Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       My typical morning routine: Alarm goes off — the alarm function on my BlackBerry that is Brush teeth, with BlackBerry in other hand; check emails, Twitter, Facebook and BBC’s mobile site Get coffee and breakfast going, and turn on my laptop to read over local news, blogs, et al. and respond to emails Does this sound like you? If so, you’re obviously not alone. (I also forgot to mention that while my BlackBerry is the first thing in my hand ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       The leaves are falling One by one Summer’s over And school’s begun I love the first day of school; I even get my kids (albeit, reluctantly) to stand on the front porch for their annual ’1st day of school’ picture. Routines begin again, bedtimes change and sleeping ’til noon stops. I always consider this time to be an opportunity for me to do something from a professional development standpoint, too, whether it be a course at the local college or ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Now I know you summer fans will not like me saying this, but it’s around the corner and we can’t ignore it– fall is coming. While many think spring is the time for renewal and change, I also consider fall to be the start of something new. Kids go back to school, summer holidays are over, and a regular work schedule returns (says the one who enjoyed an extended European holiday in August). With this new season fast approaching, I figured it would ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       I was recently reading over professional development blogs (some great ones here, here and here) and came across a post that really resonated with me: “Become Unnoticeable to Be Noticed.” It’s not something you tend to hear when referring to catching someone’s attention (be it a co-worker, manager, potentia­­l client, or otherwise), and it got me thinking: What are a few simple ways to get noticed for being unnoticeable? In Janna’s blog ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       Communication is very important in all aspects of a project – from discovery and requirements gathering, to the final implementation. A Project Status Report is just one tool that CoreSolutions has as an avenue for providing a formal communication of the current status of a project, not only to our clients, but our own management staff. There are basically three main components of a Project Status Report: Overall – starting with the over-arching health of ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Confidence – it’s one of life’s most useful (and at times, hard to muster) traits, and is one of the most important aspects of being a good sales representative. While it’s true that I’m new to the sales game, it’s also true that I know the secret to being a confident salesperson. I didn’t read it in a book though; it came from within me. I love taking on new challenges and experiencing new things; however, I also have a profound need to be ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       Packing for the family’s north-bound cottage vacation last week, my company laptop was part of the “stuff” that we had to squeeze into the trunk. My husband, who also brought his, understood and just packed my laptop along with everything else. That’s the way it has been for years in our house, even with my daughter saying, “Mom, you’re on vacation, leave it home.” Like most things I got my way, and the laptop sure helped with the long drive along ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       People often interchange price and cost, but it’s important to recognize the significant difference between the two. Remember the old adage, “Beware the cost of the lowest price”? Well, it rings true. Just because a product is less expensive than its competitors’, doesn’t mean you (or your business) save money in the long run. Sometimes, perhaps most times, you end up spending more in part because of time and efficiency lost to a mediocre product. Or, ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       If you’ve ever had the opportunity to attend the FileMaker Developer Conference (this year from August 15 to 18 in San Diego), you’ll know that it’s more than scripts, schema, calculations and relational database modeling – quite simply, the conference is all about the music. Database developers are a talented lot, and each year the conference holds an unofficial jam session that showcases the musical finesse of developers from around the globe. It’s ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       Here at CoreSolutions, I feel very privileged to be part of what I call a great team. Why? Well let’s look at some common characteristics of what makes a great team: Good and Open Communication – having frequent meetings with the team allows each individual to share their thoughts and ideas and learn from others openly. Shared Common Goal – we have adopted a company mission and vision statement that helps drive all team members towards a common goal for the ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Going to school, no matter what your age, isn’t easy; but imagine deciding, as a mature student, that you want to go back and finish what you started or learn entirely new skills. That is one impressive challenge. Many people made a move into the workforce at an early age, some having dropped out of school prior to actually getting their high school diploma, believing that the companies they’d work for offered long-standing and secure jobs. Times are ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       All work and no play… Can make your business a pretty dull place. Planning social gatherings for your employees outside of work is one of the best ways to encourage a healthy work environment where team morale can thrive.  