Archive for the ‘Computers’ Category
Description of ‘Computers’ Category: Posts dealing with general aspects of computing, as it relates to IT and business productivity.
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Small businesses can often be overwhelmed with the amount of digital information that they have to retain for their business to operate correctly. Over time, the buildup of work documents, project files, client proposals, and employee information can often get out of hand. Which is why a few weeks back we wrote an article called “Organizing Your Office Equipment and Improving Your Work Environment”. This article proposed several solutions to maintain a file organization system for small businesses. However in the article we neglected to mention how digital data clutter can be just as hard on the stresses of our everyday job tasks. This is why to keep your office running proficiently it is important to perform routine digital housekeeping.
Digital housekeeping is the sorting, organizing, and discarding of old or unused electronic data. There are many elements to this type of cleaning. Although easy to do tasks like emptying your computers recycling bin are a good start there are many more layers that are often overlooked. Digital housekeeping isn’t only meant for your computer, it also covers mobile devices and other electronic office equipment. The following list is some suggestions to help you manage your office’s digital clutter.
Clearing Your Desktop:
- Remove unused shortcuts from your desktop and desktop toolbar.
- Keep only important and frequently used programs on your desktop or on the desktop toolbar.
- Put the programs that you use occasionally in a desktop folder.
- Empty the Recycling Bin.
Cleaning Your Hard Drive:
- Routinely perform the defragmentation process. (Start /Programs/ Accessories/ System Tools)
- Use Disk Cleanup to search out and remove unused files and folders. (Also in System Tools)
- Uninstall unused programs.
(To edit your programs enter the Control Panel, open the Add or Remove Programs function (Windows Vista and 7 “Programs and Features”). When the list of programs populates, select any program that you wish to amend. You can even sort by the last used date or installed date. Follow the uninstall procedures for each individual program and restart your computer if necessary.)
- Manager your Startup Folder.
(In order to fine-tune the startup folder you will need to access the system configuration folder. This can be done by expanding the Start menu, Clicking Run and then typing MSCONFIG. (Windows 7 uses the Search application instead of RUN.) Once the Configuration window appears click the Startup tab and carefully select the programs that you are positive that you do not need for startup.)
Updating and Using Malware:
- Use programs like McAfee Protection Software or Norton Security Essentials to identify and eliminate threats that can cause your equipment to run slower.
- Keep windows up-to-date using Windows Automatic Update.
Organizing Your Media Content:
- Delete duplicate file or files no longer being used.
- Keep the different types of media grouped together in separate folders.
- Create sub folders for extra organization and navigation.
Cleaning Your Internet Browser:
- Access your internet options to clear history and cache.
- Delete unused bookmarks.
- Add bookmark folders for easier navigation.
Organizing Email:
- Delete junk mail, outdated emails, sent mail, and old drafts.
- Create sub folders for emails so they don’t build up in your inbox.
- Establish rules in Microsoft Outlook so that emails are automatically delivered to the correct subfolder.
Managing Your Smartphone:
- Remove unused photos, movies, or music files.
- Delete unused applications.
- Clear out old notes in the text editor.
- Clear browsing history and map locations.
- Delete old and unneeded emails.
Cleaning and Disposing of Electronic Devices:
- Computers and external equipment should be cleaned routinely in order to prevent unnecessary problems caused by dust.
- Clean the area surrounding the device before cleaning it.
- Always spray the cleaning solutions on a rag first. Never apply directly to the electronic device.
- Avoid throwing out electronics with your everyday garbage.
- If you are getting an upgrade or newer model, donate or sell your old device.
- Shop with companies that use a “Take Back” program.
- Make it a priority to shop with companies with “Green Principals”
- Locate local e-waste recycling and disposal centers.
It is important to make a routine time to clean up your office’s digital clutter. Letting electronic data overwhelm your office will often only make it more difficult to focus, locate important information, and much more difficult clearing it away in the future.
Thanks for Reading!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: digital, digital clutter, digital housekeeping, electronic clutter, electronic data, folder, program, Small Business
Posted in Business Tools, Computers, Productivity, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Friday, March 18th, 2011
A few posts back we discussed Buying a Server to Improve the Performance for your Small Business. Exploring this topic further, we examine three of the more popular entry level servers and evaluate the pros and cons of each. The three entry level servers that we have decided to discuss based on their popularity and re commendations include the HP ProLiant MicroServer, the Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v, and the Dell PowerEdge T110.
 from lenovo.com March 2011
Server selection is an important decision for small businesses when contemplating cash flow and return on investment (ROI) versus performance and because every company has varying needs one server model may boost productivity for one company while the performance may not be high enough for another company.
