Drupal Translation Management

I recently found myself using the translation management module of Drupal. Unfortunately the module raises a few warnings like the following.

Warning: Parameter 1 to icl_content_node_prepare() expected to be a reference, value given in module_invoke_all()

Notice: Undefined index: method in drupal_prepare_form()

After some googling I was able to figure out where the problems are and even found some patches. After modifying the files concerned I thought my modified copy may save somebody some time and effort. So if you are using the translation management module with Drupal 7 and getting warnings like the ones above, you can download my modified version of the module below

http://ubuntuone.com/1vtOad8Eu0RuYXIbDxNa8j

Compile To Web

One of the problems I have always had with web development is the looseness of the different technologies used to deliver a good result to your end user. For any body that has developed software using compiled languages like C/C++, Java and C# combining things like HTML, PHP and Javascript in the same source files feels so dirty and inelegant. Though there are various methods of seperating the different layers of web applications, I personally feel they are still not as efficient as what you get in non-web programming.
Luckily, my sentiment seem to be shared by the majority in the software development world and as expected better methods of developing web applications are emerging. Most of these solutions allow you to develop using compiled languages but your source code is translated into web languages like HTML and Javascript instead of the expected binary code that is generated by those languages. Here are three of such technologies I find most interesting.

Google Web Toolkit : This is developed by Google and basically let you develop your program using Java but generates Javascript application as the output. Just like most Google tools, Google Web Toolkit is free of charge.

VisualWebGui : This is an open-source tool but also seems to have a commercial version. It integrates with Microsoft Visual Studio and let's you convert a .NET programs to a web application.

JSIL : This is an open-source tool in development. It takes code in native .NET executable format (CIL) and converts it Javascript ready to run in a browser.

There may be others that I am yet to discover but this trend is good news for people like me that want to get desktop development experience in web development.

I Want To Touch My Money

I couldn't help but keep thinking on the way the Central Bank Of Nigeria is pushing hard for the adoption of electronic money in Nigeria. I mean, why the relentless push? First of all, I am not trying to resist change, being a software developer, I should be in support of innovative use of technology but my view is that it shouldn't be pushed down people's throats.

When ATMs were introduced, the CBN never forced people to start using it. ATM got traction because it's value is obvious. It saves you a lot of time you would have spent on a queue in a banking halls. It also lets you withdraw cash anytime of the day.

So I was thinking, is the CBN pushing us to the right direction with it's cashless policy? To answer that we have to consider the qualities needed for something to qualify as good money. Apart from the well known qualities of money like acceptability, portability, durability and homogeneity, modern money should be easily transfered from the physical form to electronic form and back to the physical form. This is not magic or science fiction, we have been doing it for some time now. When we put physical cash in a bank account we are in essence transforming it to electronic form. We can electronically transfer that money to somebody else's bank account and the receiver can cash it, or in order words transform it back to physical money.

The ATMs were successful because they allow us to get money in it's physical form that we can see and touch. People don't want their money to be kept simply as records on some server.

This is me, a person with a fair understanding of electronics and computers being uncomfortable with the cashless policy, how about the local cattle dealer in Maiduguri that transacts in millions and takes his money to the bank in grain bags?

I think what the CBN should do is to make the cashless thing so attractive that people will opt in on their own. And I don't think they can do that by eliminating cash.

The bottom line is, my money should be available whether their is a functioning Internet access or not, whether there is electricity or not. As far as I know now, that can only be in physical cash.

Please tell me if I'm wrong.

On Moving To The Web, Again.

Yes I'm back on the same topic again, whether we are moving to the web or not. To make things simple, I think most software have already moved to the web but the web advocates didn't even notice. I use the desktop version of Ubuntu Linux on my personal computer and I realize that many of the programs I use are already web enabled. For example I use a program called Empathy for facebook. I use Ubuntu One which is integrated to my file browser for cloud storage. I also use Tomboy for note taking which I synchronize with my Ubuntu One account. Other web enabled applications on the Ubuntu desktop include the default text-editor which allows on-line collaboration. And there is the good old Mozilla Thunderbird which allows me to download mails from my various e-mail accounts to my local desktop.

