Greg Nixon - New Zealand Computing Solutions

Eleven Ways NOT to Waste Your IT Investments

2012-01-17T12:51:00.000+13:00

It’s insane to waste business money, especially when it concerns your Company’s IT investments. Stop this madness by following these 11 tips:

Do not put your company’s server room in the restroom. This sounds outrageous; however, there are companies that actually do this. My own eyes have witnessed one in the toilet. Please use your restrooms for bodily function purposes only – not IT department purposes.
Do not settle for cheap Information Technology options. Keep in mind the firm saying “you get what you pay for” because this is true. So, cheap isn’t better when it comes to IT investments.
Don’t off and run to retailers like Disk Smith Electronics or Harvey Norman to buy a new printer without consulting your IT department first. Just as you’re always advised to consult your doctor before starting a new diet, the same advice goes for your Information Technology. Yes, it’s just that important!
Do not wait until you hire a new person to call the IT department and request a new computer, network jack and cell phone. As a business, you should always be step ahead of the plan, so have all this in place beforehand.
Don’t plan for your servers to last 5 or more years. As anybody knows, life has a lot of unexpected moments. This goes for business as well. So never assume you can have a server for five years or else you may be disappointed that it last only three years.
Do not take your IT department for granted by considering them a distraction from your profits. In actuality, they empower you to increase your productivity as well as generate more revenue.
Do not wait until your IT equipment breaks down in order to fix it. Keep in mind when your business slows down, so does your money. Avoid this scenario by monitoring, maintaining and replacing your IT on a regular basis.
Don’t build something and think that people will come. This mentality is similar to thinking a puppy will come because you order to do so – people aren’t animals taught to obey their masters! Therefore, don’t bother wasting your money on installing a system for a nonexistent problem.
Do not consider a little business downtime as a golden opportunity to take a break. Wrong! This can hurt your business big time; particularly in monetary means. Be well prepared for business continuity as well as disaster recovery.
Do not neglect providing your IT department with ongoing technical training. Granted, they should already be skilled in Information Technology; however, this is an evolving business. So for the sake of your business’ success, keep them up to date on what’s going on in the IT world.
Do not fail to budget for equipment replacement and IT support. Everything wears out. If you’re going to run a smooth business, you best to be prepared for it. So include it in your budget and it will save you from hitting the wall with a mad fist because you didn’t.

Do any of these situations sound familiar? If so, then you have issues that luckily can be solved. Your solution is New Zealand Computing Solutions. Turn your IT business situations around by moving to a managed solution. Your IT work is an important asset to your company. That’s why at NZCS, your IT needs are our number one priorities. Call us now.

Company name as text on your web site

2011-11-10T08:56:00.000+13:00

Just a quick web design tip for your business today. I find a lot of web sites that have logos and images to represent their company name but trying to find the name as text on the web site can be a real challenge. Images and logos are great but have the business name somewhere on your contact page as text. Why is this important?

If you deal with the company - be it as a lead, client or supplier there are times you want the company name. It could be to fill out a form or setting up a new client in our database or adding a contact to outlook. When I want this information I find your web site and go to your contact page and copy and paste it. That way I know there are no spelling mistakes (well hopefully anyway :) If you only have images it make it difficult. You want to make your site useful of people that deal with you.
It is much better than images for your search engine optimisation because text is much easier to index

Upgrading your iPhone to iOS5

2011-11-05T19:47:00.000+13:00

iOS5 is latest operating system for your iphone, ipad or ipod from Apple which has more that 200 new features.

Upgrading your operating system from XP to Windows 7 is something you might normally get your IT provider to do but iOS5 has been designed to be simple enough for anyone to do. There are a few issue that can occur but I have not seen anything to dramatic. Before you start make sure you have a spare couple of hours because it is not a 5 minute process.

Upgrade to the latest version of iTunes
When it asks to upgrade to iOS5 say no.
Delete any apps in iTunes you do not use any more and have a bit of a tidy up.
Do a sync of your iDevice.
At this point it is a good idea to turn off your Anti-Virus. I had a problem with this when backing up the phone and good a 5000 error. Turning off the Anti-Virus and doing it again it worked correctly.
Go to your iDevice and to the version panel and commence the upgrade. This will start by downloading the new OS which will take about 30minutes.
Next it will backing everything up and load the new operating system.
It will then restore the apps. It might appear to hang at this point but it is because it is waiting for you to run through a wizard on the phone.
Run through the wizard and it will continue to restore the apps.

