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Articles and ideas on managing your business
and the technology you use.
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These Guys are Good!
Client Profile: Vroom! AutoService
by Jeff Cate
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 This month I would like to depart from my normal review of a noteworthy new technology and focus instead on what I truly believe is a remarkable business story in the making. Not only is it a remarkable business story, but also it is one that could impact almost any American in the near future.
Over the past several months, PC Serv has been given the exciting opportunity to be a participant in the first steps to re-invent an industry. The industry is the... (You'll never guess by looking at the picture.)
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Microsoft SQL Server: Would You Use It If It Were Free?
by Jeff Cate
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 First, make no mistake, this is NOT intended to be a technical article. So, if you are a rank and file computer user, rest assured that you can read on without fear of encountering too many four-letter words like “byte”, “megs”, “.NET”, etc. You will, however, learn a little about databases, how they can help your business and how you just might already own one.
Would you use Microsoft SQL Server in your small business if it were free? Your first thought may be “I don’t know what SQL Server is or does, much less whether I would use it or not”. If so, then first let me tell you what SQL Server is: SQL Server is Microsoft’s business-grade database system for a server.
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Curing Information Overload With Digital Dashboards
by Jeff Cate
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 What Is a Digital Dashboard?
Microsoft introduced the concept of a “Digital Dashboard” back in 1999. As with many leading-edge technologies, the first adopters were large corporations with significant IT resources. Medium-sized businesses and small businesses have had to wait as the technology matured and the cost of implementation decreased to a level that they could afford. This article gives a high-level overview of Digital Dashboards and is targeted towards owners, managers and executives of medium and small businesses.
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Who’s Watching You?
by Randy Moody
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 Suppose I were to tell you that someone has come into your office uninvited and has installed software on your system? Suppose I were to tell you that the software constantly runs in the background, hogging critical system resources, making all your other programs run more slowly, and sometimes causing software conflicts and errors? And suppose I told you, to top it all off, that this software is watching your computer activity and sending your private information back to these invaders? Would you be concerned? I hope so. And here’s the punch line: all three statements above represent reality on the vast majority of personal computers. And, most likely, they’re true about your computer!
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Business Intelligence For The Masses
by Jeff Cate
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 Business Intelligence (BI) is one of the hot buzz-words in the information technology industry today. It is used to describe a category of database and software tools that have been around for a while, but have not been widely known to the general business computer user population. While many Fortune 500 companies have invested millions of dollars in BI systems over the past 10 years, the cost of the software and related technologies meant BI was out-of-reach for medium and smaller-sized companies. Now, a big push is on by Microsoft and other vendors, to make BI systems cost effective for businesses of all sizes.
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Do you have what it takes to get technical support?
The requirements are stringent...
The aspirants are many...
But those who make it are very, very few.
by Randy Moody
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 You say you're a seasoned businessman with tough skin. You can "play hard ball" with the best of them. You can cut through red tape. You can close the sale. You can orchestrate, coordinate, delegate, and intimidate. But can you handle 45 minutes on hold listening to "Air Supply's Greatest Hits"? (Telocity DSL) Can you listen to an annoying voice saying every 60 seconds, "Your call is very important to us. Please hold for the next available agent."? (Trend Micro) Can you wait 20 minutes on silent hold, and then find yourself trying to answer questions from someone speaking a language you can't understand located in a country you can't pronounce? (Netgear) Oh, sure. You say you can handle it. But when you're really up a creek, under the gun, and your computer or network is completely fouled up, and you're listening for the third time to "Thank you for calling technical support. Please make your selection from the following menu. Please listen carefully, as our menu items have changed. Your call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes", can you really keep a grip on your sanity? Hmm?? Well, if you answered YES to all of these questions, then maybe, just maybe, you've got what it takes to get technical support!
(Read on)
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Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst
Do you have a plan in place to keep your business going…?
by Randy Moody
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 As we approach the end of the year, we look to the coming year with much optimism. Though the economic slowdown in which we currently find ourselves is difficult, the resultant restructuring of companies nationwide can result in “leaner, meaner business machines”: more resilient, more recession-resistant, and more profitable. We have every reason to be confident that the future is bright.
At the same time, the sobering lessons of the events that have shaken our nation compel all of us in service-oriented businesses to make every effort to insure that we are still able to resume business and take care of our clients in the wake of disasters like those we have witnessed.
How about you? Do you have a plan in
place to keep your business going...
A list of recommendations...
- (Continue)
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Smart Phones
The Marriage of Computers And Wireless Phones
by Jeff Cate
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Within the technology industry, it is common knowledge that millions of dollars are being spent to take wireless phone technology to "the next level". In a nutshell, the "next level" is 1) phones that are more "computer" than phone, and 2) wireless Internet access at speeds comparable to what we have come to expect at the desktop. It is expected that these capabilities will open the door for thousands of new applications for businesses and consumers.
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Is There Anybody Else Out There?
The Alternatives to Microsoft Office
by Randy Moody
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The old story has it that a man hiking in the mountains enjoying the beauty of the fall scenery stepped too close to the edge of the mountain and started to fall. In desperation, he reached out and grabbed the exposed root of a gnarled old tree on the side of the cliff. Terrified, he saw that he was about 50 feet down a sheer cliff and about 1000 feet from the floor of the canyon below, and just barely hanging on. If he lost his grip, he'd plummet to his death. He cried out repeatedly, "Help!" But there was no answer. Finally he yelled, "Is there anybody up there?" A deep voice replied, "Yes, I'm up here." "Who is it?" "It's the Lord." "Can you help me?" "Yes, I can help." "Then please help me!" "Let go. If you let go, then I will catch you." The man looked up, then back down at the canyon floor. "Is there anybody else up there?"
Microsoft Office XP's hefty price tag, and their domineering "you buy the software, but we'll keep the keys" attitude toward the use of their software has many users scurrying around beating the bushes for alternatives.
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Locked out of your Office (XP)!!
(And Microsoft has the keys.)
Big Brother is not only watching, but watching with his
finger on the shutoff switch!
by Randy Moody
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Imagine for a moment that you have just purchased a new Ferrari (feel free to substitute your dream car) with a nine-speaker surround-sound Bose stereo system. You fire up the ignition, load the CD changer with your favorites, and back out of the driveway, ready to take this baby on her maiden voyage. But wait, what's that LCD message on the front of the stereo? "You may use this stereo 49 more times before activating the registration." What??? It's YOUR car, you think. YOU paid for it.
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Panic Buying or Planning Ahead
Panic Can Be Alleviated by Planning
By Glenda Clark
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In a real sense, maintaining your computer system is a lot like maintaining the health of your body. When it comes to both, it seems there are always two sets of people, with two very distinct motivations.
- (Continue)
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Microsoft Terminal Services:
All of the Features of Windows and Only
Half the Management Headaches
by Jeff Cate
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Remember the Miller Lite commercial several years ago?
Great Taste and Only Half the Calories? Microsoft offers a
product called Terminal Services that is .... - (Continue)
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