Stop the US Economy Decay, and Buy American
June 3, 2011
I guess I’m considered old school, having started developing for the Internet in the mid-nineties, I remember a time when a highly talented US based Web Developer could demand 6 figures and get it. Now that same developer is losing work to an overseas developer charging $8 -$15 per hour. It is really amazing how a skill set that is as demanding as this one, when it comes to ever evolving technologies, can come to this.
You have seen on the news where we have been told that the reason for the US economy problems is in manufacturing job losses overseas, and you have seen certain news people educate us on how to do the research, to make sure that what we are buying is completely American made, all the way down to the materials sourced.
What you have not seen, is what has happened to Technology in the last 10 years. The one advantage the US has had, for many years is it’s pool of skilled labor in Technology, now you can find many from that pool of skilled labor, working in your local fast food joint, or unemployed, because his or her job is no longer needed, taken by someone located in India or the Philippines . Read more
Social Media is about the Network, your Network!
June 24, 2010
What is Social Media all about, and how does it work?
Social Media is about the Network, your Network!
I think you get the concept, to be a little more visual, how about the commercial where someone would rather buy the Cell Phone with the Network? Get the picture now?
That is what Social Media is all about. People like to do everything (including Business) wth those they know and trust, except now you can have access to those they know and trust. Sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter allow everyday people to interact with, influence, and impact potentially millions of others.
Business today and tomorrow, needs to understand the concept of Social Media, because those that do are those that will succeed, and those that don’t, well, will still be looking to get in the Yellow Pages.
The emergence of Social Media will change the way you do business.
Are you ready?
Where is Web Development Headed?
June 8, 2010
Over the last year, I have seen this topic covered on many occasions, but there hasn’t been anything really specific and convincing to come out of them, at least not until the last few months.
One person stays committed to pushing us where he thinks we should go, and he will likely succeed, and that person is Steve Jobs. He has again jumped clearly ahead with the new Iphone, as millions more will flock to buy the new phone, which will bring the sheer volume of mobile web browsing to new heights (no wonder AT&T modified their data plans).
Yes, I know we can’t forget about Google’s Droid which themselves have launched pretty exciting functionality, and gaining market share.
Blackberry, has seen some market share loss to both the Iphone, and Droid, but is still tightly woven into the Corporate environment, and at least for the immediate future, does not appear to be going anywhere.
What this means is, it is pretty clear to me where web development has to go. The future is small, and either tablet shaped and carried under one arm, or something you can make video calls on when your standing at the register in the grocery store. The future of web development is clearly defined in my opinion, and it is clearly mobile, and developing alternate websites for mobile devices, and devices such as the the Ipad, or websites that are friendly for all devices.
And for us? We will now be giving the option to include a mobile version of every website we develop!
How Important is Social Media?
May 27, 2010
Social Media sites today, (such as Twitter, and Facebook), are the future of how people will communicate online, and decide who they will do business with, and how.
Now, more than ever it’s who you know, that’s important. The reason for this is mainly trust, people want a circle of friends they can count on, not only for personal needs but for business, and business referrals as well. Networking, whether face to face, or online is quickly becoming the present, and the future of how a lot of business (small business especially) is done.
Social Media sites fit that mold, so if you are not involved in social media sites on a personal level (most are), then you should be because that’s where your friends are, and if your not interacting with social media sites with your business, you should be, because that’s where your customers are.
What is Important in Website Design Today?
February 7, 2010
The one thing we can certainly count on, is that things will change, technology moves on.
Having been involved in web development myself since 1995, I have seen the status quo of websites go from plain text, with an image or 2, in html format in the mid 90′s, to cgi and perl programming in the late 90′s which was the beginning to allowing vast web sites to be developed.
In the early 2000’s graphically heavy Sites became the standard. Vast images were sliced into pieces and reconstructed on a Web page to give stunning visual presentations. Then came Flash. Flash was flexible enough to develop entire websites and easy enough to master for creating fully interactive presentations.
On the programming side of things, ASP was then king, Front Page Extensions was a must for Website Hosts, and with .Net you can still say ASP is very prominent, but it’s no longer king.
In today’s web development, a simpler more efficient programming method has climbed to the forefront, and that is PHP and MySql. Keep in mind this was a short synopsis of the last 15 years, what website design should be, and is all about today is social interaction, and SEO. SEO (Search Engine Optimization), is critical today more than ever. Phone books are getting tossed aside, search engines are today’s phone books, and if you are not found on the first page, you may be years behind your competition.
Also as I mentioned, social interaction is key as well. Today, a website needs to interface with Facebook, and twitter, this type of interaction is key. Websites today need to be less complicated, or have a version that displays well on a mobile device, or a tablet as we now see will be coming from a number of companies. There you have it, we have almost come full circle on websites, simple all of a sudden, may now be better.
We will see, untill next time.
Oh, and P.S. being Super Bowl Sunday which should probably be declared a National Holiday these days, good luck to both the Colts and the Saints, may the best team win. My team (the Dolphins) obviously did not make it!
Exchange 2010; a Better Solution
January 31, 2010
Exchange 2010 is likely the biggest improvement seen in Exchange Server’s existance. For the last 2 releases we have seen the complexities increase, as well the overhead. Exchange 2010 is a vast improvement in that area.
The immediate impact of Exchange2010 will be for those who support it, and for those who use OWA. OWA is probably the biggest change above the covers right now that users will see. The name has officially changed to Outlook Web App, and my guess is to emphasize some of the changes involved. Some of the biggest changes, is being able to group messages into conversations, and a very Outlook like way of opening Shared Calendars in OWA and sharing your Calendar even to those outside your organization, and last but not least multiple browser support. You see the same things whether your using Firefox or Internet Explorer (Safari is still forced to OWA light).
The appearance has changed, but in my opinion the subtle look of the new OWA really uncomplicates it. For the first time I think OWA is finally viable for primary use. This was absolutely needed, especially with many hosted providers now offering an OWA only account. Most of the client side changes, won’t be seen until the release of Outlook 2010. But, there is empasis of closing the gap between all messaging formats and Outlook, so in Outlook we are supposed to see conversations grouped with all messages, and not only emails.
Microsoft has really slammed the door on Googles Web Apps, in terms of functionality, and reliable performance. Having used both, there is really no comparison.
We now offer Exchange 2010 on a hosted platform, along with hosted Sharepoint and Microsoft Dynamics. If you have interest in any of these fantastic services just give us a call or send us an email.
Is the Apple iPad Really for Business?
January 29, 2010
Apple has once again taken center stage to announce a new cool product. First was the iPod, then the iPhone, and now the iPad. Is it worth the hype?
Maybe, I guess we will have to wait and see. It certainly has Apple written all over it, with its sleek appearance and design, there is no doubt, Apple wins the cool stuff category. But, these days Apple intends on aiming itself at the business user, it’s a real question whether they will do that with the iPad. On the surface, it looks good for now, with including their Office compatible iWork Suite, as well as including VGA output capability.
What the iPad needs to be easily used in business, is printing, and file sharing capability. There are some in the know that say that is a very real possibility.
Again, we will have to see. The iPhone was questioned as well, especially on it’s initial release, but when iPhone added Exchange support they took off in the business sector.
My guess is they will do whatever it takes to make things happen for the iPad, in my opinion another home run for Apple.
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