Running multiple Firefox versions/profiles on the same computer

[Information Source]

To start with we are talking about “running” and not just “having” two different versions. Furthermore, we can have two different profiles of the same version wherein you can have useful but resource-heavy add ons in one profile and a lighter other profile. Here is a good link that can help us achieve it. For the record, I am just summarising what is there on the site:

1. Get FF Profile Manager: Close all FF instances. Start FF from command line using the following commands:

For Windows: <Firefox installation folder>/firefox.exe -ProfileManager

For Linux: <Firefox installation folder>/firefox -ProfileManager

2. Create profile: Once you start FF with the command above you will get a Profile Manager dialog. Create a new profile, assuming you are going to use the default one as the other profile.

3. Create shortcuts: for the new profile as well as for the default one.

For Windows: Right click on desktop and Create New Shortcut. Target field should look something like:

<FF installation folder>\firefox.exe -P  <profile name> -no-remote

For Linux: Create a new command and enter the following:

firefox -P  <profile name> -no-remote

Create one more shortcut  – this time the profile name being “Default”. 

Reproducing verbatim from the source link

What the -no-remote flag (vaguely) tells Firefox to do is start a completely new and segregated Firefox process

My two cents: A beautiful fact is you can use this approach to have FF2.x and FF3.x running on the same computer simultaneously. Just ensure your shortcuts point to those versions respectively.

JVM_Bind Address already in use – What to do?

[I have added an update at the end of this post courtsey Vishwas :-)]

Normally, I come across this error when I am working with app servers and especially when I am starting the server – that is when most of the ports are reserved for listening. Almost all of us who know simple english would realize that there is some resource that the application is trying to use but which is already in use by some other application or process. However, what is worth knowing, is how to resolve this issue, esp in Windows!

Simply speaking, we need to identify the port number over which the two processes are fighting and then check if the current process that is holding the port number ransom can be killed. If the holding process is dispensable then kill it and restart the new process else change the settings of the new process (if possible) to use another port number. Killing is not the difficult part. Identifying the process which is holding the port number is the interesting part.

UNIX/Linux offers us the lsof command and one can use it in the following syntax to get the process id.

lsof -i:<port-number>

In windows, unless you have installed a linux/unix emulator, you can follow a two step process.

Do a “netstat -o > <some-text-file>” to get all the ports along with their owning process id.

After that search for the port number that you want. Once you get the process id from the netstat output, find more details (task manager is the simplest tool for this). Kill it :-).

Vishwas has suggested two tools which can save us this rigmarole. Current Ports (from NirSoft) is a very nifty tool which allows us to view a lot of information related to a particular port or a process – I would vouch for it for its simplicity. The other tool is Process Explorer. It did display a lot of information but I could not discover how to check the port number. Current Ports solves our problems much better.

Business Skills…..Donn need them!

A few days back I read a blog post commenting on the so-called artificially created need for business skills in the IT sector. The topic itself is one that gets people charged. To top it, the post was against the motion in this debate. I too put in my comments.

The author’s premise was that the repeated stress on business skills for technology people is unnecessary and its importance is falsely overrated. He is of the opinion that the people with business skills actually contribute to more confusion and less productivity.

In my opinion, it is wrong to generalise things and a very unhealthy practise to berate those with good business skill but medium level technical proficiency. In manner of the San Fransisco bridge, these people act like a bridge between the the totally technical people and the hardcore business guys. They ensure that both parties actually understand what the other person is talking about.

Importantly, these people do not necessarily sit in a particular designation to play a role like this. By virtue of their understanding of the underlying technology and the overarching business concerns, he is able to understand the product eco-system better than a person whose understanding of his work is restricted (though not always) to design of a window or a button.

HYSEA Workshop on S/W Products’ Testing – 27th Sept, 2008

I attended a HYSEA Workshop on S/W Products’ Testing, organized at Microsoft Campus. Software testing workshops/talks are not as frequent as those for technology or technology trends and it was heartening to see a step towards correcting this anomaly.  In this post I will try to outline the topics that were discussed and give opinions wherever I have one. The focus, as the title suggests, was on testing software products.

