Instead of letting your technology investments continue on underutilized, here are 4 tips for getting the most out of your technology dollars:

1. Put the client in the driver’s seat of communication.

You can improve the quality of customer service offered by your company through the use of simple technology. The more connected you are to your clients, the happier they are with your work. Use technology to give your clients a way to initiate discussion with you, either through blog interaction or a discussion forum. Set up instant messaging so clients can contact appropriate staff members as necessary. It’s simple technology, but will result in improved client retention, repeat customers and better communication.

2. Create a business culture of continuous improvement.

One of the most amazing aspects of technology is how quickly it is updated and improved. Just when you think you have the best of the best, new technologies and processes are created to improve productivity. Even in the sometimes mundane office environments, new ideas will enhance efficiency and productivity. Encourage staff and consultants to let the new ideas flow – continuous improvement is the key for making the most out of your technology.

3. Take advantage of training opportunities.

If the cost of sending staff to training courses is a bit much, and you’re unable to conduct monthly training seminars on your own – consider bringing in vendors and experts whenever a new version of software is released. You can also have managed service providers deliver training virtually as needed, in order to keep your staff up to date with the programs and tools used in the office.

4. Internal email newsletters with tips.

Most businesses recognize the value of sending newsletters to their clients to keep in touch and establish relationships, but what about internal newsletters among staff members? Send a weekly email to your staff with a single technology tip that explains how to do something that will improve their productivity or make their lives a little easier. Keep it fun and add a cartoon or a quick quiz to keep the staff looking forward to their weekly newsletter. Your ideas for topics can come from training and seminars you attend, or from questions staff ask the IT department. If one person doesn’t understand something, there are probably a few others who also don’t understand – but aren’t speaking up about it.

Content by Managed Services Provider University

Accessing this repository is easy and can be done from right within the Microsoft Office software suite. They have even produced a short series of videos to get you started – RIGHT HERE.

This is a great time saver – I know I’ve used this more than once when the need arose to draft a new type of document. You can browse all of the available templates right within Office or you can visit the Microsoft Office Templates Site.

Many wireless routers available at local big-box stores are unsecured right out of the box. The reasoning for this is that the less complicated the manufacturer can make the configuration of their product, the less potential frustration for the end user – but this is a double edged sword as ease of use and security tend to be mutually exclusive.

Some simple things you can do to secure a wireless router are as follows:

1.) Change the default configuration.

This should be the first thing you do with a new router. Every manufacturer ships their devices with a default username and password as well as a default SSID (which is the "name" of your wireless network). Change the password and wireless SSID (or name) in the router’s configuration. Many routers will include a CD that will help you to configure these parameters. If you have questions, consult the manufacturer for specific instructions.

Also, its never a good idea to name your wireless network based on your address, business name or last name. This just gives any potential attacker even more information. Its always best to use a non-identifiable name.

2.) Enable encryption -

All wireless routers will support some kind of encryption. The three most popular are WEP, WPA and WPA2. Of these three, WPA2 is the most secure. WEP and WPA have some inherent technical weaknesses that can allow, even a novice hacker to circumvent relatively easily (which, in this case is very relative). Encryption can be enabled either by accessing your router’s configuration interface via a Web Browser from your computer or by using the manufacturer’s supplied CDs. Enabling encryption will prevent the casual would-be thief from accessing your wireless network but as the old adage goes, where there is a will, there’s a way – which is a resonating undertone to all things computer security related. For businesses or individuals dealing in highly-sensitive information, basic encryption is not enough. Businesses should always consult an IT professional before setting up wireless access to their computer networks and/or information systems.

Doing these two things will go a long way to secure a person’s home network.

Reduce Costs – Go Green…

Modern Desktop PCs will consume up to 55% less power – this coupled with Power Management Plans from Teklogic can significantly reduce your cost of ownership – far below the costs of keeping old desktops limping along.

Maximize Uptime – Be More Productive

Its a fact that PCs older than three (3) years experience much more downtime than new ones. With a new PC you can experience more uptime, which in turns means more productivity.

Modern PCs are Faster – Get More Done…

Modern “Core 2 Duo” desktops running Windows 7 can run nearly 3 times faster than your old PC – enabling you to get more done – which means real bottom-line dollars for your company.

