sTUDENTS

Top 10 banned apps on iOS and Android BYOD devices

kc — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:27:28 GMT

Yes, there are pitfalls to BYOD, and one of them is that corporate security policies can make your device feel like it doesn't belong to you. And one restriction that companies can place on you is what you can – and can't – install on your BYOD smartphone or tablet.

But what apps are businesses blacklisting most often on BYOD devices?

Fiberlink, the company behind the MaaS360 mobile device management software, examined data for more than 2 million devices that it secures for companies around the world to get a picture of what's allowed, and what's not allowed, on BYOD devices.

Top 10 Blacklisted Apps: iOS Devices

Dropbox
SugarSync
BoxNet
Facebook
Google Drive
Pandora
SkyDrive
Angry Birds
HOCCER
Netflix

Top 10 Blacklisted Apps: Android Devices

Dropbox
Facebook
Netflix
Google+
Angry Birds
Google Play Movies & TV
Google Play Books
Sugarsync
Google Play Music
Google+ Hangouts

So, want to play Angry Birds on your BYOD device? Sorry, you're outta luck. Catch up on some of your favorite TV shows on Netflix while on the train? Tough. Share files on DropBox? 'Fraid not.

Fiberlink has also crunched the data to find what are the most popularly whitelisted apps for iOS and Android.

Top 10 Whitelisted Apps: iOS Devices

iBooks
Adobe Reader
Google
Citrix Receiver
Numbers
Dropbox
Pages
itunes U
Keynote
WebEx

Top 10 Whitelisted Apps: Android Devices

NITDroid
Adobe Reader
Lookout
Google
Skype
Citrix Receiver
Android Translator
Antivirus
ZXing
Google Maps

But how common is the practice of whitelisting and blacklisting apps?It's interesting to note that Dropbox appears on in the top 10 blacklist for both iOS and Android, while at the same time appearing in the top 10 of whitelisted iOS apps. This shows that while some companies see Dropbox as being a threat, other embrace it. Outside the top 10, this is likely to be the case for most apps, as companies tailor the blacklists and whitelists to their specific needs.

Crunching the numbers further, Fiberlink found that less than 10 percent of customers has blacklists of whitelists in place for iOS devices, with that number falling to less than 5 percent for Android devices. Manufacturing and service industry customers topped the list when it came to blacklists, while consumer/retail and service industries were the ones most likely to have whitelists in place.

Getting even deeper into the data, Fiberlink found that, on average, customers blacklisted 5 iOS apps and 7 android apps, while whitelisting 16 and 10 apps for the respective platforms.

10 best practices for successful project management

kc — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:30:27 GMT

PLANNING

1: Plan the work by utilizing a project definition document

There is a tendency for IT infrastructure projects to shortchange the planning process, with an emphasis on jumping right in and beginning the work. This is a mistake. The time spent properly planning the project will result in reduced cost and duration and increased quality over the life of the project. The project definition is the primary deliverable from the planning process and describes all aspects of the project at a high level. Once approved by the customer and relevant stakeholders, it becomes the basis for the work to be performed. For example, in planning an Exchange migration, the project definition should include the following:

Project overview: Why is the Exchange migration taking place? What are the business drivers? What are the business benefits?
Objectives: What will be accomplished by the migration? What do you hope to achieve?
Scope: What features of Exchange will be implemented? Which departments will be converted? What is specifically out of scope?
Assumptions and risks: What events are you taking for granted (assumptions), and what events are you concerned about? Will the right hardware and infrastructure be in place? Do you have enough storage and network capacity?
Approach: How will the migration project unfold and proceed?
Organization: Show the significant roles on the project. Identifying the project manager is easy, but who is the sponsor? It might be the CIO for a project like this. Who is on the project team? Are any of the stakeholders represented?
Signature page: Ask the sponsor and key stakeholders to approve this document, signifying that they agree on what is planned.
Initial effort, cost, and duration estimates: These should start as best-guess estimates and then be revised, if necessary, when the workplan is completed.

PROJECT WORKPLAN

2: Create a planning horizon

After the project definition has been prepared, the workplan can be created. The workplan provides the step-by-step instructions for constructing project deliverables and managing the project. You should use a prior workplan from a similar project as a model, if one exists. If not, build one the old-fashioned way by utilizing a work-breakdown structure and network diagram.

Create a detailed workplan, including assigning resources and estimating the work as far out as you feel comfortable. This is your planning horizon. Past the planning horizon, lay out the project at a higher level, reflecting the increased level of uncertainty. The planning horizon will move forward as the project progresses. High-level activities that were initially vague need to be defined in more detail as their timeframe gets closer.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

3: Define project management procedures up front

The project management procedures outline the resources that will be used to manage the project. This will include sections on how the team will manage issues, scope change, risk, quality, communication, and so on. It is important to be able to manage the project rigorously and proactively and to ensure that the project team and all stakeholders have a common understanding of how the project will be managed. If common procedures have already been established for your organization, utilize them on your project.

