Recently the folks at Dell sought out “trade secrets” from small and medium-sized businesses to ensure on-the-job reliability. This campaign coincided with the launch of their E series for their Latitude line, which the E6320 notebook I received from them is a member of.

Ask anyone and I always have some advice to give, so I shared this, one which always creates a win-win situation when in a busy airport terminal or one without enough power outlets. It was chosen for the new Dell Trade Secrets 2 – Reliability eBook which is available for free on SlideShare.

For those of you with your images turned off or using a screen reader, it reads:

When I fly, I always bring an extension cord with multiple outlets on the end. Most always, if there is an outlet, it is nowhere near where you can find a seat. And when you do find one, it is most always taken. This way, you can politely ask if you can plug in, have them tap off of you, and you still have an outlet or 2 to share with someone else!
Mike Maddaloni | thehotiron.com

Though I may get funny looks at first, people realize I am sincere, especially when I show there are open outlets on the end of the extension cord. Thus I believe the merits of it alone were why it was chosen and put on page 10, and not because I am using their notebook. And from what little bit I have written so far can back that up, but I digress.

The Dell Trade Secrets 2 – Reliability eBook showcases some great advice from some other great business experts, such as Barry Moltz and Carol Roth. Feel free to read the SlideShare presentation on their site or embedded below, and if you have a SlideShare account you can download a copy of this eBook.

Your comments are always welcome, and if you have some great reliability advice feel free to post it in the comments here or on the eBook’s page.

Editor's Note: This post was modified with the new code to present the embedded eBook.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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Announcements • Business • Social Media • Strategize • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. But can something that is barely a quarter of an inch square make the difference in whether people read the words of your blog?

Among the recent changes to the user interfaces and experience of Google applications over the past few weeks, favicons are now showing up next to the titles of blogs in their feed reader, Google Reader. Favicons, as I have talked about here on The Hot Iron before, are a 16 pixel square icon that is displayed in the address bar and bookmarks of most all PC/Mac and mobile Web browsers. Their real value is when scanning bookmarks or scrolling thru the history in the address bar as they provide visual cues to which site is which, providing enhanced differentiation from plain text Web URLs. For years I have always added favicons to sites I build in my Web consulting business and I continue to evangelized about them.

With the addition of the favicon to Google Reader, not only a reader can leverage this visual cue convenience, but brands of all form – personal and business – can gain by adding a visual where previously there has been just text in the list of blogs available to be read. Pictured here is a screen shot of my own Google Reader, where you can see a selection of blogs I read, along with their favicons. For most of these, the favicon extends their branding very well, such as with this blog and Active Travels, which is a client. One example here that does not leverage any branding is ChicagoBusiness.com from Crain’s. Where the Web site itself has a favicon, the RSS feed, which is aggregated with others in Google Reader, does not. I cannot say why specifically, but it must be related to how its Web server and RSS feed is configured. I did nothing unique or specific to add the favicon to The Hot Iron's RSS feed.

Another observation I made is that some blog feeds had the “default” favicon for the Web server or Web hosting provider. Many blogs – and I will spare them embarrassment buy not mentioning them by name – have a 3 by 3 grid of squares, which is the favicon for Web host BlueHost. If you don’t change the default favicon that is in a root folder on the Web server, then whatever is there will be “discovered” and used.

Favicons are a small but mighty file that can go miles to extend your brand. Does your Web site have a favicon? Let myself and other readers know by commenting on this post, as well as any questions you may have on favicons.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni, Founder and President of Web consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC.

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Build • Social Media • Web Design • Web Development • (0) Comments • Permalink

If you are on Twitter, please tweet the following to help a great charity I support, YouthBuild Boston, win $2,500 from Nokia. All you need to do is click on the following link:

Click here to tweet/vote!

If the link does not work, please copy and paste the text to tweet it.

I’m voting for Entry #15 in the #NokiaCareUSContest! RT and help us win. [url=http://on.fb.me/tyNRR7]http://on.fb.me/tyNRR7[/url]

By tweeting this, you are entering YouthBuild Boston in a contest run by Nokia Care US, the domestic support arm of the mobile phone giant. There are 15 charities around the US vying for this, and the top 10 charities, as counted by the number of tweets they receive, will make it to the final round, where judges will select the winner of the $2,500 prize.

And I couldn’t think of a better charity to win this prize! YouthBuiild Boston, or YBB for short, is located in the Roxbury section of Boston and daily lives their tagline of “strengthening you, rebuilding communities.” This is the description of YBB which I submitted when I nominated them for this contest:

Since its inception, YouthBuild Boston (YBB) has been dedicated to improving the lives of young people of Boston by teaching skills that will enable them to become both self-sufficient and civically engaged. While YBB promotes the core values of youth development and community service, it stands out as an innovative non-profit by offering young people a hands-on approach to skills training and community building.

Its Theory of Change is predicated on the belief that, “young people, when empowered with the skills and education necessary to improve their quality of life, will realize that they can play a leadership role in strengthening their communities.” From construction to landscaping to design skills to encouraging and supporting young people to get their GED degree, YBB has become a cornerstone for all whose lives are touched by their work. During its 20 year history, YBB has helped more than 1,000 young people develop the skills and opportunities necessary to successfully enter the workforce.

