My Laptop vs My iPad

Big corporate IT departments are constantly struggling to meet their end users needs.  In the good old days, business-class IT hardware was just too expensive for the individual. Sure, you could bring your personal laptop into the office but the gear that your employer provided was typically of higher quality so what was the point.  The IT departments “no corporate e-mail accounts on personal machines” policy wasn’t that big of a deal. We didn’t mind being told what we can use and how we could use it because there just weren’t that many choices.

But today, smart phones and iPads are changing things.  Particularly for a class of workers that I’ve heard  termed , “information consumers.” As the name implies, Information consumers tend to use more information than they create.  They  spend more of their time reading and responding to e-mail and using their tools to digest information created by other people instead of actually creating  content themselves.

Information consumers tend to be more mobile and traditionally they’ve used a laptop because of it. But it’s never been the perfect tool for the job. I spend a lot of time on the road visiting clients and prospective clients. As a result, I spend a lot of my “in between” time in coffee shops with Internet connections. In between time typically consists of a half-hour here 45 minuets there. I found that in between time is best used to log in and check e-mail and to catch up on phone calls. The brevity of my in-between time makes it difficult to get any other kind of work done.

A laptop is most certainly overkill for just checking your e-mail, but I’ve always found it difficult to do e-mail on a smart phone.   Like most people, my first smartphone  was a BlackBerry. I got pretty good at thumbing out two and three word e-mails, but composing and meaningful response to a client on a thumb pad was incredibly difficult for me.   I traded in my blackberry for an iPhone sometime ago and that certainly didn’t help to alleviate this issue.

As a result, I was always reaching into my bag for my laptop, turning it on, waiting, logging on to the wireless network, waiting, logging on to  the corporate network, waiting and then finally getting to access my e-mail. Depending on the speed and age of my laptop this exercise ranged from a few minutes to whole lot of minutes. It’s an incredibly frustrating process but I didn’t have a lot of options. That is, until now.

My iPad has a battery life of nearly 10 hours and so like my cell phone, it’s always on. I still have to wait a little bit to log onto the wireless network but it’s only a little bit. The big problem with the iPad is the integrated keyboard. It’s still difficult to pound out e-mail on the touchscreen. I solved that problem by purchasing a wireless keyboard that also serves as a protective case for the tablet.

I downloaded an app that allows me to create a remote desktop connection to my corporate resources. The app allows me to use the touchscreen to simulate a mouse cursor and it does an okay job, but again I really wouldn’t use this out to open up a word document and try to create a proposal or scope of work. There’s just not enough real estate on screen and the user interface is just too different for me. But I can certainly use it to login to Endsight business system to check on the status of the project or to reschedule a site visit.

I’m still heavily reliant on my laptop. In fact, I’m using it to compose this blog.  But my iPad has forever displaced it while I’m on the road. Quick access to my e-mail  while I’m mobile is just one of the things I like about my iPad. If you’re considering incorporating  a tablet into your computing environment and you like to hear more about my experience click here and let’s set up a time to talk in person.

Quality Equipment = Quality Experience

I don’t get to play golf as much as I would like, but you wouldn’t know it from all the golf shirts in my closet.  My wife is incredibly organized and errs on the side of minimalism. As a result, she really takes exception to the fact that I have so many shirts and she takes every opportunity that she can to get me to purge a few of them. In particular, she’s after one light purple “Polo” branded golf shirt that I’ve owned since college. The shirt’s in great shape but it’s age and the fact that I have so many newer, wife approved shirts places it in my wife crosshairs every time she gets an urge to spring clean the closet.

Problem is that I’m pretty partial to the shirt. Back in college I didn’t have a lot of money. So when my mother purchased the shirt for me I knew I had a quality item. Of course, I never would’ve dreamed that the shirt would’ve lasted as long as it has.

I usually tell my wife I can’t give the shirt away because, "I just look to good in it .”  Then she rolls her eyes and tells me, "get over yourself."  She’s right, it’s all too true that I feel like I look good in the shirt, but I think the real reason I keep the shirt around is because it’s a reminder of the quality of buying quality.

Similarly, there’s a lot of technology out there and just like golf shirts, tech comes in varying degrees of quality. Sometimes the technology is so important that it’s really hard to justify purchasing the most "economical" option. Yes, servers from reputable manufacturers such as HP cost more, but the data and software applications that reside on servers are vital.   If something were to go wrong HP has a pretty deep bench and resources that can be brought to bear to correct an issue. The risk of using a lesser-known manufacturer really outweighs any cost savings.

