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My goal is to help people use information technology in a horticultural context. Follow this link for some examples of practical solutions to particular problems that information technology helps to manage.

I can offer expertise and experience with the following:

• Web hosting
  
  my role is to purchase a wholesale quantity of web hosting services from a reliable and responsive host and then re-sell retail slices of that pie to others. Packages may include:
  • support for regular static web pages,
  • scripting with php and perl,
  • databases,
  • email with forwarding and redirection,
  • and other services as required.
  My task is to help you understand what your service is capable of and to use it to its fullest extent to help your enterprise expand and maintain profitability. This service is not intended for those already familiar with the use of these tools, but more for those who feel they will need extended support in establishing and keeping these services running.
  
• Custom programming
  
  with experience in:
  • Static HTML, XHTML, XML and SHTML pages with cascading style sheets,
  • Dynamic pages with scripting (perl and PHP),
  • Databases (MySQL and Postgresql),
  • Integration of web pages with online credit card merchant accounts.
  
  
• Special applications
  
  
  • Asterisk PBX
    
    Asterisk is an open source programme that provides digital phone services.
  
  
  
  • Alarm systems
    
    In a horticultural context the grower is frequently in need of an alarm system to warn when automated processes are not functioning correctly. One example might be heat output from a biomass heat generating unit, another might be a water level in a reservoir. The software has to be capable of providing warnings by various means such as phone, email and sms messaging. In addition the system should be capable of intelligently sorting out spurious alarm conditions from real alarm situations.
    Data logging via OPC (OLE for process control) is an associated facility.
  
  
  
  • Employee scheduling and time worked reporting
    
    Software should ensure that resources are applied as effectively as possible, and that all employees have access to their current schedule online. In addition careful records can be kept regarding time off requests.

When you are considering hiring assistance with the above topics, please feel free to contact me as one of your possible suppliers. No charge for initial consultation and estimates. Otherwise my hourly rate would be $40CAD plus expenses. I am located in the Eastern Ontario region of Canada close to Kingston. Contact by email colbec@start.ca or phone 613-374-1391.