Today the WSJ has a special section dedicated to IT in business. Most examples are Mid to Large sized companies, but the same discussion can be applied to small business http://on.wsj.com/hnmYmT
If you ever think you will need more than 4GB of RAM (The answer for most small business people is “yes”), then upgrade to the 64 bit version, otherwise the 32 bit version should do fine.
Vista to System 7 Limited Time Offer $99.00
1. Run Microsoft Upgrade advisor
2. Run Scan Disk
3. Defragment disk if necessary
4. Migrate all Applications (e.g. Office, QuickBooks, ACT!, etc.), Internet Explorer Favorites, My Documents Files, Desktop & Printers
5. We will check to ensure Internet access, file access, email send and receive.
XP to System 7 Limited Time Offer $349.00
1. Run Microsoft Upgrade advisor
2. Back up “Image” of Computer
3. Migrate Favorites, My Documents Files, Desktop & Printers
4. Reinstall Microsoft Office, Antivirus, Antispyware and up to 2 applications, (e.g. QuickBooks, ACT!, etc.)
5. We will check to ensure internet access, file access, email send and receive.
We highly recommend that users have at least 2GB of RAM and at least 50GB free on your hard drive. Your video card should have at least 256MB of memory. For optimum performance 4GB+ of RAM is recommended and 512MB+ Video
User must supply Disks and Keys for all applications including System 7
Please make an appointment (678-353-3222 Option 1) to drop your computer off with us for 24 hours
This offer is good through 3/1/2010
Thank You,
Mike
Mike Gonsalves
President
StrategicFusion, Inc.
Your Dedicated IT Department
Support: 678-353-3222 Option 1
Mikego@sf-it.com
A lot of people are asking me about Microsoft Windows System 7, the replacement, or upgrade to Windows Vista and Windows XP. Let me start by saying that I LOVE this operating system. It is the best upgrade Microsoft has done in a long time. I’ve read the press and there is a lot of positive news out there, and of course some grumbling, although a lot of that is “why didn’t you do it sooner” type stuff.
We have converted a good chunk of our computers internally at our small business to Windows System 7 and our goal is to be running System 7 on all production desktops within 2-3 months.
The issues we encountered with Vista, mostly Driver related, are almost nonexistent with 7.
Drivers are what make your printer actually print something when you ask it too, they let your iPod successfully attach to your computer, they allow your mouse to work, your keyboard and Hard drive to function and a huge number of other things to take place on your computer at any time. There are Hardware Drivers and there are Software Drivers. If you have no Driver, the wrong Driver or a broken Driver you get stuck and can’t do much. When it only affects one or two ancillary items on your system, it’s not such a big deal, but if your monitor is not working… well there isn’t much you can accomplish.
Let’s face it the PC revolution is all about productivity and Vista, although a really good step in the right direction, especially when you looked at the interface, lacked a number of important drivers. Who builds Drivers? Drivers are mostly built by the manufacturers of the products that are inside or attached to your PC, for example HP would create the Drivers for their printers, Western Digital would create the Drivers for their hard drives, etc., etc., you get the idea.
So why is Windows System 7 so great? They took all the really cool stuff from Vista AND they fixed the Driver situation so now the operating system/computer goes out and gets most of the Drivers for you. Additionally, Microsoft did an awesome job of getting the companies that make the Drivers for their products to actually make Drivers for Windows System 7.
I should also add that they made some upgrades to AERO that really enhance the desktop viewing experience. For example, just by hovering over an icon in the Task Bar (Bottom of the window) Aero shows me all the open windows associated with it, and if I move my cursor over the list, it temporarily hides all windows from view except the one I stop over. If you’re like me and you have dozens of windows open on your windows desktop, this s a real productivity booster!
What I would like you to do is go to the site and run the compatibility checker and see if your system can run Windows System 7
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx
The compatibility checker will look at Hardware and Software and tell you what Drivers you will need, and if there are any special circumstances regarding them (e.g. where to find, etc.). Windows System 7 likes RAM (I recommend 4 GB) and it likes newer Video cards with at least 512KB onboard RAM. Don’t skimp on the Hard drive, go 180GB minimum, preferably 250GB or 500GB. Faster RPM’s on the Hard Drive are a good investment to get things rocking. If you are adding a video card, go for one that will handle dual or triple monitors, once you try it, you will never want to go back.
