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BCS (Isle of Man): World Class Service Delivery
BCS (Isle of Man): World Class Service Delivery - The Isle of Man Chapter of the BCS (British Computer Society) is holding a talk on the 18th September entitled World Class Service Delivery. We have a great speaker coming along, Peter Wheatcroft who has a wealth of experience in the area, particularly after help Alliance and Leicester achieve World Class status for this IT Service Delivery. Here’s a short synopsis about the subject matter:
Channel the Information - The Question
Channel the Information - The Question
It was predicted and it did deliver. The information highway (the internet) has more information than many of us had every imagined. At the press of button we find documents relating to family history or how to bake tart or pay our bills. Ten years ago you used the yellow pages, now you Google it. What does it mean all this information to you and me and more importantly how are you going to make the best of it?
Chrome: The good, the bad and the ugly
Chrome: The good, the bad and the ugly - Chrome Logo Chrome: Google’s new browser. The only way you would not have heard about this is if you’re hiding under a rock as all the technology news sites are talking about it; certainly Techmeme has been flooded with information about it over the last couple of days. So .. here are some personal pointers about it:
15 Essential Common Sense Communication Tips for Technologists
Mike Lynn has worked at a number of businesses ranging from very small to extremely large. he has the pleasure of doing business with some of the best and brightest minds in technology in the financial services industry. However, He is amazed on at some of the things I see on a regular basis. Whether your a manager or a single-contributor, I’m sure you can appreciate this refresher course in communication common sense.
Conversations with Clients
- Never answer an unqualified question. As technologists, we’re often called upon to provide additional information about the products we review or projects with which we are involved. NEVER ANSWER WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT THE QUESTION.
- Never commit to ANY additional work without thoroughly understanding your existing task list and the implications of the additional work.
Wordpress Themes: What to look for
Great post down at NetStrife talking about Things to Look for in WordPress Themes. There's lots of good advice in there which you can really apply to any technology that has stand-alone themes, not just WordPress. So, what does the article recommend? Here's a quick list:
- Fast Loading Time: You don't want your blog to feel like a snail, so try to go for a lightweight theme that you can load your own add-ons into.
- Widget-ready: Widgets make it really easy to add your own bits to different sections of the blog. Without these you have to mess with code and that's not always something users can manage.
- Search-engine optimized: I'm pretty sure that how you rank in search engines is important for you, so try and pick a theme that is optimized for search engines.
I graduate in November!
I graduate in November! -
Yesterday, I received a letter in the post; a letter I’ve been expecting for a few weeks now. It confirmed that I had all the requirements to get my MBA and that I graduate in November! I was over the moon! It’s nice to know that all the effort I poured into it has paid off and now I can relax properly.
Standard protection
I have this policy of always putting on an Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware package on any machine that gets used in my house and gets on my network. I don’t believe in buying packages though, when there are free products available that do exactly the same thing. This is what I use:
Guest Post - How Expensive Is Poor Leadership
How Expensive Is Poor Leadership -
More than you think………….. Retaining talented employees should be a major focus for companies these days. I have heard over the years, that “anyone is replaceable.” When I was a young engineer fresh out college, I believed it myself. There were over 50 engineers in my graduating class and I was competing for jobs like they were. We had very similar skills and backgrounds and I knew I had to separate myself from them so an employer would hire me and not them. Even a couple years after college, I still believed that I could be replaced at any moment by fresh new talent.
WordPress Theme Directory
WordPress Theme Directory -
It looks like WordPress has decided to revamp their theme directory and turn it into a fully fledged source repository. This is a step in the right direction and a possible route to order in the previous anarchy that represented the theme market prior to this move. There are a number of requirements for a theme to be accepted:
Outlook vs Google Mail
Ever wondered if you should be using Outlook or Gmail? Well, Lifehacker have put together a great write-up comparing features between the two ways of approaching email. Now, strictly speaking, the two mechanisms are totally different beasts, with Outlook designed for the corporate market, while Gmail being focused on the masses. However, it’s good to see the strengths and weaknesses of each.