4: Manage the workplan and monitor the schedule and budget

Once the project has been planned sufficiently, execution of the work can begin. In theory, since you already have agreement on your project definition and since your workplan and project management procedures are in place, the only challenge is to execute your plans and processes correctly. Of course, no project ever proceeds entirely as it was estimated and planned. The challenge is having the rigor and discipline needed to apply your project management skills correctly and proactively.

Review the workplan on a regular basis to determine how you are progressing in terms of schedule and budget. If your project is small, this may need to be weekly. For larger projects, the frequency might be every two weeks.
Identify activities that have been completed during the previous time period and update the workplan to show they are finished. Determine whether there are any other activities that should be completed but have not been. After the workplan has been updated, determine whether the project will be completed within the original effort, cost, and duration. If not, determine the critical path and look for ways to accelerate these activities to get you back on track.

Monitor the budget. Look at the amount of money your project has actually consumed and determine whether your actual spending is more than originally estimated based on the work that has been completed. If so, be proactive. Either work with the team to determine how the remaining work will be completed to hit your original budget or else raise a risk that you may exceed your allocated budget.

5: Look for warning signs

Look for signs that the project may be in trouble. These could include the following:

A small variance in schedule or budget starts to get bigger, especially early in the project. There is a tendency to think you can make it up, but this is a warning. If the tendencies are not corrected quickly, the impact will be unrecoverable.
You discover that activities you think have already been completed are still being worked on. For example, users whom you think have been migrated to a new platform are still not.
You need to rely on unscheduled overtime to hit the deadlines, especially early in the project.
Team morale starts to decline.
Deliverable quality or service quality starts to deteriorate. For instance, users start to complain that their converted e-mail folders are not working correctly.
Quality-control steps, testing activities, and project management time starts to be cut back from the original schedule. A big project, such as an Exchange migration, can affect everyone in your organization. Don’t cut back on the activities that ensure the work is done correctly.

If these situations occur, raise visibility through risk management, and put together a plan to proactively ensure that the project stays on track. If you cannot successfully manage through the problems, raise an issue.

MANAGING SCOPE

6: Ensure that the sponsor approves scope-change requests

After the basics of managing the schedule, managing scope is the most important activity required to control a project. Many project failures are not caused by problems with estimating or team skill sets but by the project team working on major and minor deliverables that were not part of the original project definition or business requirements. Even if you have good scope-management procedures in place, there are still two major areas of scope-change management that must be understood to be successful: understanding who the customer is and scope creep.

In general, the project sponsor is the person funding the project. For infrastructure projects like an Exchange migration, the sponsor might be the CIO or CFO. Although there is usually just one sponsor, a big project can have many stakeholders, or people who are impacted by the project. Requests for scope changes will most often come from stakeholders — many of whom may be managers in their own right. One manager might want chat services for his or her area. Another might want an exception to the size limits you have placed on mailboxes. It doesn’t matter how important a change is to a stakeholder, they can’t make scope-change decisions, and they can’t give your team the approval to make the change. In proper scope-change management, the sponsor (or a designate) must give the approval, since they are the only ones who can add funding to cover the changes and know if the project impact is acceptable.

7: Guard against scope creep

Most project managers know to invoke scope-change management procedures if they are asked to add a major new function or a major new deliverable to their project. However, sometimes the project manager doesn’t recognize the small scope changes that get added over time. Scope creep is a term used to define a series of small scope changes that are made to the project without scope-change management procedures being used. With scope creep, a series of small changes — none of which appear to affect the project individually — can accumulate and have a significant overall impact on the project. Many projects fail because of scope creep, and the project manager needs to be diligent in guarding against it.

MANAGING RISK

8: Identify risks up front

When the planning work is occurring, the project team should identify all known risks. For each risk, they should also determine the probability that the risk event will occur and the potential impact on the project. Those events identified as high-risk should have specific plans put into place to mitigate them so they do not, in fact, occur. Medium risks should be evaluated to see whether they need to be proactively managed. (Low-level risks may be identified as assumptions. That is, there is potential risk involved, but you are "assuming” that the positive outcome is much more probable.) Some risks are inherent in a complex project that affects every person in the company. Other risks may include not having the right level of expertise, unfamiliarity with the technology, and problems integrating smoothly with existing products or equipment.

9: Continue to assess potential risks throughout the project

Once the project begins, periodically perform an updated risk assessment to determine whether other risks have surfaced that need to be managed.

10: Resolve issues as quickly as possible

Issues are big problems. For instance, in an Exchange migration, the Exchange servers you ordered aren’t ready and configured on time. Or perhaps the Windows forest isn’t set up correctly and needs to be redesigned. The project manager should manage open issues diligently to ensure that they are being resolved. If there is no urgency to resolve the issue or if the issue has been active for some time, it may not really be an issue. It may be a potential problem (risk), or it may be an action item that needs to be resolved at some later point. Real issues, by their nature, must be resolved with a sense of urgency.

10 ways to present yourself more professionally

kc — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:31:26 GMT

So you’re getting ready for that big presentation. Your PowerPoint is perfect, you know your facts, and you’re ready to go. Only thing is… you’re lacking that certain polish to tip the scales in your favor.

