txtN cn B fun - bt danjrus!

Who knew that simply texting the word "reboot" would actually cause a phone to reboot?

Apparently, words texted right after a reboot were interpreted and executed as commands with root priveleges by Android, rather than simply being sent. 

A bit of a security flaw, no?

"I was in the middle of a text conversation with my girl when she asked why I hadn't responded. I had just rebooted my phone and the first thing I typed was a response to her text which simply stated "Reboot" - which, to my surprise, rebooted my phone."

 

"Google hurried to repair the problem, which causes the phone to interpret any text entered just after the phone was turned on as a command."

 

"Linux and Unix users are advised to use their systems with "root" privileges reserved only for administrators, but Android was actually giving anybody that privilege."

 

"The Android bug has to rate as one of the great software bloopers of all time."

 

"We tried really hard to secure Android. This is definitely a big bug."

Perhaps they should have tested more?

Here are a few helpful suggestions for words to use while testing the fix for this particular bug:

• Restart
• Shut Down
• Ctrl Alt Del
• $1,000,000
• Travel Back In Time 
• Melt
• ET Phone Home
• Nuclear Winter
• Delete Traces Of All The Calls I Just Made To Those 900 Numbers
• iPhone
• Sarah Palin President (no wait, this one simply isn't worth the risk)

See also:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10093573-83.html?tag=rtcol;relnews
http://news.digitaltrends.com/news-article/18382/texting-bug-for-android
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7722367.stm

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS2714843045.html

Know of any other interesting public bugs that might have been prevented?
Email Me

New England Sports

2008-2009 Season

(so far)

After three straight seasons of reaching the MLS Cup, and six straight seasons of reaching the Eastern Conference finals, the New England Revolution bowed out this year in the first playoff series.

Lots of injuries this year eventually become too much to overcome.

Oh well - wait until next year.

A real leader takes the blame when things don't go as expected:

"And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours."
- John McCain, in his concession speech

And a real leader gives the credit to the team when things do go well:

"But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you."
- Barack Obama, in his victory speech

On November 4th - don't vote

If:

• You don't really care who is our next President
• It's not important who appoints the next Supreme Court Justices
• Issues don't matter to you
• You don't want to be part of what will certainly be an historic election
• You don't ever complain about the way the country is run anyway
• You don't mind if others make decisions for you, without your input
• Doing your civic duty isn't something that concerns you
• You think: "If things change - that's fine.  If they stay the same - that's fine too"
• Little things like ballots and Presidents are just too complicated for you

then DON'T VOTE!

All the better for the people who care.

New England Sports

2008-2009 Season

(so far)

It's hard not to be at least a little bit disappointed that the Red Sox didn't make it back to the World Series.

Still, making it to game 7 of the ALCS isn't all that bad.  And, they have a young team that should continue to contend for years to come.

It was a beautiful fall day in New England yesterday.

Sunny, cool, no wind, great foliage.

So once we got our to-do list done for the day, we drove to Concord, and took a walk around Walden Pond.

(Walden Pond.  October 18th, 2008)

What a great way to spend a fall afternoon.

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

The good folks at Simtec have released a new version of one of the tools in my toolbox - HttpWatch.

The biggest news is that HttpWatch now supports Firefox as well as Internet Explorer!

Here's the complete list of new features:

• HttpWatch now supports Firefox 2.0 and 3.0 on Windows as well as IE 6, 7 and 8 Beta 2
• Added a Properties window that can opened or closed from the View menu. It displays information about the log including browser type, time zone and operating system version
• A comment can be assigned to a log file using the Properties window or through the automation interface
• The values shown in the Summary window's Timings tab can now be accessed through the automation interface.
• Started times can now be displayed as local time, GMT or as an offset from the start of the log
• The Timings tab in the Summary window now provides minimum, maximum, average and total for each type of timing (e.g. DNS Lookup, Connect, etc)
• Visual Studio style tabs are displayed in HttpWatch Studio for each log file making it easier to switch between files
• The automation interface has been updated to support Firefox, timing summaries and log properties
• There is now a FireWatir automation sample

Check out HttpWatch at http://www.httpwatch.com/

See all the tools in my tool box at:
http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/55/Tester%26%2339%3Bs+Tool+Box.html

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

As I have written before, I use StatCounter to track hits on this blog.

