يوميات معاذ - حيث تجد #حديث_الأربعاء وقصصًا أخرى

Month: October 2019

العد العكسي

2019-10-26 / / 0 Comments

أسابيع قليلة تفصلنا عن نهاية العام 2019. وعن نهاية العقد الثاني من عمري.. سأنهي 30 عامًا نهاية شهر ديسمبر المقبل، وهو أمر يدعوني للكثير من التفكير..

 أفكر فيما يجب عمله قبل نهاية العام. بقايا الخطط والأهداف التي أفشل دومًا في متابعتها وإنقاذ ما يمكن إنقاذه. أيضًا أفكر في مشاكلي القديمة المزمنة وكيفية الخروج منها بأقل الأضرار والتنازلات.

كما أفكر في مسار حياتي المقبل وما أود فعله.

محطات حياتية وتدوينية

عقد جديد يلوح في الأفق. لم أجرب من قبل وضع سمات للعقود الزمنية ومحاولة تطبيقها. هذا النوع من التخطيط طويل الأمد هو أمر لا أتقنه.

على سبيل المثال أود نشر تدوينة حول الدروس التي تعلمتها في 30 سنة من ارتكاب الأخطاء. لكن هذا الأمر سيستغرق وقتًا..

الكثير من التفكير، ووقت قليل لفعل أي شيء

حتى هذه المدونة.. رغم قولي مرارًا وتكرارًا أني أريد إلزام نفسي بتدوينة في الأسبوع إلا أن هذا يبدو صعبًا للغاية مؤخرًا. لم أعد في مزاج للكتابة. أو بالأحرى ما أكتبه ليس ملائمًا للنشر.

مراوحة في مكاني

هناك بعض القضايا التي لم أتخذ قرارًا بشأنها كذلك. جزء منها نشرته باقتضاب على المدونة، وأغلبه أجتره باقتدار كل ليلة قبل النوم.

كما أن لدي بعض الفضول لمتابعة بعض العادات الإيجابية ومشاهدة أثرها عند نهاية السنة. أحب أن أفكر فيها على أنها هدية من نفسي الحالية لنفسي المستقبلية.

ما بين التفكير العميق وعدم التفكير على الإطلاق. العقل قوة لا يستهان بها كمحرك الشاحنة. يتوجب علي توجيه محرك الديزل ذاك نحو اتجاه يلائم أهدافي أكثر.

تبدو إعادة التقييم والتفكير في كل شيء كهدف معقول وقابل للتحقيق في الأسابيع المتبقية من عام 2019.

أشعر بالخوف من اتخاذ أي خطوة في أي اتجاه. أي شيء يتطلب أكثر من شهر واحد من التخطيط للمستقبل يصيبني بالغثيان. تبدو لي الحرب الأهلية شماعة سهلة لتعليق هذه المخاوف عليها. لكن الأمور أشد تعقيدًا من ذلك..

يتملكني شعور بأن هذه المدينة متهالكة لأبعد حد. هشة كمريضة بالسرطان في أيامها الأخيرة.. فكرة تكوين أسرة في بلد مثل هذا البلد خانقة كالإيهام بالغرق. بل إن العيش منفردًا في هذه المدينة خانق وكاتم للصدور. ربما 7 أشهر من الحرب الأهلية هي من يتحدث على لساني الآن..

ختامًا

شعور بالترقب. ترقب ماذا تحديدًا؟ مالذي يمكن أن تحمله الأيام القادمة بين طياتها؟ أعتقد أنه من السلبية أن أجلس وأنتظر تلميحًا ما. لا أود فعل ذلك.

هل أعود هنا بعد شهرين لأنظر باستخفاف لما كتبت لفشلي في تحقيق كل ما سعيت إليه؟ أم إنني سأنظر إليه بنظرة الفخر والاعتزاز؟ الوقت لوحده كفيل بإجابة هذه الأسئلة.

هل لديك أهداف لبقية العام؟ هل حققت أي شيء يذكر؟ شاركني في قسم التعليقات وشكرا لك على المطالعة.

Jumpcraft 3.7 Professional edition review and download

2019-10-23 / / 0 Comments
Jumpcraft (formerly known as Platform Studio) is a game creation program that makes it very easy for you to develop a game. Very similar to Game maker and Gdevelop. In this post I’ll talk about what makes it stand out, how I got it and the demise of Jumpcraft .

