Netbooks are the in thing today. They are small and handy, and so it’s no surprise that many people are now seen carrying netbooks wherever they go.

For remote or mobile workers,  netbooks or laptops are almost a must. They are convenient, you see. Though for programmers, these small gadgets may not be an ideal one to have. But they will do if they need to go out of their bedrooms for a while and into a cafeteria or park to work.

Remote workers or mobile workers need to get some air, too, you know.

Now we all know that the bane of netbooks or any other computer device is virus. Good thing Kapersky Antivirus has come up with an anti-virus for netbooks.

PC World shares:

Kaspersky Lab has announced an anti-malware product specifically designed for netbooks, the first to fill a potentially lucrative new software niche.

According to the company, Kaspersky Internet Security Special Edition for Ultra-Portables has been “optimized” for netbooks running the Intel Atom, Intel Celeron-M, or VIA C7-M processors that power the current generation of Windows XP-based small-screen wonders.

Continue reading…

Most IT projects involve geeks. I guess 99 percent of the team is geek.  All I can say is that geeks are just like you and me, only smarter, more skillful, and more serious with their craft. In other words, they’re a joy to work with.

About a couple of years ago, Chief Happiness Officer, Alexander Kjerulf, wrote an article titled how NOT to lead geeks. If you were to make each one positive, here’s how to handle your geek team.The inputs are mine based on my experience in working with them.

1. Give them the right training, and on a regular basis. Training in general is empowering. But for geeks, honing their skills is important to them. And they have the passion to learn new things or be updated on what’s the latest on their chosen field.
2. Give them recognition. Like any other worker, geeks too love to be given a pat on the back for a job well done. If you don’t know how or understand their work very well, Kjerulf suggests that you work with them so that you would know.
3. Give them reasonable work schedule. Geeks are humans, too, and although they can be workaholics, they can still be stressed out. What good is a geek if he’s overworked?
4. Talk to them in plain simple English minus management jargon. As Kjerulf said, geeks hate management-speak.
5. Do not try to outsmart or act smart with them. Admit it, if you’re not a geek or do not understand the stuff geeks do. It gets more work done and faster that way.
6. Be consistent. Probably because in IT, structure and consistency is critical, geeks also want consistent and clear directions, and policies. They hate it when they smell uncertainty and indecisiveness.
7. Connect with them. Often, because managers are not geek themselves, they tend to stay away from their geek team, and just concern themselves with the output or in the user interface, for example, of a website project. Talk to them and discuss with them tasks that are doable and not.
8. Involve them in decision making, especially when it comes to your project. For an IT project, who else understands it better than the geek team. Thus, get their ideas and suggestions and how to go about the project. There should be a collaborative effort.
9. Give them the right tools or equipment to do their tasks well. What can be most frustrating for a geek team are slow computers and lack of software. These may cost you a bit more, but just look at it as in investment where you can generate income too.
10. Recognize the creative side of geeks. Kjerulf puts it aptly, “Programming is a creative process, not an industrial one. Geeks must constantly come up with solutions to new problems and rarely ever solve the same problem twice. Therefore they need leeway and flexibility.”

[Source]

What saddens me as a project manager is to see good people go.

This may be a form of review on your project deployment. But it’s a good guide for those who are about to start a new project, too.

In every project, it’s really good to start and end with the same people or team. That way, all of you understands the project, what it entails, what the role of each member is.

You would want for example to have each team member participate in the following:

1. Initiation – Introduce the team to the project, its scope, roles and responsibilities, and deliverables.
2. Planning – Develop plans for creating the final deliverables.
3. Execution – Properly plan the work.
4. Control -Ensure that the project is progressing as planned, to account for any changes, and to make midcourse corrections that are needed to keep the project on schedule and within budget.
5. Closeout – deliverable is accepted by the customer of the project, and the project team documents what it learned that could be of value on the next project.

I got the tips above from an article on Baseline Mag. Read the rest of the article and find out how project managers can transform your business by building a process, tracking performance and helping you build best practices that work for your company.

It’s true! Leaders or managers have closed minds or are set in their ways. If this is the general case, then no wonder conflicts arise in the organization, which they often term as politicking.

