Nicholas Holland

Nicholas Holland

Founder

Nicholas's Biography

Our "Big Cheese." Nicholas is a natural leader, and his leadership is what makes centresource so special. It's said that once you work at centresource, everything is different -- and this is the truth, because Nicholas makes it that way. He pushes us to be better, questions our ways of thinking, challenges us to work harder, and encourages us to be leaders ourselves.

We'll quote Nick direct on his role here: "I feel like my most important role is to set the tone & culture for the firm. Our team deserves a fun, engaging work environment that promotes learning, growth, and team work. I'm also focused on making sure we never 'settle' - no matter how well we've done. I push everyone to improve the quality of their work and the satisfaction of our clients." And take it from all of us, that's the truth.

Nicholas has his parents to thank for a "mixed" personality -- he balances a laid-back, fun-loving demeanor (from his mom) with a pragmatic, bottom-line focus (from his dad). His involvement with the internet started at a young age thanks to an internship with local ISP, Telalink. He quickly fell in love with the internet and was fascinated at its power to transform industries, and this led to the establishment of centresource as his own business. Before starting centresource, Nicholas worked as a Risk Analyst, which provide a foundation in business analysis and has been invaluable to our operations and financial management.

As far as Nicholas' personality, again -- we'll quote him directly: "I love to dream and create. Thinking outside the box and then working towards making the dream a reality - that is my passion. There is a quote by Robert Francis Kennedy I heard as a young man and it has stuck with me for 10+ years... 'There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?'

And finally, we want to point out a phenomenon at centresource -- there's Real Time, and there's Nick Time. Nick Time exists when you're asked to join a ten minute conversation and look down an hour later to see that he's still got you wrapped up in re-thinking everything you've ever believed. :)

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My iPod is Dangerous - Apple must pay!

Similar to the cliche… ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people’, I find certain legal cases to be viewed in the same light. Our U.S. laws aren’t usually ridiculous - it’s the people that interpret them and bend them to their warped thinking. To prove my point, John Kiel Patterson feels his iPod is dangerous to his hearing & he wants money… oh yeah, and he wants some warnings on the iPod product as well.

The suit, which Patterson wants certified as a class-action, seeks compensation for unspecified damages and upgrades that will make iPods safer. Patterson’s suit said he bought an iPod last year, but does not specify whether he suffered hearing loss from the device.

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Software Pirates - Your Pipeline just got smaller

Whew, the feds made a large piracy bust :) I have a feeling that these persons were at the top of the food chain in the warez (pirated software) community - so the pipeline for illegal software / videos may have significantly decreased:

CHICAGO - Federal authorities on Wednesday announced the indictment of 19 people accused of using the Internet to pirate more than $6.5 million in copyrighted computer software, games and movies.
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The 15-count indictment outlines an alleged plot by defendants across the United States to illegally distribute newly released titles, including movies like “The Incredibles” and “The Aviator,” and games like “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005.”

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World’s Thinnest Wallet - The All-Ett

As the CEO of a technology firm, it’s only natural that I would use the Internet to research solutions to even the most mundane problems life throws at me. One such problem was the size of my wallet. For years, I carried a tri-fold that served to carry to my identification, credit cards, and other miscellaneous items. Since founding CentreSource, my wallet has also become a precious repository for receipts for business related items. Needless to say, the girth of my wallet grew to ‘epic proportions’ - and the man-ritual of cleaning it out became a monthly event. But even at its most spic-and-span, my wallet was still large enough that it actually wore a hole in one of my pants… enough was enough. I had to find an alternative :) Enter the ‘All-Ett‘.

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AJAX - It’s here to stay: IDE’s on the way

We all know this ‘web thing’ is just a fad that will soon pass… but until it does, it looks like AJAX will continue to increase in popularity. Popular software makers now deem it important enough to include in their IDE platforms… CNET writes:

That popularity has spurred some major development software makers into action. Microsoft, a heavyweight example, was quick to jump on the AJAX bandwagon. Last year, it announced plans to create an AJAX toolkit, code-named Atlas, which works with its flagship tool Visual Studio. A early version of Atlas was released in December.

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TN Software Property Tax - Tennessean Article

Software Property Tax is an issue that is near and dear to our heart. In continuing with our first assessment and subsequent update from the NTC, we thought we’d also provide this article from the Tennessean (especially since you can’t find it on their site by typing in ‘Software Tax’ in their Search field… go figure)

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Choosing an OpenSource CMS

Seth Gottlieb wrote a good article about choosing an OpenSource CMS. Given the fact that there are so many choices at varying degrees of maturity, I think his advice in the conclusion is definitely sound:

Open-source content management software presents an attractive option for companies looking for a straightforward solution to a common problem. However, traditional methods of software selection are less helpful in evaluating open source than commercial software. Indeed, the vast selection of open-source content management software, coupled with the broadness of the category, can make the task of sifting through the possibilities tedious and disorienting.

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Tennessee Software Property Tax - Bad Idea

In early January, we learned that a dramatic measure to subject software to property tax was quietly making its way through our government channels. The following document* outlines proposed amendments to Tenn. Code Ann. 67-1-305, which will be reviewed by the Tennessee Equalization Board** on January 23rd, 2006.

In the document, there is one small sentence that says:

Rule 0600-5-.01 Definitions is further amended by adding the following sentence at the end of item (14): “Tangible personal property includes computer software.”

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GeoCaching Game Scares Authorities

It’s all fun and games until the Authorities think you’re planting a bomb… Take this poor guy - he just wanted to have a little fun geocaching when he was warmly greeted by the Authorities and the Bomb Squad :)

If you don’t know about Geocaching.com, get with the times!

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IT Project Humor - Cartoon

For those of us in Project Related companies, enjoy! (Don’t take yourself too seriously…) Thanks & credit go to http://www.scaryideas.com


Click to see the enlarged image

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Employee Theft (Another SprintPCS Experience)

As I wrote in a previous post, I’ve been going through the process of renewing with Sprint PCS and getting new phones. What I didn’t post, however, was my experience with the Sprint PCS rep ’stealing’ from their own store and taking cash from me. I haven waited to write about it until I was 100% sure that was what happened - and now I know for sure.

Here’s how it happened:

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