Kickstart your software development career

2011-11-05T19:44:00.000+13:00

Every day we get CVs from people looking for software development jobs but the majority are just not prepared and are wasting their time. If you want to be a software developer in 2011 you should know at least two programming languages and make sure one is widely used. I don’t want to know about the semester you did c or C++ at Uni or some other course. This does not give you enough experience. I want to know about language you used to create a project that you wrote for yourself at home that took at least 30 hours to complete. I want to see your passion and I want you to be more than a copy and paste programmer. I need to know that I can give you a problem and you can come back with a simple solution to that problem.

Know current programming languages

If you want to become a professional programmer I recommend learning one or more of the following

C# (Either look at being the best you can at either Web Based or Windows. Don’t try and master both to start with. I personally believe web technologies are going to give you the best future.
Rails
Mobil languages like Java and Objective C – Android, Iphone and IPad development. Mobile is going to be hot for a long time.
HTML 5 / CSS 3 / Javascript

Have experience

Defined: Have created a project from scratch outside of an academic environment to solve an actual problem

Created a web service.

Creating a multi-threaded application

Connected to a SQL Server database with a development language.
Created and dropped tables in a database using SQL not tools. Selected data including joining multiple tables, filtering data and ordering data with SQL. Have written a SQL function or stored procedure and used it within an application. Too many people tell me they know SQL and all they know is how to select * from table. You ask them to join to tables and they have no idea. Even a junior programmer should be able to join two tables.
Know the basics of security. You should know how to stop SQL injection and cross site scripting attacks. A basic knowledge of hacking will help you create more security code.
You might not be a designer but should have studied UX (User experience) and UI (User Interface) concepts and know how to make a screen look good and be functional.

Show me what you can do.

This may be the first job you are applying and you cannot point to examples online but it is so easier to sell yourself by demonstrating what you have created at home. Doesn’t matter what it is. Be creative and show off your skill. It could be making an electronic CV for instance. Your goal is to get attention. Another way of doing this is to work on some open source projects.

Know what you want

If you like to do a lot of different jobs then a company like New Zealand Computing Solutions is perfect because you are doing a lot of work for clients. If you prefer to work on one product then a start company like EzPSA is probably more what you are after. On the other hand if you prefer not to have to make so many decisions then a large corporate company might be more to your liking.

Quickly open items on your Windows 7 taskbar

2011-10-08T17:28:00.001+13:00

Windows 7 has a large taskbar at the bottom of the screen where you can pin your most popular programs. There is a little known feature for keyboard junkies to open these programs quickly.

In the windows 7 taskbar illustrated there are two icons that are displayed. Counting from the left holding down the [Windows Key] and pressing a number starting with 1 will open that application.

So [Windows Key] +1 will open Windows Explorer and [Windows Key] +2 will open Windows Media Player.

Coneybeer Email Management

2011-09-18T14:59:00.003+12:00

The Daily Email Grind

Managing emails gets harder every day. It is not spam but I get more mail everyday by 8am than I get in my letter box over a 12 months period. A few years ago I could cope with the number of emails which was probably around 20 a day but now I am halfway through a Sunday and have received 42 emails. More and more are automated but there are others from people asking questions or wanting quotes. Regardless of the source they all require some attention.

Organised Email Folder Systems
I have seen a lot of people put everything into different folders and keep it nice and neat but I for one don’t have the time to do this. There is a balancing act between being over organised and completing nothing and being somewhat organised and meeting deadlines. I do need to keep emails as they are important records of who has done what in conducting my business and I can always search through the emails. Other people use rules to file them automatically – this is like having a personal assistant opening your mail and filing it in a folder and wondering why you don’t know what is going on. There are cases where rules like this are useful but be careful with important email.

Coneybeer Email Management

The best system I have found to manage large amounts of email is called the Coneybeer Email Management System. I was introduced to it about a year ago and it still requires some discipline but the beauty of its design is in the simplify and if you go off track you can get back on again very easily. A lot of systems fail because as humans we tend to fall back into bad habits but with this system you can get it going again with minimal effort.