When it comes to interviews, presentations, important meetings, and any situation where you need to make a stellar impression, looking professional is just as important as being professional. But looking professional means more than just having a top-of-the-line briefcase, Italian shoes, the best laptop money can buy, and a bright smile that would shame a Hollywood celebrity. In this article, I’m going to share some tips you may never have thought of in the course of your career. Chances are, one (or more) of these tips will help you win over a crowd, land that job, or impress the higher ups.

1: Dress the part

Standard business fare most often will do for your average meeting. But when you raise the bar of importance, you must match it with your personal appearance. And this doesn’t stop at your neck. Not only should you be wearing your best suit, you should make sure you are properly groomed. Don’t think your hair can go "one more week” before you get it cut. And get it cut a couple of days before the big to-do. And your clothing shouldn’t just look good; it should also be comfortable. The last thing you want is to be in front of a crowd and notice your pants are too tight or too loose or your shoes are killing your feet. If you have to wear heels, don’t wear heels that are too high. And do NOT forget antiperspirant. Now you may be thinking these are all very obvious tips, but people can (and often do) overlook the obvious.

2: Warm up

You may not know this but your body, and your ability to present yourself, is directly affected by its state of being. If you get up to do a presentation or run a crucial meeting and your muscles are cold and tight, it will reflect in your posture and presentation. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to stretch your muscles to get them warm and used to moving. Stretch your arms, legs, back, and neck. With relaxed muscles your presentation will come across smoother and more relaxed. You should also give your voice plenty of chance to warm itself up before you start.

3: Fuel yourself

Have you ever been in a meeting or interview and had your stomach growl so loudly that everyone in the room heard it? You may think this would be a fun moment where everyone will get a chuckle. It’s not. It’s unprofessional. Make sure you eat before you present your material. But don’t overdo it. What is worse than a gurgling stomach is a noisy backside or the need to break for Mother Nature. Sure, you can include time in your presentation for bathroom/stretch breaks. But if you are in an interview and that stomach makes itself known, it will look less-than-professional. And fuel is not just about quieting an other-wise noisy digestive system. You also need plenty of fuel to get you through the process. If you don’t take in enough calories, your body will let you know — which will not go unnoticed.

4: Choose your props carefully

I have seen presentations that looked horribly amateur simply because the speaker was carrying a McDonald’s coffee cup as he spoke or a whiteboard or easel that didn’t work. When putting together the pieces for your presentation, don’t leave out any details. If you need a drink (and you should have water with you), make sure your water glass (and pitcher, if you drink a lot) is clean, simple, and classy. Do not use a sippy cup or sports water bottle. If your presentation requires an easel or whiteboard, be sure that everything is solid, works as it should, and looks new or at least clean and sturdy.

If you depend upon handouts for your presentation, make sure they’re in collated, pre-stapled, and stacked neatly or distributed to each audience member’s chair. The less you have to interrupt your presentation or meeting to get everything in order, the better. And don’t skimp. If you shell out for a cheap easel or whiteboard, you might find yourself fighting with them more than you should. Pay for solid tools and you will get solid results.

5: Spell check

It amazes me when I am a participant in a lecture, interview, presentation, or meeting and I see spelling errors in handouts or resumes or on a whiteboard or overhead. The fastest way to lose attention or a job prospect is to have spelling errors littered throughout your work. An audience or interviewer may forgive minor or tricky sentence structure issues, but spelling? No way. If you don’t employ spell check in your word processor — do. If you know you’re plagued with spelling problems, have someone check your presentations, resume, or handouts.

6: Turn your phone on silent mode

Your audience doesn’t need to know how many people call or text you, and there is nothing more unprofessional than stopping your presentation or interrupting your interview to answer a phone or a text. There are few exceptions to this rule. If your wife is about to give birth, that’s one of the few. If that is the case (or if there is another, equally pressing need), explain the situation to your audience so they understand. Outside of extenuating circumstances, set the phone on silent or turn it off.

7: Watch your time

Remember that time is money. Not only are people paying you for your services, but your audience members have their own work to do. Stick to the allotted timeframe and you will always come out on top. And that doesn’t mean end early. When a company pays for your time, it wants to get its money’s worth. Don’t shortchange it. And if you’re in an interview, do NOT act as though you have something more important to do. You don’t. The single most important thing you have going on is that interview. This also includes being on time. As a good rule of thumb, you should be prepared to GO at the slotted time. This does not mean you should ARRIVE at your starting time. Show respect by arriving early so you can be prepared to go on time.

8: Be prepared

This really holds true if you’re using a laptop to run a presentation through a projector. Do not depend upon your host for anything (outside of the projector). Bring any possible connector you will need as well as a spare battery and your AC adapter for your laptop. You do not want to have your host scrambling around to find something to help you get your presentation off the ground.

Preparedness also includes making sure you have enough literature for your audience. Always bring more than you need. Find out ahead of time how many attendees are expected so you can make sure you bring more than enough supplies. And bring extra digital copies of your presentation. You never know whether, for some reason, the presentation will wind up corrupt on your PC. Bring your presentation on a CD and a flash drive just to be safe.

