One stormy day …

PC manufacturers insist on inflicting swollen and faulty security suite software on unsuspecting customers. Software to protect you from all evils sounds like a good concept, right? Good idea, bad implementation from Symantec and from MacAfee. One of my first setup acts is to uninstall suite software – generally it’s just a trial anyway. MacAfee […]

I’m intrigued by the idea of lenses. They are, in effect, a summary type of web site. A lens is a single web page. Each lens focuses on a specific topic. It might be an introduction to that topic, and as such, a great place to start your research. The lens might a person experience […]

I rely on spell checkers to cover me on my poor typing and spelling skills! Most apps that need them have the capability built in. This is not true of many web based text typing situations.
I was working with one of the residents to install a web browser based news posting application on the staff […]

One of our association clients recently setup a website for external as well as internal use. For external viewers there is some basic information about the community. Residents can login and access facilities schedules and make reservations in classes and to use facilities. We set up a kiosk in the lobby to allow residents to […]

Most large organizations have strict controls on Internet access, using proxy servers, filters and monitoring software. This can represent a large overhead in capital and support costs. Accordingly most small organizations don’t bother.
Several clients have asked about controlling Internet access to prevent wasted time. Most recognize the inevitability of employee use of the office Internet […]

I was invited to speak before a large and active computer club at one of our clients, Leisure World Community Association. Since so many home computers I see are riddled with problems, I gave them an overview of why this can happen. This was over a year ago, but the conditions faced by home computer […]

Most ISP’s and free Email providers like Yahoo, MSN and Google have liberalized their file size policies and allow files of 10 MB or so. This makes it easier to send large documents, but still isn’t enough when there are several, large pictures or files that have to get to somebody quickly.
Here is an overview […]

The Real Estate Department of one of our HOA clients is housed in an irregularly shaped building with lots of glass walls. Some of the real estate agents offices are not reachable with network wire in a clean manner; there would be wire moldings on some walls, which the Broker wanted to avoid.
Wireless networking allows […]

In the good old days, we worried about equipment failures, and the occasional operator error that could trash a PC, most notably the hard drive. The applications were simple, mostly forms of word processing. So the best safety net was a good backup.
Times are different now. Applications are more diverse, often involving multiple backup strategies. […]

The computer can be a significant aid in the administration and management of the landscaping operations in a homeowner’s association:
· Work Orders – track work orders from initiation by a resident or employee, through completion. Enter the date, time, location, and problem. Then enter the assignment information and print for the fieldwork. Then enter the […]

HOA’s, like most other organizations, make use of forms to get information from residents and employees into the proper administrative hands. There are several alternatives to create and use custom forms:

Word, Excel, etc. – using your Word Processing program to create a custom form can get the job done for simple forms. When the formatting […]

Community Associations Institute
A link to the national organization of Community Associations Institute.

CAI-Arizona
A link to the Central Arizona chapter of the Community Associations Institute, for you fellow residents of Arizona.

One of our HOA clients is a gated community with three staffed gates. All three share a common database of residents and guest permissions. The main gate hosts the server with the database and a local network so there is direct access. The outlying gates, however, are remote and not feasibly connected by standard hard […]

One of the vertical markets for our computer consulting services is Homeowner’s Associations. We do Information Technology for these associations. We act as their IT Manager, as their IT Department. Homeowner Associations (HOA’s) handle the common administrative and operational tasks for a group of homeowners. An HOA may service a few homes, and apartment/condo complex, […]