recently, i came across the "LAMP" term; I was excited to know that it is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP programs (description later). I thought it is a cool term. I am the kind of person who spend lots of time browsing the net and always eager to learn about new technologies, platforms, tools, etc ..Having said that, i would expect that LAMP is a pretty new term. To my surprise, the term has been around since 1998 and was first used by the Michael Kunze. in an article for the German computing magazine c't in 1998 (12/98, page 230). At a later stage it has become more popular among English readers by O'Reilly and MySQL AB.
Each program (LAMP) is an open source standard in its own right: Linux is the operating system; Apache is the most commonly-used Web server; MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) with add-on tools for Web-based administration; and PHP is a popular object-oriented scripting language that encompasses the best features of many other programming languages to make it efficient for Web development.
Many of the world's largest organizations, including Yahoo!, Sabre Holdings, Cox Communications, The Associated Press, Google, and NASA, are realizing significant cost savings by using open source products to power web sites, business-critical enterprise applications and packaged software.
ammar sajdi
Oracle consultant
Amman - Jordan
www.e-ammar.com
www.realsoft-me.com
www.palco-me.com
www.informobility.com
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Welcome to Joomla!
Finally, i spared sometime to install JOOMLA
I read about it several time and browsed the website so many times, i wanted to try it out; and i had no way to do that but to install it.
I installed it on our Linux machine 192.168.0.1 which is also used as the companies Proxy (not a very nice idea) It required MySQL, PHP and Apache server which were already installed by me due to earlier experimentations. It is an open source thing and it fully utilizes LAMP (short for Linux, Apache, Mysql, PHP).
But what is Joomla, well here is what the website says
Cutting Edge Content Management
"Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable"
and this is what the defautl template has to say
"If you've read anything at all about Content Management Systems (CMS), you'll probably know at least three things: CMS are the most exciting way to do business, CMS can be really, I mean really, complicated and lastly Portals are absolutely, outrageously, often unaffordably expensive. ....
Joomla! is set to change all that ...
Joomla! is different from the normal models for portal software. For a start, it's not complicated. Joomla! has been developed for the masses. It's licensed under the GNU/GPL license, easy to install and administer and reliable. Joomla! doesn't even require the user or administrator of the system to know HTML to operate it once it's up and running. "
I am going to pursue this beast and see where i end up at!
wish me luck
I read about it several time and browsed the website so many times, i wanted to try it out; and i had no way to do that but to install it.
I installed it on our Linux machine 192.168.0.1 which is also used as the companies Proxy (not a very nice idea) It required MySQL, PHP and Apache server which were already installed by me due to earlier experimentations. It is an open source thing and it fully utilizes LAMP (short for Linux, Apache, Mysql, PHP).
But what is Joomla, well here is what the website says
Cutting Edge Content Management
"Joomla! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla! is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable"
and this is what the defautl template has to say
"If you've read anything at all about Content Management Systems (CMS), you'll probably know at least three things: CMS are the most exciting way to do business, CMS can be really, I mean really, complicated and lastly Portals are absolutely, outrageously, often unaffordably expensive. ....
Joomla! is set to change all that ...
Joomla! is different from the normal models for portal software. For a start, it's not complicated. Joomla! has been developed for the masses. It's licensed under the GNU/GPL license, easy to install and administer and reliable. Joomla! doesn't even require the user or administrator of the system to know HTML to operate it once it's up and running. "
I am going to pursue this beast and see where i end up at!
wish me luck
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Visiting Bahrain
I am here in Bahrain visiting the Central Bank of Bahrain to make an assessment for migrating their J2ee and portal software application to the latest releases of Oracle Application Server. This is probably my 6th visit to Bahrain. The following are some of the comments
1- Taxis are overpriced. They are equipped with meters but drivers do not use them. A short trip costs around 12 USD.
2-You cannot stay in non-5-star hotels. Unless newly innovated, even the 5 starts are not all that good. I tried Hilton some time back and it was horrible (I noticed that its name has been changed to Golden Tulip). Holiday Inn was also horrible (the name has now changed to Crown Plaza and I hope it is better). The 5-star hotels cost something like 180 USD +20% without breakfast. I felt that this was also overpriced compared to the standard and the service offered.