9: Know your audience

Do you remember some of the advice you were given in school about writing cover letters for your resume? Did you ever start a cover letter with "To whom it may concern…”? I didn’t think so. So why would you begin a presentation without knowing your audience? This can be crucial to delivering a professional presentation or meeting. If you’re giving a network presentation to a group of UNIX or Linux administrators, don’t speak in Windows terms. If you’re in front of a group of Windows administrators, don’t insult them by bragging about how strong your UNIX kung fu is.

10: Don’t be a comic

A little humor will go a long way to help connect to your audience. But don’t use the event as a vehicle for your standup routine. You will look less like a professional and more like a clown. Sure, break the ice with a funny anecdote or relax the situation when too much information is offered at once. But you don’t want to present yourself as a jokester or a comedian. You won’t be taken seriously when serious is called for. And you’re probably not as funny as you think you are. So leave the comedy to the professionals.

10 signs that you aren't cut out to be a project manager

kc — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:32:25 GMT

You’ve all seen top 10 lists of the best traits of a project manager or the top 10 skills of a project manager. However, project management is not for everyone. Many people have some of the traits to be a good project manager, but they also have many traits that make them a bad fit for the position.Here’s my list of indications that you may not be well suited to be a project manager. Note: These are not in any ranked order.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: You are a poor communicator

It is said that more than 50% of a project manager’s time is spent in some aspect of communication. This includes meetings, status reporting, e-mails, phone calls, coordinating, talking to people, and completing documentation. Some studies have shown that verbal and written communication takes up 80% of the job. If you are not an effective communicator (and you don’t care to be), don’t go down this path.

#2: You don’t work well with people

If you prefer to stay in your office and focus on your own work, you probably don’t have the collaborative ability to be a good project manager. Good project managers need to spend a lot of time with clients, stakeholders, and team members.

#3: You prefer the details

Many people like to work on the project details. We need people like that. But when you are a project manager, you must rise above the details and become more of a delegator and coordinator. You must rely on others for much of the detailed work when you are a project manager.

#4: You don’t like to manage people

You don’t have much of a project if you’re the only resource. If you want to be a good project manager, you need to be able to manage people. You will not have 100% responsibility for people, but you will need to show leadership, hold them accountable, manage conflict, etc. Some project managers say they could do a much better job if they did not have to deal with people. If that’s how you feel, project management is probably not for you.

#5: You don’t like to follow processes

Yes, I know no one wants to be a slave of processes. But you need good processes to be effective as your projects get larger. If you don’t want to follow good project management processes, you are not going to get too far as a manager.

#6: You don’t like to document things

Of course, all things in moderation. I am not proposing that you have to love documenting to be a good project manager. But you can’t hate it, either. Many aspects of project management require some documentation, including status reporting, communication plans, scope changes, and Project Charters.

#7: You like to execute and not plan

When a client gives you a project, what is your first inclination? If your first thought is to get a team together to start executing the work, you probably don’t have a project management mindset. If you do not want to spend the appropriate amount of time to make sure you understand what you are doing, you are probably not cut out to be a project manager.

#8: You prefer to be an order taker

If you think your job is to take orders from the customer and execute them, you may not be a good project manager. Project managers need to provide value on a project, including pushing back when the client is asking for things that are not right. If the client raises a request that is out of scope, you also need to invoke the scope change management process. If your reaction to scope change is saying, "Yes sir, we’ll do it” instead of going through the scope change management process, project manage is going to be a struggle for you.

#9: You are not organized

People who have poor personal organization skills and techniques usually do not make good project managers. If you’re going to manage multiple people over a period of time, you need to be well organized to make sure that everyone is doing what he or she needs to do as efficiently as possible.

#10: You think project management is "overhead”

No one can feel good about their job if they think the work they perform is not value-added. Good project managers understand the value of their work, and they understand their work will result in a project coming in on time and on budget with a good experience for the client and the project team. If you think the work associated with project management is overhead and non value-added, you’re probably not the right person to be a project manager yourself.

How to find duplicates in Excel

kc — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 05:29:15 GMT

In the duplicate world, definition means everything. That’s because a duplicate is subjective to the context of its related data. Duplicates can occur within a single column, across multiple columns, or complete records. There’s no one feature or technique that will find duplicates in every case.

To find duplicate records, use Excel’s easy-to-use Filter feature as follows:

Select any cell inside the recordset.
From the Data menu, choose Filter and then select Advanced Filter to open the Advanced Filter dialog box.
Select Copy To Another Location in the Action section.
Enter a copy range in the Copy To control.
Check Unique Records Only and click OK.

Excel will copy a filtered list of unique records to the range you specified in Copy To. At this point, you can replace the original recordset with the filtered list (the copied list) if you want to delete the duplicates.