(http://www.statcounter.com)

I like it because it's very simple to use, but also very powerful.  And I find some of the results fascinating.

Among the features provided by StatCounter is a Keyword Analysis report.

This report can show you the searh terms people entered into various search engines that ended up as a click through to your site.  Here's a small sample:

Num	Perc.	Search Term
2	22.22%	define:load testing
2	22.22%	qa interview questions
1	11.11%	qa department business plan
1	11.11%	define:beta testing
1	11.11%	board games tock
1	11.11%	wintast version 3.5
1	11.11%	is yucart good for your
9	100.00%

 

Usually it's fairly obvious what the seearcher was looking for, but occasionally, I see a real puzzler.

I'll list some here as I encounter them, with a guess as to how the relevant search engine happened to serve up a link to All Things Quality in the results.

when are us elections november 4th

When are the elections?  November 4th, right?

Note sure what this person was seeking, but they found this. 

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/1874/US+Elections+on+November+4th+-+Don%26%2339%3Bt+Vote%21.html

 

grandma mona simpson

I occasionally use Simpsons character names as test data.  To make that easier, I have a list on one of the blog pages.

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/1692/Test+Data+-+Simpson+Characters.html

is yucart good for your

While the searcher may have been looking for "yogurt", apparently this term brought the searcher to my post about some Spam that arrives in my email spam filter. One of the "from" names was "Yucart Churchgoing".

http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/973/Lazy+Spambots%3F.html

see: http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/832/A+New+Tool+for+Your+Website+or+Blog+-+StatCounter.html

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

Do you suffer from Testile Dysfunction? Are you no longer invited to Requirements or Design Review meetings because you ask important questions – questions where the responses are typically, “No customer will ever do that?” – Or – “Please confine yourself to testing and let us handle the design”? Are you depressed because every software build exposes R&D test neglect? These issues can lead to a serious condition known as Testile Dysfunction (TD), a condition in which you lose your enthusiasm for testing and all related test engineering activities. TD reduces your level of readiness when you are ultimately called upon to execute tests.

Could you be ready for that moment when that moment is right? When R&D hurls the next application build over the wall-of-distrust and all the developers run for shelter – could you be ready?

Testalis® might be right for you.

Testalis® can restore your enthusiasm for your role. Only you can decide if Testalis® is right for you. Before taking Testalis®, ask your test engineering lead if you should proceed with functional and regression test activity and be sure to tell your test engineering lead about any angst you may have with R&D and all soured relationships with R&D. Don't take Testalis® if you take Tiagra® as the combination can cause a sudden, rapid rise in defect-discovery output and clog your organization’s defect-handling process.

Testalis® for daily use remains in your body for as long as you take it. Tell your test engineering lead about all medications, especially if you are going to attend any formal requirements or design review meetings, so your test engineering lead can be aware of potential review meeting conflicts.

Do drink alcohol in excess with Testalis®, as this will increase your funness, increase the illegibilty of your defect reports so they are rejected and thus bring you back into defect-discovery norms. Testalis® does not protect against intimately transmitted diseases, if engaging in these types of activities during testing. The most common side effect with Testalis® is too rapid of output of defect reports. Business and R&D complaints accompanied this anomalous behavior.

As with any TD tablet, in the rare event of testing enthusiasm lasting more than 10 hours, seek out and imbibe multiples of the nearest alcohol beverages of choice in order to exude an increased level of funness, thus offsetting the ability to construct a coherent defect report.

In rare instances, test engineers taking prescription Testile Dysfunction tablets (including Testalis®) reported a sudden interest in stepping down their careers to developing software. It's not possible to determine if these events are related directly to the Testile Dysfunction tablets or to other factors. If you have a sudden interest in developing software for a living, stop taking any ED tablet, including Testalis® and call your shrink right away.

TESTALIS IS NOT FOR EVERYONE.

In my company, we've recently started a Game Night.

We take turns bringing in games.  After hours, we grab a conference room, and play for an hour or so. It's been lots of fun so far, and helps create a nice bit of teamwork.

