Today I had 10 minutes of free time to do a much delayed upgrade to the Joomla core of my site. On 9 January 2009, the Joomla! development team released a new security patch for the Joomla! core which promises an increased security level and multiple bug fixing. Of course, keeping your site core updated is very important, since Joomla!, as most frameworks, has bugs and security risks which are often enough reported and fixed by the community.

Upgrading Joomla! is simple enough (takes about 2 minutes).
Visit the following page for more information: http://docs.joomla.org/Upgrading_1.5_from_an_existing_1.5x_version

I'll repeat the Joomla! dev team's advise, backup your site before upgrading! This is very important, because even if the upgrade process is very simple, errors can occur and they nearly always very hard to fix (trust me!) and sometimes data loss can occur as well.

I'll also advise you to visit http://www.joomla.org/download.html and enter your e-mail to get upgrade notifications.

The change log for this new version can be found here: http://www.joomla.org/announcements/release-news/5226-joomla-159-security-release-now-available.html

A couple of months ago my web site was "hacked" by someone who hasn't got much to do all day. The trouble was that my site had a small loophole because it was still in development and wasn't totally secured. I hope I can now say that it is... Anyway, I decided to get rid of the old posts because it would have meant losing a lot of time recovering them and to be honest, I'm not sure it was worth it.
The new posts will relate to more ... "professional" ... topics and some more interesting things I have encountered.

I will try to setup a more secure sharing system for my public projects to make sure this site stays the way it should and functionality is not perturbed every other day...

Also, just as a kind note... If you'll be trying to break my site down, I'm happy to tell you that I've built myself a new automated full recovery system which detects changes and restores them in a 10 minute time span, so... do your best, but I think you'll be smart enough to go have a beer instead .. (it will be much more productive). This will definitely keep me from repairing the web site over and over again...

Just as a thought ... what would be the point of trying to take down a harmless site ?! I made all my files public, didn't I? I'm pretty sure no one will get any financial benefits from taking down a site ... So what's the deal? I was always open... I have not censored anyone on my site... I just can't think of a reason to take such action, but anyway, that's just me...

Also... I have a couple of close friends that will assist in some of my projects. They'll be posting as much as possible (we all have very little time to spare... not that this is not important... it's just that a day has only so many hours in it and we are doing or best to accommodate all activities)

To make this post short, I will add as many things as possible from now on, the new projects download section will be more secure and will have a much better functionality (forbidding direct links and anonymous download due to traffic problems) and many new features will follow.

Hope you will enjoy my site and keep in mind that you're always welcome to visit and comment on any article you find interesting...

Cheers!

Today was a particularly stressful day because I had to fix a lot of code. I usually cope easily with stress but there are days and days and in some days my in-built stress protection fails.

Stress is a common developer "exception" and as all exceptions if it's not caught early (try-catch?), it can lead to nasty complications and demanding bug fixing. You DO NOT want to be in the near proximity of an stressed out developer (unless you want your head shouted off).

Most developers have found an effective stress handler early in their career. I wasn't one of them... I had to face stress with my natural defenses (a positive attitude and a LOT of patience) but this system fails from time to time. What do I do? Well...

I know someone who's laughing now... :D

A very good friend of mine (Fled Rebel) saved my stressed out skin a while ago by providing me with the above item: a good, efficient, delightful anti-stress ball.

How did this help you ask? Well, instead of turning my stress against objects (usually my keyboard) and people around me, I can focus it in this small black ball. You'll be surprised how effective it is. I use it all the time and my brother uses something similar (not my ball, no one touches my ball) to great effect.

So... for those of you who use pills, chewing gum or bite your nails, I suggest you get yourself one of these before you end up with your dental records carved in your fingers or paying more visits to your dentist than it's necessary.
Side effects: sometimes you can't help it and start playing with it (that's not stress, that's a relaxed mind!); attracts the attention of you dog (sometime stupid cats); you become very protective towards your ball
Cautions: NOT to be used to throw at your stress factor (colleges, wife/husband/kids, computer, but usually your boss)

To finish this small post I'd like to thank Fled for this gift (who's main stress factor is me, I think) and to ask anyone who's got alternatives to post them as comments.

Cheers!

About an year ago I found out about a new contact lens technology that inserts light emitting  diodes inside a thin plastic layer that we all know under the name of contact lens. I've been postponing this post for some time hopping to bring news of production-ready in-lens displays, but I'm sorry to say no such rumor has reached me yet...

I'll paste the article I know below and as a last word I'll say this: This is what I've been waiting for all my life and I'll be one of the first people to own a pair!

Just when we thought that the four-panel curved monitor from Alienware was the next big thing in the display industry, researchers at the University of Washington announced a new type of hybrid contact

lens that will bring to life the Terminator within you.
The engineers' breakthrough will open new possibilities to the optics industry, such as HUD overlays and immersive displays. The starting point of this new technology is the implementation of a microscopic manufacturing or self-assembly hybrid contact that has a microscopic imprinted circuit with light emitting capabilities. The result is a flexible, biologically-safe contact lens that can render information directly on the ocular surface.
This kind of bionic display has been largely promoted in miscellaneous science-fiction movies such as "Terminator" or the "Bionic Woman", where they were used to zoom in on far-off scenes, get additional information about the environment, or even to create virtual crosshairs. However, this technology can be used for more down-to-earth approaches, such as surfing the web while traveling, although this might have you killed in a car accident.
The new technology may seem brand new and shiny, yet it's hardly new. There is a similar patent filled with the United States Trading Agency back in 1997 (United States Patent 5682210), that described a similar process.
"Looking through a completed lens, you would see what the display is generating superimposed on the world outside," said Babak Parviz, a UW assistant professor of electrical engineering. "This is a very small step toward that goal, but I think it's extremely promising."
The first implementations will be a little more practical than displaying information directly on the eyeball, such as automotive use. Drivers will be presented essential information such as speed, fuel and so on directly on the windshield. The video gaming industry will be able to completely immerse gamers into the virtual environment, while specially crafted lens will allow you to read the newspaper on your way home.
"People may find all sorts of applications for it that we have not thought about. Our goal is to demonstrate the basic technology and make sure it works and that it's safe," said Parviz, who heads a multi-disciplinary UW group that is developing electronics for contact lenses.