Doug's Blog Archives – Page 31 of 58

13 Jul 2010

To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:52:54-06:00July 13th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|

Well it started out as a bold enterprise. Start looking for a new car. Visit a few dealerships and see what the cars actually look and feel like, while avoiding deadly contact with the Klingons (err car sales people).

Really missed having phasers and photon torpedoes. Shields would have been useful. Cloaking device, essential. Expendable security officers, check. As it was, unarmed and in hostile territory.

Our current starship is getting a little old. If we don't get it replaced, we may not make it home to our distant planet. The question is:

Buy new or used? Dealer or private? Friend or foe?

Online […]

12 Jul 2010

Empty Nesters

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:01-06:00July 12th, 2010|Categories: Current Events, Doug's Blog, Leadership, Mindset and Motivation|

Yup, our kids just left the nest. The pressure is off but we are also sad.

It seems like just a while ago when it all started. The expecting parents were busy and ignoring all their friends. I think it is called nesting. They were building nests like crazy. Five or six that we know about. Yellows, greys and some baby blue highlights from an old tarp.

Then mom laid the eggs. She sat on them to keep them warm during snow storms and cool nights. Two eggs didn't make it. One we found smashed on the ground (all the king's horses and all the kings […]

8 Jul 2010

How Far Computer Technology Has Come

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:08-06:00July 8th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Technology|

We are in the process of refreshing some server hardware for a client. We have servers ranging from 6 plus years old to fairly current in use.

In that relatively short time frame, we have gone:

From single core processors where it was pretty much all about clock speed to get better performance,
To single core processors with hyper-threading,
To 2 core processors,
To 4 core processors with hyper-threading
(6 and 8 core processors with and without hyper-threading have been released or are on the way)

One 2 processor (4 cores with hyper-threading) server now has enough horsepower to replace at least eight servers from 5-6 years ago or […]

6 Jul 2010

Gog is Watching

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:13-06:00July 6th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Mindset and Motivation, Technology|

Once upon a time, you could do something silly or downright dumb. A few people might notice and someone might talk about it. Video cameras were huge and no one carried one in their pocket. Cameras had film and required having the pictures developed. Usually, only the major news companies could broadcast either to millions, let alone the entire planet. Fortunately, not enough people cared about the exploits of Bongo the town idiot to make it worth their while. So unless you were famous or important, you could be almost anonymous.

Today, everything you do in public can be caught on camera. Cameras […]

2 Jul 2010

Tracking Tools for Agile Software Development

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-06T12:56:20-06:00July 2nd, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Software Development, Technology|

Further to my previous post, we decided to purchase Axosoft’s OnTime Enterprise Edition. The software will allow us to track:

Bugs and defects
Features
Tasks
Incidents

The cool part is the support for scrum/agile processes including a planning board, burn-down charts, reporting, release and sprint planning, etc.

It includes:

an SDK and API so we can extend it into our applications
a customer portal
incoming and outbound e-mail support
an iPhone application
integration with VIsual Studio and SVN
Desktop and Web versions
Etc.

To be honest, when evaluating products like these (it lists at $3995 US for a 10 […]

29 Jun 2010

Differentiating Your Product or Service

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:22-06:00June 29th, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Marketing, Sales|

I recently saw a fido ad on TV. They usually have dogs in their ads and because of that they seem to catch my attention.

In the most recent one one guy is talking to another guy and hucks a big water bottle into the distance and a dog brings back a cell phone. Then the guy says something like, this cell phone contains parts made from a recycled water bottle. Apparently fido sells several that do.

Ok, nice.

But fido doesn't make cell phones. They resell cell phones made by other companies.

They provide voice and data services.

How much recycled plastic is in […]

28 Jun 2010

Tuning Web Service Calls in .NET

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:31-06:00June 28th, 2010|Categories: Doug's Blog, Software Development, Technology|

Troubleshooting a single applications is an art. Troubleshooting a single application with a database requires yet more skill.

When you get in a multi-tiered service oriented architecture you may have:

Multiple applications including web services,
A database server,
Multiple servers,
Third party or open source components,
Networking,
Firewalls,
Load balancing,
Web servers,
Operating systems,
Hardware, and
The .NET Framework

You need a very broad set of skills for this (or a team), access to a search engine and some luck.

If you are finding that your web application is calling external web services and seems to be under-performing, be sure to check your Machine.config default settings. Out of the box, IIS and .NET have […]

25 Jun 2010

You Don’t Care Anymore, Do You?

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:37-06:00June 25th, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Current Events, Doug's Blog|

If you are in the software development world, you've pretty much got to like or eat pizza once in a while.

I used to be a big fan of Panago pizza. The toppings and flavours were pretty darn good.

But Pizza isn't just about the toppings, it is about the part that holds the toppings as well. Would it be a pizza if the toppings were served on focaccia bread? How about un-cooked dough? Mastering the pizza dough is an important part of the great pizza equation.

The last few years, quality has been suffering. I think the pizza places are running the ovens […]

21 Jun 2010

10 Things I’ve Learned About Business

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:47-06:00June 21st, 2010|Categories: Business Strategy, Doug's Blog|

In honour of our 10 year anniversary (22 June) I have decided to write a few lists about 10. This one is about 10 things I've learned about business.

Running a business is harder than it looks (the lows can be really stressful).
Defining a core segment and sticking to it is hard (you could be doing so many things).
When you are getting going and even after, you need to develop skills you were unaware of when you started (even if you delegate or outsource functions, ultimately you still need to make informed decisions).
Reading, interpreting and negotiating legal documents is […]

18 Jun 2010

More from the Great Game of Business

By Doug Wagner|2017-04-03T11:53:53-06:00June 18th, 2010|Categories: Books and Courses, Business Strategy, Doug's Blog, Software Development|

I've included a few more quotes and my thoughts on the book, "The Great Game of Business" and how it applies to what we do.

Cost/Value

"… to stay in business you have to be the least cost producer or have something nobody else has."

Being the least cost producer would give you some advantages, but I think being in the same range is probably strong enough for most companies in the commodity world. Of course having a unique or perceived value proposition is always better. But don't forget those costs, you don't want to be throwing money away; chances are, […]

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