Although I would be more than happy running this perspective business that I proposed, it is imperative that you keep your options open, and consider the other opportunities that you may be presented with along the way. SU claims that most students will change their major at least if three times before graduating, therefore knowing about the fields that are available in Information and Technology studies is extremely important.
There are many different IT Department jobs, and within each category, many opportunities to explore. For instance, in the Systems Development and Programing field, there are opportunities for one to obtain a degree and/or become a computer games designer, a computer scientist, a technical lead, and a web software developer. I would be interested in the department of Training, to become a corporate trainer in which you can go into different corporations and teach employees how to use software, design and develop systems to increase efficiency of their staff, all with a bachelor's degree. In Technical Services, there are opportunities for fields to intertwine as forensic scientists are entering the field of IT to become "Digital Forensic Scientists." This line of work entails collecting evidence found on computers and sometimes, on "destroyed" hardware's.
Even if you are in a computer-based profession, you must be able to keep yourself on the cutting edge. You must seek ways that will keep you intune with the trends and develop new skills as the technology changes. Some ways that you can do so are through personal networks, professional growth and continuing education activities and websites, and with certifications. Certifications can be very beneficial as some companies may offer benefits to those employees that are certified since they are higher valued employees. Plus, you can gain confidence within your company that they will continue to grow in skill and enusre job security. Either way, I would be interested in gaining a certification to set yourself aside and even above your competitors when applying for jobs as well.
Well, there it is! My last blog for a while! Thank you for an enjoyable semester!!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Catching the Clcik Happy Employees....Enterprise Computing
As your restaurant expands, there is a great possibility that you may choose to go corporate and soon, you could be considered a SMB or a service enterprise. A smb is a small and medium sized business that is smaller in size than an enterprise and typically does not have international presence. Nevertheless, these companies may use the same technologies that enterprises use, but on a smaller scale. In this day and age, I would highly recommend using the same systems as an enterprise since it could greatly behoove you! For today's scenario, we are going to assume that your restaurant really took off, you are now the executive manager of a corporate company...
When a company in the restaurant industry goes corporate, you are guaranteed to see multiple functional units develop. With head quarters all over the United States, you desire to have each unit functioning under the same set of standards and procedures. IST 195 taught you that maintaining a solid and secure network is imperative to making this happen! What many employees don't realize though is that every move they made while signed onto this network may be monitored. This is a major asset for you as the executive management to know and understand how this system works.
Employers are able to monitor an employees productivity, liability and even security using a surveillance system. You can track the sites that your employees are visiting on work computers, scan through their emails to make sure that pertinent information is not being leaked, monitor phone calls, and even watch for illegal online activities that could negatively represent your company. It is hard to believe that your company is at this risk, but it is also nieve to believe that none of your employees will try and take advantage of their scheduled work hours on a computer. With labor costs being the most costly expenditure for a restaurant, do not take the risk of lazy employees surfing the web.
When a company in the restaurant industry goes corporate, you are guaranteed to see multiple functional units develop. With head quarters all over the United States, you desire to have each unit functioning under the same set of standards and procedures. IST 195 taught you that maintaining a solid and secure network is imperative to making this happen! What many employees don't realize though is that every move they made while signed onto this network may be monitored. This is a major asset for you as the executive management to know and understand how this system works.
Employers are able to monitor an employees productivity, liability and even security using a surveillance system. You can track the sites that your employees are visiting on work computers, scan through their emails to make sure that pertinent information is not being leaked, monitor phone calls, and even watch for illegal online activities that could negatively represent your company. It is hard to believe that your company is at this risk, but it is also nieve to believe that none of your employees will try and take advantage of their scheduled work hours on a computer. With labor costs being the most costly expenditure for a restaurant, do not take the risk of lazy employees surfing the web.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Today, I would advise learning the basic skills necessary to create and modify a query using Microsoft Access 2007. This program is very efficient and useful in your restaurant, if utilized. I would recommend using Microsoft Access to create a survey style query on your web page.
