Photo by Glenn Campbell

Sounds counter-intuitive doesn’t it?  Can email really be making us dumber?  Well, in the age of gadgets and technology that we think are going to give us an edge, we could really be doing the opposite to ourselves.

Find out why I think email is making us dumber, and what you can do to stop the madness.

What’s All This About Getting Dumber?

I read an eye-opening article over at Entrepreneur magazine recently that made the case as to why and how email (and other technologies) are making us dumber as a society.  It’s called “Email is Making You Stupid”.  What struck me about this is that the promise of technology from the very beginning was to help you get more done in less time.

When computers were extremely expensive, and very large, the promise of placing a computer in your business was that you could crunch more numbers, invoice more customers, and print out more marketing in a fraction of the time of traditional methods.  How’s that working out for us?  Are we getting more done in less time?

Actually, we are.  But, instead of filling our freed up time with relaxation or relationship-building activities, we’re just cramming more and more busy-work into our lives.  All in the name of “being competitive”.

Are You Good at Multitasking?

The article goes on to explain that email and other technologies are making us more stupid by the day.  For example, the article suggests that multitasking is a myth.  It’s a myth, because the human brain is equipped with two types of attention, voluntary and involuntary.

With that, if we keep getting distracted or interrupted, it becomes physiologically impossible to produce quality work.  I work with lots of people who think they can multitask effectively.  I hate to break the news to them, but they aren’t.

Anything that requires deep thought or concentration gets put on hold when interruptions occur.  If this happens a lot, then a process called effortful control erodes.  This can actually damage our ability to control attention.

I remember before reading this article, when I was interviewing a candidate for a technology position at a company I worked for.  I told this person, “I’m not going to ask you if you’re good at multitasking, because I don’t believe there is any such thing.  The real word for multitasking is called ‘interruptions’.  So I’m going to ask you if you are good at handling interruptions, then getting back to what you were doing.”

He chuckled, but totally got me.

My Truth About Multitasking

I think that multitasking is a non-thing.  I see it as more of a marketing fluff than something real.  That’s because gadget makers want you to think that by owning their latest smart-gizmo, you can multitask better and get more done and “stay competitive”.

It’s eaten away at our ability to produce quality deliverables to each other and to our customers.  I’ve been in meetings where the person calling the meeting will stop the entire meeting to answer a cell phone call.  So, all the productivity, all the train of thought that was moving in a forward direction was brought to an abrupt halt.

And so, in that case, what would be the worst that would happen if the call went to voice mail?  The person calling would either leave a message or not.  Either way, the task at hand, which is solving problems via the meeting would have been allowed to fully flourish, and help many others.

In many cases a business call is not something life or death, and certainly not worth derailing a brainstorm session that could generate thousands if not millions of dollars for the company.

What Can Be Done About It?

The article suggests a few tactics to be able to “Climb Out of the Inbox.”  I’ve started using several of these, and I have to say, they have helped reduce my stress level considerably.  The best part is, if you use them smartly, and discreetly, no one will ever know you’re not multitasking.

Instead, what you get is less stress, and others will think you are amazing, because your quality of work will actually improve!

Here’s some suggestions from the article:

• Turn off your visual and audio e-mail alerts.
• Check email only a few times a day, and never any sooner than 45 minutes apart.
• Don’t just use email to communicate.  Use the phone or in-person meetings to build and bolster relationships.
• Only use Reply to All in extreme and infrequent instances.

There are several others that are highlighted in the article as well.  Also, I’d like to share a few my own productivity boosters that I’ve gained from personal experience:

• When in a meeting, silence your cell phone.  Give the meeting your undivided attention so you finish faster, and give more focus to the tasks at hand.
• When on a call, don’t click over for call waiting.  Doing so makes the person on the other end feel less valued, and it takes away focus from the call itself by way of annoying interruption.  Plus, it makes you look very disorganized, too.
• Carve out time on your calendar for essential tasks.  If you “wait for some free time” to get it done, it will never happen.
• Use your voice mail as a personal assistant.  Let the caller know specifically when you’ll be returning calls (then stick with your promise), and let them know why you’re out (in a meeting, at a conference, left early to spend time with family).  This will go a long way toward gaining flexibility with your caller.  That’s because we all naturally tend to think that anyone who doesn’t answer their phone is simply avoiding us.  Irrational, I know, but that’s the truth.  Explaining your absence and when the caller can expect a return call will do wonders for your perceived effectiveness and your relationship with the caller.
• In a services organization like HelpfulAdvisor, I’ve put systems in place so that everyone we talk to gets our undivided attention.  It’s important to know that you and your needs are still a top priority.

Sometimes, little changes can have big effects in our business and personal lives.  In this case, the biggest eye-opener for me was that by cutting out distractions, I can actually gain a lot more productivity, and build stronger bonds with my clients.  That’s because when I’m with them, they are my only priority.

It sure is nice to give someone my undivided attention.  Wouldn’t you like the same?

Thanks for reading and for doing something positive today!

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Slow network performance can come in many forms and can be caused by several reasons.  However, one of those reasons could be a certain setting within your network that can be easily remedied.  Yet, many network administrators can overlook this simple setting, causing your network performance to be slower than it really needs to be.

Find out what this setting is and how you can fix it in less than 5 minutes.

Perception or Reality?

Network performance can be a very subjective topic.  One person’s lightning fast speed can be someone else’s unbearable network lag.  However, as actual network speeds depend on a variety of factors, like router configurations, types of switches in the environment, and types of network cards installed on your PCs, there can be one thing that helps reduce the time it takes to access websites and other web applications.