Finding duplicates in a single column or across multiple columns is a bit more difficult. Use conditional formatting to highlight duplicates in a single column as follows:

Using the example worksheet, select cell A2. When applying this to your own worksheet, select the first data cell in the list (column).
Choose Conditional Formatting from the Format menu.
Choose Formula Is from the first control’s drop-down list.
In the formula control, enter =COUNTIF(A:A,A2)>1.
Click the Format button and specify the appropriate format. For instance, click the Font tab and choose Red from the Color control and click OK. At this point, the Conditional Formatting dialog box should resemble the following figure:

Click OK to return to the worksheet.
With cell A2 still selected, click Format Painter.
Select the remaining cells in the list (cells A3:A5 in the example worksheet).

The conditional format will highlight any value in column A that’s repeated. If you want Excel to highlight only the copies, leaving the first occurrence of the value unaltered, enter the formula=COUNTIF($A$2:$A2, A2)>1 in step 4.

The conditional format works great for a single column. To find duplicates across multiple columns, use two expressions: One to concatenate the columns you’re comparing; a second to count the duplicates. For example, if you wanted to find duplicates of both first and last names in the example worksheet, you’d enter the following formula in cell D2 to concatenate the first and last name values:

=A2&B2

You could insert a space character between the two names if you liked, but it isn’t necessary. Copy the formula to accommodate the remaining list items.

Next, in cell E2 enter the following formula and copy it to accommodate the remaining list:

=IF(COUNTIF(D$2:D$7,D2)>1,”Duplicated”,”")

Notice that the worksheet has a new record (row 6). This record duplicates the first name, Susan, but not the last name. The conditional format highlights the first name because it’s a duplicate in column A. However, the formula in column E doesn’t identify the combined values across columns A and B as a duplicate because the first and last names together aren’t duplicated.

11 Simple Concepts to Become a Better Leader

kc — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:12:51 GMT

Being likeable will help you in your job, business, relationships, and life. I interviewed dozens of successful business leaders for my last book, to determine what made them so likeable and their companies so successful. All of the concepts are simple, and yet, perhaps in the name of revenues or the bottom line, we often lose sight of the simple things - things that not only make us human, but can actually help us become more successful. Below are the eleven most important principles to integrate to become a better leader:

1. Listening

"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." - Ernest Hemingway

Listening is the foundation of any good relationship. Great leaders listen to what their customers and prospects want and need, and they listen to the challenges those customers face. They listen to colleagues and are open to new ideas. They listen to shareholders, investors, and competitors. Here's why the best CEO's listen more.

2. Storytelling

"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." -Robert McAfee Brown

After listening, leaders need to tell great stories in order to sell their products, but more important, in order to sell their ideas. Storytelling is what captivates people and drives them to take action. Whether you're telling a story to one prospect over lunch, a boardroom full of people, or thousands of people through an online video - storytelling wins customers.

3. Authenticity

"I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I've become. If I had, I'd have done it a lot earlier." -Oprah Winfrey

Great leaders are who they say they are, and they have integrity beyond compare. Vulnerability and humility are hallmarks of the authentic leader and create a positive, attractive energy. Customers, employees, and media all want to help an authentic person to succeed. There used to be a divide between one’s public self and private self, but the social internet has blurred that line. Tomorrow's leaders are transparent about who they are online, merging their personal and professional lives together.

4. Transparency

"As a small businessperson, you have no greater leverage than the truth." -John Whittier

There is nowhere to hide anymore, and businesspeople who attempt to keep secrets will eventually be exposed. Openness and honesty lead to happier staff and customers and colleagues. More important, transparency makes it a lot easier to sleep at night - unworried about what you said to whom, a happier leader is a more productive one.

5. Team Playing

"Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds." -SEAL Team Saying

No matter how small your organization, you interact with others every day. Letting others shine, encouraging innovative ideas, practicing humility, and following other rules for working in teams will help you become a more likeable leader. You’ll need a culture of success within your organization, one that includes out-of-the-box thinking.

6. Responsiveness

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." -Charles Swindoll

The best leaders are responsive to their customers, staff, investors, and prospects. Every stakeholder today is a potential viral sparkplug, for better or for worse, and the winning leader is one who recognizes this and insists upon a culture of responsiveness. Whether the communication is email, voice mail, a note or a a tweet, responding shows you care and gives your customers and colleagues a say, allowing them to make a positive impact on the organization.

7. Adaptability

"When you're finished changing, you're finished." -Ben Franklin

There has never been a faster-changing marketplace than the one we live in today. Leaders must be flexible in managing changing opportunities and challenges and nimble enough to pivot at the right moment. Stubbornness is no longer desirable to most organizations. Instead, humility and the willingness to adapt mark a great leader.

8. Passion

"The only way to do great work is to love the work you do." -Steve Jobs

Those who love what they do don’t have to work a day in their lives. People who are able to bring passion to their business have a remarkable advantage, as that passion is contagious to customers and colleagues alike. Finding and increasing your passion will absolutely affect your bottom line.

