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New Year resolutions are often easy to make and even easier to break, but this year PDF users worldwide can make resolutions worth sticking to. As tech enthusiasts try to follow better computing practices for 2011, Nitro PDF Software (www.nitropdf.com) provides easy-to-follow, helpful tips and products for a pain-free year of PDF usage.

substantive new report out from the Knight Foundation that is worth attention: Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks.  The report notes: *It's important to listen to and consult the crowd in our work *We should create environments where connections can naturally form, including between people with different perspectives *It's good practice to support collective action so grassroots efforts can grow So how can nonprofits embrace these practices? 

This article focuses on the pitfalls of poor selection practices. Many of these are similar to poor management practices in general. A link to a list of potential vendors is also included....

Excerpt: Apple's general counsel Bruce Sewell in July 2010 sent a 13-page letter (.pdf) explaining its location-data-collection techniques in response to a request from Congressmen Joe Barton and Edward Markey asking for Apple to disclose such practices (.pdf). (Incidentally, Markey authored the "Do Not Track" bill to stop online companies from tracking children.) Note: Article has a link to this 13-page letter dated July 2010 after they were asked to disclose such practices.

How Does Your Nonprofit Measure Up? This was the opening question Jocelyn Harmon (Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2.com) and I posed during our presentation on "The Art and Science of Fundraising Online" for the Association Foundation Group. If your organization's average online gift is lower than you would like or your organization has not developed a well thought out year-end online fundraising campaign in the past, then you need to make changes to your online fundraising program ASAP. > see our Seven Online Fundraising Strategies You Can Do Right Now.

In an attempt to improve health care and reduce long-term expenses, the U.S. government is in the process of digitalizing patient medical records. There are arguments on both sides of the aisle with obviously complications for smaller physician practices. Even though this new system is working for the Mayo Clinic and other large health organizations, I'm skeptical that smaller non-profits will have the resources and correct strategies to make this transition with limited help from the government.

As governments push to adopt sustainable practices, one holy grail is creating working environments that achieve net-zero energy consumption. That's the idea behind a newly opened office building at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. Known as the Research Support Facility (RSF), the structure is designed to create as much energy as it consumes, making it one of the world's most energy-efficient buildings.

* Online is the fastest-growing fundraising channel for nonprofits. In 2010, Convio's clients raised more than $1.3 billion online, up 40 percent from 2009. * The median growth rate in online giving was 20 percent. The median growth rate was 14 percent in 2009.

Technology pop quiz for business owners: What's more secure? A. Data stored in redundant back-up server installations (or "the cloud"), automatically updated and maintained, in a facility secured from outside threats. Or B. Data stored or backed up to an on-site tape or flash drive, whenever the company's controller or non-IT back-office staffer remembers to do it - then left in the drive? For many, the answer in theory is A, but in practice, it's B. Why is this important? Because studies have shown that 70 percent of companies go out of business after a major data loss and 60 percent of companies that lose their data will shut down within six months. Yet those unfamiliar with cloud computing still believe onsite back-up is a safe, secure solution. Therein lies one of the most compelling reasons to embrace cloud or ERP (enterprise resource planning) computing.

Internal emails regarding Ridgeland, South Carolina speed camera system shows profit drives deployment decisions: An ongoing federal lawsuit against the speed trap town of Ridgeland, South Carolina uncovered internal emails last month that shed light on the motivation behind the state's only photo enforcement program. Since July 2010, Ridgeland has allowed the private firm iTraffic to operate a mobile speed camera van on Interstate 95, despite a state law outlawing the practice and a pair of attorney general opinions warning that the photo ticketing was not legal.

Survey tools automatically collect and tally responses in "real time," which means you can watch the results come in as they're being submitted. Results are often organized and presented graphically using charts and tables. Most tools will even produce reports based on the survey results. You can share the results with members of your staff, and even with survey respondents. post date:  Feb. 1, 2011

Computerworld - "The federal government's "meaningful use" attestation (PDF document) period begins today, allowing data collected on electronic health record systems (EHRs) by hospitals and physician practices to be submitted in order to receive thousands to millions of dollars in reimbursement payments...."