As a busy business owner, nothing is more frustrating than being made to wait; especially when that waiting seems unnecessary. And when it comes to waiting for your computer to start up, most business owners are all too familiar with the frustration of impatiently watching as their computer goes through the slow and agonizing process of getting ready for you to actually use it. Most Microsoft Windows computers take between 3-4 minutes to completely rev up, not including opening any programs outside of the start-up menu. Multiply that time over a year, and you’ve got yourself 17 hours of staring at the screen, drumming your fingers on the desk and trying to figure out how to be productive while your computer boots up. Now, you have you two options for dealing with this problem: 1) Take up knitting to fill those extra minutes, or 2) Follow our easy suggestions for speeding up your computer!
What can YOU do to make your computers run faster?
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Imagine not being able to send or receive e-mail for days, possibly weeks. Terrifying, right? Don’t think this could happen because you have a reputable anti-virus software installed? If so, you’re operating on a false sense of security and hackers are praying that you keep thinking that way. Here’s why…
Most business owners think that because they have anti-virus software installed and a software firewall, that their network is “secure.” NOT SO. One of the most common stunts hackers pull is breaking through a software firewall to hijack a server. Once they’re in, they use YOUR server to relay spam and other viruses to millions of users in a matter of seconds.
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I just finished up a very upsetting phone call with a business owner. She brought us her home computer after her current computer support company said they couldn’t help her this week. She assured me all of her files were backed up when she gave me the computer and said it was set up by the same people that do her business’ computers. (She brought it to us because they told her that they are a small company and would be on vacation; they were not available until after the holidays.)
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With a whole new generation of Bluetooth headsets out, it may be time to upgrade. I have two favorites in the over $100 professional talker category, the Jawbone Prime, and the Plantronics Voyager Pro.
When looking for style, noise reduction, and good sound quality even on the walk from the car to the office the Jawbone Prime is my tool of choice. It is easy to slip on, initiate a call and start talking. The biggest issue with it is battery life, they box reports 3.5 hours, and I get about 2.5 hours of talk time using it. The Jawbone Prime shares the same standard USB charger as the iPhone, so if you have a car charger for your iPhone you are in luck, and it can be “Quick Charged” in about 25 minutes. A “Quick Charge” lasts for about an hour of talk time.
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Is it time to jump from still images to video? You can start recording the holiday emotion and more important the holiday follies. (You may be thinking to yourself, I have been doing video for years! Read on.) Recently I added a Flip Video to my toolkit. Not only is it great for recording stories about saving servers, it is great for putting together those holiday moments.
I prefer a Flip over a tape based device because it is so easy to use and allows me to quickly record even just a few seconds of video. I carry mine around with me in my coat pocket, so it is always ready to go. Instead of having a camera stuck to my eye, I shoot little 20 to 30 second clips. I then take these clips and edit them together using some simple video editing software. The Flip comes with some to get you started. I prefer iMovie on a Macintosh. (Yeah, I use a Mac to do my personal stuff.) Here’s a link to a video I put together over Thanksgiving.
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We will be posting a number of reviews over the next week discussing our favorite products and why we love them:
