name a few: cruise control, continum, luntbuild, Hudson and Bamboo), while playing with them I realize that every single one of them dose the same basic thing really well. All of them will check out source from a Source Control Management system, will build the code in one or another way and will run/publish results of your tests. ITs what you want to do with the CI server.

The Important Part, Evaluating Continuous Integration: Yeah we need to Evaluate Continuous Integration Itself. Continuous Integration is not just an activity or state but a Philosophy, a culture which is foster by agile methodology, to integrate and test the code more frequently to find out bugs when it’s less expensive to fix them. Are you and your team comfortable with it? Have you spend enough time with the team to let them know the importance and advantages of it? have you trained them how will they carry out there work from now onwards? are you keeping an eye on the state of builds? are people writing Unit Tests at the very first place? and so on.. make your self comfortable with Continuous Integration.

Open Source To rescue: Don't invest on any commercial tool straight away just because you think it will be cool, its not a tool you are looking for its the process. Use open source tools to introduce CI, to prepare your team for CI (you might like the open source alternatives so much that you might stick to them) make CI a part of development cycle and "Evaluate CI for your team and your team for CI". This will help you to refine requirements but more importantly you will know who needs the Improvement they way CI is being conducted or your team. This Evaluating CI can be done in two possible ways: 1. By using complete open source solution: (e.g Hudson with code analysis tools like cobertura, PMD and FindBugs) 2. By using Evolutionary copy of a commercial CI Server: (e.g Bamboo with code analysis tools like clover/ cobertura, PMD and FindBugs)

What are your waiting for Start Evaluating...

Need to know about Continuous Integration go to Martin Fowler Continuous Integration or buy Continuous Integration: Improving Software Quality and Reducing Risk (Addison-Wesley Signature Series)

GotConnected Compiz fusion no my 6720s

I have just got a 512 kbs DSL connection thanks to my elder brother Muddassir, I was anxiously waiting for this and Ubuntu 8.04 LTS HardyHeron.
I have just isntalled it on my HP 6720s notebook with compiz-fusion and AWN. Its SWeeeet, I am so very happy with all of this.
Have a look.