Terradon Communications Group is a Gold Certified Kentico CMS Development Partner. TCG's web development team can customize your website, Social Media program, E-commerce, moblie apps, SEO, data bases, and any other specific web application you may have.
"Six semi-finalists will be selected to demo their app or device in front of Robert Scoble and a group of judges at TechCrunch Disrupt! To apply, you must provide both a written description and video of your wearable computing application or device.
Semi-finalist will be announced and notified on September 5, 2013 and displayed on www.rackspacestartups.com. The demonstration in front of Robert Scoble and the judges will be on September 11, 2013 and live streamed in the Rackspace booth at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. Contestants are responsible for their own travel to and from the event."
Whoops. Looks like The VAR Guy won't have an app together in time for that Sept. 5 semi-finalist round. Instead, our resident blogger is wondering why Rackspace -- the CSP and OpenStack advocate -- is dabbling in this Google Glass contest.
The simple answer: Publicity. But look beyond that folks. The VAR Guy is convinced that Google Glass will become a popular tool for remote IT support. Once the wearable device is widely available, you can imagine Rackspace hybrid cloud support experts tapping into remote Google Glass systems to "see" what's going on in a distant data center.
Surely, the potential applications don't end there. And that's precisely why Rackspace put aside $10K for this developer contest.
Before the first meeting, take time to think about your company’s wants and needs in terms of website functionality. What is your grand vision? Look at other sites to illustrate your vision. The better your explanation, the better the developer can plan and execute a functional web site.
Listen to the developer’s ideas
After sharing your plan, listen and consider the developer’s suggestions. As the expert, he or she will know the most effective way to deliver an outcome. The developer’s enthusiasm in the project can also be a good indicator of the type of work to be performed.
Add strategically
Often times, developers get over excited about projects and suggest additional items you may or may not need. Make sure additions bring value to the user experience. If you feel the developer is trying to increase the price of the project by recommending items you do not need, look elsewhere.
Consider maintenance
With any website comes maintenance. Ask the developer upfront if you’ll be trained on how to use the site, if you will be able to make changes yourself, and if there are any limitations in terms of content. All this information will be beneficial to know at times when you need to change text, add pages, update products, or add new items to the site. Also, ask if the website can be transferred to another developer in the future.
Don’t pay for everything upfront
Some developers ask for full payment upfront and then fail to complete the project. It is common practice to require 25 to 50 percent up front, and the rest after key milestones or when the work is complete.
Remember: Don’t be afraid to ask “interview” questions, just like you would when hiring a full-time employee. Ask for references, examples of “live” sites, and credentials.
Do you think a developer’s personal appearance is important? Would you feel more comfortable with someone wearing glasses and a pocket protector, or someone with piercings and tattoos?
- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/08/checklist-for-hiring-a-web-developer-to-manage-your-site/#sthash.UEToPPMP.dpuf
Whether
running a big business or a one-man shop, having a strong presence on
the Internet is important. For this reason, enlisting the help of a
qualified web developer can help ensure a website’s functionality and
effectiveness.
Business owners looking to hire a web developer should
consider the following five tips to ensure they obtain the desired
outcome:
Have a plan
Before the first meeting, take time to think about your
company’s wants and needs in terms of website functionality. What is
your grand vision? Look at other sites to illustrate your vision. The
better your explanation, the better the developer can plan and execute a
functional web site.
Listen to the developer’s ideas
After sharing your plan, listen and consider the
developer’s suggestions. As the expert, he or she will know the most
effective way to deliver an outcome. The developer’s enthusiasm in the
project can also be a good indicator of the type of work to be
performed.
Add strategically
Often times, developers get over excited about projects and
suggest additional items you may or may not need. Make sure additions
bring value to the user experience. If you feel the developer is trying
to increase the price of the project by recommending items you do not
need, look elsewhere.
Consider maintenance
With any website comes maintenance. Ask the developer
upfront if you’ll be trained on how to use the site, if you will be able
to make changes yourself, and if there are any limitations in terms of
content. All this information will be beneficial to know at times when
you need to change text, add pages, update products, or add new items to
the site. Also, ask if the website can be transferred to another
developer in the future.
Don’t pay for everything upfront
- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/08/checklist-for-hiring-a-web-developer-to-manage-your-site/#sthash.Qngvl1Tz.dpuf
Whether
running a big business or a one-man shop, having a strong presence on
the Internet is important. For this reason, enlisting the help of a
qualified web developer can help ensure a website’s functionality and
effectiveness.
Business owners looking to hire a web developer should
consider the following five tips to ensure they obtain the desired
outcome:
Have a plan
Before the first meeting, take time to think about your
company’s wants and needs in terms of website functionality. What is
your grand vision? Look at other sites to illustrate your vision. The
better your explanation, the better the developer can plan and execute a
functional web site.
