BIM technology has proven to be highly expedient for several HVAC plans, especially in terms of cost efficiency, time optimization, and effective planning.

Customer comfort is the top sales driver in the HVAC industry, or at least it should be.

How many of standard HVAC sales include add-ons like a humidifier, air cleaner, HRV/ERV, UV lights, or zoning?

What is the best approach to providing a holistic smart home experience for consumers?

Contractors and HVAC technicians can create a wealth of opportunities by adding residential HVAC zoning to their list of services.

For more HVAC contractors to sell zoning systems, they have to understand the benefits, challenges, know how to approach customers to even be able to sell it, and then comes the install.

His jacket was emblazoned with the logo of a manufacturer of high-performing heat pumps, but when I mentioned that we were thinking of getting one, the tech shot down the idea.

Hybrid systems offer a pathway that balances environmental concerns with practical considerations, ensuring a more sustainable and feasible transition towards cleaner energy sources.

All-electric options have come a long way since their inception, and there’s never been a better time to get on board.

Industry figures are estimates that are derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.

Industry figures are estimates that are derived from the best available figures supplied by a sample of AHRI member companies.

If contractors in colder climates focus on educating their customers on what new higher-efficiency furnaces bring to the table, often times the furnaces will sell themselves.

This winter, HVAC contractors might be dealing with a wetter winter than years past, coupled with more snowfall than maybe most people would like.

Due to a lack of training, time constraints, and numerous other reasons, many HVAC contracting companies are not performing combustion testing, potentially compromising customers’ safety.

Ruby has been getting more and more attention by the developer community over the last couple of years. Nevertheless Ruby as language and as a plattform is not too widespread. Most developers don't know people who have actually done commercial Ruby projects. Therefore it is sometimes hard to judge if Ruby is just a hype topic or if Ruby can be used for serious projects today. In this episode Alexander speaks with Thomas Quas about a commercial Ruby project Thomas finished a while ago. Thomas shares his insights and practical experiences with Ruby doing a project under strong time pressure. As Thomas has many years experience doing Java projects we also do some high level comparisons between both platforms.

Changeable software has been a goal of several technique in software engineering. Probably the most important is Refactoring, changing the code without changing the behaviour (or at least without breaking the tests). In this episode Eberhard talks with Martin Lippert about this technique. The episode covers a history of refactoring, a definition of code smells and how to actually do refactorings in your everyday work. Also some advanced topics - like the ROI of Refactoring or Refactoring in dynamic languages - are covered.

In this episode, Arno and Michael take a look at Design by Contract, a programming technique formalized by Bertrand Meyer. The idea is that an interface is more than method signatures - it is also about specifying the expected behavior that implementations must provide. While some languages include direct support for this style of programming, it is a useful mindset when desiging interfaces even without such language features.

In the first episode on Refactoring we talked about the basic ideas behind refactoring and some base principles why refactoring is a key part of software engineering. Now we move on to more complicated refactorings and discuss three major situations, their problems and possible solutions: advanced refactorings in large projects that can hardly be finished in a few minutes or hours and refactoring in larger teams. Also covered are the refactoring of published APIs and how merciless refactoring could be aligned with backward compatibility of published APIs, and refactorings that affect more than just code like for example database schemas.

This episode features a discussion with Dan Grossman about an essay paper he wrote for this year's OOPSLA conference. The paper is about an analogy between garbage collection and transactional memory. In addition to seeing the beauty of the analogy, the discussion also serves as a good introduction to transactional memory (which was mentioned in the Goetz/Holmes episode) and - to some extent - to garbage collection.

This episode takes a close look at transactions from different angles, starting with their fundamental properties of Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability but also investigating advanced topics like distributed or business transactions.

In this episode, Markus talks with Juha-Pekka Tolvanen about using DSLs and code generation in practice. The main part of the episode is the discussion about a number of case studies that show how DSLs and code generation are used in practice.

