Microsoft Office Template Gallery

Creating a Microsoft Office Template can be confusing and many people don't even realize that you can create your own templates.

Visit http://templategallery.microsoft.com/templategallery and find hundreds of useful templates to help you get your work done more efficiently.

You can use the site to create templates for dozens of documents such as letterhead, labels, and business cards.

The main categories include

Categories include
Staffing and Management
Letters to Customers
Marketing
Legal
Business Forms
Stationery, Labels and Cards
Your Career
When You're the Customer
Meetings, Events and Projects
Finance and Accounting
Publications and Education
Personal Interest, Community and Politics

For example, to look at the business card templates, just click on the Business Cards link to bring up a long list to choose from.

To preview business cards for the small business owner (click Go to Preview), you must first agree to the End User License Agreement.

Then, you'll see a nicely designed business card.

Using Microsoft Word, you can edit the business card. Click on the link next to the card and it opens in Microsoft Word - already laid out properly for printing.

Personalize the card, print it, and prepare to succeed!

Don't forget to see what other helpful templates are available for other Microsoft Office programs.

Find out in the full article (link above).

Posted by Computer Consulting 101

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IT Consulting: Generate Income in the Beginning

When you are beginning your IT consulting business, you will need to generate demand, get good leads and prospects, qualify them, go out on sales appointments and follow up on those.

Avoid Channel Programs

Focus on finding paying clients before joining channel programs. Many new consultants believe that these programs will bring them immediate success only to be seriously disappointed.

Determine How You Will Be Paid

As you do the work, make sure you get payment or get credit card authorization, especially when for products. To take credit cards, you'll need to get a merchant account. Do not give credit unless you’re going to do a regular credit application and credit check.

Require Deposits

Always, always, always get a deposit check - a substantial amount of the purchase - especially for product purchases. Even on a big IT consulting project, you should require a deposit.

At the absolute minimum, your deposits should be something in the neighborhood of 10 to 25%. Usually it should be somewhere more in the 25 to 35% range.

The Bottom Line about IT Consulting

In starting your IT consulting business, be sure you don’t end up feeling pinched. It is a good idea to bill weekly and always include a due date on your invoices. Don’t just put "Due in X number of days." This concrete due date to show your clients you are serious about your business.

Learn more by reading the entire article (link above).

Blogged by Joshua Feinberg

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Transhumanism Goes Mainstream

Transhumanism -- and the ethical questions surrounding it -- was the topic of a recent Stanford University bioethics conference.� Titled "Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights," the conference explored the rights of people to enhance their own bodies.�

The conference was notable because it took a step toward taking transhumanism out of the realm of theory and into a very practical line of thinking.� Indeed, the recent debates over steroid use in sports should alert us to the sorts of controversies that will accompany "biological contingencies" in the future:

[Bioethicist Anita] Silvers argues that the right not to be normal, is, in fact, the essence of freedom. Human beings, she argues, have always modified themselves, usually because we see the modifications as some kind of advantage. Banning it, as some have argued for, means forcing people to adhere to a government-imposed standard of normal.

The instinct to prevent people from making alterations to themselves worries British philosopher Andy Miah, a lecturer in media, bioethics and cyber culture at the University of Paisley in Scotland. “I explain it as a contempt for �Otherness.’ We seek to suppress people whom we feel are abnormal, mutants or monsters. Historically, societies have done this a lot. They continue to do it and I find it embarrassing.�

Such debate only scratches the surface of the transhumanist controversy.� Just as technologists worry about a "digital divide," so too will we have to come to terms with a "biological divide" that separates those who can afford body enhancements from those who cannot (in a sense, this exists already, as not everyone has the money to join a gym, get braces or cosmetic surgery).� But the types of transformations that transhumanists are considering may be far more drastic, leading to what are perhaps whole new classes of humans.� As he Barry Bonds controversy has demonstrated, that will be difficult to reconcile in a culture that values equality and fair play.



UPDATE: Transhumanism is Wikipedia's featured article for 6/2/06!

Source:� MSNBC

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[TIPS] - a site that's hard to explain

http://www.phylotaxis.com/phylotaxis.html

 

- - - snip - - -

Phylotaxis is an exploration of the space where science meets culture.

Its structure, derived from the Fibonacci Sequence and closely related to the Golden Ratio, is one of nature's most elegant. The Fibonacci Sequence is the set of numbers where each number is the sum of the previous two numbers. This simple sequence governs phenomena as diverse as the petal arrangement of roses, the breeding patterns of rabbits, and the shape of our galaxy. It is also evident in the design of the Great Pyramids, the composition of the Mona Lisa, and the construction of Stradivarius violins.

 - -

Drag the slider to the left or right at the bottom to see how the Seed changes.

And a bonus...

How can you tell a person who means well but who is still not understanding your privacy concerns with regard to emails? For example. have you ever gotten a forwarded email where the top 9/10th 's of the email are nothing but the email addresses of everyone that had forwarded that message and all those who had received it? People SHOULD put those names in the BCC field (like I do with these tips)  so that your addresses aren't made public. In any case, perhaps THIS site can cmoe in handy: http://www.thanksno.com

 

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Computer Business Apple Teams Up with Nike to Offer New Sports Kit

Computer business Apple recently announced a partnership with Nike and its popular iPod. The computer business will offer a new Nike+iPod Sport Kit, a wireless system that enables Nike footwear to talk to the Nano model of the iPod.

The new kit requires a Nike brand shoe and an iPod nano with Mac and a USB 2/0 and Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later along with iTunes 6.0.5. The product can also be used with a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional and iTunes 6.0.5.

The first model of Nike shoes that will work with the computer business’ iPod is the Air Zoom Moire. The new system provides information for runners on time, distance, calories burned and pace that is stored on the iPod once the shoes and the device are connected and displayed on the screen. The device also provides real-time audio feedback through headphones. The kit comes complete with an in-shoe sensor and receiver that attaches to the iPod. Computer business Apple is set to add a new Nike Sport Music section to the iTunes music store and a new nikeplus.com personal service site for customer support. Nike will also release a series of apparel designed to accompany this new offering.

The Sport Kit will be on the market within two months and available for the price of $29 through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores, certain resellers and Nike stores.

Those interested in learning more about this new partnership can visit the link attached to this story.

Created By: Computer Consulting 101

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Solution Providers Offered New Program by Brocade Communications

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. revealed the release of selected Brocade Storage Area Network (SAN) connectivity products for solutions providers and customers through a new program. The EMC Select Program offers access to products from top industry vendors qualified to be used in EMC-based solutions. This program for solution providers and customers offered by Brocade further solidifies the bond between Brocade and EMC and represents a new option for those looking for simple solutions.

Brocade Communications brings industry-leading platforms, solutions an services to help optimize, manage and connect IT resources in shared storage. The EMC Select program gives solution providers easy access to third-party products they need to handle important information using a single source from start to finish. EMC Select provides cost-effective products including the 8-port SilkWorm® 207E and 205E SAN switches for solution providers that are available either as individual products or bundled together with the Emulex LightPulse group of Host Bus Adapters (HBAs).

Spokespeople from Emulex say they are excited to be partnering with EMC and Brocade Communications in this exciting offering that will help solution providers and other users achieve quick start-up of new technologies.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting Kit

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CORDA Technologies Partners With Two Government Systems Integrators (SIs)

The leading provider of enterprise dashboard solutions, CORDA Technologies, Inc. is sharing good news with investors and the public. They have signed two key government systems integrator (SI) partnerships with DataTech Enterprises, inc. (DTEi) and Milvets Systems Technology, Inc.

The Small Business Act (SBA) plan to have 23% of yearly deals awarded to small businesses. The government spend billions buying from private firms each year. They want to keep things equal between small and large businesses.

According to Tom O'Dea, chief revenue officer for Corda: "We have significantly improved our outlook and sales in SMB and government markets recently and have plans to continue our success. Both DataTech and Milvets are established providers in the government arena and we are excited to have them on board. For Corda to continue its current growth path in these arenas we are looking for partners, resellers and other SI's similar to DataTech and Milvets that strategically sell to these areas."

Find out more about the new partnerships in the complete article (link above).

Blogged by Computer Consulting 101

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Visitar's Newest Program

Visitar was the first to offer CRM solutions for SMBs. Today, they announced a channel partner program expansion. They are adding new program elements to benefit VARs, IT consultants, and service providers.

SMB partners can now provide interaction-powered customer care that has been available to large corporations for some time. Since the services are affordable, both small and mid-sized business can benefit from the services.