 

What makes Jumpcraft stand out from the game development bunch?

Jumpcraft is much easier to use than the rest of the aforementioned softwares. In fact it takes very little knowledge to develop a playable game, in fact you can drag random items from the tool box and debug it to have the game running with menus and title screen.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise. It’s originally targeted for schools to teach students how to make simple games. Ease of use was a key factor in design (and in me choosing this software over competitors).

Al thought it’s guided mainly for kids. You can use VB.Net for some “Power coding”. So it has some power under the hood.

The main interface

 

How did I get a hold of it?

At that time I was preparing for my graduation project. I chose to make an educational video game and initially tried buying a licensed copy of Game maker. I didn’t have a visa at the time so I had a friend purchase a license for me. But things didn’t go that smooth.
His visa was hacked somehow and the hacker sent us a pirated copy of Game maker. After a lengthily exchange with the bank and YoYo games. Everything was settled.
The receipt I got from the post office.
I came across Jumpcraft and wrote to them about their “flexible” payment options. I suggested to send them the price of the license in a registered letter and they would e-mail me the license when it arrives. So I went to the post office and sent them the sum of 50$ by mail. I got my license after a month and a half of waiting.

Jumpcraft down falls

No updates

The software had no updates for the longest of time. I bought the 3.7 version of Jumpcraft which was released in 2010 according to the license. I emailed them countless times asking for an update and they never responded to my many requests. I even asked for them to open source it or release it as abandon-ware. There was no response from the company.
Update : On the 4th of May 2021 Andrew open sourced Jump Craft! Details can be found here.

No support

The forums were taken down due to “spam” related issues. There was no place to ask for solutions or get help what so ever. The only shred of help was the help file bundled with the software.
The actual e-mail I was sent telling me about the spam

False advertising

The “Professional” version came with a photo-shop like program to edit pictures. Which turned out to be an old version of Gimp! Not even supporting single window mode..
Pricing plans compared

Confusing pricing plans

I was given the “standard edition” for free. But that didn’t compile or produce an exe file of the game. It was utterly useless. Then when it came time to pay I upgraded from Standard to Professional paying the full price of Professional.

Constant crashes

It crashed very often. Trying to create the game became near impossible to achieve. Clicking randomly on the screen caused the ill-fated program to crash like a maniac.

No Linux version, of course

After converting to Linux the software was useless. The development stopped in 2010. I don’t think the developer even heard of Linux, let alone being willing to develop a version for it.
I managed to run it on wine by installing all the prerequisites needed for it work.

The website no longer exists

If you go to the website you will find that it’s for sale. All traces of it were expunged from the web. The only way to actually view the site is to use the wayback machine. You can’t download the standard version (rated at 15$) or anything.
Here is a snapshot if you are interested from wayback machine. 
I’ve blogged about something similar in Arabic. When a commercial software is no longer supported.

 

Final thoughts

I don’t regret buying a software to do my graduation project. It will always be a memorable experience.

Update: On the 12th of May 2020 Andrew wrote back to me saying he moved on to other projects and that he doesn’t have time to maintain it anymore. Confirming the dead status of Jumpcraft.

 

Download

You can download Jump Craft 3.7 PRO from here.

Or from here.

To access the RPG tutorial made by Andrew (Pro Perk), download from here. 

ZKTeco iFace 950 configuration on Windows 10

2019-10-20 / / 0 Comments
If you happen to buy the ZKTeco iFace 950 equipped with Bio Time 7.0. You would know that it’s an excellent bio metric machine with plenty of options to track attendance. Facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, ID cards. A lot to choose from.
And it happens to be a nightmare to set up!

You see Bio time is really difficult to configure. I found a 40 minute video on Youtube that explains how to do it, and I still got it wrong.
Bio time = waste of time. 

What was I doing wrong?

I’ve bought the machine, installed it on a wall and begun inserting the employee names into the machine and registering their information. Just like any regular machine would do, right? 
No, this software is very different, it would require you to register all staff from a web interface, then put that into the machine. Overriding any information you had.

You could take a USB copy of the data, but that’s useless. I mean there are two tables that are impossible to link. One is for employees and the other is for attendance log. Trust me I’ve tried many times to create a database and it didn’t work..

So the web interface doesn’t work. Dumping information on USB doesn’t work. What does work?