The service that affects the speed at which you can access sites on the web, or web-based applications, is called domain naming service, or DNS.  To explain what DNS does, it’s actually pretty simple. DNS takes a uniform resource locator (also known as URL or Web Address) and converts it to a raw IP address.

An IP address is a series of numbers that make up a unique address on the network that is tied to a computer, router, or other network device.  These devices are called hosts.  Very similar to a telephone number, no two IP addresses on a network are the same.  What does an IP address look like?  It’s a series of numbers separated by dots (.), so a typical IP address looks like 208.69.36.231, or something similar.

Therefore, DNS allows you to type in a much easier to remember web address like http://www.google.com, and DNS will convert it to a unique IP address on the web, and your browser then pulls up the Google home page.  That home page is housed on a host.  In this case, the host is a web server.

One easy way to remember what DNS does, is that it provides host name to IP resolution.  The resolution is the conversion of the host name to its numeric IP address.

Now that you know what DNS does for you, the way it does what does is actually very complex.  That isn’t so easy to explain, and would be far off track for this article.  Suffice it to say that a DNS server that is overwhelmed or overworked can provide slow host name to IP address resolution.  So imagine if it takes even a couple of seconds to resolve your “query”, which is when you type in a web address from your browser, and the DNS server returns the hosts IP address, which takes you to your desired web page.

It All Adds Up

If you add up the couple of extra seconds it takes here and there, it adds up to quite a lag over time.  So, next thing you know, your perceived slow network performance could actually be a reality.

Knowing that, why would anyone use an overworked DNS server to resolve host names to IP addresses in the first place?  The answer is because most home users and IT administrators go with the default settings when it comes to configuring their DNS servers.  The default setting for Internet DNS is usually the Internet service provider’s DNS servers.  In many cases, the ISP’s DNS servers can be underpowered or are simply overrun with requests from the multitude of customers the ISP services.

An Easy Fix

If you want to speed up the host name to IP address resolution, it’s important to use external DNS servers that are geared for performance.  The DNS service known as OpenDNS are DNS experts that have solved the lag problem that’s usually associated with overwhelmed external DNS servers.  They’ve created a world-wide network of redundant servers that are optimized for high performance.

OpenDNS also provides other features, such as content filtering and phishing and botnet protection.  You can read more about OpenDNS’s features here.

Home networks usually have settings made by the technicians that install the broadband connection.  Those settings are made in the broadband modem, or in the home network router.  Settings on a router are in fact changeable by the user, but any changes should be approached with caution.

Business networks actually have two types of DNS.  One is the internal DNS which provides host name to IP address resolution for the internal network hosts, and the external DNS which does the same thing, except for Internet resources.  The external DNS settings are what can be set to use OpenDNS for super-fast host name to IP address resolution.

Simply place OpenDNS’s servers in your appropriate fields for DNS in your servers, workstations, or routers.  Their DNS address are:

208.67.220.220 and 208.67.222.222

Let’s Recap What We’ve Learned

What we learned in this article, it is that network lag can sometimes be improved by changing one setting on your network; the external DNS addresses for your network. Making this change can help you bypass slow and overwhelmed DNS servers that many ISPs use to serve their customers, which can slow your network performance to a crawl.

OpenDNS provides super-fast DNS services with additional security features built-in.  They have a free option as well as options that help homes, schools, and businesses optimize their DNS services.

When it comes to making the right changes to your DNS settings, getting it right is essential in order to avoid total network disruption.  If you’re not sure where to make this change, or how to go about it, drop me a note and I’ll recommend the best course of action for you.

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Thanks for reading and for doing something positive today.

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As part of my ongoing series of articles to help you fix a slow PC, I wanted to share with you a free removal tool that will actually help speed up your PC.  The tool is called Revo Uninstaller, and it can do way more than your built-in Add/Remove Programs function in your Windows control panel.

Using this powerful removal tool can actually help you speed up your PC, and I show you how.

What’s Revo Uninstaller?

Revo Uninstaller is a freeware application that can be used as an alternative to your Add/Remove Programs function that’s found within your Windows control panel.  In Windows Vista and Windows 7, it’s now called “Programs and Features”, but it does essentially the same thing.

The built-in application management functions within Windows are so-so, but not very effective when it comes to fully uninstalling applications from your computer.  Revo Uninstaller can resolve that by not just uninstalling applications from your computer that you no longer want, but by also scanning your computer’s registry to identify any fragments or remnants of applications that could be left on your computer.

Why Are There Fragments Left After Standard Uninstall?

In most cases, sloppy programming can cause remnants to be left on your computer, even after uninstall.  Even the most expensive brand-name programs can leave behind remnants on your computer after uninstall.  Therefore, the chances are good that your computer has remnants of uninstalled applications on your computer.

Revo Uninstaller can help fix that by giving you the power to find any remnants the application you’re uninstalling may have left behind on your PC.

HelpfulAdvisor Tip: If you don’t like working with computers, or don’t have the time to manage all your applications, sometimes it’s easier to just have someone do it for you.  If you feel you have better things to do with your time, give my friends at iYogi a call, and let them do it for you.  This way, you can get on with your life, while the removal of applications gets done the right way and speeds up your PC.

Revo Does Other Cool Things, Too

In addition to fully uninstalling any application you choose, the freeware version also offers you the ability to use 8 additional cleaners to insure the applications you don’t want installed on your PC are fully gone.  And, one other feature I’ve noticed is that they offer full technical support, even on the freeware version.  That’s extremely rare with free applications these days, which makes this removal tool extremely useful.

