Small Business Technology News – Highlights from around the globe

At Computer Troubleshooters, we’ve once again braved the information-overload of the internet to find current trends, important alerts or general hints and tips from other sources. Here’s the best technology information of the month, relevant to small businesses.

Enjoy the articles in bite-sized pieces and click on the Read More links to see the full stories.

Note: Although we take reasonable care in selecting the websites to be linked, these external sites are not under the control of Computer Troubleshooters. As such, we do not endorse, approve, represent, or certify those external sites, nor do we guarantee the accuracy, completeness or quality of the information contained on them.

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Information Overload

Why Small Businesses are Getting So Little Done with So Much

Twenty years ago, experts were predicting that computers would eventually replace many existing jobs in the workforce, as they would eliminate the need for so many workers to process reports, type memos, and travel across the country for meetings that could be handled remotely. Computers have, in fact, provided us access to information that was unimaginable twenty years ago. So why aren’t we more productive?

Skype has made it easy to have meetings without ever leaving our desk. Smart phones allow us to check our e-mail everywhere, ensuring not a second of the day is wasted. We should be getting more done in a day than our 1900s counterparts, yet we aren’t. Experts believe the reason for that is information overload.

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5 Ways to Work Faster in Microsoft Outlook

Improving Productivity in your Emails.

Email is vital to your day-to-day work, but it can also be a sink hole into which precious time simply disappears. Anything you can do to manage your incoming and outgoing emails more quickly will free up time to other tasks. Here are five ways to improve email management in Microsoft Outlook.

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Three Ways to Extend the Battery of Smartphones and Tablets

Here are three tips for keeping your business smartphones and tablets charged through the work day – and beyond

In today’s 24/7 business environment, a dead battery is no longer an excuse for missed phone calls, texts and emails. That makes keeping mobile devices charged on the go a constant challenge

But from effective power management to a growing number of portable power devices, there are numerous ways entrepreneurs can keep their mobile devices running longer and more efficiently.

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Apple set to Announce iPad 3 in Early March

According to sources familiar with the matter, Apple is set to announce the next-generation iPad at an event in March.

Sources close to the company said that while Apple is not planning to hold an event in February, it will in March. Expected at the event is the long awaited arrival of the iPad 3. That is, according to AllThingsD.

It appears to be in line with recent reports that manufacturers were building and increasing production of the device in its factories in China.

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Small Business Technology News – Highlights from around the globe

At Computer Troubleshooters, we’ve once again braved the information-overload of the internet to find current trends, important alerts or general hints and tips from other sources. Here’s the best technology information of the month, relevant to small businesses.

Enjoy the articles in bite-sized pieces and click on the Read More links to see the full stories.

Note: Although we take reasonable care in selecting the websites to be linked, these external sites are not under the control of Computer Troubleshooters. As such, we do not endorse, approve, represent, or certify those external sites, nor do we guarantee the accuracy, completeness or quality of the information contained on them.

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10 gadgets we want to steal before leaving CES

Wired’s Gadget Lab shares the best gear at the Consumer Electronics Show

CES is a four-day assault of non-stop sensory overload. Mile-long taxi lines. Ear-splitting Gaga and Beyonce pumping from every booth. Legions of disheveled businessmen thrusting marketing collateral and contagion at anyone naive enough to take the bait.

In other words, it can be a dehumanizing grind. But it’s also our favorite place for window shopping. We descend on demo booths to mentally earmark the gear we’ll be calling in for testing the moment we’re home.

Would we really steal this stuff directly from the show floor? Well, that’s a moral conundrum each of us must resolve. We don’t think even Erik Malinowski, so full of sports-guy brawn, could muscle away the LG fridge you see above. And we’re still trying to figure out how to get the Tesla Model S out of Nvidia’s booth. Nonetheless, “Don’t ask, don’t tell” has been our mantra for CES 2012, so here are some of the things vendors may want to make sure they’ve still got before packing up.

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5 ways to boost productivity with new tech tools

Entrepreneur highlights CES devices that help you to work smarter.

