Attitudes are important things -- they are the lens through which we filter everything life throws at us, and they can either be the secret to our success or our undoing. We've all heard the stereotype that says IT professionals have bad attitudes, and maybe your own...
SPK Blog Post
Why an Automated Development Process Benefits Developers
Automated development, rather than just automated builds, offers a more holistic approach to automating the development process including building, testing and deployment. It is the cornerstone of Continuous Integration (CI). CI uses a model of small incremental...
How to Create a Silent Installer for ANSYS 14
I'm a huge fan of automation, especially when it comes to installing software. With a simple one-click solution, you can setup software on a user's workstation with little or no impact on your work load. In fact, you don't even need to do the installation -- users can...
To SSD or not to SSD
What is an SSD? The term SSD (Solid State Drive), can refer to any drive that uses solid state components to store information, or more to the point - has no moving parts. When we hear terms like 'Flash Drive' or 'Thumb Drive', we typically don't think SSD, but...
A Brief History of Automated Builds
Almost every programming book starts with an example of a small program which can be compiled from the command line using a simple call to the compiler with maybe a few flags. Known as “Hello World”, the few lines of code needed to output the text is almost universal....
Upgrade to HWMonitor Pro and Make Your Computer’s Sensors Work For You!
Some time ago, I wrote an article about CPUID’s wonderful tool, HWMonitor. Today I want to follow up on that and give a few tips on how to make it more useful. Firstly, HWMonitor is a free tool, but CPUID publishes a Professional version of the product, predictably...
How to Install Snort on a Redhat 6 Box
Snort is used for performing security checks on network boundaries. This can be done on the outside Untrust network but is sometimes more useful to look at what’s getting through your firewall into the web servers. Follow our step-by-step instructions on how...
Do you Think an Engineering Employee is Really Cheaper Than a Consultant? … Think Again.
Occasionally I’ll get a comment from a potential client who is particularly price sensitive about the rates for our consultants, and the comment usually goes something like: “I can hire a full-time employee who would cost me a lot less than what you are going to...
Avoid Budget Overruns and Unhappy Customers with Better QA and Testing
Any project can be divided into different parts including requirements gathering, design, implementation, documentation and so on. One key aspect of the project lifecycle is quality assurance (QA), but it's often overlooked. Although almost all project managers...
Blog: Leveraging PTC’s Integrity Platform for IEC 62304 Compliance
SPK and Associates leverage PTC’s Integrity platform to help Medical Device companies develop software efficiently while achieving IEC 62304 compliance.
The Project Management Skills Gap
When it comes to product innovation and project development, the role of the project manager cannot be underestimated. That's why it's important to take an objective look at the skills and resources available in your organization and determine if a skills gap exists...
Deploying IPv6 on a Cisco IOS router with a Tunnel Broker
The time has finally come! Just a few days ago, major internet companies participated in IPv6 Launch Day – meaning from this point forward, they will be running their production systems and making their services available to you via the IPv6 in addition to IPv4....