I’m just lucky that my Boss listens to me, and takes my suggestions well—oftentimes, too well. But for those who are not as lucky, I pity you. And I wish your Bosses could read this article on North Colorado Business Report.

The article likens project management to an endeavor which one must need an open mind. In Zen principles, have a “beginners mind” that displays openness, eagerness and a lack of preconception. It’s like learning a new skill, where you are eager to learn the ropes.

Shirley Esterly, the author, suggests ways on how to project manage using a philosophical approach. Read HERE.

But going back to Zen, I’d like to develop that open mind. This should be the case for every team member, leader or member. That at every new project, they keep an openness to discover new things, to try out new things.

Nokia is calling all mobile and web application developers worldwide to submit best-in-class applications for use on Nokia devices.

Developers can submit applications for the 2009 Calling All Innovators contest in these categories:

• Internet Innovation
• Flash
• Emerging Markets and Mobile Necessities

Submissions for the contest will be accepted until 30 June 2009, and the winners will be announced in September 2009.

Join now!

I love good slogans!

But how do you create a good copy of a company slogan?

That is what I’ve been thinking the whole day today. We are revising our company website and well, I was asked to review it and suggest links and other things that a good company website should have.

So, now I’m thinking…

1. What is a good copy for a company slogan?
2. What elements should go into that slogan?
3. How should it be phrased?
4. How do you write a slogan that is effective?
5. Who should I be thinking when I write that slogan?

I need suggestions please.

Catch the first and only event in Asia for web designers by web designers!

<form> function() & .class : the first Philippine web design conference is initiated by the newly formed Web Designers Organization. The event hopes to unite 400 professionals and aspiring web designers to discuss and share the latest trends, current opportunities and challenges in the web-design field.

The event will be on July 10, 2009, 8am-5pm at the Asian Insitute of Management (AIM), Makati City.

The speakers:

• Rico Sta. Cruz – Creative Director, U.S. Auto Parts Philippines
• Nap Lara – Software Developer, Friendster
• Regnard Raquedan – Web & Usability Consultant
• Jojo Esposa – Founder, Philippine Web Accessibility Group
• Marco Palinar – User Interface/Web Design Consultant
• Gail dela Cruz-Villanueva – Creative Director, Sheero Media
• Luis Buenaventura II – Co-founder and Social Software Architect, Syndeo Labs Director of Engineering, Exist Global

Register now!

Or help spread the word and get a chance to win free tickets to the conference.

Interested in sponsorships? Click HERE.

Yesterday afternoon, I read on Inquirer.net that Microsoft Philippines will be cutting down on its workforce soon. According to the article, the company has 95 employees in the Philippines.

Then yesterday evening, I had dinner with college friends and our talk turned to recession and then to jobs. One of my friends disclosed that her company would be letting go of people by Friday. Of the 95 employees left—since the others have resigned and gone on to greener pastures overseas—only four of them will be retained.

It’s true that the news becomes more real if it happens to somebody close to you. Or you’re experiencing it yourself.

So I went home last night thinking about job security and lay offs, which bring me to the following questions:

Is allowing your employees to telecommute more efficient and less costly?
Instead of laying them off, is it more feasible to let them work from home?

News has it that because of the swine flu, office attendance has dropped 40%. Just imagine the waste it has on productivity.

You can really appreciate telecommuting in times like this when an epedemic breaks out. You can work at the confines of your home, and spared from worrying about getting the virus. Although, staying in doesn’t give you a 100%  guarantee that you won’t catch it.

But it’s definitely a good option.

The article on PCWorld ends:

Telework is like a corporate insurance policy — but one you can use on a regular basis and benefit from daily, adds Wilsker. In addition to addressing business continuity plans, “employees are going to be happier, plus telework is good for the economy, it’s good for the environment, it’s good for all these wonderful things.” Read more…

It’s a fact that software developers are in demand and thus are mostly well-paid. But we also know the other law of life. You have to be at the right time at the right place, and that if an opportunity comes, you have to grab it.

Other times, the right opportunity comes but we don’t know how to spot it or even take care of it well that it just slips through our hands and passes us by.

Here’s an interesting article on PCWorld: How to Land a Six-Figure Software Developer Job.

The author shares the sites that give tips on salaries, how to ace that interview and handle tricky questions.

Check it out!