Friday, May 15, 2009

WorldMate

Getting ready for my trip I found WorldMate, a nice software for mobiles to keep your travel info ordered. I tested the trial period with information about flights (schedule, alerts and status) and it’s really good. Now the trial period is over but there are some free useful options like currency converter, weather forecast, world clocks and Day/Night map. The first two can be updated using Internet. My favourite option is World Weather, just to be ready for showers.

This software is available for different mobiles, including Nokia N95 of course. You can download the latest version in m.mobimate.com



Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Countries - Australia

New country, time to update the map. Green ones are where I spent at least one night. Yellow ones are those I want to visit. Let’s see how it goes.


Saturday, May 2, 2009

I got my drivers licence!

Finally I got it!!! I know, I was really lazy and after a lot of procrastination. I needed to be under a lot of pressure to take the next step.

It wasn’t as hard as I expected. I passed on my first try. I can’t wait for buy my first car and start to explore my new city. Well, actually I need to get another drivers licence first, but I’m now ready for it.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Oracle buys Sun, Oracle buys everything

This is a weird and surreal morning. The previous week IBM attempted to buy Sun Microsystems (without get an arrangement) and we were speculating about the result of this. Now, surprised and shocked, the landscape looks totally different:


Last year Oracle bought Bea and Primavera, but those can’t be compared with this acquisition. Oracle gained a lot with this buy, at glance:
  • A programming language: Java (and JavaFX)
  • An application server: GlassFish
  • An operating system: OpenSolaris
  • An office suite: OpenOffice.org
  • A virtualization software: Sun VirtualBox
  • A database: MySQL
  • An IDE: NetBeans
  • And last but not least: Hardware! Servers, Storage, Desktop Workstations, Laptops
Some interesting questions:
  • Oracle bought Bea last year and with this acquisition have 3 application servers: Oracle Application Server, Bea WebLogic and GlassFish. What is the future of the application servers? At the moment it is not clear. GlassFish should stay as free.
  • What is going to happen with Java? Java is the core of the application servers and now Oracle possess 2 VM. JME is a new world quite bit far of the enterprise environment. It would be very interesting administrate a database from a mobile.
  • What is the future of Exadata? Maybe run on Sun Solaris?
  • What is going to happen with the cloud computing division of Sun? Definitely cloud computing is a field ready to be exploded, specially for databases and application servers.
  • Does MySQL will stay free? Oracle is already the owner of InnoDB and Berkerley DB, database engines of MySQL. What about Oracle Express?
  • Is OpenSolaris going to be integrated to Content Management solution, Oracle Fusion Middleware?
  • NetBeans and JDeveloper. Personally I prefer NetBeans. Still the question is what to do with 2 similar products?
We need to wait for the next movements about this shocking acquisition. I hope all the open source doesn’t suffer a lost and keep the status quo. Everything is duplicated, except the hardware. Strange times in IT are coming.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

What was in my mind in March?

Made with Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/)



¿Qué había en mi mente en Marzo?

Hecho con Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/)

Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Replacement Syndrome

When you replace something – e.g. an old machine - for a new better one, something really weird happens, the old one start to fail unexpectedly. I call this the “Replacement Syndrome”. Some examples of my life:
  • When I bought my N95, my Palm Zire 71 rebooted twice without my intervention and started to fail in synchronize.
  • My PC started to have problems after I bought my laptop. I had performed some backups ‘just in case’ while I was trying to fix everything. Then something totally unexpected happened, the secondary hard disk broke down. Luckily the backup was enough to save my data.
  • At work, many times when we already bought a server to replace an old one, the old one got a virus, broke down, reboot without reason, had a hardware failure, etc.
Maybe it’s just coincidence, but it’s a funny one!

P.S.- Don’t forget to have a plan B.



El Síndrome del Reemplazo

Cuando se reemplaza algo, por ejemplo, una vieja máquina, por otro nuevo y mejor, algo realmente extraño ocurre, el antiguo inesperadamente comienza a fallar. A eso lo llamo "El síndrome del reemplazo". Algunos ejemplos de mi vida:
  • Cuando compré el N95, mi Palm Zire 71 se reinició dos veces sin hacerle nada y empezó a fallar la sincronización de datos.
  • Mi PC comenzó a tener problemas después de que compré mi laptop. Yo había realizado algunas copias de seguridad "por si acaso", mientras estaba tratando de arreglar todo. Entonces sucedió algo totalmente inesperado, el disco duro secundario se averió. Afortunadamente, la copia de seguridad fue suficiente para guardar mis datos.
  • En el trabajo, muchas veces cuando ya hemos comprado un servidor para sustituir a uno viejo, el viejo contrajo un virus, se malogró, se reinició sin razón, tuvo una falla de hardware, etc.
Quizás son sólo coincidencias, pero es curioso.