Revo also has another really cool feature called “Hunter Mode”.  In Hunter Mode, you can fully manage any application on your PC by simply dragging the application’s icon to the Hunter Mode icon on your desktop.  From there, you can uninstall the app, stop the app, or even determine whether or not you want it to load at startup.

Even for applications that you’re not sure about, or even know what they do, Hunter Mode can give you information about that icon/application by simply dragging and dropping it.  You can read more about Hunter Mode, and how it can really make your life easier.

Screenshot of Revo Uninstaller

How Can it Speed Up Your PC?

In my article titled, “How to Fix a Slow PC”, one of the reasons I noted that could cause your PC to slow down is to have a lot of applications installed that you no longer use.  Applications on computers these days do a variety of things, don’t they?

Well, imagine you have an application that checks for updates or pulls in new information via the Internet.  That application could slow down your Internet connection, as well as your PC, while it uses part of your system’s resources to do all that.

Every time you install an application on your PC, you add more information to your computer’s registry.  The registry is essentially a database that keeps track of all the applications on your computer.  What’s more, the registry also keeps track of all that application’s settings and other parameters.

After a while, that registry can get pretty bloated.  The more bloated the registry becomes, the longer it takes your computer to read through it all.

When you use a free removal tool like Revo Uninstaller, you’re actually clearing all remnants of the application you’re uninstalling from the registry, and keeping it lean and mean.  Therefore, my recommendation is to regularly look through your applications, and uninstall the ones that really don’t do anything for you or your PC.

Article Recap

Ok, so in this article, we learned about a great software removal tool called Revo Uninstaller.  The best part of it, it’s free.  We also learned that there are several ways in which an uninstalled application can still slow down your PC, and with Revo Uninstaller’s help, you can be sure any application you uninstall gets completely removed from your computer.

You can get Revo Uninstaller from two places.  If you want an automatic installation of Revo, you can get it from Ninite; which is my favorite automated software installation website.  Or, if you’re the type that likes to download it and install it yourself, you can get it directly from the Revo Uninstaller website.

There’s More Great Info Headed Your Way

I’m going to keep on writing articles that help you identify and resolve your slow PC issues.  If you want to stay on top of keeping your computer as fast as you know it can be, then subscribe to my full RSS feed, and never miss an article!

Thanks for reading, and for doing something positive today.

Related posts:

1. Is it Really Time for a Computer Memory Upgrade?
2. How to Fix a Slow PC

All too many times, the standard answer for a slow PC is to perform a memory upgrade.  However, there may be times when a computer memory upgrade may not actually be needed.  In this article, I’ll share with you how to find out if it’s really time to upgrade that RAM, or if perhaps your PC just needs some tender loving care.

Is the Standard Answer Always the Right Answer?

In a previous article called “How to Fix a Slow PC”, I wrote about several factors that could be causing your PC to run slowly.  One of those factors was that if your PC is running slow, you may be running more applications than you actually have memory available.

However, I’ve seen many rookie or untrained employees at computer retail outlets suggest that the ONLY reason you may be having a slow PC is because you don’t have enough memory on your computer.  This isn’t always true, and they could have you spending money on a memory upgrade that you may not really need.  Why not be sure?

Before I go any further, I do have to set one thing straight.  I hear a lot of people exchange the word “memory” for hard drive space.  In other words, someone may say to me, “Jay, I think I’m running out of memory for my computer.  It says I don’t have enough free space to install this application.”

Well, the word “memory” has nothing to do with “storage” space or hard drive space.  Memory is often times short for RAM, or Random Access Memory.  So in this article, I’ll be referring to “memory” as either RAM, or memory.

Now that we have that cleared up, let’s find out how to see if we actually need more RAM in our computer, and what to do about it if we do, and what to do about if we don’t.

A Quick Checklist to Start Off

Although there are many ways to determine if you have enough RAM or not, there’s no way I can discuss all of them here.  So, I’ll just share with you the things I do to determine whether or not it’s time for a computer memory upgrade.  Ask yourself these questions:

1.  Is my computer slow? If so, you should make sure you have checked for and fixed any file system errors on your hard drive to see if your PC speeds up after that.  The step by step instructions are here.  File system errors are a huge cause of a PC slowdown, and fixing these could save you time and money.

2. Have I optimized my PC lately? If you’ve checked and either had no file system errors, or found you had some and repaired them, is your PC still slow?  Perhaps it’s time to optimize your PC.

Optimization can either be done using several applications to clean out junk files on your PC, defragment your hard drive, and clean your computer’s registry.  However, an easier way to do that would be to use a piece of software you can download and use right away called SupportDock.  SupportDock has a PC Optimizer built in, along with anti virus, disaster recovery, and other features built right in.  You can learn more about it here.

3.  How much RAM do I have now? There’s a couple of ways to find this out.  First, if you right-click over My Computer, then select Properties, you should see how much RAM is on your computer.

Properties for My Computer showing RAM

Another way is to download a free utility called Speccy and you can see an easy graphical window that’ll tell you how much RAM you have.  Speccy is made by the same company that makes CCleaner and Defraggler; two utilities I highly recommend.

4.  What version of computer operating system am I running? Are you running Windows XP?  Windows Vista?  Or perhaps Windows 7?  Even though Microsoft has it’s minimum and recommended amounts of RAM for each version, I’ll share with you the real world amounts that I’ve seen work best on each version:

Granted, the chart above does not take into account every individual computer configuration.  For as many different people there are in the world, the configurations of each persons’ computer can also differ.  However, for as long as I’ve been working with computers, the specifications on the chart above seem to work the best.