The exhibit halls are crowded and bustling at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, and you can bet the long days and frantic energy have attendees thinking about working smarter — not longer. Thankfully, some of the technology showcased here hits on that nerve, from cutting down on the devices in your shoulder bag to keeping your body running at optimum efficiency.

Here’s a look at devices we found here that can amp up your output in five ways.

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Facebook Timeline: Will it benefit your business?

Social networking site hints that its Timeline feature may soon be available for brands.

Here are some things to consider about Facebook Timeline and the value it could add to your business’ social networking presence.

By now you’ve seen Facebook’s Timeline format. Maybe your own personal Facebook page is in the Timeline format. But what will Timeline mean for brands?

Currently, the Facebook Timeline format–which replaces profile pages and is basically a chronological scrapbook of your life–is available only for personal pages. Facebook has hinted that Timeline will be available for brands at some point in the future, but the company has not announced anything explicitly.

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4 questions SMBs should ask outsourcing vendors

Small and midsize businesses that plan to outsource their IT operations need to ask these four questions before signing the dotted line.

You wouldn’t hire a new employee without asking them a few questions first. The same should hold true for small businesses that outsource most or all of their IT functions to a third party.

In fact, handling managed service providers (MSPs) and other outside IT firms as an extension of your internal staff–rather than “just a vendor”–is an approach that can produce better long-term results from the relationship. That approach starts with a thorough interview.

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Each January, the I.T. industry reveals predictions for the upcoming year, so we’ve scoured the news sources and added our own insights. But first, let’s see how 2011’s predictions manifested.

‘3D without the glasses’ was a great engineering feat but hasn’t hit mainstream manufacturing for your living room just yet. Monetizing social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter etc.) has also not been widely adopted, with many businesses still scratching their heads over how to accomplish this. Facebook advertising, social media competitions and promotional codes all seem to be small steps towards this. Location-based services gained more momentum (especially with the rise of FourSquare) and with Apple re-securing a patent relating to locations, expect to hear more about these services in the future. Tablets did indeed move into the world of business, forcing I.T departments to adopt strategies for securing and supporting these devices. And last but not least, the adoption of cloud computing could not be more varied, with some companies transitioning to it completely while others are still wary of security & availability.

So what’s in store during 2012? Here are the top picks for the year ahead:

Smartphones are normal – We now have a generation of ‘smartphone literate’ kids who would never turn on a computer if they could find what they need from their mobile phone. Though we first mentioned this in 2010, if you still don’t have a mobile version of your website, give that some serious thought in 2012. With the internet in their pocket, people will research, locate and share like never before.

E-commerce here to stay – Sadly, 2011 saw the demise of some well-known American retailers, with the effect spreading to other locations too. Online stores will have to shout out their point of difference or play the pricing game to compete with one another, as shoppers easily compare items between stores. Are traditional retailers going to continue to struggle to keep up or will they adopt new strategies to exploit their ‘buy now, use it now’ capability? eBooks will continue to push through this paradigm in reverse though, as electronic delivery to your device is faster & cheaper than purchasing in store.

Mobile payments – MasterCard and VISA both rolled out ‘contactless’ payment systems last year, opening the doors for this capability on your mobile phone. Google is firmly pursuing this with the Google Wallet smartphone application, creating another advertising revenue stream for itself. Maybe in late 2012 you’ll leave your real wallet at home?

Social Media is normal – The sparkle may wear off social media but it will remain a powerful, uniting communication medium. Businesses will be forced to accept it as part of their marketing strategy or be left behind by competitors that have embraced it.

And though it can’t really be classed as a prediction, Microsoft will launch its Windows 8 operating system in early 2012, replacing the Start Menu with touchable, updating panel icons.

Whatever the I.T. industry delivers in 2012, contact Computer Troubleshooters to discuss how it can benefit your business or for any of your computing needs.

Small Business Technology News – Highlights from around the globe
At Computer Troubleshooters, we’ve once again braved the information-overload of the internet to find current trends, important alerts or general hints and tips from other sources. Here’s the best technology information of the month, relevant to small businesses.