Create a folder called completed
Move everything from your inbox into your completed folder
Wait for new mail to arrive
As soon as you have completed an email in the inbox move it from the inbox to the completed folder if it is important or delete it if it is not.

Your inbox then becomes your to do list. If you leave it to long you might end up with a big inbox again but just move everything from the inbox into completed folder and start again. Down the track you might want to create folders for Years and move mail out of the completed folder into year based folders so they do not get too big for searching.

If you have Outlook 2010 completing emails becomes even easier because you have Quick Steps and can press the completed button and have it move it for you. You can even assign a shortcut to this like CTRL+SHIFT+1 if you prefer to use the keyboard to move the selected mail to the completed folder.

How to make Foxit Reader more like Adobe Acrobat

2011-08-06T13:17:00.000+12:00

If you are sick of how slow Adobe Acrobat is, or the number of security updates or have problems with it printing and jamming then maybe you should look at Foxit Reader. If you are used to Acrobat you might find some of the differences a challenge to start with but with a few options you can change the settings to make it closer to what you are used to.

Foxit reader uses Tabs by default much like your browser. This means it requires less of your screen when you open a number of PDF files. The downside is that it is harder to compare two different PDF files. The best way to get that feature is to allow multiple instances. You can do this by going into the Tools menu and down to Preferences. The go to Documents and tick the option to Allow Multiple Instances.

The default screen is different for zooming. It is more like MS Word with the zoom at the bottom of the screen rather than on the toolbar at the top. The other thing you can do is turn on the View toolbar. You can do this by going to the View menu and then go down to Toolbars menu and tick the View toolbar.

When we install new software we tend to just run with the default options. One is because we don't know any better and the other is we don't have the time to learn the new product. If something doesn't work the way you are used to it is worth exploring as software tends to have a lot of features no one knows about that might increase your productivity.

Web Design and Development in Wanganui

2011-06-30T13:41:00.000+12:00

Just because you have a business in Wanganui or elsewhere doesn’t mean people will know of its existence. Web development solves this dilemma with the creation of a website. It’s the most powerful marketing tool in present day for any business.

A website with an impressive web design presents a business as being professional and worth doing business with. In addition, it provides convenience to visitors. Since it is virtually open 24 hours and seven days a week, visitors can shop or browse a website for information while your actual business is closed. Best of all, a website allows you to have customers outside of New Zealand. Who knows, you could get a customer as far away as Hollywood!

All of these great results lead to more sales and repeat customers. So, to see these results, your website must have an engaging online presence. This is best achieved through web development resulting in a well-crafted web design.

A customized web design gives your business an online identity of its own. You won’t find a duplicate design online elsewhere. Businesses in Wanganui, New Plymouth, and other areas in New Zealand can count on a business such as New Zealand Computing Solutions to deliver such customization.

This, however, cannot be said for low quality website companies offering limited templates. These same website templates are often used by thousands of other companies. Dealing with the wrong web company and be a painful experience.

As a business striving to be found online, you can also expect web development done through NZCS to conclude with a website that’s search engine friendly.

This poses another problem with low quality website companies: not all of their templates are search engine friendly. This is because the background coding is poorly developed. The worst part of this problem is that your online marketing efforts will suffer greatly.

These are just two of many situations that can be a problem or not – depending upon what type of web design you choose for your business.

In conclusion, the answer is clear for businesses in Wanganui and other surrounding areas of New Zealand. The web design and web development services of NZCS can handle your online needs by designing, developing, and optimizing a website that works exclusively for your business.

Think Before You Share in Social

2011-06-21T01:29:00.001+12:00

As social networking becomes more and more popular our privacy disappears. We are becoming more public with a lot of aspects of our lives. It is now easier to keep in touch with friends and see their photos and even see where your friends are hanging out. Be careful to think how this can also be used in the wrong hands. Young people don't always understand the risks with what they post on the internet. It is next to impossible to remove things once they have been shared. The information you post can not only effect your next job interview but also your personal safety. Social networks are no different to school play grounds with both fun and some fairly anti-social behavior like bullying as well.

