Idea Man

Every once and a while I get to talking to the folks that manage our student information system (Banner) and man…. does it sound like a big mountain of complicated code and applications (with a hefty price tag to boot)! Student information systems have been in use for a long time now and I wondered [...]

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Maybe I am naive, but I would think it would be a lot easier from a security monitoring stand point to stop have processes like rpc and ftp opening up random ports.  I want to be able to take a baseline of what ports a server is listening on and if there are any new [...]

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I want to be able to use any capable IMAP email client (okay, there aren’t too many capable ones I know…) and be able to manipulate my email filters at the server level instead of at the client level. A couple of reasons for this are…
If I set a filter (ex: a vacation response message) [...]

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I think a “Reply & Delete” button in email would be helpful. Several times throughout the day I receive requests for tasks to be done and I have to perform the task, reply to the sender with a quick “all set” then delete the message. The “Reply & Delete” button would remove the original message [...]

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Yeah, I know, I know, everyone has come up with their own FUSSP (Final Ultimate Solution to Spam Problem). Well, here is an idea I had that is losely based on SPF. It is called “DNS Mail”, see what you think.
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DNS Mail (stands for “Do Not Spam”).
DNS Mail is somewhat like SPF (Sender Policy Framework) [...]

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When I pass a yard sale now I wonder if they make any money because I assume people driving by have less and less cash on them then in years back. I always try and put purchases on my credit card because it makes it convenient at the end of the month…. less trips to [...]

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Have you ever seen a keyboard with a laminated piece of paper cut out like a long rectangular template to fit around the function keys? They do it here for Banner to help end users know what function keys perform what actions (like copy, paste, delete, help etc,…) Wouldn’t it be cool if you could [...]

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I developed the password management system we use at the college and I want to revamp it to allow for self service. Let me explain, if a person does not change their password after 6 months it will be reset for them and they have to contact the helpdesk, prove their identity, then get a [...]

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I noticed that I never use the PCMCIA slots on the laptops I have had…. not sure why, I guess the equipment I need has always been built in. I have a new razr phone (which I highly recommend for guys who do not want to look like a handy man carrying a phone on [...]

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I had an idea the other day when we were looking at our Data Center racks, we were trying to figure out where we can locate some new systems. I thought…. we have lots of rack space but it is not contiguous. What if the major vendors rebuilt their larger rack unit models (ex: 7 [...]

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