Where technology experts at Endsight share their expertise on IT Management, the issues that arise for clients, and the benefits of technology for medical practices, biotech firms, law firms, financial services and other small businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.
I remember when I got my first dual monitor set up. I’ve always been a mobile worker and so I was surprised when I found the 2nd monitor sitting in my cube. Up to this point, the only people I’d seen with multiple monitors were the response center guys. They’ve always had at least three monitors so that they can run a remote session on one screen and research and document issues on the others.
I didn’t know what I’d use my 2nd monitor for. But I got the hang of it. Now a days, I would be really limited without it. I thought I’d detail how I use the extra real estate.
The email task and calendar views are key applications for me. As I’m talking on the phone I’m constantly referring back to my calendar to schedule meetings and then checking my inbox to reference email. With two screens I can eliminate the toggle between email and calendar. I do this by right clicking the calendar tab and selecting open in a new window. Outlook becomes much easier for me when I can spread it’s different views across two screens.
Research / Reference is a breeze:
I often use multiple resources to research a company or topic. Again, the extra space gives me the ability to read Webpage content on one screen, open a link to a reference page in a new window on the second screen, read that content and quickly switch my attention back to the previous page and continue reading. It’s a huge de-hassle and time saver.
I never need to find my soft / phone
I’ve blogged about my VIOP phone system before. As I wrote in that posting, One of it’s most useful features is its softphone. A softphone allows me to take calls on a wireless headset that’s connected to my computer. I can be anywhere and take calls just like I was in the office. Dual monitors allow me to have always-on access to the smart phone console.
Editing documents is easier:
John Grover, Endsight’s VP of Client Strategy, found a neat trick that helps him to create Microsoft Word documents. He inverted his 2nd monitor and configured the view so that he can see more vertical space on the document. This saves him the time of scrolling down a page.
How to set up dual monitors:
I’ve included a link to an article I came across on how to set up dual monitors. You can check it out by clicking here.
Dual monitors are just one example of the many ways hardware / software configurations can de-hassle the work day. At Endsight, we’re constantly looking for things like this. When we find a useful tip, we try to make sure we share it with our Outsourced IT clients.
Finding the right employee for your team can be challenging. With thousands to choose from, the task can be overwhelming. Choose wrong, and your new employee won’t be the right fit for your company. Hiring an employee who doesn’t complement your team can result in lost time and productivity, turnover, headaches, and more.
When hiring, employers often fall into the habit of finding employees with similar strengths and backgrounds instead of balancing their team with a variety of different skill sets and experience levels. Keep these things in mind for your next hire.
Team Needs
The first step to finding the right employee is to examine the needs of your team. Don’t just look at the qualifications and job descriptions you have on paper. With the size of the current job applicant pool, it’s a great time to hire employees whose skills and strengths surpass basic qualifications to bolster team achievements.
Consider your team’s strengths and weaknesses in areas like experience and personality. If your team is made up of creative thinkers who get lost in ideas, consider hiring a more decisive, analytical thinker to add balance, give input, and keep everyone on track. Once you’ve established your ideal applicant, evaluate and interview potential candidates who meet the team’s needs with their experience, personality, and strengths.
Experience
If you have a habit of hiring inexperienced employees whose development you can shape, don’t dismiss an experienced applicant. Adding experience to the team can generate efficiency and productivity, provide the necessary insight others lack, and help streamline processes.
If your team is made up of experienced employees, consider an inexperienced candidate who can bring fresh ideas to the table. Workers who need experience can add passion and flexibility to the team. Eager to prove themselves, these individuals will work hard to achieve new goals. Whether you hire an individual who is looking for or offering knowledge, having different levels of experience on your team will help diversify your company.
Personality
Personality can play a big role in the dynamics of a team and the wrong personality can affect how a team operates. Find employees who’ll work well with others, especially when staff members work in close quarters, like a cubicle. If your employees can be somewhat high strung, consider hiring someone who’ll help mellow the team’s dynamics. Not sure what your team wants? Consider opening a portion of your interview up to team members to get their feedback.
Strengths
The success of your team depends upon each person’s strengths and abilities. So, hire employees who add to the current strengths. Combining the right employees can create an unstoppable team and benefit each member’s unique abilities and skills.
Taking the time to hire the right fit will help your team achieve its highest potential.
This article is courtesy of Express Employment Professionals of Marin an SBA Certified and Woman Owned Business - Tracy Dempsey, owner. For your organizational and staffing needs, contact us at 1-415-472-5400.
“The next time a website says to download new software to view a movie or fix a problem, think twice. There’s a pretty good chance that the program is malicious.”
I am sure most have seen pop-up windows while browsing the internet when suddenly, a WARNING flashes at you saying “you’re infected with hundreds of virus”. If you are lucky, you can click close and all is well. But sadly the majority get infected with what I call “scareware” in which you are attacked with an endless barrage of fake virus alerts and request to buy “the hackers” anti-virus program to remove the viruses which they used to infect you in the first place.
Working in the response center here at Endsight, I do my best to quickly resolve virus issues and limit production down time by trying to do a Windows system restore as soon as the virus hits. It doesn’t work all the time unfortunately since newer virus are starting to disable system restore. What we then have to do is hunt down the virus manually by booting into safe mode and running malware removal programs and inspecting the registry to clear the infection.
The main question I get from clients is, why do people do this. I find that people do this for different reasons, most for monetary reasons such as redirecting websites in attempts that you buy whatever is advertised there. Also for the personal gratification that they were able to pull off such an attack on so many systems. Evil you say, I would agree.
Unfortunately, even the most secure computers with the latest antivirus software updates and protection can get bypassed when hackers exploit new holes in the system. Fortunately, Endsight is able to limit these attacks and the spread of chaos to other systems on the network through regular updates and patches. But in the end, it’s really up to the user to decide whether to browse unsafe websites or click on that suspicious link and download the video which a “friend” has sent of the funny cat playing the piano.
Luan is a native San Franciscan with a B. A. degree in Graphic Design from San Francisco State University. He has an A+, Network+, MCDST, Windows 7 MCITP, and CCENT certification. Luan has 5+ years’ experience doing remote tech support in a corporate environment for 2500+ users. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two children looking for the coolest museum and parks to explore and have fun. Some of his hobbies include photography, looking for online deals for electronics, tennis and watching sitcoms from the 80’s.
I just got done watching the embedded video about the new Windows 8. You can always make a demo look good, but I’m eager to get my hands on this and play around with it.
Up to this point, the only people I’d seen with multiple monitors were the response center guys. They’ve always had at least three monitors so that they can run a remote session on one screen and research and document issues on the others. 
