idoiτ hub

Footprint: A companion for Google Analytics

thatworkshop — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 18:19:57 GMT

If you use Google Analytics, which is a neat product, you might have noticed there is no way for you to see what IPs originate the visits. It is understandable that this piece of information might be used to do harmful stuff and as stated in Google's TOS it is discontinued. GA used to have this information as you can see in this post for example.

Well, if you want to access this information, there are still ways to do it. You can use a service called Footprint. Simply just register a free account and your website you want to monitor and add a code snippet which will be provided to you after registration and you're good to go. Footprint Live is in fact the perfect companion to Google Analytics.

Please note that this is for educational purpose only and this information should not be used for malicious intents.

Now we have a website for mobiles too!

thatworkshop — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 03:00:58 GMT

Happy 2,000,000 .CA domains!

thatworkshop — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:51:49 GMT

Today CIRA (the company behind .CA domains) passed 2 million domain milestone. Even though this was a highly anticipated moment for CIRA,the company hasn't issued any press release to announced this milestone.

However, the company released a list of 22 facts on Facebook ,asking you to find the seven bogus Canadian facts.

Among the facts listed by CIRA on Facebook are:

Two million Canadians are studying French as a second language.

Canada has over two million lakes.

In 1988, two million Canadians signed a petition to bring back the Beachcombers.

Two million litres of maple syrup were produced in Ontario in 2011.

Canadian skier Greg Hill climbed and skied over two million feet of mountains in 2010.

"Eh” is said 2 million times an hour, on average in Canada.

Two million Canadian homes were landline free in 2011.

Two million Canadians apologize daily when someone steps on their foot.

Nunavut encompasses two million square kilometres, 1/5 of Canada's total land mass.

Wayne Gretzky's salary during his first season with the LA Kings was $2 million.

Two million Canadians reported "Kids in the Hall” was their all-time favourite TV show.

Fully loaded, prelaunch weight of the Space Shuttle, including the Canadarm, was two million kg.

According to CIRA.CA website, there are 2,000,867 registered .CA domain names at this moment.

The Canadian Internet Registry Autority (CIRA) hit the 1 million domain milestone on April 16th,2008.

How Apple is Taking Over Business!

thatworkshop — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:51:16 GMT

I’ve long felt that the business and commercial technology markets would eventually converge. It only makes sense. Mobile devices are as ubiquitous as Internet access and we have come to rely on them more and more in not just our professional lives, but our personal lives too.

Increasingly user-friendly development tools, cloud-based products and services, and a robust open source movement are shortening the innovative lifecycle, serving as catalysts for technological growth. And at the cornerstone of it all is Apple.

Apple’s formula is simple. They facilitate growth and innovation by serving as the designer, developer, integrator, publisher, and distributor of mobile content. What began as a seamless marriage of form and function has evolved into something much more powerful, consequently allowing Apple to establish the standard by which you measure every single relevant product or service against, whether you realize it or not.

And while an entire era of consumer electronics was spawned by Apple’s product development approach, I don’t believe it will be their crowning achievement. I predict they will contribute to even greater technological advancements by inadvertently revealing the palpable and often fatal flaws that have plagued the enterprise software industry for years.

Businesses have spent billions of dollars struggling to automate processes, integrate systems, and maintain their infrastructure. I believe I’m only slightly overgeneralizing when I say the results have often compromised the very objectives they set out to accomplish in the first place. Data integrity, version control, compatibility, security, and access issues remain – despite a lucrative market and fierce competition.

Businesses tried to solve their enterprise software problems with Windows Platforms and .NET Frameworks, and vendors were all too eager to develop products accordingly. Apple deliberately avoided the business market and Steve Jobs was vocal about his distaste for their bureaucratic purchasing process, lengthy sales cycle, and the abundance of corporate middlemen.

So while big business stayed busy customizing applications and segmenting systems, Apple chose to focus on the commercial market and under Steve Jobs’ leadership, they developed their own operating systems and software bundles.The New York Times published a great article in November of last year that suggested Apple is only now beginning to warm up to the business market, due in large part to the recent proliferation of iPads and iPhones among corporate users. Reluctant as both parties may be – their relationship can no longer be avoided. The appetite for Apple products is insatiable and it’s already crossed imaginary market lines.

Part of Apple’s irresistible appeal can be attributed to elegant design, and more importantly, a fluid user experience. Apple religiously infused these characteristics into all software and hardware products from a very early stage. A fact Steve Jobs summarized succinctly with his claim, "The only thing wrong with Microsoft is that they have no taste.” What may have once been an easy statement to dismiss, his words provide a great deal of insight about what he finds important and with Apple profits reportedly exceeding $13 Billion dollars in Q4 2011, businesses are starting to pay attention.

In the immediate wake of Steve Jobs death late last year, I found myself feeling both deeply saddened and incredibly inspired. The global outpouring of support was impossible to ignore. Mourners transcended typical social, economic, and cultural barriers, using Apple technology to pay their respects to a true revolutionary. I couldn’t help but wonder, at the height of the frenzy, how Steve Jobs would have felt about becoming such a sensational media hero. His life was defined by unconventional traits and anti-establishment, anti-Microsoft rhetoric. I knew it was unlikely that his posthumous popularity was a sign of widespread change in the technological world as I knew it, but it was just enough to leave me optimistic about the future.