3- The weather is fine during the day, however, it turned a bit cool in the evening. You need a jacket, which is something I do not use in the Gulf Region. But it seems that Bahrain is cooler than UAE and Oman during winter.
4- I came to Gulf Air, which left on time, but the AirBus 320 seat space is limited and as such is uncomfortable for a 191 cm guy
5- I am leaving tomorrow back to Amman after less than 36 hours, which is long enough to miss Amman.
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.net
www.realsoft-me.com
1- Taxis are overpriced. They are equipped with meters but drivers do not use them. A short trip costs around 12 USD.
2-You cannot stay in non-5-star hotels. Unless newly innovated, even the 5 starts are not all that good. I tried Hilton some time back and it was horrible (I noticed that its name has been changed to Golden Tulip). Holiday Inn was also horrible (the name has now changed to Crown Plaza and I hope it is better). The 5-star hotels cost something like 180 USD +20% without breakfast. I felt that this was also overpriced compared to the standard and the service offered.
3- The weather is fine during the day, however, it turned a bit cool in the evening. You need a jacket, which is something I do not use in the Gulf Region. But it seems that Bahrain is cooler than UAE and Oman during winter.
4- I came to Gulf Air, which left on time, but the AirBus 320 seat space is limited and as such is uncomfortable for a 191 cm guy
5- I am leaving tomorrow back to Amman after less than 36 hours, which is long enough to miss Amman.
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.net
www.realsoft-me.com
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Seven for all mankind jeans
hey all of you women of jordan, if you do not wear "7 for all mankind jeans" ($180), sorry, you have not quite made it!!!! yet (http://www.7forallmankind.com/pl/c/3.html)
Ah and do not forgret Juicy
Ah and do not forgret Juicy
Monday, January 01, 2007
Eid
3id in Arabic comes from E3adah (return , repetition). Saying Happy Eid implicitly means that one wishes the happy return of this occasion. On the personal front, 2006 was a good year for my career. However, on the regional and global domain, i hope it never repeats. I am really sad that year after year, we have pieces of our land still occupied. Both Arab and Muslim worlds have a lot of catching up to do, and i am unable to see the first step towards catching up being taken. i hope next year comes with a reason for us to be happy and wish the return of same occasion
Peter Answers - Interactive Soul Engine
A couple of years back, one of the kids in the family logged into www.peteranswers.com and started asking me questions and letting the Web engine write back the correct answers. A couple of days back, we checked it out again for fun to see how the elderly would react to it.
try it out yourself. Depending on the level of spirituality embedded within you, your level of interaction with the soul engine would be stronger. Try it out
Ammar Sajdi
www.palco-me.com
REALSOFT, PALCO,
try it out yourself. Depending on the level of spirituality embedded within you, your level of interaction with the soul engine would be stronger. Try it out
Ammar Sajdi
www.palco-me.com
www.realsoft-me.com
www.e-ammar.net
REALSOFT, PALCO,
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Too much data and not enough information, ORACLE Data Mining
Business Intillegence (BI) is now one of the important direction that our company REALSOFT is working in for both local and regional markets. Data warehousing, data mining, OLAP and visualization of spatial information are concept that lie beneath the umbrella of data warehousing. The ultimate goal is : Discover the knowledge hidden in your data to prepare for a more informed decision making
Data mining finds hidden patterns in large, complex collections of data, patterns that elude traditional statistical approaches to analysis.
I was following lately the advent Oracle products in the areana of data mining.
I felt that it has gone a long way.
Oracle Data Mining (ODM) embeds data mining within the Oracle database. There is no need to move data out of the database into files for analysis and then back from files into the database for storing. The data never leaves the database -- the data, data preparation, model building, and model scoring results all remain in the database. This enables Oracle to provide an infrastructure for application developers to integrate data mining seamlessly with database applications.
Data mining functions are based on two kinds of learning: supervised (directed) and unsupervised (undirected).
