Resolute

Stormy Decision

To power on or to power off?  That is the question when a storm approaches, just as Earl did last weekend.  And today is the peak of Hurricane Season.  A power loss can corrupt open documents or a power surge can turn your computer into a slice of burnt toast.

Two schools of thought
There are two different viewpoints on this matter.  One says that you should yank every cable from the back of every electronic device.  That's fine if you've got one desktop computer, one laptop and an alarm clock.  But if your home or business has several computers and a variety of printers, phones and other electronic devices, then this might become a daunting task, especially when it comes time to plug everything back in!

Life as usual
The other protocol is to leave everything as usual, but to be prepared.  Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS's) are available and affordable.  Acting both as a surge suppressor and as a battery backup, these devices are invaluable in that they protect your technology investments, as well as your data.  I would almost consider them a one-time insurance premium; as a matter of fact, many of these devices come with a warranty that protects anything plugged into them, that is, as long as you follow their terms.  For example, adding a simple surge protector to the mix (called daisy-chaining) is not acceptable.

Everything's humming along
If your system is of considerable size, then you might have a server closet - a mysterious room full of whirring machines.  Power protection and power redundancy are critical considerations here.  Please consult with your technology specialist to be sure that all is in order.

Brands
APC and CyberPower are the two major players in the UPS market.  I've used both and been pleased with both.  Basic power protection can be had for under $50, which will essentially cover one workstation's worth of equipment. 

Peace of mind
So power protection is not a bad investment to consider in regard to safeguarding your valuable equipment and priceless data, whether the storm hits or not.  Leave your systems running every night with peace of mind.

Outlook is Your Friend

Not to be confused with the lesser Outlook Express included within older versions of Windows, Microsoft Outlook is the most popular email client, especially in business, and usually packaged within Microsoft Office suites.  But it's not just used for reading and sending your email messages - its Calendar, Contacts and Tasks features are often unused assets.

History
utlook has actually been around since the days of MS-DOS, but most will remember its popularity beginning with the Outlook 97 edition.  Since then, there has been released:  Outlook 98, Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and now Outlook 2010.

Send
One way to deter the onset of Repetitive Strain Injury is to use keyboard shortcuts.  Instead of clicking on the Send button every time you're ready to launch and email, just hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and then hit Enter.

Schedule
Not only can you drag and drop an email into the Calendar, but you can right-click on an email and then choose Follow Up, and finally click Add Reminder.  And don't forget that Calendar items can then be dragged and dropped to a new time slot when appointments are changed.

Address
When you receive an email from someone, right-click on the email address in the From: field and then click Add to Outlook Contacts.  Many who have lost their Address Book have been able to repopulate their Contacts this way.

To Do's
The Tasks feature is least used, but still a powerful tool.  Flag an email and it then appears in your Tasks list.

Outlook for Mac?
Sorry, not really.  There is Entourage, which has some of Outlook's capabilities.  But Outlook for Mac 2011 will hopefully add more functionality.

Exchange
Outlook is most functional when used in conjunction with an Exchange Server account.  In this manner, one can have Outlook on their office desktop, their home desktop, their laptop and PDA phone - all instantly and fully synchronized.

Going Green with Digital Documents

Not only have I always been an environmentalist, but I've become tired of storing and transporting dozens of file boxes over the years.  So just about everything goes digital these days, and then gets backed up, of course!

Print to PDF

The simplest solution either for the home user or small office is to print your documents not to your printer (which is not only hard on the environment, but costs $$$), but to print to a Portable Document Format file (PDF).  It used to be that you had to own the very expensive Adobe Acrobat Professional, but now PDF converter programs are available for free.  There are many to choose from at CNET's Download.com - I've used PrimoPDF with ease of use and simple functionality.

Document Management

As a Microsoft Certified Small Business Specialist, I'm not obligated to say that my favorite way to manage documents is by using Microsoft SharePoint, which is also a great web-based collaboration tool.  SharePoint can be hosted on your own server or you can subscribe to a hosted service at various levels of storage capacity with respective pricing.  When you subscribe to a Hosted Exchange account, then you get a 100MB SharePoint site included.  The feature with the best ‘wow factor' is that these documents can be accessed right from within Outlook, so you can be checking email, scheduling an appointment and reviewing a colleague-revised contract without ever leaving Outlook.

Free Storage

For the Home User, there are many places to store your PDF-printed files for free.  For example, MozyHome Free allows up to 2GB of storage.  If you need more, then they charge $4.95 per month for unlimited storage.  This is not available to businesses.

