Tester's Occasional Posts

Jaka jest twoja produktywność?

2010-05-12T14:23:00.001+02:00

Z ciekawości zainstalowałem TimeCamp - niezłe wyniki pokazuje :)

w związku z:

"http://www.timecamp.com/referrer/kstudnik"
- Affiliate Program - TimeCamp (wyświetl w Google Sidewiki)

Na kłopoty z Windows 7 64bit

2010-04-23T09:52:00.001+02:00

Szukałem rozwiązania które pozwala na obejście problemów z brakiem dostosowania niektórych aplikacji pod system 64 bitowy.
Najskuteczniejsze rozwiązanie jak dotychczas to pobranie i zainstalowanie maszyny wirtualnej. Potrzebowałem maszyny z Windowsem XP gdyż nie było przewidywane żeby problematyczna aplikacja była kompatybilna bardziej w dół.
Sprawdziłem VMWare, Virtualbox i VPC
Wszystko ma swoje wady i zalety. Najbardziej podobał mi się VirtualBox, jednak na moim systemie wygrał VPC z XP mode.
Wygrał, ale tylko dlatego że wykosił przeciwników tym że umożliwił pobranie i zainstalowanie maszyny z pełnym, legalnym Windows XP.
Pozostałe maszyny, były porównywalnie skuteczne, jednak zaistniała konieczność zorganizowania legalnej kopii windows lub pobranie pirata.
Na pirackie oprogramowanie nie mogę sobie jednak pozwolić na firmowym komputerze, brakuje też możliwości uzyskania legalnego numeru seryjnego XP z powodu wygaśnięcia subskrypcji z MSDN.
Windows XP Mode:
Wszystko pięknie i ładnie działało, do czasu gdy po zainstalowaniu wszystkiego co potrzebowałem na maszynie wirtualnej, zechciałem włączyć program w trybie XP, bezpośrednio z menu programów w Windows 7.
XP mode poprosiło o hasło do zalogowania się na maszynę wirtualną. Hasła oczywiście nie znałem, na forach także nie było pomocnej informacji.
Z pomocą przyszedł niezawodny HIREN BOOT CD. Z jego pomocą zresetowałem hasło dla usera maszyny wirtualnej i po ponownym włączeniu maszyny, ustawiłem swoje.
Teraz wszystko śmiga :)

Jednak.... jeżeli ktoś ma namiary dysk z legalnym Windows XP, który da się podpiąć pod VMWara lub VirtualBox to chętnie skorzystam

w związku z: Instalowanie i używanie narzędzia Windows XP Mode w systemie Windows 7 (wyświetl w Google Sidewiki)

Na uspokojenie

2010-03-13T17:41:00.001+01:00

Inni mają gorzej. Wystarczy poczytać. A gdy za mało - dodać swoje wpisdu. Polecam wszystkim.

w związku z: http://www.atochuj.pl/ (wyświetl w Google Sidewiki)

Interesting thought about Peer Guardian

2010-01-28T01:07:00.001+01:00

"Install 4 or 5 additional list to the ones that pre-install on the PG2 and set the log function to just log the blocks that PG2 is making....
Surf the web for a few hours and I assure you it will take a little time for Notepad to load the log that PG2 has waiting for you the next day...
It will be very large in fact.

Then ask yourself... Did all those people really need to be on my computer..."

w związku z: http://forums.phoenixlabs.org/showthread.php?t=19390 (wyświetl w Google Sidewiki)

Beta testing - Fun

2010-01-20T00:29:00.001+01:00

Hurray!
I am glad to anounce Nova Initia early beta testing. I am glad I could join to have fun and learn something new.

w związku z: http://forums.nova-initia.com/ (wyświetl w Google Sidewiki)

Window size and resolution

2010-01-18T13:41:00.001+01:00

Size does matter...
Have You ever met software or web site, that looked crappy on low resolution screen?
I think the ansver is "Yes!"

Once I had to work with desktop application written on 1900x1600 screen.
I think developers did not check different screen sizes, and did not ask on what resolution will their client work.
I worked with it on 1024x768 resolution - like normal user will do.
There were places where text labels and input fields were enormous, parts of labels were gone.
Dialog windows were too big. There was no way to resize or move them, so some buttons were not acessible, making most of options unusable.