The three servers that were researched were chosen because each of them is an entry level server with similar features but at the same time offer different specifications, and affordability. Take a look at the three servers and see if one would best suit your business needs. Our comparison notes are based on an overview of professional and customer reviews; we conducted research as opposed to testing each of the servers. Our comments are based on purchasing the servers as is without any upgrades. Following the comparisons we also offer our recommendation to which server we think offers the best return on your investment and the server we would purchase among the three choices.
Dell PowerEdge T110
The Dell PowerEdge T110 Server is the first of three of the ideal entry level servers for small businesses. Aiming to add value, increase productivity, and generate collaboration the Dell T110 eliminates some unnecessary features and focuses on purposeful and productive design. Additionally, this server is highly customizable offering base units Essential, Enhanced, Performance, and First File Server. These options allow a small business to make various choices weighing price versus functionality. With that in mind the Performance model at $908 (coming with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation) seems to offer the best ROI when weighing price versus functionality.
Pros:
- Base Price Points range from $299 – $925 with no operating system
- Base Price Points range from $550 – $1,375 with a Windows operating system
- The Small Physical Size allows it to fit into small spaces
- Runs at a cool temperature
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM) provides hardware-based encryption and authentication
- Up to 4 cabled Hard Drives
- 1GB to 4GB of Memory
- 250GB Hard drive
- 2.26 to 2.4GHz processing speed
Cons:
- Not as quiet as the competitors models
- Not enough room for hardware expansion
- No hot swapping option
- Only offers Raid 0, 1 (RAID 5 not available)
HP ProLiant MicroServer Series
The HP ProLiant MicroServer Series like the other three models is designed for small businesses with less than ten clients and offers increased productivity and efficiency with a centralized managed network (model: 612275-001 ).
Pros:
- Affordable price point starting at $299-$349 (operating system sold separately, an operating system such as Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation – license retail for about $260 )
- Quiet with a 22 dBA noise level
- Compact physical size
- Easy to set up, manage, and add additional drives and peripherals
- Error checking and correction (ECC) memory which lowers the chances of memory corruption
- Has an option for IT support remote access
- Equipped with 4 front USB ports
- Supports various operating systems Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard edition, and Red Hat 5.
Cons:
- Does not include a keyboard, mouse, or operating system
- Less powerful with 1.30 MHz AMD Athlon II Neo N36L Dual Core Processor
- Only comes standard with 1GB of memory (option to expand up to 8GB)
- No RAID5 support
- The hard drive trays are weak and fragile
- No hard drive hot swapping option
- Comes standard with only one 250 GB hard drive
Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v
The Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v, although similar to the HP ProLiant MicroServer it stands out due to its performance, expandability, customization, and pricing.
The Lenovo ThinkServer is available in several models 098111U, 098112U, 098118U, 098119U, 09811BU and 9811CU allowing a small business owner to make various choices weighing price versus functionality. With that in mind the 098118U model at $899 seems to offer the best ROI when weighing price versus functionality.
Pros:
- Price: $300-$899 depending on the model and with or without an operating system
- Comes with a Windows operating system
- Always-on remote management
- Easy to set up and to maintain, and offers enhanced remote management
- The chassis is easily accessible and makes upgrading the hard drive very easy
- It’s also energy efficient and extremely quiet
- Has 4 uDIMM memory slots for up to 16GB of DDR3 memory
- Has 4 PCI expansion slots to add future hardware
- It comes equipped with 10 USB ports (2 fronts, 6 rear, and 2 internal)
- 3.5-inch SATA hard drive options supporting up to 2TB of storage
- Offers tape backup with USB port for RDX internal tape drive
- Has an integrated gigabit Ethernet
- Software for simple configuration and support
- Integrated RAID 0/1
- It comes with an adequate Intel processor ranging 2.3GHz -3.2 GHz
- 1-4GB Memory option
- 1-5GB Hard drive option
Cons:
- Only one gigabit Ethernet network port (instead of 2)
- No hot swapping hard drive ability
- No redundant internal fans
After considering the advantages and disadvantages of each server as well as researching customer reviews and server specs, in our opinion the server that stands out as the highest return on investment is the Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v. The size, shape, ease of use, power, performance, and all the additional great features make it a perfect candidate for any small business that needs to centralize and share their resources. The Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v is affordable and is appropriately priced without compromising any of its power and performance. The perfect blend of cost and performance makes it a top pick among consumers when compared to the other models.