P.S. - No se olviden de tener un plan B.

Monday, March 23, 2009

OCA

Finally I received my OCA success kit. It’s not as much as I expected. Only a letter and diploma. After all this time waiting for it, I must confess I was expecting something more interesting, but I’m happy finally arrived. Now I hope the OCP doesn’t take too much time.



Finalmente recibí mi OCA success kit. No es lo que yo esperaba. Sólo es una carta y un diploma. Después de todo este tiempo esperando por él, debo confesar que esperaba algo más interesante, pero aun así estoy feliz porque finalmente llegó. Ahora sólo espero que el OCP no demore demasiado tiempo.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Australia, finally

Time is running and time is money. After a long process, I received my permanent resident visa of Australia. Finally. Now I’m living in a constant rush hour. I have to prepare everything to move there. And move means ‘move’, with all my personal belongings. Moving my whole life.

This is the largest project I have ever made and it’s only the beginning. The beginning of a new life, start over again. I feel a bit scared but more excited. My biggest adventure is going to start and I should be prepared for it.



Australia, finalmente

El tiempo se acaba y el tiempo es dinero. Después de un largo proceso, he recibido mi visa permanente de Australia. Por fin. Ahora estoy viviendo en un ajetreo constante. Tengo que preparar todo para mudarme. Y mudarme significa "mudarme", con todas mis cosas personales. Mover toda mi vida.

Este es el proyecto más grande que he hecho y es sólo el comienzo. El comienzo de una nueva vida, empezar de nuevo. Me siento un poco asustada pero más aún emocionada. Mi mayor aventura se va a iniciar y debo estar preparada para ella.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

My second certification: OCP (Update)

Today I received the answer from Prometic, they assessed my course and confirmed I’ll receive my OCP success kit, so I’m only waiting for both certification kits.

My OCA didn’t arrive yet, but supposedly it’s coming. On March 5th they say that send in 3-4 weeks… waiting…



Mi segunda certificación: OCP (Actualización)

Hoy he recibido la respuesta de Prometic, ya confirmaron que si he llevado el curso requisito y que voy a recibir mi OCP success kit, así que sólo estoy esperando que lleguen ambas certificaciones.

El OCA aún no llega, pero se supone que está en camino. El 5 de marzo me dijeron que tomaría 3-4 semanas… y esperando ...

Thursday, March 12, 2009

A way to recycle papers

At the office, it is normal that time to time we get a pile of scrap paper, usually with only one side used. I started to use them years ago, stapling them together, but for me it was not practical. 

Fortunately, also at the office, I found some cardboard and stickers also for scrap. And inspired for a device to hold papers, I made mine. Here is a picture of it:


I want to share the idea. To build it you can use:
  • A piece of cardboard, not too hard. The cardboard size depends on your paper size. For example, if you use A4, which is 210 × 297 cm, then your cardboard piece will be 211 x 298 cm. That means 0.5 cm extra for each side.
  • 4 little cardboard pieces. These are triangles with tabs. This is a suggestion of it: 
Put all together with glue and decorate. I hope this idea can inspire others.



Una forma de reciclar papeles

En la oficina, es normal que cada cierto tiempo tengamos un montón de papeles de desecho, por lo general utilizados sólo por un lado. Yo empecé a utilizarlos hace años, engrapándolos juntos, pero para mí esto no era práctico. 

Afortunadamente, también en la oficina, encontré algunas cartulinas y adhesivos también para botar. E inspirada en un dispositivo para mantener papeles juntos, he hecho el mío. Aquí hay una foto de él: 


Quiero compartir la idea. Para construirlo puedes utilizar: 
  • Un pedazo de cartulina, no muy dura. El tamaño de la cartulina depende del tamaño del papel. Por ejemplo, si usas A4, que es de 210 × 297 cm, entonces la pieza  de cartulina será 211 x 298 cm. Eso significa 0,5 cm más por cada lado. 
  • 4 trozos de cartulina pequeños. Estos son los triángulos con pestañas. Esta es una sugerencia de la misma: 
Ponga todos juntos con pegamento y decorar. Espero que esta idea pueda inspirar a otros.

