There is a subtle art to creating an appealing, well-structured data entry graphical user interface (GUI). Due to the repetitive interaction users have with data entry GUIs, small things like choice of colors and the size of margins can have actual consequences...
High Tech
9 Ways To Repurpose an Underperforming Laptop
In a recent post, I discussed how to resolve 3 common (yet significant) issues with a broken laptop. Chances are, even if the issue is fixed, your computer may not run as well as it used to. But all hope is not lost. Say for instance you have an old 1.2ghz Celeron...
Five Techniques to Resist Hiring Temptation
Here we go again; the economy is recovering and competition is heating up for your crucial technical staff. As you interview candidates there will be temptation to hire someone who may not seem “quite right”. In normal times you wouldn't hire such a person...but darn...
Dropbox: Do Everything!
I will assume that everyone reading this is familiar with Dropbox -- my favorite program ever -- but I would like to highlight some newer features and espouse the virtues of this program in case anyone is still living in 2007. Dropbox acts as a shared folder between...
Remember Everything with Evernote!
Evernote has changed my life for the better since I first tried it out a month ago. I have spent much of my life wishing I could keep a little notebook on me at all times to record odd bits of information that I think I might like to remember. Little things. When...
Outsourcing of Vital IT Tasks to Grow in 2013
In 2013, roughly one third of businesses will increase their IT outsourcing budgets. Chief Information Officers and CEOs, from small businesses to large enterprises, are planning to up their spending on the outsourcing of web/e-commerce platforms, application...
Seven Attitude Hacks for Better IT Service
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...
How does the Windows Phone 8 Kool-Aid Taste?
I’m just going to come out and say it: I drank the Windows Phone 8 Kool-Aid. My coworkers mock me, and I accept this. But darn it, I want to believe! (and it tastes a lot better than what I was drinking before.) And it's certainly better than if I wandered over to the...
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...
Top 3 RedHat related posts of 2012
Linux continued to perform well as an alternative server platform in 2012 and RedHat has maintained its position as a reliable and trusted Linux distribution. This reliance on Linux based servers is likely to increase during 2013 as more services migrate to the cloud...
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....
The Cloud and Outsourcing in 2013
As the push towards the cloud continues, 2013 will see a growing emphasis on cloud-related outsourcing projects. Cloud-related IT expenditure covers a wide range of areas including; Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud compute centers, infrastructure as a service...