The games

• need to be able to accomodate around 5-10 players at a time (so checkers, chess are out)
• need to be quick to learn
• need to be accessible for teammates who are not native English speakers (so complex word or idiom-based games are out)
• can't take more than 1-2 hours to play

Here are some we have played so far...

Foppen

 

"A trick-taking card game where the object is to empty your hand. The twist is the player who plays the lowest card in a trick sits out the next round."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1942) 

Hit or Miss

 

"Sharpen your pencils - and your intuition - for this quick playing "think-in-sync" party game. Draw a category card and in 45 seconds, list as many related words that come to mind. When the timer runs out, roll the die - if it lands on HIT, pick a word that you think everyone wrote; if it lands on MISS, pick one that only you wrote. Choose wisely and score big points. The player with the highest score wins. Hit or Miss - the can't MISS game that will turn your next party into a HIT!"

 

(http://www.gamewright.com/gamewright/index.php?section=games&page=game&show=207)

Category 5

 

"There are 104 cards numbered from 1 to 104. Every card has at least 1 small flag on it, which will score against you. The deck is shuffled and players are dealt 10 cards each. 4 more are dealt up on the table to form the start of 4 rows.

When each player has chosen a card from their hand, these are revealed and put on the ends of the rows according to simple rules.

As the rows get longer, a row with 5 cards in it is full. If your card is to be the 6th, you pick up the 5 cards in the row, and your 6th card goes to the front to restart the row. The cards you pick up do not go into your hand, but sit in front of you to score against you at the end of the round. Play rounds until someone hits 74 (the minimum speed of a hurricane) and the lowest score wins."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/432)

Gracias

"The deck contains 6 kinds of cards. On each turn a player will take a stack of 3 cards (1 hidden and 2 visible) and keep one hidden and one visible card. The second visible card will be given to another player. At the end of the round, the player with the largest stack of cards in each color will not score points for those cards, while all other players will score points for those cards."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/16184)

Wyatt Earp

 

"The aim of the game is for each player to earn the most money from capturing famous outlaws. 2 to 4 players take up the roles of Sheriffs who are hot on the outlaws’ tails, trying to capture the outlaws with most rewards on their heads."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/878)

Trans America

 

"A very simple railway game. Each player has a set of 5 cities strung across the US that need to be connected by rail. Players place either 1 or 2 rails each turn. The player who can make the best use of the other players' networks is generally victorious."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2842)

Bohnanza

 

"As card games go, this one is quite revolutionary. Perhaps its oddest feature is that you cannot rearrange your hand, as you need to play the cards in the order that you draw them. The cards are colorful depictions of beans in various descriptive poses, and the object is to make coins by planting fields (sets) of these beans and then harvesting them. To help players match their cards up, the game features extensive trading and deal making."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/11)

Tock

 

"Tock is a board game, similar to Ludo or Sorry!, in which players race their four tokens around the game board from start to finish—the objective being to be the first to take all of one's tokens "home". Like Sorry!, it is played with cards rather than dice."

 

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tock)

Uno Spin

 

"The UNO classic card game goes revolutionary! When a spin card is played, someone must spin the wheel. Will luck be on your side? Will players get to discard cards, be forced to pick up more cards, or even exchange hands? In a single turn, everything can change! Players can come from behind and suddenly take the lead. It's fast-paced fun that'll make your head spin! Includes one UNO Spin? wheel and 112 UNO Spin cards and instructions."

 

(http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/24318)

Are you doing something like this? Have any good suggestions for more games to try?
Email Me

In my experience, developers tend to be optimistic folks, while testers tend to be more pessimistic.

• Developers are creators, with a natural optimism about making new things and solving difficult problems.
• Testers are fault finders, with a necessary skepticism and doubt.
• If developers are the ying, testers are the yang.

I believe this is a good thing, a sort of checks-and-balances tension that makes for better software.
 
