U.S. Army is going Google!

To improve efficiency, collaboration, real-time communication, and most importantly to cut costs the U.S. Army is​ modernizing into the cloud with Google Apps.  See "U.S. Army to cut costs, improve collaboration and go mobile with Google Apps".  This is smart strategic move to the mobile future. The Army even setup a private Google Play are to distribut mobile apps internally. "The Army anticipates rapid adoption of Google Apps because many Soldiers and Army personnel already use Google Apps in their personal lives. Gmail and Hangouts, for example, are popular ways to keep in touch with friends and family while deployed. Google Apps also enables seamless and high fidelity interoperability in their existing work environment with Google Quickoffice. ...Google Apps runs on multiple operating systems and browsers providing more device options, plus works with existing Army security policies and DoD directory and authentication services. Google’s completion of FISMA certification and accreditation gave the government a complete understanding of the security controls Google Apps has in place and how they meet the Army’s stringent criteria."

Apache Struts 1 End-of-Life (EOL) Announced

The Apache Software Foundation announced on Friday (05Apr2013) that the Struts 1.x web framework will no longer be officially supported.  It has reached End-of-Life (EOL) status.  I saw this announcement originally in this InfoQ article, “Struts 1 Reaches End of Life”.

Started in 2000 to create an improved development experience over pure Java Server Pages (JSP) utilization, Struts 1 soon became the de-facto standard for Java-based web application development. Numerous companies adopted Struts 1 as a strategic platform and stayed with it even after JSF was introduced as a standardized Java EE framework for web application development. In the early 2000s, most job offerings in the space of Java-based web technology came with Struts 1 as a must-have skill. Even nowadays many important web sites and web based user interfaces rely on Struts 1 technology. It is furthermore remarkable that many later introduced web frameworks such as Spring MVC or WebWork were crucially inspired by Struts 1.

Struts 1 was cutting edge Java technology back in 2000 when it was originally released.  It paved the way for MVC frameworks and made J2EE development bearable.  I am glad to see the Struts team officially focusing on Struts 2 and beyond as they have been doing in the past few eyars.  As stated in the Apache announcement, Struts 1 has not been updated since December 2008 so this EOL announcement was inevitable.

Chrome OS and Chromebooks are Unbreakable in 2013

I am still using my Cr-48 daily as my goto kitchen-table-top/counter-top device since Google sent me one back in December 2010 to test in their beta program.  In the recent Pwn2Own and Pwnium3 hacking competitions Chrome OS appears to be unbreakable.  "Linux triumphant: Chrome OS resists cracking attempts".  This is the primary reason why I like my Chrome OS so much.  It is inherently designed as a simple and secure cloud-based OS that is very difficult to break.

Based on these recent events and how well Chrome OS has survived, you get a warm-and-fuzzy feeling knowing that using a Chromebook is more secure than any other operating system that I know of today.  In my gadget infested existence today, I know that I use all these operating systems daily: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS, and ChromeOS.  Knowing that ChromeOS is so rock solid and near unbreakable gives me a really good feeling.

Chromebooks have been getting a lot of press the last few months also due to positive reviews of recent devices released into the market.  Linus Torvalds has been posting quite a bit on Google+ about his new Chromebook Pixel these past few weeks.  In addition several articles such as "Linus Torvalds really likes Google's Chromebook Pixel" acknowledge his viewpoints.  On a related side note, I am quite surprised how well my Cr-48 has stood the test of time and abuse being used around my house. 

Scrum Is The Most Populate Agile Method in 2013

Scrum is the most popular agile methodology for software development in 2013.  Scrum currently appears to be the most popular agile methodology since is relatively easy to implement. According to the VersionOne State of Agile Survey 2011, Scrum is used in more than two-thirds of agile projects which appears to be the  trend for the last few years.

In the Scrum methodology, a sprint is the basic unit of development as depicted in The Scrum process.    A sprint generally is a one to four week development iteration. Planning in Scrum is prescribed as a one to four hour intense but time limited endeavor.  (The Scrum Framework in 30 Seconds)

The Scrum process  (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrum_(development))

Scrum embraces the intent and spirit of the Agile Modeling (Ambler) approach. In order to avoid the big-design-up-front (BDUF) trap, Scrum places a time constraints (e.g., daily, weekly, 30-day) on its sprints.  Having spent many years researching and applying information technology, the one common denominator with all successful implementations of an agile methodology has always been the people or peopleware as coined by Tom DeMarco as I also like to call it.  In other words, the right people at the right time (peopleware) matter more than the agile methodology selected.

Agility in 2013

Agility is a popular buzzword today in the software development, systems engineering, and project management communities.  Agile approaches for software development have actually been around for a while now.  In its most recent incarnation, it is safe to say about 10-12 years or so depending on where you look for a historical background on modern agile techniques.

One aspect that I have noticed lately is that the term being agile is becoming overloaded, de-sensitized, and is losing its meaning.  At least in how I see it used in various forms.  I started to  write several articles on agility to elaborate on a very specific type of software development agility called test-driven development or TDD.  This approach is not the most popular agile methodology but is very effective and attains productivity, quality, and speed to delivery gains in my experience.

PMBOK Fifth Edition

PMI recently published the Fifth Edition of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

The PMBOK 5th Edition includes a new Knowledge Area for Project Stakeholder Management and four new planning processes.  The PMBOK has been updated with the most current knowledge and practices in project management.

If you are a PMI member, a complimentary "PMBOK Guide - Fifth Edition" is available as a secure PDF at Library of PMI Global Standards.

Java SE 6 Final Public update from Oracle, Forces Update to Java SE 7

Way back in February 2011, Oracle announced the End of Public Updates for Java SE 6 products which originally would have been in July 2012.  Well that has been extended two times to November 2012 and now February 2013.

Oracle announced in early December 2012 in a blog post that they will end public support for Java SE 6 after 19 February 2013.  This means that after 19 February 2013, all new security updates, patches and fixes for Java SE 6 and Java SE 5 will only be available through My Oracle Support and will thus require a commercial license with Oracle (in other words a paying customer).  In a related article released today 01/31/2013 concerning Java SE 6 retirement (Oracle Will Stop Providing Security Updates for Java 6 Next Month), it clarifies a point that the original Oracle blog post did not mention.  Oracle plans to start pushing JRE7 to existing customers automatically via Java Updates as announced in “Java 6 Auto-Update to Java 7 FAQ”.  Note that the auto-update to JRE7 only affects Windows systems.

Ready or not, you will have to consider updating to Java SE 7 within the next month or so.  At a minimum for Java security and open source licensing considerations.  If you are on the Linux/Unix platform, OpenJDK is an excellent alternative JRE/JDK to consider.   It works fine with Eclipse IDE in my experience.  Too bad, Apache Harmony is not up to par with the Sun/Oracle/OpenJDK feature set.  This would have been another alternative JRE/JDK option.

At any rate, you just need to be aware that public Java SE 6 support from Oracle has been on the chopping block for some time and will eventually take place.  Upgrading to Java SE 7 should be on your plans for your future Java systems configuration beyond February2013.