Return on Technology

ALTOM: When it comes to big purchases, don’t follow the crowdRestricted Content

May 18, 2013
Tim Altom
The most popular tech product isn't necessarily the one that is best for your business.
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ALTOM: The closing words in most emails aren't worth the troubleRestricted Content

May 4, 2013
Tim Altom
Electronic communication isn't the same as a hand-written letter, so traditional sign-offs don't usually work.
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ALTOM: CIOs are hard to find, so mentor promising candidatesRestricted Content

April 6, 2013
Tim Altom
A CIO has to blend business and technical skills in ways that aren’t taught to technicians.
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ALTOM: Google disregards consequences, kills another productRestricted Content

March 23, 2013
Tim Altom
Years ago, the high-tech company that drove me closest to the edge of madness was Microsoft. That firm treated its customers as if they were lucky to have computers. But for sheer frustration, I think Google tops Microsoft.
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ALTOM: Hire a chief information officer before it's too lateRestricted Content

March 9, 2013
Tim Altom
The position is meant to be more than a glorified tech support desk. It should be the office where infrastructure growth is planned and merged with the company’s overall goals.
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ALTOM: How safe is your storage on the cloud? Not veryRestricted Content

February 23, 2013
Tim Altom
The cloud is what we call the storage areas we never see except in our browsers—that online, cyberspace world that holds our files and often our working applications.
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ALTOM: Technology takes (some) jobs but also creates themRestricted Content

February 9, 2013
Tim Altom
In the aftermath of the Great Recession, the economy continues to grow, but it’s becoming obvious that unemployment isn’t going to nosedive the way it has after previous recessions.
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ALTOM: Firms must think carefully about policies on devicesRestricted Content

January 26, 2013
Tim Altom
“BYOD” is tech-speak for “bring your own device,” and it refers to whether you want to allow employees to transact your business using their own laptops, notebooks or smartphones, or if you want to impose your own standards and supply what you think they should have so you keep control of the technology.
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ALTOM: Being present at work doesn't have to mean being thereRestricted Content

January 12, 2013
Tim Altom
Employers have to contend with a new generation of workers who expect to work from home at least part of the time, and entirely from home when feasible.
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ALTOM: Just because it's new doesn't make it worth buyingRestricted Content

December 29, 2012
Tim Altom
If you’re one of those businessfolk who buy new gadgets just because you can, you might want to move on to the food reviews now. I’m going to be talking today about when to upgrade devices or software.
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ALTOM: Blessed are the tech-sector risk-takers who make the leapRestricted Content

December 15, 2012
Tim Altom
This is the last column before Christmas, and in keeping with long tradition, I’m writing a year-end column about screw-ups and techno-pratfalls that should make you glad you’re not in the hottest of hot seats.
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ALTOM: Passwords are passe, but there's no good alternativeRestricted Content

December 1, 2012
Tim Altom
Even the most supposedly secure password is toast from the time you first use it, because today’s hackers have a veritable arsenal of ways to get through or around any password scheme.
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ALTOM: It's easy to fill gaps in business knowledge onlineRestricted Content

November 17, 2012
Tim Altom
The online world is blossoming with education, both good and questionable. It was one of the first uses for the Web. The Web brought technical people together to share information, and often it was in the form of a tutorial to answer the question, “How do I get this to do that?”
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ALTOM: Whether you're a Mac or PC person says a lot about youRestricted Content

November 3, 2012
Tim Altom
Today, the two worlds cross over almost effortlessly, but the divisions between them have spawned entirely different design and usage paradigms.
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ALTOM: 'Mechanical Turk' puts humans to workRestricted Content

October 20, 2012
Tim Altom
Most repetitive tasks can be done by computer nowadays, but many can’t.
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ALTOM: Excel can be used as database in a pinchRestricted Content

October 6, 2012
Tim Altom
Microsoft Excel has features that are reminiscent of a database, although it’s not a database application and never will be.
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ALTOM: Who owns your data? The answer might surprise youRestricted Content