Using Microsoft Access, you can design a survey in which panelists can answer in multiple fashions. For instance, you can insert check boxes, yes and no answers, true and false, text boxes, and multiple choice. All of these options are available and will help you form both quantitative data as well as qualitative.
I would suggest always adding a few demographic questions so that you can make sure you are hitting your target market. Questions need to be worded to pull information about popular items, and even likes and dislikes. They must be specific enough so that you can gain detailed and accurate results. Also, please note that the program can be modified to send you an email after someone fills out your survey.
Preforming a task like this may be a bit time consuming, but it well worth the wait if the results help you to pinpoint issues and star items of your restaurant. People will finally have a way to give their input in, and feel as if their opinions matter, and there is nothing as important as customer satisfaction!!
Using Microsoft Access, you can design a survey in which panelists can answer in multiple fashions. For instance, you can insert check boxes, yes and no answers, true and false, text boxes, and multiple choice. All of these options are available and will help you form both quantitative data as well as qualitative.
I would suggest always adding a few demographic questions so that you can make sure you are hitting your target market. Questions need to be worded to pull information about popular items, and even likes and dislikes. They must be specific enough so that you can gain detailed and accurate results. Also, please note that the program can be modified to send you an email after someone fills out your survey.
Preforming a task like this may be a bit time consuming, but it well worth the wait if the results help you to pinpoint issues and star items of your restaurant. People will finally have a way to give their input in, and feel as if their opinions matter, and there is nothing as important as customer satisfaction!!
Photoshop Fixers
Photoshop is by far my favorite application and program on computers. I could spend days doing nothing but editing pictures, and you could benefit from this program as well! Hospitality is all about marketing, and whether you are trying to market your business as a whole, or your food, pictures are the way to go. Giving guests a visual of what they receive at your location is essential to your success. Therefore we will discuss the many advantages and tools that you will find beneficiary in Photoshop.
Taking photographs of food is a lot harder than you would expect, but when creating your menu, or when you are putting out a promotional add, your images have to sell the items for themselves. Your photograph must be cropped perfectly, the colors must be accurate, and most importantly, the clarity of the image must be perfected as this photograph has to sell, the item for you. A good photograph can be easily turned great by using photoshop.
The most useful tool is cropping. Cropping is done by dragging and selecting the area of the photo that you want to keep. Photoshop will automatically get rid of the surrounding area that you wish to discard. You can also use this device to rotate photos and center something that may have been left adjusted or crooked.
Other editing features include the stamp tool. The stamp tool will allow you to select an area of your image, and repeat the color sequence on another area. For instance, if your image is of a fillet of salmon, and one spot on the fish is a bit discolored, or possesses too much pepper in that area, you can select a similar area of the image and repeat the color sequence over top of the blemish.
Levels will also behoove you. Using levels you can alter the lighting composition of the image. If your snapshot is underexposed or overexposed, Photoshop will help you amend the error.
Photoshop is a great amenity, costly, but worth every cent. Every computer owner needs this great application!
Taking photographs of food is a lot harder than you would expect, but when creating your menu, or when you are putting out a promotional add, your images have to sell the items for themselves. Your photograph must be cropped perfectly, the colors must be accurate, and most importantly, the clarity of the image must be perfected as this photograph has to sell, the item for you. A good photograph can be easily turned great by using photoshop.
The most useful tool is cropping. Cropping is done by dragging and selecting the area of the photo that you want to keep. Photoshop will automatically get rid of the surrounding area that you wish to discard. You can also use this device to rotate photos and center something that may have been left adjusted or crooked.
Other editing features include the stamp tool. The stamp tool will allow you to select an area of your image, and repeat the color sequence on another area. For instance, if your image is of a fillet of salmon, and one spot on the fish is a bit discolored, or possesses too much pepper in that area, you can select a similar area of the image and repeat the color sequence over top of the blemish.
Levels will also behoove you. Using levels you can alter the lighting composition of the image. If your snapshot is underexposed or overexposed, Photoshop will help you amend the error.
Photoshop is a great amenity, costly, but worth every cent. Every computer owner needs this great application!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Security
A virus could attack your computer at any time without you even knowing it. Therefore it is imperative that you are aware of the possible computer crimes that you could encounter, and how to protect yourself from them. Especially, your work computer needs to have a firewall or other antivirus program installed to prevent these risks.
