Looking to increase your effectiveness by reducing the time it takes you to perform simple tasks on your computer? In today's Quick Tip, we're going to cover a couple ways to access the directories you need to access the most so you don't need to hunt for them to access your files.
USB thumb drives are fantastic. Small, portable, fast, and highly compatible; these devices make it easy to transfer files and documents from one place to another. If you are burning the midnight oil working on a presentation or document from home, a thumb drive is a fast, cheap solution for grabbing those files and taking them from one device to another. Of course, there are plenty of other alternate ways to move files that are even easier and even more fool proof (how many of you have lost a thumb drive or let one go through the wash?), so the thumb drive has been becoming less popular for businesses. If you hate to see perfectly good technology go to waste, check out these 3 tricks that give new life to your old thumb drive.
I have finally taken some much-needed time off. The family and I are taking a week to spend some time in Florida. To be sure, I'll never officially stop working, even on vacation. But this reminded me of something that all small business owners deal with: namely overworking oneself. Remember to take some time off with family regularly. Assign your tasks to someone else temporarily, or plan for the downtime with your customers in advance. The point is, everybody needs time away from their business, even the most hardcore type A's need downtime. Just taking the time off and only checking in once a day with the office has helped me tremendously. It's allowed me to get the creative juices flowing again, and put the priorities back in order. The net effect? While some things may not get done quite as fast while I'm off, in the end everybody benefits, as I'll be back in the office refocused, rejuvenated, refreshed and ready to take care of my clients' IT needs. So don't forget to take the occasional time off with the family. It's actually good for business!
If you use email, you've probably seen spam. If you think we're talking about a canned meat product, and are wondering how it relates to email, then we envy you. For everyone else, saying your inbox probably has a little spam is a dramatic understatement.
Spam comes in several different flavors; ranging to inappropriate solicitations to unwanted gibberish to carefully coordinated scams. We're going to go over one of these tricky spoofs that is known to fool users.
RAID, you hear it everywhere. From the techs in the server room talking about it to computer manufacturers asking if you want a RAID formation for your computer's hard drive. Not all RAID configurations are considered equal. Here's an explanation of RAID formats in plain English.
At the beginning of the month, Microsoft officially launched Office 365. What makes this Office different from the other Office suites that Microsoft has released is that Office 365 doesn't run on your computer, it runs on a cloud server. All of your data is stored securely in the cloud on Microsoft's servers. This is great for smaller Beaumont or Baytown businesses that need to access their files from anywhere but don't currently have the infrastructure in-house to make it happen.
You've probably heard of cloud technology. All the big names in the technology industry are talking about it; but for a lot of people, it's still just a buzz word. Microsoft has been pushing the idea of a cloud for a while, with a couple sitting at an airport waiting for a layover, with the end result being that the cloud ceases their boredom by letting them stream movies from home. What exactly is the cloud and why does it matter for businesses?
The Internet giant Google is well know as being the primary search engine on the Internet and the definer of many web standards. The Big G isn't afraid to trek into new and exciting verticals. Google Wallet is one of those endeavors. Google states that Google Wallet has been designed for an open commerce ecosystem. Their goal is to eventually replace the cards that you keep in your wallet. Since Google wallet is a mobile application it can store as many cards as you want without having to carry multiple cards.
Virtualization isn't new for small businesses, some companies have been enjoying the benefits of server virtualization for many years. However, the concept is new to other growing organizations. Virtualization allows you to consolidate the number of servers you have in your company using one of several virtualization packages. Let's take a look at a few major reasons to consider server virtualization.
For a small or midsize business, technology budgets are naturally fairly slim. It goes without saying that a company needs to get the best bang for their buck with their IT infrastructure, and it's not uncommon to see workstations and other devices still in play years after their prime. This leads to underperforming technology, which in turn, limits what your bottom line can accomplish (remember, your team is only as good as your worst player). Some small businesses are approaching technology in ways that would normally be reserved for HR's interactions with employees, but they are finding that this can improve performance.
We've been talking a bit about the benefits of going mobile, especially for business owners who want to get more done. One of the best benefits of a laptop computer is portability, which leads into its greatest weakness; it's easy to steal.
According to the FBI, over 1 million laptops are stolen each year. If you are using your laptop for business, you'll want to take action ahead of time and employ some protective countermeasures to keep your business safe. We'll even go over some ways you can recover your stolen laptop.