Our children need to be educated to use these networks responsibility and schools need to play an active roles in this. Be sure to regularly check the privacy settings and only let out information to feel safe with.

A Computer Repair Solution for Wanganui, New Zealand

2011-06-21T00:22:00.000+12:00

Thanks to the invention of the internet, computers are far more useful today than they were twenty years ago. Such uses include:

Running an online business
Playing computer games
Watching TV and movies
Listening and downloading music
Typing documents
Communicating with people
Doing research
Sharing photos and files

Having this much usefulness on a computer is most certainly convenient. However, this convenience does come with a huge problem: the threat of a virus or other malware.

A computer virus is software program the spreads from one computer to another; its interference with a computer’s operation can lead to corruption or deletion of your data and are often designed to extract money from you.

Two common ways for getting a computer virus are:

Email attachments, which carry the viruses in images, greeting cards, audio and video files.
Internet downloads from websites.

Once your computer gets a virus, you may notice a variety of problems. The following are just a few of those problems:

It will run slower than usual
Your desktop or laptop computer will stop responding; it will constantly lock up
It crashes and then restarts every few minutes
Irrelevant error messages begin to pop up sometimes they will try and sell you something to remove the infection.
New icons that you didn’t place on the desktop will appear

Once these signs occur, it is in your best interest to get your computer fixed. Computer problems may be a headache for the average person who knows little or nothing about computer repair. For a company such as New Zealand Computing Solutions, doing computer repair is as natural as breathing.

An IT services and computer repair business, New Zealand Computing Solutions has proudly served the Wanganui region since the 1990s. Our staff is an expert at computer and laptop repair; thus your virus infected computer is in knowledgeable hands that have the extensive training to do computer repair on computers infected with viruses. Our desktop and laptop repair business can also help Wanganui businesses and residents whose computers are experiencing difficulties with malware, spyware, and SPAM.

No matter what the problem is with your computer, when you bring it to us, it will be fixed. Computer problems are indeed irritating and inconvenient. That’s why our business is here to help the businesses and residents of Wanganui overcome this dilemma.

In addition, IT professionals such as the ones at New Zealand Computing Solutions are up to date on the latest computer viruses going around. Given this, you know you are in the best heads.
After we complete your desktop or laptop repair, your computer network will be restored and working like new.

If you are quite IT savvy and a bit of a DYI expert you may want to try and clean it yourself just be careful with tools from the internet as there are some that can make things worse. In conclusion, the people of Wanganui don’t have to ask, "where can I find a place to fix computer viruses by removing them in Wanganui, New Zealand?"

The solution is simple: it’s us. New Zealand Computing Solutions is ready, able and available to do your server, desktop or laptop repair either in the Wanganui office or via remote support.

Infinitylaw Legal Conference

2011-05-24T22:35:00.000+12:00

I spent two days last week at the annual Infinitylaw legal conference held by Fujitsu in Wellington. Infinitylaw is a highly featured, fully integrated, Legal Accounting, Management, and Marketing System used by top New Zealand law firms.

It was interesting to hear the stories from legal firms describing how they got their businesses on track again after the Christchurch earthquake. A lot of firms used VMware and virtual servers and backed up using Shadow Protect and these were the quickest to get going again. Most firms did not want to talk to their IT provider for about four days as it was more about reuniting with family which is pretty understandable. Once they wanted to get the business going again the time varied depending on if what they still had. One site was lucky enough to recovery the SAN but others had a variety of backups from RDX disks with Shadow Protect images to traditional tape backup. Sites with tape backup took on average two weeks to be up and running again compared with a day or two for the others that had virtual servers or Shadow Protect images.

I have not been a fan of the traditional tape backup for many years and this helps build a case for image based backups and designing our systems with virtualisation and relocation in mind.

Change - good, bad and the ugly

2011-04-30T09:50:00.001+12:00

I was recently talking to a potential client that was talking about implementing a new system. He said to me the one thing that is guaranteed about change is that you will lose something. I have been thinking about that insightful comment ever since and it is so true. No matter if you are upgrading your operating system, software applications or your car you will find new features and also find things that no longer work the same way and probably some things that just don't work as well.