Supervised learning functions are typically used to predict a value, and are sometimes referred to as predictive models. Unsupervised learning functions are typically used to find the intrinsic structure, relations, or affinities in data but no classes or labels are assigned aprioi. These are sometimes referred to as descriptive models.
Oracle Data Mining supports the following data mining functions:
Predictive models (supervised learning):
Classification: grouping items into discrete classes and predicting which class an item belongs to
Regression: function approximation and forecast of continuous values
Attribute importance: identifying the attributes that are most important in predicting results (Java interface only)
Descriptive models (unsupervised learning):
Clustering: finding natural groupings in the data
Association models: "market basket" analysis
Feature extraction: create new attributes (features) as a combination of the original attributes
Multimedia (TEXT)
Bioinformatics (BLAST)
ODM provides single-user milt-session access to models. Model building is either synchronous in the PL/SQL interface or asynchronous in the Java interface.
Oracle Data Miner Release 10gR2 introduces the popular Decision Tree algorithm for classification problems that can provide human readable "IF...THEN..." rules that communicate the patterns discovered by ODM. The new Anomaly Detection algorithm flags rare events and supports fraud and compliance monitoring. Oracle Data Miner now supports mining multiple tables at once (e.g., star schema) and supports mining unstructured "text" data. Oracle Data Miner also supports PREDICT and EXPLAIN "one-click data mining" predictive analytics. Oracle Data Miner Release 2 adds Receiver Operating Characteristics support for model evaluation and tuning. Oracle Data Miner can automatically generate the Java and SQL components needed to transform the data mining steps into an integrated data mining/BI enterprise application. Lastly, a new Gateway to Oracle Discoverer enables data analysts to publish their results for viewing through Oracle Discoverer. With Oracle Data Miner and Oracle Data Mining, the data never leaves the database: all data movement is eliminated. In addition, Oracle Data Miner and Oracle Data Mining provide the security of the Oracle database. Click here for details. Click here for an image showing key Data Miner windows. Oracle Data Miner Release 10gR2 requires Oracle Data Mining (ODM) 10.2.
Aside of its parctical applications, Data Mining requires both mathematical models to be implemented by software algorithms, this is an attractive combination for a scientifically inclined person.
There are a some application for data mining in our area like
Retail business
Fraud (Credit Card)
Money laundrying
CRM
in addition to many scientific and engineering application
REALSOFT has delivered many projects and services in this field like
1) Jordan Housing and Urben Development
2) Jordan National Human Resrouce Develpment Labour Market
3) Mobilecom Diwan (Customer service management system)
4) Saudi Telcom (STC) Telemetrics and Teletraffic Switch Analysis
5) Al- Balaqa Governerate Water Information Management System (CARE International)
6) Oman Social and Economic Indicators Database (SED)
7) Arab Bank Risk Managment Operational Data Store (ODS)
8) Oman E-Census (Oman Dept of national Economy)
9) Libya NIDC (National Information and Documentation Center) project
10) Libya Census project (OLAP and GIS enabled)
11) Kuwait Census Project (OLAP and GIS)
12) Currently, Bahrain Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) (OLTP,OLAP and GIS)
13) others
We have a group of the finest Software Engineers, Architects, Designers, Developers, QA team around the area who was able to deliver all of these projects successfully.
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.com
Data mining finds hidden patterns in large, complex collections of data, patterns that elude traditional statistical approaches to analysis.
I was following lately the advent Oracle products in the areana of data mining.
I felt that it has gone a long way.
Oracle Data Mining (ODM) embeds data mining within the Oracle database. There is no need to move data out of the database into files for analysis and then back from files into the database for storing. The data never leaves the database -- the data, data preparation, model building, and model scoring results all remain in the database. This enables Oracle to provide an infrastructure for application developers to integrate data mining seamlessly with database applications.
Data mining functions are based on two kinds of learning: supervised (directed) and unsupervised (undirected).
Supervised learning functions are typically used to predict a value, and are sometimes referred to as predictive models. Unsupervised learning functions are typically used to find the intrinsic structure, relations, or affinities in data but no classes or labels are assigned aprioi. These are sometimes referred to as descriptive models.
Oracle Data Mining supports the following data mining functions:
Predictive models (supervised learning):
Classification: grouping items into discrete classes and predicting which class an item belongs to
Regression: function approximation and forecast of continuous values
Attribute importance: identifying the attributes that are most important in predicting results (Java interface only)
Descriptive models (unsupervised learning):
Clustering: finding natural groupings in the data
Association models: "market basket" analysis
Feature extraction: create new attributes (features) as a combination of the original attributes
Multimedia (TEXT)
Bioinformatics (BLAST)
ODM provides single-user milt-session access to models. Model building is either synchronous in the PL/SQL interface or asynchronous in the Java interface.
Oracle Data Miner Release 10gR2 introduces the popular Decision Tree algorithm for classification problems that can provide human readable "IF...THEN..." rules that communicate the patterns discovered by ODM. The new Anomaly Detection algorithm flags rare events and supports fraud and compliance monitoring. Oracle Data Miner now supports mining multiple tables at once (e.g., star schema) and supports mining unstructured "text" data. Oracle Data Miner also supports PREDICT and EXPLAIN "one-click data mining" predictive analytics. Oracle Data Miner Release 2 adds Receiver Operating Characteristics support for model evaluation and tuning. Oracle Data Miner can automatically generate the Java and SQL components needed to transform the data mining steps into an integrated data mining/BI enterprise application. Lastly, a new Gateway to Oracle Discoverer enables data analysts to publish their results for viewing through Oracle Discoverer. With Oracle Data Miner and Oracle Data Mining, the data never leaves the database: all data movement is eliminated. In addition, Oracle Data Miner and Oracle Data Mining provide the security of the Oracle database. Click here for details. Click here for an image showing key Data Miner windows. Oracle Data Miner Release 10gR2 requires Oracle Data Mining (ODM) 10.2.
Aside of its parctical applications, Data Mining requires both mathematical models to be implemented by software algorithms, this is an attractive combination for a scientifically inclined person.
There are a some application for data mining in our area like
Retail business
Fraud (Credit Card)
Money laundrying
CRM
in addition to many scientific and engineering application
REALSOFT has delivered many projects and services in this field like
1) Jordan Housing and Urben Development
2) Jordan National Human Resrouce Develpment Labour Market
3) Mobilecom Diwan (Customer service management system)
4) Saudi Telcom (STC) Telemetrics and Teletraffic Switch Analysis
5) Al- Balaqa Governerate Water Information Management System (CARE International)
6) Oman Social and Economic Indicators Database (SED)
7) Arab Bank Risk Managment Operational Data Store (ODS)
8) Oman E-Census (Oman Dept of national Economy)
9) Libya NIDC (National Information and Documentation Center) project
10) Libya Census project (OLAP and GIS enabled)
11) Kuwait Census Project (OLAP and GIS)
12) Currently, Bahrain Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) (OLTP,OLAP and GIS)
13) others
We have a group of the finest Software Engineers, Architects, Designers, Developers, QA team around the area who was able to deliver all of these projects successfully.
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.com
My New Watch
As childish as it may sound, but i am excited about my new watch. Before i describe my new watch, i have to say a few things about watches. In the past, i was never taken or appreciative of watches. As a matter of fact, i used to criticize those who buy fancy / expensive watches. I was never convinced that an expensive (Branded) watch could keep time better than any other 20$ watch (As a fact, this is still true). Additionally, i would argue that expensive watches would not make your nice moments pass slower, nor make you sad moments pass quicker (which shall hold true till end of time). I am embarrassed to say that during the last few years, my argument about watches is changing, i tend to admire the design, the details and the finish of watches. I tend to look at a watch for quite sometime, without noticing the time!! I stop by any watch boutique i go by and look at the watches. I do not know if this is good or bad, I am growing older or growing younger !?! Now let me talk about my new watch One of the most innovative watches of its time due to its touch-driven technology the T-Touch offers a precision instrument at your fingertips, combining high technicality and performance with cutting-edge design and ease of use
It is a Tissot, with TOUCH Screen (Yes touch screen)
It has a barometer reading -- to help me monitor weather changes
It has a compass It has an altitude meter -- i can measure how far from see level I am
It has a thermometer -- i can measure the temperature.