9. Surprise and Delight

"A true leader always keeps an element of surprise up his sleeve, which others cannot grasp but which keeps his public excited and breathless." -Charles de Gaulle

Most people like surprises in their day-to-day lives. Likeable leaders underpromise and overdeliver, assuring that customers and staff are surprised in a positive way. There are a plethora of ways to surprise without spending extra money - a smile, We all like to be delighted — surprise and delight create incredible word-of-mouth marketing opportunities.

10. Simplicity

"Less isn't more; just enough is more." -Milton Glaser

The world is more complex than ever before, and yet what customers often respond to best is simplicity — in design, form, and function. Taking complex projects, challenges, and ideas and distilling them to their simplest components allows customers, staff, and other stakeholders to better understand and buy into your vision. We humans all crave simplicity, and so today's leader must be focused and deliver simplicity.

11. Gratefulness

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." -Gilbert Chesterton

Likeable leaders are ever grateful for the people who contribute to their opportunities and success. Being appreciative and saying thank you to mentors, customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders keeps leaders humble, appreciated, and well received. It also makes you feel great! Donor's Choose studied the value of a hand-written thank-you note, and actually found donors were 38% more likely to give a 2nd time if they got a hand-written note!

The Golden Rule: Above all else, treat others as you’d like to be treated

By showing others the same courtesy you expect from them, you will gain more respect from coworkers, customers, and business partners. Holding others in high regard demonstrates your company’s likeability and motivates others to work with you. This seems so simple, as do so many of these principles — and yet many people, too concerned with making money or getting by, fail to truly adopt these key concepts.

Will the cloud be the end of the IT department?

kc — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 02:28:29 GMT

One of the great promises that cloud vendors make is that the adoption of cloud computing greatly reduces IT costs for any company. A crucial part of this promise, that you can find on most "cloud cost calculators” available on the web, is the reduction in manpower costs. If you host a server internally, you need a System Administrator to manage that server; if you hire a virtual server with the same specifications from a public cloud provider, you don’t need anyone, and whatever you were going to pay that person becomes "cost savings”. This naturally leads us to the following question: Will cloud computing be the end of the conventional IT department?

If we follow the vendor’s logic to its final conclusion, we would end up in a situation where the only place where one could find infrastructure (server, networking, even operating systems) management jobs would be with the cloud infrastructure providers themselves. These crucial areas of IT would essentially disappear over time, as jobs became more and more scarce. The idea of not needing IT is a double-edged sword: on one hand, business users, especially those that have a poor relationship with IT, find this very appealing, and use it as a big reason to promote the cloud; on the other hand, it generates resistance from IT departments, who understand that the whole idea of not needing anyone is just a myth.

Reality check on cloud servers and apps

Several of the assumptions people make about cloud servers are simply not true, and some are actually being actively denied by cloud vendors. Backup is one such assumption. Many people still assume that cloud servers are automatically backed up, don’t set up any kind of backup scheme, and end up losing a lot of data. The fact is that cloud providers don’t perform any kind of automated backup unless you explicitly ask them to do so, which is something most users forget to do.

Security management is another issue. It’s easy to think that, since your server is hosted on someone else’s infrastructure, they’ll worry about all the security matters for you, but nothing could be further from the truth. When you hire a cloud server, most cloud providers will deliver a virtual server with some sort of remote connection enabled. This means that, unless you set your server up behind some sort of firewall or with protection rules, it is basically open to attack from outside as soon as it goes up. While I don’t have any stats on this point, I’ve seen some servers I set up with FTP access being attacked less than five minutes after going on-line.

This means that having someone from IT managing your servers, even the hosted ones, can be very important. Sure, you can do it yourself, but then you’re in the same position as if you’d been trying to manage an internal data center yourself. The fact is that, for most people, a cloud server is just like an internal server, only it gets "stored” somewhere else. This means you need a systems administrator just as you would on any other server.

Cloud apps are, in a sense, even more problematic. With whom does responsibility for the environment reside? What happens if a user accidentally deletes important data or a user account gets broken into? Proper management of passwords, backup policies, access control strategies, and other issues is even more important. Solution providers limit their responsibility to making your data available at the predefined SLA; they say absolutely nothing about backing your data up, or being able to restore it later. The same goes for managing users and passwords: the responsibility is entirely on the hands of the user. If all your accounts are configured with default or weak passwords, you’re running a real risk of someone invading them and stealing sensitive data.

As more and more data moves to cloud apps, they are becoming interesting targets, and attacks will take an upward trend. This means that, more than ever, you need IT people to manage your cloud application environment, just as you needed people to manage your infrastructure.

A changing landscape

The cloud, then, does not threaten IT jobs, nor does it reduce the importance of IT departments. If anything, the short-term trend is an increase in importance as users realize that they need the help of IT to manage the complex server and application environments that are being created ad-hoc in their rush to move to the cloud.

As with most new technologies, cloud computing won’t promote a destruction of IT jobs, but rather a change in their nature. Just as developers have to adopt new mindsets to develop cloud-based applications and services, DBAs will have to adapt to cloud-based and big data oriented systems, and system administrators will move from the low-level infrastructure issues (which will be more and more the exclusive province of large providers) to managing complex environments, spanning multiple applications, cloud providers, virtual and physical servers, and even merging the internal data center with the public cloud.

