Finding the lynchpin

How do you turn a vision into reality?
By understanding the data, the flow, and the interaction.
Every time we meet a new client, we learn about their business, their clients, their dreams and their pains.  Once we get a good feel for how the software or site fits into that world, then we can design an effective system.

Today, we met with a client to talk about a large relational database project.  The goal is to integrate many disparate things into a cohesive system.  To link these lists into one. It is not straightforward.  But, by reviewing all the pieces and brainstorming through some options we found the part that links them all.

Now, not only do we all feel positive about the direction, we have also imagined ways to make it easier to use, to link to other sources. The lynchpin to data can be elusive, but it is always there.  And always a joy to find.

Back to the Blog

I have been bad about posting lately.  The good news is that this is because we have been busy

I have a few ideas saved up and will be posting more shortly.

Have any topics you would like to see posted? Let me know by commenting to this post and I will be sure to address them all.

PS3 Grid – Amazing computing power

Ariticle on MSNBC.com:PlayStation 3 tackles black hole vibrations
Consoles capable of running simulations that rival supercomputer

“Rather than renting computer time on a supercomputer that could cost $5,000 per simulation, Burko and his colleagues used the PS3 Gravity Grid built by Gaurav Khanna, a physics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

The cluster can be built for around $6,000, and allows simulations to be repeated at no extra cost. The system is tailored to simulations that require massive amounts of computations, but relatively little RAM memory.”

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AMH on Twitter

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I Love Logic

Great Post on “Beauty Brains“!

They dissect arguments for cosmetic acupuncture.  It is a great example of how arguments that “sound” can be illogical and untrue.

When you really listen to what people are saying to defend a position, often there is no substance.

Thank you Beauty Brains for a great use of critical thinking!

Calendars

Today, I spent part of the morning getting all of my calendars set for the new year.  I have my Wall calendar for a qucik overview, my Outlook & BlackBerry for details, and my franklin for a week at a glance.

Why so many? I like being able to get the view I want at a glance.  I could see all in Outlook, but I would changin views.  So, multiple options work well for my own needs.

I have always been a fan of scheduling software, even way back in the Windows 3.1 days.   I like that you can easily move appointments, set reminders, track trends.  It may not be cutting edge, but having a good calendar system is somehow comforting. Then again, I always like to know what time it is, what temperature and other measures.  My inner scientist revels in numbers.

BLOG CHANGE: Now, you can comment on blog posts without registering.  Let me know what you think of my posts, I look forward to hearing from everyone.  To keep spam at bay, I still moderate. But am working to quickly approve comments.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all!

May 2009 have twice the blessings and half the bane of 2008.

May your dreams be clear and their paths be true.

We wish you all the best

Net Neutrailty

“Net Neutrality” means that all web pages and content are treated equally. That no site is given preferential treatment over another at the ISP level.
Wikipedia on Net Neutrality

Every small business owner should care very much about Net Neutrality. Without it, large business could pay or negotiate for faster download or upload speeds. In other words, your ecommerce site would load like a dog while Wal-Mart’s opened immediately. Your videos would take forever to download and YouTube would be instant streaming. It would mean that certain players would start t have undue influence over web sites and content. There is no doubt, lack of Net Neutrality would make it more expensive for small business to succeed on the web.

There are other ramifications for your TV, video, cable and entertainment options which would bring the tyranny of the cable monopolize to the web. But, I think the chance of small business ending up on the “old road” while the big guys build a “super highway”.

But, from what I can tell, Google’s OpenEdge does not damage this concept. Allowing ISPs to cache content means that content that is loaded by multiple people will be saved at the ISP. It will load faster. Your internal proxy server works the same way. If one person loads it, the proxy gets it from the source server. The second person downloads it from the proxy and it loads faster. As long as you can get multiple people to load your content, your site will benefit too.

Yahoo Tech Article Link

Friday

I haven’t been writing much in my blog.  First, we had the holidays and then I caught the flu.  Now that i am feeling back to my old self it was time to post again.

Things are going well at I-Tul, I have started my new weekly newsletter “The I-Tul Link”.  If you are not currently receiving it, let me know and I will add you to the mailing list.

What are your internet/marketing plans for the new year?  We are planning on releasing our new web site, expanding our internet marketing and continue to improve our online portal.  If you are in the planning/budgeting stages, now is a great time to get together.  We can help you plan your technology and internet marketing projects for 2009.

Have a good weekend and I will write more next week.

End of year

What are your end of year plans?

So many of our clients are starting to make their business end of year plans and to start making goals for 2009.  If your plans involve your site or online marketing, come in and talk to I-Tul.  Let us know your business goals and wwe cna help form the technology plan to get there.

Internet Marketing: From site updates to complete managed plans, we have the experience you need to get your site the traffic you want. Traffic that will mean sales.

Hosting & Email: Have a new site, new domain name, more email, an email newsletter? We have the tools that integrate together to make managing your hosting and email easy.

Development: Ready to  automate, integrate and otherwise hit the gas pedal on your operations?  I-Tul can build a system to manage your operations from online sale, internal tracking  and billing (even QB integration).  All you need to know is the goal, we will help you make the plan.

Ready to Start? Call Amanda Hart at 916-749-1500 ext: 105 nd we will work with you to make your goals for 2009 come true.