In the “Didn’t I just talk to a client about this?” category – Windows Tablets!

This morning at a client I was showing off the Blackberry Playbook I got for Christmas, a tablet I do really like, but have been holding out posting anything on until a much needed update arrives in a few days. (more on that later)

We were pondering the tablet market and where it is going to go, as he uses a generic Android tablet and is waiting on the next gen Samsung Galaxy Tab to appear. In the course of the conversation, we made mention of the upcoming Windows 8, and Microsoft’s opportunity to make a grab at the still nascent Tablet market with their new OS that aims to be consistent across any platform. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but low and behold I get back to the office and find an interesting article talking about how MS can get into Apple’s game.

Microsoft’s killer tablet opportunity | Tablets – InfoWorld.

It’s a good read, as it makes the point of not trying to beat Apple, just offer what people want that Apple can’t give…and there is a lot for the professional, business user.

And yes I will be talking about my Playbook experience soon…once RIM finally does the update to make the device worth it!

Beware the scourge of laptop bloatware

It is very easy to find a deal on a good laptop these days. With hard drives getting back into the supply chain, and prices dropping, it truly is a great time to consider upgrading that old clunky laptop you’ve been holding onto for ages, especially if you haven’t bought into the tablet fad. I say this as someone who even got a tablet for Christmas and gave one to my wife (she got an iPad, I got a Playbook, thoughts on both coming down the pipe).

When you get that new laptop however, there are many things you should consider after you first boot it up and let it run through its setup. First thing, should be creating the backup and restoration DVD’s that almost all laptops offer immediately on their first boot. You’ll find very few computers actually come with full reinstall DVD’s anymore (Dell being an exception to that rule), so creating those DVD’s is paramount for recovery from an emergency. The second thing you need to do is a bit more complex….seek out the bloatware!

Now what in the world is bloatware? It’s a term I freely admit I may have made up myself, but I use it to refer to all the software that comes preloaded on a laptop that you don’t actually want. Take a look at all the programs that are in your Start Menu, or on your brand new systems desktop and ask yourself, “how many of these am I really going to use?”

The Ebay App? The generic casual games link? How about that trial antivirus software? Or the online backup software from a competing company? The search toolbars that load up and slowdown your web browsing?

Last week, I started the simple setup of a new Acer laptop and transfer of data to it. The process took over an hour to do after the setup was complete, just removing all the garbage the client wouldn’t need. For some reason, in their strange wisdom, Acer had loaded up a trial of McAfee’s Antivirus, alongside a copy of Symantec’s Online Backup Trial program. Two programs from two major competitors on the same laptop. Brilliant.

One of the constant complaints we get about computers, is how slow they are running. It certainly doesn’t help when the manufacturers are loading up so much crap on a machine that it starts slow right out of the gate. Keep in mind there is a reason for this…it’s one way they keep the costs of those laptops so low. The trial software pays fees to get on there, offsetting some of the costs of development…unfortunately to the user’s detriment.

So the next time you get a new laptop, keep in mind there is more to do then just transfer your data onto it if you want it to work as advertised.

Text Code you should know!

I’m not sure where this picture came from so unfortunately I cannot credit it to a particular paper or source (though I would if I could), but here is some text codes that your kids may be using that you may not be aware of.

The Blackberry App you MUST have

If you use a Blackberry, you know you don’t get the phone for the apps. No one, who is honest at least, would EVER compare a Blackberry to an iPhone or Android phone for its amazing downloadable apps. The Apps are, at best, ok, with the best of them being ones that RIM develops and publishes themselves. Of these there is one app you simply must have and setup if you own a blackberry.

Blackberry Protect is a tool has been around for a little while (iPhone users will crow they’ve had something similar for a long time but…let’s not get into comparisons or I’ll bring up push messaging), and it the ultimate security app for your phone.

Protect is a small program you install from the BB App store and then setup an account online at: https://protect.blackberry.com/

Once this is done, you have a good set of options available to let you backup your phone, track it if its lost, and in the worst cases, completely wipe it remotely if its lost or stolen.

Think about that. How devastating would it be for your personal or client security if you Blackberry was stolen? Would it make you feel better to know that just by logging into a secure website, you can instantly wipe that phone to make it useless to whoever stole it? (for its information at least).

The app even allows you to send a signal make your phone ring at the loudest setting if you’ve lost in the cushions of the couch.

Protect isn’t a flashy app, its not an app you’ll use daily (unless you are prone to forgetting your phone like some people I won’t mention), but it is an app that will help you sleep a bit better about all the information on your smartphone. With how much people are relying on these phones, and using them to store private and sensitive information, this is THE must have app to install with your Blackberry.

FMCN Workshop Series for Business Owners

Several of our long time customers have recently been asking about workshops that we put on a few years ago to help our clients with upcoming technology issues that would apply to the business world.