If you are a small business (if you have between 5 and 50 computers) in the Atlanta Metro Area, we would be happy to help you run this on your systems, just give me a call 678-353-3222 x105.
Don’t miss out on this part of the Technology revolution Windows System 7 is awesome!
Thank You,
Mike
Mike Gonsalves
President
StrategicFusion, Inc.
Your Dedicated IT Department
Support: 678-353-3222 Option 1
Direct: 678-990-8595
Mobile: 678-644-4453
Email: Mikego@SF-IT.com
Web: www.SF-IT.com
Computer issues? Please send email to: HELP@sf-it.com
I am happy to report that StrategicFusion has recently attained its GOLD Certified Partner Status with Microsoft. Previously we were a Certified Partner, now we are GOLD Certified. This does not change our additional Small Business Specialist Certification from Microsoft, except that it might look a little better now that we are GOLD. This certification is something we have worked and strived for as it helps further differentiate us when talking to our clients and prospects. Microsoft doesn’t make it easy to attain GOLD level certification, but they do make it easy to understand what is needed to attain it. For example, Not only do we need to have certain levels of staffing to help address client computer issues, but we need to show proficiency, via direct customer feedback (e.g. references), regarding our knowledge, experience and how well we did on a particular project. Our references are stellar, but then again, so are our clients! Running a Help Desk and Support team for hundreds of users can be logistically challenging but a challenge we look forward to, and embrace, every day. Clearly our clients think we are doing a good job as our overall satisfaction rating from our most recent annual Customer Satisfaction Survey (affectionately called CSAT) was 95%. I wasn’t surprised by this, as our own survey’s validate this data, but nevertheless I was very pleased to hear such positive feedback from our clients. I believe a huge part of our success is based on two things, the people that make up StrategicFusion, without them we would have nothing to deliver, and secondly, but no less important our clients without whom we would not exist. One of the key learning’s we have had is that communicating clearly and repeatedly is crucial to our success and the success of those we server. Of course like any business there is always room for improvement, any good company (especially in the technology sector) knows that when sitting on your laurels your competitors, and the market in general can (and will) pass you by. So rest assured we will not stop, we will not sit back, we will continue to march forward with Microsoft as our Partner, putting our clients best interest first! Mike
| Do you BING? Version 2 |
| You may recall in August I committed to use BING instead of Google for 30 days. Well 30 days has come and gone and I still use BING for 95% of my online searches. Some reasons are obvious, some more subtle. For example, if I search for video on a certain subject, just by moving my mouse across the video thumbnail on the results page the video and audio begin to play. I really like this because you don’t have to make the leap to a different site like YouTube, and the preview factor is great. My friend likes the fact that searches don’t return a lot of extra results you don’t care about (Along the lines of the TV commercials you see from Microsoft).No doubt that Google is close on the heels of any advance Microsoft may bring to the table. This will be a long drawn out battle of feature by feature increments. This is good for us (the users) because we get much better products. I have a huge amount of faith in Microsoft as they have won this war before (remember Lotus 1-2-3 and WordPerfect?). Today, the pace is much faster because of the online nature of the search engine.I have tried the shopping and travel features as well and found it very interesting I could compare sites very easily.
Do you BING? Give it a try for 30 days and let me know what you think Mikego@sf-it.com Mike |
As August comes to a close I feel a twinge of sadness that summer is ending, yet I can’t help but feel a sense of excitement that Fall is around the corner and what the cooler weather will bring! Clearly we live an astonishingly awesome world, just when you start getting bored, something pops up to keep it interesting and exciting. Social media (think Twitter) is along these lines. I’m not sure why it’s a good thing, not sure why I care what Lance Armstrong is eating for breakfast today, but find it very interesting to watch it evolve at an incredible speed. Where’s it going? Stay tuned.
A number of years ago I worked in the Fortune 500, at companies like Microsoft, Oracle and General Electric. One of the things I noticed was that these companies hired and invested in smart people.
I’ve noticed the same thing about small businesses (for our discussion here, companies with less than 50 employees) as well, lots of smart people!