Several months have since passed and the anecdotes have slowed. His infamous quotes no longer dominate the social media stream. My confidence in a sudden global epiphany on the critical importance of usability in software development has been all but lost for the moment. And the reasons have changed, but my optimism remains. Technology was thrust into the spotlight by the world’s unprecedented reaction last November, accelerating the fated collision between commercial and business technology markets. I think this is a good thing.

Technology blogger Horace Dediu recently charted ‘The Rise and Fall of Personal Computing,’ capturing a fascinating perspective of the market by using a variety of data and industry figures spanning the last 30 years. In addition to providing a dramatic visual of market volatility, the charts are a collective testament to Apple’s longevity and persistent dominance. But as you will see from comments to Mr. Dediu’s blog, that even in the face of compelling data and a post-Steve Jobs world where it seems everyone owns an iPhone, there are still cynics and they are abundant.

The Cynics. They are a group of people I am going to stereotype because they drive me mad and they deserve it. The Cynics enjoy exceedingly disproportionate job security, which they maintain by procuring Exchange Servers and Share Point applications en masse. The Cynics are highly resistant to the Business Technology evolution, choosing instead to remain in denial about IT’s inevitable death. They dispute the benefits of the cloud and claim Web 2.0 is a myth. The Cynics inexplicably insist on developing custom applications even when better, cheaper, and more robust solutions exist. The Cynics are vocal in meetings, proclaiming everything is a security risk because at the end of the day, that position poses the least risk to them. The casualty of The Cynic’s behavior is better, smarter, and more efficient business solutions that are even easier to use than their predecessors. But luckily, I predict The Cynics will be the first casualty of a unified marketplace.

And that time can’t come quickly enough. I swear it seems that no matter how hard I try The Cynics always end up becoming – not just a part of every-single-project-I-have-ever-worked-on – but the ones who are given ultimate control. Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against these people personally. Because they masquerade around the office as a normal human being, I often mistake them for intelligent and accomplished colleagues. I even humor them periodically by engaging in meaningless water cooler banter. That is, until they catch me off guard with a stubborn and remarkably steadfast allegiance to all things Microsoft. Then I do my best to avoid them.

I mean, what can you say to someone who questions the fundamental principles of a man whose company has greater financial reserves than the U.S. Government? How long do they honestly think the average employee will tolerate using a clunky legacy system with limited functionality and a steep learning curve when they can use their smartphone to access an application that monitors the electrical consumption of a single appliance in their home – with little to no instruction?

Hello, the Internet Generation is here. And they don’t expect a fully integrated platform that delivers an unlimited number of applications and data sources through a single, user-friendly interface – they demand it.

And that, my friends, is the paradigm shift we are currently facing. The convergence of business and commercial technology is only a matter of time. Need more proof? Check out the latest findings from managed enterprise mobility provider Good Technology, showing iOS far exceeds Android in enterprise activations. The future is sooner than you think. Cynics, consider this your warning.

How Apple is Taking Over Business!

thatworkshop — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:51:04 GMT

Welcome to idoiτ!

thatworkshop — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:49:59 GMT

idoiτ is a start-up software development entity established in 2011 that lives on the idea of "be small, simple and efficient".

idoiτ provides local IT support services for small businesses and home workers, specializing in web design (from domain registry to delivering final product). We prevent and repair the most common IT problems and keep companies running smoothly, through a combination of pro-active preventation strategies and rapid on-site response when needed.

We believe that small businesses deserve the same IT support that larger companies are able to provide in-house. In addition to providing ad-hoc support we are also able to advise you on the directions of your IT in line with your business strategy, allowing you to anticipate the future of your IT and budget accordingly.

idoiτ is based in Halifax, and provides services in surrounding areas. We are able to maintain an excellent response time by operating close to these areas.

Mobile Technologies: How We Can Innovate

thatworkshop — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 21:42:04 GMT

Businesses can no longer afford to ignore the mobile movement. There’s pressure from a workforce who demands access to key resources while on the move and mounting evidence mobile is much more than just a channel for engaging customers. In fact, Gartner Research predicts consumers will spend more than $2.1 trillion in technology products and services this year alone. Mobile users will also download more than 36 billion applications and nearly catch desktops in total Internet usage before the year’s end. The question is not whether your business should adapt to these trends – but how.

In response to the many questions we field from customers looking to enter the exploding mobile market, idoiτ can assist you along your journey towards going mobile. Each article will cover a different aspect of mobile marketing using plain language for non-technical readers and enough detail to provide value to anyone. Beginning with an overview of the market, the series will cover the mobile readiness of your business, how to create an effective mobile strategy, what you need to know to develop a successful mobile solution, and how to manage the mobile life cycle post-deployment and beyond.

We hope you come back soon to learn more! In the meantime, if you have questions or comments you would like us to address, please let us know!