Category Archives: Featured

Featured Articles from Gartner Web Development – Web Design and IT Consulting

Windows Vista sure looks nice, but wait…

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We recently received our Microsoft Action Pack Vista “Upgrade”, and I was quite eager to test drive Window Vista Business Edition. Our accountant/marketing person has a pretty beefy system, so she was the perfect candidate for the upgrade… or so it seemed.

Here’s the recommended hardware requirements for Vista Business:

  • 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 GB of system memory
  • 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space
  • Support for DirectX 9 graphics with:
    • WDDM Driver
    • 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum)
    • Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
    • 32 bits per pixel
  • DVD drive
  • Sound Card
  • Internet

Other than the graphics, these requirements aren’t a powerhouse by most standards, but they are more than adequate resources for most business uses. Note the requirement for a DVD drive, as opposed to a regular CD drive. Windows Vista only comes on DVD. In addition to the hardware considerations, the software and peripherals that your business is using need to be evaluated as well. After some research, it was determined that IE 7 and, consequently, Windows Vista, won’t work with Continue reading →

What can free software do for my Medical Practice?

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Time is MoneyWe talk about Open Source and Free Software on this website quite a bit. I’m sure that many are skeptical as to whether or not this really means anything practical for their business. This week, we begin a series of articles that will highlight specific Open Source and Free Software programs that have real world applications for your business. I’m sure, by now, you’ve noticed that there are two terms being used: Open Source and Free Software. There are subtle distinctions between the two, suffice to say, we need not get into software licensing minutiae to help you understand how this all can save your company money. One thing to keep in mind though, when we say “Free Software”, think free as in free speech or liberty - not free as in no cost. Also keep in mind that the vast majority of Free and Open Source Software are in fact available at no cost. You are probably wondering how companies that develop this type of software make a living. Most of their income is derived through consulting and support of their products. It’s a different business model than most of us are familiar with, but it does work - and it works well.

What can free software do for your medical practice? A quick search on Source Forge under the Medical Sciences Applications yields over 500 results, ranging from molecular dynamics simulators and chemistry development tools to full featured hospital Continue reading →