Janet Holt, founder and COO for Visitar, said, "Offering 360 Care viaVisitar is a logical extension for companies selling VoIP, networking, business applications and other technologies and related services into the small and mid-sized business market.

She also added that "Having run successful VAR organizations in the past, the Visitar executive team designed its own Channel Program to include a wide range of options and benefits including high margins, white-label opportunities, recurring revenue models, and extensive sales and marketing support. The program has everything a partner needs to successfully expand their revenue and profit, and we are 100 percent committed to maintaining an indirect sales model and further developing our partner network."

To learn more about Visitar's newest addition to their channel partner program and see how it can benefit you and your clients, read the full article (link above).

Submitted by Computer Consulting Kit

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Connecting Little Guys to Really Big Guys

"Crowdsourcing" is the new buzzword to describe leveraging the Internet and the "wisdom of crowds" to solve problems and obtain information, whether via open source programming, file sharing or soliciting group input.  The idea, of course, isn't new, but who's using it is of interest. 

Pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly funded InnoCentive’s launch in 2001 as a way to connect with brainpower outside the company – people who could help develop drugs and speed them to market. From the outset, InnoCentive threw open the doors to other firms eager to access the network’s trove of ad hoc experts. Companies like Boeing, DuPont, and Procter & Gamble now post their most ornery scientific problems on InnoCentive’s Web site; anyone on InnoCentive’s network can take a shot at cracking them.

The companies – or seekers, in InnoCentive parlance – pay solvers anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per solution. (They also pay InnoCentive a fee to participate.) Jill Panetta, InnoCentive’s chief scientific officer, says more than 30 percent of the problems posted on the site have been cracked, “which is 30 percent more than would have been solved using a traditional, in-house approach.”

The solvers are not who you might expect. Many are hobbyists working from their proverbial garage, like the University of Dallas undergrad who came up with a chemical to use in art restoration, or the Cary, North Carolina, patent lawyer who devised a novel way to mix large batches of chemical compounds.

A related concept is the iBridge Network, which aims to link universities up with entrepreneurs who can help bring technologies being developed in university labs to market.

When it works, crowdsourcing can be a win-win situation.  An individual or group looking for a solution can obtain one at relatively low cost, while individuals with knowledge can apply it to make money or advance their careers.  Naturally, the risk of abuse exists -- and that's where opportunity exists for developers seeking to design networking sites that are effective, efficient, and equitable.

Sources:  Wired, KurzweilAI.net, innovation.net

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Connecting Little Guys to Really Big Guys

"Crowdsourcing" is the new buzzword to describe leveraging the Internet and the "wisdom of crowds" to solve problems and obtain information, whether via open source programming, file sharing or soliciting group input.  The idea, of course, isn't new, but who's using it is of interest. 

Pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly funded InnoCentive’s launch in 2001 as a way to connect with brainpower outside the company – people who could help develop drugs and speed them to market. From the outset, InnoCentive threw open the doors to other firms eager to access the network’s trove of ad hoc experts. Companies like Boeing, DuPont, and Procter & Gamble now post their most ornery scientific problems on InnoCentive’s Web site; anyone on InnoCentive’s network can take a shot at cracking them.

The companies – or seekers, in InnoCentive parlance – pay solvers anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 per solution. (They also pay InnoCentive a fee to participate.) Jill Panetta, InnoCentive’s chief scientific officer, says more than 30 percent of the problems posted on the site have been cracked, “which is 30 percent more than would have been solved using a traditional, in-house approach.”

The solvers are not who you might expect. Many are hobbyists working from their proverbial garage, like the University of Dallas undergrad who came up with a chemical to use in art restoration, or the Cary, North Carolina, patent lawyer who devised a novel way to mix large batches of chemical compounds.

When it works, crowdsourcing can be a win-win situation.  An individual or group looking for a solution can obtain one at relatively low cost, while individuals with knowledge can apply it to make money or advance their careers.  Naturally, the risk of abuse exists -- and that's where opportunity exists for developers seeking to design networking sites that are effective, efficient, and equitable.

Sources:  Wired, KurzweilAI.net

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"Strange" Future Gadgets

A foldable DVD player?  AN LCD display that retains an image without a charge?  A transparent toaster??  Whether you think these product concepts are weird or simply good innovations, TecEBlog lists these and others among its "Top 10 Strangest Gadgets of the Future."  Some of which regular FutureWire readers will recall from past postings...

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Are Young People More Politically Engaged than their Elders?

Conventional wisdom holds that young people don't pay much attention to politics or current events.  Yet a new study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has found that Americans aged 18-29 (Gen-Y, Millennials, GenNext, DotNet, etc.) appear to be more politically active than previously believed.

The report cites Census data showing a sharp uptick in youth voter turnout between 2000 and 2004 (although they still trail their elders significantly), and evidence that more young people are active in fundraising and volunteering their services.  Furthermore, young people are more likely to hold liberal political views and favor Democratic candidates than their GenX and Boomer elders, though the ratio of Democrats/Republicans is about the same as with Boomers when they were that age.  That liberal viewpoint, however, is not wholly uniform; while young people are more likely than their elders to support gay marriage and hold a favorable view of government, they are also less supportive of abortion on demand.

With easy access to news and political discussion online and on 24-hour cable, there's no reason why today's youth shouldn't be more politically literate than their predecessors.  Plus, with many of their peers serving in Iraq and other flashpoints across the globe, young people have a stake in the decisions our elected officials make.  The true test of their political commitment though, will be whether it holds as they grow older, and whether their perspective change as they launch careers or raise families. 

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Business 2.0 Profiles The Wireless Future

Business 2.0 takes a look at how the latest wireless technology will affect the way we work and interact through the Internet. 



The interactive article explores such tools as GPS tracking, VOIP, Internet TV, music recommendations, and mobile blogging.  It also looks ahead to mobile devices with full keyboards, touchscreens, and massive storage.

Source:  Emergic

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Pay-By-The-Hour Computer Financing

Microsoft wants you to own a computer.  So much, in fact, that it is willing to let you pay for one by the hour.

Through its FlexGo plan, consumers can pay for half of a PC up front, then pay for usage by the hour.  After several hundred hours, the consumer owns the PC.  Such a plan allows consumers -- particularly those in developing countries -- to tailor their payments to what they can afford at the moment.

Such pay-as-you-go plans are becoming more prevalent as a way to make technology more affordable, much as easy credit did in the early 20th century... but hopefully without overwhelming consumers with debt.

Source:  Springwise

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Computer Skills Your Staff Needs

If you don’t have advanced tech or computer skills, you can still work efficiently with sweet spot small business clients just by putting in some extra time each week studying.

BREAK SOMETHING THAT WORKS

One way to hone your computer skills is to get a not-for-resale (NFR) copy of a product you intend to sell, install or support and work with it in your computer lab. If you have a spare half-hour or an hour, you or members of your staff can go through all the basic installations on the product and then break the installations on purpose to practice reinstalling the software as many times as it takes to be comfortable with the process. Most of the products installed for small businesses are well-developed technologies that are wizard-driven and won’t demand great computer skills from you.

EASIER INSTALLATIONS

Installations of major software packages are much easier than they were several years ago. Microsoft in particular has spent a great deal of time and money making their business products simpler to install and use for those without advanced IT or networking computer skills.

In order to service sweet spot clients on a technical computer skills level, your staff needs the following expertise:

1. Strong PC hardware skills
2. The ability to handle a P2P set-up
3. An understanding of TCP/IP
4. A knowledge of POP3 and SMTP
5. The ability to work with SOHO routers.

If your staff already has these skills, your company will be at a good point to start with smaller sweet spot small businesses.

Be a proactive manager and share training tips and your experiences with staff members so you can all help each other grow and learn. If everyone shares knowledge, there’s not chance of any staff members progressing far beyond the rest, blackmailing you, trying to get huge raises or bonuses or worse, leaving and taking your client base.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

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Spotting IT Consulting Sweet Spot Clients

Having a sustainable IT consulting business is intricately linked to the sweet spot of small businesses. But where do you look for these small business clients, and how do you know they will actually be a source of lucrative recurring revenue?

IDENTIFYING A SWEET SPOT CLIENT

A sweet spot IT consulting client should not be located more than 30-50 minutes driving distance from your firm’s main office. This distance makes it possible for you to see them face-to-face regularly and to get there quickly in the case of an emergency. Even if travel time or related transportation expenses are additional billing items, your best and most profitable IT consulting time will be spent with your clients.