But sometimes the cost to quality trade-off is less cut and dry. Wireless networks for example are often targeted for cost-cutting. It makes sense, wireless networks are a more recent addition to corporate local area networks.  As such, I think they still carry the stigma of being considered optional or add-on.   Early on this may have been the case but now more and more of us have multiple devices that use a wireless Internet connection.  That means that the equipment managing the wireless network has to be more powerful and it has to be smarter and that means it’s going to be more expensive.

At Endsight, each of our clients is assigned a Technical Account Manager or TAM.  One of the TAM’s primary functions is to identify key areas of weakness or inefficiency in the computing environment and to make recommendations to address those areas. Part of the TAM’s analysis includes evaluating and comparing technology options. Endsight’s  Network Operations Team is also continually evaluating new hardware and software that can be safely and reliably deployed across the client base.

Sometimes we end up standardizing on one of the more expensive platforms and sometimes not. More often we find that the most valuable solution (the one that will provide the most "de-hassled" end-user computing experience) isn’t necessarily the most expensive solution. But because were looking for the most quality solution, most of the “economical” technology is rarely the right choice.

Adam Camacho, one of our TAMs, forwarded the included link:   This article by William Van Winkle, details the findings from a wireless performance test that his team conducted.   Adam included this as part of the due diligence he was conducting for one of his clients.

If you feel like it might be helpful to work with a partner that can bring recommendations based on research and analysis of what’s happening on your network, click here and lets schedule a time to meet in person.

5 ways to make your keyboard easier to use

I found this helpful set of keyboard tips and thought it would be useful to re-post it.  You can see the original post from Microsoft by clicking here.

How to use a keyboard might seem academic, but there’s more to typing than just tapping the keys. For most people, the keyboard is the primary computer input and control device—that’s why it’s important to leverage the features and shortcuts that keyboards offer. Read on for tips to maximize ease of use, comfort, and efficiency.

1. Get to know your keyboard

Whether your keyboard is just out of the box or it has seen years of use, it may have features you don’t know about. Take a moment to review the literature that came with your keyboard, visit the manufacturer’s product website, and familiarize yourself with the layout of the keys. Knowing your keyboard’s capabilities and limitations—and where to find time-saving keys—can make it easier to use and can even increase your productivity.

2. Customize keyboard settings

After you’re familiar with your keyboard, customizing just a few basic settings can further improve your efficiency and accuracy. For instance, you can adjust:

• The pause before a character starts repeating.

• The speed at which characters repeat, which can help you avoid typing errors.

• The rate at which the cursor blinks, which can enhance its visibility.

You can make these changes right now:

• Windows 7

• Windows Vista

• Windows XP

3. Take shortcuts

Even if you’re a genius with the mouse, keyboard shortcuts can still save you time. They’re called shortcuts for a reason—they reduce multiple clicks to a single combination of keys, like hitting a chord on a piano. They also economize hand and arm motion.

Using keyboard shortcuts for the things you do all the time, like saving or closing files, can make computing much easier and faster. So whether you want to work more easily and efficiently in Internet Explorer, streamline your Microsoft Office Home and Student 2010 experience, or key international characters into your emails, you’ll find scores of shortcuts to speed you on your way. The table below offers only a few common standard-keyboard shortcuts, many of which work across Office applications—from Outlook to Access, from Visio to PowerPoint, from Word to Excel. You can find a more complete list of built-in keyboard shortcuts for a particular application by searching in Help for keyboard shortcuts. You can even peruse this keyboard-shortcut lists:

• Windows 7

• Windows Vista

• Windows XP

4. Make it easier to press multiple keys

If pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del seems an acrobatic feat, you can set up Sticky Keys. The Sticky Keys feature lets you hit shortcut keys one at a time rather than all at once. You can even set Sticky Keys to make a noise so you know it’s working.

You can set up Sticky Keys:

• Windows 7

• Windows Vista

• Windows XP

(Tip: In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, Sticky Keys has a keyboard shortcut—press Shift five times in a row.)

5. Find a comfortable keyboard

Keyboards come in many shapes and sizes, and the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard your coworker swears by might feel downright awkward compared to the Comfort Curve 2000 you covet. Keyboards come in a variety of colors and key styles, too, not to mention with and without wires. And some keyboards are definitely louder than others. All Microsoft keyboards are carefully designed to balance form and function with comfort. Test drive a keyboard or two to find the right one for you.

