Technology in Practice (TiP) Committee Archive

The following is a recap of from the November 26, 2002 TiP meeting:

COMPUTERS IN ARCHITECTURE: THREAT OR MENACE?

Marty Fries, Owner of Imagimedia, an IT consulting firm specializing in computer infrastructure for architectural firms, delivered an enthralling and entertaining discussion on the guiding principles of Computer Technology at last month’s AIA Baltimore TiP Committee meeting.

As a consultant, Fries sees many circumstances that absolutely WASTE TIME, MONEY AND ULTIMATELY OPPORTUNITY! “Think of computers as toasters”, he declared. “And, as such, they should be designed to be equally reliable.” Fries advocates “cloning” or ghosting” a well-tested base configuration of your office PC onto a removable hard drive that can simply be swapped out and re-booted when the latest downloaded utility crashed your system.

This “quick-fix” takes a little forethought, planning, and when swapped out in ten minutes after the crash, can save hundreds of dollars of struggle to put your PC “back to the way it was.” He also advocates using battle-tested versions of software rather than the “latest and greatest.” “Don’t be a Microsoft’s beta tester,” he warns. “Most of my clients are just now migrating from (operating systems) NT to 2000,” he further comments, which echoed the general theme of prudence and caution relayed throughout the presentation.

When the discussion evolved from building a solid PC foundation to creating processes that provide opportunity for efficiency and enhanced efficiency, the audience moved to the edge of their seats. Fries’ background in AutoCAD allowed him to provide a number of pointers that can provide the “leg up” in an approach for consistent processes. “Creating processes may take a little while for everyone to adjust, but will provide a more efficient and reliable set of standards for new employee-integration modifications by other employees.”

In a final word of caution, when it comes to purchasing the latest version of any software, Marty Fries encouraged all firms to remain at the “middle of the curve,” instead of on the “bleeding edge of the dying edge” in order to attract the best talent to the firm. For further information on Imagimedia or to consult with Marty Fries, contact him at 301.549.9949.