Friday, March 6, 2009

My 8GB MicroSD died (Part VI – Maybe Final)

I wrote to my provider and answered me with bad news. They did not receive my MicroSD yet. I think it is time to close this topic and just start to find a new one. 

At the moment, I am looking for a Class 6 8GB MicroSD. Also I am looking for an extra battery for my sister’s video camera.

I am sad. No comments.



Mi 8GB MicroSD ha muerto (Parte VI - Quizá Final)

Escribí a mi proveedor y me respondió con malas noticias. No han recibido mi MicroSD todavía. Creo que es hora de cerrar este tema y empezar a encontrar una nueva. 

Por el momento, estoy buscando una Clase 6 8GB MicroSD. También estoy buscando una batería extra para mi hermana de la cámara de vídeo. 

Estoy triste. Sin comentarios.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

My second certification: OCP

After my OCA certification, I thought it was the last one in DBA track. But because my job, I needed to develop DBA skills with my Java and Linux ones, and one day the opportunity appeared. I attended to SQL Tuning course of Oracle, which allowed me to take the OCP certification track.

Today I took the test and I passed! Also I already signed in Prometric to assess my course. I am very excited about it. Some friends are trying to encourage me to take the OCM, but I feel I am leaving my real path. This is my last certification in DBA track.

I will take some days to rest and think about the next one. I have been somewhat neglected in recent years about certify my IT skills. But this year is my year for that.



Mi segunda certificación: OCP

Después de mi certificación OCA, pensé que sería la última la línea de DBA. Pero debido a mi trabajo, tuve la necesidad de desarrollar mis habilidades como DBA, junto con las de Java y Linux, y un día apareció la oportunidad. Yo asistí al curso SQL Tuning de Oracle, lo que me permitió tomar la certificación OCP. 

Hoy rendí la prueba y pasé! También ya me registré en Prometric para inscribir mi curso. Estoy muy emocionada al respecto. Algunos amigos me están animando de tomar la certificación OCM, pero siento que estoy dejando de lado mi verdadero camino. Esta es mi última certificación como DBA. 

Voy a tomar algunos días para descansar y pensar en la siguiente certificación. He sido un poco descuidada en los últimos años acerca de certificar mis habilidades en TI. Pero este año es mi año para eso.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

What was in my mind in February?

This is also the post N° 100! Time goes fast.
Made with Wordle (http://www.wordle.net/)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Vocabulary – Numbers v02

When I started the vocabulary charts, I had an idea of what I want to get but the last charts are more developed than first ones. I decided to review all the charts to find mistakes and improve the information on them. In addition, I want to standardize the format of the chart, made them more printable. My goal is produce a small document that can be printed as a reference, and if it’s possible a mobile version of some of them. 

Here is the updated version of “Numbers”. Previous version is here.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Nokia N97

This is my new goal about smart phones: Nokia N97. This model has everything I want and more, including all the nice stuff that iPhone has but without the things I hate. Also, it has something that every PDA needs: the touch screen. That’s the thing I really miss from my previous PDA (Palm Zire 71).

I’m patiently waiting. Here is a promo video.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Brain Challenge vol 2: Stress Management

Days ago I got “Brain Challenge vol 2: Stress Management” by Gameloft and I spent my free time with it. Comparing both versions, some changes include a new girl who looks more scientist and a new skill, focus. Also counts we a test called “Stress test”, with 5 fixed tests but with an extra degree of difficult compared with the normal ones. 

Results in this version are displayed different. I miss the all-in-one chart with all the progress, but it has a bar chart to show the final status of the five skills. Here my status:


Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Vocabulary – Vegetables

Vegetables (English) – Vegetales (Spanish) – Gemüse (German) – Yasaimono (Japanese)
Pictures are from Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikipedia.org)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Doing home chores as a fitness routine

IQ test are part of my life since I was a child. For that reason and some health problems, I never have been a sporty person. Nowadays I don’t have a sport routine to keep me in shape but I’m lucky and don’t gain weight easily.

Although, for being in shape intellectually you should do some exercise time to time. Have a healthy body helps to your brain to receive everything it need to work properly. But my lifestyle do not left time for routines. Accidentally I found a way to do some physical effort: chores.

