Demystifying Release Engineering - A Guide to Build Scripts

When it comes to software development, one of the key steps in making sure that your code transforms into a working application is the “build process.” Every software platform, be it Unix, Windows, or something else, offers its own way to script this process. You might have heard of Unix shell scripts, Windows batch files, or make files that serve as build scripts. These scripts are essentially a checklist that the computer follows to compile your code into an executable program. ...

7 May 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

The Fine Line Between Developers and Administrators - A Balancing Act

Learning from your own experiences is priceless. We’ve all made our share of blunders, myself included. While sharing tales of our missteps might provide some comic relief, the real value lies in the lessons learned. You don’t forget a mistake when you’ve had to deal with its consequences. Speaking from firsthand observation, it’s not uncommon for developers to roll out code live, often hastily, to meet pressing business deadlines. The urgency tends to outweigh any considerations for the potential havoc it could wreak on a production environment. These situations occur more often than you might think. ...

4 April 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

OpenSuse 11.4 [screenshots]

13 March 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

A Simple Guide to Installing Both Firefox 4 and Firefox 3 on Ubuntu

Step 1: Add the Mozilla Daily PPA Repository First, open up your terminal window. Once it’s up, type in the command below to add the Ubuntu Mozilla Daily PPA repository to your system: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-daily/ppa You’ll be prompted to enter your password. Go ahead and do that, then hit Enter to confirm the addition of the repository. Step 2: Update Your Package List After adding the repository, it’s crucial to update the package list to ensure you get the latest software. Type the following command: ...

7 February 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

Puppet Error – Could not file class in namespace – [solved]

How to Solve the Puppet Error: Could not find class in namespace Sometimes, when working with Puppet, you may encounter an error message that does not accurately reflect the actual problem. For example, if you see this error: err: Could not retrieve catalogue: Could not find class php in namespaces standardbuild at /etc/puppet/manifests/templates.pp:15 on domain.internal.com One of the possible causes could be a missing curly bracket in your code. This can be hard to spot and can waste a lot of your time. To avoid this, make sure you check your syntax carefully and use a code editor that can highlight any errors for you.

18 January 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

ERROR: phpize failed [solved]

How to install PHP development files If you want to run phpize on your system, you need to install the development files of PHP first. Otherwise, you might get an error message like this: sh: phpize: not found ERROR: `phpize' failed To install the PHP development files on Ubuntu/Debian, you can use the following command in the terminal: apt-get install php5-dev That should solve the problem. 🙂

17 January 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

Make it free or fail

As a project manager, I’ve seen the freemium model become increasingly popular in the software development community. The idea is simple: offer a basic version of your product for free, and then charge for premium features or additional functionality. This model has worked well for some companies, but I believe it’s a risky proposition for most startups. Here are a few reasons why: It’s difficult to attract enough users to generate a reliable revenue stream. In the crowded app and webapp space, it’s getting harder and harder to stand out from the crowd. Even if you do manage to attract a large number of users, it’s no guarantee that they’ll be willing to pay for your premium features. It’s difficult to get users to upgrade to a premium plan. Once users have gotten used to getting your product for free, they may be reluctant to pay for it, even if they’re getting a lot of value from it. It’s difficult to provide good customer support. When you have a large number of free users, it can be difficult to provide them with the level of customer support they need. This can lead to negative reviews and a poor user experience. I believe that startups are better off focusing on building a fantastic product and charging for it. This may seem counterintuitive, but it’s actually the best way to ensure long-term success. ...

2 January 2011 · Shafiq Alibhai

Awesome ( and slightly hilarious ) email from Weebly

We haven’t seen you for a while It’s been 7 days, 4 hours, 13 minutes and 2 seconds since you last logged in, and we’re starting to get really worried. We were just getting to know each other. You created 1 site, 1 page, dragged on 1 element, and then… nothing. We were really excited for your new website, it had so much potential! If you ran into any trouble along the way, we’re here for you. Making your own website is fun, fast and easy with Weebly. Best of all, you will have a website of your own to show to customers, clients, family or friends. ...

16 December 2010 · Shafiq Alibhai

Bug found on Google Chrome Extension Labs Website

You forgot to change the path google developers ! link -> https://web.archive.org/web/2014/http://code.google.com/chrome/extensions/apps.html

8 December 2010 · Shafiq Alibhai

How To Disable Google Analytics

You don´t like Google Analytics? Go to http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout and install a browser plugin to disable Google Analytics.

30 September 2010 · Shafiq Alibhai