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
.
Tags: business, entry level server, file sharing, hard drive, memory, model, operating system, performance, price, Server
Posted in Computers, Hardware, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
A primary function of a server is hosting shared resources for your business. A server is a centralized, robust computer that allows other computers in your office to quickly retrieve shared files or run shared software.
from lenovo.com March 2011 As your small business grows, accumulates data, and employs more staff, the strain put on a simple workgroup networked computer may become to great making the server inefficient. At this point the need to share data is crucial and it may be a good time to consider purchasing a server.
What do you look for in a server?
Which server is best for your small business?
Below are some elements to contemplate when purchasing a server:
Price:
What can your small business afford? Buy a server that fits your current needs and when considering server specifications allow some room for growth. Keeping long term growth in mind is wise because although at the time you may not need it you might eventually need to expand. Prices for entry level servers typically range from $500 to $5,000 depending on the brand, model and features.
Size and Shape:
Contrary to what you might imagine, servers come in two primary formats, tower and rackable. A basic, entry level server in a tower format (upright as opposed to rackable) might be best for your small business because it has essentially the same footprint as desktop. A rackable server would work best if you currently have one or more server racks or are soon considering adding a server rack and adding more equipment.
Processor and Memory:
A processor directly affects the speed and performance of the machine. Choosing the best processor for the server you are considering, will ensure that your server can perform the necessary tasks at an efficient and productive speed. Similarly, the more memory available in the server will also affect the speed because it will have more room for the server to store temporary data and process information. Processors with 2GHz or more are usually suitable entry level servers for small businesses. Most entry level servers come equipped with a minimum of 1GB or 2 GB of memory and have the option for expansion depending on the needs of your business. It would be wise, if in your budget permits to purchase a minimum of 4GB of memory for optimal performance.
Hard Drive Redundancy:
It is important to consider the data requirements of your business. How much down time due to server problems an acceptable? The server technology known as RAID allows different levels of data redundancy and fault tolerance. The most common forms of RAID are RAID with a level 0 which does not provide fault tolerance and RAID level 1 which mirrors data, or writes data to two drives at the same time. If one drive were to fail, your data is still available on the other drive, you simply swap in a new drive and the mirror is recreated. Less common on entry level servers are RAID 5 and RAID 10 which have a much higher fault tolerance though it may be overkill for most small businesses when contemplating needs versus return on investment (ROI). While speaking of drives, some entry level servers have hot swappable drives, a very convenient function, which allows hard drives to be sapped while the server is still powered on.
Additional factors to consider include the server’s Operating System, Expansion Options, and Server Maintenance.
In an upcoming article we will be looking at some recommended small business servers: HP ProLiant MicroServer, Lenovo ThinkServer TS200v, and Dell PowerEdge T310.
More information about When and Why to Consider a Server.
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
Tags: entry level, Server, Small Business
Posted in Business Tools, Computers, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2011
Eventually all users will experience a technical problem. These problems could range from simple user errors to complex equipment or software malfunctions. Either way it is important have a good Technical Support staff, in house or contracted, and have adequate support procedures in place. Regardless of the type or the size of the problem this team should be efficient and able to provide customer support to every client.
When facing a technical problem a lot of us do  not have the knowledge or the experience or the time to deal with it alone. Organizations need individuals that are able to assist them with any troubles and potentially around the clock. For an organization, although having technical support staff at the ready may mean an investment, it is viewed as a beneficial cost that reduces stress and aggravation while increasing productivity.
Taking a look at both a tech support customer’s perspective and a tech support provider’s, there are certain considerations that the customer and the support team should maintain throughout the solution process. Although mostly common sense, these suggestions can be easily overlooked or simply ignored. Most importantly it is necessary for both sides to avoid panic and remain civil when identifying a problem and a solution.
Sometimes, for a technical support professional it can be easy to forget that they are assisting someone without their knowledge. This sometimes can lead to a difficult situation.