The only way to work with that application, was, to enable "Virtual resolution" size of desktop,

in reference to: http://www.quicktestingtips.com/tips/2010/01/resize-windows/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Looking for a new job as a tester?

2010-01-18T12:50:00.001+01:00

I found this listing helpful.
And I agree with author, that it is hard to write in short format, in a few sentences, why does someone like his job.
I will try :)

in reference to: http://www.quicktestingtips.com/tips/2010/01/my-approach-to-testing-is-as-follows%e2%80%a6/ (view on Google Sidewiki)

Work at Freelancing tester

2010-01-18T11:11:00.001+01:00

Found at oDesk work assignment for QA

"Test existing iPhone App to meet Apple requirements. bonus if all goes well."

What does mean "goes well" - is it that errors are found, or not found?
For what tester would have granted a bonus?
Is it that tester finds a bug - bonus is canceled, because not everything works well?

in reference to: http://www.odesk.com/jobs/Test-phone-App_~~53937526f150adf6?sid=34001 (view on Google Sidewiki)

Team has new tool - Testlink

2009-08-10T11:43:00.007+02:00

Decisions are made. Recently our HQ gave tester's team small present.

We have working instance of Testlink. There will be at last some order in maintaining testing documentation.
I hated Word/Excel design of test cases. It was often written, and dumped somewhere in product documentation stack. With word document filled with test cases and excel working as a test reporting tool, there was no order, and no exact way to report testing progress. After few builds, reporting was a mess.

With Testlink, connected to our bug tracker, I hope we make progress faster when it come to testing new products.

There will be no problem in maintaining scenarios for application build.

Before going to Testlink, i made some research on other tools, I also participated in beta program of Testuff for that purpose. I personally liked that second tool very much, but it costs lots of $$ for a little company with small testing team budget.

Testuff gui has "funny approach" for testing. Why not? Is bug a sad disaster? In my opinion, bug, found by a company's tester an occasion to celebrate. We found It!!! Not the customer :-)

I also have warm thoughts about Testuff team. So I wish them best regards and happy progress with their app. Great work guys!!!

Testlink gui, in comparison is very sad. Pointer as logo, "Shot that bug!"

But it is no gui, which makes good application. Both of those apps have its pros and cons.

Free vs Pay, Hosted vs Own network instance, etc, etc.

What i would miss in Testlink, and it was provided in Testuff? Test runner with screen shot and video recording capability. Video recording is a very useful thing while trying to prove bug existence.

Firefox Extensions Usable for me

2009-01-20T12:43:00.003+01:00

My favorite FF Extensions - list generated by "MR Tech Toolkit"

I'm Too Lazy to edit those ;)

My Config
Generated: Tue Jan 20 2009 12:32:34 GMT+0100

Enabled Extensions: [47]

Adblock Filterset.G Updater 0.3.1.3 - Synchronizes Adblock with Filterset.G

Adblock Plus 1.0.1 - Ads were yesterday!

Adblock Plus Filter Uploader 1.5+ - Uploads your Adblock Plus filters

Adblock Plus: Element Hiding Helper 1.0.5 - Helps you create element hiding rules for Adblock Plus to fight the text ads.

All-in-One Sidebar 0.7.8 - Sidebar control with award-winning user experience!

AutoPager 0.4.0.2 - AutoPager is a firefox/mozilla extension to autoloading next page at backgrand.And you can use it an XPath generator too.

Better Gmail 2 0.7.2 - Enhances Gmail with a compilation of useful features written by Greasemonkey user script developers. All scripts copyright their original authors. Click on the script homepage in the Help tab for more information.

Bookmark Duplicate Detector 0.7.2 - Helps you find, move and remove duplicate bookmarks. It also notices you when you are adding a bookmark already in your Bookmarks.

British English Dictionary 1.19

Compact Menu 2 2.3.0a3 - Duplicates the menubar on the toolbar as a menu of menus.

Cooliris 1.9.1 - Cooliris (formerly PicLens) transforms your browser into a full-screen 3D Wall for searching, viewing and sharing the Web.

CustomizeGoogle 0.76 - Enhance Google search results and remove ads and spam.

CyberSearch 1.0.7 - Adds advanced Google Search capabilities to the Firefox 3 address bar.

Delicious Bookmarks 2.1.018 - Access your bookmarks wherever you go and keep them organized no matter how many you have.

