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Filed under: Business, Developer, Web services, Microsoft, Education

Microsoft launches Thrive to assist IT workers

by Lee Mathews Feb 17th 2009


Good news, IT professionals! Microsoft has launched Thrive - a new website designed to help you navigate the murky waters of economic downturn.

Whether you're looking to improve your skills, the Silverlight-driven site offers all kinds of resources to assist you - podcasts, videos, charts and reports, and much more. Thrive offers information on everything from infrastructure cost reduction to education and certification. There's a lot of cross-linking to other MS sites like MSDN, but it is a good, centralized resource for IT workers with a Microsoft focus.

I wonder if any of the 5,000 Microsoft employees laid off in January will make use of the site to get their careers back on track.

One additional note: it may just have been my install, but the site looks like hell in Firefox. Perhaps one of the things we all need to learn to "Thrive" is that Microsoft still doesn't give a rat's ass about standards compliance.

Tags: economy, irony, it, microsoft

Filed under: Business, Features, Analysis

Three reasons IT departments are shrinking

by Todd Ritter Jan 7th 2008


Reading Network World's article about Nicholas Carr's new book The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google got us thinking about the future demise of corporate IT departments. So, in everyone's favorite format, here are our 3 reasons why traditional IT departments are shrinking:

Outsourcing - Whether it's customer service or application hosting, outsourcing is becoming more and more prevalant in the corporate IT world. Avoiding the financial overhead associated with running certain IT functions internally is often impetus for choosing to outsource. For instance, companies are presented with a choice between running e-mail in-house (pay IT staff salary and benefits, purchase servers and software, and find quality rack space) or outsourcing it to, for example, Google Apps which is free (though ad-supported) and includes popular groupware features like calendars, web pages, document sharing, etc. Similarly, sites like Salesforce.com can offer full customer-relationship management (CRM) software online for a fraction of the respective overhead required to run CRM in a company IT department.

Read more →

Tags: information technology, InformationTechnology, it, networks, outsourcing, staffing, systems management, SystemsManagement

Filed under: Business, Social Software

Companies blocking Facebook access

by Chris Gilmer Aug 23rd 2007

Companies blocking Facebook accessLike any other good social site out there, Facebook is on the IT's list of websites to block.

The popular social network is getting a lashing at workplaces worldwide as employers recognize how much time employees are spending on it, and the possible phishing attacks that could occur. Like YouTube, IM's and various other time wasting websites, companies are starting to get the fall out from lost productivity and are forced to shut access off to yet another valuable tool. Ok, valuable to the user, but not for most businesses. If Facebook access is not turned off entirely, there are certain restrictions being set by network admins.

A recent study shows that 43% of people were not able to access Facebook, with another 7% only able to access the site with certain restrictions.

DLS asks, if you work in a corporate setting, do you still have access to Facebook?

Tags: facebook, IT, social network, SocialNetwork, website

Filed under: Business, Productivity

Why don't we tip IT service people?

by Grant Robertson Jul 18th 2007


You tip the pizza man, you don't tip the Fed Ex driver. You tip the bartender at the pub, and you don't tip the McDonald's clerk; but you do tip the barrista at Starbuck's. The United States has ritualistic levels of tip etiquette, which admittedly don't exist other places in the world but, the question remains; Why don't we tip our IT service people?

You know just as well as we do, you couldn't function without your computer. You'd find yourself on the floor in a fetal position, crying and sulking if your PC were to decide to go AWOL at any particular moment. And, much like a herion user out for another fix, you'd wipe your tears and head to the nearest coffee shop with pay access machines to obsessively check your email. We understand, we'd do much the same thing ourselves. If your computer is that important to the fluid function of your day-to-day life, why wouldn't you slip the IT guy a little extra to make sure you get top priority next time you pick up the phone and scream Mayday?

Perhaps it's something in the way we view our IT guys. Nerdy, socially inept, awkward in ways your high school science teacher could have never achieved. Maybe it's time we took a fresh look at the value our IT service men and women make life a little easier; And, even if we don't offer them a tip.. maybe a hug wouldn't be so bad?

Tags: IT, IT pro, IT skills, ItPro, ItSkills, tipping

Filed under: Business

Making the datacenter "Green" is harder than you think

by Chris Gilmer Jun 25th 2007

green data centersGoogle and some of the other leading technology companies that depend on large amounts of power are working hard to ensure they are minimizing their power consumptions.

In order to cut down costs of electricity and ensure that systems are running in optimal conditions, many data center's are turning to alternative energy to power their high end systems. Google has fitted the Googleplex to be carbon neutral by investing in renewable energy sources, maximizing efficiency, and by purchasing carbon offsets for the emissions they cannot directly reduce.