FINDING LOCAL SWEET SPOT CLIENTS

There are two major ways to find your local IT consulting sweet spot prospects, identified as those within 0-50 miles or 0-80 kilometers: rent direct mail lists; join local organizations within half an hour to an hour of your IT consulting location.

HOW LARGE ARE SWEET SPOT CONSULTING BUSINESSES?

A sweet spot IT consulting business can be defined as one that has 10-50 computers, 10-100 employees and one million to ten million annual sales. Rented direct mail lists will give you at least part of this information about prospects in the area.

You can also find a sweet spot IT consulting business because they will have connections with a local accounting firm or other types of important businesses. You want to add your IT consulting firm to their list of trusted business advisors.

SWEET SPOT MEANS CONNECTED

Sweet spot IT consulting customers will typically outsource important business items to other trusted advisors. They will have relationships with attorneys, accounting firms, consulting firms, ad agencies and graphic designers and understand how important these connections are.

If you want to be involved with other companies that are connected to sweet spot businesses you should network with local accounting firms and others that can lead you to good IT consulting customers.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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Hitachi's IT Consulting Arm Names New Global Services Leader

The business and IT consulting arm of Hitachi, Hitachi Consulting named Joel Hill as new managing vice president of Global Services. The Global Services branch of the IT consulting company will focus on two areas using two teams of consultants, the Japan Team and the Global Solutions Center Team. This IT consulting branch will focus on identifying global pursuit opportunities and coordinating hiring of new staff to work on the opportunities that arise. The goal of this IT consulting company is to create a more unified approach for Hitachi Consulting.

Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. was created in April from the Hitachi Group company EXSURGE under the leadership of Paul Yonamine. This IT consulting company will further strengthen the Asian presence and make it easier for Hitachi companies worldwide to work together to best serve the needs of clients.

Newly-appointed vice president Hill stated confidently that the IT consulting company has already successfully established its operations in both Japan and North America. Because of its past track record, Hitachi will be able to expand the client focus and integrate the IT consulting practices in North America and Japan.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101

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Wireless Solution Provider Nokia Learns Second Hand of Qualcomm Lawsuit

Wireless solution provider Nokia learned late Wednesday that it was to be tagged with a patent infringement in the United Kingdom by Finnish wireless provider Qualcomm after reading a press release. Nokia saw the press release before it knew about or had read a copy of the complaint.

The Finnish cell phone and infrastructure vendor Qualcomm’s release came as no real surprise to Nokia, since the company has many other times complained and filed litigation about similar issues regarding the wireless solution provider Typically patent litigation defendants violently deny charges, but that is because they have already seen complaint details. Nokia spokespeople state they are unable to publicly make any statements about the suit until they receive the formal complaint. However, the solution provider states the suit probably has very little merit.

Early last Wednesday Qualcomm issued a release saying it was reopening a lawsuit previously filed against Nokia in the United States to the UK and is asking for damages and an injunction. The Finninsh company says that solution provider Nokia has committed infringement on two patents in its cell phones that have GPRS and EDGE built-in technology.

Nokia’s response was that it has 223 patents that relate specifically to that technology and that Qualcomm is not as well-established and innovative in the GSM market as Nokia.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

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Even More Computer Consulting 101 Tips

Your company probably needs the help of a reputable computer consulting firm, but you might not have any clue as to how to choose the right firm to suit your needs. Computer Consulting 101 offers a series of in-depth questions you can ask when interviewing potential computer consulting firms based on a study of why it is so hard to find good consulting vendors.

Evaluating a computer consulting firm and the expenses surrounding it can be a difficult process. The following categories represent the areas you should think about when formulating questions for your prospective consulting vendor:

1. Is the computer consulting firm a reseller, “pure” computer consulting company or a hybrid technology provider?
2. What are the costs, hidden charges and billing procedures of the specific computer consulting firm?
3. Does the computer consulting company offer client reference accounts, case studies and testimonials?
4. How does the firm handle its own research and development and keep technical skills sharp to keep abreast of technology developments and changing client needs?
5. What is the firm’s training approach and willingness to transfer knowledge to its clients?

Knowing these basic question categories can help companies avoid hiring the wrong computer consulting firms to handle their needs. For more detailed questions, visit the link provided above.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

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Using Handheld Devices to Address Customer Needs

It can be very hard to make a profit margin when selling desktop or notebook PCs, but nearly impossible is the process of selling handheld devices or PDAs to small business clients. Handheld devices are generally marketed towards those that would buy consumer electronics products and not thought of as actual computers.

HANDHELD DEVICES ARE POPULAR

PDAs centered on the Palm and Microsoft Windows CE OS systems are very powerful and flexible. These handheld devices have become useful for all sizes of businesses, but have their own IT support problems that will require your help as an IT professional.

PDA AND HANDHELD DEVICE SUPPORT WILL EVENTUALLY BE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

Most of the time your consulting firm or your clients’ internal IT departments will get the initial handheld device and PDA support request. Even if the employee bought the handheld device on his/her own or got it as a gift, you will most likely someday get a call if something goes wrong.

FUNDING HANDHELD DEVICE SUPPORT

Make sure you discuss PDAs with your main client contact person to determine who will be handling support requests regarding handheld devices. Think about all the variables surrounding product and operating systems when you discuss how to fund PDAs. Also think about data security and desktop connectivity.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

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Google Embraces DIY Video Ads

As several startups explore the possibilities of using viral video in advertising, the 800-pound gorilla of online ads has awakened to the prospect.  Google will soon allow its advertisers to upload homemade video clips for their ads.

Anyone with a Google AdWords account can create and upload an ad, just so long as it is less than two minutes long.  The ad will then be displayed on blogs and websites that have related content, just like other Google ads.  Google has been testing the concept this past spring with major corporate advertisers, but it plans to roll it into production as early as today, some reports say.

As with web ad banners that evolved in the late '90s, video ads will go through some growing pains as advertisers learn what resonates with viewers and, most importantly, motivates them to buy their products or services.  This period of experimentation will be a lot like the first few episodes of an American Idol season -- brilliance juxtaposed against... well, you know...

Source:  Marketwatch

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More however Computer though Consulting 101 Hiring 1 Tips (Part if 2 of 2)

Before choosing a computer consulting firm, you want to find out everything you can about them. You should conduct comprehensive interviews with several companies so that you can easily compare. If you're not sure what to ask, check out the following list for ideas.

Reseller, "Pure" Computer Consulting Company, or Hybrid Technology Provider

Does your company resell various technology products, such as hardware and software?

Is this a profit center or do you mind if we shop for our products elsewhere?

And if we do shop elsewhere, can we still purchase your needs analysis and procurement services?

Are there any other vendors, such as ISPs or telephone companies, that your firm acts as an agent or affiliate for?

In other words, do you accept commissions or referral fees for steering business toward certain vendors?

Costs, Hidden Charges, and Billing Procedures

What are your payment terms, rates and hourly billing minimums? What is billable and what is not billable?

Do you charge for your travel time? Telephone support? E-mail/online support? Remote support?

Are there any hourly rate billing premiums for after-hours or emergency service? What constitutes "after hours" or an "emergency"?

Do you offer support contracts? What are the cost and benefits?

Client Reference Accounts, Case Studies, and Testimonials

Can you tell me about one of your more long-term small business client accounts?

Can you tell me about one of your more recently signed-on clients?

Can you tell me about a small business client who didn't work out and why?

Can you provide references?

Research/Developments and Keeping Skills Sharp

How do you keep up with new tech developments?

What do you bill clients for and what do you absorb internally? Are there any gray areas?

Training Approach and Knowledge Transfer

How do you feel about handholding and in-depth training with users?

What kind of user and technical training can you provide?

Will you train our internal computer administrator to become more self-sufficient, even if it takes away from your "job security" and opportunities to bill more hours?

Learn more about the questions you need to ask in the full article (link above).

Added by Computer Consulting Kit

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IT Spending: Your Clients’ Purchases Require Planning

You'll find as your start out as an IT consultant that your clients may be interested in spending a lot of money on things they simply don't need. Thus, as their virtual IT consultant, it's your job to help them plan their IT spending.

Here is a list of questions you need to discuss with your clients:

* Do your clients have written technology budgets and plans for the year?

* If so, what happens if they don’t use up their technology budgets during a given year?

* What kind of advanced planning goes into how clients acquire PC-related hardware assets?

* Do you discuss anticipated support costs (or at least antici-pated support headaches) before recommending new PC purchases?

* Do your clients’ major technology purchases usually follow on the heels of a great year or
great quarter?

