Search results matching tag 'IT'

Taking business meetings online...

wbruce — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:04:00 GMT

This week we procurred licenses for Microsoft LiveMeeting Professional. This is an online meeting system that will allow the APA to host meetings over the Internet. Presenters will be able to share meeting materials such as files from Word, Excel, PowerPoint or other applications with meeting participants. It has many features, but its key value will be in its potential to lower meeting costs for the association.

Traditional conference calls cost around $.32 per user per minute. At that rate, a five person call lasting on hour would cost nearly $100. LiveMeeting supports computer based audio conferencing using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) to allow users to hold conversations via their computers. Because LiveMeeting is licensed based on meeting organizers at a cost of $18 per month per organizer, using the system for even one meeting each month more than covers the cost of the system.

In addition to voice support, LiveMeeting works very well with webcams to allow for multi-point video conferencing. This will potentially allow for more personal interactions during conferences. The system also allows for computer to telephone audio conferenceing meaning that users who don't have the needed computer equipment can still participate in confereces that use LiveMeeting.

We are going to be using the system for some upcoming meetings supporting the DSMV and Budget committees.

More information cann be found at http://www.livemeeting.com

MacAttack at Microsoft's TechMentor and VSLive events...

wbruce — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:16:00 GMT

Among the many regular events that I find myself attending are Microsoft's TechMentor and Visual Studio conferences. These are usually held in wonderfully tropical cities where you can be cruelly trapped in windowless conference rooms for hours on end. As I write this post, I am on a brief break from a session on the evolution of Microsoft PowerShell and the nitty-gritty of modifying outputs for redirection, while just 30 feet away, a slight breeze is forcing the many palm and fern trees dance seductively around the pool. It is 82 degrees out there and the water is probably just the right temperature.

Meanwhile, back in Nerdville it is a cool 68 degrees with a steady deluge of PowerPoint slides. What is quite interesting is the choice of laptops among the attendees and more so among the event staff and presenters. Many of them are using Macs! Even the event registration is being done on Mac hardware. All are either using BoodCamp or VMWare Fusion to run Windows on them, but the choice is clear that Mac is preferred for the moment. This was not what I expected from a Microsoft conference, but I see it as a good sign for the industry.

What's that? A Mac at the APA?

wbruce — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:28:00 GMT

Yes, it is true. I have been using a Mac for a couple months now. Those of you who know me well enough will be familiar with my long held disdain for many Apple products, but over the past year, I have been (finally) won over. I started with the iPhone last spring.

After nearly convulsing from seeing Dr. Hales with one and the thought of trying to make it work with our systems, I was swayed by the simplicity of many of the iPhone's applications. True, it is woefully inadequate for business email for the time being and its best feature (a large crisp display) is also its worst (it smudges constantly). On the other hand, the Google Maps application and a few other widgets are head and shoulders above anything on Windows Mobile. So I eventually made the switch and bought the iPhone and after a few futile attempts at getting it to work with our servers, sufficed to use GMail as a forwarding service. Otherwise the phone is great.

It is possible that the positive experience with the iPhone opened my mind a bit, but I also credit Apple’s move to Intel and the improvements in Mac OSX 10.5 for my eventual purchase of a MacBook last December. After a few days, I realized that I was not plagued by the deep-seated frustration that accompanied all my previous attempts at using Mac computers had brought. What helped is that I was busy working extensively in Linux for an APA project and found that the consistency in the Mac console with that of Linux was quite refreshing. Afterwards, I passed the MacBook on to one of my staff and purchased a MacBook Pro that I now use almost exclusively.

Since then I have adopted the use of VMWare Fusion to run the Windows Apps I need in a virtual machine. So, I am now a full convert. IT has now started using Macs more and we are evaluating them for potential use in specific areas of Publishing. A brave new world indeed.

The quest for DB websites: SharePoint, Joomla and LAMP...

wbruce — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:59:00 GMT

For well over a year we’ve been working on finding ways to help our district branches with website hosting. Initially, we sought out to develop a lightweight content management system for smaller branches who have limited or no websites. What we come up with was a nice little application that was quite easy to use, but never caught on. It suffered from being too limited and lacked many features that DBs want.

Last summer, several branches submitted infrastructure grant requests for web design and development work. Most of them were well thought out and had clear and reasonable goals, but were not individually unique. Rather than funding several small development efforts, we elected to revisit the APA provided option and explore ways to improve it so that it would be more attractive. Ultimately, we decided to scrap our internal work and opt for an outside vendor.
Last week, we approved a work order with Susquehanna, a local SharePoint Integrator. They will be building a portal system based on Microsoft SharePoint server that will allow district branches to have full-featured websites that include many of the same features found on www.psych.org such as member directory, member’s areas, and easy content management. We are working with a small group of branches in the pilot and development of this and hope to make significant progress before the annual meeting.

Alternatively, we have been working with Dr. Sharmat to provide hosted sites on a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) server using the open source content management system Joomla. This system is now available and we can host a few sites if any district branches want to experiment with it. Joomla is similar in approach to our initial work, but much more full featured. It is a good tool for creating a web presence, but has limitations as well. Key among them is its lack of integration with our back office member data, so testers will need to keep that in mind.

The New York work in progress can be viewed here.

Anyone interested in having a LAMP based Joomla site setup can contact me for details.

Psych.org was completely updated this week...

wbruce — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 03:59:00 GMT

After nearly fifteen months of planning and development, the joint project between Information Technology and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs is finally out of the box. The APA now has a new website and for the first time in its history, the site is backed by a full--featured content management system. The previous site consisted of more than 30,000 files and all content was managed individually by staff. All pages were "hand-coded" and all content required several iterations of quality checks. The new site uses the GM5 content management system form Syscom and integrates with the association management system in our back-office.

Once all the launch-day glitches were resolved, I began thinking about how far the site has come over the years and decided to dig up some history...

The first APA website was launched in 1996:

It received its first makeover in 1997:

Then in 1998, the APA settled on this general feel which lasted for several years:

In early 2002, the site was given a much needed update:

Then in late 2003, we arrived at this:

...which was updated slightly in 2006 to this:

Now, once again we've updated the site and it has again improved in many ways. So far, the overwhelming majority of feedback has been positive. Some aspects of the site may take some getting used to. Aside from having a much more modern "look and feel," the new site is a huge step away from the old navigation system. Most of the previous versions of the site took an organizational chart perspective to grouping information, but the new site is our first attempted at audience based navigation. We believe this is a more efficient approach to navigation and that the majority of our users will adapt quickly. Time will be the real measure though...

I am already thinking of what should come next for the site. There are a few nifty technologies on the horizon that may mature into real opportunities in a year or so. But for now, feel free take a look at the new www.psych.org and let us know what you think. You can post a comment to this blog or you can fill out the feedback form here.

www.psych.org is getting a much needed update...

wbruce — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 19:11:00 GMT

We have been working hard over the past year on updating our primary website. Many have noted the site's various shortcomings and we have gone to great lengths to provide a fresh image and new features to the website.

From the Office of Communications and Public Affairs:

On February 6, the American Psychiatric Association will debut its new association Web site (www.psych.org). The redesigned site will feature a user-friendly and updated format, better search capability and new and updated content. The Web site will be a resource for physician members and other mental health providers and those seeking information on psychiatry and mental health. Please note that as part of this transition, the Web site will be down for several hours on February 6 beginning at 10 am EST

Got an opinion about the site? Post a comment below...