10 skills for developers to focus on in 2013

kc — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 02:23:46 GMT

At the beginning of 2012, Justin James wrote a list of technologies that were gaining momentum in the dev world. Now he revisits that list with an eye toward 2013.

Looking back on this article after nearly a year, I’m struck by how quickly some of these trends have steamrolled. Of course, mobile development was expected to be big. But the growth in tablets, especially in Android tablets, has propelled that market to new heights.

Thanks to mobile devices that receive frequent updates (notably iOS devices) and the short release cycles of Chrome and Firefox, it has been possible for HTML5 to rapidly ascend to the top of the pile in many ways. The Web development world has divided itself into two segments:

The enterprise market running Java and .NET on the backend and using SOAP for communications
The consumer market using PHP, Ruby, and Python on the backend with lightweight REST Web services

In fact, I am starting to encounter folks dropping the backend server layer away significantly, in favor of a REST API and an HTML5 + JavaScript front end communicating with the API. And thanks to the power of jQuery and similar tools, the Web now easily matches the functionality of the desktop in the UI department — something that’s becoming obvious on more and more Web sites.

Looking ahead to 2013, I really do not think that the items on this list need to change much. Learning Ruby and Python (and NoSQL databases) are not mandatory items for your career, but they can certainly open some doors to alternative career paths. Windows 8 development is not a must-have either, and it remains to be seen whether Windows 8 picks up adoption quickly enough to justify making it a priority. But this list can still serve as a fundamental guide for your 2013 "techs I need to learn” list.

What skills do you need?

Software development had a few years of relative calm. But now the rollercoaster is back on track and it’s picking up speed, as HTML5 gains a foothold and Windows 8 threatens to significantly change the Windows development landscape. If you want to stay ahead of the curve, you should consider learning at least a few of these 10 software development skills.

1: Mobile development

If you don’t think it is worth your time to learn mobile development, think again. According to a recent Gartner report, Android mobile device sales outstripped PC shipments in the third quarter of 2012. Add in the other big-name mobile devices (iPhones, iPads, and even the "dying” RIM devices), and what you see is that mobile devices now dwarf PCs in sales. What does this mean? If you make your living from software that can run only on a PC (which includes Web sites that don’t work or are hard to use on mobile devices), now is the time to learn mobile development.

2: NoSQL

I appreciate a well-designed relational database schema as much as the next person, but they just are not appropriate for every project. We’ve been using them even when they aren’t the best tool because the alternatives haven’t been great. The last few years have seen the introduction of a wide variety of NoSQL database systems. And now that major service vendors (like Amazon and Microsoft) support NoSQL as well, there is no technical limitation on their use. Are they right for every project? No. Are they going to replace traditional databases? In some projects, and for some developers, definitely. This is the year to learn how to use them, as they will only become more prevalent in the year to follow.

3: Unit testing

We’ve seen unit testing go from being, "Oh, that’s neat” to being a best practice in the industry. And with the increasing use of dynamic languages, unit testing is becoming more and more important. A wide variety of tools and frameworks are available for unit testing. If you do not know how to do it, now is the time to learn. This is the year where it goes from "resume enhancement” to "resume requirement.”

4: Python or Ruby

Not every project is a good fit for a dynamic language, but a lot of projects are better done in them. PHP has been a winner in the industry for some time, but Python and Ruby are now being taken seriously as well. Strong arguments can be made for Ruby + Rails (or Ruby + Sinatra) or Python + Django as excellent platforms for Web development, and Python has long been a favorite for "utility” work. Learning Python or Ruby in addition to your existing skill set gives you a useful alternative and a better way to get certain projects done.

5: HTML5

HTML5 is quickly pulling away from the station. The release of IE 10 made the full power of HTML5 available to most users (those not stuck with IE 6 or IE 8). Learning HTML5 now positions you to be on the forefront of the next generation of applications. Oh, and most mobile devices already have excellent support for it, so it is a great way to get into mobile development too. And don’t forget: HTML5 is one route for UI definitions in Windows 8.

6: Windows 8

Windows 8 may be getting off to a slow start, but being the top dog in an app store is often based on being the first dog in the race. The first mover advantage is huge. It is better to be in the Windows Store now than to take a wait-and-see approach. Even if Windows 8 sales disappoint, it’s better to be the only fish in a small pond than a fish of any size in a big pond, as recent app sales numbers have shown.

7: RESTful Web services

While I personally prefer the convenience and ease of working with SOAP in the confines of Visual Studio, REST is booming. Even Microsoft is starting to embrace it with OData. JSON really was the final straw on this matter, relegating SOAP to be for server-to-server work only. Unless your applications can run in isolation, not knowing REST is going to hold you back.

8: JavaScript

Before Windows 8, it was easy for non-Web developers to look at JavaScript as a Web-only language. No more! JavaScript is now a first-class citizen for native desktop and tablet development, thanks to the Windows 8 Modern UI and WinRT API. XAML + C# or VB.NET may be a good way for you to get things done. But if you want to maximize what you can get out of your knowledge, HTML5 and JavaScript are the best bet. They give you Web and Modern UI/WinRT, and you can use them for some of the cross-platform mobile systems out there, like Appcelerator’s Titanium product.

