For the most part, interactive website architectures will involve generating or dispensing data of one sort or another. You can certainly use HTML forms to collect user input. But the kind of web form that’s described here will only take you so far. What we really need is a way to reliably store and manipulate our data within the application environment. In this article, I’m going to show you how to connect a back end database to your data collection process. The plan involves tossing some HTML, JavaScript, and the tiny database engine SQLite into a bowl, mixing vigorously, and seei ..read more

It’s been said that artificial intelligence (AI) won’t put human beings out of work. But human beings who use AI will put those who don’t use AI out of work. Put differently, AI has the power to make you much, much faster and better at what you already do. Do you code for a living? Consulting ChatGPT when you’ve hit a wall will nearly always get you through it faster than searching for a solution online (or leaving through a textbook). Do you write for a living? ChatGPT is more effective with outline creation and writer’s block than buckets of Adderall. But it’s not just a ..read more

There’s been a flood of voices rolling across the internet singing the praises of ChatGPT. The newest public interface to OpenAI’s GPT-3 natural language processor is attracting much attention. Anyone who’s tried the chatbot for themselves comes away amazed by the quality of “thinking” the tool demonstrates. And amused with the confidence it sometimes exhibits while calmly spitting out delusional fabrications. But GPT-3 (and the reportedly much-improved GPT-4 that’s coming soon) is a game changer. The artificial intelligence engine was trained on a vast knowledge base that it u ..read more

You may already understand how important a good VPN can be for maintaining the security and privacy of your mobile communications. Whether you need to use your phone for banking over a public airport or coffee shop WiFi connection, or you’re worried about the wrong people listening in on your online interactions, the tunneled encryption a good VPN gives you can be invaluable. The trick, however, is finding a VPN that really is “good” – and one that’s both convenient and affordable. There are plenty of commercial VPN services out there, and configuring one of those for your phone or laptop is ..read more

You can watch a video version of this article here: We’ve been hearing about artificial intelligence and natural language processing – and in particular about the latest version of OpenAI’s GPT – for weeks. The recent release of GPT 3.5, and specifically the very new ChatGPT tool is definitely a huge leap forward. I’m sure you’ve read about people asking the AI to draw up real estate contracts and wills and even generate programming code. This article approaches the tool from a slightly different perspective. I decided to see how ChatGPT handles Linux Bash scripting. But (spoiler alert!) as ..read more

Keeping your stuff secure in your digital life isn’t simple. This is, of course, true for your code, scripts, and financial accounts. But you can also be undone by bad information sources. That’s actually one topic in my Wiley/Sybex book, Linux Security Fundamentals, from which this article is excerpted. You’ve got a strong and active interest in distinguishing between what’s real and what’s fake. Considering how much unreliable content is out there, making such distinctions might not be so simple. Many of the choices you make about your money, property, and attitudes will at least partly rel ..read more

Imagine a type of software development platform that enables developers to create applications without writing code. Low-code platforms use visual drag and drop tools, pre-built components, and templates to help developers quickly create custom applications without any coding knowledge. I’m going to  introduce you to the basics of this growing field, including a valuable list of low-code best practices. This post is borrowed from the book The Quick and Dirty Introduction to Low-Code Applications. What is Low-code? Low-code platforms are designed for business users and citizen develo ..read more

The history of artificial intelligence can be traced back to early philosophical and scientific thinking about the nature of intelligence and its potential application in machines. In the early 1800s, Ada Lovelace, a mathematician and writer, was the first to recognize that a machine might be able to calculate complex mathematical problems—a capability that would later be known as artificial intelligence. In the mid-20th century, computer scientists began to develop theories and models of artificial intelligence, and in 1956 an AI program named ELIZA was created that could carry on simple con ..read more

Cloud security is a critical concern for businesses that are considering or have adopted cloud computing solutions. While cloud providers take many measures to secure their own networks and data centers, your data and applications are also vulnerable while in transit and at rest in the cloud. It is important to understand the risks and take steps to secure your data and applications in the cloud. Here’s a brief checklist to get you moving in the right direction. Assess your organization’s cloud security needs The first step in assessing your organization’s cloud security needs is understandin ..read more

A long, long time ago – back in late November, 2021 to be precise – I wrote “A Data Analysis of IT Career Training Tool Efficacy” to help with the difficult task of making smart career education choices. Believe it or not, there have already been some important updates. That article began by introducing some powerful data tools for assessing the likely economic consequences of enrolling in individual US colleges. Those tools are designed to give us insights into completion and loan default rates, and which programs are the most likely to lead to financial success – or at least to eventually d ..read more