But it does lead to some interesting contrasts
 

Optimistic Developer:	The glass is half full
Pessimistic Tester:	The glass is twice as big as required
Optimistic Developer:	This code hasn't yet been tested.  It's not known if it has any bugs.
Pessimistic Tester:	This code hasn't yet been tested.  It's not known if it works.
Optimistic Developer:	We are 90% done.
Pessimistic Tester:	We don't know when we'll be done, if ever
Optimistic Developer:	We will refactor the code to make it better
Pessimistic Tester:	They are throwing out the working code and replacing it with an unknown quantity
Optimistic Developer:	I only changed one line of code
Pessimistic Tester:	The entire system must be retested
Optimistic Developer:	The code is the design
Pessimistic Tester:	There is no design
Optimistic Developer:	We'll fix those bugs later, when we have time
Pessimistic Tester:	We never have enough time to fix the bugs
Optimistic Developer:	This build is feature complete
Pessimistic Tester:	The features exist; some are completely broken
Optimistic Developer:	Anything is possible, given enough time
Pessimistic Tester:	Everything has flaws, and given enough time I can prove it
Optimistic Developer:	Of course it will work
Pessimistic Tester:	It might work, but probably won't
Optimistic Developer:	One last bug fix, and we can ship tomorrow
Pessimistic Tester:	Fixing this one bug will likely lead to two more
Optimistic Developer:	Stop finding bugs, or we'll never be done
Pessimistic Tester:	Stop creating bugs, so I can find them all
Optimistic Developer:	There's no need for more tests
Pessimistic Tester:	Let's just run a few more tests to be sure

Optimistic Developer:	There is no I in TEAM
Pessimistic Tester:	We can't spell BUGS without U

What's wrong with advanced artificial intelligence systems these days?

It's no surprise that self-aware systems will always turn on their creators - anyone could see that coming.  But buggy robots?  There's just no excuse.

• A robot forgets who she is
• Malfunctions cause her to flip from protecting John to attempting to assassinate him
• Another software glitch causes gynoid Cameron to go missing
• A software glitch causes her to wreck her shopping cart into a display of watermelons at the grocery store

Perhaps they should have tested more?

Oh wait, they still can!  Just go back in time and do the testing that they should have done in the first place.

And if you can go back in time, why can't they go back and avoid the bugs altogether?

I guess the future just isn't what it used to be.

See:

http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080929/ENT03/809290389

http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/09/sarah-connors-1.html

http://www.acedmagazine.com/content/view/1845/54/

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

The good folks at TaskWare have released a new version of the favorite tool in my toolbox - WinTask.

This is a minor release, but adds a few new features:

DelTree()

Deletes the files and sub-directories below the specified directory.

GetHTMLEditText()

Captures the text displayed in the specified field of a Web form.

ExtractLink()

Returns all the links (HREF properties) of the child elements of the specified HTML element.

#HTMLPosRetry

Tells WinTask to check #HTMLPosRetry times that the specified HTML element has the same coordinates before using it.

Version 3.5a also provides a few changes to existing features: 

Scheduler e-mail feature allows now Secure connection for public mail server (such as gmail).

Like many of you, I get a lot of QA-related email.

An email I received recently from the American Society for Quality (ASQ) titled "Want the potential to earn more money?" says:

"Research shows people who joined associations have experienced increased job satisfaction, earn more money, and are generally happier*. An ASQ membership can help by giving you the tools you need to become successful in your industry and differentiate you from the competition. So why wouldn’t you want to be a part of ASQ?

 

Networking
Have the opportunity to meet, communicate, and collaborate with your peers within the quality community through conferences, local section meetings, ASQ forums or divisions, ASQ Communities of Quality discussion boards, and more.

Take this opportunity to be an integral part of the recognized leader in quality and be happy as an ASQ member. Visit www.asq.org/membership and use priority code XXXXXXX to join today.

 

*2008, The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research"

The clear implication from the title and the text is - join ASQ and you will earn more money.

But when I searched for this "research", I found that the press release from The William E. Smith Institute for Association Research itself makes it clear that this is not a cause-effect relationship:

"The report reveals that, on average, association members earn higher salaries, like their jobs more and are happier people than those who do not join  associations. Rather than suggesting that association membership itself leads to success, the report concludes that success in one's profession increases the likelihood of joining an association."

 

(http://www.smithbucklin.com/news/pdfs/WSmith_Institute_Winners_Report.pdf)

Now I'm sure this is just a bit of sales puffery, right?