Doing chores is maybe my only physical activity, after go walking. In the past decades, people did not attend to gyms to be in shape, as everybody had a lot of physical activities and some lack of the technological advantages we have, like elevators, transport, VoIP, e-mails and more, those do our life easier and help us to safe time but make us sedentary.

Here is a table with some pros and cons:

ProsCons
  • No spend money on gym or sport equipment.
  • Keep your home as a sweet home, two birds with one stone.
  • Don’t have to follow a fixed schedule; you do it on your free time.
  • It is not a real routine, so it is hard to focus in a part of your body you want to train.
  • It’s a lonely routine, if you like to be surrounded by people, it’s not recommended.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Vocabulary – Fruits

Fruits (English) - Frutas (Spanish) - Früchte (German) - Kudamono (Japanese)


Pictures are from Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikipedia.org)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Another disk died

My 80GB hard disk died. Fortunately I have 2, and the one who fail is the data-only one. This is a bad year for my disks. It looks like a failure in the circuits as I can hear the engine of the plates. Next days I’ll try to see if I can recover some of the data. 

For the first time I don’t feel so worried about losing information because I did not use the data in that disk for months and also I have an old backup. That’s good for me, less stress.
Text Colour

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Business English Pod


Business English Pod  (www.businessenglishpod.com) is a website with a lot of helpful tips to develop soft skills and manage social relationships. This site provides a variety of resources, like videos (m4v format and uploaded in YouTube), audio in MP3 format (podcast) and e-Books in PDF. My favourite one is the podcast; I get those using iTunes and Podcasting from Nokia to listen them on the road. Very recommended.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Brain Challenge – Status (I did it!)

I cheated a bit. 3 days ago I was at 87% and today I reached 94%! I play two or three times per day, when I have chance. As I achieved my goal of get 80% on each area, I feel free to start looking forward to “Brain Challenge vol 2: Stress Management”.

Here are my charts. Soon I will have all the indicators almost in 100%.


Saturday, January 31, 2009

What was in my mind in January?

Brain Challenge - Status

I’ve be practicing these days. I must confess that I love challenges. This game caught my attention and part of my free time. My results after 6 days has satisfied my ego and make me start to think about buy the sequel. I started with 47% and now I have 87%. My main area is memory, I reached 100% (supposedly all my potential) and the lowest one is visual. That’s something I can’t understand. I need my visual abilities to achieve the rest, but I don’t have a good score on that.

Does it works? Well, I don’t think I’m smarter but I feel faster to do some activities, specially calculating, which is one of my weak points. Can I achieve 100%? I think is totally possible, but hard to get. At this rhythm, maybe at the end of February I'll get it.



Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Google Docs vs. Microsoft Office Live Workspace

I used to share documents with my colleges and friends, using emails to send the files. This is inefficient because you can easily create a parallel version or lost track of the file. For this issue there is a solution: Google Docs. A versatile option to share documents for free, allowing you to edit them online.

Google Docs now has a competitor, Microsoft Office Live Workspace. Like SharePoint, you can share documents and manage versions. I made this chart to compare some of the features I already tested in both. I will continue comparing them.

FeaturesGoogle DocsMS Office Live Workspace
Allow edit documents without installed softwareYesNo
Integration with MSOfficeNoYes, installing a plug-in
VersioningYesYes
Collaborative workYesYes
Available mobile (Symbian)Yes, read onlyNo (web browser no compatible)
Web BrowsersIE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari (mobile)IE, Firefox

Monday, January 26, 2009

Happy Chinese New Year! Year of the Ox

Happy New Chinese Year!!! This year is Earth Ox year. Also it is my sister’s year; because following Chinese calendar every 12 years from your birthday is your year and a lot of good things will be happen to you.

This time I received the year in a casino, touching the dragon as a symbol of prosperity and good luck. My problem was there were a lot of people also wanting to touch it, I fought a little bit but I did it!

My sign is the Sheep, but some people say that I share more characteristics with the Monkey. I wish this year be really prosper and I achieve all my goals.

P.S.-  If you like the Ox, Silkysteps is a nice web with a lot of images for colouring, including the whole Chinese calendar.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Brain Challenge

Aging is hard. I slowly notice that every day is more difficult to me make simple calculus or remember facts. It’s part of leaving my brain being lazy. 

