When you design a web site, it happens that you need to create graphs or technical charts. But this is quite difficult if you don’t spend a life drawing little charts or if you are not satisfied with the charts out of Excel (or OpenOffice Draw). For this, you need to have a good chart/graph package.

I found two of them that I want to share with you:

• amCharts is a set of Flash charts for your websites and Web-based products. AmCharts can extract data from simple CSV or XML files, or they can read dynamic data generated with PHP, .NET, Java, Ruby on Rails, Perl, ColdFusion, and many other programming languages. I like the final appearance even if they could have more of a designer touch.
• Chartle provides simple and interactive charts, maps, plots and diagrams. It’s still in beta right now (beg of 2010) but the results are quite good.

In the beginning was Google which installed its servers in China in 2006. The “do no evil” company accepted the conditions of the government of the PRC and included heavy filtering and censoring of its search results (looking for Tienanmen will produce wildly different results in and out of China). But in January 2009, Google discovered that some hackers obtained some detailed information out of its own servers at this was targeting both American companies and Chinese political opponents or partisans of free speech in China. Subsequently, Google announced its intention of both lifting the censorship and leaving China.

What is still very unclear:

• Is Google really serious about these two options?
• Is the main reason for its ire, the political chase or the technological spying? (the US government including Hilary Clinton pushed hard with Google)

What is clear:

• The breach of information seems limited (only email subject lines have been breached, not contents).
• The hackers were affiliated to Chinese official bodies and did not only target Google.
• The hackers used some social engineering and security issues present in Internet Explorer and Adobe PDF, which were probably known but not closed by Microsoft and Adobe.

So, when such information appears in wide open channels of the world press, what happens? Most experts started commenting on the security loopholes in Internet Explorer 6 (and about Adobe PDF reader, too). Many people observed that Internet Explorer 6 is rather old and it is unfortunate that so many people still use it despite the known fact that it is a security liability when browsing the Internet. With such a rush, some very official people also asked for replacement of Internet Explorer (mainly v6) to be replaced with more modern browsers. Even representatives of the German, French and Australian governments asked their countries to replace Internet Explorer with something else.

The competition has seen this as a godsend since it created a rush for the other available browsers. For example (see the graph on the side), Firefox saw a brutal explosion of its downloads in Germany (nearly 300,000 Germans have downloaded Firefox in four days): about three times more than usual. It has been true in other countries even if it was not measured as precisely, and it has been observed by the other browsers Opera, Safari, Chrome (currently profiting from heavy advertising in some European countries like France).

This was definitely a good thing since it was bringing better browsers to many computers. It could have stayed there but there were several reaction and parallel events happening at the same time. The first one was that Firefox was preparing a major upgrade to the successful browser (in many parts of the world Firefox is now used by more Internet users than Internet Explorer). Named v3.6, this new version is bigger than what could have been expected from its small number increase (from 3.5 to 3.6 should have been a minor upgrade). This major event accelerated the rush, with people looking for features like:

• Built-in skins, to make it more personalized
• Faster, more stable
• More security conscious with the addition of user-level messages about risks, including reminders about what plug-ins are outdated and must be upgraded.
• Visual tab previews, which show you the tabs when you press Ctrl-Tab
• Aptitude to browse without leaving too many footsteps and traces in your PC (good for clean browsing like when you visit Adult sites)

This version is also appreciated by developers who will find a bunch of little improvements (like CSS gradients).

This is not only a great story to read. This is a great browser and you should consider downloading Firefox 3.6 now!

If you are not completely convinced, you should also consider downloading the newest Opera browser. Opera v10.10 has been available for a few months now and it also offering these advantages, plus some neat features like:

• Opera Unite: to easily share information between Opera users and browsers, without using a web site or a share folder on some social network.
• Opera Turbo: to adapt Opera to very slow Internet connections.
• Speed dial: to get a faster access to some web sites you choose (bookmarks on steroids).
• Mouse moves for faster commands.
• Opera link: to share bookmarks, speed dial configurations between several machines where you use Opera.

Opera is clearly my preferred browsing solution (even if I need to test my web sites on everything I can find, Opera is the central hub of my Internet browsing). Go and download Opera v10.10 now.

And, if you are not sure yet, I can also offer the small and fast browser from Google: Chrome. Since it all started around Google and China, it was worth mentioning, of course.

All this has been going so fast that Microsoft needed to do something. Of course, they have a newer version of Internet Explorer (IE8 is included in Windows 7 and can be downloaded freely. But this was not enough, too many people were starting to complain that Microsoft may wait about a month before updating IE6 in the normal update cycle. Even worse, some experts started telling the world that Microsoft actually was aware of this flaw in IE6 for many months. In such conditions, not doing anything usually turns out to produce a public relations nightmare and prepares for bad wind.