9: jQuery

If you are going to do any kind of Web development where you are working directly with HTML, jQuery is a must-know skill. While there are plenty of credible alternatives, jQuery is quickly turning into the de facto tool for rich UIs with HTML.

10: User experience

Other than getting that first mover advantage in new app stores, there is little to differentiate many applications on a feature basis; it’s a crowded field. User experience, on the other hand, is a different story.

Creating a great user experience is not easy; it starts before anyone even downloads your application and continues through to the uninstall process. In the age of instant $0.99 and free app downloads, and ad-supported Web apps, the barriers to switching to another application are mighty low. If your user experience is poor, do not expect much business.

Learn HTML and CSS with w3Schools free ebook download

kc — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 03:50:55 GMT

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* W3Schools is the top Google search result for instruction on HTML, CSS, and other key Web technologies; this book presents W3Schools tutorials in an easy-to-follow format for quick learning
* Features a thorough reference section for easy review of such items as lists of tags, attributes, and symbols
* Covers elements and attributes, headings and paragraphs, formatting and styles, links and images, tables, lists, forms, colors, fonts, frames, entities, head and meta, style sheets, style tags, and more

Designed to get beginning Web developers up and running as quickly as possible, Learn HTML and CSS with W3Schoolspresents a proven, highly focused course of instruction in an easy-to-use format.

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Step by Step Procedure to upgrade your computer to Windows8

kc — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 03:47:09 GMT

Windows 8 is finally here. I just upgraded my Windows 7 desktop to Windows 8 and the process couldn’t be smoother.

All the existing software programs work just fine in Windows 8 and the built-in Windows Store offers a plethora of new full-screen "apps” to choose from. Desktop search is so much better in Windows 8, the UI feels more snappy and the system will boot faster. You don’t need to install a separate anti-virus program as Windows Defender is already included in Windows 8.

If you haven’t played with the Windows 8 beta versions earlier, it may take a day or two to get comfortable with the new layout but overall, Windows 8 is a must-have upgrade.

Upgrading to Windows 8 - Step by Step

If you are also planning to make the switch to Windows 8 this weekend, here are 3 things you would need:

A Windows machine running Windows 7, Vista and Windows XP. It doesn’t matter if you have computer is running Windows XP Premium or Windows 7 Home Basic.

A valid credit card or a PayPal account to pay the upgrade fee – you will be required to pay $39.99 for the windows 8 professional l edition.

An internet connection for downloading the Windows 8 installer (2.05 GB). You may also order the Windows 8 installer on a DVD though it may not be necessary as it is quite easy to create your own Windows 8 DVD.

Please note that you are opting for an "upgrade” so it will overwrite your existing copy of Windows and there’s no way you can uninstall Windows 8 to switch to the previous Windows installation.

Also, your existing software programs will only be preserved if you are moving from Windows 7 to Windows 8. If your current PC is running Windows XP or Vista, all your files and data will be preserved but you will have to reinstall the software apps after upgrading to Windows 8.

Ready? Here’s how may upgrade your computer to Windows 8.

First download and run the Upgrade Assistant program. This will essentially perform a few checks on your computer and will also suggest a list of software programs / hardware devices that may not be compatible with Windows 8.

Next you need to order your Windows 8 upgrade pack right inside the installation wizard. Choose the "Checkout” option, enter your credit card details and the next screen will show your Windows 8 product key that you may need at the time of installation. You don’t have to write then down on paper and Microsoft will also send a receipt of your order and the Windows serial number to your email address.

Important: What you are buying is the upgrade license that will only work on an existing Windows machine. You cannot use this Windows 8 license on a new machine that you could be building from scratch. If you wish to install Windows 8 from scratch on a new hard disk, you need the System Builder that may not be available at all locations.

The upgrade assistant will now download the Windows 8 installer files to your computer. This process may take a while since it will require the transfer of ~2 GB of data from Microsoft servers to your disk.

Tip: The Windows 8 installer files are stored in the C:\ESD\Windows\Sources folder – it’s hidden so you may not find it inside Windows Explorer.

Once the installer files have been downloaded, you can continue with the installation or you may pick the second option that says – "Install by creating media.” Here you can save the Windows 8 installer files in a single ISO file and then, from the wizard itself, burn the ISO image into a bootable DVD. This may come handy later when you want to repair or reinstall Windows 8 later but have deleted the installer from the disk to free up disk space.

Once the DVD is ready, double-click the Windows Setup shortcut (you’ll find it on your desktop) to run the setup again.

You can either do a clean install and choose "Nothing” or use the "Windows settings, personal files and apps” option to preserve your files as well as programs (recommended). Also, if you choose "Nothing,” your personal files (anything saved inside the User folder and on the desktop) will be moved to a windows.old folder.

Choose the first "Install Now” option and Windows 8 will finish installing itself. Simple!