Train your brain is not difficult; however the lack of time makes it almost impossible. In my researching of a nice way to get fun and become smarter, I was very tempted of buy a Nintendo DS and Brain Age 2, but it’s not a good idea if you’re saving money. Luckily I found a game for N95: Brain Challenge of Gameloft.

This game focus on 4 abilities: logic, math, memory and visual. And each one has 3 activities with skill levels. You can practice every activity or measure your current level. My Achilles heel is logic, here is a sample of Balanced activity, in which you should choose the heaviest thing, but it’s tricky because you should follow the balances and not the shape or the object. This is the heaviest bird I seen in my life.

These are my last results. No bad I think. I’ll try to play every day and see if I can improve my skills.
 
There is also a sequel, Brain Challenge 2: Stress Management, which I’ll get after pass 80% on each ability.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Word cloud – Wordle

Surfing on Internet I found Wordle, a Java applet for create word clouds. You can create your own at www.wordle.net

What are word clouds for? Well, I took the text of my most active months in this blog and made some clouds. They really explain what I had my mind busy in each month.





Sunday, January 18, 2009

Crosswords

My mom used to solve crosswords. I remember that we bought newspaper almost every day and she read them almost completely, but Wednesdays and Saturdays were special days for her. Those were the crossword days.

Time to time I solve, or tried to, a crossword who come with the Sunday newspaper, but it’s a mixture between easy and silly. Some weeks ago I found a huge crossword on Saturday which made me remember old times. I couldn’t resist the temptation and started to solve it. After finish I asked again my dad to put it the office because there is a contests with prizes and extra money is always welcome.

Nowadays I’m solving one divided in 3 pieces. Yesterday I got the second one and when I get the final piece next Saturday I’ll put them together, solve it and participate in a new contest.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A little bit change of plans

Yesterday I received good news that made me change some plans I had. In the middle of the darkness there is a light, a light I didn’t expected so soon. I’m checking my new priorities and my list of resolutions. At this moment there is no changes on the list, just I need to get hurry.

Also I chose my next certification: Oracle Database OCP 10g. I had discarded this one some months ago after get the OCA, but again a little unexpected light appeared. Get ready is now the problem. LOL

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

My 8GB MicroSD died (Part V)

I've been busy these days, so I had to ask my dad to put my envelope with my MicroSD in the post office. Now, I can only wait and see if I can get a new one or I should start to search for a 8GB class 6. I’m a bit reluctant to buy a new one. I know myself and if I didn’t think carefully maybe now I would be buying a new one and sending the old one. Luckily the reason was stronger than my whim.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

My 8GB MicroSD died (Part IV)

Good news, provider answered and is asking me to send the card back! Well, I expected that without being optimistic. We’re finally agree that the card is broke down. I’ll send it by mail as soon as possible. 

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My 8GB MicroSD died (Part III)

I received an answer from my seller. Now we are exchanging e-mails and performing test to the card in order to see if there is something else to do. I’m sure the card is dead but I hope my seller can give me some options. I want my card!

Monday, January 5, 2009

My 8GB MicroSD died (part II)

I could save my info, but not all. As I have another microSD card, I put my info there and now my N95 is working fine. My final touches are re-install some programs.

The previous one is officially dead, as I can’t format it. It’s a HW failure. I wrote an e-mail to the ebay's seller if there is some hope. Also I’m searching for a new one, maybe class 6.

My final status: 
  • I lost my data from Wellness Diary. I had to use my previous backup from November and re-import the past entries from Sport Tracker and Step Counter.
  • I could restore data from Sport Tracker, Step Counter and Mobipocket Reader, but I had to reinstall them.
My advise is: take a full backup of the MicroSD time to time. Don’t suffer.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Bad luck is chasing me! My 8GB MicroSD died!

First, my problem with N95 browser, now my little 8GB MicroSD broke down today. I’m trying patiently to rescue all as I can, but cyclic redundancy is failing over and over. Fortunately I performed sync yesterday, but some data (for example Sport Tracker) is not synchronized.

Everything started when I was testing Nokia Download! and installed “Money Manager”. As it was a trial, I proceeded to uninstall it and when I checked some applications disappeared. Also I tried to “update” Sport Tracker using Download!, I think there started the corruption, because I was using the last beta version.

I’m tired now. I’ll continue tomorrow with this rescue mission.