September 8, 2012
Tim Altom
When you reveal information about yourself, do you still own or control it? And if you reveal something about someone else, who owns it then?
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ALTOM: A reminder that offices are full of low-tech hazardsRestricted Content

August 25, 2012
Tim Altom
Even laser pointers can be hazardous if they’re pointed right into an unprotected retina.
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ALTOM: Death of paper has been greatly exaggeratedRestricted Content

August 11, 2012
Tim Altom
When I was a kid, eager futurists predicted what wonderful technologies we’d all have someday.
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ALTOM: Web begs you to take time to waste timeRestricted Content

July 28, 2012
Tim Altom
I have to confess that I sometimes use technology in a way that is the exact opposite of productivity. I waste good daylight hours using it for short bursts of enjoyment.
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ALTOM: Online detective work can amaze and find new marketsRestricted Content

July 14, 2012
Tim Altom
Google Earth is one of Google’s odder and spottier applications. It started life as Keyhole, a 3-D mapping program originally paid for by the CIA and subsequently purchased by Google in 2004.
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ALTOM: Tips for starting an office on a shoestringRestricted Content

June 30, 2012
Tim Altom
First, you’ll need good hardware. Don’t skimp here, because reliability trumps economy.
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ALTOM: LinkedIn hacking case holds a lesson about passwordsRestricted Content

June 16, 2012
Tim Altom
You often hear that you’re anonymous online, and you can be if you want to be. But if you want to buy or sell, register for newsletters, or get return e-mails, you have to declare your identity. And that identity is your e-mail address.
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ALTOM: Backups are important—just ask the folks at PixarRestricted Content

June 2, 2012
Tim Altom
Do you know where your backups are, right now? Most of us don’t, or if we do, we don’t know what shape they’re in.
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ALTOM: Businesses should be suspicious of app trapRestricted Content

May 19, 2012
Tim Altom
Smart-phone app costs can vary by orders of magnitude, just as websites can. The challenge is getting them to pay for themselves.
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  1. RKW's comments read like a modern "Chicken Little". As a Raintree resident for many years, "Yes, I'm ready for this." Matter of fact, I welcome The Farm because it's a development that compliments our town, brings new and desirable shopping & dining closer (specialty grocer, upscale shops, micro brew pub, etc), offers upscale condos for empty nesters who want to stay in Zionsville, is being planned and constructed by local, well-reputed firms and, of course, provides desirable non property tax benefits. We all knew the Pittman's were going to develop their property sooner than later. That one of the Pittman's will continue to live on the property helps assure The Farm will be everything promised. This also sets a standard for other developers as to the quality of future developments - which should keep an ugly Walmart at bay for decades. As we've no meglomaniac mayor, I seriously doubt Zionsville would ever aspire to over-priced statues or subsidized retail rents. And we already have a very nice public theater, the Zionsville Performing Arts Center, that meets our cultural needs quite nicely.

  2. Do we add (or subtract) these from the bounty we recieve from RTWFL, Daylight Savings Time, corporate tax giveaways, and the crack job IEDC is doing?? Or is Mike going to blame these on Mitch?

  3. Who makes Tater Tots? They would be a good sponsor, because $3 Million for the alleged "Greatest Spectacle In Racing" is taters. Tiny, tiny taters. But at least they are making up something of the losses accumulated over the years in this dying sport. Buttock in seat is certainly not doing it, nor eyeball on TV, as evidenced by the lack of both.

  4. We loved lakehouse and think the Arbor Village would be a great location. It is less than 2 miles from over 1000 rooftops in the 225,000 to over 1 million range. Many people could use the great fishers trail system to bike or walk there. Just an idea Scotty -- but maybe something closer to 3 Wiseman would good. The only microbrew in area is Ram (boring)

  5. True, it's an ESPN production, but ESPN is just another name for ABC Sports, or what used to be ABC Sports since ABC Sports no longer exists as a name. ESPN=ABC Sports= ESPN. ESPN is, according to Forbes "the world's most valuable media property" worth $40 billion. Despite that, they fired 400 people this week.

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