Listen to the developer’s ideas
After sharing your plan, listen and consider the
developer’s suggestions. As the expert, he or she will know the most
effective way to deliver an outcome. The developer’s enthusiasm in the
project can also be a good indicator of the type of work to be
performed.
Add strategically
Often times, developers get over excited about projects and
suggest additional items you may or may not need. Make sure additions
bring value to the user experience. If you feel the developer is trying
to increase the price of the project by recommending items you do not
need, look elsewhere.
Consider maintenance
With any website comes maintenance. Ask the developer
upfront if you’ll be trained on how to use the site, if you will be able
to make changes yourself, and if there are any limitations in terms of
content. All this information will be beneficial to know at times when
you need to change text, add pages, update products, or add new items to
the site. Also, ask if the website can be transferred to another
developer in the future.
Don’t pay for everything upfront
- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/08/checklist-for-hiring-a-web-developer-to-manage-your-site/#sthash.Qngvl1Tz.dpuf
Whether
running a big business or a one-man shop, having a strong presence on
the Internet is important. For this reason, enlisting the help of a
qualified web developer can help ensure a website’s functionality and
effectiveness.
Business owners looking to hire a web developer should
consider the following five tips to ensure they obtain the desired
outcome:
Have a plan
Before the first meeting, take time to think about your
company’s wants and needs in terms of website functionality. What is
your grand vision? Look at other sites to illustrate your vision. The
better your explanation, the better the developer can plan and execute a
functional web site.
Listen to the developer’s ideas
After sharing your plan, listen and consider the
developer’s suggestions. As the expert, he or she will know the most
effective way to deliver an outcome. The developer’s enthusiasm in the
project can also be a good indicator of the type of work to be
performed.
Add strategically
Often times, developers get over excited about projects and
suggest additional items you may or may not need. Make sure additions
bring value to the user experience. If you feel the developer is trying
to increase the price of the project by recommending items you do not
need, look elsewhere.
Consider maintenance
With any website comes maintenance. Ask the developer
upfront if you’ll be trained on how to use the site, if you will be able
to make changes yourself, and if there are any limitations in terms of
content. All this information will be beneficial to know at times when
you need to change text, add pages, update products, or add new items to
the site. Also, ask if the website can be transferred to another
developer in the future.
Don’t pay for everything upfront
- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2013/08/checklist-for-hiring-a-web-developer-to-manage-your-site/#sthash.Qngvl1Tz.dpuf
'The PRISM revelations have made people more concerned about privacy and security. So now is the time to give people an alternative’
— Michael Powers
Michael Powers wants to do what so many others have failed to do: build an online social network that’s outside the grip of any one company — and that people like you will actually use.
We’ve seen countless underground hackers build decentralized alternatives to Facebook and Twitter over the years, but so far these open source contraptions have failed to attract anything close to the number of people who use Facebook and Twitter and other commercial services almost constantly. But Powers, a serial entrepreneur based in Washington, D.C., thinks he can finally crack the code.
His project is called Trsst, a name that’s meant to engender a sense of trust, and after a summer when NSA leaker Edward Snowden opened the curtain on modern government surveillance, the Trsst message is particularly timely. “The PRISM revelations have made people more concerned about privacy and security,” Powers says. “So now is the time to give people an alternative.”
Although Powers hopes to make the system as easy to use as Twitter, it includes some pretty geeky tools under the hood, including many that provide added security. For example, all “direct messages” sent through Trsst will be encrypted, and all messages can be “signed” so that you’ll know the messages are authentic and haven’t been tampered with.
It’s important to note, however, that nothing offers perfect privacy. Rainey Reitman, the director of the activism team at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says that common email encryption systems may keep the contents of messages protected, but they might expose other information, such as when and to whom messages were sent. Other tools, such as the OffTheRecord chat system or The New Yorker’sDeadDrop file-sharing system, may be better for some tasks.
Others worry about trying to bolt encryption systems onto existing systems like RSS. “I’m happy it’s focused on decentralized and federated communication, because that is essential for spreading out risk,” says Brett Slatkin, an engineer at Google and co-developer of the open source cloud storage system Camlistore. “I’m worried they’re trying to build too much all at once. Security is extremely hard to get right and you need to vet a design like this.”
But Powers is at least starting in the right place. Trsst is more of a protocol than a piece of software. It’s an extension to existing standards, a system for sending messages between autonomous servers. “It’s not rocket science. It’s basic 10-year-old technology, but it’s about how you combine them,” he says.
That may leave you wondering why he needs $48,000 to build it. Powers says the main reason he’s raising money is not to pay his salary — though he does have quite a bit of technical work to do, even if he is drawing on older work. He says he’s raising funds because he wants to make sure there’s really a demand for a system like Trsst.