Although using the right keyboard can really make a difference, ergonomics also play a key role when it comes to typing comfortably.

Tips for using your keyboard ergonomically

It is essential to use good ergonomic practices to help prevent or reduce soreness or injury to your wrists, hands, and arms. It is particularly important if you’re in front of your computer for long periods.

Here are some ergonomic tips for a safer, more comfortable computer session:

• Position your keyboard at elbow level, with your upper arms relaxed at your sides.

• Center your keyboard in front of you. If it has a numeric keypad, use the Spacebar as the centering point.

• While typing, use a light touch and keep your wrists straight.

• When you’re not typing, relax your arms and hands.

• Take a short break every 15 to 20 minutes.

• Type with your hands and wrists floating above the keyboard, so that you can use your whole arm to reach for distant keys instead of stretching your fingers.

• Avoid resting your palms or wrists on any surface while typing. If your keyboard has a palm rest, use it only during breaks from typing.

How you use the keyboard is up to you. But by taking the time to adjust a few settings and to follow the guidelines above, typing on it can become easier, faster, and even safer.

What can you do with dual monitors

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.

Microsoft Outlook is always available:

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.

7 Simple Ways To Keep Your iPad Secure

This is a great list posted by our friends in Florida, Connections for Business.  I liked it so much, that I’ve decided to repost it.  You can find the original post by clicking here.

Don’t leave it lying around Although this is common sense, you’ve probably violated this rule more than once. iPads are easy targets for thieves, so don’t let it out of your sight when in a public place – and don’t leave it in plain view in your car or you might end up with a broken window in addition to a stolen iPad.

Use a passcode Although it’s not 100% hacker-proof, it will block unauthorized users from accessing your information. Consider enabling automatic data erasing You can configure your iPad to erase your data after 10 failed passcode attempts. Clearly this is not a good solution for anyone who constantly forgets a password or those who have kids who might try to endlessly log in to use your iPad.

Sign up for MobileMe This software will allow you to locate a lost iPad and, if it’s not recoverable, you can remotely wipe the device of your private information.

Limit its capabilities You can set your iPad to restrict certain functions such as access to Safari, YouTube, installing applications and explicit media content using a passcode. In the corporate world, an IT administrator could set these restrictions for company owned devices. At home, you can use this to restrict what your children can do with your iPad.

Install software updates As with all software, make sure you have the latest security updates and patches installed to protect against hackers and viruses.

Only connect to trusted WiFi networks Public WiFis are open territory for hackers and identity thieves. Whenever you connect, make sure it’s a legitimate, secure connection.

Small Business Jobs Act of 2010: End of the Year Tax Savings to Consider

At Endsight, we pride ourselves on keeping our client’s computer systems running smoothly and reliably. A component of delivering on that promise includes computer hardware and software life-cycle management. Each Endsight client is assigned an account manager who is responsible for documenting every computer, laptop, server, and networked device in the client’s computing environment. Over time, this information is used to help the client make informed technology replacement decisions.

Endsight provides hardware and software resale services as part of our “all-you-can-eat” outsourced IT service. Dale Hoffman, Endsight Senior Analyst, manages all our hardware and software purchasing on behalf of our clients. Dale has been with Endsight from day one and has always used his deep understanding of computing technology to help our clients make the most of their hardware and software purchasing dollars.

Dale recently forwarded me some interesting tax savings information included in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that I thought we should pass on.

On September 27^th, President Obama delivered an early Christmas present to both small and large businesses alike, but businesses must act fast in order to take full advantage of the tax savings being offered.

“Section 179” Capital Equipment Expensing
For smaller businesses, the Section 179 expense limit was retroactively increased from $250,000 to $500,000 for 2010 as well as 2011. This means, for tax purposes, that certain profitable businesses may immediately write off 100% of qualified capital equipment (including qualified computer equipment and off-the-shelf software) purchased during these years, achieving immediate tax savings. In the past, this benefit began to phase out when a company had purchased $800,000 of capital equipment in one year, but under the new expanded version applicable to 2010 and 2011, the tax benefit is fully or partially available to businesses which have not purchased more than $2,500,000 in a given year.

Note that if a company is in a taxable loss position during the year the asset is purchased and unable to immediately benefit from this special deduction, the unused expense may be carried forward to offset taxable income in a future year.