If you’ve done steps 1 and 2, and your PC is still sluggish, and the amount of RAM you have falls in the “So-so Performance” category, then it may very well be time for a memory upgrade.  You can easily find the type of RAM that fits your computer by using this tool.

One exception that comes to mind would be if you do a lot of professional video or audio editing, or computer generated animations, etc.  In those instances, I would install as much RAM as my computer could handle.

5.  What are some of the “big” applications I’m running? For example, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office (including Outlook), Adobe Illustrator, etc.  Those are very memory intensive applications.  If you’re running these applications on your computer, and your computer is slow, it may in fact be time for more RAM.

HelpfulAdvisor Quick Tip: If you’re not the type that likes to work with computers, there’s an easier way to help determine if a computer memory upgrade is right for you.  Try the free Crucial Memory Advisor Tool and take the guesswork out of upgrading.

Some Common Limitations

It’s important to note that there are some limitations involved with computer memory.  It’s not always possible to just buy a bunch of RAM and have it all work the way it should.  The two biggest limitations are:

• Your motherboard’s maximum RAM capacity.
• Which edition of Windows your PC is running.

Your motherboard’s maximum RAM capacity has to do with how many sticks of RAM it can hold, and what the maximum size of each stick can be.  For example, if your PC has two RAM slots, and the maximum RAM your motherboard can handle is 2GB, then each slot can hold a maximum of 1GB each.

Do you have to max out each slot? No, you certainly don’t.  However, I would strongly caution against buying different sizes of RAM sticks.  I would buy the same size stick for each slot, so that you get the best performance.

When it comes to which edition of Windows you’re running, there’s no need to be alarmed, Helpful Advisor is here to help you make sense of it.  Without getting too technical, suffice it to say that Windows XP and newer versions of Windows run in two different editions.  The two editions are 32-bit and 64-bit editions.

If your computer is running the 32-bit edition of Windows, then the maximum amount of RAM your computer can accommodate is 4GB.  If your computer is running the 64-bit edition of Windows, then the maximum amount of RAM your computer can handle would be practically unlimited, but it would be limited, however, by the maximum amount your motherboard can handle.

For the 32-bit edition, if 4GB is less than what you know your motherboard can handle, the maximum amount of RAM your computer can accommodate is still 4GB.

So, how can you tell which edition of Windows you’re running on your computer?  Well, once again, if you right-click over My Computer and select properties, when the window displays what version of Windows you’re running, it will also tell you if it’s 32 or 64-bit.  As well, Speccy will tell you also.

The Final Analysis

We covered a lot of ground in just a short time.  Now, let’s circle around and really understand if whether or not it’s time for a computer memory upgrade.

1.  Did you check and resolve any file system errors on your PC? If not, please do this first. The step-by-step instructions are here.

2. Have you optimized your PC lately? If you already did step 1, and your PC is still slow, I would recommend optimizing your PC.  You can either go about doing this yourself, or you can download and use SupportDock for a quick and easy way to do this.

3. Does the amount of RAM you currently have match one of the entries in the Better or Best categories in the chart above? If not, it may be time to consider an upgrade.

If it does have enough RAM according to the chart, and you’re not running any memory-crushing applications while trying to create a 3-D animated movie that rivals “Avatar” on your computer, then there could be something else going on with your PC that may require a closer look.  If this is the case, contact me and let me know.  I’ll then recommend the best course of action for you.

Would You Like an Easier Way?

For some, it can be daunting to figure out if you need more RAM, or if there’s something else going on that’s causing your PC to be slow.  If you don’t have the time or patience to figure this out for yourself, the Crucial Memory Advisor Tool takes the guesswork out of upgrading.

Crucial is the world’s largest RAM supplier, and their Memory Advisor Tool is a great online tool for helping you determine if a computer memory upgrade is going to help you.  It can be a real time-saver and reduce the amount of frustration you’d experience if you’re not the type that likes to work with computers.

Related posts:

1. How to Fix a Slow PC
2. Free Removal Tool Helps Speed Up Your PC

In my latest entry to my diary of creating a website, I’ll share with you the prep work that I’ve undertaken to get ready for building my high-traffic website.

I believe that the key to success in any effort is to have good, solid preparation.  Doing so can save you time in the long run and in this case, can go a long way toward making my website an even bigger success.

Traditional Methods Just Don’t Work For Me

As I march toward creating my website that’s geared for success from the get-go, I’ve come to realize there’s more to this than just buying a domain name and putting up some pages of content.  In fact, what I’ve learned is that in many cases, that’s exactly what we do.  It’s what we do, because that’s how we’ve been trained by traditional hosting providers.  But, the result ends up being less than what we’d wanted in terms of a profitable and highly visited website.

These hosting providers have ingrained in our heads a simplified process of do-it-yourself website creation.  But, in doing so, it really seems to set us up for failure in that no one has really shown me HOW to create content that keeps the traffic coming in.  As I’ve been doing my prep work, my eyes have been opened to a whole new way of doing things.

So, why would I take stock in this “new way” of building a website?  Well, because there are so many that have used this same system, and have achieved huge results.  That means that if the system has been developed as a repeatable process, which it has, then if I give myself to it fully, I too can succeed.

I’m Learning New Skills

It’s like learning how to do anything, isn’t it?  Like learning to play guitar, or how to build a cabinet.  Once you’re taught the fundamentals, it takes practice to master.  However, there are some that will take that knowledge and practice and practice and practice and become masters at their chosen craft.  Then there are others that will only put in a minimal effort, and not see the same results as someone who really dedicated a fair amount of time to their success.

