December 2008, or Thereabouts

The good news is we got through hurricane season. The bad news is that it's 1929 all over again, only now we have much more technology and complexity. It's time for me entertain you with techie tips and my next occasional newsletter!

I present myself as the "Computer Wizard." I am the technical person with social skills who brings productivity improvement to your 2 to 25 computers, servers, software, hardware, and Internet applications in your office network.

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Windows 7.0 is what I hear about from Microsoft. It's the next version after Windows Vista. It's due out some time next year. Good things come to those who wait. Microsoft is continuing sales of Windows XP through January and beyond. More promises. A new software release is something to leave to someone other than yourself to test. Right now, folks are doing more maintenance than upgrades anyway. We live in very interesting times.

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2008 Small Business Server is now released. It's bigger, better, more wonderful, and ready when you choose to upgrade. This version does not support tape backups. The world has moved on to external hard drives. They cost less and are more reliable. 2 gig $10 thumb drives are for small stuff. Microsoft Antivirus 2009? That's what one malware program calls itself as it tries to trick you into downloading it. This version blocks Microsoft Explorer from going to real anti-virus websites. It clogs your PC and wants you to pay for its service.

If you see this program trying to download itself, press Ctrl-Atl-Del to bring up Task Manager and then shut this program down.

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64g Thumb drives now cost less than $200. 32g go for $100. That is more space than some small businesses need for a backup. PowerPoint files are get big and so are databases. Some people have bigger files for their family photos than their business data. Either way, back it up!

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iPhone of the future. Take a look at this fancy gadget. See your PC merging into your hand-held. Here you can find wordprocessing, Internet surfing, google maps, along with your email, music and scheduling. Two-finger typists can now text with two thumbs.

The desktop won't go away, but look at zoho.com and see how a "thin client" works. Get the features of Microsoft Office online and not from your hard drive. You can download your work or leave it on their big server in the sky. No more updates or viruses. What recession? So business is quiet and people are nervous? What to do now? Step up the marketing effort! Join a new organization! Learn something new!

Now is the time to take a class, finish a book, cruise random topics in Google and then follow up. Later, we'll both be too busy to do such dabbling. Start now so you, like me, will be a step ahead by the time business picks up.

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Relationships matter. Go through your client and prospects lists. See who might need you. See who is over due for a call. Maybe they need you? Maybe they need a service you don't offer? Call them up and offer a referral. Pick one person in your book and refer them to another. A good referral makes everybody happy.

Now is a great time to make a referral.

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