After some discussion we have decided to bring back our workshop series and make it available to all of our clients and collegues.

Further, we have partnered with Jane Sleeth from Optimal Performance Consultants to add a very special workshop regarding accessibility and the new AODA laws that go into effect January 1, 2012.

The workshops are designed as morning events and run for 3 hours. Continental breakfast and refreshments are included and copies of the workshop materials will be provided for the attendees to take with them. Workshops have a minimum regsitration to proceed.

They will be held at our offices at 312-515 Consumers Road in North York.

Here is a list of the available workshops and dates:

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Disaster Recovery – Is your business prepared?

This workshop is designed to help business owners understand the process of planning for electronic disaster.

Important elements include backup, redundancy, theft, acts of god, liability, employee/employer responsbility, prevention and total recovery.

The concepts discussed will help the attendee understand what technology is available to prevent, monitor and recover their critical data in case of total data meltdown.

December 9th, 2011 – 8am-11am

Price per attendee: $99+HST

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Technology Start UP! – Starting a new business and need a technology plan?

This workshop is designed to help new business owners understand the technology needs to grow a business from a one person operation to a traditionally sized office environment.

This includes topics of computing technology (computers, tablets, smartphons etc), software planning (cloud computing vs. local), safety and security (backup and protection), networking (wired and wireless), mobility (travel, remote access and offline/online), business planning, industry compliance and technology auditing and policy creation (user access, privacy and storage).

The concepts discussed will help the attendee understand what technology is available and where the technology will go as part of their long term business plan.

December 16th, 2011 – 8am-11am

Price per attendee: $99+HST

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AODA and Technology compliance! – Is your business ready for the new accessability laws?

This is a 2 part workshop involving the understand of the new accessabillity laws and the changes to technology requirements of PIPEDA (the privacy act).

As all businesses are legislated to comply to AODA as of January 1, 2012 we have partnered with Jane Sleeth of Optimal Peformance Consultants to provide an understanding of the guidelines and concepts of the new laws.

The second part will be a review of the existing electronic requirements of PIPEDA and will explain and help you understand how your business can be compliant using technology.

January 10th, 2012 – 8am-11am

Price per attendee: $229+HST (10% off for multiple registrations)

UBB – Usage Based Bull**** – Be aware of it!

How much internet do you use and really…do you care?

Last week, the CRTC passed a ruling that many Canadians barely paid any attention to. It was a ruling that was both good for us as consumers, but also won’t have much impact on our overall internet experience. Usage Based Billing. The CRTC ruled that it couldn’t be forced on third party internet companies…which is nice, except most average users of the internet use one of the big cable or phone companies for their internet. Those companies can do Usage Based Billing and have been for quite some time.

I won’t get into the hypocrisy of UBB by any internet company, but in a nutshell, UBB is restrictive billing on how much data you are allowed to transfer, both in and out, on your internet connection, usually per month. The average user doesn’t really think much of it, but they truly should.

Both Rogers and Bell offer “lite” packages that are fairly economical and advertised as being for light web usage. Each of them offers limits of anywhere from 15-25GB per month. I don’t have stats to prove it, but from our experience, a lot of home users and home based businesses subscribe to these kinds of plans. 25GB sounds like a lot doesn’t it? Think about that for a moment though and then think about just how much you use your internet in your home. Then stop and think about just how big the hard drive on your computer is. 1TB drives are quite common these days, so how far will 25GB really take you?

How many computers do you have? Laptops? Those are obvious users of the net and they’ll use some of that bandwidth. How about smartphones or tablets? They hook into your local WIFI, if you have it set up, and they use data too. If you stream videa or audio to them, you might be surprised just how much of that quota they use up!

Do you have an Xbox or Playstation or Wii? How about a new TV with advertised links to the internet? All of those items use the Internet as well, whether for playing games online, or downloading updates or watching Netflix. Every one of those devices eats away at your quota and you may not even know how much you are truly using until you get a bill in that shocks you with overage fees that can max out at up to $50 more per month!

UBB is something that we’ve written about before and was in the public eye a few months back when the Industry Minister forced the CRTC to take a closer look at the issue. You might want to take a look at it yourself and check your Internet package. Both Rogers and Bell offer services on their websites that will show your data usage, and you should take a moment to check and be sure you aren’t always close to your limit. If you download any media, watch videos, netflix or play games, the minimum packager is really never enough for your needs.

So check your usage, be aware of it…the irony is you have to use your data limits to check on the data you are using.

If you are a Rogers subscriber check out this link and subscribe to check your limits: https://www.rogers.com/web/link/signin

If you are with Bell check here: http://internet.bell.ca/index.cfm?method=content.view&content_id=17735&language=en&CFID=176493337&CFTOKEN=21758603

All companies have this ability, so don’t be afraid to dig into your data.

