About
April 28, 2007 by Martin
MartinLanner.com is a blog serving as an outlet for my excursions in all kinds of technology, but will also, from time to time, feature thoughts on other matters I would like to share.
I’m currently working at Novani as a Sr. Consultant, working with all kinds of technologies and the integration between them. My articles and comments on this blog are not necessarily those of my employer’s. With a few exceptions, in the data centers I manage nearly everything is based on open source software. Most recently, before my current position, I worked with real-time traffic and transportation systems, or as it’s called in the traffic businesses, Intelligent Transportation Systems.
In the drive for continuous improvement and perfection of systems, both at work and outside of work, I constantly review technologies, devices, and systems. Over the years (I think) I’ve worked with most aspects of Internet and telephone related technologies, including:
- mobile systems (WWAN),
- LANs and WLANs,
- WANs,
- security, including firewalls and VPNs,
- custom and shrink-wrapped software development and deployment,
- hardware installation and configuration,
- all the “common” desktop, server, and mobile operating systems,
- VoIP
By nature I’m a curious person. So, I spend countless hours on researching, thinking about, and testing technologies. As I already mentioned, what drives me is usually the urge to make something cheaper, more efficient, or more accessible. I guess I’m a bit of an entrepreneur. Although I have a lot of ideas, I can’t say I’m an innovator. I’d like to be. That said, though, I like to challenge conventional thinking, as I think it allows us to see and think about things from different perspectives and come up with good, balanced solutions.
My curiosity has led me to explore and use open source software as much as I possibly can. As mentioned, I don’t use open source exclusively. In today’s business and technology environment I don’t think most people or organizations can. Not yet. However, I’m a big believer in and proponent of open source. I use proprietary and open source products in a mix that works well for me and the intended users, or audience in marketing terms. Moreover, I’m also a large proponent of standards, whether it be technology protocol standards or just standard ways of doing things in and organization. Standards help tremendously in forming a foundation on which technology and people can interact and do it in an efficient and unambiguous way. Still, from company to company and person to person, solutions usually have to be customized to suit the specific needs of the organization or the individuals.
Technology to me is a way to solve problems, and thus, I see technology as an enabler, increasing efficiency and speed. Correctly used I think technology is amazing, helping to make our lives simpler on many levels. But, when not understood or incorrectly used, it can sometimes create problems and frustration. My goal is obviously to achieve the former. By sharing thoughts, ideas, and solutions on this blog, I hope that I will be able to make a contribution and takes steps towards reaching that goal for myself and others.
I hope you will enjoy the articles, thoughts, ideas, and solutions on my blog. If you have comments, criticism, or corrections to anything I publish here, feel free to make your voice heard by commenting on my posts. If you you want to contact me personally for advice, discuss something, or other have other inquiries, please don’t hesitate to contact me by sending a personal message.