One thing worth noting is that features from different packages tend to migrate to each other as the products evolve. It will be interesting to see how the products develop in the future
Remaining spam-free with WordPress
A few months ago I posted that I had almost hit 80,000 spam comments on this blog. As you can imagine, I like reading about Viagra, diet pills and nude celebrities as much as the next man. And seeing the number was climbing at a rate of a few hundred a day, I looked for a better solution.
Some Useful Google tips, A Currency Converter and Mp3 File Search
If want to see how much your money is worth in another currency instead of searching the internet for a website all you need to do is literally type in what you are looking for as the example below shows. This is a simple but great advancement in web technology.
Type in the Google search box this: 200 dollars in pounds:
Will give you this result:
An Easy Personal Backup Plan
How Is Everybodies Backup Procedure?
Having just brought my second USB storage device. I have decided that it is about time that I update my own personal backup procedure. In the past I have always had great annoyance with backups on to DVD/CD media as you have to spend quite a lot of time setting it up each time and than checking it. Ultimately more time than the backup is really worth.
Participating in online conversations
I came across an interesting post on Allan Paterson’s blog (he’s the head honcho at the client I’m working for). It’s a government-related post with guidelines about how civil servants should approach social networking. Here are the points:
Managing SQL Server Sprawl with HP Polyserve
I went to a really interesting presentation this morning given by Nick Coombs on behalf of ITEX, an IT Services company specialising in offshore jurisdictions. The breakfast talk was about a product called PolyServe which helps companies consolidate SQL Server instances onto a small number of machines, helping to reduce the Cost of Ownership of your SQL Server estate, while improving the manageability and availability of your SQL Server farm.
Because FUD is cheap
Because FUD is cheap - I was travelling through Luton yesterday and I couldn’t help noticing how both the airport and airlines use FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) to help them reduce costs and streamline their operations. Here are some examples I noticed:
Managing SQL Server Sprawl with HP Polyserve
Managing SQL Server Sprawl with HP Polyserve -
I went to a really interesting presentation this morning given by Nick Coombs on behalf of ITEX, an IT Services company specialising in offshore jurisdictions. The breakfast talk was about a product called PolyServe which helps companies consolidate SQL Server instances onto a small number of machines, helping to reduce the Cost of Ownership of your SQL Server estate, while improving the manageability and availability of your SQL Server farm.
How to Grow your Business Online
To grow an internet business it is much like any business in the physical world. The more contacts you have the more business you can do. So attending networking events, Keeping in touch with related bodies, companies, and individuals is going to keep your name fresh in their mind. In the online world this is done by the same method. I recommend spending an hour a day, subscribing to sites, posting adverts, having a blog, leaving comments on other peoples blogs. It is also important to build up a relationship with any likeminded people. If you like what they do then send them an email, or leave a comment. As the relationship develops you will be able to do reciprocal links. The name of the game is linking. The more links you have pointing to your website the higher your page rank will be, the more traffic you will get, the more business you will do. This is the most ethical way to increase web presence and fundamentally is what the Work Connexions site does.
Microsoft heading towards Paid Search
I posted a couple of weeks ago how you can earn cash from searching the web and it seems like Microsoft wants to head down in this direction too. They’re rolling out a new feature called Live Search Cashback which allows you to earn cashback from items you purchase after searching for them through Live Search. It seems to be only available to U.S. users at the time of going live, but it might actually make it to the rest of the world seeing Microsoft has a global presence. This was originally hinted at by Bill Gates in 2005 and made possible through the acquisition of Jellyfish.com. And now they are ready to take it to market.
