The site replaces a previous version which did not fully reflect the products and services PCS offer. We have worked closely with them to provide a better site which describes more fully the services in power generation to  power generating companies, generator firms and big service critical industries like telecommunications and datacentres inthe financial sector. They also work offshore both on fixed installations and ships, especially inthe Oil Sector.

The new website descibes a number of projects they have worked on globally as well as explaining information about the solutions and field services they offer using integrated control systems and components from companies like ComAp and GAC.

In building their site we used php, and some AJAX and jQuery components to provide a pleasing and simple design.

We hope the website is a success for PCS and look forward to working with them again in the future.

It was probably inadvertantly installed by my client by clicking on one of thos warning boxes that splash up in some browser windows warning you you have an infected machine- the box looks very like a windows error but its actually not.

An article in PC Pro recently was saying this type of malware is serviced by Russian Mafia types as a way to effectively extort sums from web users by installing their dodgy AV software which then watches their internet history recoding Credit card numbers etc and relaying to the ” mother ship”.

The PC was installed with F Secure 2010 AV but the damage was done probably byt he client authorising the install unwittingly. F Secure could detect the system modification attempt by a service effectively a random string name. But it could not detect the virus it seemed nor stop its troublesome attempts to scare the user.

It did a number of bad things.

1) It kept warning that it had detected an intrusion attempt- funny as when I had the machine it was not even connected to the internet- worth a test if you ever see such a warning- disconnect and see if it persists. I always disconnect any infected machines when I am awar eof them and recommend you do too.

2)It kept flagging up spurious process crashes.

3) It disabled access to services.msc- the control panel services applet and taskmgr.exe (so you could neither id or disable it by conventional means)

4) Once you opened a IE8 browser window it went mental – constant alerts resulting in many red shields inthe system tray, and sometimes a Windows AV type window saying AntiSpyware Soft – click to purchase and enable- to sort tht eproblem. of course you would be mental to. It also sent the web browser to dodgy websites like p*rno.com and vi*gra.com (and probably others) Heightening the fear factor or the client!

5) I did a bit research onthe web (as you do and the best info i found was on www.spywareremove.com) It gae free, manual removal instructions which were spot on and worked a treat. I would say – you need to use Safe Mode to do the steps listed and be happy inthe registry. I found a couple of key s that differed from their instructions but they were easy to spot and I put it down to the variable behaviour of the malware)

6) With the files deleted its back t normal, but I have installed Google Chrome on the machine as its less susceptible to some of the aspects of such malware.

One thing you really need to get this working is Ajax. You don’t want to be having full page reloads as each selection is made, wouldn’t it be cool to just update the next selection box?

Now no doubt there are many ways to skin a cat but to be honest

1)There are few (if any) out the box scripts on the web to do this that I could find

2) I am a great believer in not reinventing the wheel and KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid!)

3)Most purely javascript scripts I could find “cheated” in that they pulled down a predefined list of data to the browser and used client based scripts to sort and filter it. This is Ok I suppose in a static environment but its not terribly flexible for a dynamically driven site, and if you have a lot of data to be sorted, as potentially I do in my project,you are dumping the whole list for the user to ultimately choose one item. Better to send only whats needed.

For this reason, and for the reason that its handy and available in DW4 as it comes out the box, I decided to use Adobe’s Spry Javascript Framework. DW4 is a pretty expensive package but there is a free trial version for 30 days use if you want to use this, or if you are a student you can get the package (for non commercial use ) for much cheapness- relative to what it costs me!!!

There are a few frameworks out there, Spry, jQuery, Scriptaculous, prototype, but for me Spry was most accessible  as fundamentally I am a non Javascript developer and I have some experience of its use through other projects.

If you don’t have Spry now and you want to follow along, go to Adobe’s website and download the files. In DW4, it loads up the files you need as you use each function, but if you are not using DW4, feel free to dump the whole package on your server in some folder.

For this example I will use a directory called /spry but it can be anything you want.

If you are bandwidth constrained, you can get a minified version of the files too, this reduces the amount of code being sent to the browser, it does not make much odds on a quiet website, but in a busy case it might save you considerable bandwidth fees down the line.

So with the basis of this project set before you, get the bits you need here and next time I will show how I got the multi level search started.

My assumption is you know a little php to run a database query and know how to get that out the database into xml format. For this project i will be using static xml files.

I thought e tickets and self service check in’s were supposed to be the way to allow you to check in quickly. Not with Air France its not!

Was at Charles D’Gaulle transferring from a flight from Krakow to Edinburgh and as they were two different airlines ( LOT then Air France) needed to get bags and check in with AF.