All those programs are web enabled but the advocates of moving to the web do not notice it. Why? maybe because they are unknowingly just advocating for a move to the browser. I personally do not believe that applications will all move to the browser. To me, the web is more about the protocols and not necessarily about HTML. Those desktop applications I listed above are already taking full advantage of protocols like HTTP, HTTPS, OAuth etc. So in essence, the move to the web has been made but the advocates simply did not notice.

If you are still waiting for the move into the browser, then I believe you have a long long wait ahead of you. People simply prefer to use thick client applications of popular web services than using the browser interface. That's why twitter and facebook desktop clients are very popular. Just think of it, even though modern smartphone browsers are very mature, most users prefer to use native apps on their phone that connect to web platforms whenever possible.

Google started the Chrome OS claiming that the days of the native desktop are over. But each iteration of Chrome OS seems to be moving closer and closer to the traditional desktop. The latest version so far has a wallpaper, a taskbar and a launchpad.

I know many people are excited about the web and what we can do in browsers using things likeHTML5, JavaScript and CSS3, but if you are still waiting for the move to the web, then you have been left behind. We are already far into the future, at least judging from the standpoint of the pro browser advocates.

SOPA, PIPA and the Dying Hollywood

If you are in the tech business and didn't know about SOPA or PIPA yet then something must be really wrong with you. For the non-geeks SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA(Protect Ip Act) are two legislations proposed by the United States congress and senate to give government the right to seize domain names of companies or individuals they feel are aiding the piracy of American intellectual property.
The idea naturally didn't go down well with people in the tech industry and people stood up against it. Major websites even blacked out for hours to register their protest against governments attempt to take over the Internet. In the end, the idea is suspended.

Naturally the lobby group pushing for the adaptation of the legislation are the ones representing big hollywood studios. This lead me to the realization that hollywood is dying. SOPA and PIPA is a desperate attempt by a sinking hollywood to grab anything they believe can keep them afloat for any time longer.

This point of view is even more aptly articulated by the folks at Y-Combinator. They did not only stop atacknowledging that hollywood is dying, they went as far as offering to fund a good startup idea that will accelerate that death. If you wonder why they are taking such a stand, then know that hollywood will not die a natural death with fighting back and in the process causing many casualties. The faster the demise, the less casualties they cause.

The following is from Y-Combinator's page requesting for startup ideas

"Hollywood appears to have peaked. If it were an ordinary industry (film cameras, say, or typewriters), it could look forward to a couple decades of peaceful decline. But this is not an ordinary industry. The people who run it are so mean and so politically connected that they could do a lot of damage to civil liberties and the world economy on the way down. It would therefore be a good thing if competitors hastened their demise. "

Read the whole article here

Al-Yahoo Bin Scammer

It's funny how online fraudsters never give up in trying to dupe people their money. I have received many 419 emails before but none was as funny as the one I reproduce below. The scammer seems to target Muslims specifically, talk of niche market.

DEAR FRIEND,

I AM ABU ABDULLAH JAFAR WALID. I AM 44 YEARS OLD.I AM A CITIZEN OF JORDAN, BUT I AM RESIDENT IN CAYMAN BRAC ISLAND LOCATED SOUTH OF CUBA.I WAS BORN AN ORPHAN. I HAVE NO FATHER OR MOTHER, AND I HAVE NO RELATIVES.

I STRUGGLED AND WORKED HARD AND ALMIGHTY ALLAH BLESSED ME ABUNDANTLY WITH RICHES.I USED TO BE A DEALER IN GOLD AND DIAMONDS.I AM NOW OLD AND SICK.I HAVE NO WIFE AND I HAVE NO CHILDREN.I DID NOT GET MARRIED DUE TO A PERSONAL REASON I CANNOT DISCLOSE TO YOU.