Here’s a Honeypot
Here’s a Honeypot -
Haven’t had a Honeypot for some time, so here are some links to keep you distracted over the weekend:
Risk Management talk by Richard Starnes
Risk Management talk by Richard Starnes - Just attended a breakfast seminar organised by Sure here in the Isle of Man. The main talk was about Risk Management followed by a sales spiel on Blackberry. I almost fell asleep in the second bit (it was early in the morning), but the Risk Management talk was excellent! They arranged for Richard Starnes to come speak to us; here’s his profile:
Playing with Scoutle
Playing with Scoutle - I came across a really interesting website called Scoutle today. It’s an interesting social network facility for bloggers and websites which promises to link you up with other sites that are similar in interest and content. It uses a ranking algorithm to let your “scout” run around the web and be matched up with other “scouts” with similar interested. You’ll see my little scout in my sidebar and I’m hoping add one to all my other blogs.
Here’s a little snippet that explains how it works
Interesting news day
Interesting news day - It’s funny how some days there’s nothing interesting in the news and some days a whole bunch of different things capture your attention. It’s a bit like playing craps in one of these vegas hotels, you never know what you’re going to get! So, here’s what I found interesting:
The Black Art of Data Recovery
The Black Art of Data Recovery - I came across a great post today that brought back so many memories. It’s a blog post on a data recovery blog that goes into detail about what the Master Boot Record on a hard disk looks like. It took me back to the days of messing around with Norton DiskEdit and finding out how disks REALLY work. Anyway, here’s the Partition Record Layout from the post:
Top 10 Business Resolutions
Top 10 Business Resolutions -
When your company is developing and growing it is too easy to overlook some of the less exciting elements of being in business. However, my experience has shown that paying attention to these elements will help your business be more stable, more profitable and easier to run. At the beginning of this year (2007) I sat down to write up the official KDR-EBusiness Top 10 Business Resolutions, and the reasons why you should consider them. If you would like our assistance with putting some of the ideas below into action, then please get in touch. 1. Have a backup plan
The Web - The great equaliser
The Web - The great equaliser -
I was just thinking about how the Internet is a great way for people to share ideas and in essence generate success for themselves. It’s always a compelling story when you read about people who have managed to conquer adversity and make a name for themselves and the Internet is a great medium for these “Rags to Riches” stories. I had a look on Wikipedia and came up with a list of Nouveau Riche folk; people who had nothing and are now successful. It includes people like Bill Clinton, Elvis Presley and Oprah, but it was interesting to note that aren’t any Internet entrepreneurs there. Maybe I should do some research and update the page. But it’s a bit late in the evening at the moment, so maybe some other day.
Phishing and your Google Adwords Account
Phishing and your Google Adwords Account - This morning I got an interesting email from Google warning for Adword users that they have been a number of security issues recently. Apparently users of the service have been receiving emails telling them that they are at risk to money being transferred from there account. To counter this they have to click on link which leads them to a false site (phishing) Where the site operator is able to get there account information when the user tries to log in. From the criminal perspective is clever scheme. What surprises me is that anyone who would be using Google ad words or administrating it is unlikely to be an internet novice. The problem must be widespread for Google to be emailing all of us. What does that say about their user base?
Video Comment? Not for me thanks!
Video Comment? Not for me thanks! -
You may have noticed that some blogs around the Web, particularly TechCrunch have added a video commenting service provided by Seesmic who have recently come to market with this novel service. While I quite like the technology behind it, I’m not convinced video comments work for this medium. Any my concerns are also voiced by others around the blogosphere. ReadWriteWeb for example, has put together 5 reasons why they don’t think this will work:
Get your Organisation online - Fast - Free
Work Connexions can get your organisation on the internet quickly, just by Registering your Organisation. Once you Register, your Organisation will get it's own Story page, your very own corner of the world-wide-web.
Link to this page from your emails, your own web site, display the URL on your company stationary, such as your business cards and letter-heads.
Your Organisation Profile will also be Search Engine accessible by virtue of our Search Engine friendly site. Your Organisation Profile not only gives you a great opportunity to publish details of your organisation it also allows other users to leave feedback for your Organisation and give your potential customers further proof that you offer a quality service.
That's not all, if you have any promotional material you have already prepared, just upload it it your file area in your profile and get it on line too.
