Solomon, Author at Geezam.com

12Jul

By SolomonNo Comments

Tech News

Jamaica You’ve Been Pwned!

They say all publicity is good publicity. Recently, Jamaica was on the front page of the world news on multiple occasions, this time it was for the wrong reason. Due to few security vulnerabilities with their COVID app, we were the talk of the town. I won't go into the politics of how the Jamaican Government handled the matter, as the Tech Crunch did an excellent job documenting the sequence of events. Feel free to catch up here, here and here for details of how the country messed up not once, twice but three times. The public relations team muddied the water even more. Feel free to also find informal write up from Zack on Twitter. I do hope you get the picture of how serious this issue has been and the ramification to the Jamaican economy at large. But the purpose of this article i...

Raspberry Pi 400: The Ideal $70 Computer For Students

8Feb

By SolomonNo Comments

Gadgets, Tech News, Tech Events

Raspberry Pi 400: The Ideal $70 Computer For Students

A friend of mine shared this well packaged $70USD Raspberry PI computer called the Raspberry Pi 400. As the owner of a few Raspberry Pis, I'll share my thoughts on this computer and why it is worthy of consideration by the Ministry of Education in Jamaica as part of the "Tablet for School" program. It is Not Just A Keyboard. This multi-functional computer hardware was elegantly packaged into a Keyboard. Making it a semi-all-in-one device with all the bells and whistles of a desktop computer. The main processing unit of the computer is packaged into the keyboard. Gone are the days when computers are these huge blocks sitting on your desk. Now they come in all forms, and I personally like this design. The Important Features These are features you will love. Also...

JPS Using Open Source Tools To Reduce Non-Technical Loss

4Jul

By SolomonNo Comments

Tech News

JPS Using Open Source Tools To Reduce Non-Technical Loss

Source pexels.com Internationally, Jamaica is well known for both sports, culture and the high cost of electricity; even Solomon Island is worried about their #1 spot. The high cost of electricity in combination with the other economic factors has resulted in an increase in the number of theft. It has been reported that theft by some residents and large co-operations are impacting the sole power provider, JPS. To tackle this problem, JPS partnered with World Bank, A data science firm (The Impact Lab), and Energy Sector Management Assistance. But that is the boring stuff and you can read more about that here. The interesting part is that they are using Machine Learning and Open Source tools to predict and identify perpetrators. This is a game-changer when compared to thei...

18Apr

By SolomonNo Comments

Tech News

Let’s Encrypt with Let’s Encrypt

Let's Encrypt is a not for profit company with a mission of encrypting every traffic on the internet. Based on recent news, they are on track of achieving their audacious target. They were able to disrupt the Certificate Authority (CA) industry in less than six (6) years. They turn industry on it's head by providing a low-cost, easy to use and widely trusted global solution. A CA (Certificate Authority) is an organisation that verifies internet traffic by issuing digital certificates. Think of them as a country issuing passports to its citizens. Right Timing In 2015, the internet was growing at a rapid pace and so was the hacking. Companies like Ashley Madison, IRS, Anthem were some of the companies got pwned by malicious actors. Users had their information stolen and were used ...

How Can We Help The Open Data Initiative?

2Feb

By Solomon1 Comment

Tech News, Caribbean Tech

How Can We Help The Open Data Initiative?

As a country, we are very good at starting projects, but the challenge is in the maintenance phase. Are we under a spell? We tend to put little effort in maintaining projects for one reason or another. Take for example the JUTC bus park downtown or the multipurpose stadium. I'm seeking your help as we can't let the Open Data Initiative suffer the same faith. Jamaica has made some significant strides in getting the project off the ground. We are the first in a total of five (5) Caribbean countries to get the ball rolling. The purpose of this article is to reignite the debate around this critical piece of legislation and to encourage public debate. Mic check. Mic check 1...3 After the official launch by the previous MSTEM Minister (A. Wheatley) of the Open Data P...

19Jan

By SolomonNo Comments

Tech News

Huawei Might Create an Open Source OS

Image Source: Pexels Last year May (2019), The US Administration impose a ban on Huawei. Adding them to the blacklist prevented them from doing business with US companies include Alphabet. As a result, Huawei is stuck in a pickle since Android OS is on their smartphones. Being the second-largest producer of smartphones, it is logical to think that they're working on an alternative OS for their smart devices. One could also suspect that their universal OS should be multi-functional. It could have the ability to not only power their smartphones but other devices including portal devices, cars, robots etc. Their recent filings of the Hongmeng trademark in various countries around the wor...

Improving Search By 50% With Apache Jackrabbit

8Dec

By SolomonNo Comments

Tech News, Tech Tips

Improving Search By 50% With Apache Jackrabbit

Late October, I manage to improve the search experience on one of my employer main web application. I did it with the use of an Open Source tool called Jackrabbit. After viewing the analytics, I was amazed with the improvements and I ended up tweeting about it: Damnnnn!! I did a search improvement and it resulted in a ~45-50% increase in user satisfaction. - Users spend 50% less time on the page. - Also found what they were searching for on the 1st page. - User keystroke is also down. Now I'm seeing other issues need fixing. This article will focus on how I did it and how you may be able to utilize this Open Source tool to achieve similar results. FYI: The search improvements were done for my employer and I didn't have authorization to share the exact numbers. However, I...

4Nov

By SolomonNo Comments

Tech News

Tesla Runs On Open Source

Tesla is disrupting both the transportation and energy industry with the use of Open Source Technology. They are fulfiling their mission of accelerating the world's transition to sustainable energy with the aid of existing technologies. Elon "Iron Man" Musk & team has done a phenomenal job pushing the envelope on what we thought weren't possible in this decade. Let's discuss how these guys use Open Source technology to their advantage. Tesla who..? Elon who...? In case you haven't noticed, there is a Technology company called Tesla that manufactures fully BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles). They also have various energy products for both residential and commercial purposes. They produce high performance, family-oriented vehicles with the most efficient power-train. Their ...