I'm currently working on a project for a small manufacturing operation. They wanted to automate the way they schedule & produce work orders or jobs. Their biggest concern was what I like to call "forward compatibility". Forward compatibility means that if they need to make changes to their system in the future, then they won't need me to redesign their system, there should be a simple method to add, edit, update procedures, etc... When I took a look at their existing processes, I found a lot of Excel spreadsheets driving their operations. For instance, there is a spreadsheet that drives their "smart" part numbering system. There is a spreadsheet that drives their product testing operations. Plus, these spreadsheets are all Revision Controlled (that's Version Control in the IT world).

My solution was to use their existing spreadsheets as inputs to my Custom Job Control System. I designed the system to always use the most current version of the relevant spreadsheets (which are always stored on the network in a static location) as data. That way, they can simply control those documents as they always have and they won't have to reconfigure my system when they have changes.

The main thing that makes this system possible is the POI project from the Apache Software Foundation. The POI project is a pure Java API for reading & writing Microsoft Office Documents. It allows simple Java Object Oriented access to MS Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Visio, Outlook & Publisher. However, some parts are still in their infancy. In particular, MS Word access is simple and not very well developed. MS Excel access, however, is about as powerful as you could possibly need. Accessing spreadsheets is simple and powerful, IF you know what parts of the spreadsheet you need to access. The POI project makes it simple to access Excel documents, but Microsoft didn't make Excel documents simple to use (at least from the perspective of the underlying implementation). So, without further ado, here are the 2 most important lessons that I've learned about reading Excel spreadsheets with Apache POI.

If you're a frequent (or even repeat) visitor then you may have noticed a slight change. That's right, no more advertising on the site. In the past, I thought it would be a good idea to run Google Adsense, in addition to a couple of affiliate programs. The thinking went something like this: "I get lots of traffic to my site. Most people don't mind seeing some advertising, and it might make me a bit of extra money." Well, frankly I've always been uncomfortable with it, and I recently decided to get rid of the advertising completely. The reason that I decided to stop advertising on my blog is trust. That's right, trust. My blog is my social currency; I use this forum to help demonstrate my skill to potential clients and to establish myself as an "expert" in the field of technology. Running cheap ads on the same site just cheapens it, and gives potential clients that little bit of creepiness that comes from knowing I'm trying to make money off them. I make money by selling my skills, expertise & experience in the field of web development. I don't need to run advertising alongside that. If anything it justs waters down my message, and causes my main form of advertisement (my website) to lose focus. In the end, I want potential clients (and everyone else) to feel good about visiting my website. I want them to get my message, and understand what Hibbitts Consulting is all about. I certainly don't want to give them the impression that I'm trying to use them for advertising revenue.

Now, I still own other websites where advertising is more appropriate. I haven't sworn off advertising, and I may still review & recommend services & product that I really believe in, but I will not add confusion to MY marketing message by advertising on my own website.

Of course, I lied. There aren't really five reasons why I stopped running ads. I figure the one big reason counts for as much as five small reasons.

CakePHP is a very popular php/mysql based rapid development framework. It allows developers to quickly put together the "underpinnings" of a web application without having to re-invent the wheel. However, even the simplest of tools can have its little quirks, and CakePHP is no exception. CakePHP favors a "convention over configuration" style, which means that things have to be done a certain way, files have to be in the correct location, and classes have to have proper names.

Today at 11:00 am Eastern Time begins Sparkfun's Free Day. Sparkfun is an electronics hobby website that sells some really cool electronics tools & stuff, and today they're giving away $100 worth of stuff per order (per household). Needless to say this is an exciting day for geeks all over the world. Unfortunately, we're 5 minutes into it as I write this, and Sparkfun's server is hosed. This is an excellent lesson in internet marketing, both what to do & what not to do. Of course, the promotion is an excellent idea, however if they can't execute it, then they may wind up generating more resentment than customer loyalty.

We'll just have to see what happens over the next hour or so. I'll post a follow up, if I ever get through.

I run a completely Windows free shop. That has it's good points & bad, but I'm not going to get into that question. For now, I just want to talk about my recent experience upgrading from openSuse 10.3 to 11.2. openSuse 10.3 has been my OS of choice for quite some time. Sadly, however, it has reached the dreaded "end of life" stage wherein all support, repositories, updates, etc... have disappeared completely. I have to admit that I dreaded the upgrade process, having more experience with Windows upgrades than with Linux. However, I am happy to report that this upgrade was the smoothest thing since lubricated ice.

If you're a frequent visitor here, then you may know about my efforts to thwart various Chinese SPAM networks. These networks are a major source of internet SPAM, and are causing major throttling of worldwide networks simply because of the mass of their SPAM traffic. Recently I began using the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre's WHOIS database to identify the source of these SPAM attacks, and filing SPAM complaints with the appropriate registrar. To date, I have seen no action on any of my complaints, leading me to two conclusions. Either the Chinese registrars are willing participants in the blatant SPAM traffic emanating from China, or there is a massive backlog of complaints, and it's taking them a long time to work through them. So, in the spirit of GI Joe ("Knowing is half the battle."). I am going to start publishing a list of the websites that are associated with these SPAM attacks, along with a basic review of each site. Hopefully, this will help to inform the public, and lessen the threat of SPAM.

The following websites are major sources of SPAM:
1. http://www.uggmart.com - This site advertises cheap "authentic" Ugg boots. There are numerous complaints about them with various BBB's.
2. http://www.love-ugg.com - Another Ugg boot knockoff site - be warned!
3. http://www.ugg2you.com - Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
4. http://www.topuggsale.com - Another Ugg knockoff site. I think I'm definitely going to be staying away from Ugg boots.
5. http://www.ladyugs.com - This is getting monotonous...
6. http://www.bayuggs.com - Yawn...
7. http://www.uggshow.co.uk - Interesting...This one has a.uk domain name, yet it's IP address is registered in China. Hmmm...
8. http://www.hideboots.com - This one claims to be an "official" Ugg distributor. I wonder if Uggs knows that.
9. http://www.ezugg.com/ - Really, guys, this is getting ridiculous!
10. http://www.topsalelist.com - Finally non Ugg related SPAM.
11. http://www.timberboots.co.uk - They must mean the UK that's in China, you know...
12. http://www.brawboots.com - Back to Ugg's. Hey stick with what you know, right...
13. http://www.olugg.com - These are "100% Authentic". Rigghhhttt....
14. http://www.officalsale.com - Back to the Timberlands.

OK, there were some others that I deleted before this started to become a real problem. In any case, since I've started keeping track, all of the SPAM has originated from a subdomain of 163data.com.cn. I'm investigating them right now, and as I come across more information, I'll post it here.

Finally, a quick thought. The whole point of this post is to remind everyone out there that the internet can be a dangerous place. While my problems with Chinese SPAM are more of an annoyance than a real threat, it's symptomatic of the entire SPAM issue. So, backup your data, use best practices for data & browser security, and above all, stay safe!