CoreTech Blog

When you think about the workweek, there’s a good chance that some iteration of the 40-hour week, broken into 9-to-5 shifts on the weekdays is what comes to mind. It’s just the way things are done. However, this may not be a good thing. Let’s consider the origins of our modern work schedule, and how changing it could provide us all with some serious benefits.

If you’re familiar with the combination
Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-B-A-Select-Start, chances are good that you grew up in the 80s. This is because this combination of buttons is the infamous Konami Code, a cheat code that video games (and others, including some websites and software) have continued to reference since it first appeared in 1986.

Let’s examine the Konami Code’s origins, as well as the various ways it has been used since.

There are now five bipartisan bills being considered in the United States House of Representatives, strictly intended to help put some checks on the power that today’s modern technology giants have. Let’s consider what these bills are, and why the current business environment has inspired them.

HIPAA—the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act—is a serious concern for all healthcare providers that operate within the United States, and for good reason! Since August 1996, HIPAA has mandated that these healthcare providers comply with various best practices. While HIPAA is relatively familiar to many people for assorted reasons, fewer know about HITRUST (the Health Information Trust Alliance) and how these acronyms ultimately cooperate with one another.

Accessibility to the Internet is a hot topic because, at this point, almost everyone should be afforded Internet access. The fact that some people don’t have access to the Internet puts them at a severe disadvantage. One group that has major problems with accessibility are disabled people. Let’s discuss what can be done about that.

Remote work is often lauded for its various benefits—and don’t get us wrong, there are certainly plenty of them to account for. However, it must also be said that remote work is far from perfect. Take the environmental impacts it can have, for instance. Let’s discuss how working from home can prove better for the environment, while also addressing the serious problems it has contributed to—and, just maybe, how we can help minimize some of them.

The holiday season is well known as a time off from work to spend with family, but for some, it’s the busiest time of the year. Let’s get to know one such individual for a moment, and what he’s learning can make his job—and his life—much, much easier.

The United States of America is well into its 2020 election season. Social media platforms, and other online services, are taking notice. Given the misuse of social media and other platforms in past contests, there is little wonder that there is some very real pressure on these platforms to establish policy and security measures to prevent these behaviors this time around.

Here, we’ll take a neutral look at the situation, and explain the initiatives that online platforms are now enacting.

In a rare turn of events, Google and Apple have teamed up with local governments to help slow the ongoing spread of COVID-19. How would you like an app that could notify you if someone you had been in proximity to had tested positive for COVID-19? As useful as this collaboration could be to staunching the pandemic, many people are in uproar about it, and have begun to spread misinformation.

With COVID-19 urging people to remain at home, many telecommunications companies have started to make concessions to make life easier for their customers. Whether it is used for entertainment, work, or communication, Internet access is crucial right now, and so ISPs and cell carriers are taking steps to help facilitate this. 

Parker sat at his desk looking at a business card. He watched the snow fall lightly outside his window. He was the last person left in the office, as he typically was this time of year. He put down the business card and got up and walked over to the large pane of glass that was the only insulation from the harsh, cold wintery night. He placed his hand on the window and felt the bitter cold meet the palm of his hand. He stood there for a minute; maybe more than a minute. He began to cry. He was so angry at how things were going.

During the holiday, you will often be put in a position where you need to find some useful technology for co-workers or the ones you love. Today, we take a look at four gadgets that are sure to make even the biggest technophile smile. Let’s get into it. 

Cybersecurity is becoming a massive issue for every organization due to the immense amount of data breaches that take place regularly. Businesses of all types are looking at strategies to protect their sensitive customer and employee data from hackers, malware, and any other potential danger. The problem is it’s not always as simple as just implementing cybersecurity software.

With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the gift-giving holidays rapidly approaching us (can you believe 2019 is almost over? I feel like I just stopped writing 2018 on my checks!), it’s time to take a look at how we can be as safe as possible while shopping on the Internet.

There has been a lot made in the media about the effect that movies and television has had on society. More often than not, the media that is produced is a result of the ebbs and flows that happen in society, which ironically makes the whole notion that television and movies affect society an interesting paradox. The ludicrous portrayal of criminality in media is one issue that is resoundingly debated by lawmakers and sociologists, alike.

The holiday season is here, and the spirit of giving is in the air. Why not give the IT professional in your life a few things that they’ve been wishing for all year? Here, we’ve compiled a list of things you can give them, some of which will cost you (and your business) nothing.

As technology has evolved, so have our capabilities of using it. While this has led to great improvements in how we can live our lives, it has also made it much easier for us to torment and harass one another. This is a huge problem, and growing, so it is important to know how to take a stand against it - both at home, and in the workplace.

The office is a workplace, so it most likely isn’t a place that is often associated with fun and games. However, different aspects of games have been shown to provide significant benefits when introduced into the professional environment. Today, we’ll explore some of the ways that a little frivolity may benefit your office.

Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon. For the past 40+ years audiences from all around the world have become enthralled with the characters, the story, and the technology that existed a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Who knew that it was also a wonderful lesson in modern IT security?For today’s blog, we look at three situations that happened in Star Wars: A New Hope; and, how, if proper IT strategies were put in place, the Empire would have been able to protect its greatest asset.

On March 23rd, 2018, the United States Congress passed another spending bill that could potentially limit individual privacy protection all over the world. This bill included a provision called the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (or CLOUD) Act, which makes changes to the Stored Communications Act of 1986 and provides unelected American officials a considerable amount of power over digital privacy rights.