CASE material : TITANIUM
Glass : TACTILE SAPPHIRE
Brecelet : TITANIUM Grey
and BTW it can tell me what time it is
The reason why it is touch screen is that you can invoke the functions i mentioned before, by touching the respective label on the screen. Not only a digital reading is displayed, but its minutes and hours hand move (most visible when set to the compass mode). At this moment i would urge you to run the following flash demo and use the finger shown (with the mouse) to simulate the touching the screen and see for yourself how the arms are moving. http://www.tissot.ch/pages/flashs/demo_ttouch.html I have an unexplained passion for weather and weather changes. The following shall shed some light about its features with this respect Baramotric reading
Atmospheric Pressure (barometric)
Compass
Temperature
Altitude
There are many derivatives of the same watch, with different casing, colors etc
I bought if from Dubai, i saw it at Amman Airport (but you cannot find all the flavours)
It is around 650 USD and worth it.
This is not the first time i own a watch with some weather features, some 12 years back i bought a Casio from Kuala Lumpur, Malaisia but that one was too bulky and quite unattractive.
Ammar Sajdi
It is a Tissot, with TOUCH Screen (Yes touch screen)
It has a barometer reading -- to help me monitor weather changes
It has a compass It has an altitude meter -- i can measure how far from see level I am
It has a thermometer -- i can measure the temperature.
CASE material : TITANIUM
Glass : TACTILE SAPPHIRE
Brecelet : TITANIUM Grey
and BTW it can tell me what time it is
The reason why it is touch screen is that you can invoke the functions i mentioned before, by touching the respective label on the screen. Not only a digital reading is displayed, but its minutes and hours hand move (most visible when set to the compass mode). At this moment i would urge you to run the following flash demo and use the finger shown (with the mouse) to simulate the touching the screen and see for yourself how the arms are moving. http://www.tissot.ch/pages/flashs/demo_ttouch.html I have an unexplained passion for weather and weather changes. The following shall shed some light about its features with this respect Baramotric reading
Atmospheric Pressure (barometric)
Compass
Temperature
Altitude
There are many derivatives of the same watch, with different casing, colors etc
I bought if from Dubai, i saw it at Amman Airport (but you cannot find all the flavours)
It is around 650 USD and worth it.
This is not the first time i own a watch with some weather features, some 12 years back i bought a Casio from Kuala Lumpur, Malaisia but that one was too bulky and quite unattractive.
Ammar Sajdi
Me Shiekf Mohammed Of Dubai and Tony Blair
UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum received Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair in Dubai.
Well, there is nothing special in this for me to blog about it;
Ok, while i was leaving Emirates tower with Amer Khatib at the exist where Nafura restuarent is located, we noticed a group of people walking out of the restaurent, while the restaurent owners where cheering them good bye at the entrance.
This is the more important part of this blog, it was Shiekh mohammad and Tony Blair walking out of the restaurent. Well, a bit excited to see two states men walking before us. But what really striked me more was that fact that there was no big fuss about it. Very little security setup (if any) No army vehicles or machine guns. Tony got into a car that peacefully left off without (wee wees). Shiekh mohmmand with some of his frinds kept standing by the road side. It felt so normal, that me and Amer got board and left the scene while few people with shiekh mohammad were talking. This does not happen in Amman, what you would see in Amman in similar situation would be armored vehicles, security personnel, fully equipped soldiers and no way for anyone to be within a viewing distance from the scene.
Ammar Sajdi
Dec 19, 2006
www.e-ammar.com
Well, there is nothing special in this for me to blog about it;
Ok, while i was leaving Emirates tower with Amer Khatib at the exist where Nafura restuarent is located, we noticed a group of people walking out of the restaurent, while the restaurent owners where cheering them good bye at the entrance.
