Scott A. Wilburn
PHP/MySQL programmer in the Pacific Northwest
technology
ZendCon 2008
Sep 18th
I’m just about to fly home after spending the week at ZendCon in Santa Clara, California. It was my first trip to ZendCon and was glad to get the chance to interact with other PHP developers and other industry leaders. Nearly 700 attendees, including other PHP developers, managers and other professionals were on hand for the four day event. The hot topic for the conference seemed to center around the Zend Framework.
I had evaluated the Zend Framework about a year and a half ago, just shortly after it’s version 1.0 release. At that time, I was disappointed with the performance of the MySQL adaptor in the framework and decided not to use it as my MVC framework. But now Zend Framework has had some time to mature and I am again looking at using it for all my future development. Since it is very modular, I can choose which components to use and which components I can extend on my own. The other tool I plan on using is Zend Studio for Eclipse. I don’t currently use an IDE, and I think it is time that I start using one.
All in all, it was definitely a worthwhile convention. I hope to return for ZendCon 2009.
My new bedside computer
Apr 21st
I have been looking for something to replace my old clock radio with something that would allow me to wake up to any radio station or music that I wanted. Last week, I discovered Chumby. Chumby is a small, soft-sided device device with a 3.5 inch touchscreen. It connects to my home network via wi-fi and I can listen to any streaming radio stations or listen to any songs (non-DRM tracks only) by connecting my iPod to one of the USB ports on the back. It works fairly well and can be modified because the code is open source and linux-based. Chumby has only been available to the public for a few months, so there’s a few bugs that have to be worked out, but all in all, I’m pretty pleased with this clock radio replacement.
Lock Bumping and Bump Keys
Mar 30th
This is a must-watch for anyone concerned about home security, especially if the locks you have on your home or business are of lesser quality:
I’m on the market
Sep 3rd
In my last post, I mentioned the large number of contacts I’ve gotten from job recruters this summer… well, this is a good thing because I was laid off from my job on Monday. So, I’m looking for contract or full-time positions as a PHP/MySQL developer in Seattle. Some technologies I have to offer include XML, CSS, HTML, PHP, MySQL, MVC frameworks (using Object-Oriented PHP). My resume can be found here.
Two scary stories about RFID security
Aug 3rd
Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID is used everywhere you look: building security, inventory tracking, electronic payment, and even for medical history. The big question is this: Is RFID secure? I started thinking about this as the number of RFID cards that I need to carry started to grow. I use these cards to get into buildings, open the garage door, and access FlexCar. This technology is much more convenient than using traditional keys or swipe cards, but RFID’s convenience could be it’s own undoing.
Here’s two stories which might make you second guess RFID security:
