productivity Archives

Tech Stack Showdown — Top Five Stacks Compared

Why might you want to read about tech stacks? We can think of two primary reasons: You're a developer. You want to keep current. Skip right to the comparison. You're not a developer. You have a digital project and want to understand what you're getting into. Stick with us a bit. We'll explain this in plain terms first. Section 1. Explanation What the heck is a tech stack? A tech stack is a set of tools, programming languages, and technologies that work together to build digital products or solutions like websites, and mobile or web apps. Some people call them Solutions Stacks, but it's the same thing. Netflix is built on a tech stack. So are Airbnb, Facebook, WebMD, Wikipedia, and just about any major digital tool or app you use. Stackshare is a great online tool to discover which tech stack a major company is using. Here is WebMD's ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:20+00:00

BUSYLIGHT: The Next-Level “Do Not Disturb” Sign

We’ve all been there – at our desks, frantically working on an urgent deadline or busy with an important call when suddenly a colleague materializes to interrupt, needing help with some critical issue such as finding out where the coffee filters are kept. Or, perhaps in an effort to be considerate, they simply pace back and forth, casting nervous glances at you as you try to focus, succeeding in creating only a partial distraction. Most of us have been on both sides of that desk, as interrupters or interruptees. And most of us have probably thought that it’d be awfully nice if there were some way to let others know that we were busy (or to figure out whether they were) before an untimely disruption torpedoed a million-dollar deal. A company called Kuando has taken a stab at this comparatively minor, but certainly widespread, problem. Their Busylight system is a means of silently, ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:43+00:00

Moving Your Office? Make Your Vendors Your Allies

Moving offices is always a big deal. If I’m ever inclined to forget that, Red Level’s relocation earlier this year will be enough to remind me. For months, our move had been contemplated, planned, and prepared for, and finally in the space of a few days it was completed. Fortunately, it went about as well as an office move ever could, and certainly better than most do, which all of us are grateful for. My colleague Janet Tyler wrote about the importance of planning for our big move on the Automation Alley site, and it made me think: besides knowing what to plan, who is doing the planning makes a big difference – and vendors are often an overlooked but vital element of that process if you’re a small to medium-sized business. When moving day comes, large companies have some major advantages that smaller businesses don’t, including large staffs to share ...

Edward Aube2023-02-16T16:01:46+00:00

Six Big Challenges – or Opportunities – for CIOs and CEOs

A CIO’s work, it seems, is never done. For that matter, neither is the worry associated with most of it. It’s a big job, and one that seems to get bigger just about every day: New technologies, new security threats, new business challenges, and new opportunities alike conspire to consume more of our attention and more hours of our waking lives (and at worst, keeping us up at night and intruding on sleep time as well). …

David King2023-02-16T16:01:49+00:00