If your organization hasn’t done an outing in a while, consider planning an office event and lock it in the company calendar! It’s been a trend for employers to organize social activities outside the workplace for employees and ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       ContinuED has been steadily evolving since last summer – Version 2.3 is in its final development stages and will be released this summer. In the meantime, I’ve been steadily going through 2.2.2 and polishing up some of the existing features. One of the requests that I’ve worked on recently involves the attendance registers. For those of you who don’t know, ContinuED can create several different types of attendance or self-study registers. In ContinuED 2.1, ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 4 minutes       Since the release of the iPad in the US on April 3, 2010, Apple has sold over 2 million units. That’s pretty impressive. The release of most new Apple products, especially one as sleek and sexy as the iPad, always causes excitement and sensation spurred on by the Apple faithful that’s the envy of most other companies. Lots of content has already been written about the iPad and there is certainly no shortage of expert opinions and forecasts. Some experts ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       Do you ever think there are not enough hours in the day to get your ever-increasing work done? By the time you finish one task, you have 10 more emails and three co-workers asking for assistance. I sometimes get overwhelmed with the sheer number of small, but still important, tasks to complete on a daily basis. To help keep productive and remain sane at the same time, try some of these time management tips: Try to plan out your day. Write a to-do list and record a due ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       The new PD Place™ installation manual has been created for clients who want to have more control over the PD Place™ installation process within their internal network. Problem In the past, due to the technical requirements of PD Place™, the process of installing the software required the direct assistance of a PD Place™ developer. However, this meant that the PD Place™ developer required access to the servers where PD Place™ and its associated data would be ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       With each new version of ContinuED®, many new and exciting features are added. These features range from minor adjustments to large scale changes. How does the ContinuED® team determine what new features are added? When the ContinuED® team receives a new feature request, the request is recorded in a list of changes. This list of changes is reviewed by the ContinuED® team between releases. If the request is a feature that many clients will find useful, the ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       In FileMaker Pro 9 one of the major changes was a non-modal dialog for scripts and script editing. Along with that was the ability to put scripts in folders. Now in FileMaker Pro 11, that ability has been extended to layouts. An improved Manage Layouts dialog allows the developer to create folders of layouts as well as separators (appear as lines separating layout names). It also allows the developer to edit the layout options, show/hide in layout menus, re-order ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       In version 3.7, functionality was added at the in-service level, to allow you to specify unique registration restrictions rules. If you have not tried this functionality, I strongly suggest that you do since registration restrictions add a whole new dimension to PD Place™. These registration restrictions rules apply only to the individual in-service where they are entered. They can be applied to all staff from a specific location and/or only those associated ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 3 – 4 minutes       The world is quickly becoming a “Get it here and now” society with so many of us needing to be “plugged in” and looking for the easiest way to get what we need when we need it! We have learned to multi-task whether we wanted to or not, and in this vain we are almost forced to look at other ways we are able to obtain the training we require without the hassle of traveling or going off-site for hours or days at a time. With every position I have held, I ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 – 3 minutes       Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m a big believer in product training. Why? I will never forget sitting by myself at table in university, pondering the mystery of abstract algebra. Several cups of coffee later, I was dazed, confused, and not much farther ahead in my pursuit of…wait, what was I pursuing again? I didn’t even have the answer to that question. It was not until I met with my professor and several other classmates that I could put the pieces together. Why? ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       The Importance of Project Requirements Defining detailed requirements for a project is one of the most important steps in the early stages of the project lifecycle. It helps further identify and break down the user’s high level requirements and address each of their problems and challenges that they face with their current system. I recall an old proverb “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail”. How true is this for the projects that you’ve been exposed ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 2 minutes       Last night, the CoreSolutions team met up at Palasad for a night of food, fun, and games. We participated in Palasad’s Corporate Olympics and a great time was had by all! The event is designed to bring the entire office together to work in teams through a series of timed activities. From pool to 3-point basketball to skee-ball and bowling, our teams all fought hard to win the title of the Corporate Olympics Gold Medal winners! Each team was also tasked with coming ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       With each new release of FileMaker we get to see many incredible new features! However, it makes keeping up with your FileMaker skills a full time job, and for most of us, we already have full time jobs. Whether we are a FileMaker user tasked with keeping our company database up-to-date and functional, or a certified FileMaker Developer creating a custom software solution for a client, where do we go to stay informed and how do we find the time? Lucky for us, ... Read More

Estimated Time To Read This: 1 – 2 minutes       The Government of Cuba has established a new entry requirement that is effective May 1st, 2010. Travelers visiting Cuba must present proof of health insurance to cover medical care fees that may be incurred during their trip. This insurance must be issued by a Cuban insurance entity or by a foreign insurance company recognized by Cuba. The insurance policy should be purchased in the traveler’s home country but for those tourists arriving without proper ... Read More