So, Microsoft rushed an out-of-band update to IE6 and Windows Update is now offering the correction to all Windows users still using IE6 (of course, you still have to use Windows Update and it is well known that too many people do not have this configured or do not accept the proposed updates – this is wrong and one the reasons so many PCs are infected with Trojan horses, virus and adwares). Now, if you did not move to a later Windows version and if you did not take advantage of the much better IE7 or IE8, it’s time to upgrade your old hag.

We can expect to see a few more updates to this story in the future, but there is a lesson to be learned (by Google, and most Internet users):

Always keep your browser up-to-date and refrain from clicking on any link in a mail message you did not expect.

Additionally, there is a lesson for Microsoft:

Sorry! but even the older software has to be kept alive when you are or have been the near-monopoly on this technology. This comes with responsibilities.

From GraphJam.

Now DOSBox.com offers a real solution with a free emulator.

Usable for MS-Windows, most Linux boxes, some Apple OS and OS/2.

• The <?php tend to disappear (unless you start juggling)
• Some charcaters would not display at all (or badly)
• The overall presentation is pretty bland if you use <code>

So, I looked for a plugin (nearly everything in WordPress is done by adding on of those marvellous little code gems that can be included in a few seconds into the basic configuration) adapted to this task, easy to install (I don’t want to be stuck with heavy maintenance just for this), easy to use.

Here is the summary of what I checked and my opinion regarding them.

Code markup v1.1.1

Syntax

Just insert your code between <pre><code> and </code></pre>.

In my opinion

Pros:

• Correctly avoids WordPress text transformation
• It is still possible to add some manual formating in the code itself
• Compatible with WordPress 1.5, 2.0 & 2.1
• Single file plugin, to be activated from the WP dashboard

Cons:

• No syntax coloration

ElasticDog Code viewer v1.1

Syntax

Your code is stored in an external file, is displayed with indentation and auto line-return, may be downloaded separately.

In my opinion

Pros:

• Rather flexible presentation/format (e.g. line numbering)
• External file storage allows code duplication if it appears in several posts or in several locations)
• Single file plugin, to be activated from the WP dashboard; Plus described installation procedure

Cons:

• External file storage: Rather heavy duty solution for small snipets of code

Coffe2code Preserve code Formatting v0.9

Syntax

Just insert your code between <pre><code> and </code></pre> (some other tags can also be defined).

In my opinion

Pros:

• Correctly avoids WordPress text transformation
• Single file plugin, to be activated from the WP dashboard

Cons:

• Not updated since 2005. It is not even sure it was tested with WordPress v2.1 ?
• No syntax coloration

Priyadiâ€s Code Autoescape v2.0

Syntax

Just insert your code between <pre><code> and </code></pre>.

In my opinion

Pros:

• Correctly avoids WordPress text transformation
• Compatible with WordPress 1.5, 2.0 & 2.1
• Single file plugin, to be activated from the WP dashboard

Cons:

• No syntax coloration

CoolCode

In my opinion

Pros:

• Includes syntax coloration

Cons:

• The web site is 99% in Chinese (I did not complete a real evaluation).

Dean Code Source Syntax highlighting v1.1

Syntax

Just insert your code between <pre lang=”php”> and </pre> (specifying PHP language or any other language).

In my opinion

Pros:

• Correctly avoids WordPress text transformation
• Compatible with WordPress 1.5+
• Also includes syntax coloration (for many languages).
• Single file plugin, to be activated from the WP dashboard, and a CSS file to fine-tune formating

Cons:

• You must define CSS tags (minor problem since, for the others, you prefer to do so)

RobM Code entities v1.1

Syntax

In view of the current evolution of this type of plugins, even the author advises to use Priyadiâ€s Code Autoescape instead of his own.

Conclusion

As you can deduct from the information I provided here, my choice was Dean Code Source Syntax highlighting that I currently use for Roumazeilles.net. The strongest reason was clearly the ability to do syntax coloration to increase readability even for small code snippets (I care about my readers confort).

I can’t say I saw every aspect of these plugins in the comparison (benchmark) but it led me to a reasoned choice that I wanted to share with you. You may be doing a different choice; Feel free to tell us which one and why.