* Have any of your clients regretted making a hasty PC hard-ware purchase, because it
turned out to be an extremely un-reliable system or very difficult to support and
trouble-shoot?

Learn more by reading the entire article (link above).

Blogged by Joshua Feinberg

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Putting Your Best Foot Backward

At first glance, running backward seems about as good an idea as running with scissors.  But the practice -- also known as retro-running -- is gaining adherents who claim it improves balance and peripheral vision, burns more calories than regular running, tones more body parts, and can reduce stress on joints.



Hardcore retro-runners have competed in races, and even marathons (the world record for a retro-run marathon is 3 hours, 43 minutes, set by a Chinese runner in 2004).  But retro-running also has its obvious hazards.  Practitioners all have stories of stepping into potholes or running into parked cars, and recommend that beginners choose quiet, open areas such as an empty track.

Not brave enough to try retro-running on your regular jogging route?  Frankly, we can't blame you.  Many treadmills and elliptical trainers operate in reverse mode, allowing you to try retro-running for yourself in a safe environment.

Source:  CNN.com

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More Tattle-Tale Toilets

Toilets -- urinals in particular -- are getting quite interactive these days.  Last year we profiled a conceptual urinal that screens users for STDs.  Now, bars in New York's Nassau County are piloting urinal drain covers that play messages discouraging patrons from drinking too much.

The Wizmark Urinal Communicator (gotta love that name!) is paid for with DWI fines and is being distributed to bars for free.  When the device senses a "visitor" (their word) nearby, it plays a 15-second message:  "Hey you. Yea You, having a few drinks? Then listen up!  Think you had one to many then it's time to call a cab or call a sober friend for a ride home. It sure is safer and a hell of a lot cheaper than a DWI. Make the smart choice tonight, don't drink and drive."

Of course, anything that discourages overindulgence and potentially saves lives is worthwhile.  But one must wonder about the next logical steps for such devices, such as detecting the presence of substances in urine and automatically reporting them.

Sources:  WCBS Newsradio 880, Techdirt

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All the Cells that are Fit to Print

Gabor Forgacs, a biophysicist at the University of Missouri in Columbia, is pioneering a technique for arranging human tissue that he calls "bioprinting."  One day, bioprinting could allow tissue engineers to construct portions of artificial organs.

Bioprinting involves layering clumps of "bioink" to create a three-dimensional structure.  So far, Forgacs has succeeded in creating a cluster of chicken heart cells that beat synchronously.

This is not the first time that tissue engineers have tried to build tissue structures, but bioprinting promises to be an economical process.

Source:  New Scientist

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[TIPS] - make screencasts

Thanks to Jarod F for thinking of us to share this. You may recall that I had mentioned this program a year or so ago, but at that time is was still version 1 and it wasn't the best. It's now version two and there are lots of new features. It seems to be MUCH better, now.

 

Here's what Jarod had to say...

 - - clip - -

I haven't tried Wink yet (we have Captivate), but for free, it will be worth my time to check it out.  Here is the web site:

http://www.debugmode.com/wink/

 

An example that the guys at MI created for their kids is at:

http://www.pcs.k12.mi.us/cozias/goliathmovie.html

 

Although he uses Camtasia, there is a very good ScreenCast on how to create a good ScreenCast:

http://www.bmyers.com/public/1107.cfm 

 

 - -

 

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SMBs Balk at Backup

Although there are numerous new technologies available to securely backup data, many SMBs feel that they don't really need to worry about it. Others are so busy trying to choose which service to use that they are leaving their data in jeopardy.

Bill Case, technical support manager of 100-person mechanical engineering firm Peter Basso Associates in Troy, Michigan, says, "Disk backup is something I'm interested in, but we're trying to figure out the best route to go. I always have a comfort level with tape. It gives me comfort knowing last night's tape is in my bag and the previous version is offsite. Am I looking forward to the time I won't have to carry tapes around? Sure. And of course, I'd like it to be faster and more granular. But I want to find something that works."

Ryan Mullen, an IT admin for MSLG Home Loans in Reno, Nevada, shares the plight of many small businesses – the inability to move away from tape backups. "I would like to think the disk solution would get us away from tape, but we're in the same boat a lot of people are in -- if something catastrophic happened to our building, we would have tape offsite so we could retrieve data. We're not big enough to accommodate the price of streaming offsite backups."

Learn about some of the newest storage solutions available for SMBs in the entire article (link above).

Submitted by Joshua Feinberg

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IBM Debuts Tivoli Change, Configuration Management and Process Tools

New software and services were the focus of IBM's announcements today. These additions will help automate IT processes across multiple platforms. From managing IT failures to accessing and using new software, the changes will help users lower their IT budgets.

The IBM Tivoli Change and Configuration Management Database along with three types of IBM Tivoli Process Manager software will automate several of the most challenging tasks facing companies and IT professionals.

Al Zollar, general manager, IBM Tivoli software, said, "IBM is focused on helping customers make data about IT systems more accessible so it’s easier to manage and share across an infrastructure. This new software, built on open standards, allows customers to improve efficiency and cut the cost of managing technology."

Learn more about the specific changes in the full article (link above).

Blogged by Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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Productivity Increase Doesn't Necessarily Mean Hiring New Employees

Although businesses become more productive that doesn't necessarily mean they are hiring more employees. Instead, it may simply mean that technology has made it possible to shorten a job as Barbara Hagenbaugh pointed out in her article in USA Today.

She cited an example from Computer Consulting 101 in the article:

"Jennifer and Joshua Feinberg have spent less than $10,000 in computer upgrades this year for their business, Computer Consulting 101, which teaches computer consultants how to run their firms. The West Palm Beach, Fla., couple say the investment has cut hours from their workload and allowed them to do the work themselves without hiring employees.

A $1,500 high-speed CD duplicator they are about to buy should cut an eight-hour job to just one hour.

"It's been like adding another half a person to our business," Joshua Feinberg says."

Learn more in the complete article (link above).

Submitted by Computer Consulting 101

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IT Consulting: Services for Sweet Spot Customers

When working with your sweet spot customers, you should consider which of these other services you can provide.

What Website Design Programs Should You Know?

At minimum, you should be able to use Microsoft Frontpage. However, if you work with many high end clients, an understanding of Macromedia or Dreamweaver can serve you well. Although you don't have to provide web design services, this will be just another income pipeline.

What about Terminal Services?

You should be familiar with what is built into the window server and with how other technologies work. For instance, although the fax machine may be fast disappearing, faxing over the network is still important. You should also be able to monitor performance and provide tune-ups. VPN, RADs, virtual private networking, and remote access is still important and should be part of you repertoire.

What about Virus Protection?

You should be familiar with some of the more advanced virus protection applications. Especially when working with Exchange Server or IAS, you should be familiar with how to automate that within the management server. You should also be able to use sophisticated firewall and intrusion detection software packages.

Learn more about what you need to know and what you can offer to sweet spot clients in the full article (link above).

Posted by Joshua Feinberg

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Questions for Consulting Firm Prospects from Computer Consulting 101

To avoid hiring a computer consulting firm that is not right for your business, ask these important questions provided by Computer Consulting 101 when interviewing prospects.

1. Does your company resell hardware, software and other tech products?
2. Is your company a profit center, or can we shop for products elsewhere and still use your needs analysis and other services?
3. Do you work with specific ISPs or telephone companies and accept commissions or referral fees for bringing business towards those vendors?
4. What are your payment terms, rates and hourly minimums, and what do you consider billable and not billable?
5. Do you charge for extra items such as travel time, telephone support, e-mail/online support or others?
6. Do you have hourly rate billing for after-hours or emergency services? What do you consider to fall into these service categories?
7. Tell me about one of your long-term small business clients.
8. Tell me about a more recently signed-on client.
9. Do you have a small business client that didn’t work out, and why did it not work?
10. How do you keep abreast of technological developments?
11. What do you absorb internally in terms of billing and for what do you bill clients initially?
12. What are your thoughts about hand-holding and user training?
13. What kind of technical training do you offer?
14. Are you willing to train internal computer administrators to help them become more self-sufficient, even if it takes away from normal job security and additional billing opportunities?

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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[TIPS] - Creative Commons Copyright

I forgot to set up a tip for yesterday when I was out at the High School Computer Fair. Congratulations to Stephanie B from West Shore for winning Second Place in the Digital Movie Category!

Here's yesterday's tip:
Copyright issues are always on the minds (or SHOULD be, perhaps) of our teachers and students. The definition of Fair Use is confusing and still very limiting, at times. But, there is another type of copyright that is becoming more widely used. It's the Creative Commons License.

