Consider Functionality Before the “Cloud”

cloudIt seems that in many cases, the issue of “Cloud” based software solutions versus traditional self-hosted solutions has become the primary decision point for companies procuring project management/accounting software.  Unfortunately, this sometimes happens at the expense of what should be the single most important consideration: functionality.

Functionality is the hard part.  It is the hardest for the software company to deliver; the hardest to implement; the hardest for users to understand; and the hardest for purchasers to evaluate.  Getting from functional evaluation through to completed functional implementation means “rolling up one’s sleeves” and doing some very detailed work.  Unfortunately, all too often, the specter of doing this due diligence is more than people want to embark on.  Furthermore, because of all the industry-wide buzz and hype regarding “the Cloud,” people become easily distracted, and end up focusing all of their attention on the Cloud issue.

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Freeze Rays!

Freeze RayHeat is a problem. If you’ve ever actually tried to use a laptop on your lap for an extended period while it was rendering real time 3D images you have experienced the problem first hand (and first lap). Computers, car engines, battery charging, air conditioning. Hey, it’s global warming: we are surrounded by heat producing technology.

Meanwhile, what seems more science fiction than a freeze ray?  But researchers are making progress with laser cooling!

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Too Much Information

too much informationI have the distinct pleasure of spending a short time each week with a handful of kids, most often middle school age. I learn a lot from them: for example, thanks in part to text messaging, teens have even more acronyms than the software industry–which is astounding!

Hearing them banter about one of those acronyms “TMI” got me thinking.  TMI strictly means “Too Much Information”, but also carries the connotation of some fact or piece of information that the party didn’t want or need to know.

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