Copywrong.

Aaron Mavrinac

VP of Operations, Opreto

5 minute read

The legal basis of software licensing, the reader is no doubt aware, is copyright law. But copyright law, originally designed to protect artistic and literary works, was not crafted with software in mind. Software, after all, is a functional tool, a set of instructions designed to perform tasks, not a creative work in the traditional sense. Yet, due to historical circumstances and the lobbying of powerful interests, software has been shoehorned into this framework, leading to a range of philosophical and practical problems that continue to affect the industry today.

Building Strong Client Relationships with the T.R.U.S.T. Model in Agile Software Development

Dylan Herbert

VP of People, Opreto

3 minute read

In the frenetic world of agile software development, it’s crucial to maintain strong, transparent, and effective communication with our clients. That’s why we’ve put a lot of thought into developing the T.R.U.S.T. model to guide our interactions. T.R.U.S.T. stands for Tact, Responsibility, Understanding, Speed, and Thoroughness. Each element of this model plays a crucial role in fostering a trusting and collaborative environment, and we strongly believe in the power of these principles.

Mastering Time: My Journey with AI Scheduling Tools

Alan P. Laudicina

President, Opreto

3 minute read

Managing your time is hard, but it’s the cornerstone of personal and professional success. Without a structured approach to time management, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by tasks and commitments. This overwhelming feeling often increases stress, reduces productivity, and causes the dreaded overload-induced task dropping.

Common Sense Password Policies

Xavier Spriet

VP of Technology, Opreto

3 minute read

When you overcomplicate security, you compromise user experience. When you compromise the user experience, your users have to fight back. When your users fight back, they compromise security. D’oh!

Fully Remote Work All The Time

Dylan Herbert

VP of People, Opreto

3 minute read

Fully Remote Work, All the Time!

The upsides outnumber the downsides. If you can get away with it, you should. If there is any way that you can restructure your company and/or your line of business to accomodate fully remote work, you should employ it. You should get as far from limitations like WhErE yOu ArE rIgHt NoW as quickly as you can. If you don’t work in a business that can make that transition to fully remote right now, you should seriously consider changing your vocation and getting the hell out of your industry.

Because the Robots Are Coming.

The Plight of the Power User

Aaron Mavrinac

VP of Operations, Opreto

2 minute read

The 1980s. A simpler time, when hair was big, music was loud, and computer interfaces were… well, let’s just say they weren’t exactly what you’d call user friendly. Unless, of course, you were one of the chosen few. The elite. The engineers and the proto-geeks. For some of us born at the cusp of the digital dawn, the call to wield that power was irresistible.

To Olympus: Replatforming on the Cloud

Dylan Herbert

VP of People, Opreto

2 minute read

There is a particular synergy that springs from engaging an agile software development agency as an integrated software partner, and having them platform your software into the cloud. The sum of the two is truly greater than its parts. When launched together, the entire tech saga becomes truly epic for your business; you are freed to focus on your business, and we carry you up on our back. Do not fret, good citizen, we’re here to help.

8-bit Makes a Better Programmer

Aaron Mavrinac

VP of Operations, Opreto

3 minute read

In the realm of modern programming, with its high-level languages and sophisticated development environments, the art of programming an 8-bit microcomputer might seem like a quaint, if not obsolete, pursuit. However, diving into the world of assembly language programming on such a system isn’t just a nostalgic trip down memory lane; it’s a journey that offers invaluable insights and a deeper appreciation for the inner workings of computers.

Threat Categories, Attack Patterns, and Countermeasures: Safeguarding Against Cyber Vulnerabilities

Alan P. Laudicina

President, Opreto

2 minute read

Recently, our community in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, experienced a harrowing cyber attack on our healthcare system. The electronic systems that the hospital system relied on suddenly became useless, forcing workers back to the rudimentary pen-and-paper methods. This sudden regression in technology not only disrupted healthcare operations but also painted a stark picture of our vulnerabilities in the digital age. This incident was more than just an inconvenience; it was a dramatic step backward, highlighting the urgent need for resilient cybersecurity measures to protect our most critical services and data.

I Went to a Remote Cabin to Hunt Deer and All I Found Was Agile

Dylan Herbert

VP of People, Opreto

5 minute read

I was stunned to realize my father in law, a man in his 70s, is a practitioner of Agile. I found this out at Deer Camp, the remote off-the-grid cabin in the thick woods of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where the men of my wife’s family gather every year to hunt deer. I went there with the expectation of a digital cleansing of some kind, I think, or some grand hermitage away from civilization. But instead I found reinforcement for everything we do in my high tech job @Opreto, and realized during my time there that our hunting cabin uses good Agile practices. It seems clear to me now that something I thought of as modern is actually quite old, and that an “agile team” approach to deer hunting is as natural as an agile approach to software development, although there are arguably fewer websites disclaiming this fact to hunters than those proliferating on blogs about software development.