Attend the Help/Systems User Conference for Computer Operations.

By Tom Huntington

Do you find it difficult to obtain good computer operations education? When was the last time you had the opportunity to network with other computer operations analysts? Do you feel your team has kept up with the latest in computer operations software and hardware?

As computer systems evolve, it becomes harder and harder to keep up with the ever-changing world of managing them. The technology has changed dramatically, and the strategies that worked 10 years ago no longer apply. Ask yourself if you're operating in a similar mode year after year. Or is your team executing more and more procedures manually since regulations like SOX and PCI have cropped up?

Easily set up open-source software Planet to consolidate your favorite RSS news feeds into one local news source.

By Max Hetrick

Do you get tired of visiting dozens of Web site feeds to get your daily IT news? Do you receive too many email messages from mailing lists? Or do you just want to set up a news site for internal IT use? This TechTip will show you how to use the Planet RSS feed reader to consolidate your news and informational feeds.

Use software to enforce rest breaks, preventing pain and injury.

by Alan Seiden

In my previous article, "Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) with Rest Breaks," I told you that rest breaks—even 20-second "microbreaks"—could help you avoid injuries associated with computer use. If you're like me, though, you already know you should take breaks, yet you struggle to unglue your eyes from the screen.

That's where break-reminder software comes in. These programs wake you up when you've fallen into a computer trance, reminding you to get up and stretch. In this article, I'll show how to protect your health and comfort with these surprisingly powerful programs.

Short breaks restore health and productivity.

We've all seen programmers slumping in their chairs, eyes glazed, brows furrowed, having gone several hours past the point of accomplishing much, perhaps about to create bugs that will have to be corrected later. If they had taken short breaks all along, refreshing body and mind, they could have gotten just as much work done, while slowing the onset of debilitating repetitive strain injury (RSI).