Went to the appointed check in area (looked like a terminal 5 lookalike sort of place, maybe new and found the check in area. There were some check in machines somewhat like the standard ones you see in UK. Checked in without problem then was sent to the baggage drop area.

Now the airport was not busy (IMO) and the bag drop area was quiet, in fact myself and some travel colleagues were second in the queue, but we waited and waited and waited, and the queue grew longer and longer. There was only one baggage check in woman there and it seemed she was taking a lifetime to get peoples bags onto the system.

Eventually- and I mean like 20 minutes later, she called one of my colleagues forward, we were all heading to different end destinations so there was no point in confusing the issue by all checking in at once.

Just as the last of them checked in and it was my turn, I went forward and handed over my boarding pass. There was a look of consternation on the lady’s face and she started hitting the machine that issues the baggage tags. A few opens and closes of the lid, she said something to her neighbouring colleague in French then she says, sorry machine is broken wait here and when my colleague is free she will serve you. The other lady was doing the AF passenger with frequent flier status – the posh queue.

Lady number one picks up her stuff and leaves- leaving everyone and the queue, and me at the desk.

So now we have two queues growing. Why she could not simply move to another desk I don’t know there were loads free.

So I wait and wait, this time there were three English women (looked like very ex footballers wives and their granny) one of whom had obviously asked for assistance to the plane. Dunno why they all looked well enough to walk, I sometimes think this is a scam to get the party on the plane ahead of the queues, but maybe I am just cynical.

Anyway it came to a question about do you want to go into departures now or wait until half two and come back and someone will help you with the wheel chair.

Hmm lets seeeeeeeeeeee ……….. 5 minutes thinking about it………… hmm maybe we will come back…………… hmmmm 5 minutes discussing, the queue is getting longer…………….. and longer…………….. hmm maybe we will go through now…………….. hmmmmm …… longer………… We will………. hmmm .. maybe phone a fekking friend??????

This was mental, I was getting well hacked off and the two queues, scum (like me) and WAGs, like them , sort of were now easily 30-40 people long each.

They made their choice eventually and wandered away- I saw no need for a wheel chair.

So she says, OK I will take you now, I stepped to the front of the desk and put my bag on the weighing machine- “please remove the bag from the machine I am still dealing with the previous customer”, I whispered an oath under my breath, but not under my breath enough cos she heard me and started to take a strop at me, so I apologised, blaming my frustration, after all I had only been waiting about 40 minutes to check in a bag (from near enough the front of the queue)

She calms down and does my bags- have to be honest I expected it to be sent o Azerbaijan or somewhere! One of my colleagues bags though was still stuck on the conveyor of the first desk, having been left there by the first lady who cleared off, so I asked the second lady to move it ontot he main conveyor, after all it could get lost, she was not happy, but she did it …. what a bunch of trolls……

Hopefully this helps someone else in a similar situation.

The world-famous Red Arrows have been banned from appearing at the 2012 London Olympics because they are deemed “too British”. Organisers of the event say that the Arrows military background might be “offensive” to other countries taking part in the Games. The display team have performed at more than 4000 events worldwide, but the Department of Culture, Media and Sport have deemed the display team “too militaristically British”. Red Arrows pilots were said to be “outraged”, as they had hoped to put on a truly world class display for the Games, something which had never been seen before. Being axed from a British-based event for being “too British” is an insult – the Arrows are a symbol of Britain. The Red Arrows have been excellent ambassadors for British overseas trade, as they display their British-built Hawk aircraft all over the world. The Arrows performed a short flypast in 2005 when the winning bid was announced, but their flypast at the Games was to have been truly spectacular. It is to be hoped that common sense prevails If you disagree with this decision, sign the petition on the link below http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/RedArrows2012/?ref=redArrows2012

Anyway i have always found thenm to be good value and reliable especially with heavier stuff that can be a pest to send when you don’t have a personal courier account.

I went to use them again this week though and the transaction seemed to go through OK but I then found my packages were not uplifted. I had not had a chance to check duringht eday, but it turned out i had received an email from a company called Net2Logistics who seem to be a similar type of operation to postvan.com.

It seems Postvan has folded and any business htey have is being passed onto net2Logistics. So far they seem OK, in that they arranged a refund of my fees, and also arranged uplift of my packages (with City Link) though they are more expensive by about 33% for this consignment.

I will see how they go, however be warned the last i looked Postvan.coms website was still taking orders even though its bust.

Why then do about 100 others get up and start queuing at the gate? What possible advantage do they think they are going to get. I’ve seen them there 15 minutes before the flight is called. Everyone has a ticket with a boarding group ( Actually Easyjet’s entire boarding palavar just makes me sooo annoyed. I honestly can’t beleive this is better than giving everyone allocated seats. More later- I digress) , the groups used to be A,B,C and D but now I notice its A and B only. They have allowed for the first group now being “passengers who purchased ezy boarding”.

Easy Boarding!- what a bunch of muppets. Do you know I priced this for some flights I have to take with the family later in the the year-and it would have cost an extra £30 on the total cost of flights which were £130. Thats a cool 23% mark up – for what- so you can stand at the front of a queue- and queue longer! Half the time they use a bus to board the plane anyway so speedy boarding gets you precisely no where!

Anyway back to the queue- so you have 100 people crowding like a rugby scrum in front of the gate and then they say could people travelling with young children or needing more time please come to the gate. Next time I see a couple of middle aged adults with young Johnny (age 14 and 6 foot 7 tall) go to the front …. and get on, I am going to go tot he front too. When they question me about why I have pushed through I will let them know I am travelling with a virtual young child- just like Johnny’s Mum and Dad cos there is no way he qualifies!

The “infirm” too- I have no problem with old codgers who have to walk slow or can’t manage the stairs very well going up first but half of them that I see have just completed the veterans class in the London Marathon and are using their age as a VIP pass! Pay for Ezy Boarding you old buggerz!.

Then the moment comes- passengers with boarding group A please come to the gate- Half of the back of the queue surges forward because the knobs at the front are all in other boarding groups- but they are not allowed on yet. So now you have people who are allowed on trying to read other people who are in the queues boarding cards to see if they can overtake to get to the front- their now rightful place. I watched a fat lady stand at the front of the queue for a good 20 minutes the other day and she was to be one of the last to board. SIT DOWN YOU STUPID FAT BAG!

Finally the final part of the scrum ensues- everyone else comes forward. and proceed to get through the gate. Of course this is when high farce sets in, because the plane isn’t actually ready for boarding yet, or there is no bus to get you there. So everyone is simply queueing up outside.

You get to the front and they ask you for your ID. Now what exactly is this about? I fly all the time and the only people who do this are SqueezyJet. Why? I have a boarding card- LET ME ON! And now they ask you again between the gate door and the plane- usually there is some ground handling agent hiding between a couple of baggage trolleys carrying a Jobsworth clipboard, and they jump oit and ask you again. Its sooo annoying because you have usually just put it away so you are organised for tackling the final part of this pantomime- getting a seat!

So you get onto the plane, up the steps- more boarding pass chaos, and into the aisle of the plane.

Now practically everyone with EzyBoarding has grabbed a window seat, though theres usually loads left if your bothered. Everyone else who hasn’t got a window has grabbed the aisle seats- they don’t want to sit next to a stragner so they leave a space in the middle. Also the middle seat always feels more cramped as you have someones elbow on each arm rest either side. So we all grab the outsides in the vain hope the plane will be quiet and no one will want the middle seat….. but they always do, so the people in the outside need to stand up and let someone in the middle. Now I can sort of understand this bit- I hate the middle seat you get jammed in and feel squashed up. But why not simply allocate seat numbers or board by rows? My God its not difficult nor any more time consuming than this shambles! And then you finally discover that not only do you have a really cramped seat but also on the latest Airbuses operated by Squeezy Jet they did not buy the reclining seat options for passenger seats, so your fixed in an unnaturally cramped upright postion for the whole journey…… ARGGGHHHHH!

Why?

What possible benefit do these to$$ers really think its going to give them? What is the point? Do they think half the plane is going to come over and say- wow your really cool. Cos the other half is just as likely to say- look at that knob in a Celtic/ Rangers strip- because they support the other team.

Do they think that they will get less hassle from taxis/baggage handlers by wearing one. “Sir sir, I will take your baggage, I speak very very good hinglish- , Me Celtic/ Me Rangers, very good friend, very good for tourist…..”

Honestly- have they nothing else in their wardrobe? Do they have clothes like Shaggy- only a load of green shirts and brown trousers except in this case- Celtic or Rangers shirts- probably one for each year.

Do they want to offend someone in the check in queue by wearing a shirt they know a sizeable percentage of the other passengers will hate? If you want to offend people do it right- by flying from Edinburgh when you come from Glasgow- or vice versa and wearing a shirt that says- East Coasters are all Gay. At least you will have a consistent result. Everyone will hate you!

Get a life

New years resolution?

Hmm- maybe it should be to spend less time in front of a computer……….

Thats that one bust then!

Have a good one.