ComputerWorld has put together a list targeted at IT professionals that list the top seven tips that will help minimize power consumption, heat, waste and chaos in this time of surging power demands, and extreme environmental awareness.

  1. Typically between 10%-30% of servers can potentially be turned off.
  2. Power management tools are available, but not many administrators don't use them.
  3. Invest in energy efficient servers.
  4. Inefficient power supplies can potentially waste half of the power before it actually gets to the equipment.
  5. Most IT companies are not accountable for efficiency because it gets tucked into the facilities tab, tracking energy directly from the source can help in determining what should change.
  6. Adopt energy efficient standards. Think EnergyStar specifications.
  7. Demand energy efficient IT products. Manufacturers won't design it, if customers don't ask for it.

Tags: data centers, DataCenters, efficiency, environment, google, green, it, servers

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, OS Updates, Macintosh, Apple

Apple WWDC 2007 dates set

Macby Chris Gilmer Feb 7th 2007

apple worldwide developers conferenceJune 11-15th will see San Francisco packed with Developers heading to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. The five-day event will see developers and IT professionals attending conference session after conference session about working with the latest Apple developer tools. There will be sessions on choosing and using the latest APIs to make the most of OS X, and how to create mind-blowing, effective user interfaces. Attendees to the conference will get the chance to work side by side with Apple engineers who are responsible for OS X features, ensuring that developers get all of their questions answered from the best possible individuals. This is a not-to-be-missed event for those hardcore OS X developers, web developers, software developers, system administrators, and IT managers out there. Ticket prices range from US$1,295 to $5,180 for a pack of 5 tickets.

Tags: api, apple, conference, developers, it, mac, os x, osx, san francisco, SanFrancisco, software, wwdc

Filed under: Business, Developer, Internet, Web services

Queen Elizabeth is on the lookout for an IT'er

by Chris Gilmer Oct 18th 2006

the queenHow would you like to work for Her Royal Heighness Queen Elizabeth? Not as a royal shoe shine, but as a Director of IT and telecommunications. It pays out $132k-$151k / year, and is in charge of managing 900 users around the UK from the Royal Household, and the Queen, who just happens to have a silver iPod and a laptop. Its a pitty that we didnt find out about this sooner, as it could be quite barmy working for Buckingham Palace.

Tags: buckingham palace, BuckinghamPalace, director of it, DirectorOfIt, it, queen, royal household, RoyalHousehold, telecommunications, uk

Filed under: Business

Tesco: Supermarket software

by Chris Gilmer Oct 2nd 2006

tesco softwareDo supermarkets and groceries really have the right to release software titles under their own name? Yes, but will they be trusted solutions? UK based Tesco stores are preparing to launch some applications of their own.

When I came across this news, I was shocked that a supermarket chain was so IT advanced, and immediately thought they had a special group of programmers hiding in their freezers plugging away at code. Don't worry, Tesco isn't developing their own code, they have merely re-branded a suite of six software applications under their own brand. These include a word processor and antivirus. The launch date is later this month, selling for about $37 US (no word on if they will be released for PC or Mac). It should be interesting to see who is going to line up to grab some milk and antivirus solutions.

Tags: antivirus, groceries, it, software, supermarket, tesco, word

Filed under: Business

Dells external customer service deal fell through

by Chris Gilmer Sep 11th 2006

dell customer serviceIn an effort by Dell to increase customer service, a proposed alliance is a no go. The deal would have seen the potential dispatch of field technicians nationwide, and would have been an official extension of Dell's service and support. The company shooting for the alliance, Reliable IT, has said that they did not land Dells book of business. Reliable's IT partners include OnForce, which has over 10,000 nationwide IT service providers on call. This deal could have been a big help to Dell's lack of customer service, long wait times, and support issues. During the past while, it has been reported that in the past few years, Dell has been increasing its spending to correct customer support issues.

Tags: computer, customer service, customer supprt, CustomerService, CustomerSupprt, dell, IT, onforce, reliable, support

Filed under: Fun, Apple, Google

Google has very loyal followers

by Chris Gilmer Jul 13th 2006

google has very loyal followersIn a recent study, Google was found to have some of the most loyal followers according to recent studies.

The studies looked at online services, computing, and consumer services divisions of the IT world. The surveys measured the importance in customer's eyes, and which overall services you would recommend.

Apple and Symantec were also ranked high on the Satmetrix survey.

Tags: apple, computing, consumer services, ConsumerServices, followers, google, google loyalty, GoogleLoyalty, IT, online services, OnlineServices, search, symantec

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The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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