Omega Tau, Markus' new podcast mentioned in the beginning of the show

Guest: Wilbert Albers Host: Markus In this episode we take a look at microchip production, with a special focus on waferscanners. To do this, we talked with Wilbert Albers of ASML, the leading waferscanner manufacturer in the world. In the episode, we talk about the overall chip production process (from silicon sand over wafer cutting […]

Josh Long talks to Activiti cofounder Joram Barrez about the wide world of (open source) workflow engines, the Activiti BPMN2 engine, and what workflow implies when you’re building process-driven applications and services. Joram was originally a contributor to the jBPM project with jBPM founder Tom Baeyens at Red Hat. He cofounded Activiti in 2010 at […]

Michael Nygard of “Release It!” fame talks with Stefan Tilkov about his experience using the Clojure programming language. Topics include the tool chain and development process, the Clojure learning curve, and on-boarding new developers. Michael explains the similarities and differences compared to typical OO languages when implementing domain logic, and uses both game development and typical web development projects as examples. Finally, the two discuss how well Clojure can be used in the face of long-running projects, and some typical obstacles and strategies for introducing it to real-world scenarios.

Eberhard Wolff talks with Jürgen Höller about Reactive Spring. Reactive programming is a hot topic, but adoption has been slow in the enterprise. Spring 5 incorporates Reactor and the RxJava API to help Java developers build scalable high-performance web applications. The discussion explores architectural challenges, transactions, porting existing applications, and increased code complexity.

Kishore Bhatia discussed Ethereum and Smart Contracts with John Crain. Topics include: understanding the motivations for a decentralized computing model, Application architecture on Ethereum, development frameworks and tools. John’s experience developing and launching his own product Pixura on Ethereum mainnet, approaches,

Tim Coulter, the founder of Truffle (Ethereum DApp development framework) discusses the Truffle framework for Ethereum SmartContracts and Decentralized App development. Kishore Bhatia spoke with Tim Coulter about: Ethereum Decentralized Apps (DApps)...

Michael Chan has been teaching React since 2013 and is the host of the React Podcast. He currently works at Ministry Centered Technologies as a Frontend Architect.

Yevgeniy Brikman, author of Terraform: Up & Running: Writing Infrastructure as Code and co-founder of Gruntwork talks with host Robert Blumen about how to apply best practices from software engineering to the development of infrastructure as code...

Joe Kutner, Software Architect for Heroku at Salesforce.com, spoke with host Kanchan Shringi about the 12-Factor App methodology, which aids development of modern apps that are portable, scalable, easy to test, and continuously deployable.

Leonid Shevtsov talks with host Robert Blumen about email protocols and transactional email.

Gill Hoffer, co-founder and CTO at Salto, talks with SE Radio host Kanchan Shringi about a new persona -- the Business Engineer -- created by the rise of SaaS and adoption of best-of-breed business applications for back office systems. They examine...

Gill Hoffer, co-founder and CTO at Salto, talks with SE Radio host Kanchan Shringi about a new persona -- the Business Engineer -- created by the rise of SaaS and adoption of best-of-breed business applications for back office systems. They examine...

Brendan Callum, engineering manager for the Pinterest developer platform team, discusses the "spec first" approach to API development and how it's different from "API first." Brendan speaks with host Kanchan Shringi about the challenges and advantages...

Timothy Beamish of BenchSci discusses React and Next.js, two of today's most popular front-end frameworks. Host Philip Winston speaks with Beamish about components, routing, JSX, client-side and server-side rendering, single-page applications, automatic code-splitting, image optimization, and more. Beamish also details his experience moving a real-world application to Next.js.

 

Dave Cross, owner of Magnum Solutions and author of GitHub Actions Essentials (Clapham Technical Press), speaks with SE Radio host Gavin Henry about GitHub actions, the value they provide, and the best practices for using them in your projects. Cross describes the vast range of things that developers can do with GitHub Actions, including some use cases you might never have thought about. They start with some general discussion of CI/CD and then consider the three main types of events that drive GitHub actions before digging in to details about fine-grained action events, Action Marketplace, contexts, yaml, docker base images, self-hosted runners, and more. They further explore identity management, permissions, dependency management, saving money, and how to keep your secrets secret.

Jonathan Schneider, the cofounder of Moderne and the creator of OpenRewrite, talks with SE Radio's Gregory Kapfhammer about automated software maintenance. In addition to exploring the design and implementation of OpenRewrite, Schneider explains how the tool can automatically support software maintenance tasks such as framework migration and security fixes for programs implemented in languages like Java. The episode also explores how OpenRewrite uses the lossless semantic tree to support automated refactoring though the use of recipes. Brought to you by IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Software magazine.

