Learning Center

These articles exist to provide you with domain specific knowledge so you can make better decisions and get a general understanding of these topics.

All potential clients are encouraged to read them.  Many of them are fairly dated but much of the information is still relevant.

Articles by Bob Lindquist

Hosting

DNS: about the Domain Name System
Information you need to know about yourname.com including delays, transferring domains and protecting your personal information.

Don't use an email address from your Internet service provider (ISP)
Several reasons why you should maintain control over your own email.

Email: Information every business owner should know
There are probably a few things you do not know about email. This article touches on catch-all email boxes, forwarding, webmail, junk email, auto-responders, bulk email and SPF.

SEO: Basic Search Engine Optimization
This article is meant to provide an introduction to techniques that can be applied to a web site to help move it to the top of the search engine rankings.

The Cloud: Capabilities, Costs and Concerns
The cloud means different things to different people. Every person trying to get a job in IT that pays better than entry level tech support is probably putting “cloud” somewhere on their resume. I would define it, in general, as using software, storage, computation and other related services that are typically accessed remotely.

Marketing

Building a Personal Brand
There are steps everyone should take so they appear professionally when someone looks them up on the Internet. If you are looking for a new job it is even more important.

Facebook: Guidelines for Running Your Facebook Business Page (Outdated)
This article covers an introduction to the terminology of Facebook for those who have never used it as well as some general guidelines for maintaining your page.

Google Ads: Basics of paying for ads on Google
Google Ads is very powerful and widely used. Like many other services, you get what you pay for.

Keeping Control of your Online Identity
For both business and personal use, people sign up for many services online. Keeping control of these "virtual" assets can be very important. With things like your web site address and email address appearing on virtually all of your marketing materials, losing access to those accounts can be devastating.

Minimum Online Presence For Any Business
Every business needs a minimum level of online presence.

What is a content management system and why does your web site need one?
This article attempts to explain what a content management system (CMS) is and the benefits of building your web site around one.

Who has control over "your" web site?
People often do not have control over their own sites. Make sure you have the access you need.

IT

Fast Internet in Rural Places
Exploring different options for Internet access. Article covers satellite as well as cellular and explains some of the differences and other information you should know before deciding.

FileMaker Pro: Purchasing, Sharing, Mobile and More... (Outdated)
This article is not meant to be an intro to databases and their uses, it is meant to help explain various options and way to deploy a solution using FileMaker software.

IT Policies for Small Business
Every small business needs to put some thought into how they manage their IT resources and employees.

Open Source: Save Money with Free Software
While the software is not typically as good as commercial equivalents, free software can do a lot for your business.

Preserving your digital legacy (or what you may have left out of your estate plan)
This is not about intellectual property, it is about connections with other people.

Outdoors

Essential uses for Paracord (aka 550 cord)
Parachute cord maybe be referred to as paracord, cord, cordage and 550 cord. “550” refers to the military standard for type III cord, which is required to have a break strength of 550 lbs. Hence the name 550. It is not, nor would we encourage its use as life safety rope.

Essential uses for Space Blankets (Mylar Blankets, Survival Blankets)
People refer to these items as space blankets, survival blankets and mylar blankets.

Fire / EMS Study Guides and Articles

Bob used to run a "hobby" company that sold misc Fire/EMS gear.  He created and used to sell a number of study guides related to firefighting, EMT and various certifictions and classes.  They are available for free at http://emsalpha.com

Boolean Logic Simulator written in Java

Try out this free boolean logic simulator to explore logic gates. Bob wrote it in the year 2000.  It might not work in a modern browse4r or a computer without Java installed.  It was pretty cool at the time.