Audio

On 7 September 2013, our founder gave a talk about what it was like to work on the Space Shuttle. The previous day, BBC Radio Shropshire aired a few brief clips from an interview with her. To hear them, click below. Disclaimer: The producer got a little overly excited about writing the cue for the first clip. Bonnie has never claimed to be an astronaut--she was a Space Shuttle engineer.

• BBC Radio Shropshire 2013-09-06 clip 1
 
• BBC Radio Shropshire 2013-09-06 clip 2
 
• BBC Radio Shropshire 2013-09-06 clip 3
 
• BBC Radio Shropshire 2013-09-06 clip 4
 

Articles

This is a sampling of our articles available through EzineArticles.com for use in your publications, free of charge so long as you abide by the terms and conditions of EzineArticles. For the complete collection of our founder's articles, click here.

Using Computers and Technology

• The First Step to a Successful Computer Project - Put Fashion in the Back Seat.  To survive, your company needs a step-change improvement in its efficiency and productivity. Top management decided upgrading the computer system is the ticket to that improvement and you are in charge of it. The big boss says to get the latest and greatest. Should you start by looking up reviews and ratings to find out which hardware and software are the best? Sure, if you want an expensive failure!
• Choose the Right Platform for Your Mission Critical Computer and Software System.  Do you need to build a mission critical computer system for your business? Are you starting with a blank slate, so the first thing you have to ask your technical team is what platform and tools to use? For well designed, well built software, you can reasonably expect about 20% of its lifetime cost to go into creating it. About 80% of the cost is maintenance and enhancement. By making robust, highly maintainable choices for your foundations and tools, you can reduce the lifetime cost of the system substantially--and minimize your headaches!
• AntiSpam Etc - Email Safeguards In A Nutshell.  When email is only a way of exchanging notes with friends and family, running inexpensive antivirus software is usually enough. But when email is routinely used for communication with your customers, employees, staff, students, vendors, and so on... it doesn't take a genius to realize that your email needs more protection. You would be in a pickle if your email disappeared or became untrustworthy. What kinds of protection can you get for it? How much does it cost, how does it work, and how well does it work?

For Small Businesses

• Before You Advertise, You Need to Be News.  When you put together your marketing, don't limit yourself to running paid advertisements, offering coupons, or any other expensively beautiful marketing methods. First, you need to be news!
• IT Contractor versus Consultant - What's the Difference?  Is a computer consultant or IT consultant just a contract programmer or software engineer who uses a fancy title and charges a higher rate? The short answer is no. Each is valuable for the right type of engagement. But putting one into an engagement where you really need the other is a mistake-and you can't always tell who is who by the titles on their business cards.

International Business

• International Duh Moments - Is This a Payment?  When you do business internationally, there are ways of paying that you might never have heard of when doing business solely in the USA. Some methods require extending credit. Pursuing payment when something goes wrong is more difficult than when you are entirely in the States, too. Avoiding payment problems is far better than needing to resolve such problems across a combination of distance, different legal systems, and in some instances political or economic issues--so how to pay or be paid becomes a crucial choice as soon as you begin doing business across borders.
• Currency Exchange Gotcha?  Even a very small firm can do business across geopolitical boundaries--and that means variations in currency exchange rates can catch you flat-footed. How to protect yourself depends upon how you do business.

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