This week we want to cover a utility that allows users to manage the buildup of files that eat up space on your storage device. We are speaking about WinDirStat, which is a tool that presents a graphical view of your entire storage drive (or from a folder level)....
SPK Blog Post
Trigger UAC to Ensure Scripts are run As Administrator in Windows 7
I wanted to post this solution since we run into this problem all the time: Often, our .bat scripts include making registry changes or copying files which require Administrative access. This code will cause the .bat file to trigger a UAC prompt before running...
Unix 101: Utilize the “Screen” Command
In my previous post, I highlighted 5 great commands to improve administering your Unix machines within your infrastructure. The very first command I mentioned was screen, which allows you to run multiple pseudo-terminal "windows" within one shell session. Screen also...
March 19th Medical Device Seminar: Ready for ROHS 2 in July 2014?
Device manufacturers have until this summer to ensure their devices comply with the EU's Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive – commonly called the RoHS Directive – to be able to earn CE Marking. In short, no RoHS compliance, no CE Marking, no selling in the...
Installing Java 7 JDK, Eclipse 4.3 (Kepler) and the Eclipse GWT Plugin on Ubuntu 12.04.3
As a provider of engineering services, the majority of my projects involve developing GWT applications, and I do all my work almost exclusively in Ubuntu. Ubuntu 12.04, specifically, has many convenient features and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to get their...
Ultrabooks Place in the Workplace
Ultraportable laptops and Ultrabooks have become the new machines to have. They are smaller, thinner, and lighter making them the preferred choice for most engineering and IT professionals over the older clunkier notebook workstations. Even before the push by Intel...
Tips and Tricks to using Windows 8
I recently upgraded to Windows 8 from Windows 7 on my HP Pavillion dv6 laptop. For me, it was a matter of needing to re-install my system after a hard disk failure. I opted for Windows 8 mainly to test the new operating system. From a feature standpoint, Windows...
5 Unix Commands You Might Not Be Using (But Should Be!)
Pretty much every day I do some system administration on one of our many Linux servers that we support as part of our managed IT services. It occurred to me that I use a bunch of utilities and tools within Linux to make my job easier and wanted to share my top 5 Unix...
Agile Development in Regulated Environments Part 2: Key Practices
In Agile Development in Regulated Environments -- Part 1: Yes, it can work, I covered the common misconceptions about Agile Software Development -- specifically in highly-regulated industries like medical device. The common myth that regulators would not accept Agile...
Engineering and IT Professionals: Take a Break!
It's easy to get caught up the task at hand -- more so if its something you find interesting. But over the years, more and more papers are being published on the hazards of non-stop work, from eye strain to carpal tunnel, there are countless pitfalls to sitting in...
What’s New in Git 1.8.5.1
Call me weird, but for whatever reason I find version control really interesting and a crucial part of your build and release model. Maybe it's because it's saved my bacon a few times so I appreciate what it does, or maybe it's because it lets me see how my code has...
How To Use ClearCase clearfsimport and Avoid Pitfalls
This week we will change things up a bit and have a look at an IBM/Rational ClearCase utility used for importing files into ClearCase source control. The utility command, clearfsimport, can be used to import any sort of file from a variety of other source control...