Hello, I'm Matt

I am excited to say that I was able to make a career change within my current company. I have moved on from a Senior System Administrator to be a Business Intelligence Developer.  I love IT but I felt like moving into data warehousing was a good move. I love new challenges and I am super excited!

Here is to the next stage in my career!

UDATE: They now reactivate HTTPS when you log back in to Facebook. Good Deal…

I was really excited to see Facebook decided to offer a setting to always use https://www.facebook.com/ when accessing facebook.com. I checked almost hourly to see if I had the option to turn it on. I finally saw the option and was happy to have selected it. I thought, “Yes, I can now surf Facebook and be safe from prying eyes…etc.” I mean, google allows it for their web properties that i frequent. The need to better security on Facebook really came to my mind when I started to hear about firesheep and how easy it was to hijack a facebook users credentials. It can happen in coffee shops, McDonald’s, or anywhere there is free wifi.

So you can see why i was excited to get that setting until I noticed something funny one day. I was heading over to my new favorite facebook app FlipToast‘s facebook page and saw this message:

I read through it and clicked continue thinking it was an odd but somewhat understandable request. Facebook can’t police how its app companies do there implementation of their pages. So I went on my merry way. the verbiage ”switch” made me think it was temporary. Left the app page and went back to my wall to check out the latest friend news. guess what I saw? No HTTPS while I was there. I went back to the place where you can turn it on and it was not checked.

I was ticked! Think of all the people who now have a false sense of security after making that change and then heading to Farmville or something and needing to turn it off.

Yes, people should read that message and then head back into the settings and turn it back on. But should THEY have to do this? Why can’t Facebook just not present https to the app pages and then allow it to be back on when I head back to where it can be used? I already made the choice to use https once. I think this is a big issue that Facebook needs to deal with. You can’t expect my mom to go back and set that setting herself after I set it for her?

Now excuse me while I head back over and turn https back on.

What do you think? Am I rightfully upset about it?

I have been given the opportunity to attend VMWorld 2010 for the first time. I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am. I am going with an open mind and I want to be a sponge and soak up everything I can.

My main objectives:

1. Learn and experienced as much as I can(Knowledge gathering)
2. Meet experts in the field and build a relationship with them(Networking)
3. See and experience new products and services
4. Have fun

I would like to get VCP certified so learning and knowledge gather is huge for me. I am excited to meet new people and experience VMworld 2010!  Comment or look me up on twitter if you would like to meet.

I ended up getting an iPad. I am typing on it as we speak and uploaded this right from the iPad. I will give a non fanboy review soon.

I am not a huge fan of app discovery in the android market. It needs a lot of help in many, many ways. There are some sites out there that have reviews and lists of apps. I have not tried them all but they sure seem like they could be helpful for discovery.

Here are a few that I found:

• AndroidLib
• AppBrain
• AppStore HQ
• Bubiloop
• Cyrket

What are your favorite apps?

There is one tool that I have come to love. It is a necessity if you manage more than one server in my opinion. I used to open multiple RDP windows to each server which can be effective but it is highly inefficient. The tool I love is Royal TS.

Royal TS enables you to:

• Organize your servers in descriptive folders for a one-stop location to connect to each system
• It allows you to see session information if there are multiple users accessing a server
• You can pre-populate your domain and username on each connection and then you only need to input your password once you connect
• Also allows you to store your password in an encrypted state(I don’t like this option).
• and many others

I do not think I could work without this great tool from here on out. You should check it out ASAP and report back in the comments.

Do you have any other tools for remote desktop server management? Share them in the comments!!

I am by no means a Apple fan boy. I don’t own a iPhone. I own a Droid. I could possibly be considered a android fan boy in a tiny way. I would own a iPhone if it was on a better cell provider (read: AT&T stinks).  So, I have this weird urge to get a iPad. I have heard that it is just a big iPod touch for the most part. I still kinda want one but I can’t explain the urge. It may be due to my tech sickness which includes always wanting the latest technology that comes out.

I really can’t explain why I want an iPad other then my desire to see, touch, and handle the latest cool gadgets. who knows, maybe I will end up with one someday.  I utterly despise iTunes though.  Man, I think I may have a fever. this can’t be running through my head…Matt owning an Apple product? Well, we will have to wait and see. I may wait for the next hardware rev version to be released.

*couch* I think I am coming down with something.  Are you getting one or have one?

I was reading an article in Inc. Magazine today about Yelp.com. IT was a great look into how the Internet is changing the way companies are doing business and interacting with customers.  I was surprised to read about businesses that hate Yelp for various reason and one being that they are getting bad reviews.  I was blown away by this mindset. Businesses should want this type of feedback.  How will they know if they are doing a bad job or offering a poor experience?  Businesses just keep thinkning that nothing is wrong and it is “Business as usual.”

Small businesses really need to delve into the online arena of social media and marketing. Facebook pages, a Twitter account, a Yelp profile, foursquare…etc.  The list can keep on growing and it will.  Businesses need to embrace this new idea of instant feedback via the web.

I have been personally adding local business to foursquare because I like foursquare and it is fun for me. Just think if businesses knew of this and were aware of the mayor feature of Foursquare. They could advertise a dinner special for the Mayor of their establishment or offer a free monthly car wash at a gas station to the current Mayor.  The possibilities are endless.  This plays even further into positive reviews and return business.

I tell friends of my good and bad experiences.  I tend to be too nice and I do not offer the proper feedback that I maybe should but the online space makes it easier.  Some people do not like this unfettered ability to be negative about a business.  It you are getting negative reviews, FIX IT! Don’t complain about it and have a “whoa is me” attitude.

I think location based advertising is coming on strong with the advent of “super computer” smartphones with GPS and all the bells and whistles. Join in. Add a QRcode to your business hours sign or on the back of a business card. Welcome Yelp users with a sign that says you are on Yelp. The options are endless. Businesses need to reach out and grab these opportunities by the horns before the go right on by.

Feel free to contact me with your thoughts or if you would like some help developing these strategies. The internet is big…get on it.

I have waited too long to post my thoughts on my Droid.  I bought it back in November of 2009 while in Chicago for work.  It is my first real smartphone(well, with a data plan).  I know what you are thinking.  A Tech guy getting his first smartphone in 2009?  I have been too cheap to pay for a data plan.

I love the openness of the OS and the application process.  It just seems so free. Man, that sounded awkward.

The Android Market is pretty good when browsing from the phone.  I really hate the fact that the website does not let you download the .apk files or at least take a picture of a QRCode and take me to the app in the market on my phone.

Pros:

• Open OS
• Strong ties to anything Google(Gmail, Calendar, Google Voice,…etc)
• Decent soft keyboard(landscape).
• Speedy processor
• LED Flash
• Removable Micro SD card
• Glass screen
• Resolution and color of the screen is absolutely phenomenal

Cons:

• Slide-out keyboard absolutely sucks. I wish I could remove it.
• Can be buggy and lock up on occasion. probably do to some app I installed at that time.
• Battery cover slides off way to easy.
• Location of lock/unlock and power button sucks.
• Camera is slow to load.
• Micro USB totally sucks on any device. Hideous!
• Feels bulky compared to my wife’s Droid Eris

I really like the phone overall. I do not think there is a perfect phone out there. You just need to find the one that meets the majority of your needs.  Do I wish I had waited for the Nexus One? Yes, but not on AT&T and TMobile.  Do I wish I had an iPhone? Yes, but again, not on AT&T and Apple locks them down WAY too much.

Watch for a list of my favorite apps for my Droid to come soon!