IT Freelancing Lessons Learned the Hard Way

There will come a time in every young IT professional’s life when he or she is faced with a choice: To freelance or not to freelance?  Chances are, if you’ve got any talent with computer repair at all, someone at your place of employ has asked you to “take a look at” their computer.  They recognize you as an expert, have some issue at home that needs resolution, and show no hesitation toward you working on their personal computer.

While the idea of making a little extra money on the side is always appealing, there are several things you will need to keep in mind, and several ways your would-be clients will try to take advantage of you.  Keep in mind that they don’t mean to do it, they just don’t know any better.

First, you should really think about whether or not you really have time to do the extra work.  If you’re working a normal 9 to 5 job, your free time is precious, and shouldn’t be given away lightly.  Dig deep and be hard on yourself on this one.  Potential income gained by doing extra work often times does not outweigh the value of free time.

Second, you should really ask yourself if you’re capable of doing the work being asked of you.  It’s really easy to get yourself into situations that are above your head, especially when dealing with sensitive data, such as photos and music.  Your client is looking to you to tell them what you’re capable of, and if you really can’t do what they’re asking, tell them.  A little embarrassment is a lot better than losing a coworker’s data.

Another thing to ask yourself would be if you’re prepared to become that person’s full-time computer support technician.  The problem with working on a coworker’s computer is that, well, you see them at work.  If you take their machine home and the fix isn’t going fast enough for them, you will probably hear about it, most likely several times a day.  Some people can deal well with this, some can’t.  If you can’t, perhaps doing house calls instead of taking custody of their computer is the right direction for you to take.

Finally, and arguably most importantly, is the method of payment.  Have this conversation up front.  Make sure you tell your potential client exactly what you want to be paid, and discuss exactly what you are going to be doing.  Failing to have this conversation can lead to an assumption on the client’s part that you’re working for free, or that you’re going to be doing more work that you anticipate.  No matter what sort of payment you’re looking for (i.e. money, food, beer, etc.), state it in no uncertain terms.  Work out exactly what you’re going to be doing, so there is no confusion when you start packing up your tools at the end of the job.

I’ve made my share of mistakes, and the list of tips above outline exactly what I’ve done wrong in my freelancing career.  They’re painful lessons, and these are tips that I follow every time I’m presented with an opportunity to do some side work.  Freelance work can be very rewarding, and can help you get that next geek gadget you’ve been eyeballing.  Follow the tips I’ve given, and you’ll avoid the headaches that I’ve endured over the years.

3 Ways Twitter Has Made Us Dumber

The online mini-blog service known as Twitter has been making headlines lately, both good and bad.  Its I-can-blog-anywhere ease of use coupled with the fact that you can’t post more than 140 characters per message make for a combination that has left me dumbfounded.  Seriously, people.

So I’ve decided to compile an incomplete list of how this service has managed to help its users actually shed IQ points.

First, there was the infamous case of Dave Prager, who decided to Tweet about an intruder in his apartment, as it was happening.  I’m all about sharing, but you should really be on the phone with the police during a break in.

Then there is the case of Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, whose relationship was allegedly torn apart by Mayer’s constant Twittering.  According to a source close to Aniston, Mayer would ignore Jen’s phone calls, emails, and text messages in favor of keeping his Twitter account up to date.

Finally, we have the Twitter marriage proposal.  I’ve decided to omit the link I was going to post, because I do feel that a proposal is a very personal expression, and I’m not going to mess with that.  However, I really hope the lameness of this one doesn’t need explanation.

I’ve always been curious about Twitter, and I’m not negative on the service as a whole.  I do think there are some people out there who really need to evaluate how they approach their personal lives, however.  Sending a message to an online service should not be our natural reaction to danger, our impulse in the stead of a relationship, or our method for solidifying a life together.

I mean, come on!  Get out into the world and live a life!

Is the E-Book Reader Becoming the New iPhone?