My Computer is Toast!

Have you ever gone to Futureshop to buy a toaster? How about a microwave from The Brick? A refrigerator from Best Buy?

I’m sure many of you have taken advantage of the weekly promotions from these big retailers to purchase appliances, furniture and electronics at bargain basement prices. But what about their computers?

When it comes to price, they are hard to beat and for the home user who plans to browse the internet and play video games, they are the cost effective solution for the household technology. Warranties, stability, compatibility, scalability, and security are of no concern to someone who plays solitaire all day.

To the business user who relies on their computer system on a daily basis, buying a toaster and buying a computer should be conducted with a separate decision making process. Computers are highly complex tools that can provide multitudes of functions to increase an individual’s ability to process more work than traditionally possible. Purchasing a computer requires a conscious decision similar to purchasing a car, not a toaster.

The truth is that most computer brands and configurations, even the most basic packages, can perform the tasks required by the average business. The key to purchasing a “good” computer is, ironically, not the features that are advertised upon purchase but those features that can carry the computer into the future. This brings us to my topic of choice…Maintenance.

When anybody asks me what computer to buy, or what they should look for, I always tell them to think about what maintenance would be required for the level of machine they are thinking of purchasing.

I know that a large percentage of buyers are looking at price as their primary criteria, but often that purchase ends up costing them more in the end when something goes wrong. A good purchase will have future planning already factored in to cover warranty, stability, compatibility, scalability and security.

Maintenance

Before deciding on how your computer system affects your business, consider for a moment what would happen if your computer stopped working. Just like any other mechanical device, a computer requires periodic inspection and testing to ensure that it will continue to operate at the optimum level. Important factors include dust and particulates that build up on moving parts such as fans, which keep the computer cool and within running temperatures. An overheating system can result in instantaneous burnout of your chips, your harddrive and ultimately puts your data at risk.

Other physical issues can include dried out plastic connectors which can cause random power failures and also potentially damage data. Being able to detect and prevent issues is an important function of periodic maintenance and a properly trained technician can inform you of the issues that may occur with each visit.

No matter the computer or system you purchase, ongoing maintenance plans can compliment the warranty and increase the lifespan of your technology. When comparing the maintenance that I have provided to my customers over the years, a trend of what works and what doesn’t has appeared and can be categorized under 5 categories which I will post in subsequent blogs.

Please HP just give up!

Five hours. That is how long a very new HP computer took to restore to factory default, using 4 supplied DVD’s on a brand new warranty shipped hard drive. Five hours! That time doesn’t include Windows updates, install of antivirus and custom software or restore of data. That is JUST to restore the system back to the state it was in when it was first purchased.

It’s no secret that we don’t have a lot of support for Hewlett Packard at FMCN. We think they make great printers, the Laserjet 4 is still one of the best made computer devices ever. When it comes to anything else though, we stay away from them as much as possible for one simple reason: they can’t get their software right.

I have never encountered a company whose software installers take up so many resources, take so long to install and fail during those long installs as often as HP. There is never a reason that installing printer software should take a half hour, but that’s the norm in the last few years when it comes to HP printers. However, this one, on a brand new HP computer, where the hard drive died in the first few months and new drive and software were shipped directly from HP? This is just inexcusable.

If I had bought a replacement hard drive, used the Windows 7 code on the box to install Windows 7 Home Premium manually, it may have taken 2 hours to finish the install, do all updates, restore data and programs…depending on the amount of data of course. Windows 7 is a breeze to install, and by far the fastest and simplest of any MS operating system to install. Half the time you don’t need to even worry about driver installs for the hardware!

So what possible reason is there for an HP PC to need 4 DVD’s (one of them a mysterious “supplemental” disk that has to be used, otherwise you can’t do the restore at all) and 5 plus hours just to get the system back to factory default?

A few months ago HP dropped their tablet lineup in a disaster of marketing, despite the hardware being quite good. They then made the snap decision to get out of the PC market as well, before reversing that decision quickly.

Tell you what HP. Do another reversal, please, and unless you can figure out something as basic as a factory reset…stop selling computers. Don’t even get me started on the non-standard screws you use inside your cases…but if it takes a trained tech 5 hours to replace a hard drive and restore a computer, how do you expect the average home user to do it?

Do us all a favor…go back to what you started out being good at and see if you can replicate the decade old Laserjet 4.

How secure is the online buying experience?

IF you have ever purchased something online, you will undoubtably have seen the Captcha authorization panel.

So Standford has come up with a bot to crack those codes to see how secure they really are. Read the article below for the link to see how far they got.

Captcha Cracked

When not to post Flowchart!

Original link: Click Here