YBB has adapted to the needs of the community over the years and their programs reflect it, branching out from their early programs solely on construction. They also offer the greater Boston community the opportunity to get involved, benefitting the students even more. As a result of what they do and how well they do it, YouthBuild Boston has gained a stellar reputation in the community, and with your support they can only make a greater impact.

I have been proud to support YBB for almost a decade, going back to when I lived in the Boston area, helping them with their Web technology over the years. What impresses me most about YBB is not only the amazing things they do, but also how they do it. Their level of professionalism is only matched by their dedication and compassionate service to the youth who are involved with their programs as well as to the community.

The deadline for tweet voting is this Friday, November 18, 2011. One vote per person, but feel free to pass it along to your friends. More information on the contest is available on the contest page on Facebook. As this is a contest sponsored by Nokia, and I evaluate their mobile devices on this blog, I must mention that, but it will have no impact on this contest.

Click here to tweet/vote!

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni, Founder and President of Web consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC.

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Announcements • Business • Mobile Technology • Thrive • (0) Comments • Permalink

Granted, the talk this week has been on the announcements coming from London at Nokia World about new Windows Mobile devices as well as new devices specifically designed towards emerging markets. However, a few months back I had the opportunity to evaluate a Nokia E6,which is still alive and well and selling in the US and other countries.

Thanks to the folks at Nokia Connects (formerly WOMWorld/Nokia) I was able to use this device for a few weeks. But first I had to open the package, and here’s my initial reaction to the E6 – view the embedded video below or watch the Nokia E6 unboxing video on YouTube.

It wasn’t until I watched the video that I realized the heavy comparisons I made between the E6 and the Nokia E72, which is my primary mobile device, or my “workhorse” as I like to call it. This was due to the form factor, which are very similar. Besides that and the quality of the construction, these devices are different. On the hardware front, it has a touchscreen, something I miss from my days as a Palm user. The camera is a mixed blessing – taking 8 megapixel photos but with a full-focus rather than auto-focus camera. With some of the tests I did – mostly of my kids so I won’t post them here – the full focus worked great when they sat still (rarely) and was a disappointment when they were moving or I wanted to get a close-up shot (usually the case).

In my evaluation period I did not completely switch to using it, namely a time issue for me. But I did carry the 2 devices with me at the same time and tried similar tasks and did put my SIM card in it and used it for calls. I was pleased with its usability and liked the Symbian^3 features that I am still getting used to. The main reason I still use the E72 – the physical keyboard – is also a selling point for the E6. Granted I could probably get used to an on-screen keyboard eventually, but for how I use a device, it’s nice to have the physical keys to bang on.

Where the E6 will fit into the mix of Nokia’s devices is unclear, but I guess its price may drop, which will put a touchscreen, full keyboard mobile device in the hands of many people easily, and no need to go thru a Blackberry service as you can directly connect to POP and Exchange mail!

Below is an embedded slideshow of photos I took of both the E6 and E72 – view it there or on Flickr.

The device has long been returned to Nokia Connects, but I welcome your thoughts and questions on it in the comments.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni, Founder and President of Web consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC.

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Build • Mobile Technology • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

As someone who has used Dell PCs over the years and not too long ago evaluated a Dell Vostro 130 - I was thrilled when Dell, through the Zocalo Group, offered a new Dell notebook as a gift. As with any piece of electronics I receive – as a gift or for evaluation – I make an unboxing video, and you can watch the unboxing of this Dell Latitude E6320 below or on YouTube.

As you can see, I initially was told I was getting a Dell Latitude E5420, and instead it was an E6320 – I still need to pour thru the configuration, but from my initial review of the models on Dell’s Web site they are similar.

Since I made the video, here’s a couple of thoughts and items to note. I found how to turn on backlighting the keyboard, and it is a nice feature, especially when working late at night at home (note that working late at night at home in itself is not a nice feature!). It also does not run hot similar to the Dell Vostro 1410 I am using now, and will be replaced by this Latitude E6320. I have also liked using Windows 7, and it will be a nice transition from Windows XP.

The plan is to now setup the E6320 with all my software, files and any special settings and use it as the primary work PC. I had one setback in doing so from a time perspective when I mistakenly installed the hard drive encryption software and had to reinstall Windows 7 and the drivers. As the DVDs were included, this was not as painful of a process as it could have been, but it took time to do so, and I am just now getting to really using this hardware.

Over time I will share my thoughts on this Dell Latitude E6320, and you can find them here at The Hot Iron as well on Twitter – follow @thehotiron and @dunkirk. Special thanks to the Zocalo Group for offering me this machine. And as generous as they and Dell have been, it will certainly not cloud my judgment of my reviews and thoughts on this PC! As always, I welcome your thoughts and questions on it in the comments of this post.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni, Founder and President of Web consulting firm Dunkirk Systems, LLC.

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Build • Technology • (3) Comments • Permalink