E-SPEAIT blogs

            Initially made as a hobby project, later became a popular set of open-source Unix-like operating systems that were based on the Linux kernel. This operating system kernel was developed by a Finnish-American software engineer known as Linus Torvalds. Furthermore, Linus is also the author of the famous version control system called “Git” which is mostly used for organizing the collaborative work among the programmers. After the release of Linux, several developers started to create new distributions that included the same Linux kernel and different system software and libraries. These distributions included Ubuntu, CentOS, Fedora, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, OpenSUSE, and others. In addition, the main purpose of creating new distributions was the difference in target groups. For instance, several distributions are specially made for the desktop systems, while other ones are custom-made for server systems and so on  [1] . In the following sections, I will focus on two va

  The entire community of hackers regardless of their purpose has a common belief that information should be free. This idea was initially established in the book “Hackers” by Steven Levy in 1984  [1] . In his book, Levy highlighted The Hacker Ethic which is a set of beliefs that is similar to hacker culture. This ethic was initially created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) sometime around the 50s-60s. Furthermore, the term “hacker” back then was a way to characterize college pranks planned by MIT students, and it was used for describing a project initiated or a product made to satisfy some goals as if it was not enough the pleasure for pure engagement  [2] . The Modern World On the other hand, when it comes to my opinion, I believe that the “Hacker Culture” is something rather special, especially in the modern world. Without the “Hacker Culture”, there would be many gaps in the security of the many software applications. In addition, they see these gaps as an iss

            In recent times, privacy and censorship have come under scrutiny, and information has become a critical asset to both governments and individuals alike gone are the days when people weren’t ultimately affected by what they saw or heard. Even to the point, it has become weaponized. Almost paradoxical, governments try to hide more, and individuals try to seek more. But what do we mean when we say censorship and privacy? In simple terms, censorship is when content is withheld upon a predetermined set of rules that are there to determine whether said content is obscene meanwhile, privacy is the capability of a person to hide their identity and by doing so they would reveal themselves minimally. In the following paragraphs, I entail interesting scenarios both in censorship and privacy that came into a general world view. Ban of Twitter in Nigeria          One of the captivating examples of censorship is when Twitter was banned in Nigeria from June 5 th , 2022, until January 13 t

            The cyber security in Azerbaijan… Usually, if you ask this to the educated citizens of our country, they will reply to you by saying that “It is really awful, and it is not getting any better in the near future”. One of the biggest reasons why it is considered to be awful is the salary as I mentioned in the previous week’s blog. The wages in government-related jobs are really low so no well-educated security analyst would even try to work in such companies. In the following paragraphs, I would like to further discuss this topic by referring to the “Mitnick formula” and analyzing the overall security in my country. Security in Azerbaijan          Over the last few years, Azerbaijan has confronted a lot of cyber-security-related threats and it has been growing since then. For instance, let’s refer to the year 2019 from September to January when 42 percent of the computer users in Azerbaijan have encountered cyber-attacks who were mostly dealing with the distribution of malwar

              What does ergonomics mean? To answer this question in the briefest sense, I would say that ergonomics is about the ways of designing for individuals. In a wider definition, it is considered as the technique of correspondence to the user’s requirements, which is mainly targeting the enhancement of efficiency and productiveness, while minimizing the uneasiness  [1] . Think of performing a heavy lifting exercise while your legs are not in the proper place or doing such exercise in a poor posture. Such things can be prevented with the help of the knowledge of ergonomics. At that moment, if we think about the correct and ergonomic way of doing these exercises then we can prevent future injuries. Based on this topic, I will introduce two opposite examples of ergonomics in which one will result in catastrophe, while the other one will assist in forestalling such terrible consequences. Bad Ergonomics [image source: https://www.wired.com/2008/02/gallery-apple-flops/ ]     

              IT professionals are an essential part of the modern world; they are the people who carry out several tasks which include testing, creating, installing and maintaining software and hardware that are within the companies  [1] .   On the subject of the country that is best for these professionals, I would say is the USA as it is the homeland of the big tech companies and also the foremost option for the imminent foreigners. When it comes to my country – Azerbaijan, I can say that the IT sector has seen a dramatic change in the last 20 years. Even though the development is not as good as the top countries, it can be considered a decent one. Throughout the following paragraphs, I will concentrate on the changes that Azerbaijan has seen over the past 20-30 years in the IT sector as well as talk about the other aspects like skills, education, qualities, and so on. Soviet Times and E-government As a former part of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan did not have many opportunities,