Valerie Potter
Managing Editor, Features
Valerie Potter is Computerworld's Managing Editor, Features, specializing in how-tos, trends, and special reports.
Word 2013 cheat sheet: Ribbon quick reference
Find the most popular commands on Word 2013's Ribbon.
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Get a raise! Salary negotiation tips from the experts
Videos: IT recruiter Suzanne Fairlie and CIO Angela Yochem share expert tips for tech pros who want to get a pay boost from their current employer or when switching jobs.
How the 2014 Computerworld IT Salary Survey was conducted
A look at the methodology used to collect data for Computerworld's 2014 IT Salary Survey.
Election fever: 6 mobile apps that can keep you informed
The big game is on -- and by that, we don't mean football, basketball, baseball or Angry Birds. We're talking about the biggest pastime in the U.S.: Watching (and taking part in) the current Republican primaries and the upcoming...
Better sleeping through technology: Zeo Sleep Manager - Mobile
Can a brainwave-sensing headband help you sleep better? Zeo Mobile tracks your sleep patterns and provides sound advice.
Device Design Day: Key takeaways
Last week I was lucky enough to attend Device Design Day in San Francisco. This annual one-day conference is mostly for designers who create consumer devices and the software that runs on them, but many of the points the speakers...
Up close and personal with the Robot Petting Zoo
What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys? A robot petting zoo, of course!Not that anyone was actually petting the robots on display at Device Design Day, an annual conference for pros who design software and hardware for mobile...
Three free iPhone apps to keep you fit on the road
If you're like me, you're pretty good about exercising and eating right at home, but all your good habits go out the window when you travel. But on a recent 10-day trip, I found three free iPhone apps (two of which are also available...
Three big ideas from Mobilize 2010
This week's Mobilize 2010 conference in San Francisco was a jam-packed day of discussion, analysis and, yes, argument about the vast market that mobile and wireless technology is opening up worldwide. Here are a few ideas that I...
My picks from DEMO Fall 2010
In his opening remarks kicking off this week's DEMO Fall 2010 conference in Santa Clara, Calif., host Matt Marshall highlighted three trends driving value behind today's startups: social interaction on the Web, increasing time spent...
Songs of (User) Experience
Highlights from UX Week 2010, Day 1 There's an interesting conference happening in San Francisco right now: Hosted by user experience design and consulting firm Adaptive Path, UX Week 2010 is for user experience professionals of all...
Top 10 Super Bowl tech ads
Prepare for Sunday's game by watching the most compelling Super Bowl ads of years past from the likes of Intel, Iomega, EDS, Apple and Xerox.
It's "clean out your inbox week"
How many e-mails are sitting in your inbox right now -- 30? 100? More than 1,000?That's how many messages I had accumulated in my inbox last spring. I tend to use my inbox as an unofficial to-do list, keeping e-mails there until I've...
Digital Think In harnesses high-tech brainpower
Allen Ginsberg may have seen the best minds of his generation destroyed by madness, but today I saw 60 of the best minds of *my* generation doing something more constructive: Putting their heads together to figure out the digital...
Do you file your taxes online?
The move to online tax filing in the U.S. continues apace, according to a new survey from The Conference Board and TNS:About 40 percent of online households are planning to file their federal taxes online this year, up from less than...
In praise of the animated GIF
As I was helping to assemble Computerworld's 2008 holiday gift guide last week, I was initially puzzled as to why ThinkGeek, maker of the iconic Wi-Fi Detector Shirt (which lights up to show your proximity to a Wi-Fi signal), had...
Voting technology: Arrows vs. ovals for optical scan ballots
I voted bright and early this morning in Alameda County, California. After confirming my name and address, I was given the option of voting electronically or by paper ballot, which I would feed into an optical scanner. Well aware of...
California's new cell phone law isn't logical. So what?
My colleague Mike Elgan points out in his blog that California's new cell phone law fails the logic test. As Mike notes, the new rule outlaws holding a phone to your ear while driving -- but it's still legal to use a hands-free...
More help for seasick gamers
Last week I wrote about Doom Sickness (also known as "VR sickness" or "simulator sickness") -- that horrible feeling of nausea some people get from playing certain video games. I discussed a solution that worked for me -- wearing...