Enjoy the articles in bite-sized pieces and click on the Read More links to see the full stories.

Note: Although we take reasonable care in selecting the websites to be linked, these external sites are not under the control of Computer Troubleshooters. As such, we do not endorse, approve, represent, or certify those external sites, nor do we guarantee the accuracy, completeness or quality of the information contained on them.

Tech Disasters
Websites getting hacked, servers crashing and data disappearing are just some of the disasters these small business owners had to endure.

Whether it’s a half-baked software program or a server outage, technological glitches can wipe out a small business’s revenues and cost thousands in recovery efforts.

Don’t expect customers to be forgiving either. “Customers just don’t seem to have the patience for a [crashed website],” said Tom Gegax, founder of Gegax Advisors, a small business consultancy. “Especially in the case of a small business, customers tend to think, `Wait a minute, I thought you guys were supposed to offer personal service.'”

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Warning: Gloomy 2012 Forecast for Internet Security
The security war in cyberspace is just gearing up.

According to a recent study from the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC) and the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) entitled Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2012, there will be a raging battlefield on the Internet.

Bo Rotoloni, director of GTRI’s Cyber Technology and Information Security Laboratory (CTISL), knows these 2012 security dangers are real, not imagined.

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40% of Mobile Holiday Shoppers are Frustrated
What’s a small business to do?

Christmas is less than two weeks away, and holiday shoppers have become “Mobile Multi-Taskers,” utilizing their smartphones to shop while they, well, shop. Internet conversations reveal many shoppers making mobile purchases while waiting in line for in-store deals, and that’s key for small businesses to understand in order to make the mobile experience a good one for mobile holiday shoppers.

“It’s not a big or small company thing,” said Geoff Galat, Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Tealeaf. “It’s a web thing.”

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TechCrunch Gift Guide 2011: Best Toys
Toys for the kids, with a high tech twist.

If you’re an aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, godmother, godfather, foster parent, or just plain old Mommy or Daddy, you might have some kids on your holiday shopping list. These are some interesting toys that I’ve come across this year and all have a certain high-tech edge that adults and kids alike can enjoy.

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For help integrating your tablet computers into your network, your applications, and your life, contact us today.

Many people have heard about “Cloud Computing”, but aren’t sure what it means.  And even though Microsoft is running a series of “To The Cloud!” TV commercials, I don’t think that’s helping – all I get from it is that somehow cloud computing involves fixing family photos.  Not helpful!

The good news is that Computer Troubleshooters has been helping small businesses move into cloud computing solutions for over 4 years now.  So here’s our definition: “Cloud Computing is when applications or functions are hosted by virtual computers in the internet, rather than a traditional physical computer or server in your office.”

The reason cloud computing is so popular right now is because it does three things really well:

1) It can reduce your expenses, especially for complex IT solutions.

2) It can give small businesses or departments access to solutions which would be far too expensive to implement on their own with traditional means.

3) It’s easily scalable, so as your business grows or downsizes you can easily adjust your IT expenses and usage accordingly.

So what sorts of Cloud Computing applications are popular in Anderson?  Here’s the top solutions we’re selling today:

1) Hosted Business-class Email (Microsoft Exchange or similar)
2) Hosted Collaboration Solutions (Share documents & calendars with your team)
3) Cloud-hosted Phone System (no up front costs, low monthly expenses, and makes it easy for employees to take their phones home or to branch offices)
4) Online Backup (keep your data safe & secure in case a disaster hits your office)
5) Cloud-based CRM (keep your client & vendor info online & easily accessible, with powerful reporting and integration features)
6) Virtual Servers (why pay $2k up front for an office server when the same server can be hosted in the cloud for a low monthly fee?)

We also sell online virtual desktop solutions, but the pricing on those is still too high to make sense for most small businesses.

For a free consultation on whether a cloud computing solution makes sense for your business, give us a call anytime.

Computer Troubleshooters Cloud Computing Video