M86 Security Is Hiring

Just in case you missed my Buzz feed and the official job offering in LinkedIn, here it is: M86 Security (formerly Finjan) is hiring in Israel. The company is looking for Security Researchers, Software Engineer and Testing Engineers.

You can go over the job description in the official web site.

In case you are interested in more details or just want to apply for one of the jobs, you can contact me.

Good luck.

Browsers in my toolbox

Like with other products, the web browsers market is full with flame wars. Many people claim they use browser X, and that this is the best browser ever, and everyone should use it.

For me this is not the case. As a developer and a heavy user i use at least two different browsers every day. I cannot choose a winner when comparing them, and cannot give up on any. Both are a MUST for me.

Google Chrome/Chromium
I like Chrome because it is lightning fast, lightweight (loads in a sec), works perfectly smooth on a weak laptop (and its battery) and it is also safer (process isolation, less bugs) and more stable than any other browser. Most of my web surfing is done on Chrome.

Firefox
For me, Firefox isn't a fox, but rather a horse. It carries the real heavy load of my web development. Tons of mature web extensions makes my life much easier when developing stuff. Examples for useful extensions would be FireBug and SwitchProxy. Also, I love the directions this browser is headed to.

For me, this richness of those two browsers is great, and I'd love to keep using them both, without having to choose a winner.

A small issue with Google Docs

Here's something interesting that happened to me last week. A friend of mine has shared with me a folder from his Google Docs. Like with other shared folder, I was supposed to see it under "folders shared with me", but I didn't. Instead, it showed me a "No folders shared with you" message and when we both edited a doc, we saw one another as "anonymousXXXX".

So from where does the problem coming from, and how to solve it? Simple. Apparently, he shared the folder with a Google Group which I'm a member in, and not directly with me, and Google Docs doesn't make the connection. The solution is simple - have people shared folders directly with you.

Italy

After a very busy period, me and my wife had been in a honeymoon in Italy.

What can I say, Italy is beautiful. We've seen many the kinds of scenery that Italy has to offer: Dangerous roads that leads to mountain passes, amazing lakes (such that make great desktop backgrounds), castles and churches, the endless fields of Tuscany, Venice and much more.

The only caveat with such a trip is that one must get back to work now... :(

Ask Me, But cc:everybody

Every now and then one of my friends asks me a question which I'd prefer to respond to publicly. What does that mean? It means I think that others could benefit from the answer to the question as well.

Up until now there were several ways to do so:

1. Answer the question in private, and answer it again every time someone else would ask it.
2. Write the entire question and answer story in this blog.
3. Use some service such as Google Buzz for the entire conversation.

None of these solutions really fits the need. Now, a friend of mine created this simple, yet brilliant, application, called CC:Everybody.

The idea is simple: you can send me an email to Mosh at CCEverybody.com, and if I choose to reply to it, the answer appears publicly in the site. Also, I can publish mails I already have in my mailbox to CC:Everybody without that first step.

There's a short video on the site which explains exactly how this service works.
So now, if any of you guys want to ask me again why do I think Mercurial is better than SVN, you're welcome, just remember to address my CCEverybody account.

Getting PS3 games without bankrupting

It is a well known fact that PlayStation 3 games in Israel costs a fortune. This is probably the reason why there are so many few PS3 consoles in Israel compared to other consoles which can be cracked and run copied games. Of course the last claim is only an estimate of mine, but take a look around you and tell me if you feel otherwise.

Take for example one of the more popular games for all of the consoles and the PC: Assassin's Creed 2 (and try to forget the long DRM debate around it). Most stores sell it at a crazy price of over 400 NIS. That's over 110$ for a game which costs about 50-60$ in the rest of the world. About 100% more.

Finally, I was able to find a decent store in Israel that sells games at sane prices: PCGames. They sell AC2 at 250 NIS, which is roughly 65$. What a difference! AC2 is not an exception. You can go through their inventory and see. Almost half the price on all games.

So I ordered myself AC2 and God of War 3 at a price that in other stores would get me only one game, PLUS, there was a free delivery straight to my home/office via a courier. How awesome is that?

Obviously, I recommend everyone to buy games only at stores that gives fair prices, and don't take 100% "interest" just because they can.
Oh, and I also recommend AC2. Don't buy it for PC because of the awful DRM engine, instead get it for your console. It is a great game.

Bezeq Customer? Check Your Internet Speed

In our little country, people are already used to get bad service from the big media providers (TV, ISP, cellphone, etc.). Here's a story.

My wife's parents live in a moshav in the Galilee area. For a few years now they have been paying for a 2.5Mbps Internet connection both to Bezeq and to the ISP. A few weeks ago I noticed that Israeli sites loads pretty slow, so I did a speed test. Unsurprisingly, I found out the the connection was 750kbps.

Upset, we've called Bezeq. After doing some tests they declared that the line in the moshav doesn't support the 2.5Mbps connection speed, and this is the reason the result returns 750kbps.

So we asked the representative (actually, more than one) over the phone "why would they sell a 2.5Mbps service in places where it's not even supported". Bezeq's answer was evasive, to say the least. Moreover, they asked why do we complain only now when the situation is like that for years (?!). For years. So Bezeq knows the 2.5Mbps isn't supported, and was never supported, and yet keeps selling the service.

A money refund was given for the past few months (since February), and that's it.

Actually, this is the second time I encounter a similar issue. About a year ago I noticed at my brother's apartment that the phone line is a bit noisy (the apartment is in a city near Tel Aviv). So I did a speed test and found out that while he's paying for 4Mbps, he receives 1.5Mbps. The technician over the phone said that we're right and that someone will come and replace the phone wiring in the building. Yet again, Bezeq knew (from remote) that the speed being paid for isn't available, and yet kept charging for the higher speed.

My advice to you: If you're a Bezeq ADSL customer - Check your Internet connection speed.