The Process

So here's how it would work:  From QuickBooks I print an Estimate as a PDF file; the customer replies back with an approval by email; I deliver the product or service and then send an Invoice as a PDF by email; if the customer pays by check, then I scan the check, deposit the check, and then upload the scanned check to my SharePoint web site.   No paper, no paper files in storage boxes, and no toner or ink cartridges to buy.  And no ink or plastic to pollute the environment and no trees cut down to make the paper.

Hidden Service Costs at the Big Box Stores

Over the past few years the big boys have realized that they were leaving money on the table when people purchased computer systems from them.  These systems will certainly demand repairs or upgrades at some time in their lives.

So Best Buy bought the Geek Squad and now Staples is heavily in the game.  But it takes a trained eye to recognize what they DON'T offer within their flat-fee pricing.  For example, they'll install your operating system, but they won't be performing any Windows Updates - and there are *hundreds* of Updates for Windows XP and older Office programs.  These take a tremendous amount of time to download and install, especially on aging systems with relatively low processing power.

Also in regard to a re-install of your operating system, backup is additional.  But they only will back up 10GB of data - this is miniscule by today's standards. 

Free PC tune-ups are loss leaders.  But they don't do much anyway!  They'll do a 10-minute malware scan and a 10-minute defragmentation.  But not only do you have to bring your computer into the store yourself, they'll stand there for 20 minutes filling you with fears and trying sell you on additional products and services.

Do you trust your geek?  These young workers are paid very low wages and have limited experience. Many don't last long, so there's little chance to establish a long-term relationship. 

Connected Vacationers, Connected Workers

Connected Vacationers

Cisco Linksys Wireless Router

I was recently setting up a wireless network at a vacation home. Once the Internet went live, there was a round of applause from the dining table as the family was finishing their lunch - laptops alongside lunch plates, of course.

And I've had other requests for wireless setups at vacation homes lately. So it seems that a vacation isn't a vacation unless all are connected.

Connected Workers

Motorola Droid

As we service these vacationers, communication is key to providing the highest, most competitive level of customer service. With the advent of advanced mobile devices, we can carry our office in our hand. Not only can we talk to our clients and download their emails, but we can have completely synchronized Email, Calendar and Contact items on every computer or device that we touch, either at home, the office or on the road.

Home Users
For the Home User market, most people's primary use of their computers is email and web browsing with the occasional word processing task. Nevertheless, one can become rather impatient as the computer starts up - something like staring into a pot as it brings water to a boil.

When is a computer still good enough to invest in repairs?
When do you say it's time to buy a new one?

Business Users
Businesses, on the other hand, have greater demand on their systems. And these systems must be reliable day in and day out. Most of all, though, the business user must remain productive, so speed is a critical factor - time is money, they say...

Back in 2003...
Enlight ChassisI began building custom Windows XP machines back in 2003, and some are still in fine shape seven years later. But if the hard drive would fail or a virus would render the machine inoperable, then a $400-500 investment might not seem justifiable. Although I recently performed such a project on a computer that is now running like new, so this home user will get another few years' use out of it - as long as it remains well-maintained. The Windows XP base of machines is a massive target for malicious activity, so these systems must be constantly plugged with new patches and service packs.

Refresh Rates
In the corporate world, there is generally a 3-year refresh rate - new computers every three years, no matter what. In the Small to Medium-sized Business (SMB) world, many companies try to stretch their machines to the 5-year mark. But as these machines reach their advanced age, they become slower and start to cost too much money, especially in regard to loss of productivity, and not to mention the costs of ongoing repairs or upgrades.

Windows XP Mode
Windows XP ModeWindows XP
There are so many Windows XP machines out there running important programs that can only run on Windows XP, so businesses are reluctant to upgrade. But now with Windows 7 reaching its first birthday next month, it is a fairly mature and well-received operating system. And one of its key features for the SMB market is Windows XP Mode, which allows legacy software programs to run on a brand new Windows 7 machine - you can enjoy the best of both worlds! But be careful - Windows XP Mode will not run on a consumer-based machine purchased from the local big-box store, that is, unless it has Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate or Windows 7 Enterprise edition installed.

A New Era
Windows 7 Professional We're nearing the end of an era with Windows XP, just like the Windows 98 era eventually disappeared. These older operating systems did their job for us, but they became degraded and more vulnerable to attack. It's time for the more secure, more productive and more versatile Windows 7 Professional system.