In order to truly prepare for success, I decided to do all I could to get as much information ahead of time as I could.  I downloaded an e-book called “Make Your Words Sell!”, by Dr. Ken Evoy.  The same Ken Evoy who is the president of the SiteBuildIt! service.

He wrote the book to help web entreprenuers sharpen their web content writing skills for better results, even if the writer doesn’t consider themselves an actual “writer”.  What I’m finding by reading this book is that there are skills in there being passed on that go beyond just writing for the web.  The book is showing me how to position my content for the best benefit for the reader.

It used to sell for $29.95, but you can pick up a copy for yourself for free. I’m glad I downloaded it as i really feel like I’m getting some juicy inside information on how to create powerful web content that will really help with my soon-to-be high traffic website.

What’s Next?

In my next entry, I’ll have hopefully finished the e-book and will be moving to the next step, which is to take on the SiteBuildIt! Action Guide, and learn step by step how to create a website that will bring in lots and lots of traffic!  You can get a sneak preview of the same Action Guide I’ll be following right here.

Be sure not to miss an update of my Diary of Creating a Website series of articles, as I document my journey from serial web failure to web success by using a fresh approach in how I create a winning website from scratch.  You can subscribe to my full RSS feed and always be up to date.

Thanks for reading and for doing something positive today!

Related posts:

1. Diary of creating a website: First entry

A free website called Ninite.com makes software installation a breeze by offering free and open-source applications from one location.

Discover how you can save time and energy, and how it all works to make your life SO much easier.

Imagine you needed a bunch of cool applications, software tools and utilities.  In the days before Ninite, you could go to each site and download and install each one you need, one by one.  Nah, too much work!

So then came along some software aggregator sites such as Filehippo.com and Softpedia.com.  That’s where you can search for software that’s freeware and shareware, and then download them onto your PC and install each one you downloaded one by one.  Nah, STILL too much work!

Where Ninite truly rocks is that you literally have a buffet of free software to choose from.  The software featured for installation from Ninite is not crippled shareware, or trial software.  The site is brimming full of free fully usable software that you can really use to boost productivity, optimize your PC, browse the web, protect against virus, and a bunch of other cool stuff.

You can then select each application you want to install onto your PC by check-marking each app you want.  After that, you click the big green button at the bottom that says “Get Installer”, and that’s when the magic happens!

The buffet (of free apps) is open!

A single customized software installation application that contains all of the applications you selected is then made available for download, on demand.  After downloading that software installer, you can select the single executable file, and all of your selected apps get installed automatically.

This button is pure magic

Are you ready for the absolute best part of using this tool?  Ok, the best part is when the software is being installed, it installs without prompting you to answer any configuration questions.  That means that as most free software usually has some kind of dumb checkbox that asks you if you want to install the Bing or Yahoo toolbars, the Ninite software installation simply bypasses all of that for you.

Ninite doesn’t waste your time by offering applications nobody’s ever heard of, either.  It only offers the cream of the crop of free applications.  Examples of the software being offered are, Firefox web browser, iTunes, Winamp, and OpenOffice, just to name very few.

This site can come in extremely handy when adding useful applications to your arsenal, or if you’ve found yourself having to reinstall Windows, it’s a great time-saver installing all your useful apps all at once.

Have you used Ninite?  Did you find it useful?  If so, post a comment below and share your thoughts with the community.

No related posts.

Sometimes being in the Information Technology industry is a thankless job.  Other times, you really can get the rock-star treatment.  I always find it best when you can accomplish your project and have your customer rave about you.

Well, much to my surprise, I have one customer telling the world about me; and I must admit, it feels pretty good!

Show Me a Sign!

We all look for those signs that we’re doing something right, don’t we?  It validates us, and tells us that we’re on the right path to delivering excellent results to one another.  I really like delivering in excellence, in everything I do.

However, there are times when asking for feedback seems self-serving.  The best kind of positive feedback to get is the kind you don’t have to ask for.  That to me is like hitting a home run.

Although I don’t do what I do for accolades and expect people to write songs about me or name their children after me, it’s always a good feeling when a client smiles at me and says, “Jay, you did one heck of a job!  Thank you!”

What’s Your Sign?

In this case, I got recognition on a website, as part of a crew that helped put together a rather amazing technical demonstration.  My client and friend, Dave Engineer of Dave Engineer, Inc. out of Etobicoke, Canada has developed an amazing system for automating large scale migrations of desktops from Windows XP to Windows 7.  The reason it’s amazing is because he’s developed a system that can automatically:

• Capture the user state prior to backing up the machine.
• Backup your Windows XP machine over the network.
• Store it on a central storage server.
• Validate the backup as being good.
• If the backup fails, the migration automatically cancels for that PC, with no data or settings lost.
• If the backup succeeds, it then automatically fully migrates (not upgrade) the PC from Windows XP to Windows 7, while keeping your settings and data intact.
• Restores the user state from prior to the migration.

Of course, this is a gross oversimplification of what it can really do.  His video explains it all in excellent detail.  Plus, he created a management tool that shows real-time progress of all migrations being done, and can provide single-click reporting of the status of the migration at any point in the process.

Ok, so I’m geeking out about this quite a bit.  Mostly because I haven’t seen anything like this before, ever.  It is truly a game-changer in the world of automated desktop migrations.  And, combine that with the fact that it’s done with zero downtime and zero lost data.  Therefore, Dave’s method of migration is truly ground-breaking.

What Part Did I Play In This?