Emily Bache, founder of the Samman Technical Coaching Society and author of several books about technical agile coaching, talks with SE Radio host Sam Taggart about katas and the importance of practice. They discuss how practicing in a safe environment helps developers to learn new skills and build new habits. They also talk about how Samman coaching combines this sort of deliberate practice with applying the lessons learned in practice to the production code base. They also touch briefly on the advantages of working in an ensemble fashion.

Brought to you by IEEE Computer Society and IEEE Software magazine.

Fnatic React is the first gaming headset released by this world-famous esports brand. It's a simple analog headset with no extra features or gimmicks. It is laser-focused on what's important: sound and microphone quality, as well as wearing comfort.... [PCSTATS]

A new ballot measure in California would reverse progress on reducing mass incarceration. Here's what our regular correspondent Dortell Williams has to say about it.

According to the actor and activist: “The choice is very clear: Do we vote for the future, or do we vote for burning up the planet?”

Tamela Gordon’s new book, Hood Wellness, shows what it looks like to hold others—and be held—in community.

Sonya Massey's killing is a reminder that police do not keep Black women, nor Black disabled people, safe, says activist Cat Brooks.

Leaders around the world have started sending their congratulations to Trump.

Google Glass

I'm sure you have all heard about Google Glass, but if not, Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display (OHMD).

Google's intention is to produce a mass-market ubiquitous computer (advanced computing concept where computing is made to appear everywhere and anywhere) that displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format and wearers communicate with the Internet via voice commands.

The new Google lens?

But if you think Google Glass is cool, wait until you read about Google's newest patent application. Google has devised a way to shrink Google Glass into a single contact lens. The user will control its application with a series of unique blinking patterns. The Yahoo article mentions that the new lens could have significant application for the blind which is incredible, but as with most technology, applications will be discovered after production.

I also think that both of these products could be beneficial to career and technical education and to business and industry. For example, an automotive technician could search for help while repairing a vehicle, take notes, or take a picture and/or video and send it to ask for assistance. What are your thoughts on applications for CTE?

Wizer is an educational platform that allows instructors to create quick, easy and fun digital worksheets, to share them with fellow instructors, and to keep track of student performance.

The "FAQ's" below will tell you question types, multimedia resources, login formation, and some of the technology requirements.

As you know, "free" and "time-saving" are important factors to me....

Wizer FAQ's:

Wizer is FREE for teachers. You may build, assign, share and use as many worksheets as you like for free.

As many as you want! The use of the Wizer digital worksheet builder is unlimited. Make as many as you’d like. Please click to ‘share on gallery’ so that other Wizer teachers can see what you’ve created and use it with their students. Your influence is growing!

Yes. Wizer is a community of innovative teachers who create and share their digital lessons. Any worksheet on the public gallery can be used by simply clicking ‘Use’ or ‘Use this worksheet’. This duplicates the worksheet and puts the copy in your account. You can use it as-is or make some adjustments to fine tune it for your students.

When teachers create a worksheet, they may chose to ‘publish on gallery’ to share it with other teachers. Any worksheet shared on the public gallery can be viewed by other teachers for inspiration or used with their students. To use a gallery worksheet, just click ‘Use’ or ‘Use this Worksheet.’

Yes! Wizer worksheets can be completed on any iPad or tablet.

Yes. Any 1-to-1 device that is connected to the internet and has a web browser can be used to create and complete Wizer worksheets. The best browsers are Chrome and Safari.

On the window that opens you can create an assignment for each class. Each gets its own link & pin code so you can later review their answers separately for each class.

Yes. Wizer is integrated with Google Classroom and Wizer worksheets can be assigned to students directly via the green Google Classroom link. The first time you assign a Wizer worksheet via Google Classroom you will be asked to confirm your connection with a few simple steps.

Yes. If your school uses Haiku digital learning platform you can create or use Wizer worksheets, then copy the worksheet link into your classroom pages.

Yes. If your school uses Moodle open source learning platform you can paste worksheet links directly into class assignments.

You can easily add video, audio and images to any Wizer worksheet. Images can be made interactive using the Fill on an Image question type.

Wizer question types: Open answer, multiple choice, matching, fill in the blank, fill on an image and tables.

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Nearly a year after releasing its Moments curation feature, Twitter Moments is now available to users.

Twitter Moments are curated stories about what’s happening around the world—powered by Tweets.  Originally, a user could click on Moments on their profile page to find curated stories, i.e News, Entertainment, Sports, and Fun, in a typical news format.

