Fire-Wired Blog

This article was first published by  iowabusinessjournals.com You know your job. You pretty much have to in the world of entrepreneurship. Beyond your speciality, small business ownership also demands you learn a few things about accounting, marketing, as well as a healthy dose of the laws pertaining to your line of work. Of course there are some things you don’t know, and given how precious time is in your life you are not prepared to learn. For many people –inside and out of the small business world– creative or artistic pursuits is a black hole. Personally dipping your toe in the worlds of graphic design, video production, or even professional photography is an endeavor you may waste weeks, if not months of your time and come out the other end less than satisfied with the result. Thankfully some people live in this world and are a few keyboard taps away from covering your creative needs. Now just like you, there are tons of local freelance graphic designers and small creativ...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com With a high probability of certainty I can say that you have fallen for gimmick technology. Maybe you bought a mini-disc player or digital picture frame. You were stuck on a plane and after four hours of turbulence your brain was shook just right to convince yourself of the genius of a couch mixed with a refrigerator or a wireless text scanning pen. See all that junk seems like obvious gimmicks, but at some point a whole lot of people thought they were must haves or “the wave of the future.” Well sadly, gimmick tech is not in our rear-view mirror. Example A; 360 cameras. Not sure what 360 camera is? Have you opened up your facebook timeline and seen a video or picture that seemed to move the contents of it's frame with the movement of your device? That content was 360 degrees of fun. That might sound facetious but there are practical applications for displaying 360 environments for users to interact with… the problem is users ...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com If you figured it out by now, nothing in tech ever lasts. Fading into obscurity almost as fast as and season fashion trend, technology producers and consumers jump from innovation to innovation, from platform to platform, and hardware to hardware without even a glimpse to the past. Whether it's iPods, flip phones, VHS, or even desk tops, technology not only advances but doesn't even hold a public funeral for the gadgets that once ruled our lives. The next former king of the technology empire to sail quietly into the night is CDs, or compact discs. While today CDs are mainly found in libraries and truck-stop bargain bins, the high fidelity compact disc was once a revelation. First unveiled in the early 80s, by the mid 1990s CDs had completely eclipsed all consumer audio technology. Vinyl LPs were holding on for dear life, audio cassettes were virtually erased from existence, and reports of new release compact disc sales jum...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com Cutting corners has a rather negative connotation; if you can’t do something correctly, cut a few corners and live with the diminished result. While generally true, there exceptions to all adages and for small businesses cutting some corners can offer avenues to serious cost savings. One particularly costly expenditure for businesses is technology, particularly software. With many popular software companies transitioning from single pricey purchases to on-going software subscriptions turning one time buys into never ending cash drains. Luckily there is a small glint of hope in the expensive software barrage; an altruistic technology solutions movement called “Open Source.” Before you start screaming how you can’t give up your Mircosoft, Quicken, SalesForce, or Oracle take a deep breath and consider the word ‘free.’ Open Source only works because a swarm of programmers and engineers understand many people out there can’t afford...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com In the 1990s Microsoft was the indomitable force hovering over the tech industry. The internet had started to emerge but wouldn’t start changing the world until a couple years into the new millennium. No, Microsoft had full run of the court and no matter who tried to defend, Bill Gates’ company was going to win. This was so much the case that the U.S. government and courts in the EU held antitrust hearings, with the initial 1999 U.S. judgement being Microsoft was a monopoly. Now under appeal a federal court overturned that ruling, staving off court mandated separation. In the moment that must have seemed crazy to the tech world; I mean articles were being written about Microsoft being king of the hill for as long as it was interested. But once the 90s ended, the internet exploded, start-up tech firms reshaped the software market, and  over the course of a decade Apple released the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. Microsoft’s...

This article was first published by  iowabusinessjournals.com With information security breaches a regular thing, hopefully you’ve done th basics to protect your business, Have you installed a powerful firewall to hold off web based attacks? Nice start. You’ve instituted a routine and mandatory email password reset system for employees? Excellent second step. Backed up, and encrypted your website? Smart. Your staff has been educated on common email phishing practices, including never opening attachments from external emails? Now your cooking. What about protecting your voicemail systems? Before you ask, voicemail hacking is a thing. Is there valuable information in your, or your employees, voicemail inboxes? Sure, but rarely is that what voicemail hackers are looking for. The real moneymaker is hijacking a voicemail account and tricking calling services into connecting collect calls running up a hefty tab on the hijacked business account. This is a real threat that could end up...

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com So the holidays have come and gone and as expected your gifts were nothing too exciting. No big deal. It’s a new year, a blank slate with all kinds of possibilities. In fact, you’re so pumped maybe it’s time to buy yourself a gift. Maybe pool whatevers left of the gift money you didn’t spend, and get something you’ll actually use and cherish. Not a computer, too boring. Not a phone, too common. I got it, a really nice camera. You’ve always loved taking pictures and have been looking for a good excuse to get back into it. After a quick google search you can’t find any reason not select one of the top rated cameras of last year. A few thousand dollars seems reasonable if you’re gonna use it as much as you’re considering, also this thing might actually make you money if this passion turns into a side gig. With potential and adrenaline flooding your brain you’re ready to click proceed to purcha-WAIT! Are you really about to buy th...