April 2009
In this issue:

● Time Travel with
Your Computer
● Laptop or Desktop?
● Technology Saves
● Tale of 2 Dogs

Laptop or Desktop: Which One is Right For You?
reprinted with permission from HP

In the not-so-distant past, the choice between a desktop and a laptop computer was simple: do you want portability, or not? There were a few other clear-cut differences, too. Desktop models offered more power and features and were less expensive, while laptops were portable, but also more costly, and less ergonomic.

While some of these differences remain, advances in technology make many of them insignificant.

Here are a few points to consider.

Just for Laughs

Quote of the Month

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.
The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

‾Winston Churchill

Time Travel with Your Computer

“Why doesn’t my computer work today when it was just fine yesterday”? This is a question we get weekly, if not daily at our Help Desk. It’s a question people ask me when I am out and about, in both social and business situations. We are used to things working correctly, day in and day out. Usually the car or dishwasher will start complaining loudly when something goes wrong, but it’s very frustrating to have your computer working fine one day and stopped in its tracks the next.

There is an easy fix for this but I would consider it temporary at best. However, this fix could easily save you from missing a deadline or losing a very important client.

We have found that most of the time, computer systems stop functioning (or more likely parts of a system) because the software on the computer has been patched, or updated.

What is a patch or update, you might ask. A few years ago, before the Internet was so pervasive, you would buy a computer and the software to go with it and it rarely was updated. That’s because most systems were not connected to the internet, had very slow dial-up connections or they were protected behind corporate firewalls. The rise of the Internet and fast connections changed all that.

Today systems have fast connections and are attached most of the time to the internet. All computers are susceptible computer virus or malware. To stop the spread of virus’ software companies regularly patch or update their software. Why they have to patch is a subject for another day but suffice it to say that the little box you work in every day has a complexity inside it that makes even people in the know step back in awe. Microsoft Windows XP alone has in excess of 77 million lines of computer code, some of it dating back to the early 1980′s.

So what is causing the problem? What most likely is happening when a system is not running properly after running well previously is that the system has updated or patched itself, and you are getting a conflict of some type.

To fix it temporarily, as the system is beginning to boot up, you can press the F8 key repeatedly during this process and it will take you to a black and white screen that will have several choices, pick “LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIGURATION” this will reset your drivers and software back a day or so that the system will again work okay. Kudos to the engineers at Microsoft who came up with this idea and then included it in all versions of Windows.

CAUTION: There are some caveats with this procedure, clearly you are stepping back in time and removing some update that is important for your system, so you will need to get it checked out and then proceed as usual. As we learned from movies such as “Back to the Future” time travel has both its good and bad sides. Also we can only go back in time not forward, so use with caution.

When we apply patches to computers we run the patches through a series of tests to ensure the least amount of disruption to your systems.  Enjoy the spring and daylight savings time and happy computing!

Mike
mikego@sf-it.com

7 Ways Technology Saves Money

By Jeff Wuorio
Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

Every small business owner knows that new technology can be pricey.

But technology can also pay in the form of significant savings-particularly over the long haul.

Savings from technology isn’t just a matter of plugging in a new gizmo and watching the cash roll in. You have to evaluate your priorities and choose the right technology that meets your operating and budgetary requirements.

With that approach in mind, here are seven ways that technology can save your small business money.

The Tale of Two Dogs
A reminder about the benefits of positive reinforcement

Used with permission of Joel H. Weldon & Associates, Inc.
http://www.SuccessComesInCans.com

As a first time dog owner, he failed. He would call, “Ginger!” but Ginger wouldn’t respond. She continued wandering and sniffing bushes, as dogs are wont to do, and only return when she wanted to, which was neither soon nor quick enough to suit him. And when she did come back, he was furious. He would grab her collar, shake her and yell, “BAD dog! You come when I call!” But she gradually became even less inclined to respond and he grew more frustrated, until one day he left the dog on a friend’s farm where she could run free.

Enter dog number two—Dusty. By now our friend, the misguided dog-lover, had matured such that he remained calm even when Dusty ignored his commands. He just waited until Dusty did respond, then he lavished praise and affection upon her. He would hug her and pat her and say, “GOOD dog, Dusty!” Thus Dusty quickly learned that being obedient was a pleasant experience, and she became an exceptionally obedient dog, which made her master a happy dog-owner.

Continue