Well, in order to show the world what his system can do, he needed to create a demonstration lab that would be essentially a mock production environment.  To accomplish this, he needed a fully functional Windows Active Directory environment, with virtualized servers and virtualized workstations in order to truly show off his amazing creation.

And, by the way, this needed to be done on a single server.  Not just any server, but a beastly machine that he had custom built with specifications he developed in order to handle the load he was about to place on it, and have it still be fast.  That’s where I came in.

Once he got his server in, Dave contracted me to assist with bringing his Active Directory domain to life, and to properly implement Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization hypervisor.

We got to work on making sure things were taken in the proper order, by first performance tuning his server for maximum throughput and efficiency.  Then we set out to build the Active Directory environment, discussing all the pros and cons of a single-server configuration for Active Directory.  We even went over the performance hits that would come about by adding his essential services like DNS and domain controller functions to the single server.  After it was all said and done, it turns out the server was powerful enough to overcome those hits, and still be a screaming fast machine.

The Killer End Result

The result of our working together enabled him to realize his vision of a self-contained Active Directory environment, along with several role-based servers that were virtualized, and his target migration workstations that were also virtualized.

You can see it all in action and know exactly why I’m so impressed.  The video is well worth it to see it all the way through.  In a word: Incredible!

So, after it was all said and done, on Dave’s company website, I was mentioned as part of the team that made his vision a reality.  And that to me, is exactly why I do what I do.  Not for the name in lights, but for the thrill of knowing I helped make another business’s dream a reality… and in record time.

No related posts.

As I wrote about in my first post, I’ve decided to undertake creating a website from scratch that will look to become a high traffic website.  In order to succeed in this, I’m going to be using a tried and true system for creating a website that will hopefully produce some huge results.

In this, my first of entries on creating a website from scratch, I’m going to explore the system I’ll be using and why I chose it.  Are you ready to lean with me?  Let’s do this!

We All Have Our Reasons

Everyone has different reasons for choosing a tool or a product.  I’m going to document what I chose, and why I chose it, and perhaps this experience will speak to you as it does me, or it could have the opposite effect.  Either way, as long as it helps you in some way, then I’m glad to be sharing this with you.

I could have chosen a different route and decided to create my website without anyone knowing about it.  But, in this instance, I wanted to share the experience with you so that we can learn together along the way.

As I mentioned in my first blog post, I chose to use Site Build-It! for creating my website for quite a few reasons.  As I continue to write in my website diary, I’ll be sharing more and more why, for me at least, SBI was the product I chose for this venture.

Ok, What is Site Build-It?

Well, it’s a lot of things, all rolled into one.  And actually, it’s a complete package.  Which, because of its completeness, stands to be a full suite of tools to make a web venture possible.  As I considered SBI for my web venture, a big question one could ask would be, “Why not just use Wordpress?  It’s free, and very configurable.”

And I would say, yes, you are right.  This blog you’re reading is in fact powered by Wordpress.  In fact, I’ve created other Wordpress sites as well.  On top of that,  there is no denying that putting up a Wordpress site is pretty darn easy and relatively quick.

Sure, you’d have to spend time tweaking and configuring even a Wordpress site, but at it’s base, you can essentially have a Wordpress site up and running in less than 10 minutes.  Customizing and securing it, however, takes more time, though.  But if take my time and create a website the right way, it may take a little longer.  But in the end, that’s ok, if my goals are achieved as a result of my website being successful.

So when it came to choosing SBI for my venture, here’s what did it for me:

• I get the hosting included in the price.
• I get a web-based site editor included in the price.
• I get keyword research tools included in the price.
• I get a step-by-step tutorial on how to create my site from beginning to end, to include when to monetize and how to maximize that monetization.
• I get access to forums, which is powered by a community of people who are like me (yet to succeed), and with people who have already succeeded.
• I also get tons of written information on how to effectively write content that is proven to make an impact on the web.
• And a big deal for me was that the hosting is optimized for content being found by the search engines.

I’ve done website development before.  I’ve used separate tools for creating websites before as well.  If I took the hosting, the web development tools, and the premium paid-for keyword research tools, it would end up costing a lot more than what SBI costs.

SBI used to only have one option for payment, and was the annual option for $299.  When I first saw that, I thought that was rather expensive.  But, when I break it down to a monthly amount, it’s about $25 a month.  Ok, so this makes sense to me.  If I were to look at hosting, keyword research tools, and the information I receive on how to actually create a site that works, it’s not a bad deal.

Well, recently, SBI came out with the monthly option.  I guess they figured the $299 per year was hard for many to do.  So, by doing a monthly option, it makes it more affordable and flexible for the average website owner.  I also think it’s a good way for people to try it without making too large of a commitment financially.  That tells me that SBI is willing to put their money where their mouth is.  The monthly option is $29 per month.

Isn’t Success on the Web Random?

Overall, SBI seems to have created a repeatable system that they say, if followed, can only help you create a highly visited website that will produce financial revenue for the site owner.  In some cases, the revenue can be substantial.  I’ve been there and done that with products and promises of Internet riches, only to be left disappointed in the past.

However, since SBI has documented proof of their success, and an amazing number of success stories, I feel I have to give it a shot.  And hence, the documenting of my journey.  The important thing for me to do in this case, is to let go of what I think I know about the Internet and creating a website, so that I can give myself fully to the process that SBI has laid out for me.

Only then can I truly know if this process works.  So, in a sense, I’ll be learning a new language.  The language of optimized presence on the ‘Net.  Plus, I’ll be switching back to what I do know as I work on this blog which uses a completely different set of tools.