The question is how do you get smart people to be productive? The answer is to give them the tools necessary to do their jobs quickly and efficiently. Technology is the true driver of efficiency (and by that I mean revenue and profits) in any business, but it makes a huge difference in small business especially if your company is partially or totally made up of Knowledge Workers. Examples of Knowledge Workers include Doctors, Dentists, Lawyers, Architects, Realtors, Accountants, anyone in Management, Administration or Finance, Small Business Owners and others. You’ll note that I called out Small Business Owners. Even though you may manufacture things like Wedding Cakes, Chocolates, whatever, Small Business owners do a lot of Knowledge Work that takes up a good portion of everyday, Sales, Marketing, Finance; all of these roles are filled by Knowledge Workers.
The term Knowledge Worker has been around for a while and we tend to throw it around without too much thought. The fact is that knowledge work is a competitive advantage for the U.S. No other country in the world has the resources and ability that we have, especially when we put our mind to something. If you think about this a little bit, you’ll come up with tons of examples, but the moon landing, our technology lead in the world as well as thousands of other examples makes us number one. Don’t let the current economic news throw you off course. Our Automobile, Construction, Financial and Medical industries are not about to go away.
So how can Knowledge Workers be most efficient? Give them the right tools, running on good systems and let them do what they do best.
The better serviced your company’s computer systems are, the more efficient and productive both you and your employees will be.
In a downturn, the companies that do the best job of realizing efficiencies from their systems, are the ones who are well positioned for the turnaround (which always comes, I promise). The companies, who think they are going to save a few bucks now, by putting this off, doing it themselves or having the kid down the street fix their systems, are in for a rude awakening. Your competitors are hiring people like us and I can assure you that we will do whatever it takes to keep our clients alive and well, as they are our life blood (think about it, no clients, no business) so we have a vested interest in doing everything we can for them to help them leverage technology to get the most out of it.
The bottom line is that NOW is the time to invest in your computer systems, to take advantage when the turnaround comes.
Mike
mikego@sf-it.com
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Most people don’t realize that computer security starts with them. An easy way to hold off trouble is to use strong passwords that you change every so often.
What is a strong Password? It is a password that is easily remembered by you, contains uppercase letters, lower case letters, a number or two, a special character and is at least 8 characters in length.
Sounds hard, but it’s really easy when you use things you are familiar with.
For example, if I grew up at 245 Lucky Street, I might make my password Lucky245& Notice I’ve used Uppercase and Lowercase Letters, I have 3 numbers and a special character.
Here are some variations on the above password luCky24%, LuckY245$, luckY245* You can come up with a bunch if you just think about it a little bit.
Another example might be something you like, like Ice Cream, you could change it to 1cecr3@M Notice that I changed the first I in ice Cream to the numeral 1. The second e is represented by the number 3, sort of an E in reverse. The “a” became an @ sign.
Why go to all this bother?
It’s almost impossible to break strong passwords. Passwords that are easy to break are common words or names (like Mike, Jump, Secret, Car, Emily, or, my favorite, and yours, Password).
Don’t think for a minute that someone is actually sitting somewhere on the globe thinking about your password, they’ve automated all that. They start a software program that goes after known vulnerabilities, or specific targets that contain a lot of valuable data, like Credit Cards, Personal Identification, such as Social Security numbers, date of birth, etc. The software does the work for them.
Why do we need passwords at all? Simply put, it is a matter of Authentication. Are you who you say you are, or are you someone who is pretending to be someone else? When a you are pulled over by a police officer for speeding, the first thing he asks you for is . License and Registration. The License authenticates who you are via the photo, signature, basic information about you like eye color, date of birth, height, weight, address, etc.
The registration authenticates ownership of the vehicle. (Passports are a very good form of Authentication as well) The bottom line is this, if you don’t want someone else looking at your data, use strong passwords to protect it. Here’s a good article on the Microsoft Website: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc756109.aspx
Mike
mikego@sf-it.com
Okay, maybe it’s about Twittering away your time on useless stuff, but people probably said that about using computers years ago, and we know where that has gone. I am giving Twitter a chance, I think it’s an interesting use of technology @Mikego427 . David Pogue says it best:
http://tinyurl.com/pr5567
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