In a world that seems to be ruled by the niche market, Samsung will be releasing their latest hand-held gadget, called “Papyrus”.  Starting in June of this year, the Papyrus will be released to readers in Korea, becoming available to the US and UK markets sometime within the months after that.

For those who are still very much attached to their dog-eared copies of Moby Dick, these new devices seem like silly little toys with not much functionality.  I mean, what could be more portable that your trusty old paperbacks, right?  But for the tech-savvy who still enjoy a good story, these things are being a must-have.  So let the competition begin!

Amazon still has the killer device in the Kindle 2, but I have a feeling more device manufacturers are going to be getting on the bandwagon.  Devices such as the Kindle 2 from Amazon and the Samsung Papyrus might just make it hip to be a bookworm.

Windows 7 For Free

According to SlipperyBrick.com, Microsoft is gearing up to give users free copies of the latest Windows 7 release candidate on Tuesday, May 5th.  Further searching brought me to Computerworld.com, which had more detail.

According to the Computerworld.com entry, Microsoft will be making Windows 7 RC downloads available on the Windows 7 website, at Microsoft.com.  Microsoft will be making both 32-bit and 64-bit versions available, and have no plans for limiting the number of times Windows 7 can be downloaded.  The Release Candidate, just like the beta, will be times to expire, this time on June 1, 2010.

Check out Computerworld.com for further detail in their complete FAQ on the Windows 7 Release Candidate.

Security as a Habit – A Web Developer’s Mantra

Not too long ago, Twitter was hit with what would become known as the “Mikeyy” worm, a malicious little bit of code that exposed holes in Twitter security.  Those holes have been patched, and life goes on at Twitter, but it has inspired some important discussion about web security.

As a very well written article at ReadWriteWeb.com points out, there are two different ways to address security when designing a web application: Input Filtering and Output Escaping.  While a discussion of the pros and cons of the two schemes in definite worth having, that’s not where I want to go.  I want to focus on the base of the issue, and that is security as a habit.

I recently was given the task of developing a web application for tracking discounts given to customers by the sales staff where I work.  This application was to be simple for the sales staff to use, collect specific information, and load it into a database.  We have a Windows 2003 Server that is available for me to use as an application platform, and I’ve got MySQL installed on it.

I was given about a day and a half to get something working.  That’s a pretty compressed timeframe by almost anybody’s standards.  So I put on my headphones and got to work.

Security was the least of my concerns.  I was interested only in getting something functional, from my boss’s standpoint, and roughly stable.  Needless to say I cut corners.  I now have a load of work to go back and do, because validation is non-existent, and I did absolutely no output escaping.

The moral of my story is this: making security a habit instead of an afterthought would probably have saved me what will most likely become days of work.  Throwing a project together with no concept of security automatically breeds an insecure system.  More than that, however, it creates a situation where you’re chasing security holes, possible for years, instead of standing sure that you are secure from the beginning.

So all you web developers out there, heed my warning.  No matter what security scheme you decide to live by, make sure that you are consistent in your approach.  Do it all the time, every time, and you’ll be running some of the most secure code on the Internet.

The New Firefox Goes Tab-less

A preview of a redesigned Firefox interface comes with a surprise.  Or lack of surprise.  Or perhaps what it lacks is surprising.  Well, anyway, it doesn’t have tabs.

According to ReadWriteWeb.com, Oliver Reichenstein and Aza Raskin, feel that tabs might be falling by the wayside.  In a world where browsers are becoming the center of people’s computing universe, they feel that something more flexible is in order.  They envision a browser organized more like iTunes, with folders, libraries and bookmarks all organized on the side of the window, with large image icons showing screenshots of your favorite sites in real time.

Swine Flu – Patient Zero?

If the Interwebs are good for one thing, it’s humor.  Count on the geek masses, armed with Photoshop and a dark sense of comedy, to come up with this one…

Patient Zero, perhaps?