ZKTeco Attendance Management

Enter ZKTeco Attendance Management. Which is the predecessor of Bio time made by the same company . It’s a stand alone software that’s installed on your computer and you can access the fingerprint scanner using the software interface.

Pros of using ZKTeco Attendance Management

1. Can work on multiple models and machines. In my case I’m using the aforementioned i950 and UT800.
My setup is composed of two finger print scanners of different models linked on the same network. This software has no problem reading them and downloading information from them.
Please note that this version of the software supports 2 default machines. If you have more than that then additional configuration might be needed. 

2. Can work directly with the machine or via a server
If your fingerprint machine is connected to a server and given an IP address, then there is no problem connecting to it using this software. On the other hand if you connect to it directly using a network cable you will also be able to download the log from it when you need it.

3. Simple and easy to use

The interface is simple and intuitive. Unlike the abomination Bio time is.

Adding a machine

Adding a machine is very easy. All you have to do is click on “Add machine” .
Then enter the IP of the machine. If it’s connected to a router / server then use that IP. Or use the one from your network settings if it’s connected directly to your computer. 

Giving the machine an IP is done under COMM / IP. You also need to set a port number for the machine.
After that you connect to the machine. Wait for a bit and if everything goes well. You will be able to proceed to the next step.

Change the database directory to your installation directory

By default the directory would be set to a folder that doesn’t exist on your computer. I recommend changing to: C:Program Files (x86)ZKTeco5]”C:Program Files (x86)ZKTeco5att2000.mdb”

Downloading attendance log

All you have to do is click on the button “Download attendance log”.  To save the log on your computer. You can choose the format and I recommend excel sheet file format.
You can set rules for your establishment from “setting rules”. But I’ll leave that for you to work it out.

Download the software

You can download the software from here. 

Final words

Sometimes and older solution is a better solution. Both software are made by the same company and will work on machines made by ZKTeco / Trust. I haven’t tried products by other companies such as Fingertec for example. Give it a try if you want but chances are it won’t work..

Did you find this tutorial useful? If so please let me know in the comments section below and I’ll see you in the next one.

How to have high expectations and avoid being disappointed?

2019-10-19 / / 0 Comments
Having expectations for something or someone is a bit of a gamble. You could be pleasantly surprised or end up getting disappointed. It’s a risk you have to take if you want ambitions in life.
Here are some ways to avoid getting disappointed or – at least – reduce it as much as possible.

1. Avoid unspoken unrealistic expectations

As humans we tend to believe that we are the center of the universe. We exist in our heads most of the time listening to our inner monologue for hours on end. This can empower us in the wrong way thinking that we are always right, that the other is always wrong. A catastrophic way of thinking if you ask me.
Let’s face it we all have expectations for our children, family, friends and staff. However if we don’t voice those out clearly or mention them casually and expect everyone to adhere to them as established rules. Then there is a serious problem in communication.
“If you don’t know what you want, how will you know when you have it?”
Let’s say it’s your birthday and you are secretly wishing that your SO would remember the occasion and get you something nice. If you keep saying that you don’t like birthdays and that you want nothing. Chances are that they will go with what you said and won’t get you anything. You’ll be disappointed when they actually bring nothing and get upset. Here you have no one to blame but yourself!
On the flip side. If someone close to you express their likeness in something during that time of year, then chances are that they want it as a gift. So listen attentively.

2. Realize that things can go wrong

People forget, people mess things up. That’s how people are like and there is no changing that. If someone really cares they will put in an effort to remember or priories what you want and need; and will go out of their way to make sure that you get what you deserve. So factor all that in and don’t be too harsh on those who care for you the most.

3.Disappointments are inevitable

You will be disappointed sometimes, there is no escaping it. Life is no where near perfect and you are bound to be disappoint at times, and that is fine.
The possibility of being disappointed makes not being disappointed more enjoyable.

4. If someone or something keeps disappointing you, then it’s time for a change!

Well, some people are like that. You will hear all sorts of excuses and apologies, usually coupled with promises that they will change and things will be alright. These people have  no redeeming qualities what so ever. You are better off anyway..
You’ll thank me later.

5. Maybe the problem is you?

It could be that your expectations are too high or unrealistic. Keep your feet firmly on the ground and your head in the clouds. Rethink your past disappointments and see if there is a pattern or a common mistake that you made. Understanding your circumstances and situation would help balance your expectations.

How do you handle being disappointed? Let me know in the comments section below.

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