The first talk was a keynote address by Amit Chatterjee, General Manager, Visual Studio Team Test at Microsoft India Development Center. He lamented the near absence of innovation in the field of software testing. Most product companies, Microsoft included, have focused creating tools for enabling the development process and the developer. Software testing as a component of product development life-cycle has been largely neglected. There are very few cases where software testers get involved in the product life cycle at an early stage mainly due to i) Lack of the required skills ii) Lack of adequate tools. This is the reason why we do not have software testers who vet early stage artifacts like the design/architecture of the product. Product testers are a handicapped lot today.

Amit made a prediction that software testers would be obsolete (not required) 10-20 years from now and the role would evolve into that of software designers. Such would be the level of software test automation that quality would be taken for granted. Amit also put his fingers on three trends that would help bring about the change in the approach to software testing and quality

1. Virtualization: Not just virtualization(software/hardware) as we know it but also the use of crowd-sourcing to test products. Software products are designed to run in gamut of environments but there is a limit to which this product can be subjected to all those environments keeping the depth of testing un-compromised. Entrusting the end user to test the product on his environment ensures that the product runs on the environment it is intended to run on + its functionality is tested by actual users.

2. Information: Testers today are handicapped when it comes to INFORMATION. Information will not just be restricted to ‘test execution’ and ‘test case’ reports’ but data on “what code is running”, “what is different from the last build” etc., Again the tester himself would be technically sound to use this information.

3. Visualization: Basically how software testing is viewed today. The software is considered done once the deadlines are reached not when we reach a conclusion that software is sufficiently bug-free. This needs to change. Just the way when a car is assembled completely we know it is ready to be shipped, we should have something similar in software to ensure we do not have to depend on ‘experience’ (which is always a subjective thing).

An interesting video that he showed at the end of his talk.

The Importance of Being Clear

Clarity in communication is an adage repeated ad nauseum when it comes to software professionals. Time and again they are asked to “be clear”, “be unambiguous”, “write detailed steps”. From my experience in software testing, I have realised that there is a reason why this point is emphasised – over-emphasised, in fact. Let us discuss this topic here. Let us start with the ‘why’.

Why clear communication?

• Most Indian software projects work largely with the onsite-offshore model (more often than not the onsite is US). Thus, the typical turnaround time for any question posed by one side to the other is 24 hours. It is, thus, imperative to ensure that mail threads do not bounce back and forth due to ambiguous communication.
• A considreable percentage of the Indian software community is found wanting when it comes to communication skills. We ‘may’ be good technically but when it comes to geting the point across there is a large scope for improvement.
• By nature, we are averse to asking questions. Though the prime causes can be traced to general shyness in the character and the unwillingness to be questioned back, other factors related to group dynamics also work.
• As we start working with teams spread across time zones and with different cultures, it is important to understand how do they work. And again ensure that the channels of communication are clear.

The famous mis-communication example

Online Spreadsheets – EditGrid

Assuming it is redundant to talk about RIA and Web 2.0, let me straightaway talk about EditGrid. I was searching for some financial mashups and came across this online spreadsheet application.

A very nifty, infact powerful, tool it allows for free registration for personal use. The interesting point is not that these erstwhile desktop applications are available on the web for use – these things were interesting a while ago (a la SaaS!). What is interesting and inviting is that many of these applications are available for use free of cost – the choices are much more when it comes to indvidual users (for personal use).

For Google, I believe its all about user data. Since revenue from context-based ads is their bread, butter, jam and mayonaise they will try all ways to get as much of it (user data that is) as possible. But is such a strategy sustainable for the non-Google companies which may not have deep pockets and do not have a cash cow like ad revenues.

Back to EditGrid, these guys seem to have partnerships/agreements with many data providers. Using their data you can create maps, graphs or a simple table in a jiffy. I could create a pair of graphs to compare GOOG and MSFT stock graphs (yawn! the predictable). It did not give me much trouble in terms of heaviness on the browser. You can also find a comparison between EditGrid and Google Spreadsheet here. All of us could do with a nice online spreadsheet tracking our monthly expenses 🙂