FOR 2 YEARS NOW I AM SERIOUSLY SICK AND I AM PRESENTLY IN HOSPITAL. THE ILLNESS GOT COMPLICATED AND I SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK WHICH HAS AFFECTED MY SPEECH AND HEARING.I CAN NO LONGER TALK AND I AM ALSO DEAF. HALF OF MY BODY IS PARALYZED.

I SEND YOU THIS MAIL WITH THE HELP OF THE PRIVATE LAWYER ASSISTING ME. I CAN ONLY MOVE MY RIGHT HAND, AND I AM ABLE TO WRITE LITTLE WITH IT. WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN IS BEEN SENT TO YOU VIA EMAIL BY MY LAWYER AND CARE TAKER.

I HAVE LITTLE TIME SO I HAVE COMMITTED IT TO SPREADING MY WEALTH TOWARDS BETTER HEALTH CARE FOR MANKIND IN THE HOSPITAL WHERE I AM, I HAVE GIVEN THE MANAGEMENT ENOUGH FUNDS TO UPGRADE AND BUILD A NEW CANCER RESEARCH FACILITY. THIS WILL PROVIDE BETTER HEALTH CARE FOR OTHER CANCER PATIENTS.

I DON'T KNOW YOU, BUT MY HEART DIRECTS ME THAT I MUST CHOOSE A TOTAL STRANGER TO CARRYOUT THESE TASK. DUE TO MY CONDITION AND THE WISH OF ALMIGHTY ALLAH I AM CONTACTING YOU WITH THE HOPE THAT YOU WILL CARRYOUT MY INSTRUCTION FOR THE SAKE OF HUMANITY.I HAVE US$16M IN GOLD. I WANT YOU TO TAKE CUSTODY OF THE GOLD, SELL IT AND USE THE MONEY TO BUILD AN ORPHANAGE IN YOUR COUNTRY. YOU WILL NAME IT ABU ABDULLAH JAFAR WALID ORPHANAGE HOME.

THESE IS MY HEART DESIRE.YOU MUST FOLLOW MY WISH FOR IT WILL GLADDEN THEHEART OF ALMIGHTY ALLAH.

IF YOU ARE READY TO DO THIS AND CARRYOUT MY WISH, THEN SEND ME.

[1] FULL NAMES

[2] PHONE/FAX NUMBER

[3] RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

[4] OCCUPATION



WITH THE HELP OF MY PRIVATE lawyer I WILL BE IN CONTACT WITH YOU.

MY PRIVATE EMAIL IS: walid_jafarabu@hotmail.com

I AWAIT YOUR REPLY.
MAY ALMIGHTY ALLAH {SALL ALLAHU ALAYHI WASALLAM} EXTEND HIS MERCY OVER
YOUR HOUSEHOLD?



YOURS FAITHFULLY,

ABU ABDULLAH JAFAR WALID

ASSALAMU ALYKUM WARAHAMATULLAHI WABARAKATUH


He almost succeeded in sounding like a Muslim but unfortunately he doesn't know that Muslims don't use the words "SALL ALLAHU ALAYHI WASALLAM" to praise Allah. Wow, that's almost blasphemous. You use that after the name of the prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Sorry Mr Walid, any average Muslim can see through you. 

MTN FastLink On Linux

 MTN Nigeria now has linux support for their FastLink data service. Though distros like Ubuntu has support for mobile broadband out of the box, one cannot do things like sending SMS or USSD without third party applications. One can now install the FastLink software found in the Linux folder on the modem. The one I tried came with a Huawei E1550 usb stick modem.

Running on Ubuntu 10.04

Wether this is from MTN or Huawei, it's good for us Linux users.

