Ashish Patel

There are been a lot of buzz around our latest earth-shattering beta release of IBM Rational AppScan Developer Edition v7.7, and I’m happy to now talk a bit more about it!  After Beta 1 (in December 2007), I led our development team into the creation of a security analysis tool that goes beyond the typical blackbox testing (aka Dynamic Analysis in our product documentation) of a website.

As the AppScan DE Architect, it became quickly known within the team that we needed to start creating technology that gives developers a stronger “confidence level”in the security issues reported to them.  We all know a developer’s job is tedious, and knowing which issues are the most critcal to fix is very important because in reality even if a tool reports 100 issues, only the top 10 may get fixed at development time - so its imparitive that we as tool creators let the developer know which are the 10 most critical issues to fix.

So we set out to do some innovation of our own!  We started engaging the idea of integration other forms of analysis with dynamic analysis, specifically static and runtime analysis, to help us get that confidence level we wanted.  Shortly after the new year, we spent the last 4 months creating value with this idea.

Last night, really late last night actually, we released a refresh to our official Beta 2 release (that went out on May 31, 2008, just before the IBM Rational Software Development Conference - RSDC 2008).  In addition to the delivery of 100 bug fixes, we released two versions of our product.  Yes you heard me, two versions - which is what the market has been asking for - believe it or not.

Our Beta 1 was released to be an extension ontop of the RAD 7.5 Open Beta; however, the uptake on that release wasn’t what we wanted.  In the new year I repeatedly asked management “What are customers saying? How many downloads do we have? Any feedback?” - in the true sense of Agile development I suppose I was just doing my job :)  The answer back was “urgghh”.  I quickly figured out that we needed something light-weight and quick and dirty for users to use, so I proposed the plain eclipse solution.  Eclipse has an integrated update mechanism known as the Classic Update Manager, and naturally integrating the delivery of our software through that mechanism was the path we needed to take.  Hence, our Beta 2 release now includes two installation routes, you can use whichever you prefer:

• RAD 7.5 (RC0) Open Beta, or
• Eclipse 3.4 Ganymede

So enough yammering from me, here is some product highlights for our new functionality in Beta 2:

Product Information (Click here to view the IBM product page)

• Integrated dynamic, runtime, and static analysis: In one scan, you can conduct these types of analyses -
  • Static analysis: Also known as white box analysis, this type of analysis allows you to check Java source code for security vulnerabilities.
  • Dynamic analysis: With dynamic analysis (also known as black box analysis), you step through your application from a hacker’s perspective, tampering with inputs to uncover security holes.
  • Runtime analysis: When you create a scan that includes dynamic analysis testing, you can set the scan to track the flow of execution for any security issues that are found.

Also a shout out to our team (Babita, Alexei, Jennifer, Jeff, and me) who made this beta possible, we all worked extremely hard!

Human’s can put man on moon, but human’s still haven’t invented a microwave that is long lasting…  The other day my Panasonic Inverter microwave NN H665WF “died”.  You know how when a microwave turns on, it starts off with a low-speed fan sound then jumps up to a high-speed fan noise?  Well with my oven now, it starts off at a low-speed and stays there….that’s it! This is our family’s 4th Panasonic oven and we’re now ready to try something else!

I called Futureshop, where I purchased the oven back in August 2005, they told me the warranty was for 1 year from Panasonic - so tough luck.  In consideration that I may just end up getting a new oven if the repair costs were outrageous, I asked the fellow if he knows which oven has the lowest after-purchase claims; but I got no answer from the guy…useless.  Here I am talking to a Futureshop “warranty” expert and he apparently isn’t an expert.  My next question to him was if he could recommend any repair shops in Toronto where I could take the oven.  He tells me there aren’t any!  At this point he’s already earned a status lower than “idiot” and “jerk” whatever that may be - perhaps the opposite of “genius”?

At this point I decide to check out Panasonic’s website.  In 5 seconds I load up a list of 5 repair shops in my area using their customer support webpage!  I start off by calling each one.  The first one I get a Chinese lady who doesn’t apparently understand my English, so I tell her I’ll call back some other time.  The second person I call, I try to explain my problem but I get the feeling they aren’t listening to me because the fellow keeps saying “just bring it in, we’ll look at it”.  I get suspicious and ask him “is there a cost to just look at the oven?”.  The fellow says “$16″.  I’m thinking “gotcha, bugger”! The next, and last place I call, the lady on the phone explains to me that she’s seen the problem before and its about $40-60 to fix.  I mention to her that I might as well get a new one, she laughs and says “yeah, its probably a better idea”!  Now that I got her on my good side, I ask her what the Futureshop expert couldn’t answer, “is there any brand that you recommend I try other than Panasonic”.  She mentions that she’s had a General Electric (GE) microwave oven for over 7 years and she’s never had a problem!  I’m thinking bingo!  I search up GE microwaves on Futureshop, Bestbuy, Sears, and Wal-mart’s websites.  Futureshop and Bestbuy don’t carry anything other than Panasonic and Danby.  Sears carries some GE, but they appear to be high-end models.  Wal-mart has exactly what I’m looking for, 1.1 cu ft with 1100 watts and its ol sale for $85!

I just picked up the GE oven and we’ll see how it compares to the Panasonic over the next few weeks!

If you enjoy reading or listening about history as much as I do, I think you’ll enjoy this video.

If you are like me, and you love puzzles, your going to love this. Check out Knightsbridge Towers

The object of the game is to move all seven diamonds from the far left to the far right tower. See how you do!