Some people understand this is really no different to the concept of physics. They embrace the positives of the changes and try not to worry about the things they lose. If something has been taken away this suggests it was not popular. You could generate a support ticket on the vendors helpdesk and see if they get it resolved but you can waste a lot of time messing around recreating the the old. It maybe you were using the technology in an manner the vendor did not expect or support. Put that time into innovation and creating new ways that achieve a better outcome. This then becomes are challenge rather than a problem and most of us find challenges more fun to deal with.

If we think change is a problem and everything should work the way it used to we are not going to innovate. Innovation is critical to business success, especially in distributive times.

Once a year you should review all your processes. Getting a consultant or an outsider to help do the review can be beneficial. Remember there is always room for improvement and nothing is perfect.

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Wanganui Iphone/IPad users group meeting

2011-04-11T17:21:00.001+12:00

Interested in iPhones, IPads, IPods? No matter if you have one or are thinking of getting one come along for this purely social event to talk with other like minded people. The event will be help at Stones Restaurant (16 Alma Rd, Wanganui) at 5:30pm on the 20th April. The event is free just bring some money for the bar and if you want to stay for a meal. We need to know numbers so please send us an email before the 18th. Numbers are limited.

Keeping your PC clean

2011-04-04T18:31:00.000+12:00

Computers are like magnets for dirt. We regularly see computers where fans are just clogged with dust and someone has eaten their lunch on the keyboard.

Whenever your computer is serviced the engineer will use a compressor to blow all the dust out of all the nooks and crannies to ensure your computer doesn't get clogged with dust. Dusk can block the air-vents which can cause overheating. Overheating is one of the most common causes of component failure. If you prefer to clean it yourself the easiest way is to purchase a can on compressed air from a local computer retailer.

Bacteria can build up on the keyboard and other parts regularly handled. Do not spray the computer directly. Instead you can put some general cleaning spray onto a cloth (I recommend microfiber) and gently clean the outside of the device. For the keyboard a cotton bud dipped in an alcohol based cleaner (damp not dripping) works a treat.

Use monitor cleaner and a microfiber cloth to clean the screen. if you do not have monitor cleaner just dampen the cloth with pure water.

Always try and provide a clean environment for your computer. If it must be kept in the wool shed put something over it when it is not in use and give it regular cleans.

Why do I need commercial Antivirus on my home computer

2011-03-18T21:01:00.000+13:00

Two years ago I would have said you need commercial grade Antivirus because it works so much better than the free stuff. Nearly every computer we fixed would have either no Antivirus or a free Antivirus product and would be full of malware. Nowadays every infected PC will generally have some form Antivirus either commercial or free. More common than not these computers are used by someone under 20 years old. Commercial Antivirus is no guarantee your not going to get infected so why buy it?

In Business you need multiple layers of defense including commercial Antivirus and often they come with other more compelling features like Anti-spam, but for a home PC I would suggest using Microsoft's free Antivirus. Since Microsoft built the operating system there is a good chance they can perform the fastest. Does it stop everything, no, we still see infected machines but it is pretty good. You really need to try and educate yourself on the dangers to trying and prevent getting infected because normally we actually infect ourselves by taking an incorrect action due to clever social engineering by the malware creators.

The next thing I would do is download free versions of: Malwarebytes and Super Antivirus and just run them every month or two to check your system is clean. These products often pickup nasties that the others miss and if you find them useful buy a copy as they are really good value. If you get an infection and it keeps coming back it is time to see a professional to help you clean it up.

Help Chrome has taken over my PC by itself

2011-03-10T11:14:00.000+13:00

In the words of a great NZ beer, Yeah right. Additional software will install because we hate interruption and click Next, Next Next when we doing an install and unbeknown agree to install it. The problem is these days software like Acrobat and Skype install extra crapware as part of the install unless you do not curiously unselect the option. I guess you could say ok fair enough for free products as the money they earn from the likes of Google helps fund their free software and maybe you could expect this from open source or free software companies but the product I am talking about come from big established commercial software companies which it is poor.

Don’t get me wrong, Chrome is great browser and is in fact my default browser but I despise this insidious installation practice. I have no problem with ads during an install but come on guys you cannot call this permission marketing!