VMware Inc. (VMW), the largest maker of software that lets computers run multiple operating systems, said it’s hiring Tony Scott, former chief information officer at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), for the same position.
Scott, who left Microsoft in May after five years, will report to Pat Gelsinger, chief executive officer of VMware, the company said in a statement today. Scott’s departure was announced in June, when Microsoft said he planned to focus on personal projects. Prior to that, Scott served as CIO at Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and chief technology officer at General Motors Corp.
VMware’s hiring of a new CIO comes days after Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced plans to resign within a year, after missing opportunities to take the maker of Windows software beyond personal computers and into a leading position in products such as smartphones, Web search and tablet computing. VMware is Microsoft’s main rival in the market for so-called virtualization software, which lets companies combine multiple tasks on a single server.
VMware is holding its VMworld conference beginning today in San Francisco.
By now, you've surely heard: Steve Ballmer is stepping down, after serving at Microsoft for 33 years overall, including 13 years as CEO. The move is due, at least in part, to the company's poor performance.
We're told the time frame for his departure is 12 months. However, he could be gone much sooner, given the current feeling among Microsoft investors. Indeed, the stock surged 8 percent at one point Friday morning on the news that Ballmer was leaving.
Microsoft shops need to keep a close eye on this transition. This could be the beginning of Microsoft's rejuvenation -- or the beginning of the end.
The new CEO will likely focus on Azure and the movement to the cloud. To be honest, Microsoft has done better than I expected here; Azure is in second or third place behind Amazon Web Services, depending on which analyst reports you read. However, given the company's leadership position, the investors expected more from Azure and Microsoft as a whole.
The new CEO will have to renew focus on the cloud and figure out how to drive Microsoft into the forefront or at least into a solid second place. I have a few suggestions for the would-be CEO prior to getting the keys to the big office.
First, focus more on your existing .Net developer base. Many Microsoft developers don't feel as loved as they should be by Microsoft. While Microsoft does a good job of managing developer networks, I've seen many jump to Amazon Web Services in the last year. Developers are key to the success of cloud computing, and Microsoft has a ton of them.
Second, hire new cloud talent that will think out of the Microsoft box. Microsoft has undergone a brain drain in the last few years, and the ones who've stuck around haven't shown much innovation with Azure. Microsoft's strategy has been largely reactionary, such as the recent realignment to IaaS -- that's following, not leading.
Finally, look at interoperability. Microsoft loves having closed technology. Instead of arguing for interoperability, Microsoft prefers you stick to its stuff because it's supposedly made to work together. The world is not that simple, and Microsoft needs to take steps to make sure Azure works and plays well with others.
Terradon Communications Group of Charleston,W.V. has been honored for its work on The Greenbrier Resort's website.
Kentico Content Management System named the resort's website one of the
top 10 sites for August that uses Kentico's website management system.
Terradon produced "a visually rich website" that includes "beautiful
changing backgrounds," Kentico said.
The staff of Terradon Communications developed great websites for many businesses,colleges and governmental institutions.
Bootstrap, the wildly popular front-end framework for web development, launched version 3 this week, promising to make it easier to develop responsive websites that look great whether viewed on a phone, tablet or desktop screen.
For web developers familiar with Bootstrap, version 3 is a fairly major change. They’ve totally revamped the grid system and gone all-responsive. The fixed grid is gone, replaced with four new grids for phones, tablets, desktops and large desktop screens, enabling a seemingly endless variety of layout possibilities as your screen size scales up or down.
Bootstrap 3 has also jumped on the “flat design” bandwagon with a new look and feel for its buttons, navbars and other components. They’ve jettisoned support for the problematic IE7 and Firefox 3.6 as well.
Bootstrap has only been around for two years and originally started as an internal project at Twitter by Mark Otto (@mdo) and Jacob Thornton (@fat), who have since left the social media giant. It has rocketed in popularity to become the most watched/forked open source project on Github. If you’ve visited any “modern” looking responsive websites lately, chances are decent that you’ve been to a site built with Bootstrap. Meanpath actually measured that 1% of the 150 million websites they index use the framework.
Bootstrap has its detractors, many of which lament the “sameness” that it spreads across the web when folks don’t customize it. However, it is hard to deny its utility, and it’s not that hard to customize it to stand out from the crowd.
In a fit of frustration (and cheapness) in trying to find a new web developer, I adopted it for ourreal estate site and ended up being able to do a bunch of web design independently. The last thing I had time for was worrying about CSS for a responsive grid, media queries, breakpoints, menu bars, etc. Looking forward to trying out version 3 for some better layout options for small screens, but unfortunately, this launch has just burned a few of my weekends.
