Updated May 27, 2025 There’s a popular list of alternative search engines being circulated on Facebook, LinkedIn and other sites. The posts usually start with the words “Google is so powerful that it ‘hides’ other search systems from us …”. I was trying to find it the other day for a friend and it’s obviously […]
Self-Publishing Your Book in 2025
I’m getting closer to publishing my next book, Self-Guided SQL, and I’ve been reviewing the process for creating and uploading e-books. There will be a hard cover edition through Amazon but I want to get the e-book out of the way first. Microsoft Word There are a lot of tools that you can use to […]
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14 Min
Find us on Facebook!
Comeau Software Solutions has started a new Facebook page! In the coming months, we’ll be focusing more on connecting readers with learning resources including online courses and videos that will help you to make the most of the technology that’s out there. There has never been more access to education than there is now. For […]
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2 Min
Conversations with ChatGPT
Like everyone else in the tech world, I’ve been watching the sensation over OpenAI’s new chatbot, ChatGPT. I’ve talked to a few chatbots before and a couple were impressive but the limitations were always obvious pretty quickly. When I was finally able to get online with ChatGPT, I was floored at the difference between it […]
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2 Min
5 Reasons You Should Learn SQL
Let me tell you a story … In 2002, I was interviewing for a database support position and feeling pretty good about my chances. I’d been working with Microsoft Access for a few years, everyone at the last job knew me as the expert and general tech guru and I was hoping things panned out […]
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15 Min
Cuddling up with Python
In my last post, I talked about getting started with programming and software development and I mentioned that a programming career means continually learning new languages and technologies. In that spirit, one of my goals for 2022 is to finally become proficient with the Python language which I’ve played around with before. I thought I […]
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5 Min
Learning a New (Human) Language in 2020
April’s lockdown gave a lot of us some extra time to play with and some people took it as an opportunity to learn new skills or start side projects. At the same time, I found myself working on a new project with people who barely spoke English, if at all. Online translators like Google Trainslate […]
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1 Min
My Virtual Vacation and Free Stuff
Summer vacation has mercifully arrived for me and my students. Unlike many teachers, I’m at the school through most of the Summer. My students get three weeks off – I get one week followed by a couple weeks of what will essentially be teacher workdays. Judging from the sympathetic looks I was getting from other […]
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1 Min
A Couple of Notes on Cloud Computing
Years ago, when I was making do with the limited computer equipment that I could afford, I never dreamed that I would one day be able to login to a website, plug in a few specs about the machine I wanted and then, a few minutes later, log into that machine remotely and run whatever […]
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1 Min
Learning a New Language Online
Learning a new language has always been a challenging task whether you’re satisfying a class requirement in school, moving to a new country or adding a new language for work or recreation. The fact is that we take years to become proficient with our first languages from the time we’re learning to recognize language as […]
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1 Min