Next time you install and upgrade make sure you take the time to read each screen and untick any offers to install additional software or toolbars.

Automatically closing Outlook emails messages after replying

2011-02-24T10:33:00.000+13:00

I don't know if it is just me, but during the course of a day I open a lot of emails and by the end of the day my desktop is ciaos with browsers and email messages.

On my wish list for Microsoft is a feature in Outlook to close all emails except the one I am looking at. Similar to the "Close other tabs" option in a browser. While that is not currently an option without writing an add-in there is a great feature you can turn on to help reduce the number of emails open.

Once you have replied or forwarded an email there is generally little point in keeping the email open. To have Outlook automatically close emails when you forward or reply to them go into your options.

Click the File menu in Outlook

Click the Mail tab on the left

Scroll down the mail options about one page.
Tick the checkbox that says "Close original message window when replying or forwarding"

Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 7 SP1 availability announced

2011-02-13T11:34:00.000+13:00

Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1), along with Windows 7 SP1 have been released to manufacturing and will be made generally available for download on February 22.

New features coming to Windows Server includes Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX which builds on Microsofts virtualisation capabilities.

Dynamic memory allows you to increase the density of your virtual machines increasing the opportunity or using virtual desktops.

RemoteFX is to improve graphics-intensive applications user experience for Remote Desktop connections by virtualising graphic resources

View Facebook using SSL

2011-02-08T22:43:00.000+13:00

Help protect your Facebook account from eavesdropping by going into Facebook -> Account -> Account Settings and click Account Security and tick the checkbox "Browse Facebook on a secure connection (https)"

Google Places Iphone app - discover and rate places

2011-01-13T08:23:00.000+13:00

Google have just launch their new Google Places app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The app allows you to find businesses and places based on where you are and adds the social value of being able to rate and share your experiences of dealing with this business. They are taking on competitors like Yelp, Foursquare and you would have to say the Yellow Pages. Google Places iPhone app has nine default searches for the most common businesses like finding local Restaurants, Coffee, ATM or Attractions. You can also add your own searches. Just click the + and you could for instance type in "Website design" and it will create an icon for you so you can always find the local website design companies. I can see this being a great tool for the traveling sales person.

Businesses are going to have to up their game to protect their online reputation which is great for the consumer.

A browser version of Google Places is also online at http://google.com/hotpot. Google Places for iOS is free and can be downloaded from the iTunes App store and requires an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.0 or later.

It is great to see Google continuing to develop for the iPhone.

Cold calling IT scam continues

2011-01-08T01:48:00.000+13:00

If you get a call from someone claiming to be an IT professional wanting access to your computer remotely and you don't know them, hang up. Over the past year there have been a lot of scam cold callers offering to clean up viruses on your computer or checking your computer for scams. Just like real IT professionals they get you to download software so they have control of your computer.

Most genuine IT companies do not make cold calls offering to clean your computer. New Zealand Computing Solutions (NZCS) certainly would never do this. You approach us and we might remote into your computer but please don't give access to anyone you do not know. Be wary of them, they will try and gain trust through socially engineering. They might offering up information that could be true or is able to be found online through social media sites.

Don't fall for it.

Seven questions your IT company should ask when purchasing a new server

2010-12-22T01:29:00.000+13:00

Computers and technology are running the world now and there are few families or businesses that doesn’t use computers. Internet and websites are ruling the planet and they have made life much more comfortable and easy. All of us know that computers run on servers and there is a huge network behind it. Many companies look at purchasing new servers for their computers and they run from one company to another to get the best. But how would you know if the IT company is good enough to give you a server that takes care of your requirements? There are a few things your IT company should ask you in return when you are purchasing a new server and that checklist would prove whether you have approached the right company or not.

   1. Would you like us to create a scope of your requirements?

Your IT Company should first offer their services to perform a scoping exercise and would first assess your network and will conduct a full review of the technology you use in your work place. When the assessment is done, they would know your requirements and will finalize on the kind of a new server you would need. Proper planning and understanding of your business is critical and will save you money buying wrong solution. Never buy a server randomly without doing your homework as there maybe compatibilities issues with existing solutions that need to be resolved.