Leverage Modern Technology – Wait Less…

Windows 7 Professional features like Quicklook 3 and Quickweb, make it possible to access vital information on your desktop or the web in a matter of seconds, without having to boot it up. Also, Windows 7 has been engineered to startup, shut down, sleep and Hibernate faster than its predecessors – which means less time waiting.

Replacing Your PC Can Get You Organized.

Swapping your PC for a new one gives you an opportunity to organize your information, review your processes and clean things up. When we are swapping clients PCs for modern Windows 7 desktops, we will demonstrate how you can take advantage of features like Aero Peek, the new Windows 7 Taskbar and Start Menu to access your information faster – and in a more organized fashion.

Modern Operating Systems are More Secure

The out-of-the-box configuration of modern Operating Systems like Windows 7 are more secure than previous versions. Features like Windows Bit Locker can encrypt your files – even USB Drives. New User Account Controls can prevent drive-by-downloads that infect your computer with nasty malware and spyware.

—-

If you want to talk about how we can make the PC upgrade process simple and painless for your company – let us know.

Yours Technically,

Justin Carter

• Speed up your Windows Vista / Windows 7 Computer – There is a feature called ReadyBoost present in Vista and Windows 7 that will allow you to use a USB drive to essentially increase the speed of your computer. ReadyBoost creates an extra cache memory on your USB drive. It does seem to be more beneficial to older computers or heavy multi-taskers. Instructions – Windows Vista and Windows 7
• Portable Firefox – Now I’m no Firefox zealot by any stretch but with Portable Firefox, you can take your bookmarks, settings, and plugins with you – basically your whole web browsing “experience” on your thumb-drive. More information and download here.
• Make your files portable and back them up at the same time – Microsoft has a tool they have released called Microsoft Synctoy. With this tool you can configure your computer to automatically synchronize the documents on your PC with your flash drive. This ensures you always have the most up-to-date copy in both locations allowing you to pop out the drive and roll knowing your stuff is all there – and when you bring it back it will update your PC with the changes. Instructions and Download
• Create a suite of Portable Applications to use Anywhere – A portable application is simply a program that will run without being installed – you can use your USB drive to contain the applications and settings and use any computer to run them. PortableApps.com has created a single download that you can extract to your USB drive and have access to 147 different portable applications to run off your USB Drive. This is an awesome compilation that allows you to get all the apps in one download – More Information and download here
• Backup and Encrypt your files – Using the portable version of TrueCrypt (included in PortableApps.com’s package)and Microsoft SyncToy (mentioned above) you can create an encrypted, portably accessible backup of your computer’s files.

Happy Holidays to everyone from your friends at Teklogic!

The most prolific resource for non-profits is probably TechSoup.

“TechSoup Global is one of the most comprehensive technology resources for NGOs in the world. Working with corporate donors, including Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, and Symantec, TechSoup provides nongovernmental organizations, nonprofits, libraries, and community-based organizations with the latest professional hardware, software, and services they need. These information and communication technology (ICT) donations are available alongside educational content, such as articles, webinars, and nptech community forums. As of June 2009, TechSoup Global has served more than 101,000 organizations, distributed more than 4.9 million technology donations, and enabled nonprofit recipients to save more than US$1.4 billion in IT expenses.”

If you are a 509(c3) designated NPO and cannot buy through Techsoup you can go with the Microsoft Charity Open License program. The Microsoft Charity Open License Agreement (COLA) program provides nonprofit organizations with industry standard software at steeply discounted prices.

Dell also has several programs set up to allow non profit groups to gain additional discounts on hardware and software for their business.

At Teklogic we are experts at providing Hampton Roads not for profit groups with high-quality Computer Support. We can make sure you are leveraging all of the resources that are out there to save you money and maximize your technology investments!

Let us know if you would like more information!

All versions of Microsoft Windows support the “PR Scrn” or “Print Screen” button. On a standard keyboard this is left of the “Scroll lock” key. When you press this button, a capture of your screen content is taken and copied to your clipboard. You can then paste this information into an e-mail,  a document or even into any picture editing software. If you depress the “ALT” key while  tapping the “Print Screen” button, a capture will be made of the currently selected window only  – as opposed to your entire desktop. This is a neat trick if you have large, or even Dual monitors. It will allow you to avoid capturing an image that is the entire size of your display(s). 