Examples

PHP code

Here is how PHP source code appears:

CSS code

Here is how a CSS file is displayed:

/*******************************/
/* Links                       */
/*******************************/
a:link    { color:#a0a010 }
a:visited { color:#606000 }
a:hover   { color:#e0e020; text-decoration: underline }
a:active  { color:#e0e020; text-decoration: underline }

Among the Bittorrent-compatible P2P software applications, Azureus is clearly the one that receives the favors of the greatest public. It is proved by the participation to the networks. It quite certainly comes from the Azureus versatility, but also from its flexibility allowing it to be present on many different computing platforms (written in Java, it was ported to almost anything including a microprocessor: Apple, Linux, Windows PC, Unix workstations, etc.). But it comes with one hidden cost: Configuration nightmares, hundreds of options, some of them nearly impossible to understand at first. Azureus makes it a bit easier by breaking the configuration in several expertise levels, but it still is very complex.

When I wanted to install Azureus, even with my own computer experience, sometimes I was a little lost when lokoing for the best options to configure my machine. So, I decided to share this recently hard-earned expertise, with some of my own comments.

The PC running Azureus

First, I’d like to describe the PC configuration I used to run this copy of Azureus:

• Windows 2000 Pro
• Athlon 2600+
• 1 GB of DRAM
• Plenty of free hard disk space

Configuration

First remark: In order to be able to display it all, I need to present 1280×1024 screen copies. It tells all about the lenght of the list of options. If you want to see them in a more readable way, just click on the screen copies to pop them up in full glory résolution.

TCP and UDP have been choosen randomly by Azureus at installation time. Just remember to open your firewall for these ports, or the speed will be VERY slow (10 to 100 times slower than you could expect).

HTTP is there only if your intent is to distribute your own files. I advise you not to use it.

All origins and all networks are selected. The ability to use only networks like I2P and Onion Router/TOR is present only for the participation to tightly-secured networks from next generation (I2P is nearly never found out of the American universities) or for the stealthing of your activities (TOR was developped specifically to work anonymously on the Internet – either in a country were civil liberties are restricted and censorship is actively enforced on the Internet like China, Iran or Tunisia, or to participate to illegal activities). But this is quite marginal and you will probably not need them if you are not already acquainted with them.

Since I don’t use and Internet proxy, I did not care trying to configure one. If you need to go through a Proxy, it will probably be a little difficult to reach the higher download rates of Azureus (you have to share the proxy ressources with other people/machines…)

Easy choice here. The number of simultaneous outgoing connections must not be too high to avoid saturation of the computer capacity: Windows 98 was quite limited here, but Windows 200, XP or Vista no longer have this kind of difficulty.Unix, GNU/Linux and Apple do not have this problem for a long time.

The local address of my PC being in the C category (192.168.0.x) I did not need to meddle with the next ones. The MTU value may be optimised for some machines, but the usual value of 1500 is the one most commonly found in the broadband networks.

If you have a router or ISP that supports the advanced management of Quality of Service, you may set a TOS value according to your documentation. It may favor slightly some service (you will probably be willing to ensure good audio quality on VoIP phone or video quality on TV over IP).

If you don’t need it explicitly (if your ISP is not filtering the Bittorrent protocol out), I advise you not to encrpyt any of those communications. Or you’ll limit a lot the number of accessible P2P peers you will be able to reach.

Here, attention is needed. The values shown here are more or less optimal for a broadband 20/22 Mbit/s ADSL connection like is found in many European countries (including the standard Free ADSL in France, like mine). But the global maximal upload speed was first set to 0 (unlimited) before setting up the automatic choice (see below). So, the value displayed here (136) is actually a transitional value varying from one minute to the next according to the automatic decisions of Azureus. Just set 0.

The values maximum connections were set by me to slightly limit the work load forced onto my PC. After all, an AMD Athlon 2600+ is not really a power monster and I use it for many other things than Bittorrent P2P…

Last but not least, I denied any kind of priority to special parts of files. This is hardly useful and tends to slightly reduce the overall download performance of a specific file ; but your choice may be as good as mine.

This is a follow-up on the previous configuration page. And it is important. I configured it for automatically adaptable performance (Azureus is astonishingly good at that). I only gave a minimum upload value to avoid seeing the upload drop to null too easily: 64 kB/s. Here, your choice of values is nearly as good as mine. I more or less chose to set it to half of the maximum capacity of the upload link here (about 120 kB/s in upload). But you could as well choose a somewhat smaller value (32 kB/s); Don’t expect any dramatic impact here.

On the contrary, I don’t want to see Azureus playing with any kind of maximum limit for the download side. As a matter of fact, a modern ADSL broadband is nearly impossible to cap and if this happens the download is so fast that it will be finished in no time.

The other parameters are set to have a good reaction when decreasing is needed (Azureus decision is often a good one) and to be more conservative when time comes to climb back up again (simply for my own confort and security).

