Macro Systems Blog

A technology-based parody of the classic Christmas story, “A Christmas Carol,” by Charles Dickens.

Once upon a time, in a land not much different from this one, there lived a business owner. His name was Scrooge. He wasn’t an unlikable fellow; jolly and cheerful at any glance, his smile could light up the darkness in anyone’s life. Yet, when the winter months arrived, and a chilled wind blew across the land, so too did a fell gust freeze his heart. It was time to figure out why his systems were hacked (again), and he knew it would be an expensive endeavor. How he hated managing his IT.

It's no secret that Facebook is one of the most visited sites on the Internet. In fact, according to the Alexa rankings, which measure website traffic, facebook.com is ranked second after only Google.com. With this much exposure, and the emanated revenue that comes from this kind of traffic, it has become important for the world's largest and most successful social network to scout out and eliminate possible competitors, many times before those companies even consider themselves potential competitors.

With more businesses becoming aware of the environmental impact of their day-to-day operations, one would assume that a practice like printing would be on the decline due to how wasteful it is. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Despite advances in digital communication, paper consumption continues to increase by 20 percent each year in modern offices.

Data is the lifeblood of business. Therefore, IT workers who maintain business critical systems that "keep the blood pumping" are at the heart of every data-driven organization. Can your business live if an in-house IT worker took a vacation? Many employers think not. Statistics show IT workers have a difficult time "getting away from IT all."

When your business is in need of IT assistance, you want to make sure that you are getting the best of the best. However, the best course of action isn't to just look at someone's qualifications. You also want to look at their personality and other characteristics which can tell you a lot about who you are hiring.

There’s no denying that computers have become a central figure in the rapid growth and success of Western culture. With it brings commentary. In the second half of the 20th century and the first decade-and-a-half of the 21st century, humans have turned to the motion picture to tell the stories they deem important and noteworthy. The growth of technology has not only presented us with our new lifestyle, it has virtually erased the lifestyle of our ancestors, and this revelation leads to fear.

Remote controlled drones are one of the hottest consumer technologies on the market. Businesses are finding ways to profit from them too. You might even own a drone or you’re thinking about buying one. What drone-flying rules should you know before launching it to the heavens?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that cat memes infest the Internet to the point where it’s difficult to not see one. But, have you considered that it might not be that people are obsessed with cats, and that maybe the cats are simply overwhelmed by their ego as a superior race? Perhaps cats understand technology far better than even humans do, and they are the masterminds behind why the Internet has gone cat-crazy.

On your journey through entrepreneurialism, few resources you’ve encountered are as valuable as those that will stick around unconditionally. In fact, few things are as reassuring in the morning as the smell of coffee grounds stewing in the pot, producing that mesmerizing aroma that could snap Sleeping Beauty out of her coma.

In 1977 the first Star Wars movie premiered, entitled “A New Hope.” The science-fiction film became a hit and spawned a franchise that’s still going strong 38 years later, with the upcoming release of its much-anticipated seventh feature film, “The Force Awakens.” In fact, Star Wars is such a big deal that it has its own holiday, celebrated every May 4th (May the 4th be with you).

When it comes to challenges, there’s no better place to turn to than the Internet. However, the Internet is also saturated with useless, time-wasting videos and articles that are meant to stimulate the mind and destroy boredom. In the face of all of this media, a lone CollegeHumor video challenges a user to endure boredom for a measly three minutes.

With Jurassic World hitting theaters, today seems fitting to talk about a new use for 3D printing that you might not have thought of: recreating fossils. Researchers in Kenya are taking advantage of this new technology to study and preserve fossils that could potentially be damaged by the intense weather conditions of the Turkana Basin.

It's no secret that smartphone owners love their devices. Although, is there ever a point where smartphones become too much of a good thing? If someone can’t seem to live without their device, that’s a pretty clear sign things have gotten out of hand.

As technology grows more advanced, humans turn to robots to replace certain monotonous jobs. The goal here is to create a society where people are free to spend more time enjoying life. However, technology is prone to both technical problems and user error, which can lead to disastrous consequences.

How often does autocorrect breathe down your neck when you type out emails or documentation? We might have it now, but before autocorrect was introduced, every little mistake had to be resolved manually, without the help of technology. So, we salute you, autocorrect; saving us from the grammar police since the early 90s.

We’ve seen some pretty incredible technology developed in the past several years, but all of it pales in comparison to the epitome of the Internet of Things: the KFC Memories Bucket. Why? Because nothing says “the future,” like printing your family’s photos out of a family meal chicken bucket.

Agent Chrome is a pretty well-known guy in Google City. In fact, you could say he was the top of his class at Browser University, and everybody who is anybody knows who he is. When on the job, Agent Chrome sometimes needs to lay low and avoid the prying eyes of the masses around him. And this particular operation, rightfully dubbed “Incognito,” is one such occasion.

What’s scarier, monsters or computer viruses? While it would be horrifying to be caught in a dark alley with a vampire, it would also be terrifying to lose your data to a hacker. Each entity is scary in its own right, but how frightening would it be if the two were combined?

Today’s civilization might be the most technologically advanced in the history of the world as we know it, but this also comes with the burden of properly disposing outdated technology. Unfortunately, the world faces a significant e-waste problem that cannot be ignored. As consumers of technology, this responsibility falls on your shoulders.

The Internet is a fantastic tool that has ushered in an era of productivity and connectivity that we could only previously have dreamed of. Unfortunately, like every great tool, it can be used for darker, malicious purposes. In the Internet’s case, it’s used for anonymous illegal activity, like drug trafficking or selling data on the black market.