This is the more important part of this blog, it was Shiekh mohammad and Tony Blair walking out of the restaurent. Well, a bit excited to see two states men walking before us. But what really striked me more was that fact that there was no big fuss about it. Very little security setup (if any) No army vehicles or machine guns. Tony got into a car that peacefully left off without (wee wees). Shiekh mohmmand with some of his frinds kept standing by the road side. It felt so normal, that me and Amer got board and left the scene while few people with shiekh mohammad were talking. This does not happen in Amman, what you would see in Amman in similar situation would be armored vehicles, security personnel, fully equipped soldiers and no way for anyone to be within a viewing distance from the scene.
Ammar Sajdi
Dec 19, 2006
www.e-ammar.com
I fell in love with my new SONY notebook - A Stylish support for business and Beyond
Even though it is only 2 month since i bought my DELL 6400, but i always appreciated SONY. I could not resist the latest SONY VAIO notebooks, i ended buying one.
i was confused which model to buy. Two models made at as finalists. Both have the following specs
2GB Centrino DUO
1 GB DDRAM
RW DVD
Memory Stick card
PCMCIA
built-in camera
The first model (http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/vgn-fe38gp/appealing_design.html) VGN FE38GP has a wide 15.4 screen but weighs about 2.8 KG. It seems to have been designed to replace your desktop, but not quite effecient as machine for someone who want something the size and weight of a notebook
The other http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/vgn-sz38gp_c/ VGN-SZ38GP has 13.3 screen - very light (1.6KG) and is equipped with several security feature (Finger printer sensor for login and for decrypting files and directories)
The second one is more expensive (due to miniaturizations) and is around 2400 USD while the fist sells for 1900 USD.
I ended up buying the second one due to the weight difference which makes a difference if you travel a lot and carry your notebook every where. It is truely a Stylish support for business and beyond .
Sleek design for a poweful machine with a real long battary life.
To make office usage easier, i bough a docking station.
I am happy about it and it is my Eid present
Ammar Sajdi
i was confused which model to buy. Two models made at as finalists. Both have the following specs
2GB Centrino DUO
1 GB DDRAM
RW DVD
Memory Stick card
PCMCIA
built-in camera
The first model (http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/vgn-fe38gp/appealing_design.html) VGN FE38GP has a wide 15.4 screen but weighs about 2.8 KG. It seems to have been designed to replace your desktop, but not quite effecient as machine for someone who want something the size and weight of a notebook
The other http://vaio-online.sony.com/prod_info/vgn-sz38gp_c/ VGN-SZ38GP has 13.3 screen - very light (1.6KG) and is equipped with several security feature (Finger printer sensor for login and for decrypting files and directories)
The second one is more expensive (due to miniaturizations) and is around 2400 USD while the fist sells for 1900 USD.
I ended up buying the second one due to the weight difference which makes a difference if you travel a lot and carry your notebook every where. It is truely a Stylish support for business and beyond .
Sleek design for a poweful machine with a real long battary life.To make office usage easier, i bough a docking station.
I am happy about it and it is my Eid present
Ammar Sajdi
Saddam
I am not trying here to discuss whether Saddam was the proper leader for Iraq or not;
I am also not trying to discuss the honesty of his patriotism towards the Arabic nation, but i could not also ignore the fact that among his last statement was "Long Live Palestine."
Nor am i trying to discuss whether his trial was a fair one or not
The only thing i can say is that executing him on the first day of Al-Adha Eid is humiliating for all of Arabs and Muslims.
Everybody condmened this brutal act except the USA, Israel and Iran; does this tell you anything!!!
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.com
I am also not trying to discuss the honesty of his patriotism towards the Arabic nation, but i could not also ignore the fact that among his last statement was "Long Live Palestine."
Nor am i trying to discuss whether his trial was a fair one or not
The only thing i can say is that executing him on the first day of Al-Adha Eid is humiliating for all of Arabs and Muslims.
Everybody condmened this brutal act except the USA, Israel and Iran; does this tell you anything!!!
Ammar Sajdi
www.e-ammar.com
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