Eric Burns Online — Page 2 of 14 — My Virtual Take on Tech

RaspberryPi and Safecracking

May 13, 2024 Creative Projects Raspberry Pi No Comments

Two friends both have a safe or two where they don’t know the combination – either the family member that owned it has passed, or they’ve forgotten it. I’ve read about using a Single Board Computer (like a Raspberry Pi) and a stepper motor to manually do the different combinations.…

In the IoT Space, Is It a Microcontroller or What?

I’m working on an introductory article related to building IoT devices. With that I’m trying to use simpler and non-threatening language that is reasonably accurate. Since I’ll be referencing some common open source hardware as a way of getting started learning, I’m having a hard time with how to classify…

Key Differentiators For Chat/Conversational AI Platforms

March 31, 2024 Conversational AI No Comments

When selecting a system for your CAI (Conversational AI) system, there are features that will be “must-haves.” If a solution can’t offer these then they should be dropped from your list. There will also be features that should strongly influence the decision. This article started as the 4 key differentiators…

Use a Rearview Mirror Board to Stay Confident

January 30, 2024 Attitude No Comments

Life can be a rollercoaster, and we are our own worst enemies when it comes to self-doubt and insecurity. A lot of people create Vision Boards as a visual representation of their goals. Rather than go down a path about (ABC) Goals, I’d like to first share about a different…

Legos and the Sales Engineer Skill Set

December 31, 2023 Attitude Sales Engineers SE Skills No Comments

If there is a great analogy for the value of a diverse skill set and the correct attitude with Sales Engineers, it certainly would be Legos. Legos are building blocks, and the name is an abbreviation of two Danish works “leg godt”, meaning “play well”. I had originally heard that…

Me in 2023, and Selling at 23

December 21, 2023 Attitude No Comments

I recently shared this on LinkedIn and thought I’d also publish it here and add some more details. I was the first sales associate in the office with their own computer. The plaques on the wall include an award from a training event, an award for being Sales Rookie of…

Demos – The Website

November 30, 2023 High Level Tech Intro Sales Engineers No Comments

Many technical solutions are related to a website or web based solution. And when doing a demo of those solutions it helps to emulate that website to show the system interacting with. It might be showing how Fastly can log everything that happens at the edge, or showing a customized…

Getting Started Learning Programming

October 30, 2023 High Level Tech Intro SE Skills No Comments

HelloWorld() Several recent articles have listed Programming as a top skill to learn. Even if you don’t intend it as a career, there are many advantages to at least a BASIC* (pun intended) understanding of it. As someone who learned to program in elementary school, I’ve seen the lifelong benefits…

The Coming Evolution of Remote Work

September 30, 2023 Attitude No Comments

Changes on the demographics of the US workforce will have a dramatic, perhaps painful, effect on “Remote First” companies. COVID and economic circumstances forced a lot of firms to allow people to work from home. Some decided it was a differentiator to be “Remote First” and prioritize this cost-saving methodology. …

True Grit as Company Culture

August 31, 2023 Attitude No Comments

grit /ɡrit/ noun 1. small loose particles of stone or sand. “she had a bit of grit in her eye” 2. courage and resolve; strength of character. “he displayed the true grit of the navy pilot“ Culture matters. It shapes the attitudes and effectiveness of any group. There are many…