   2. What kind of car do you drive?

Just like buying a car there are many different models with different prices, and you want a solution built with your budget in mind. A good IT company will offer you the best solution within your budget. We all want 99.9999% up time but how much are we prepared to spend to minimise that risk, there is normally a compromise based on the budge you have. Sometimes, you might wish to go beyond your budget and get a better server. In that case, there are many changes and the IT Company will give you options to choose from. You need to consider if you want an estimate on the labour of a fixed price quote that includes all the labour or would you rather take the risk on an estimate to get the job done cheaper or would you prefer to know exactly what you are up for upfront. I have found more clients prefer a fixed price quote. Does the quote cover post install? There is generally a lot of work for a couple of weeks after the install and some IT companies include this in the price and others charge you for everything after the server goes life which can be an expensive option.

   3. How do you license your software?

Licensing of Microsoft products can be a challenge and it is critical that your IT Company understands and can explain and recommend the best options once they have an understanding of your business.

   4. How would you like to pay for your server?

You should be given the option to lease the equipment. This can be good for business cash flow but make sure you read the lease agreement and use a lease company that has been around for a while. You would be required to give a personal guarantee and is going to be easier if you have been in business for a while.

   5. Have you heard about virtualisation and would you be interested in virtualising your servers to consolidate hardware?

If you have or need more than a single server either now or in the next three to four years virtualisation can consolidate your servers reduced power and cooling costs. Virtualisation software comes from a number of different companies and you will hear products like Hyper-V, VMWare and ZenServer. The basics come free but you should expect to pay for the more powerful features for larger installations and support.

   6. How long would you like your warranties?

Depending on the components a 3 year warranty on hardware is pretty normal but you can upgrade to a 4 or 5 year warranty. Even if you plan to upgrade your hardware every 3-4 years having a 5 year warranty does give you time to make a decision. Getting parts without a warranty can be a slow and expensive process so it is important that you plan for the server’s end of life.

   7. Would you like to have an ongoing managed services or flat rate agreement?

Ensuring that your server is pro-activity managed by your IT company using 24x7 remote monitoring software and a services desk like EzPSA is critical. The cost to your business from lost revenue caused by a server not working or being hacked, is too much of a business risk for a business not consider. You need to be able to log calls for service as well as track and view the status of your calls and will want to have a regular reporting to see what your IT company is doing to ensuring you are running smoothly.

You need to ensure the IT Company is working for what is best for your business and not just trying to make a sale. Having an IT provider you can trust is critical to your businesses success.

iPhone VOIP app of the day - Viber

2010-12-20T19:20:00.001+13:00

Thanks Chris for telling me about Viber which is a handy VOIP application for the iphone users that allows you to make free calls to other Viber users over a wifi (or with a lot more care over 3G) for free. It works in a similar manner to skype but is very easy to get setup and intergrates better with the iphone.

When mobile broadband goes bad

2010-12-11T21:58:00.000+13:00

The big mobile companies are currently heavily pushing mobile broadband, just be careful as it may not be be the right product for you. I use and love mobile broadband because it allows me to work anywhere there is coverage which for work purposes is the right product. The problem is when it is being pushed as a domestic product to be used by computers that our kids use. The reason is that data is a lot more expensive if you go over your limit and 2Gb or 3Gb is not enough for children these days. Windows, Mac, Antivirus and other software updates can use quite a bit of data each month without you doing anything. Even with education children will still install file sharing programs, play YouTube like a TV even when they are not in the room. When a beneficiary comes into our office with a $700 mobile broadband bill saying this cannot be right it makes me angry that someone has sold them the wrong product. Shame on the mobile companies. Consumers need to be able to have fixed quotas. They do have a basic warning system which is a SMS message to the device but that is not enough. Should be able to setup email and SMS messages to the parents phone as well.

If you are parent and plan on getting if for children's use I would suggest the pre-paid option.

2010-11-26T00:22:00.000+13:00

Export headings in word documents saved as pdf

You probably use styles like Heading1 and Heading2 in your word documents which are useful for creating a table of contents to make it easy to find content in your document. This information can also be used when you save your document as a PDF file to send out to clients. This uses the outlining features of the PDF reader and allows you to jump to the headings in your document. You can turn this on when you do a save and click on options and tick "create bookmarks using"