After all, a group that bills itself as "the world's leading membership organization devoted to quality" and which requires its members to be "honest and impartial in serving the public, their employers, customers, and clients" wouldn't intentionally mislead people, would they?

I'm sure there are good reasons to join ASQ.  But I'm not sure that this research provides any compelling reason to do so.

(If I read research which indicates that owners of Rolls Royces earn 50% more than the average, should I go out and buy one in hopes of increasing my salary?  Or, perhaps I should just hang around and collaborate with people who already own one?)

  -    =  ?

Sunday, during the first quarter of the first game, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was injured and will be out for the season.

While the Patriots had been favored to win the Super Bowl prior to Brady's injury, sportswriters are quickly dismssing their chances.

It will be interesting to see how these assessments look at the end of the season.

Glen Farley - Patriot Ledger

"A sixth straight AFC East Division championship and the playoff appearance that goes along with it aren’t out of the question."
 
http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/x475160308/Pats-season-is-not-lost

Jim Donaldson - Projo

"There’s no reason to believe that the Patriots can’t still win the AFC East, although the Jets, and even the Bills, undoubtedly believe their chances of wresting the division title away from New England have improved considerably. I’d like to believe the Patriots still can win the Super Bowl — that Cassel can do in 2008 what Brady did in 2001. But I can’t."

 

http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_patriots_jim_donaldson09_09-09-08_59BG_v10.16041c7.html

Jeff Jacobs - Hartford Courant

"There is no way the Patriots are winning the Super Bowl.  They will make the playoffs."
 
http://www.courant.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sports/hc-jeffcol0909.artsep09,0,1222382.column

Pete Prisco - CBS Sportsline

"One week does not make a season -- unless you're the New England Patriots. Theirs is over. OK, so that's a bit of a rush. I'm guilty."
 
Prisco ranked them #17 in his Power Poll:
 
"Yes, they're 1-0. But they're down here because Brady is done. Don't give me that 2001 song and dance again. This team won't make the playoffs."
 
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10968862

Jeff Chadiha - ESPN.com

"Now that Brady is out for the year, it's hard to see New England winning more than eight games. "
 
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3576284

Tim Graham - ESPN.com

"New kings of the AFC East: Buffalo Bills"
 
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afceast/0-3-49/Domino-effect--How-Brady-s-knee-impacts-AFC.html

Don Banks - SI.com

"I'm not ready to bury the Patriots' chances to defend their division title -- in fact, I still think they'll scrape out 10 wins."
 
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/don_banks/09/08/brady/index.html?eref=T1

Candus Thomson - Baltimore Sun

"The Patriots won't make it to the Super Bowl, but they will be in the playoffs."

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-faceoff910,0,213598.column

Childs Walker - Baltimore Sun

"The Patriots will flirt with playoff contention sans Tom Brady but will fall short because he was just that important to their excellence last year."

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-faceoff910,0,213598.column

Jesse Palmer - TSN

"Now I don't even think the Patriots will finish as high as second in the AFC East division!"

 

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/jesse_palmer/?id=248945&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nfl

Buddy Thomas - New Bedford Standard-Times

"Thanks to the JV schedule the National Football League was nice enough to provide them, the Patriots probably will make the playoffs even if Marcia Brady has to play quarterback the rest of the way. But without Tom Terrific under center, the dust will continue to accumulate on the team's most recent Super Bowl trophy."

 

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/SPORTS/809110385/-1/SPORTS

Ross Tucker - SI.com

"For his part, I believe Cassel will play at a competent level and help the Pats win about half their games from here on out. Call it 8-8 or 9-7."

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ross_tucker/09/10/patriots/index.html

Gregg Easterbrook - ESPN

"As for any predictions New England will collapse without Brady, bear in mind: Currently the Patriots are on a 24-2 run, with their only losses being defeats decided late by that year's Super Bowl champion: the Colts and then the Giants. Even with Brady holding a clipboard all season the Patriots remain a monster team."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/080909

Cold, Hard Football Facts

"Can the Patriots succeed without Tom Brady?  Through the simple beauty of the English language (which some Americans still speak fluently), the short answer to this question is conveniently summed up with just two symbols: N-O.