The one thing that got me, though, about SBI was that a lot of the sites that are created with their suite of tools all seemed to look dated.  Like throwbacks to the 1990’s.  So, I thought about this long and hard. Here’s what I came up with.

If I built the most beautiful site ever, and no one ever saw it, would it truly be beautiful?  If no one saw it and it didn’t make me any money, then was the website truly a success?  On the other hand, if I build a website that gets literally thousands of visits per month, and brings in a nice extra income of say, $1,000 a month, if not more, but wasn’t pretty, would it matter if it wasn’t pretty?

At the end of the day, when I truly looked at what SBI is trying to say, it’s that your site should be useful and informative and helpful to others.  Then, when it is, you will be rewarded with traffic and income.  Does it have to be pretty to be successful?  Well, I searched for proof.  And here’s what I found.

A good amount of sites build with SBI are rated extremely well in Alexa.  If you’re not sure what Alexa is, it’s a site that rates another site’s popularity on the web.  Sort of a Nielsen rating for websites.  So, when I went to this page, and found that SBI was actually willing to show various sites’ rankings on Alexa, that told me they are willing to back up what they claim with proof.

Did This Help You In Some Way?

So, I hope I was able to give you some insight into what was behind my decision to use SBI from a technical and utilitarian perspective.  I’ll be exploring more in the philosophy that is SBI, because tools are one thing, how you use them is another.  That’ll be for another post.

Let’s recap what I’ve touched on in this article:

• I went over the reasons I chose SBI for creating a website from scratch.
• I shared a very brief overview of the tools that come with the cost of the SBI suite.
• SBI has both an annual option and a monthly option that can appeal to any budget.
• I’ll be creating my new SBI website while also using my current Wordpress site and sharing with you the growth and progress on each.

In my next entry, I’ll be going over the information I’ll be using to create my website, by way of step-by-step instructions I’ll be receiving from SBI, and how that can be different from the conventional wisdom of creating a website that is more common out in the world.

Want to accompany me on my journey to creating a high traffic website?  Be sure to get notified every time a new website diary entry is made.  Subscribe to my RSS feed and have my articles delivered straight to your inbox.

Thanks for reading and for doing something positive today.

Related posts:

1. Diary of Creating a Website: Prep Work Begins

Even though I specialize in designing entire computer networks, I still get many users and even friends and relatives who come to me with a very common problem.  A very slow Windows PC.  Since this is something I address quite often, I figured I’d share my answer for your benefit here.

Fixing a slow PC takes just a few minutes and can be much simpler than you’d expect.  It just takes knowing how to do it.  I’ll share with you exactly how to do it in this article.

What Causes a Slow PC?

Before we set out to fix that slow PC, let’s first understand what makes it slow in the first place.  In many cases, PC speed is very subjective.  I’ve seen some users click around furiously, and when the PC doesn’t respond instantly, they think Windows is unbearably slow and their PC is now useless.

However, there are instances when a slow PC is truly the result of something else going on under the hood.  Here are some common causes of a slow running computer:

• Not enough memory installed for the amount of applications you’re running.
• Lots of applications installed that you no longer use.
• Applications installed that tie up your system resources.
• Many applications that were uninstalled and still leave fragments in your computer’s registry.
• Severe fragmentation of your hard drive’s contents.
• File system errors on your hard drive, creating additional overhead for your computer.

The symptom we’re going to address in this article will be the file system errors.  I’ve seen this cause extreme computer slow down in many cases, and yet it’s so easy to fix, anyone who can use Windows can fix the errors.

What Are File System Errors?

File system errors are common, and aren’t necessarily harmful to your PC, except that they cause your PC to slowdown considerably if they are severe enough.

Essentially, file system errors are problems with files and hidden indexes that reside on your hard drive.  As your hard drive is basically one large database, Windows keeps track of where everything is, and indexes the locations of your files and programs.  When an index gets corrupt, Windows will look for information stored on the corrupt index, and send your computer looking for information that may no longer exist, or the index file can’t be read by Windows.

When that happens, your PC slows down as it tries to compensate for that by trying to find the information it needs from the corrupt index multiple times, eventually giving up and looking elsewhere.

It all happens in a split second, but enough of these errors can create a noticeable slowdown of your PC.

How to Know if You Have File System Errors

The best and easiest way to find out if you have file system errors is to run a built-in utility in Windows called CHKDSK.  There’s a graphical way to do this, but I’d like to show you the command line way to do it instead.  The reason is, the graphical version is quite a bit more limited than the command line version, and it won’t run properly on your C: drive if you are booted up normally.

The way to do this will vary slightly on Windows XP machines, versus Windows Vista and Windows 7, but I’ll cover each way to do it for you so you won’t need to worry.

Step 1. Your first step will be to open your Command Prompt.  For Windows XP users, you go to START, then All Programs, then Accessories, then Command Prompt.   Simply clicking it will launch it.

Windows XP Command Prompt

For Vista and 7 users, you would be able to find it in the same way, but you’ll need to right-click and select the option to “Run as Administrator”.  The enhanced security of Vista and Windows 7 require this, or you will not be able to perform the next step.

Vista and 7 Command Prompt

Step 2. From inside the command prompt, you will want to type this exactly as it reads: CHKDSK, then hit enter.

You’ll see the CHKDSK utility run through it’s various phases. Like so:

CHkDSK utility is running

You’ll receive a warning that the F parameter was not specified and that it is running in read-only mode.  That’s ok, since we’re just checking your drive for errors at the moment.