Fire.fm 1.1.4 - Get your daily music fix from Last.fm.

Fission 1.0.3 - Progress bar in the address bar (Safari style).

Flash Killer 1.1 - Remove all Flash contents.

GMarks 0.9.9 - Shows your Google Bookmarks in the sidebar.

Google Notebook 1.0.0.22 - Allows notetaking while browsing

Google Redesigned 0.1 - A complete redesign of popular Google services.

Google Toolbar for Firefox 3.1.20081127W - Take the power of Google with you anywhere on the Web!

Greasemonkey 0.8.20080609.0 - A User Script Manager for Firefox

HighlightAll 1.3.1 - Highlights all occurrences of the selected text

IE Tab 1.5.20081203 - Enables you to use the embedded IE engine within Mozilla/Firefox.

Image Zoom 0.3.1 - Adds zoom functionality for images

ImageTweak 0.17.1 - Enhances the vision of direct images

Java Quick Starter 1.0

LinkedIn Companion for Firefox 3.1.2 - Accelerate your business and career through LinkedIn

Menu Editor 1.2.6 - Customize application menus

Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.0 - Adds ClickOnce support and the ability to report installed .NET Framework versions to the web server.

MR Tech Toolkit 6.0.3.1 - MR Tech Toolkit power tools for all users. (en-US)

NoScript 1.8.9.2 - Extra protection for your Firefox: NoScript allows JavaScript, Java (and other plugins) only for trusted domains of your choice (e.g. your home-banking web site). This whitelist based pre-emptive blocking approach prevents exploitation of security vulnerabilities (known and even unknown!) with no loss of functionality… Experts will agree: Firefox is really safer with NoScript :-)

Organize Status Bar 0.6.2 - Organize your status bar icons.

PC Sync 2 Synchronisation Extension 1.0.0.685 - Enables PC Sync 2 synchronisation support.

PDF Download 2.1.0.1 - Allows you to choose what to do with a PDF file: download it, view it with an external viewer or view it as HTML.

Polski slownik poprawnej pisowni 1.0.20080402

Spectator 2a9 - Collects anonymous usage statistics from the browser

Speed Dial 0.7.2.6 - Direct access to your most visited websites

Stop-or-Reload Button 0.2.2 - Turns the stop and reload buttons into a single one. When you can stop, you have a Stop button, otherwise you have a Reload button. (Like Safari)

Stylish 0.5.8 - Customize the look of websites and of the user interface.

Sxipper 2.2.1 - Pre-fills web forms, manages passwords, and supports OpenID logins.

Toolbar Buttons 0.6.0.4 - Adds toolbar buttons.

Tweak Network 1.3 - Tweak network settings.

TwitterFox 1.7.4 - This extension lets you know twitter statuses.

Undo Closed Tabs Button 3.0.3 - Add a toolbar and/or tab bar button to undo closed tabs

Update Notifier 0.1.5.4 - Notifies you when updates are available for your extensions and themes.

WOT 20081111 - Web of trust.

Installed Themes: [2]

Aero Fox 3.0.2 - A dark version theme that uses Aero like glassy buttons

Default

Installed Plugins: (8)

IE Tab Plug-in

- IE Tab Plug-in for Mozilla/Firefox

Java(TM) Platform SE 6 U11

- Java(TM) Platform SE binary

Microsoft® DRM

- DRM Netscape Network Object

Mozilla Default Plug-in

- Default Plug-in

Picasa

- Picasa plugin

Shockwave Flash

- Shockwave Flash 10.0 r12

Windows Media Player Plug-in Dynamic Link Library

- Npdsplay dll

Windows Presentation Foundation

- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) plug-in for Mozilla browsers

Sky crossroad

2008-10-11T13:04:00.001+02:00

Who told that crossroads should stay on ground

Me and my son. The best tester :)

2008-07-23T12:05:00.002+02:00

Murphy's Law says that nothing is IdiotProof. I say It is possible to make something idiotproof, but nothing is CHILDproof. Our children are the best testers in the world :)

How error messages are important...

2008-05-09T12:55:00.002+02:00

First of all, don't laugh

I had recently tested an app that I wanted to use for my testing purposes. I must add that this app has a Very well and Hard working Support Team. There was a bug which prevented using it in the right way. With help of the support with correcting the app and testing of it on my side, the bug was finally solved.