50% Bonus Depreciation Allowance
Small and large businesses alike can benefit from the 50% bonus depreciation allowance, which has been retroactively reinstated for the entire 2010 year. Previously expired at the end of 2009, this popular provision allows all businesses to immediately deduct 50% of the cost of qualified equipment without regards to profitability or investment limits. But note: there is a very short window of opportunity: qualifying equipment must be purchased AND placed in service on or before December 31, 2010!

Cash Flow Planning
These tax benefits are available in the year the equipment is purchased or even leased, regardless of whether any payments have been made for such equipment during the year. In other words, businesses may enjoy a tax break now for assets they haven’t even yet paid for! However, not all leases will qualify — be sure to consult with your tax advisor.

You can learn more by consulting with your tax advisor or visiting www.irs.gov.

Cloud Computing

There is a lot of noise about cloud computing. It’s fairly new and new is exciting. So what exactly is cloud computing? More importantly, why should a small business owner care?

The cloud is a metaphor used to describe the Internet. Cloud computing is building on that metaphor to describe using the Internet to deliver computing resources as a service. Broadly, cloud computing is the convergence of three technologies: server virtualization, utility computing and software as a service.

1. Virtualization allows software to be separated from physical hardware.This in-turn, allows a single physical server to become 10, 50 or even 100 virtual servers.
2. Utility / grid computing allows server capacity to be accessed across a grid of systems.This in-turn allows computing capacity to increase or decrease depending on user or resource demands.
3. Software as a service allows on-demand software applications via the Internet to be purchased on a predictable monthly subscription basis.

This convergence allows a provider to aggregate many computing resources and profitably deliver those resources as a service for a fixed monthly fee.

The resulting delivery model is highly efficient, but it’s not the key reason for a small business to consider cloud computing. The key reason is best illustrated by looking back a century ago to the emergence of the national electricity grid.

Originally, if a business needed electricity it would have to build and fund the generating capacity on its own. Boilers, turbines and transformers were expensive and so only the largest firms could afford the new technology. The emergence of the grid allowed everyone access to electricity on a subscription basis. All one had to do was plug in. No more expensive capital projects.

In the modern era, mostly because of its size, a small business is inherently forced to either pay for more computer resources than it needs or to suffer with systems that won’t quite do the job. It’s an unwinnable contest that does not balance out.

Cloud computing gives a small business the ability to finally balance that equation by allowing them to pay for only the specific IT resources, service and support they need. Small businesses no longer have to lay out huge amounts of capital for servers, software and staff to build and maintain IT resources such as corporate email, shared files and accounting applications. Instead, they can plug into a computing cloud and access only the resources they need on a fixed fee subscription basis.

As with any new technology, there are a lot of options and providers to consider working with. If cloud computing is an option for your business, moving an on-premise computer network to the cloud needs to be thoroughly planned. For more information about cloud computing click here.

In addition to operating a private computing cloud, Endsight manages more than 100 on-premise computer networks. If you’d like to discuss your current situation and determine the cloud’s applicability to you’re business click here to schedule an in-person meeting.

Top 3 PC problems you can fix yourself

Generally, we do not recommend that our clients spend their valuable time attempting to solve minor computer issues.  Endsight maintains a fully staffed response center whose sole purpose is to solve these problems for our clients.

That said, I can appreciate those of us that like to tinker with things.  Sometimes I just want to understand what the problem is and figure out how to fix it on my own.  It’s a total time waster, but sometimes I just can’t help myself. 

I found this article on the HP Small Business Website and decided to reprint it here.  For more related articles, click here. 

Small & Medium Business

Firms Not Cutting IT Security

This is an article I found in business weekly which addresses Endsight’s main IT Security direction. Although the economy is down, companies cannot afford to skimp on security and IT maintenance. Endsight now offers virus and spam protection at the desktop and server levels. Many of our clients are realizing the value in protecting their most important asset- their knowledge. Back up is becoming more practicle, affordable and important these days. It’s a safe guard that many companies only realize the importance of once its too late.

Please enjoy this article written by Stewart Baines of silicon.com

Despite tight budgets, CIOs, faced with rising threats from malware and disgruntled employees, have decided it pays to be wary, surveys show

With IT budgets flat or declining, you might have expected security spending to be similarly under pressure. But it seems CIOs faced with rising threats—including those from malware and disgruntled employees—have decided that it pays to be wary.

