The "Pimp my Ride" effect

Have you ever seen “Pimp my Ride” on MTV? In every episode, they find the worst looking car possible, and make it look flashy. This usually involves chrome, video monitors, lots of speakers, and obnoxious paint jobs.

Now in the very few episodes that I’ve seen, the outside of the car was completely overhauled, but nothing under the hood was touched. In other words, the old beat-up 85’ Yugo now looks glamorous, but inside it’s still an old beat-up 85’ Yugo. The way I see it: Garbage covered in chrome is still garbage.

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User guide improvements

The PDF version of the m-Power manual was recently enhanced to include a very nice table of contents for easy navigation. If you prefer reading on good old-fashioned paper, I’m sure you’ll be quite pleased with the improvements.

However, I must warn those who prefer the printed manual: Due to the sheer quantity of updates we push out to m-Power, a printed manual will typically be out-of-date within a week or so.

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16 declining tech salaries for 2010

I don’t think I have to tell anyone that 2009 was a bad year for the economy. Positions were eliminated, jobs were shipped overseas, and salaries were trimmed, as detailed by this article on Eweek.com entitled, “16 declining tech salaries for 2010”.

The workload, on the other hand, hasn’t changed. Many companies have critical projects on the table, but can’t afford to hire consultants or bring on new staff with the necessary skills. If you’re in that boat, here’s a bit of information you may not know: You might be able to use your current employees.

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Celebrate Thanksgiving with Smoked Salmon

Is it just me, or has 2009 just flown by? I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving week again.

This Thanksgiving I'd like to share a recipe for smoked salmon (from foodnetwork.com) and a few humorous holiday quotes.

Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.
- Kevin James

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How to train your employees on the cheap

Keeping employees up-to-date with current trends and technologies is critical for any successful business. The only problem: Training costs money, and money is in short supply for many companies these days.

If your company is in that situation, you’re in luck. Thanks to the internet, we have many training options at our fingertips…absolutely free. While the internet can’t replace a training class dedicated to a specific subject, it’s a viable alternative when money is tight.

Here’s some advice for department or company leaders with limited training budgets:

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5 ways to be more effective with your time

How many of you have ever wished you could manipulate time?  I sure have.  I would get everything checked off my to-do list and maybe even sneak in a nap or two when I get tired.  It would be great!

Unfortunately, we’re stuck with just 24 hours in a day and it’s up to us to use that time as effectively as possible.  If you struggle with effective time use, or just want some tips, check out this video on Techrepublic.com.  It covers 5 ways you can be more effective with your time.

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Build web apps in minutes

Did you know anyone - not just programmers - can build web applications in minutes with m-Power?

If you want to see it for yourself, check out the all new m-Power demo video. In this short video, you will see m-Power in action as we take you through the creation of a maintenance application.

Integration and ease of use vs. features

A couple of weeks ago, I stressed the importance of user adoption in the software purchase process. Software that users don’t use is useless, however full-featured and powerful it may be.

Similar to user adoption, I believe that integration often takes a back seat to features in the buying process. Companies become so blinded by functionality, they lose sight of the more important aspect - software integration.

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CIO priorities for 2010

I am a technology bigot.  I believe technology provides the greatest potential for businesses to boost productivity and save money.

Many companies already look to their IT department for cost cutting measures, and according to a survey conducted by the Society for Information Management, that will only increase.

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Changes...they are a coming

An important announcement for readers of the Cup of Joe Blog:
I'm making a few changes to the blog, which will take effect this week. First, the look has changed slightly, which you've probably already noticed. You also may notice the images in each post. These are for scanning purposes and represent the topic covered by that post.

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How To: Initiate batch server jobs from a browser

Have you ever wanted to initiate a batch job on your server from a web application? For example, you might want to:

• send a group of reports via email, or
• send a group of reports to a network printer, or
• execute a month-end function, or
• begin a backup procedure, or
• start an MRP run.

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5 ways IT wastes money

I believe technology provides the most opportunity for businesses to save money. At the same time, technology can turn into a major budget drain if not managed correctly.

Want to see the most common “budget-drainers”? Here is an interesting video on techrepublic.com, entitled, “5 ways IT is probably wasting money.” While it contains some great points, I want to add one more for consideration: Failure to use the proper tools.

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User adoption under 50%?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about user adoption and how critical it is to the success of your software. I just saw an insightful survey on CIOInsight.com that really drives this point home.

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