- - snip from wikipedia - -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

The Creative Commons website enables copyright holders to grant some of their rights to the public while retaining others through a variety of licensing and contract schemes including dedication to the public domain or open content licensing terms. The intention is to avoid the problems current copyright laws create for the sharing of information.

The project provides several free licenses that copyright holders can use when releasing their works on the web. They also provide RDF/XML metadata that describes the license and the work that makes it easier to automatically process and locate licensed works. They also provide a "Founders' Copyright" [1] contract, intended to re-create the effects of the original U.S. Copyright created by the founders of the U.S. Constitution.
- -
Watch for this to become more and more common as "the long tail" of users/authors/designers/etc push to make information more accessible and usable.

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Searching for IT Consulting Sweet Spot Clients

The following clues will help identify what prospects will make good sweet spot clients for your IT consulting business:

1. The company has a website. A prospect with a website will be searchable in Google. To find prospective clients, you can conduct a simple Google search and search the name of the town you are in, your zip code, postal area codes, prefixes, etc. Search for businesses in your area that might be good potential clients for IT consulting.
2. It is possible for you to meet the leaders of the company. When you look on the prospect’s company information or about page on their website and decide they may be good sweet spot material for your IT consulting firm, find out if the company belongs to a local Chamber of Commerce organization. You can join the organization to meet the members of companies you choose or go as a guest to some of them. Make sure you know how to get the most out of your time and expenses for networking. Track and measure every minute and every dollar you spend so you can best grow your IT consulting business.
3. You can find the company in other places. Find out if the company attends local B to B expos and attend them to mingle with the sweet spot IT consulting clients. If the company gets covered in the local newspapers, business journals, regional business journals or magazines you can subscribe to them and read back issues at the library or online.

Studying a company before you make contact and finding out their experience, number of employees and annual revenue or if they are expanding to another office soon will help you identify the best sweet spot IT consulting clients.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

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Discovery Day - should be a good one!

Announcing... Discovery Day. August 14th. Time - 8:00am  - 3:30 pm

 

Cost - $0.00 - nada - zip - zilch - zero

 

Where:

Still up in the air. In order to meet the demand, it may happen in a local school district, rather than here at the IU.

 

What?

Lance Rougeux from Discovery Education will be on hand to conduct this workshop. If you're using - or considering using - UnitedStreaming's videos, this workshop is for you. Lance will show you the new UnitedStreaming Interface (set to be revealed in June) as well as some EXCELLENT ways to use it. I've seen him show how to put videos into powerpoints, and how to use Google Earth with unitedstreaming, and he's quite good. You'll love it.

 

The day will involve being broken out into groups where you'll learn specific ways to integrate it. It's a tried and true method that he's done many times before. I'm sure there will be other little bonuses, as well.

 

How to sign up:

Sign up on 48 carats. I've capped the attendance at 75.

 

 

 

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Solution Providers and System Builders Annoyed by Microsoft Pricing

Systems builders and solutions providers recently expressed frustration with the high operating system and software costs associated with Microsoft. During a session with system builders, the scene got heated when they brought up the issue of the price difference between tier one vendors and the system builders channel. The session was hosted by CRN Editor in Chief Heather Clancy and Digital Connect Editor Jefff O’Heir.

Many solution providers are beginning to recommend Linux products over Microsoft because of the steadily increasing prices. They noted that on a $500 to $700 desktop PC, the Microsoft license can be the greatest cost. Solution providers are recommending Linux desktops because they are more stable than those provided by Microsoft inn embedded settings, and they also provide both Intel and AMD processors, giving professionals more than one option.

The complaint over Microsoft pricing is not new in the world of system builders and solution providers. Many have noted that Microsoft gives better prices and treatment to major computer businesses such as Dell at the expense of smaller companies. Recently complaints have grown because of increased pressure to bring in more revenue and competition from emerging computer businesses.

The pricing issue at this particular session arose after Novell displayed the features of a Linux desktop alternative called Suse Linux Enterprise 10. Some panelists and experts at the conference agreed that system builders and solution providers should start trying to make themselves better rather than accuse specific vendors of poor pricing methods.

All agreed that education on different vendors and products was the key to providing the best services to clients and companies, and that solution providers should take a proactive stance to make sure they are selecting the appropriate systems and products for their clients depending on their business and needs.

Created By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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IT Consulting Survey Shows Popularity of In-Sourcing

A recent IT consulting 2006 Skills Survey survey conducted by silicom.com polled 1,198 individuals and asked what they would do when outsourced IT projects do not meet their expectations. Many responded that in-sourcing helps to resolve relationships centered on outsourcing. Over two-thirds of those polled stated that in-sourcing was the best way to get IT consulting projects done and improve experiences with important projects.

Headlines have recently cropped up about the number of companies that are in-sourcing and bringing outsourced projects given to IT consulting firms back in-house. Company Boots stated last week that it would be taking 100 IT jobs in-house as part of their amended contract with IBM.

Of the job titles surveyed in the Skills Survey, the ones most in favor of in-sourcing were IT professionals. In fact, 77 percent stated that in-sourcing is the best way to quickly and efficiently deal with failed outsourcing projects. Of course, it is the IT professionals whose jobs would be most affected by in-sourcing and outsourcing, so this response is not surprising.

CIOs and IT directors were next on the list in their support for in-sourcing projects, and 74 percent were in favor of this shift. IT consultants were next on the list with 63 percent support.

Board directors and other C-level executives including CEOs were not as excited about in-sourcing. Only half of the respondents stated they thought it was the best way to resolve issues with outsourcing. This response could be due to the fact that they are typically responsible for answering to stockholders when the deal goes bad.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

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Google Gains U.S. Search Market Share for Ninth Consecutive Month

When comScore Networks released their monthly qSearch analysis, the results were the same as in previous months: Google is increasing their U.S. market share for searches. With Yahoo! in second place and MSN in third, Google seems to be effectively taking over the market.

With 6.6 billion searches last month, users in the United States are constantly looking for new information. Google and Yahoo! together account for around 95% of the searches conducted in the U.S.

One change for this month is that MySpace.com was added to the group. Whether or not this small player will really step into the big league search engines remains to be seen, but they did account for 0.6% of the U.S. search market last month.

Find out more about the rankings in the full article (link above).

Blogged by Computer Consulting Kit

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Ektron Announces Partner Program

Ektron is a leading developer of web authoring and content management solutions provided to companies around the globe. Recently, the company announced its desire to start a strategic partner program.

Finally, the program is set up and ready to go. Value added resellers (VARs), web consultants, and integrators are all invited to join the specialized program. The program offers many advantages to these individuals.

Partners are given discounted pricing on software, free demonstration software, sales and marketing support, upgrade notification, and training and support. The program is fairly comprehensive and offers a way to sell the products and to create a new cash pipeline.

To learn more about the partner program, read the entire article (link above).

Submitted by Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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[TIPS] - podcasting tutorials

I almost forgot to send this one today.

 

This site (sometimes slow to load) contains a BUNCH of links to podcasting tutorials.

 

http://www.portablemediaexpo.com/podcastexpert/index.php?action=links&categoryid=5

 

 

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PC Help from Computer Consulting 101

It is always advisable for companies to seek out a local computer consulting firm to handle major tech issues and provide on-going guidance for PC users. But many computer problems are simple enough to be dealt with by even the most technologically challenged individual. Before you call your computer consulting help, reboot.

To reboot, simply exit out of all files and programs, then go through a typical shutdown/reboot sequence. If the computer issue seems to be hardware related – if it involves a sound card, mouse or any other item – you can go one step further to try to rectify the problem. Shut down your PC, then turn the power off for a minute or more. Then restart and see if the problem has fixed itself.

The experts at Computer Consulting 101 have found that sometimes in about ten to twenty percent of the cases, a reboot is all it takes to solve computer problems. Rebooting is easy, and it can’t hurt. Plus it can save a potentially expensive call to a computer consulting firm.

Added By: Joshua Feinberg

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IT Consulting: How to Track Time and Invoices

If you are new to the IT consulting business you need to learn about common mistakes made that involve tracking and invoicing. Staying away from these mistakes will give your company a better financial outlook and will help reduce stress by giving you more control over your business.

TIME TRACKING, BILLING, ETC.

Time tracking, billing, creating invoices and collecting through credit cards are all major parts of IT consulting. Many people ask which software they need to use for time tracking and billing, but paying the most attention to this keeps your eye off more important issues.

The truth is, tracking time and invoicing is not only about your software. You should use software that makes the process simpler, but the software will not fix the problems attached to IT consulting and this procedure.

IT CONSULTING CLIENTS NEED SERVICE

Your long-term clients will see your IT consulting company as insurance, and will be motivated to pay the bills on time. The clients you should be looking for are those that will fear not paying invoices on time because they would be afraid it would make you forget about them.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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Computer Consulting 101 PC Troubleshooting Advice

In the middle of a problem, end users are likely to panic and completely lose any knowledge of how to treat their computers. If you are going to share one piece of advice with your clients, it should be this: Reboot your computer!

A multitude of woes can be saved by following this one simple step before panicking. Even if they've been working on an important document, chances are that the system has auto saved at least part of their work.

End users should exit out of all files and applications and then take the computer throughout the reboot sequence. Sometimes the computer will completely lock up, so they'll have to turn it off at the power button but the reboot sequence is better for the computer.

If you suspect that the problems are hardware related, then you should contact your professional computer consultant. To learn more about troubleshooting, read the entire article (link above).

Submitted by Joshua Feinberg

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Operating An On-Site Computer Repair Service – How to Generate Recurring Business

When you are running an on-site computer repair service, you are operating a very specialized industry. Although this might sound like good news, it can actually mean that your monthly income is unsteady. In order to be successful, you need to be able to generate recurring business.

Direct Mail

Customers often forget to take care of their equipment and businesses appropriately. They may even forget about you. So, you need to take a moment to remind them of your services. From postcards to remind companies about you to thank you notes after working with a company, direct mail can greatly increase your success.

Phone Surveys

You should also find reasons to phone previous clients every once in a while. A great way to do this is to call and request a phone survey on your last work with them. While getting their feedback, you'll also be reminding them of your services.

Office Visits

Clients appreciate visits from their on-site computer repair service. You could bring in a special snack or coffee for the office staff. These small tokens can make a lasting impression and remind customers of your services.

Learn more about generating recurring business in the complete article (link above).

Added by Computer Consulting 101

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[BREAKING NEWS] NOAA Predicts 10 Hurricanes for '06 Season

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has forecast 10 hurricanes for the 2006 Atlantic storm season (which begins June 1), with four to six of those being "major" storms (Category 3 or higher) and an additional three to six named storms that don't reach hurricane strength.

The prediction is for a far less active hurricane season than last year, which spawned an unprecedented 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes (the NOAA had predicted that last year would be a busy season, but not that busy).  That, of course, included the colossally devastating storms Katrina and Rita, as well as Wilma, which at one point became the most powerful hurricane ever recorded.

Scientists have also warned that hurricanes could track farther north this year, threatening the Mid-Atlantic states and possibly even New England.  Overall, meteorologists are noting an overall increase in hurricane activity since 1995; most attribute this to a natural cycle that can run from 15 to 40 years, though some say that global warming is also a contributing factor.

Source:  MSNBC

Tags: weather, hurricanes

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Hyper-Local Weather

Remember the old George Carlin bit in which he wondered why TV weather people quoted weather reports from the airport when, in fact, nobody lives at the airport?  For everyone who feels that weather forecasts are irrelevant comes "hyper-local" weather.

Accu-Weather, NBC Weather Plus and The Weather Channel are all perfecting technology that will allow them to deliver granular weather reports, specific to areas as close as a mile apart.  High Resolution Aggregated Data (HiRAD), when combined with radar and satellite imagery and delivered through the Web and digital cable, could effectively allow the viewer to see immediate and long-range forecasts for his or her own neighborhood or street.  This level of detail would be enormously helpful -- even a lifesaver -- in the case of powerful yet highly localized and fast-moving events such as tornadoes or thunderstorms.

Sources:  Broadcasting & Cable, Lost Remote

Tags: weather, HiRAD

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A Future for Books and Paper

It's always been assumed that books and paper would be among the first victims of the Information Revolution (remember that phrase?).  But, as we've seen, it hasn't quite worked out that way.  To the contrary, argues anthropologist Alex Golub, the printed word will almost surely remain a part of our future:

It’s true that there is a lot of stuff you can do with PDFs and the Web that you can’t do with paper, but too often people take this to mean that digital resources “have features” or “are usable” while paper is just, you know, paper. But this is not correct — paper (like any information technology) has its own unique form of usability just as digital resources have theirs. Our current students are unused to paper and attribute the frustration they feel when they use it as a mere lack of usability when in fact they simply haven’t figured out how it works. Older scholars, meanwhile, tend to forget about paper’s unique utility because using it has simply become second nature to them.

Some of the features of paper are well known: Reading more than three pages of text on a screen makes your eyes bleed, but I can read paper for hours. You can underline, highlight, and annotate paper in a way that is still impossible with Web pages. And, of course, in the anarchy after The Big Electromagnetic Pulse the PDFs will be wiped clean off my hard drive but I will still be able to barter my hard copy of Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of the Religious Life for food and bullets.

But my passion for paper is about more than preserving the sociological canon in a post-apocalyptic future. Using paper is embodied in a way that using digital resources are not. Paper has a corporeality that digital texts do not. For instance, have you ever tried to find a quote in a book and been unable to remember whether it was on the left or right hand side of the page? This just a trivial example of way in which paper’s physicality is the origin of its utility.

Golub goes on to praise the librarian's and bookstore's role in "filtering" and organizing content, and even the decorative value of books in the home.  One suspects that Golub is not a voice in the wilderness, that he speaks for many who feel the same way.

Sources: Inside Higher Ed, Question Technology

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Computer Business Dell Announces Use of AMD Chips

Computer business Dell stated on Thursday that it was going to start using chips from Advanced Micro Devices. Both AMD and Dell stock shares rose over 13 percent, while Dell’s only chip supplier before Thursday, Intel fell more than five percent.

Computer business Dell has been struggling lately and experienced an 18 percent decline in profit in the last quarter. The computer company was the last to use only Intel processors. The decision to finally use chips from AMD finally confirms that Dell has been courting AMD for quite a while.

According to the computer business, Dell will introduce multiprocessor server computers using Opteron by the end of 2006.

Analysts have been going back and forth with estimates for Dell’s earnings in the future. Experts are not certain why aggressive pricing from Dell will improve profits, particularly since this technique did not work when it was implemented at the end of the last quarter. Other companies, including HP, have achieved success only when they lowered prices because of using cheaper components and more efficient manufacturing systems.

Dell stated it would end a long-running practice of giving earnings per share and revenue predictions regularly. The computer business only revealed that it was expecting financial results for the second quarter of 2007 to be near to those in the first quarter. Experts say this vague reporting is only further proof that Dell is very uncertain of its future business.

Added By: Computer Consulting Kit

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Solution Providers Work to Patch Skype Bug

Skype introduced an update Friday that will hopefully help solution providers and users address a bug that allows those that take advantage to send files to recipients without asking and get access to data on the computer. The bug was marked by bug tracking firm Secunia and has been rated “moderately critical.” While the transfer of the file would begin without recipient consent, a message is sent to alert of the file transfer, and the sender could cancel it.

The versions of Skype affected by this bug are all those for Windows before and including 2.0.*.104 and the beta 2.5.*0 along with 2.5.*.78. Skype is encouraging solution providers and individual users to update to patched versions from the website immediately to avoid problems. Users that have set up Skype in a specific way will find that the program automatically checks for the update to ease the downloading process.

This is not the first time Skype has encountered problems with flaws in its program. Some were announced and fixed in October 2005 and November 2004. In better news for Skype, the company released a special promotion that will allow U.S. and Canadian users to make calls to both landline and mobile numbers for free until the end of 2006.

Blogged By: Computer Consulting 101

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Give Your Network More Power

Computer consultants offer the following ten tips to help boost network performance and give companies and individuals the edge they need to get their jobs done in the best way possible:

1. Buy new equipment. Prices have fallen as more hardware has emerged in recent years, and many businesses have not upgraded since prior to Y2K. While an investment, buying new equipment is more affordable than you think and will have a profound effect on network speed. New equipment can boost business that will directly influence revenue.
2. Rethink bandwidth availability and costs. More bandwidth should be available than before, even though many providers may not have cut prices or increased. Many T-1 and T-3 lines are now priced affordably for even medium-sized and small businesses.
3. Don’t skimp on storage. A large number of companies have not increased their storage capabilities since Y2K, and like hardware and equipment, there are many affordably-priced options out there now. Increasing storage capacity can free up the network to do what it needs to do.
4. Improve network security. Spyware, Trojans and worms are a real problem for everyone and can infect network performance while putting companies at risk for losing important data or leaking sensitive information. Most updates for security programs can be done automatically, which helps eliminate human error and can ensure better network performance.
5. Use automated resource monitoring systems. These systems can identify bottlenecks and help speed network performance.
6. Get user and manager feedback. Ask users and managers about their experiences with the network; they may be having issues you haven’t thought of before, and their insights can shed light on ways you can improve performance.
7. Use applications that reduce data entry. Sometimes information can be added multiple times. Certain types of software or middleware can prevent this from happening and make sure the system isn’t bogged down by too much information.
8. Use e-mail consolidation and acceleration techniques. E-mail, especially that with attachments, is the biggest hindrance for networks. According to experts, 70 percent of e-mail now contains attachments of 5MB or more, which can inundate the system with unnecessary data. E-mail consolidation and acceleration technologies can save e-mails without the unnecessary attachments and free up space.
9. Wide area file services are important. They provide better WAN communication and improve the interface between users and senders, thereby making the network run more smoothly.
10. Use data reduction and pattern matching. This will allow appliances at different points of the WAN to only exchange file changes and not the entire file, thus freeing up the network and allowing it to be faster and more powerful.

Created By: Computer Consulting 101

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Handheld Devices: Buy Smart

The following are some easy-to-follow tips that can help set you and your clients on the right path when it comes to handheld devices.

BUYING SMART

You should be extremely careful when you are thinking about buying totally new, untested handheld devices. Many of these models can have major design or software flaws. The bugs are typically not fixed until about three to six months after the first release. You don’t need to take on the unnecessary risks associated with trying to get the first release of all new handheld devices or other technology items.

When buying handheld devices, make sure to get peripherals and accessories bundled with the purchase. This will save you money and time on installation and help eliminate incompatibility issues.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BUYING?

When purchasing handheld devices, look closely at the vendor support offerings. Tech support and warranties are not all the same, and the company you buy from is sometimes more important than the product itself.

The handheld devices you buy should be compatible with the operating system you intend to use. If clients’ offices are tied to a very specific version of Microsoft Windows or any other operating system, make sure your PDA can sync data with all computers, notebooks and desktops, in the office.

IT’S ABOUT CONNECTING

The handheld devices purchased should be well connected. USB interfaces can be the easiest of the interfaces to configure and troubleshoot and also perform best in the most circumstances. You should avoid buying older, legacy serial interfaces whenever you can.

Blogged By: Joshua Feinberg

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Class of '06 is Lukewarm About the Hot Job Market

A reasonably strong economy combined with the first rumblings of Baby Boomer retirements is fueling the hottest job market for graduating college students in years.  According to one survey, 60% of employers surveyed said they plan to hire more college grads than last year.  The market is reportedly so hot that even liberal arts majors are in demand!  (Seriously, employers are realizing the benefit of hiring employees with diverse backgrounds)

But as we've noted before, today's young people have a healthy dose of cynicism when considering corporate careers.  Not only have today's kids seen their elders burned by downsizing and witnessed the Enron debacle, but thanks to the Internet, they have more information at their fingertips than any generation before:

[Graduating students] plot their careers like chess masters. They ask pointed questions about company ethics and finances. Parents are more involved too, quizzing recruiters and in rare cases, even sitting in on job interviews.

"Kids today are wired. They can find out almost anything in seconds about a company and the questions recruiters ask," said Mark Mehler, co-founder of CareerXroads, a New Jersey consulting firm. "If the picture you paint is not reality, this generation will quit on a dime."

Recruiter W. Stanton Smith took note of such brashness a few years ago, when promising young hires quit. "People weren't just saluting and taking orders anymore," he recalled.

In response, businesses in typically stodgy fields such as accounting are highlighting their employee-friendly corporate cultures and their positions on socially conscious issues.

The involvement of parents is another factor that sets today's youth apart from their predecessors.  With today's narrowing generation gap, kids and their parents are closer, and kids want their parents to take an active role in their life decisions.  Whereas I would have died if my parents had sat in on any of my job interviews... that is, if the interviewer didn't laugh me out of the room first.

Source:  Ypulse, LA Times

Tags: youth, employment, business

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"LifeStraw" Brings Drinkable Water to the Developing World

From the innovations-so-obvious-it's-amazing-no-one-thought-of-them-before department comes the LifeStraw, a plastic tube with an iodine/carbon filter designed to allow people to drink water safely.

Created by a Danish inventor, the LifeStraw can be used in developing countries and disaster zones where potable water is rare. To use, the drinker simply sucks through it; the water passes through the filter, which kills bacteria, and blocks parasites and other contaminants. The list price is around $3.50 (though considering that many in the developing world subsist on less than a dollar a day, the cost would have to be subsidized somehow). Each filter could last from six months to a year.

Many futurists fear that the worldwide lack of fresh water will be one of the great global crises in the coming years. Already, an estimated 6,000 people die of water-borne diseases each day, and many throughout the world travel miles on foot in the search for fresh water.

Source: BBC

Tags: water, sanitation, world health

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Optical Processing Could Increase Internet Speeds by 1000X

An Australian research consortium is reportedly developing a photonic chip that would process digital signals much faster than conventional silicon electronics. 

The chip would work by routing light signals, controlling the frequency of light pulses, and regulating the behavior of the light by changing its color.  Like silicon, optical circuits could be printed, leading to cost-effective mass production.

By converting much of the Internet's networking to fiber optics, such circuitry could eliminate lag times and create an 1000-fold increase in the Net's overall speed.  With such optical switching in place, even the largest downloads could be completed within a fraction of a second. 

Of course, this would depend on most all of the Internet's components being converted to optical circuitry -- a daunting task even if the technology were immediately available.  The research team, though, hopes to have a functioning optical switch ready within the coming months.

Source:  Sharkride

Tags: fiber optics, Internet, bandwidth, photonics

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Forbes Summarizes "Future in Review"

Forbes has a summary of the recent "Future in Review" meeting held last week at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego.  In case you missed the $4,000-per-head event in which you could have rubbed shoulders with key future-focused business leaders and consultants, the conversation reportedly ranged from the functional to the fantastic, covering topics such as space travel (SpaceX founder Elon Musk outlined a plan to travel to Mars before 2020), "flex" cars that run on multiple fuel types, and Google's philanthropic efforts to fight disease in the developing world.

Tags: conferences, business

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Live from Firefox

THis tip is coming to you live from within Firefox. I'm using the extension called "Performancing." It allows me to type my blog entry into a window that appeared at the bottom of the firefox browser, and then click to post it to my blog. I have configure it for multiple blogs, as well.

How cool is THAT?

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IT Specialist: Why Narrow It Down?

When most computer consultants are just starting out, they struggle to imagine why they should turn down potential clients, but the truth is that you'll make more and grow your business more quickly if you specialize.

Besides allowing you to focus your efforts on certain types of technology, specializing also allows you to focus your marketing efforts. You can save money and make more by specializing in a specific industry or type of work.

Market where your potential clients will see it. By narrowing down your clientele, you can effectively advertise in trade magazines and other publications that are specific to your clients. In the end, you will discover that you will gain more clients from these types of efforts.

Learn more about why you should specialize even as you're starting your computer consulting business by reading the entire article (link above).

Blogged by Joshua Feinberg

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Technology Consultants – Encouraging Two-Way Communication on Projects

Technology consultants open up the way for communication on projects. They share their knowledge and listen to the client's needs so that challenges are met effectively and projects are finished on time.

Determining how and when to provide information to key members of your project team is essential to completing projects successfully. Although some team members will need to know almost everything that is happening, there may be other members whose roles are not as significant.

You also need to determine how to provide the information to your team. Weekly or biweekly meetings will be essential to communication even if they are simply conducted over the telephone. Using email effectively can greatly reduce the time needed for meetings and can keep everyone in the loop.

Always listen to team members and encourage them to contribute their thoughts and ideas. This should be the primary purpose of your weekly meetings. Everyone should feel involved and valued as part of the team.

To learn more about communicating well as a technology consultant, read the full article (link above).

Posted by Computer Consulting Kit

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Technology Consultants – Encouraging Two-Way Communication on Projects

Technology consultants open up the way for communication on projects. They share their knowledge and listen to the client's needs so that challenges are met effectively and projects are finished on time.

Determining how and when to provide information to key members of your project team is essential to completing projects successfully. Although some team members will need to know almost everything that is happening, there may be other members whose roles are not as significant.