Indeed, several surveys have reported that enterprises are increasing their security budgets in 2009 despite cuts in overall IT budgets, with tech chiefs expecting security issues to grow this year as a result of the economic uncertainty.

Speaking to IT directors, the story is the same: downturn or not, cutting security spending is not worth the risk.

Jane Kimberlin, the IT director of Domino’s Pizza, which is bucking the trend of depressing financial results thanks to diners downsizing to a takeaway, said: “We are in fortunate position of finding the downturn not affecting sales. Consequently I am not experiencing any budget constraints at all.

“Having said that, I don’t think we would ever reduce our security budgets. I often talk to other CIOs in the FTSE 250 and it’s not something anyone has said they would do.”

Similarly David Supple, IT director for Ecotec, a management consultancy working in the public sector, said despite the tricky economic climate: “Overall our IT security budgets are not down a lot.”

Crisis, what crisis?
So with IT security budgets largely intact, are companies well prepared for the challenges ahead? Over the past year there have been a string of high profile data breaches, and embarrassing cases of lost laptops, USB drives and CDs in the public and private sector.

But the fear is that such mistakes could be replaced with the deliberate theft of data, with disgruntled former employers made redundant in the downturn fuelling the insider threat to IT security.

Alan Rodger, senior research analyst, Butler Group said: “The insider threat is the most significant. With people’s jobs coming under threat, some will make the most of the opportunity before they leave. For others, simply being told their pay is being cut might inspire them to breach security.

“Investment over the years has focused on security threats outside of the organisation but I believe companies now need to spend a lot more time looking at the threats from within.”

Rodger’s stance is underlined by a recent Ponemon Institute survey of 950 people who had lost or left their jobs during the last 12 months. The research found nearly 60 per cent of them took company information, such as customer contacts, when they left.

The threat of flexibility
As the downturn rumbles on, there is pressure from business managers to be more flexible and cut costs: get closer to customers, work from home more often, and reduce the overhead on centralised offices. The counterpoint is that data leaves the once fortified confines of a company’s premises.

“My internal customers need to be more mobile and so we have seen an explosion of devices on market like netbooks which help them do this. I have to get the balance between making services accessible and security, and security has to win every time,” Domino’s Kimberlin said.

“But we have to recognise that there is a blurring between our work and personal lives so if our employees want to use social networking for instance, we let them do it as long as it doesn’t compromise our security,” she continued.

Ecotec’s Supple added: “Employees are working at weekends and in the evenings from home, maybe when they were not doing it before and using equipment that is not ours,” adds Supple. “Our perimeter has grown.”

So what can an IT director do when faced with conflicting pressures to make working practices more flexible, yet make access to sensitive corporate data more secure, particularly when there is little money around for investment in anything other than business-as-usual security? The trick is to focus investment on where it makes a difference.
Burton analyst Rodger said: “Over the years, most IT security projects have not had to be qualified by a business case but that is changing. Many businesses are recognising that they need to assess the risk, and find a balance between financial cost and the probability of a breach happening.

“When you understand the risk—and how the economic crisis could increase risks—you stop making short-term cost savings in the IT security budgets in ways that leaves you open to the worst risks.”

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2009/gb2009039_621530.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_global+business

Easy Way to Fix Computer Errors

Fix Computer Errors With These Quick Tips
By Kaiser R.

When it comes to fixing computers to make them run faster and smoother again. It can become quite a task if you truly don’t know how to. Here are a few things you can do to make your computer fast again.

As you use your computer files and folders become unorganized in your PC’s way of organizing things. This is called fragmentation. After your hard drive has so many fragments it will take longer for your computer to find files in its own filing system thus taking time to run or open programs and files you are trying to use. With Windows and other operating systems they usual provide you with a disk defragmenter tool which will get rid of fragments found on your computer. This will make loading programs and files much faster.

Get rid of any junk files that you may have. People tend to not clear out their internet browser temporary files folder, cookies, history data, etc. Cleaning this at least once a month will help keep the junk to a minimum and help in improving performance.

I’m sure you all know about scanning for viruses, spyware, and even malware. When you do scan for this make sure you are running in safe mode. For windows you simply turn on your computer and press F8 at the boot screen.

When Operating systems are running in safe mode they only load the bare minimum files and programs to run the operating system. This will make sure you are able to get rid of them certainly. Be sure to use more than one scanner some can find certain infections while others can’t.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kaiser_R.
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