Technology


World map with computer wiring running underneath
A stock image I found amusing for this page
Hi there, and welcome to the technology section of the website! In addition to working in the field, I also have personal interest in almost all things tech-related, and this section of the website will point you to some of the stuff I've written up, as well as interesting places to find information on various facets of modern technology.

First off, some recommended reading to keep yourself up-to-date on the latest developments in IT. I like The Register, The Inquirer, and Tech News World (in that order) for my daily 'what's up in IT' fix. I also enjoy Slashdot for both up-to-the-minute tech news and its often quirky other information. For hardware I like Tom's Hardware, and for networking I like Small Net Builder. Both offer great benchmarking results for their respective areas, and good how-to guides. I used to get my gadget news from Engadget and Gizmodo, but I've mostly moved to The Verge these days. For green tech (outside of cars, which I get from Autoblog Green), I go to Ecogeek.

Other items of interest:

Future/Past

I'm writing an occasional series of posts about the state of modern technology. My hope is that they age as well as... no, actually I hope they age badly. I think it's interesting to see where people thought the future was headed, so I'll throw my hat into the ring. You can read all the entries at Future/Past.

News Analysis

The saga that was the Clinton email scandal seems to be wrapping up, and the last gasp of revelations included technical details of the setup. A friend who was not as tech-savvy asked my thoughts, so I wrote a little overview of the technical side of the Clinton scandal.

Gadgets

Photography

Having spent a lot of time shopping for digital cameras, I thought I would share the tools I found with others, in my digital camera section.

I have also started a tutorial on how to modify Lightroom's Web Galleries to create your own custom Gallery that blends in with your web pages, and has custom behaviour to match your needs.

For the tech side of photography, you really can't beat the analysis Digital Photography Review does. With the possible exclusion of the folks at Borrow Lenses, who are really just so geeky it hurts (in a good way!)

Handheld devices

I've also written a document called Why You Need a PDA, which is really nothing more than a glorified ode to my handheld computer. Obviously this article is now seriously out of date, or could at least be updated to say 'smartphone' rather than 'PDA', but some of the reasoning is surprisingly evergreen.

Audio Equipment

I bought an 'audiophile'-class turntable, and immediately had to ask myself whether I had wasted my money, or gotten a serious audio upgrade.

Web hosting

I also have written a small guide to choosing a web hosting service based on my experiences thus far. I've also looked at high speed internet options in the US, as this is a tricky topic to deal with due to the weird overlap of several different industries right now, and the sheer slowness of bandwidth in the US.

Lighting

I am interested in recent developments in lighting, such as the move from incandescent bulbs to LED bulbs by way of CFLs (and whatever else). I have definitely been an early adopter of LED - In 2008 I bought my first LED light bulb, and did a little comparison with the CFL light bulbs in my house, using photos and electricity usage measurements. I've periodically updated this page as the bulbs get brighter and their color temperature gets warmer.

Code

I wrote a script to create galleries of images using php and imagemagick. It's not complicated, but you might find it useful.

Hardware

The release of USB 3.1 has been a train wreck if you actually want to know what type of connection you're using, so I wrote a quick explainer for what is up with USB-C.

SysOps

I had some issues getting Storage Spaces working on my laptop, so I had to do some troubleshooting. Here's what to do if your drives won't pool in storage spaces.


Some of the things I may implement in the future include:

SQL - some basics on using SQL to query a database. Maybe also something on database management, and maybe even on building a database driven website (I taught a class on that, I should be able to jot something down about it!).

Sungard's BANNER and PowerCampus - I've been responsible for managing a number of implementations of these ERPs, which I group together because they really want to be the same product, at different price points. I'd like to write up a sensible guide to some basic functionality here, and possibly get feedback from other people to refine queries to the point where they are more or less perfect.

I'll probably post some links to web design resources


Please let me know if this has been helpful! If you've seen something new (or old) and found it interesting, tell everyone about it!