But now, it’s easy to create your own story with Twitter Moments.  I think this is a great way to share school events and activities and it could also assist with classroom discussion, especially when dealing with current events.

Either watch the video by Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers or follow the directions from Twitter below:

How to create a Moment

There are three ways to begin creating your own Moment. You can access Moments through the Moments tab, your profile page, or through a Tweet detail. To get started all you need is a title, description, Tweets, and a selected cover image.

From the Moments tab:

1. From the Moments tab, click the Create new Moment button.
2. Click the Title your Moment field to give your Moment a name.Note: Titles can be up to 75 characters in length.
3. Click the Add a description field to type in a description for your Moment.Note: Descriptions can be up to 250 characters in length. 
4. Choose Tweets to add to your Moment: 
1. From the Add Tweets to your Moment section at the bottom of the page, quickly access content to select Tweets from Tweets I’ve liked, Tweets by account, Tweet link, and Tweet search prompts. 
2. To add a Tweet to your Moment, click on the checkmark icon 
5. Click Set cover to choose a cover image from one of your selected Tweets, or to upload an image from your computer. Drag your selected image to set a Mobile preview, click the Next button, then click the Save button.Note: To change your selected image, hover over the cover image and click on Change cover media. After you’ve set your cover media, the source will be credited below the image. 
6. Once you have Tweets in your collection, click on the up  or down arrow buttons  to the right of a Tweet to move it up or down.
7. Click on the delete button  to remove a Tweet from your Moment.
8. Click on the crop button  next to any of your selected Tweets to make an image selection for mobile viewing.
9. Click the Finish later button at the top of the page to save a draft.
10. When you are ready to make your Moment live, click on the Publish button at the top of the page.

From a Tweet:

1. Click the more button 
2. Select New Moment to add the Tweet to a new Moment.Note: Any completed Moments or Moments drafts you have in progress will also be listed in the drop-down to choose from.
3. Follow the directions above to complete your Moment.

From the Moments tab on your profile page:

1. Click on the Moments tab, then click the Create new Moment button to get started.
2. Follow the directions above to complete your Moment.

From the More menu at the top of the page:

1. Click on ••• More while in draft mode.
1. Select Choose mobile theme color if you’d like to apply one.
2. Select Mark that Moment contains sensitive material if appropriate.
3. Select Share Moment privately to copy and paste your Moment’s URL to share privately with others. Note: The Moment will only be visible to people who have the URL, it will not be visible on your profile page, or published on Twitter.
4. Select Unpublish Moment to unpublish a Moment you have previously published. 
5. Select Delete Moment to permanently remove the Moment from your profile and Twitter. Note: You will see a confirmation pop-up message to confirm the deletion.

After you’ve saved your Moment as a draft:

• You can click on the Edit button under the Moment description to continue editing your Moment.
• Click the Tweet button under the Moment description to share your Moment with your followers. Note: The Tweet compose box will pop up giving you an opportunity to edit or add to the auto-populated Moment title and link in the compose box.
• Click on the more button  under the Moment description to send your Moment via Direct Message, and to view the copy and embed links to your Moment. Note: As you scroll through your saved or published Moment you will see a menu pop-up on the left hand side to conveniently Edit, Tweet, or Message your Moment.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make my Moments private?
When creating a Moment, you can select Share Moment privately, which will only make the Moment available to those who have the link. If you would like to make previously published or shared Moments visible to only you, select Unpublish Moment.

Can content in my Moment be reported?
Yes. Content displayed in a Moment, such as photos, videos, or Tweets can be reported. To learn about the various options for reporting components of a Moment, read our How to report violations article.

What happens if a Tweet I included in my Moment is reported?
If the cover or any of the individual Tweets of your Moment is reported to us and found to be in violation of the Twitter Rules, your account may be locked—even if you did not author the Tweet.

To be honest, transmission and distribution networks are full of problems. But that’s nothing new, and you already knew that. This technical article will shed some light on solving some pretty severe problems in transmission and distribution networks by using... Read more

The post Controlling power system parameters through reactive power (VAr) compensation appeared first on EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal.

Not all existing electrical installations lack energy efficiency, but most of them do. Especially if they were built 15-20 years ago and older. Although it is generally acknowledged that substantial energy savings are possible in most existing installations, the process... Read more

The post Five actions to achieve excellent energy savings in old electrical installations appeared first on EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal.