Windows Vista Makes Big Strides »

Last month, the VP of Windows Vista marketing Brad Brooks openly acknowledged that Microsoft has felt the pressure from the negative publicity surrounding Windows Vista.

“We broke a lot of things. We know that, and we know it caused you a lot of pain.”

At the center of the negative publicity stood Apple with the “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” commercials and Brooks said the company has plans to address the naysayers with an expensive advertising campaign (reportedly paying Jerry Seinfeld $10 Million for an endorsement).

In addition, Microsoft has launched two websites that are designed to help answer consumers’ questions regarding migrating to Vista.  The Windows Vista Small Business Assurance website is specifically geared to the small business owner who cannot afford to have downtime due to a software upgrade and can’t afford to have to purchase all new equipment for their office due to a software upgrade. It has some pretty good information and does a great job of answering questions.

The second site is the Windows Vista Compatibility Center website. This site allows you to search to see if your particular hardware or software is supported by Windows Vista before you actually make the switch. I did a post over a year ago about Windows Vista incompatibility with many software and hardware, but I have not done a post updating the major strides Microsoft has done in the compatibility arena (my bad). Vista supports LOTS of things now, the number being somewhere around 77,000 and it now supports nearly all business apps.

Further, Microsoft is offering free Vista phone tech support through October 31, 2008 for any small business that makes the switch before September 30.  That is another nice touch.

Overall, nice job Microsoft.  Almost all of our hardware is now supported and much of our software too.  Maybe its time for that upgrade…

Internet Security Suites »

Most new computers these days come preloaded with some form of Internet Security, usually McAfee or, *gasp*, Norton.  These are usually in the form of a trial version for up to 15 months with the hopes that, when the trial period is expired you will be so intimidated by the thought of installing a different one that you will just chose to renew.

Granted, it can be a royal pain switching from one Anti-virus / Spyware protection service to another, but sometimes that is exactly what you should do.  If you are not dead-set on continuing to use what was preloaded for you by your PC manufacturer, here are a few other Internet Security Suites that you would do well to at least consider:

• TrustPort – Virtual disk encryption utility and included tools to securely shred your deleted data files.  $55/yr. 1 PC.
• ZoneAlarm – Firewall, privacy controls, anti-virus and parental controls.  $59.95/yr. 3 PCs.
• BitDefender – Lots of tools and power scanners, plus 2 year online data backup.  $79.95/yr. 3 PCs.

Don’t feel that you have to stick with McAffee or Norton just because that is what your PC came loaded with.  You can switch and you might find something better.  All of the products listed above have a fully functional trial so you can test before you buy.

Best Buy Will Sell iPhone »

Best Buy is scheduled to start selling Apple’s iPhone on September 7.  This is huge for Best Buy because it makes them the first independent retailer to be allowed to do this and it makes them the first U.S. retailer to do so.

Best Buy already had an inside track due to the fact that they sell Apple Mac computers and iPods.  However, there was still a lot of jumping through hoops to get AT&T and Apple to feel warm and fuzzy about the arrangement.

Go to Best Buy, pick out your 8GB or 16GB iPhone, sign a 2 year contract with AT&T and you are in business.  I am not so crazy about the AT&T part, but making a purchase at Best Buy will be much easier than waiting in lines at one of AT&T or Apple’s stores – those lines are crazy!

Centralized Storage for Your Business »

So you have 2 PCs or maybe even 10 PCs in your business. Each person has their own files on their PCs and makes changes to those files when necessary. Though, what if you have files that need to be shared by everyone (or even certain people) in the business? What if multiple people need to make changes to a single file? Things can easily get tangled pretty quickly. Causing time wasted by emailing files back and forth and making sure the person received it, etc…  This is where having a network and a NAS comes in handy.

What is NAS? Otherwise known as a Network Attached Storage Drive, a NAS is basically a hard drive that can be accessed anywhere in your business, wirelessly and even remotely. Being able to work on files from home is always nice. :c) With a NAS, data can be centrally stored and set up with permissions for either all or certain users in your business. This way, files may be shared with ease, both instantly and efficiently. Another great thing about a NAS is that it is easily backed up so that your data is safe and your PCs don’t even have to be on overnight.

If you are interested in having either  a network, a NAS drive, or both set up for your business, please send me an email and I will give you all of the details.   

Monthly Tech Support »

As a part of the Crystal Coast Technologies Tech Support program we are now offering monthly tech support service to businesses both large and small. These services are meant to keep your PCs and your network running as efficiently as possible so that you can concentrate on the other aspects of your business. Monthly service plans include on-call support, 1 visit monthly to clean PCs, fix PCs, etc… A fully detailed diagram of your network will also be made to include all of the important information about your hardware and network connectivity. OnSite and OnLine backup solutions may also be added to the monthly service plan to make sure your data is safe and well protected in case of a natural disaster (fire, hurricane, etc…)

Email me for further details.