Unauthorized access is the use of a computer or network without permission. To prevent this hacking, it is very important that you use passwords and user names as access controls. For instance, you can even set your preferences on your computer that forces users to enter in a password or set of digits to even turn on your computer.
Also, you need to be aware of spam ware. Spam is an unsolicited e-mail message or newsgroup posting sent to multiple recipients at once. A picture of a cute little kitten may pop up in your inbox, but beware that it is possible that it may be an encrypted message. It could ultimately destroy your computer. Programs such as Antivirus and firewal can protect you from these attacks.
Taking preventative measures to secure your computer is not just an option, it is an imperative precaution that you must take. Sleep easy at night knowing that you will not be receiving any cookies or spam that could destroy your computer. Your employees can feel safe that their personal information such as social security numbers and credit information is safe as well.
Unauthorized access is the use of a computer or network without permission. To prevent this hacking, it is very important that you use passwords and user names as access controls. For instance, you can even set your preferences on your computer that forces users to enter in a password or set of digits to even turn on your computer.
Also, you need to be aware of spam ware. Spam is an unsolicited e-mail message or newsgroup posting sent to multiple recipients at once. A picture of a cute little kitten may pop up in your inbox, but beware that it is possible that it may be an encrypted message. It could ultimately destroy your computer. Programs such as Antivirus and firewal can protect you from these attacks.
Taking preventative measures to secure your computer is not just an option, it is an imperative precaution that you must take. Sleep easy at night knowing that you will not be receiving any cookies or spam that could destroy your computer. Your employees can feel safe that their personal information such as social security numbers and credit information is safe as well.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Data made Digital
Taking inventory can be a time consuming and a tedious task. But to simplify this aspect of your business, I would recommend utilizing a database. A database is a collection of data or information that is organized in a manner that allows access, retrieval, and use of that data. This system can make the process of collecting and analyzing your inventory very efficient.
Many people argue that they do not feel comfortable trusting a computer to hold all of their data in fear of a crash or accident. But databases are very durable. The most recent changes that you have made can be found in most cases, using a recovery utility. The recovery utility allows the user to use logs and backups to restore the database using rollback and rollforward techniques. Continuous backup is also available.
Plus, with the ability of databases to preform a validation, you can ensure that the data that you are entering is correct. For instance, you can set the preferences to preform a range check (to make sure you ordered 11 cartons of eggs instead of 111, an easy mistake to be made when entering a lot of numbers quickly). A consistency check would also be useful in our needs in the Hospitality field.
Even though databases have so many great applications, you should be cautious when using them. Since databases are distributed, they can be accessed multiple places, and sometimes, can fall into the wrong hands if you are not careful. Therefore, make sure that you understand the risks as well as the benefits before accessing or preforming a web database.
Many people argue that they do not feel comfortable trusting a computer to hold all of their data in fear of a crash or accident. But databases are very durable. The most recent changes that you have made can be found in most cases, using a recovery utility. The recovery utility allows the user to use logs and backups to restore the database using rollback and rollforward techniques. Continuous backup is also available.
Plus, with the ability of databases to preform a validation, you can ensure that the data that you are entering is correct. For instance, you can set the preferences to preform a range check (to make sure you ordered 11 cartons of eggs instead of 111, an easy mistake to be made when entering a lot of numbers quickly). A consistency check would also be useful in our needs in the Hospitality field.
Even though databases have so many great applications, you should be cautious when using them. Since databases are distributed, they can be accessed multiple places, and sometimes, can fall into the wrong hands if you are not careful. Therefore, make sure that you understand the risks as well as the benefits before accessing or preforming a web database.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Behind the Scenes of Networking
If you want to get anywhere in the world, networking is the way to go. But with so many hundreds of ways to network, how do you know which avenue to chose? Especially with the advancements that have been made over time, the use of natural language in communications has made incredible bounds. Now, we no longer have to use little beeps and series of sounds to communicate, but technology has advanced so much that we can have face to face contact with people that aren't even in the same country as us! Keeping in touch with the people you meet on a day to day basis is imperative in life, and I'm here to help you figure out which systems are best for you.
