Tad Anderson

Working as a Software Architect one of the main concerns we always have is Security. At an application level that can usually be easily implemented if you are up to speed with the latest industry standards and best practices for the technology you are working in. Working as an Enterprise Architect, security becomes a much broader subject. Insider threats become part of the picture and there is no cookie cutter solution for them. I have seen plenty of potential issues thwarted, and over the years working as a consultant I have witnessed plenty of successful insider attacks. One of my first experiences with insider threat was when I was still in the engineering field. We used an email product called Pega eMail. A few of us discovered that no password was required to log into another person's email if it was done in a certain way. We would do goofy stuff like rename each... (more)

Book Review: Succeeding with Agile

I have been implementing and improving development processes for a while now. Either directly when I am brought in as a Software Process Engineer, or indirectly when I am brought in as a Software Architect. I have not been involved with process improvement on all my engagements. The ones I was not involved with already had a decent development process in place, or they already had an initiative underway. I have never personally lead a process improvement initiative to Scrum. I always implement a configurable process repository that allows for everything from OpenUP, to UP, to RUP... (more)

Book Review: The Definitive Guide to HTML5

Although I started with Cold Fusion for application development, I did plenty brochureware sites with HTML. I believe the version was HTML 2.0 for IE 2.0. I lived in the browser world for years doing Cold Fusion, ASP, and HTML sites. When winforms and Smart Client with Web Services emerged I changed my religion. I have been avoiding the browser whenever possible since. For the past couple of years my extent of using simple HTML has been limited to writing blogs and book reviews. Simple HTML means no ASP.NET or ASP.NET MVC. With all the HTML5 hype I figured I would take some time an... (more)

Java for Programmers (2nd Edition)

I have had several Deitel books in the past and I would say my biggest disappointment with this one was finding out that there were no Deitel bugs to find on the cover. I have not had a Deitel book for a while and really enjoyed having one back in my hands. If you have never owned a Deitel book, you owe it to yourself to get one sometime. If you are a Java developer, or want to be a Java developer, I would recommend starting with this one. I am from the .NET camp and I am doing my best to go all out learning Java. This book has definitely helped with goal. This book covers a ton of... (more)

SharePoint 2010 Development with Visual Studio 2010 Expert Cookbook

"Expert Cookbook" are the last two words in the title for a good reason. This book is for the advanced SharePoint developer. The book is a collection of small recipes that dig into some of the more advanced SharePoint 2010 programming topics. It does not mess around with introductions to topics, it just jumps right into the details of the solution. The book includes chapters on List and Event Receivers, Workflows, Advanced Workflows, List Definitions and Content Types, Web Parts, Web Services and REST, and Working with the Client Object Model. The author has made the code available... (more)