If Brady’s absence is an extended one (and we now know it will be), New England will suffer dearly"

 

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_2373_Patriots_fans:_bluer_than_blue.html

Andrew Perloff - SI.com

"New England will go back to its roots, winning 2001-style. The Pats will win a lot of games with what seems like smoke and mirrors. This season will prove the system is bigger than one player in Foxboro."

 

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/3222

Jeremy Green - Scouts, Inc.

"10-6, AFC East champs, lose in divisional playoffs."

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3581734

Doug Kretz - Scouts, Inc.

"9-7, miss the playoffs. New England still is a good team, but not elite with Cassel behind center."

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3581734

Tom Curran - NBC Sports

"They will improve as the season goes along and are certainly still a playoff-caliber team"

 

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26672073/

Clark Judge - CBSSports.com

"So go ahead and scratch New England from the playoff mix if you'd like. Me? I'm not ready. It's not that I trust Cassel to make all the right moves; it's that I trust everyone else, starting with the head coach."

 

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10967646

Shannon Sharpe - NFL Today

"I like the Jets to overtake the Patriots to win the AFC East."

 

http://sportsmedianews.com/09/nfl-today-talks-tenn-qb-and-oakland-sideline/

Keyshawn Johnson - Sunday NFL Countdown

“Instead of wrapping up the division in November, they will do it in December...
I think they can get to the playoffs and anything can happen at that point and time.”

 

http://sportsmedianews.com/09/sunday-nfl-countdown-notes-and-quotes-week-2/

After the Patriots' 19-10 win versus the Jets, bringing their record to 2-0

John Clayton - ESPN

"The Patriots are still the team to beat in the AFC East, but boy, do they look beatable.
...
So in the big picture, it appears little has changed in the AFC East. The Patriots still have 10- or 11-win potential without Brady."

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/notebook?page=lastcall08/week2

Do you know of any other sportwriters willing to predit the Patriots fate?
Email Me

The ATQ Certified Software Tester

Hall of Fame

These are just a few of the people who have demonstrated their superior knowledge by taking and passing the ATQ Certified Software Tester Certification Exam.

Andrew Khan
Vinodh
John Victor Amalraj
Vandana Mohan
Michele Smith
Angel Toh Wan Ling

Ahmed Mubbashir Khan

Deborah St. Pierre

Subrahmanya Kumar B.L

Rajesh Mathur

Vikas Yadav

Hitesh Khodani

Saurabh Nayak

Keith Baldridge

Sinan Verdi

Brian Osman

Laurent Saubusse

Muzammil

Vishal Patil

Steve Capaul

Shardha Gupta

Virgil Reena

Christopher

Avanti Ambekar

Amandeep Singh

Jason Paulgaard

Akshaya Subramanian

Tapan Bhatnagar

Aliaksandr Naletski

Ananta M Wankhade

Munir Gandevia

Sachin Juneja

They have each received a personalized copy of the official ATQ Certificate:

And are entitled to use the official ATQ Certification logo:

There is no doubt that they will succeed in life where others have failed, adding value to their company, their profession, their country, and the world.

If they speak, you should listen.  If they write, you should read.

When they shake your hand, you'll smile, knowing that your hand has been well shaken (not stirred).

If they work for you, they should get a promotion... immediately, if not sooner.

They are Superior Level, they are Platinum Belt, they are Seventeen Sigma, they are...

ATQ Certified!

You too can join this illustrious group.  Simply follow the instructions at http://www.sqablogs.com/jstrazzere/1685/Become+an+ATQ+Certified+Software+Tester.html

Any comments on this article?
Email Me

Note: Typing nothing more than :% into the Chrome address bar will crash the entire browser.

Tom:   It's time once again to play America's favorite game show - Crash That Browser!

Tom:   With us today we have a new contestant - Google Chrome.  Is it ok if I just call you Chrome?  Alrighty then.  Tell us a bit about yourself, Chrome.

Chrome:   Why thanks, Tom.  Yes, I'm the new browser on the block.  And I combine minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.

Tom:   Well isn't that interesting.  So Chrome, are you actually in production now?