Deciding to have internet access within your business is a given. Since you can find practically anything online, it is crucial to your business to find a reputable and reliable internet service provider. If you are running your business out of your home, a home network may be just what you need. Through a home network, you can connect to the internet with multiple computers at the same time, access files and programs on the other computers in the home, share peripherals such as printers, scanners, etc... and even use VoIP. But if you are a larger operation such as the restaurant example that I have been using, you may choose to use a wireless modem, or a network card. I have had much experience in the past with network cards. If you are using a laptop with the card, all you have to do is insert a portable device into your usb drive and the computer will connect you to the internet. This device is very handy as it can be used almost anywhere, and is great for businesses that have to travel a lot.
Besides just deciding on what type of digital modem you would like to invest in, you must also decide on how much bandwidth you need. Bandwidth is the channel transmits capability. A cable modem has more bandwidth than a dial-up modem. This should definitely be taken into account when making your decision. Latency should also be a deciding factor. Latency is the time it takes a signal to travel from one location to another on a network. Common things that interfere with latency are distance that the data must travel, type of transmission media, and the number of nodes that the data must travel over the communications channel. My best advice is that your bandwidth should be high, while your latency should be low.
Once you have decided on the source of internet access that you want, you must know what type of computer communications that you will be using. Computer communications allow you to transfer data, instructions, and information. You can go about this using anything from text messaging, blogs, emails, video conferencing, and wiki's. many software products provide a means for you to collaborate with other users as well. For the restaurant industry, I would highly recommend Groupware. Groupware is a software that allows you to work on projects together, share information, and even partake in screen sharing. Skype is a great option as well. This program is available on the internet and allows people to video chat with other skype users. This ability has the potential to save your business thousands of dollars in travel fees because you will no longer have to pay for transportation to send your employees to trainings or corporate meetings.
Knowing your computer needs will help you to determine what type of networking you would like to participate in. By recieveing the exact package and capabilities you desire and no more or no less will save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Best of luck on your search!!!
Deciding to have internet access within your business is a given. Since you can find practically anything online, it is crucial to your business to find a reputable and reliable internet service provider. If you are running your business out of your home, a home network may be just what you need. Through a home network, you can connect to the internet with multiple computers at the same time, access files and programs on the other computers in the home, share peripherals such as printers, scanners, etc... and even use VoIP. But if you are a larger operation such as the restaurant example that I have been using, you may choose to use a wireless modem, or a network card. I have had much experience in the past with network cards. If you are using a laptop with the card, all you have to do is insert a portable device into your usb drive and the computer will connect you to the internet. This device is very handy as it can be used almost anywhere, and is great for businesses that have to travel a lot.
Besides just deciding on what type of digital modem you would like to invest in, you must also decide on how much bandwidth you need. Bandwidth is the channel transmits capability. A cable modem has more bandwidth than a dial-up modem. This should definitely be taken into account when making your decision. Latency should also be a deciding factor. Latency is the time it takes a signal to travel from one location to another on a network. Common things that interfere with latency are distance that the data must travel, type of transmission media, and the number of nodes that the data must travel over the communications channel. My best advice is that your bandwidth should be high, while your latency should be low.
Once you have decided on the source of internet access that you want, you must know what type of computer communications that you will be using. Computer communications allow you to transfer data, instructions, and information. You can go about this using anything from text messaging, blogs, emails, video conferencing, and wiki's. many software products provide a means for you to collaborate with other users as well. For the restaurant industry, I would highly recommend Groupware. Groupware is a software that allows you to work on projects together, share information, and even partake in screen sharing. Skype is a great option as well. This program is available on the internet and allows people to video chat with other skype users. This ability has the potential to save your business thousands of dollars in travel fees because you will no longer have to pay for transportation to send your employees to trainings or corporate meetings.
Knowing your computer needs will help you to determine what type of networking you would like to participate in. By recieveing the exact package and capabilities you desire and no more or no less will save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Best of luck on your search!!!
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