When it’s finished running all three stages of the CHKDSK utility, you’ll get a report in your window like this:

CHKDSK found no problems

In the case of my hard drive, no problems were found.  If problems were found, it would be at the top of the report, to where the screen would say that problems were found and you should run CHKDSK /f to fix them.

So, if you have errors on your drive, we proceed to the next step.

Step 3. Run the CHKDSK /F in your command prompt.  In the same prompt window you have open, type this in exactly as you see it: CHKDSK /F, then hit enter.  Yes, there is a space between the K and the /F.

When you run the CHKDSK /F, you’ll get a warning that your drive is locked and this utility cannot be run.  It does ask you, though, if you’d like to schedule the volume to be checked when you next restart your computer.

Locked drive and option to run CHKDSK /F on next restart

Simply type in the letter “Y” to tell it you want it to check your drive on the next restart.  You’ll then receive a confirmation that the volume will be checked on the next restart.  After that, reboot your computer.

Because you selected the /F parameter after the CHKDSK command, Windows will also attempt to repair the errors it finds on the drive while it’s checking during your startup.  This utility will run only the one time after a restart.  It will not be set to do this every time you boot your computer.

After you’ve rebooted your computer, follow the steps again to open your command prompt and run the CHKDSK without the /F.  If you come back without any errors, try opening some of your favorite programs and surf the Net.  Is it faster?  If your drive had file system errors and you repair them, I’m guessing you’ll see a noticeable difference.

But What If…

Ok, so what if you have more than just a C:\ drive?  I’m glad you asked.  This utility can be run on any hard drive, internal or external, as long as it’s connected to your computer.  To check your additional drives, open your command prompt and type the letter of the drive you wish to check.

So, if you have a D:\ drive.  You would type this in at the command prompt: D:\, then hit enter.  After that, type in: CHKDSK, then hit enter.

After that, follow the steps outlined in this article and you can check and repair any file system errors on any drive you have on your computer.

Ok, one last question I’m sure you’re wondering.  What if you do all that and the system still reports that errors are present on your drive?  There’s two things to that.

1. When you did select to run CHKDSK /F on the restart of your PC, it did attempt to repair errors on your selected drive.  Even if all didn’t get repaired, you may still very well notice a significant performance gain.

2.  When file system errors are still reported, those are what I call persistent file system errors.  Those usually keep showing up on the C: drive, which is the same drive that the Windows operating system (your computer’s base files) is installed on.  When you boot to your computer, many files get locked right away in order to present you with the screens and functions you see even during boot up.

Therefore, some of the file system errors may be located in places that get locked right away, and Windows has no way of getting to those areas to perform repairs.

There are ways to repair persistent file system errors.  If you’re seeing those type of file system errors, contact me, and I’ll recommend the best course of action for you.

Article Recap

In reading this article, you learned the following:

• What one of the biggest causes of a slow PC could be: file system errors.
• How to access your command prompt, regardless of what version of Microsoft Windows you happen to be using.
• The steps to identify and repair file system errors on your hard drive, which could be causing your PC to be running very slow.
• What to do if you have more than one hard drive on your computer.
• What action to take if you have persistent file system errors on your PC.

As you can see, regardless of your skill level, you can perform some pretty quick maintenance on your computer, and be rewarded with a noticeable speed gain on your computer as a result.

One Last Thing

Would you like to be sure you don’t miss an important computer tip that could save you frustration and even money?  Then be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed and have my computer tips delivered straight to your inbox.

Thanks for reading, and for doing something positive today!

Related posts:

1. Is it Really Time for a Computer Memory Upgrade?
2. Free Removal Tool Helps Speed Up Your PC

Thanks so much for stopping by and reading the new and improved Helpful Advisor.  For my first new post, I’d like to share with you some things that I’m working on for the blog.

Computer Tips

In my line of work, I come across all kinds of cool websites, tools, and utilities that help me do my job better.  I’ll share those with you, so that you can also benefit from the kinds of software that help make life easier.  As well, I’ll share little nuggets of a-ha! moments that come with working on technology every day.  Tweaks and fine tuning can go a long way to help performance and reliability of your computer or network!

Insider Information

Here’s where I’ll share the inner workings of computer consulting.  There’s good and bad that come with this line of work, and I’ll share it with you.  This way, you can avoid the traps and pitfalls of hiring a consultant the wrong way.  If you’re a new consultant yourself, you may also benefit from this kind of information.

Inspiration

In every version of HelpfulAdvisor, I’ve always included a section for inspiration.  I really believe in inspiring others, and I myself also like to be inspired.  In this day and age where bad news dominates every medium, wouldn’t it be nice to get a breath of fresh air by way of something inspiring?  Well, I think so.  Hopefully you do, too.

Website Diary

In addition to my consulting work, I’m also going to undertake a side project where I’ll be building a website from scratch and documenting each step along the way.  This is because I’m setting out to purposely build a “high-traffic” website that will bring in tons of traffic.  I’ll be using the step-by-step process of a service called Site-Build-It!, otherwise known as SBI!

SBI is famous for helping people of any skill level (even complete newbies) achieve online success by showing their subscribers how to create a highly visited, and highly profitable website by utilizing a very comprehensive process.

As they’ve done this for countless others, I’ll be following their tried and true process, step-by-step, and documenting my results online for you to see.  If you’re inspired, maybe you’ll do the same, and enjoy online success for your business, or perhaps for even yourself.   Here’s what convinced me to give this a sincere effort.

There’s more to come, so be sure to bookmark this site, or subscribe to my RSS feed, and check back often.  I’d be very happy to see you be part of this new community!

Thanks for reading and for doing something positive today.

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