Webification Part 2

By now it is obvious that the web 2.0 revolution will be hinged on some particular technologies. The most important of which are JavaScript and HTML5. These technologies are all available today in most modern browsers and have started to prove that we can build desktop like applications in the browsers. But there is a flip side to the in-browser web 2.0 revolution, what happens if these technologies were made available outside the browser. What happens if modern desktop environments support JavaScript, CSS and HTML5 out of the box? What happens if web 2.0 is brought out of the browser unto the desktop instead of squeezing the desktop into the browser.

Imagine designing your desktop application GUI with HTML and CSS and getting your desktop OS to interpret JavaScript outside the browser. That way web applications can run directly on the desktop. That way all web developers automatically become desktop developers without requiring any additional skills. That way, the line between desktop application development and web application development disappears. The same can also be done on mobile operating systems. Then the dream of write once run everywhere will finally be achieved and above all it will be achieved on open standards.

Imagine having a desktop shortcut that downloads and starts a JavaScript application and runs it natively without requiring any changes. That is the future of software I envisage. The good news is that future doesn't seems to be very far away.

GNOME 3 desktop has a built-in JavaScript interpreter and also supports theming with CSS. The default text editor GEdit allows on-line real time collaboration. The default note taking application let's you drop notes into the instant messaging application allowing easy note sharing.

That may not exactly be the future I imagine, but it's a huge step in the right direction. The future will be such that you can't draw a clear line separating web, desktop and mobile applications.

And that future is almost here.

Webification Part 1

I've blogged before about my view on the future of software development. I argued that there will be a blurring of the line dividing web application development and native/desktop application development. I clearly disagreed with the argument that everything is going to move to the web. One of my key arguments was that the web was originally a presentation or publishing platform, so hacking it into a processing platform just won't be enough.

But a lot has been happening in the web space. HTML5 looks like it's going to change the game and JavaScript just keeps getting faster in all major browsers. Tools like GWT make it easy to write client side web applications using Java and VisualWebGui allows you to do the same with .NET languages.

Clearly Google is one company that is really pushing for the migration to the web. They have created a market place for web applications and have supported HTML5 on their chrome browser and on android. Given the financial and cerebral power of Google, you can bet they have the capacity to make a huge impact.

So is it time for the Webification of all applications? My guess is still no. Google itself is still actively writing desktop applications like Google desktop search and Google earth desktop client. This is because they know that an all out migration to web still doesn't look feasible.

Obviously there will be more and more web applications written than before, but that doesn't mean all applications will be moved to the web. Google knows that and that is why applications targeting android are written with Java to target the android virtual machine without any JavaScript getting involved.

Nigerian Internet Revolutionaries

By Internet revolutionaries I am not referring to those people that brought about the Internet revolution but to those people that think they can bring a revolution using the Internet. Many times you come across them in forums or see their comments on blogs and news sites. They talk about how bad things are in Nigeria and how frustrated they are and how very soon those on top will pay for everything they owe.

The ones I am very familiar with are typically found on the political section of Nairaland or commenting to articles on 234next.

First of all, I disagree with their idea of a violent revolution being the solution to our problems in Nigeria. The solution should be built from the ground up and not the other way round.
The solution starts from you, what have you done lately to make things better. Have you stopped shunting in queues? Have you managed to fill that pot hole on the road in your neighborhood? Have you stopped that guy dumping refuse by the roadside. No I don't think so, because all those things happen in the real world and not in cyberspace. To get to the real world, you have to leave the coziness of your room or office and get out to make a change.

But I forgot, just getting outside is not enough because the greater number of the revolutionaries have left the country and plan to come back only when things get better.

Definitely the revolution will come, it will not involve shedding blood but individual efforts coming together to build a better system. But the Internet revolutionaries are going to miss it. They will miss it because it will not be fun as they imagined. They will miss it because they can't risk leaving facebook , twitter or Nairaland for so long as five minutes.

But they will read about the revolution, in fact, they have been reading about it because the real revolutionaries also use technology, but they don't call for bloodshed. They use technology to create positive change. And after adventures in the real world, some come to cyberspace and tell their stories in blogs and forums. They just know that you don't tweet a revolution.