You also need to determine how to provide the information to your team. Weekly or biweekly meetings will be essential to communication even if they are simply conducted over the telephone. Using email effectively can greatly reduce the time needed for meetings and can keep everyone in the loop.

Always listen to team members and encourage them to contribute their thoughts and ideas. This should be the primary purpose of your weekly meetings. Everyone should feel involved and valued as part of the team.

To learn more about communicating well as a technology consultant, read the full article (link above).

Posted by Computer Consulting Kit

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[TIPS] - learn Spanish sites, Bits'n'Bytes, and more

http://spanish.speak7.com

http://www.studyspanish.com/freesite.htm

Those two sites will help your students learn Spanish - free. After the discussion of the Ammendment to that bill yesterday I thought this one would be appropriate. :-)

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Also, the new Bits 'n' Bytes magazine is out. Find it here: http://www.caiu.org/43833812384423/lib/43833812384423/_files/Full.pdf (I've got an article in it this time. Woohoo!!)

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Finally, http://www.redmondmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=7444 Read what BIll Gates has to say about the future of desktop computing.

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He used his keynote speech on Wednesday to tell the more than 100 CEOs of major global corporations attending his 10th CEO Summit that nothing has changed about that prediction. "I don't see it slowing down," he said.

Then he proceeded to explain and demonstrate how a wide range of areas and products that Microsoft is working on interrelate in his evolving vision of where the next 10 years will take global business.

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Is Cognitive Computing Poised to be an "Overnight Success"?

Can a computer chip process information the same way they human brain does? If so, how far away are we from such "cognitive computing"? It all depends on who you ask.

Palm Computing co-founder Jeff Hawkins says, "We've been trying to do this for 50 to 60 years. Artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, neural networks, the Fifth Generation project -- they've all had big moments in the sun. The reality is we've not had much success." But he's not as pessimistic as he sounds, as he has founded a company called Numenta to build a computer memory platform that mimics human thought processes.

Others, citing rapid advances in computing power and efficiency, believe we may be much closer to major breakthroughs. Says James Albus, a senior fellow and founder of the Intelligent Systems Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, "We are at a tipping point... analogous to where nuclear physics was in 1905. The technology is emerging to conduct definitive experiments. The neurosciences have developed a good idea of computation and representation of the brain." The most advanced supercomputers, Albus notes, are approaching the computational speed of the human brain.

The blog Responsible Nanotechnology cites recent talks by futurists Ray Kurzweil and Eliezer Yudkowsky illustrating how major technologies such as this can appear to be going nowhere for long periods (even though work is underway), followed by an explosion in innovation and productivity, taking most everybody by surprise. It's analogous to the groundbreaking actor or musician who becomes an "overnight success" after years of hard work, practice and dashed hopes.

What excites computer scientists about cognitive computing is that it's the process that allows people to perform abstract thinking, learn, recognize patterns, and navigate spaces. It's what makes us smart, as well as giving us our personality and creativity. Besides fulfilling the promise of genuine artificial intelligence, cognitive computing may also allow us to repair certain types of brain damage and degeneration with a "bionic brain."

RELATED: To foster the development of artificial intelligence, the European Commission's Future and Emerging Technologies initiative has created a "virtual community" that will allow software to generate avatars that could interact and learn. Aside from helping researchers learn more about how AI cooperates and manages conflict, the environment will also help sociologists model behaviors in crisis environments.

Sources: ZDNet Australia, Responsible Nanotechnology

Tags: artificial intelligence, cognitive computing

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Eagle Broadband Showcases Voice Over IP and IP Surveillance Products

Eagle Broadband, Inc. is one of the leading Internet providers in the country. Over the past couple of days, the company has introduced their new Voice Over IP (VoIP) and IP Surveillance Products to visitors at the Houston ITEC Conference and Exhibition.

While at the conference, Eagle Broadband has also promoted their Network Operations Center (NOC). NOC provides a wide range of ongoing IP system monitoring, repair, and response dispatch services

Brian Morrow, chief operating officer of Eagle Broadband, said, "We are eager to get in front of this highly targeted audience. Our Managed Services division has the opportunity to share our successful customer experiences and enhanced offerings in both the VoIP and IP surveillance arenas."

Learn more about the conference and Eagle Broadband's new services, read the entire article (link above).

Submitted by Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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MacResQ Announces New MacBook and MacBook Pro Services

MacResQ is successful in many areas, but now they are offering advanced services for their MacBook and MacBook Pro customers. The services will be available worldwide and are expected to assist Mac users since finding a technician who specializes in Macs can be difficult.

The laundry list of services they provide include LCD Screen Repairs, Hard Drive Upgrades, Memory Upgrades, and Diagnostic Services. When offering services or performing upgrades, the company will send a PowerBox to the customer’s location in the continental U.S. via overnight courier to pickup the unit for overnight delivery back to the MacBookResQ service center. MacBookResQ will receive the unit and make the changes. Some services such as hard drive upgrades are guaranteed to be finished overnight.

According to Ryan Arter, President of MacBookResQ, "With the recent release of the MacBooks and MacBook Pros it was a logical progression for us to begin offering these services and repairs. We have already received a number of MacBook Pros in for hard drive and memory upgrades, even before our new division launch. We have thrived on servicing Apple’s Out-of-Warranty PowerBooks and iBooks, and moving forward we will continue to provide a sensible solution for MacBook and MacBook Pro users who need upgrades or repairs not covered by AppleCare."

Learn more about MacResQ's services in the full article (link above).

Added by Joshua Feinberg

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[TIPS] - podcasting video series from Apple

http://education.apple.com/rethink/contactme/?cid=WWW-RETHINK010106-05OTY

 

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Apple's new iPod and podcasting solutions help you engage today's students who are living in a media-rich world. More and more educators are discovering the teaching power of podcasts-audio and visual content distributed easily over the Internet and useable on a Mac, PC, or iPod. From foreign language recordings to school newsletters and audio or video professional development, podcasting opens new doors for students, teachers, and administrators.

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"Rethink the Frontiers of Learning"

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The Battle to Recruit Intellectual Capital

Smart people make smart companies. Though not always true, companies like Google prove the value of this statement. Companies fear Google not just because of the competition but also because Google could easily snag the best employees from their midst.

Businesses are growing right now and they're all competing for the top talent in the industry. Companies are aggressively recruiting to the extent that bidding wars and lawsuits have become a problem.

Everyone wants the high tech stars, so what is a small business to do. Well, our own Joshua Feinberg was interviewed for the article and had this to say, "While high tech startups seeking to innovate have to find the 'best and brightest,' IT consulting businesses and systems integrators have to find tech talent that they can afford. Hiring stars and prima donnas is typically not a good idea. It's usually much more important to find IT talent that is personable, well-organized, able to work well under pressure, resourceful and enjoys hand-holding when it comes to end-user support."

To learn more, read the entire article (link above).

Posted by Computer Consulting 101

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Partnering: Dealing with Clients Beyond Your Expertise

In order to meet the needs of all your clients, you will eventually need to start partnering with other non-competing computer consultants in your area. In this way, you can help your clients while using the expertise of others in your area.

You can serve as the virtual solution for your clients by heading up projects and partnering with others who have knowledge and experience in the specialties that will serve your client. You can keep clients for many years by using this method since you will always be able to assist them.

Should you get partners or clients first? It's the chicken and the egg dilemma, but often doing both at the same time can help you get clients since you will be forming partnerships with the best technicians in your area. Look at your weaknesses and start interviewing subcontractors who can help fill in the gaps so that you can always provide the services your clients need.

Learn more about partnering in the full article (link above).

Added by Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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A Quick Fix for Any PC

Small businesses definitely need to find a reliable local computer consulting business to deal with serious computer problems and on-going support. But often, in fact nearly 10 to 20 percent of the time, when computer problems arise, they can be fixed by a simple reboot. According to Computer Consulting 101 experts, many computer problems are simple enough for anyone to handle.

Rebooting first before calling a computer consulting expert can save companies valuable time and prevent easy problems from eating away at an IT budget.

REBOOTING

Rebooting is simple. Exit out of any files and programs that are open, then go through a shutdown and restart sequence. Your computer will guide you through it!

Even if your problem is hardware-related and involves either a network card, modem, mouse, keyboard or sound card, you still have an easy option that does not involve calling your computer consulting support. Go to the start menu and shutdown your PC. Then turn the power off for a minute or more. Turn the power back on and see if the problem resolved itself.

When in doubt, reboot! It could save you a lot of money in the long run, and save your budget for real emergencies.

Added By: Computer Consulting 101 Professional Kit

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