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Implementing Home Screen Quick Actions in Swift

Implementing Home Screen Quick Actions in Swift

Ahead of Twin Cities Pride 2017, we decided to make some changes to our accompanying iOS app that would take advantage of new iPhone features. The Pride app serves as a guide for the festival and parade, and is written in Swift 3.0. One newly implemented feature is known as Home Screen Quick Actions. This feature gives … Continued

iPad Computing = Almost 100%

iPad Computing = Almost 100%

Yes, I’ve switched my main computer over to an iPad. No, it doesn’t work for 100% of my computing needs. But. It’s the future. It’s small. It’s amazing. And it’s teaching me to think differently. Here’s how. Why I Made the Jump First, why did I choose to move from a MacBook to an iPad? There were … Continued

5 Reasons Content Can Derail Your Website Launch

5 Reasons Content Can Derail Your Website Launch

Guest post by Liz Lacey-Gotz, principal of Liz LG LLC and senior writer consultant at Union Park Marketing. Who among us has not experienced a website whose vision of excellence was never quite achieved? Someone who gave up wrangling too many stakeholders and a distraught writer, vowing to get everything back on track in “phase 2.” And, … Continued

Digging Into`dig`: DNS Exploration

Digging Into`dig`: DNS Exploration

Third in a series. Read the first and second posts. Like I explained in the first two posts, one of the more useful ways of debugging web application problems is interrogating the DNS system, and the tool to do it is already on your computer: dig(1). So, I was researching how Amazon’s ElastiCache works to debug a … Continued

Digging Into`dig`: Get Your Hands Dirty

Digging Into`dig`: Get Your Hands Dirty

Second in a series. View the first post here. In the last post introducing the dig(1) command, you’ll recall seeing an entry like this: $ dig +noall +answer google.com google.com. 300 IN A 216.58.216.238 Every DNS record has a similar format to this, and the fields are: Name The domain name. TTL Time To Live, the … Continued

How to write a great RFP [Spoiler: Don’t]

How to write a great RFP [Spoiler: Don’t]

I’m just going to come right out and say it: RFPs are terrible.  You (person tasked with writing them and reviewing responses) know it. I (person tasked with reading them and responding) know it. RFPs (Request for Proposal, for those of you lucky enough not to know what this acronym means), are cumbersome, time consuming, and … Continued

Digging into`dig`: An Intro

Digging into`dig`: An Intro

First in a three-part series. Read parts two and three.  While debugging an issue with ElastiCache for the Star Tribune, I had a chance to use a public Internet research tool that not many people know about: The global DNS system. Research tool? Yes, although most everyone thinks of DNS as a new-fangled form of Yellow Pages that … Continued

Get Started Already. Worry About Stopping Later.

Get Started Already. Worry About Stopping Later.

There are all sorts of marketing strategies to pull you in to buy a product: Buy one get one free! Free consultation! First 30 days free! In the software development world, this often looks like a free analysis of your project and maybe some help organizing your project. Listing out the individual tasks, etc. Perhaps … Continued

Getting Into UX: Expand Your Skills

Getting Into UX: Expand Your Skills

Fifth in a series. Read Beth’s other Getting Into UX posts here.  There are so many different ways to have a career in UX. You essentially get to choose your own adventure by incorporating the skills and knowledge you care about. You may eventually decide that you really care about a specific area in UX, like … Continued

Getting Into UX: Just Start Doing It.

Getting Into UX: Just Start Doing It.

Fourth in a series. Read Beth’s other Getting Into UX posts here.  You’ve just got to start doing UX to get into UX. You’re not going to be awesome at first, but you’re going to get things done. Do you currently work somewhere where UX doesn’t exist? Make it happen! Start wearing that hat. Even if … Continued

Getting Into UX: Talk to People!

Getting Into UX: Talk to People!

Third in a series. Read Beth’s other Getting Into UX posts here.  It’s not an easy task to get hired for your first job in UX. It’s an especially difficult task when you don’t know anyone in the industry. Meeting other people will get your name out in the community, and there’ll be a better chance you’ll … Continued

Getting Into UX: Read. A Lot.

Getting Into UX: Read. A Lot.

Second in a series. Read Beth’s other Getting Into UX posts here.  The first thing I say to anyone interested in UX is go borrow a bunch of books from your friendly local library. Or, pull your e-reader out of retirement and put it to good use with some inexpensive digital copies. I always start … Continued