Joe Stangarone, Author at mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

Build a web (and mobile) app in 30 minutes without programming

By Joe Stangarone / Mobile apps, Web Applications, Web Development

If your company plans on building mobile apps this coming year, or if you just wish there was a faster way to develop enterprise web applications, you should really try the newly revamped m-Power Trial.

The m-Power Trial was recently updated, and now also lets you build a mobile web app. In roughly 30 minutes, you will create an enterprise web app, along with tablet and smartphone versions of that web app. The best part: Everything is done without programming!

You can try it here: m-Power Trial

HTML5 Tutorial: Learn to use the canvas element

By Joe Stangarone / HTML5

Adobe Flash has been one of the most widely used browser plugins for years.That’s all changing now, thanks in large part to mobile computing. Why? Tablets and smartphones are rising in popularity, but Flash isn’t supported by many of these devices. In fact, Adobe even announced a few months ago that they will stop developing Flash for mobile.

What does that mean to you? That means if your business apps currently use Flash, you’ll need to find another way to create the Flash-based elements. This problem will affect quite a few businesses, as many dashboards, charts, and graphs used in BI applications currently rely on Flash.

What should you do? There are many ways to avoid Flash in your web apps. Javascript is often used for animations, and there are a number of open source options for graphing. For instance, we use jFreeChart for graphing in m-Power.

While those are some current options, the future lies in the canvas element. Many believe the canvas element (found in HTML5) will largely replace Flash on the web. What does it do? It lets you create interactive images and animations on the web (much like Flash does now), and can be used for nearly anything, from simple games to data visualization. To fully use the canvas element, you’ll have to know javascript. But, if you would like to understand the basics of the canvas and how to begin using it, we’ve written up an HTML5 canvas tutorial, which you can find right here.

What’s a QR code? Should you even care?

By Joe Stangarone / QR Codes

You’ve probably seen those strange-looking black and white boxes (like the one on the left) popping up all over the place. You may have seen them on bus stations, websites, business cards, and more. What are they, and should my business pay attention to them?

They’re called “QR Codes” (short for “Quick Response Codes”) and are used to encode nearly any type of data. QR codes have become popular recently because they are perfect for transferring data to a smartphone or tablet. When a user scans a QR code with their device, any data stored in that code instantly appears on the smartphone/tablet.

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Want to try it for yourself? If you have a smartphone/tablet, just download a free QR code reader app and use it to scan the QR Code on this page. It will pull up this blog post on your phone/tablet. Pretty cool, isn’t it? Now, let’s take a look at what type of data can be stored in a QR Code. …

What’s a QR code? Should you even care?Read More »

6 must-have features of good reporting software

By Joe Stangarone / web reporting

I believe we’re seeing a shift in IT responsibilities. As more and more computer-savvy employees enter the workforce, many of the traditional IT-specific tasks are being handled by the end user. For example, simple tasks like plugging in a monitor or keyboard are easily handled by most end users.

The same is true for business software. Certain task, which used to require highly technical software, can now be handled directly by the users (with the right software). For example, reporting used to be an IT task. The only reporting option for end users went through the IT department. Now, many of the enterprise reporting options are simple enough for end users. If an end user needs a report, they can either build their own, or access a pre-built web-based report that pulls data from the database in real-time. …

6 must-have features of good reporting softwareRead More »

Pivot table comparison: Excel v. Google v. Web-based

By Joe Stangarone / Web Pivot Tables

Pivot tables are great tools for spotting hidden details and trends in a sea of data. One pivot table lets you quickly examine nearly any aspect of your data. Also, unlike static reports, the user determines what parts of the data to analyze.

The big question with pivot tables is this: Which pivot table option is best for my company? Right now, there are three main pivot table options: Google Docs, MS Excel, and database-driven web pivot tables. How do they compare? We’ve put together a handy one-page guide which explains the differences between each pivot table option. I hope you find it useful. …

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A dirty little secret about screen-scraping

By Joe Stangarone / Modernization

Suppose you’re buying a new computer. You find a great-looking computer at a local store, bring it home, boot it up, and…it’s extremely slow. You open up the case only to discover that all of the internal parts are at least 10 years old. You storm back to the store demanding your money back because they sold you an old computer. Their response: “Of course it’s new, look at the new, beautiful case we put it in.”

Of course, that’s a ridiculous story. No self-respecting computer store would sell you a “new” computer that’s actually old on the inside. Why then, do some companies try to sell “modernization services” which do little more than put a flashy new case on old parts? …

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Why users don’t use Business Intelligence

By Joe Stangarone / Business Dashboards, Business Intelligence

One of the biggest problems facing companies using business intelligence software is this: Most users don’t use it. This problem has been discussed in great detail, with the general consensus being that users typically don’t use BI software because it’s too difficult. Makes sense, right?

While I believe that problem does play a role in adoption rates, I recently read an old Gartner BI study that touches on another possible reason. Many BI tools require that the user stop operating in their traditional workspace and move to another environment to view information. …

Why users don’t use Business IntelligenceRead More »

8 things to look for in a BI tool

By Joe Stangarone / Business Intelligence

By now, you probably understand the concept of business intelligence. It helps you keep a pulse on your business and make decisions based on factual data. It helps you spot trends (both negative and positive) and adjust your business plan accordingly.

But, the difficult question with BI is this: What should I look for? What makes a good BI solution? If you’ve ever looked for BI software, you quickly learned just how many options exist. How do you know which one is best for your company? …

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How to build a secure customer portal in one day

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

Building a customer/vendor portal (also called an extranet) is a tricky task. Typically, one portal must display different data to different users. If one user logs in and sees data that they shouldn’t see, you’ll have a big problem on your hands.

For example, suppose that your product pricing varies by customer. If one customer logs in and sees pricing meant for another customer, you’ll have problems. Or, suppose that your customers have different levels of users which require different permissions. For example, the CEO must see different data than the salespeople, and the salespeople from one region must see different data than those from another region, and so on…

All in all, it’s an extremely complicated application. Fortunately, extranets are actually easy to create with the right process. If you’re planning on building an extranet/portal, this video explains how to build a secure extranet in one day.

Turning COBOL programmers into web developers

By Joe Stangarone / Web Development

Back in 1997, Gartner estimated that 80% of the world’s businesses ran on COBOL. These days, the numbers are a little more uncertain. Some say that number is down to 70%. I’ve also seen surveys that put it right around 62%. Regardless of the figures, one thing is clear: COBOL is still widely used in many businesses.

However, many of these businesses find themselves in a tough situation. They have their COBOL programmers on staff to maintain their current apps. But, they don’t have the skills necessary to build modern web apps, and can’t afford to bring in new employees. …

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Author name: Joe Stangarone

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