sauce

Taking the 'blind spot' out of cloud-based testing

Some of the most highly trafficked interactive systems today are accessed through the Web: Amazon.com, Facebook, Google, Zynga just to name a few. These apps have to work flawlessly across any browser or risk losing eyeballs and audience consistency.

The browser wars after all, are still alive and well, and any serious Web application needs to work on the most popular browsers , such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome but don't forget others like Safari and Opera.

But for most companies, it is difficult and costly to maintain and update a test infrastructure on premise that keeps up … Read more

HP brings performance testing to the cloud

With more applications being built for the Web, performance testing is critical to determining the proper approach to scaling both applications and infrastructure. But for many years performance testing was largely a rich-man's game, primarily because of the expense of setting and maintaining a large server infrastructure that can simulate real-world traffic.

Hosted testing solutions make a lot of sense from both the user and provider perspective. Considering the vast computing power available at your fingertips there are few reasons why you would want to own the infrastructure, or not take advantage of the latest offerings from providers both … Read more

The 404 555: Where we're sweating in our jeans (podcast)

Another Natali Del Conte Thursday is upon us, and, as usual, her timing is perfect because all this week we've been talking about parenting! So far, we've only talked about how frustrating it can be to teach parents how to use technology; however, today's episode exposes all the creative ways we got into trouble as children. It turns out, Justin record isn't exactly "clean," and Natali has something of an evil twin...

It all starts with a story in the news about a 16-year-old in Arkansas suing his mother for stalking him on Facebook. According to the KATV article, the mother, Denise New, read a few comments on her son's Facebook page about his reckless driving and decided to "hack" into his Facebook account, change his password, and read his messages.

While parents are certainly within their rights to monitor their children's Internet usage, it sparks a larger conversation about parental responsibility and the minimum age suggestion for allowing children on social networks. We'd love to hear parents chime in with a comment about how you check up on your special little guy or girl. Keyloggers? Password hacks? Over-the-shoulder reading? Let us know!

One of The 404's recurring themes is our fierce hatred and disgust over men's feet, and more specifically, men wearing flip-flops. However, we've decided that the only time the visual is acceptable is if you're using an exposed foot to control Liu Yi's Toe Mouse (or if you're preparing this entree).

It's only a concept for now, but Yi's toe-operated mouse is specifically designed for users with physical disabilities that limit the use of the upper body. The mouse is ergonomic, so it fits just like a normal sandal--between the big and second toes--but don't expect to see a CNET video review anytime soon...for your sake, trust me.

Finally, we have a full spread of calls (and e-mails) From the Public with your comments about tech-inept parents, listening to the show in class, hot sauce gifts, and more! Add your input to The 404 Podcast by leaving a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET or send us an e-mail to the404(at)cnet(dot)com. Stay cool!

EPISODE 555 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Cloud and open source meet to test Web apps

The world has largely moved from a client/server application development model to a Web-based app development model. Web app developers have to keep up with frequent new browser releases from Microsoft (IE), Apple (Safari), Mozilla (Firefox), and Google (Chrome) in order to enhance their experience and keep up-to-date with security vulnerabilities.

With more applications being built for the Web, cross-browser testing is crucial to application performance. More than 2 million people have turned to an open-source, cross-browser testing platform called Selenium, to solve this problem.

Selenium is a popular open-source cross-browser testing tool that was created by Jason Huggins … Read more

Crate and Barrel gets saucy

If I were to point to the location where my love for clean spaces and my hunger for tasty foods meet in vicious opposition, it would be the outdoor grill. Understandably, backyard barbecues are occasions that I have to ignore the compulsion to keep things spotless. And sometimes, when I host one, my guests have to practically beg me to stop cleaning. But, in summer, nothing tops an ice-cold beverage and a freshly grilled burger, so I can appreciate any gadget that prevents even a little bit of the mess usually associated with grilling outside.

Enter this sauce pot from … Read more

Pauli Sauce Pot claims you'll never burn another sauce

When I was first learning how to cook, I burnt my fair share of sauces. And stews. And beans. And most other things I tried to cook. You get the idea. Put a guy with no experience and no formal training into the kitchen and see what happens. Chances are not very good that the resulting dishes will be very edible. I (almost) always ate what I made and learned from my mistakes. One of the first lessons I learned was not to turn the burner all the way up for everything. Seems like common sense now, but then common … Read more

Stand the heat and stay in the fire with heatless pepper flavorings

Ever wondered what it would be like to bite into a habanero pepper? A big bite that is--seeds, membrane, ribs, and all. Come on, it's a small pepper, it'll be OK. Too scared? Well, I don't blame you. After all, the habanero is one of the hottest peppers in the world rating in at about 100,000 units on the Scoville scale.

Kalsec, which produces spice, herb, hop, and vegetable extracts for use in food, beverage, and pharmaceutical applications, has come up with a pepper portfolio that includes all the flavor, but removes all the heat. Dubbed … Read more

The 404 113: Where we drink well, eat well, love well, and live well

Food Dude Kevin Roberts gets red hot on the show today and dishes his take on quick and healthy eats, the many applications of Frank's Red Hot Sauce, 10 minute hottie Rachel Ray, this season's America's Next Food Network Star, and how to satisfy a mean case of the munchies. EPISODE 113 Download today's podcast

The ultimate indignity: R2-D2 soy sauce bottle

Poor R2-D2. Once everyone's favorite chirping bot, it's now reduced to serving as a lowly desktop accessory or novelty USB key. And as if this weren't bad enough, it's beheaded on a regular basis. We can hear Tim Moynihan weeping as we speak.

But all that pales in comparison to its latest incarnation--as a soy "source" bottle. "All you have to do is pour some soy sauce into his orifice, close him up, and then pour," Tokyomango says. The horror.