For the “power user” types and other people in an “information worker” position, it is useful to only capture a specific section of your screen instead of a complete window. or maybe you want to make some other notations on your screen captured information. There are a few different ways to do this.

1.) Windows Vista Snipping Tool – This is a free Microsoft utility that is installed in Windows Vista and Windows 7 by default. This app will allow you to “lasso select” information on your screen and capture it to your clipboard or a file of your choosing. It is designed for Tablet PC support.

2.) PicPick - This is probably the best free Screen Capture utility. This application is as fully featured as the best commercial products and is also portable. Being portable allows you to put it on your USB drive and “carry” it around from computer to computer without having to actually install it on each computer.

3.) Snag-it – This is the program I use and its probably the most highly regarded commercial screen capturing utility. It’s not free, but for $39.99 you get truly great utility that has all sort of built in conveniences – like pre-drawn shapes, such as arrows rectangles for use in annotating your captures and will store all of your captures for future reference or use. This is one of my “must have” applications that gets installed on any of my “regular” computers. 

One of the ways that I use screen shots to be more productive is to capture interesting information that I may want to review later. I capture the information and then store it in Microsoft OneNote – which is a whole other conversation about information management. The point here is that capturing information on your screen is a great way to archive things for later reference or to use as a means to more clearly communicate something to someone through e-mail.

At a 100% charge level, a typical Lithium-Ion laptop battery that is full most of the time at 77°F will irreversibly lose approximately 20% capacity per year. However, a battery in a poorly ventilated laptop may be subject to a prolonged exposure to much higher temperatures, which will significantly shorten its life. Different storage temperatures produce different loss results: 6% loss at 32°F, 20% at 77°F, and 35% at 104°F. When stored at 40%–60% charge level, the capacity loss is reduced to 2%, 4%, 15% at 32, 77 and 104 degrees respectively.

Guidelines for prolonging Lithium-Ion battery life

• Like many rechargeable batteries, lithium-ion batteries should be charged early and often. However, if they are not used for a long time, they should be brought to a charge level of around 40%–60%
• Lithium-ion batteries should not be frequently fully discharged and recharged ("deep-cycled"), but this may be necessary after about every 30th recharge to recalibrate any electronic charge monitor (e.g. a battery meter). This allows the monitoring electronics to more accurately estimate battery charge. This has nothing to do with the memory effect.
• Li-ion batteries should never be depleted 100%, unless you are calibrating the battery, or below their minimum voltage, 2.4 V to 3.0 V per cell.
• Li-ion batteries should be kept cool. Ideally they are stored in a refrigerator. Aging will take its toll much faster at high temperatures. The high temperatures found in cars cause lithium-ion batteries to degrade rapidly.
• Li-ion batteries should not be frozen (most lithium-ion battery electrolytes freeze at approximately −40 °C; however, this is much colder than the lowest temperature reached by household freezers).
• Li-ion batteries should be bought only when needed, because the aging process begins as soon as the battery is manufactured.
• When using a notebook computer running from fixed line power over extended periods, consider removing the battery and storing it in a cool place so that it is not affected by the heat produced by the computer.

Most laptops come with a battery calibration utility that you can run and it will drain and recharge the battery. This will help the laptop to calculate the correct runtime of the battery as reported by Windows (or Mac and Linux for that matter).

I hope this is helpful…

-Justin

For a more comprehensive guide > http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo.htm

OEM Fiscal Year End Dates

• HP -   30th of September
• Dell -  30th of January
• Microsoft - 30th of June
• Sonicwall – 31st of December
• Cisco – 26th of July
• Netgear – 31st of December  

I know Dell and Microsoft in particular have very good deals going on towards the end for their 4th quarter. These are good dates to keep in mind for anyone interested in buying any technology component.

Hail the Missing Attachment Powertoy! This simple freeware utility basically checks your message for keywords that indicate that you intended to attach a file. You can customize the list of trigger words based on your personal email habits. This utility only seems to work for Office 2007.

See: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/missingattach.html for download.