LAN connection speed limits only have a meaning if you can find other peers on the local network. This is not my case at all (despite the number of boxes connected to my LAN) and this is generally not the case (maybe except in some universities), and I thus decided to set no limit here to avoid any indirect impact somewhere else.

The choice of the download options is mostly a matter of personal taste, but the default settings are sound. My own choice of forcing an initial allocation of empty files is guided by the displeasure of discovering a disk space problem later during the download phase and to avoid chaotic disk work load (I like law and order here…) Then I want to have a systematic check of the downloaded files; If something went wrong, it is immediately detected and corrected by a couple of minutes more.

I don’t use this feature of moving files at the end of the download. If you want to put it somewhere else, why not put directly here instead of moving it later?

I store the torrents themselves in the same directory as the downloaded files (a metter of personnal taste indeed) and I do not start the downloads immediately (let’s wait for my own decision).

Without any opinion, I use the default options.

Why automatically suppress torrents? I prefer to do it by myself. The only exception is where Azureus is best-placed to decide.

Slow hash checking would be less intense, but it leads to very long delays for this important operation with my Athlon 2600+ on files sized by the hundreds of MB.

For the size of the disk cache, I followed the advice given by Azureus on the same page.

The other performance choices are either default values, or small modifications I did to favor a little PC like mine.

Human interface options should have no impact on the performance, but will influence your access to Azureus. The list of the upload speeds is built to provide a reasonable set of values in the menu that is appearing when you right-click on the upload speed at the bottom right of the window.

A lot of choice for the language. Yours is certainly here, but the translations are not always 100% finished (e.g. in French about 10 messages have been forgotten – or added later).

I don’t like to be at the receiving end of too many message firing (I don’t want the latest version of software applications; I want the one that works well and is debugged). On the contrary, I want direct access to the three important windows:

• My torrents
• Options (Isn’t it the only thing we’re discussing here?)
• Statistics (because it is nice and it fascinates me)

I hate all those alerts…

I chose “avanced” indeed. But if you choose another mode, you will have less flexibility than here.

No IP filter, but I may switch opinions. About this, I would be glad to hear your own opinion. Are filters really useful or a matter of mere paranioa?

Only default plugins are installed.

As told, it’s better to participate to the distributed database to improve downloads. It increases the number of visible peers and the download speed. Moreover, it helps in starting torrents.

I don’t use IRC (too much complication for so little a benefit: You have to dig randomly to find poorly visible torrents and it’s only interesting to hunt illegal or very recent videos).

I don not comment on torrents. I don’t need a nickname or pseudo.

I still prefer to use the distributed tracker as often as possible. It should be an improvement on download speed, I unclick the setting.

I don’t intend to manage my own tracker (or to publish my own files either). I did not even try to setup categories.

I did not touch this since I believe that uPnP only works for Windows XP. Anyway, I perceive no influence.

I’m on a PC, no Apple Mac.

I activated statistics because I love to have data to understand things and because the available graphs are fascinating (a little like the cobra snake is fascinating for its victim staying stunned in front of the predator’s sight :-).

I believe that torrent sorting according to scrape rules has a small impact on network optimisation. I activate it.

No tracker here. No setting there.

Signed certificates will probably be useful to secure the use of plugins. But I am not ready to start complicating things more than what Azureus already does by itself.

No file sharing here: Minimal configuration.

Data logging is useless in 99% of cases.

Having a good ADSL connection I did not want to reduce the number of simultaneous downloads (or not much: 10).

Do not use Super-Source mode if you do not intend to publish your own files. In all other cases, it tends to reduce the quality and the quantity of your downloads.

Here you find settings that should favor politeness, fairness and philanthropy while sharing: Help those torrents that are the more in need or that I did not help much up to now. Same for the next screen copy:

I don’t ignore torrents.

Conclusion

It is not impossible to work with Azureus. But you’d better find your way in the many options for configuration. Default options are relatively safe (happiliy, or it would be a problem for a popular success).

I would only add a remark about the coding of the application in Java. Clearly, this is what allows Azureus to work on so many platforms and so many different machines. This is also an application using a lot of memory (much more than BitComet or µTorrent). I heartily recommend 1 GB of RAM under Windows 2000 pro. I guess that 2 GB will be needed under Vista (knowing that Microsoft already advise to use 1 GB RAM for the OS only).

The Azureus version used here is: v2.5.0.4.

Additional note: For those wondering what is the little red graph appearing at the bottom right of all screen copies, this is BitMeter2 a traffic metering applet for Windows that I use permanently on my PC. I actually forgot that it would be appearing on all the screen copies. Those interested in the little detail will notice that I started a big file transfer (the sudden increase in the red zone) a few minutes before I started to capture the screen copies.