Back to the story:
This app had an option to establish connection with some bug trackers and report bugs there. But when I added my connection details to configuration and accepted, thre was an error displayed (with the same login data each time !!!) and connection didn't work:

"Can't Connect: Mantis returned an recognized response"
or
" Can't Connect: Wrong usermane or password"
or
" Can't Connect: Connection reset by peer" (here is the short wersion, I don't remember all text displayed there)

Don't you think that it is confusing? Three messages but nothing was changed in config!!! Like random ones.

Nobody knew what caused such errors. After I contacted support, I was asked to add an account in mantis for them. It occured that they can connect and report bugs without any problem, so it had to be something on my side.
I tried disabling security (firewall, antyviral software), starting with clean startup (without any third party apps. Problem still occured.
Next I tried to launch the app on other machine, still the same.
I was so desperate
But Hey!!! Why the support could connect? even one of my QA friends could!!!
Next thing I did was installing another instance of Mantis on my machine and connect to it from localhost, all things were default. And It WORKED!!! Connection worked also from other machine to mine (after opening port in firewall)

But it couldn't be firewall issue becouse the company mantis was visible from all internet by web browser, and the app used the same port to communicate with it.

Resolution:
I compared the default account, the support's one and mine... The problem was, that in profile there were by default disabled options, which I had turned on in mine.

But the error messages did not say that, nor the manual.

I think that even errors Should (!!!) say what's wrong.
And I personally Hate errors like " Unrecognized error (press abort, retry, continue, cancel, ok etc...)

Testing is LIFE...

Addition... now the bug is fixed, and even manual is updated with issue of default options in mantis. There are some new bugs to be fixed, and new bugs to be found... but that is theme for another story...

Testing Routine

2008-04-23T10:26:00.002+02:00

I read somewhere that best practice is to test something once, have a break and test again.
Today this saying occured as truth.
Yesterday I have tested a functionality of an app, and haven't spotted few bugs wchich I found today.
My grandpa was right, when he said: Tomorrow will bring new opportunities.

Hoax Email

2008-04-15T15:40:00.002+02:00

From my own life there is an example:
My wife recently received a message which described situation of a very ill child, and at the end:
"(..)If you post this message to at least 20 friends, that child will receive 1 zł (polish currency) for each send one. and You will receive newest ringtone(..)"
Then my wife asked me how to add those 20 adresses to forward this message.(she is new at internet, so dont laugh)
I asked her only three things about that message before telling her how to do that:
- Is there any adress, phone number, just anything to verify the authenticity of message?
- Is there a link to some real site providing ringtones which could prove that You will receive one?
- Ask a person which sended this message if he/she received something in reward.

And she deleted it after a while...

Yeah. Testing IS Life :)

This was added by me as a comment on:
http://software-testing-zone.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-to-apply-testing-in-real-world.html
which i digged recently

Bug Diary

2008-04-15T10:25:00.004+02:00

Hello Again
It is quite a time from my begining as a tester.
I've become a tester by accident, but it was the best acident in my whole life.
I've tested some apps, developed by my company and in the meantime read and learn alot.
The most valuable blogs, that I came across, I have listed here. To find them myself faster and for You to find them too.
I found those people have Huge knowledge about testing.

I also learn lot from my more experienced friends, at work.

When i was reading blog by Mr Pradeep Soundararajan i came across his xls file called "Personal Bug Diary". I admire that idea, and I think it would be useful for me too, in the future.

The very begining...

2008-03-30T22:59:00.006+02:00

Welcome.
(First of all sorry for my bad english. I forgot almost everything since school, and i must re-remember it and practice, practice...)

So it happend. I just started my new Job and new way of career. Till 31 January 2008 i worked as a network administrator and help desk in a small firm. The old job was good for student because i had Lot of time, which helped with exams etc. but after i graduated, I found It little challenging. So i begun searching for a new one.
Then I was hired as a PL/SQL programmer, but that project went down from $$$ matters. In the meantime my new company had started QA team and searched for volunteers for it.
I tought that it will be an interesting way of career, so here I am. What can i say about my choice after only two months?
- lot to learn
- read howto's about selling a bug without answer "unable to reproduce"
- as for now i can still say that i work with superb people programmers and testers. All of them share their knowledge and I thank them for that!!! :D