IT Insights Blog — Library Suite

Legend has it that, in 1626, Peter Minuit and a party of Dutch colonists acquired Manhattan Island, the site of present-day New York City's Manhattan borough, from the indigenous Canarsie, a constituent tribe of the Lenape, for trade goods worth 60 Dutch guilders. That's the equivalent, as most familiar with the legend have no doubt heard, of $24 in ... well, not "today's" currency. In 2014, historians estimated that Minuit's trade goods would be worth between $2,600 and $15,600.

There's a long tradition in the annals of humanity of resolving to improve oneself in various ways at the start of each year. Many centuries ago, the inhabitants of Babylon would make a religious vow at the start of each year to return borrowed objects and pay debts. In ancient Rome, many citizens of the empire would begin the first month of the year by making promises to Janus, the god of (among several other things) beginnings.

It's been a wonderful 2018 here at the IT Insights Blog, and we're grateful to everyone who has shared it with us. We hope to see you all again in 2019!

Saving money is a beautiful thing. Almost everyone who buys things on a regular basis would choose to save money if they could. Suppose that you are driving down the street with your gas indicator on E. You see two service stations ahead, one on either side of the road. On the left, gas is $2.99/gallon, while on the right the price is $2.44/gallon. Assuming all other variables are equal, do you turn right or left? Let's face it: Most of you turned right as soon as you saw "$2.44."

It's that time of year when things both speed up and slow down. It seems like there is almost always a fat rush to cram in activities, visits, shopping, socializing, office parties, and everything else that comes along with the last few weeks before Christmas (and, after that, New Year's Day). Yet, at the same time, everyone is running out the clock at the office, tying up whatever loose ends haven't already been secured and basically waiting for the big end-of-year break to kick in.