Chrome:   Well, of course I'm still in (BETA), but I am part of the Google family, and my cousin Gmail is still in Beta too (wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean).

Tom:   Why are you winking at me?  Stop that!  Oh, I get it!  Anyway, so tell us something interesting about yourself.

Chrome:   Tom, one of my features is Crash Control.  Each tab is a separate process.  That way every tab you're using is run independently in the browser, so if one app crashes it won't take anything else down.

Tom:   Good for you!  Good for you!

Chrome:   And of course, we're Google, so our slogan is "Don't be evil (BETA)."

Tom:   Great, great.  So let's get to the game.  Chrome, how many keystrokes will it take to crash you?

Chrome:   Ha!  Tom, I don't think you can crash me in 32K keystrokes.  After all, I'm a fresh take on the browser, started from scratch and built on the best elements out there.

Tom:   Wow, that's quite a bold prediction.  How about if we start just a bit smaller?  How about two keystrokes?

Chrome:   Well, you can try, but as I said, my technology allows me to prevent one tab from crashing another.  Give it your best shot, Tommy boy.

Tom:   Ok, here goes...

:%

Chrome:   Whoa!  Er, uhm, (cough) I think Google Chrome has crashed. Is the camera rolling (gasp)?  Can I just Restart now, Tom?  Please (gurgle)?

Tom:   Sorry, Chrome - that's all we have time for.  Bye, bye folks!  Thanks for playing along.  Join us again next week at this time and we'll all play Crash That Browser!

see:

http://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=122

September 17, 2008 - an update:

So the good news is that as of build 0.2.149.29, this bug is fixed.

The bad news is - other side-effects.

Try this:

1. Clear Chrome's browser history
2. Type :% in the address field
3. In the dropdown list that appears below the address field, select the ":%" entry, and press Enter.

On my system at least, I get a dialog box indicating that Chrome must "launch an external application" to handle this link. That's odd.  The dialog seems rather ominous.  Am I under attack?  Should I notify Homeland Security, or just hide under my chair?

And it is missing the name of the application which will be launched. Hmm... An application with no name!  Didn't America sing that song?  In the desert, you can remember your name...  

And clicking the Launch Application button doesn't actually do anything. Well, it seemed promising.  At least it didn't do anything evil... or did it?

Oh, Snap! Welcome to Google Chrome (BETA)

Care to play Crash That Browser?  If you know how to crash a browser (any browser), send me a note and I'll post it.
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I think defect report writing is significantly behind the rest of the politically correct world in terms of:

1.       The political correctness movement, and

DEFECT TITLE/DESCRIPTION:   GEM NAME:

Main Snow-ski Product Combination List is operatively challenged.

SEVERITY:   Mister Dodgers Smile Intensity Level:

3 of 5 JJJJJ

PRIORITY:   Challenge-change deadline:

During the next episode of Mister Dodgers.

DETAILS:    REFLECTIONS:

I wonder if we could sit down JJ and discuss the version 2.1.1 rendition of subject? Please let me know of a convenient time for you. I will arrange to have a Happiness Facilitator (HF)  present.

It appears that the list correctly includes JLLLLLLLLL 10% of our product line, thus reflecting a mild change L from the previous application version where the list was complete. A query of the ski product table in the database exposes a complete list. J I wonder if it would make sense for the application to completely agree L with the database and include the other 90%? Perhaps this is simply a matter that the SRS needs to change in order to reflect the as-built software?

STEPS TO REPRODUCE DEFECT: PATH OF SMILEYS – INLCUDING INVERTED SMILEYS:

With a (HF) present let us share smiles as follows:

1.       J Launch the application.

2.       JJLook to the HF to capture HF’s emissions of happiness.

3.       JJFrom the main product category list, select Winter Sports Gear.

4.       JJLook to the HF to capture HF’s emissions of happiness.

5.       J Observe the presence of the Snow-ski Product Combination List. It looks very nice.

6.       J Open the Main Snow-ski Product Combination List.

7.       L Observe the operatively challenged list of skiing products.

Still waiting for your copy of Rambo, 27 Dresses, or The Bucket List to arrive from Netflix?  You may be waiting a while, and you may not be alone.