One of my long weekend projects was to be able to use a Nest Hub Max to access my GSuite work calendar and reminders as well as control my smart home utilizing my personal GMail and Nest Account. Google has said that this is supported for a while, but it took quite a bit of... Continue Reading →
ARM & Apple Silicon: The Future of Desktop Processors
I am in day two of living the Apple Silicon life. My 13" MacBook Pro with 16GB and 2TB arrived yesterday. My initial impressions are that ARM and Apple Silicon (by proxy) are indeed the future of desktop processors. And once again we see a classic case of Microsoft having the right idea first, but... Continue Reading →
Sitecore Commerce lives (in between many travels)
I realize I've been far quieter with respect to blogging than I had intended. As I get ready to head off on another trip (because 101.5K miles flown this year isn't enough), my long layover at Chicago O'Hare gave me a chance to reflect on just how fast the last few months have gone since... Continue Reading →
For US Travelers, EMV Can’t Arrive Soon Enough
Most of the rest of the world has had EMV for years. For example, I had it from the time I moved to Canada in Winter 2008. Just what on earth is EMV? It is the chip/PIN support on your MasterCard and Visa credit cards that allow you to make purchases via PIN versus swipe... Continue Reading →
Converting from Parallels to Hyper-V
You would think converting a virtual machine from one format to another would be simple. Especially when there are multiple blogs out there on how to do it. But, of course not - so time for another misadventure in computing post. I was asked by a colleague to get a copy of a demo virtual... Continue Reading →
My Take: Adobe Creative Cloud, Office 365, Software Subscriptions, and Old Photos
OK, so I am taking the plunge. Sometime before the expiration of the July 31st cut-off for the CS6 migration promotion, I'll be switching to Creative Cloud. Why? Feature-value. I have been playing with an evaluation of Lightroom 5 (which coincidentally is the only product still available on a perpetual license). I'm sold. And now... Continue Reading →
My Review of Windows Phone 8
My first smartphone was a Windows Mobile device – a Motorola MPX200 to be precise. And that was all I used for the next few years culminating with the Treo 750W on Windows Mobile 6.5. Then, the iPhone 3G came around. Everything about my iPod and phone was combined into one. And everything Windows Mobile... Continue Reading →
Out of Pseudo-Stealth Mode
To summarize the last twelve months: wow! Since the acquisition of Cactus Commerce by Ascentium, a big part of my day job was working on integrating the two businesses into a new brand and value proposition. This finally came to fruition with the launch of the SMITH brand a few weeks back, along with the... Continue Reading →
And to add ANOTHER adventure…
As if being acquired, a new job, and an international move were not enough, let's just add getting the helm of Commerce Server back. No, that's not a mis-print, as captured by: Microsoft's official statement on the subject Mary Jo Foley's write-up of the subject Brian Walker of Forrester Research's take on the subject This certainly... Continue Reading →
The Next Adventure Begins
On September 6, Cactus Commerce, the company for which I have worked for the last for years, has been acquired by Ascentium Corporation of Bellevue, WA. It's truly ironic that after moving to Ottawa from Seattle, we've been bought by a Seattle-based company - and now I'm being relocated back to Seattle to take on... Continue Reading →