Recently I came across several project proposals where I was asked to evaluate technical components (hardware, software and staffing needs) and found a few items worth sharing. Several items in these proposals weren’t adequately priced (difference from list and actual price on select items was as high as 60%). Furthermore, some hardware models have been discontinued years ago.

While certain people are not technical by trade it is still very important to make sure those components are accurately priced and still available. If you are specifically requesting a particular computer, printer, server model please make sure that we can still purchase it at the time of your submission. While this might add a bit more work, done mainly by “Googling” or “Binging” (?) these models, it will go a long way in supporting your need and presenting you as someone who does their research and is well prepared.

The success of most today’s projects depends on the right blend of people, processes and technology, but it all starts with a clear definition of needs and goals, including all technology components.

Post from: Milos Topic

Know what your project needs

Related posts:

1. Project Management is an acquired skill Planning a simple move of personnel and their equipment (office...
2. Selecting the most valuable conference to attend It’s been a while since I went to a real...
3. Please talk to your IT staff When purchasing new hardware, software of have questions about a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Facebook is finally catching up to some of their perpetual security concerns and is strengthening their privacy policy and therefor the settings as well. It took a while but as of this morning (when I noticed the change) privacy settings have been tightened a bit and are finally working as expected. It will take some time for majority of folks to review their current settings and tweak their profiles as desired, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Considering the size of their social network (350 million) and ever growing popularity worldwide it is important to seriously evaluate all aspects of security from profiles to servers, routers, including physical access at their company.
In today’s world you can never spend too much attention on security.

Post from: Milos Topic

Facebook’s new privacy settings

Related posts:

1. Friends don’t let friends go phishing Recent phishing schemes targeting Microsoft’s Hotmail, Google’s Gmail, Yahoo and...
2. Anti-Virus software In today’s world where network and system security is of...
3. Keep your websites secure I‘m on a search for a few replacement windows and...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Recent phishing schemes targeting Microsoft’s Hotmail, Google’s Gmail, Yahoo and other e-mail providers represent a new larger wave of an ever-present problem and it once again emphasizes the importance of educating your users, clients and staff how to recognize threats and stay away from them.

Basic things to remember:

- Your bank, IT staff, utility company or any other service provider will NEVER ask for your login credentials of any kind (password, PIN, social security number…). They simply don’t need to do that as other means of accessing your account (should there be a need for it) are already in place.

- Don’t open attachments you don’t expect/need or know where they came from. Same goes for links, don’t get click happy by clicking on every link you see. Also, when placing your cursor over a link you should look at the status bar (lower left hand corner to see if the two match).

- Don’t use public computers to access your financial (or other important) data. Why? Well, you simply don’t know who maintains those machines and how frequently; you don’t know what’s installed on them and if someone is capturing your keystrokes for later use.

- Change your passwords and change them often. Also, maintain multiple passwords for different account groups. You shouldn’t be using the same password for your banking that you use to access a simple news site. Furthermore, try not to keep your passwords simple and guessable. “welcome” ” password” “12345″ and other similar choices are examples of poor selection. I know what you must think, secure passwords are complicated and difficut to remember. Not true. All you need to do is try sentences.

Ex. “I was born on a Thursday” and then group them together “iwasbornonathursday” and if you really want to get fancy (read: SECURE) change some letters for numbers and you come up with “1wa5b0rn0nathur5day”. Simple enough and a lot more secure than “welcome”, isn’t it?

Post from: Milos Topic

Friends don’t let friends go phishing

Related posts:

1. Please talk to your IT staff When purchasing new hardware, software of have questions about a...
2. Advise your students wisely When you are advising students on what courses/professors to take,...
3. App Store approval process, is there one? How do App Store apps get approved and by whom?...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Writing an effective, job specific, custom tailored cover letter is extremely important when applying for a job. Well written cover letter makes a difference and can help you get that interview and ultimately the job you are after. Please take them seriously and don’t overlook what they say about YOU.

Post from: Milos Topic

The importance of a cover letter

Related posts:

1. Recommendation letters When you are asked to write a recommendation letter, do...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

When you are asked to write a recommendation letter, do you always say yes? If so, do you always write in positive light about that particular individual? If you said yes to both questions, why? What makes most people uncomfortable to saying no to most requests?

Post from: Milos Topic

Recommendation letters

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

While having things in writing is always useful it is important to remember to talk to people you work with as that further strengthens your working relationship and takes certain ambiguity and confusion out of the process.

Post from: Milos Topic

Pick up the phone and talk

Related posts:

1. Please talk to your IT staff When purchasing new hardware, software of have questions about a...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Knowledge is a powerful thing, but its real power and comes out when shared with others. Find a suitable way to share what you know and gather knowledge from other people as if will be mutually beneficial down the road.

Post from: Milos Topic

Your knowledge is only useful if you share it

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Hearing people make comments such as “does he know what he’s getting himself into” and “wow, that’s a lot of work” makes me ask myself the following question: Since when is hard work and desire to help make things better frowned upon?

Post from: Milos Topic

Challenge yourself

Related posts:

1. Recommendation letters When you are asked to write a recommendation letter, do...
2. The importance of a cover letter Writing an effective, job specific, custom tailored cover letter is...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A fine line separates good, valuable sales contacts from those removed from reality who end up causing more problems then they bring value for you and their own respective companies. It is important to stay in touch with your clients, but please no “stalking” as they does no good to anyone.

Post from: Milos Topic

Vendors beware

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

When you are advising students on what courses/professors to take, you are directly having an impact on their future careers so please take your job seriously and advise these young individuals as if they were your own kids, brothers, sisters,… Put your heart and soul into it and don’t do it simply for the paycheck.

Post from: Milos Topic

Advise your students wisely

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.