Small business owners are discovering they don't need to be chained to their desk to use their computer, and are finding it much easier to be productive with the ability to take their workstation with them where ever they go. The concept isn't new, but the trend hasn't caught on for a lot of small businesses. Business owners who have ditched their desktop for a laptop have a whole world of benefits. Let's take a look at what some of those benefits are.
We're in an interesting era. Consumer electronics have been changing the way we communicate, socialize, and get things done. We've all experienced a recent huge evolution in the communication world with the explosion of mobile phones, with more than 4.6 billion mobile subscribers worldwide. Our technology is getting smaller and much more capable, but does that mean we'll be moving away from the typical computer-and-desk to get most of our work done?
Has waiting on a signature ever brought a project to a halt? A major way to simplify the signing process and get those contacts and other documents signed and delivered faster is by utilizing e-signature technology.
There has been a lot of talk about Google+, Google's new social network. Currently the service is invite only and invites are preciously coveted. Those who have gotten in to try it out have found a clean, simple interface. On first impression, Google+ looks like a very basic Facebook. Is Google+ worth all the clamor and is it going to change the game for social media? Will businesses be able to take advantage of Google+ the same way they do for Twitter, Linked In, and Facebook?
Laptops and Netbooks boast portability, but many laptop users find that they need to take their power cables with them if they want their device to run for more than a couple hours. While older laptops are typically less efficient, it also isn't uncommon for the batteries to wear down over years of use. Sure, you can purchase a new (or bigger) battery, but let's go over a few ways you can improve the battery life on your laptop.
I'm still in a little bit of shock this morning. I got a phone call this morning from the station manager of AM 1300 KSET who let me know Teresa Hanson passed away last night from ovarian cancer.
If you've ever listened to my show Geek Free Radio, you will know that Teresa was the afternoon news anchor at KSET, as well as the sidekick for Jack Pieper on The Afternoon Talk Show with Jack Pieper for 3 hours every weekday.
Teresa's facebook introduction says it all:
Yesterday was a holiday for employees of Networthy Systems. I worked in the office anyway, and when I arrived I noticed I had a voicemail waiting for me. I casually hit the button to listen to the voicemail, and much to my surprise, there was a woman from a small town north of our Beaumont offices demanding to know why I was stealing her business.
Below is the transcript of the voicemail, quoted word for word.
"Hi, this is ***** ********* from ******** ****. My issue is that you are using my domain name to direct business from people that search for my company to your business, which I would like to know why you're doing this. My number is *******. I'm sure ****** ********* would like to speak with you about this. So, give us a call back please."
Now, I don't know how most small business owners conduct their business, but I can tell you that I would never leave a voicemail like that for another business owner, even if they were guilty (which, of course, I'm not) I politely called her back, and she proceeded to tell me that she had been doing "research" on this, and she would trust me if I told her that I wasn't doing this. To put this in plain english, she has no idea what she is saying, but she knows she is wrong, and she is not going to apologize. Instead she is going to make excuses, try to make up some techno-babble, and pretend that I might not be telling her the truth.
For the record, if she was a true web page designer, she would know what she was accusing me of was virtually impossible. And she didn't even take the time to research our website. If she had, she would have found that we don't even compete with them. We look for smart businesses, that know they need IT support and Proactive maintenance, and also know they should leave it to professionals. We don't even have a retail store front!!
I was perhaps abrupt with her, and for that, I must apologize. I just don't take unfounded, ridiculous accusations lightly.
After all, is it my fault that our web page is optimized so that a google search shows our company before hers? After all, the word "computer" returns over 922 MILLION hits!
Please don't run your business in this manner. It certainly won't make you a trusted professional!
To Your Success,
Tim Beard
The podcast on digital photography is now posted on Geek Free Radio. This show originally aired on March 2, 2010. Tim interviews Danny Keffer of Keffer's Photography regarding digital photography and the advances made over the last few years. If you get you megapixels confused with your megabytes, then this show is for you!
The podcast regarding Email encryption, archiving, and SPAM prevention is now available for listening at Geek Free Radio. Tim Beard interviews Scott Barlow, VP at Reflexion Networks regarding new Federal and state laws about sending personal identifiable information via electronic means. They also discuss the merits of automatic archiving of all email communications in your company, and how you can combat SPAM as well. If you are responsible for a business, you'll want to listen to this podcast!