txt'ing while driving

Read an article today on txt messaging and reading emails while driving. Not sure what to think about that ....I do it and I enjoy it while in the car but it can be dangerous - agreed. Somebody needs to come up with a solution - people are not going to stop doing it and how are they going to monitor it? There’s a good business in there somewhere! Here is the article: http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201304665

Posting by Dhugael Mclean

Written by: Dhugael Mclean (Dhug was my CTO at YourTechOnline - he was key to the technical building of YTO)

You know, I'm kinda proud of YTO.The whole world is talking about Service Oriented Architecture as if it's a new thing lately and it's something that we at YourTechOnline pioneered in the realm of tech support more than 6 years go.The idea seems pretty simple, Online Tech Support. Not just phone support but real, as if a tech was sitting there, kind of tech support. The kind where you get to see what's going on - where you are certain that the tech is stealing or data or doing somehting creepy with your machine while you're not there. The kind of support that is done through the web and is managed through the web. Support driven by very talented technicians wworking with wide ranging technical tools brought together through a single user interface - the YourTechOnline website.So, what do you need to set it up? Well, you bring together web servers, email servers, screen sharing, IP telephony, SOAP for credit card processing, databases for customer data, web software for managing the data, web apps for handling the CRM and much more. And because none if it exists the way you want it right now, you build it. In case anyone's ever wondered, apart from this blogging software and a few other tools everything else that drives YTO is custom built.You think ahead, though. You do what you can to keep the systems open ended so new technology can be stapled on easily without chucking old work away. You reuse everything you can so you're not replicating work. You create tools focused on usability. and most of all, you do your best to keep your doors open for new ideas and ways of making things work better.As you might think, this does require a fair amount of planning and creativity. It's not planning in the conventional sense - it's not project timelines and milestones (those are important too but not for what I'm talking about right now) - it's the kind of planning that comes from posing a hundred "what if" type questions to yourself and your team. What if we want to be able to allow a potential partner to sell our services directly using our web site? The answer to that influences everything from database design to user interfaces.As CIO or chief tech, you start by asking a lot of questions during meetings. Take those answers and then formulate a whole bunch of new questions about how something is going to or is hoped to work. I personally like the idea of starting at "In a perfect world where there was no cost" and working down to the possible. You can waste a bit of time flying around in the clouds but those blue sky sessions can create possibilities and avenues that you may not have thought about before. Here's a good time to start thinking creatively about the uses for your current technology. Can something be adapted? Can something be brought in to suppliment what's already there? Organic thinking, lateral thinking, creative problem solving - what ever you want to call it - is going to be your best friend here. If you've got someone on your team that thinks in strange ways and comes up with oblique ways of looking at things - get her/him in on those meetings. Sometimes the people that are very methodical and linear tend to restrinct themselves when they are planning a build. Mixing it up and keeping your team diverse can really make a difference here.I love the phrase, "You know what would be really cool?", because it's always a good jump off point for finding new ways to bring technology together. YTO was created that way and continues to get better and more integrated because of that kind of thinking. Encourage it in your team.Dhug

More on Africa

We've been looking for a way to do something to help the cause in Africa for a few years now but nothing really hit home or it was too difficult. YourTechOnline found our own way to help the HIV/Aid relief efforts in Africa and affect the front lines - sorta happed by accident. We wanted to do something that went to the frontline and made a difference to the people.I went to a presentation of a missionary trying to raise money for a building project - he went to setup his computer and couldn't get it connected to the projector. I spend a few minute with him, hooked it up and showed him a few PowerPoint tricks (nothing special - or so I thought). We started talking about our business and how we could do the same thing over the internet. First thing he said "WOW, we could use a service like yours!" and from there.... we are supporting over 400 computers in country of Cameroon, Africa. All at no charge to them. Our task now is to get some action out of the High Tech community to put some of their resources to work - not just giving money (anyone can do that). We want to make a technology difference in Africa. If we band together and use our partnerships and relationships we can get computers (the average computer they have in Cameroon is over 7 years old), software (most Africans use pirated software because they can't afford to purchase it) and other necessities we take for granted when it comes to technology - like UPC's and the little thing we call the Internet. Take a look at the article from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/09/17/bc-yourtechonline.html

blog in the smog

So I'm sitting in traffic and thinking....why do I do this to myself. We run a 100% virtual company and I have to drive to work everyday. Think of what we'd do for the environment if we all worked from home. Just a thought as I sit in the smog doing my blog.

Ironman 2007

For the last 10 years I've supported the Ironman Canada race in Penticton British Columbia Canada - some say the hardest Ironman race in the world. What a hoot! It's a long day for us and even longer for those poor athletes that swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles then run a full marathon of 26.2 miles.I want to thank the 50+ volunteers that came out for our Aid Station this year. We can't do it without you! Thanks to the over 3000 athletes that participate in the grueling race - your nuts! See you all next year for Ironman Canada 26.