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Tag: software development

What the fox is going on at STEP Software? 

Written by STEP Software on . Posted in Blog.

We know what you’re thinking: it’s a bunch of marketing nonsense. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.  Back in 2019, we embarked on a mission to rebrand our company, which included launching our sassy mascot, Quinn.  We embraced his fox-like qualities of being clever, bold, and creative in every decision we made, every client we collaborated with, and every project we became part of.  We developed a plan that included a new website, the launch of an exciting new product, and a round of hiring to formalise our HR, Sales, and Marketing efforts. But, like many businesses,...

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Luna-25 and Chandrayaan-3 tell two very different stories for developers

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UNDERSTANDING THE WHY It could be months before investigators figure out what happened to Russia’s robotic probe in the critical moments as it maneuvered above the lunar surface. Yuri Borisov, Director General of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, blamed a botched engine burn for the disaster. He said a planned 84-second engine burn that was supposed to put the probe into a “pre-landing orbit”, instead ran for 127 seconds.  The mission was Russia’s first since 1976, when the Soviet Union lofted Luna-24 toward Earth’s nearest neighbour. Borisov said failure to...

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Apple’s new device fingerprinting rules send clear privacy message to developers

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NOT A ONE-TIME CHANGE Apple is no stranger to the privacy game, as this move is only the latest in a series of policy updates designed to strengthen data access and usage policies across its platforms and devices. The most significant of these changes was the introduction of App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14.5 in 2021. That update required apps to request end-user permission to track activity across other apps and websites. Opting in allowed developers to use Apple’s IDFA identifier to share activity with third party data brokers and marketing agencies. Opting out...

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Developers are already using ChatGPT to write code and save time. Should you?

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JACK OF ALL TRADES, MASTER OF… In the months since ChatGPT was released to the public, millions of users worldwide have rolled up their sleeves to see what it can do. In addition to writing articles and term papers, it can compose music and poetry, play trivia games, update your resume, generate recipes, tweak your fitness plan, solve math problems, and even plan a birthday party. It can also generate code. Or tweak existing code. Or debug it. Which understandably makes software developers nervous. After all, if anyone can ask a bot to write code, what happens to the...

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Building a mobile-friendly website? Do these 8 critical things first.

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Note: This article continues our look at mobile-friendly websites, and why it has become essential for all businesses to have a mobile-first web presence. For guidance on making the business case within your own organization, check out our earlier article – Your business needs a mobile-friendly website. Here’s why. THE WORLD LEADS WITH MOBILE There is no longer any doubt that we live in a mobile world. Data from Statista confirms we’ve already passed something of a tipping point, and there’s no going back. According to this research firm, just over 59% of global website...

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Your business needs a mobile-friendly website. Here’s why.

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THE SMARTPHONE AGE Chances are that your business has already done a great job shifting into the digital space. You’ve probably got a decent website, reasonably active social accounts, and a pretty good range of ways for customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders to contact you. But it’s not enough. While you’ve been busy doing all the things necessary to build your brand, the world has changed around us. The desktop PC is no longer the dominant piece of hardware –at home or in the office. We live in a mobile world now, We can work wherever there’s connectivity – meaning everywhere....

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5 suggestions for reviewing your software before the new year dawns

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WHATEVER YOU USE, VISIBILITY IS CRITICAL Whether you’re working with off-the-shelf packages, custom-made solutions, or subscription-based services – or a mixture of the three – it is essential to assess your software assets and ensure they’re still functioning optimally, and are still contributing to the growth and success of the business. Because if this isn’t the case, you’re not only spending more than you should, but you’re also potentially compromising your competitive positioning against organizations who manage their software estate more effectively. As clouds continue to gather...

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Why developers must pay particular attention to mental health

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WHAT WE LOST IN THE LOCKDOWNS The warnings have been building since long before Russian soldiers and weapons first began massing at the border, and the conclusions are stark. A report from Forrester in March concluded the invasion threatened to permanently alter the cyberthreat landscape; primarily as Russia accelerated its cyberattacks and cyber-espionage efforts to offset military losses and compensate for expanding economic sanctions. Forrester said Russian cyberattacks had been building for years, targeting Ukrainian financial systems and critical infrastructure. Forrester’s...

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How SaaS is Changing IT Departments

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HIRING FOR DIFFERENT SKILL SETS Traditionally, IT staff have been expected to possess highly technical skills because workers needed to be able to manage and configure on-premises software and servers. However, since cloud-based servers require less technical expertise, IT departments need fewer computer science graduates with programming and database management skills. Instead, technology workers need more proficient in business analytics and savvy decision-making skills. As more companies transition to SaaS, it becomes more about creating business processes based on what the technology...

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DevSecOps: Why It’s Important and How To Achieve It

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What Is DevSecOps? In essence, DevSecOps is a refinement of the original DevOps concept that puts more emphasis on the importance of application security. Many cybersecurity incidents are the result of security flaws in an application’s code. There is a strong argument that the DevOps movement’s focus on faster software deployment acts as a barrier to developing secure software. Software security teams are tasked with ensuring that vulnerable code is not released into production. Traditionally, security teams implement rigorous testing to verify the integrity and security...

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