So. What have you done for Nigeria lately?

Does a Startup Have To Be a DotCom ?

I find it really interesting to watch the activities of several technology startup companies across Africa through many blogs that pay attention to such companies. One trend I notice is that almost everyone talking about startups in Africa is basically talking about on-line businesses. The moment you hear "startup" it's almost certain you will hear "web 2.0" or "dotcom" in the same discussion. I think there is more to tech startups than just web based businesses. Some of the technology businesses that changed the course of history were not web oriented. Agreed Google is a glaring example of an excellent web oriented business but how many Googles do we plan to create locally? Microsoft which is the largest software company in the world is still trying to get it's web strategy right. I am not saying that web startups shouldn't be encouraged but let us not forget that startups do not really have to be dotcoms. In fact very few dotcoms are able to solve real world business challenges in Africa. Let us promote the idea of tech startups in general and not limit ourselves to dotcoms.

Nigerian Online Payment Systems

For some time we've been looking for an on-line payment gateway to integrate to a web project we are developing. So I embarked on a search for a good one that meets our requirements. The most important requirement is that it has to be Nigerian, one might say "Why?". Well, we trust Nigerian because unlike foreign companies we believe they won't freeze our account simply because we are Nigerians.


My search led me to discover some payment systems which I list below.

SurePay from a company called websoft. SurePay is a service which I cannot tell weather I like or not because it is so shrouded in secrecy. The website tells me that as a merchant I can accept interswitch, visa, Mastercard and Etranzact cards payment but refused to show me how. I couldn't get access to their API. They say I need some kind of certification to integrate it to my site and that costs N75,000 plus an activation fee of N50,000. A total of N125,000 before I can integrate or even see the API. So what happens if after paying I discovered that the API is crap ? Moreover both interswitch and Etranzact web payment service costs roughly N150,000 each. I'd rather go for one them since they provide a full online merchant account. So I moved on passing SurePay.

PayLive365 from iDevWorks: I had a lot of hope on this service because I've seen like two products from iDevWorks that impressed me. It's like the engineers over there know their onions. But the problem is that the service is still in Beta and I couldn't even create an account. So I came back after a few days and it's still in Beta, then a few weeks, then a few months and still Beta. The last time I checked, their ssl certificate has expired.

NetNaira from goattale: The first time I came across NetNaira, I fell in love with it, I checked out their API and loved it. This is despite the fact that my customers need a NetNaira account to pay me. So I registered a merchant account and started integration work on our site. They even have a sandbox url that you can use for development and testing. So everything was Ok and we were ready to go live. Suddenly we discovered that you have to pay N10,000 to get activated. Well, that's not too bad we thought. But there is a new rule on NetNaira, you can't have a transaction that's worth more than N40,000. Too bad what we want to sell costs a bit more than that. I still couldn't understand the logic behind that restriction. Netnaira charges commissions per transaction, I'll expect them to welcome high value transactions because it will lead to bigger commissions. Well, maybe it's not for me to understand. So I left Netnaira with a broken heart. We could have had a great relationship.

SoftPurse from SoftCom: The first impression SoftPurse gave was of a service that is well designed and developed. There website design was also cool. Though a merchant only get paid by a client with a SoftPurse account, they allow clients to fund accounts with Interswitch or Etranzact cards. There API is available once you register a merchant account which is free. My only reservation is their choice of API design. They used XML webservices. I personally prefer an API that's based on HTTP POST parameters. That way integration will be a matter minutes instead of days. We went ahead and tried integrating with the existing API but not without some hitches. But we are not giving up on SoftPurse so I got in touch with their lead engineer, Ezra Olubi. Ezra is a great guy that seems to be receptive to ideas. He even accepted our input and made a correction on their integration example. We have now postponed integrating softpurse but we did not shelve it. I think Ezra is one of the reasons why we are carrying on with SoftPurse.

CashEnvoy: I am not going to waste too much time on them cos they've hidden all integration info and require me to send them an e-mail to get it. Sometimes it's annoying how companies scare away potential customers by being unnecessarily secretive.

FasteCash by TechClick Limited: This is also an e-wallet. Meaning customers need to have an account before they can pay merchants. FasteCash seems to be at lost about their actual business model, one minute you get the impression they are an online payment system and the next minute they are a bulk sms service. if you don't believe me, go through their FAQ. But the real problem here is that you need some kind of scratch card to load your account. All the scratch card resellers are either in Lagos, Port-Harcourt or Warri and our lab is in Maiduguri. If you don't understand my point then I suggest you get a map of Nigeria and check the distance between Maiduguri and any of the three cities I mentioned. I know Maiduguri is far but at least get a reseller in Abuja. I have more reasons to go to Abuja than to go to Warri. Though one can load via bank payment, I still say no thanks. We don't want to put our customers through that trouble. We can as well collect bank payments directly. On a positive note, I like the design of their homepage and they have quite a number of resellers but none across the Niger.

ChezolaPay : This is one payment system that got my attention because it got some reviews from blogs that I respect; Timbuktu Chronicles and White African. But the last time I checked, their site has vanished.

NairaPro: I am going to keep it short. No FAQ or API info. Maybe I'll have to register to get them. But at least give me a FAQ.

VTN from LFR Communications: Virtual Terminal Network has all the problems you can get in all the payment systems we passed on. They also have the additional disadvantage of not accepting any of the popular payment cards used in Nigeria. To fund your account you have to load via their bank account. VTN has everything to scare us away, but we are not running, we are planning to integrate VTN as an option. This is for some reasons we took into consideration. VTN already has up to 3000 merchants, a hunch tells us that there are even more non-merchant accounts than that. So there maybe potential customers that already have VTN accounts. Secondly VTN seems to be a mature payment platform judging by the company's experience in online payment even before creating VTN. The same company owns GraphCard. Thirdly, their API is not secret and you do not pay anything for a merchant account.


There are other payment systems I came across during my search but I believe only the ones above deserve any mention. Many are just crap some of the sites are filled with broken links, while some don't seem to understand what a payment system is suppose to be.
I think I must make it clear that the above review was largely based on my personal opinion and the opinion of my team members. So don't just take my word, go check out their sites and judge for yourself.

Yahoo Boys And Western Hypocrisy

Everybody agrees that Internet fraudsters or yahoo boys as they are called in Nigeria are doing the most damage to Nigeria's image abroad. I'm also among those who agree but regrettably without any statistics to back our argument. Fortunately real statistics is proving us all wrong. According to Farooq Kperogi's column "Notes From Atlanta" in Weekly Trust of 4/7/2009, if statistics are anything to go by, then Internet scam should be termed "American Scam" and not "Nigerian Scam". Figures from the Internet Crimes Complaint Center shows that 76% to 87% of all Internet crimes reported from 2001 to 2008 were committed by Americans.
In 2008 only 7.8% of such fraud was committed by Nigerians while America and UK has 66.1% and 10.1% respectively.

As a whole scam e-mails which Nigerians are known for, constitutes less than 3% of overall on-line crimes. This has decreased from 15.5% in 2001 to less than 3% in 2008. So why is the western media making so much noise about "Nigerian Scam" and keeping shut about the "Massive American On-line Crime" ?
I agree with Farooq that Nigerians especially those in the west have not help matters also. They always try to emphasize the bad image of Nigeria maybe to justify their self exile in the west. I think our journalists are also doing a lot of damage. It seems they concentrate on reporting mainly the corruption cases in Nigeria. I'm not saying there is no corruption, but can't they find somethings positive to report in a country of 140 million people, At least to maintain a balance ?.

Imagine the insult most of us were subjected to by having our on-line transactions stopped (especially by American companies) simply because we reside in Nigeria. Maybe the Nigerian Minister Of Information is not crazy after all, we need to re-brand Nigeria.