Some recommendations for technical support members include:
- Listen carefully to the customer (hear them out and don’t interrupt)
- Remain calm and courteous even if the client is being impatient
- Make your statements easy to understand (avoid technical terminology)
- Don’t jump to conclusions
- Identify the problem
- Consider the solutions
- Attempt multiple solutions if necessary (no success, escalate to a team member)
- Don’t get worried if you don’t know something, politely place the client on hold or call them back, while trying additional resources
From the client’s perspective it is equally important for them to maintain their composure and practice certain guidelines as well. Yes, you may be experiencing difficulties but that’s expected.
- Please be civil
- Explain the problem to the best of your ability (give as many details as possible)
- Clarify any misunderstandings (if you don’t understand, ask)
- Remember, your Tech Support team are here to help you
- Focus on the issue without multitasking until completed
- Be honest if there was something you did that may have caused the problem
The communication between the tech support staff and client is vital. Utilizing these guidelines may assist in keeping both sides happy and could rectify the problem faster
For more suggestions and insights go to:
20 Things that I from Tech Support
Qualities of a Good Technical Support Representative
Thanks for Reading have a Great Day!
Dustin
CDTek.com
We’re an information technology firm providing Internet Marketing and Technical Support to businesses.
Tags: assistance, client, customer, problem, team, tech support, Technical
Posted in Communication, Computers, Customer Relationship Management, Productivity, Technical Support | No Comments »
Friday, November 19th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide two primary services, Internet Marketing / SEOand Technical Support for business.
Do you have an Information Technology (IT) department? Sure you do. You’re a medium sized company and with all the demand for technology in the workplace, you need someone to manage it. Well, the hardworking IT people in your office are often the unsung heroes, so here are some signs for you, the management, that IT is doing their job well.
Security Alerts
Your IT department is on top of the latest threats to the company network. As professionals, they stay up to date on all security measures, thus ensuring your company is kept safe from harm. They might simply send out an email cautioning users, but often times, they will take care of problems without even bothering you. Make sure to pay attention if, and when, they contact you about a problem.
Calls About Minor Issues
Everyone’s going to have minor problems when using a company network. Either passwords are getting forgotten/changed, someone can’t access a network share, or whatever it is, IT is there to help. The fact that they spend time troubleshooting these little tasks means that they network infrastructure they have in place is working. Small problems are to be expected.
Smooth Network Operations
Aside from the aforementioned troubles, think about your network. Do you have any trouble getting around on it? Can you access the data required for your job? Questions like these are important to IT. You see, the more planning and preparation that goes into the network at the start smoother network operations and fewer complaints.
-Josh
CDtek.com
Tags: IT, IT department, network, support
Posted in Computers | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide 2 services, Internet Marketing / SEO and Technical Support to small and medium business.
Paying for information technology hardware and software can be costly. Okay, it is costly. Getting your business the tech it needs to thrive in today’s economy is necessary to success. However, odds are you don’t have the budget for several servers, a full time IT guy/gal, and all the other things that go along with it. Enter, Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas).
IaaS allows for companies to outsource their need for technology to bigger companies. It’s a lot like renting, except there is rarely physical hardware involved on the client’s end. IaaS uses Cloud Computing methods to connect the client, you, with a networking infrastructure somewhere else. That’s right, it uses the Internet.
Now, the benefits here are obvious. You get virtual machines that behave like physical machines, only for a fraction of the cost and sometimes, with little or no software maintenance required. That’s a big perk. You get reliable service combined with systems that you only pay for when you use them. Savings = huge. However, there are also downsides.
Okay, well I say downside(s), but the biggest one you have to worry about is availability. While the company you’re contracting is certainly going to guarantee you almost non-stop access, what you need to worry about is your own Internet access. The fact of the matter is that if the Internet connection goes down between your home/office/moonbase and theirs, you are without your precious service.
All in all, you need to examine what works best for your company. If you can’t afford to upgrade your tech right now, maybe consider IaaS as a good stopgap. Some of the major cloud computing service providers include Amazon, Google, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Skytap
-Josh
CDTeK
The major cloud service providers include <a href=”http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/” target=”_blank”>Amazon</a>, <a href=”http://code.google.com/appengine/” target=”_blank”>Google</a>, <a href=”http://www.hpl.hp.com/research/cloud.html” target=”_blank”>HP</a>, <a href=”http://www.ibm.com/ibm/cloud/” target=”_blank”>IBM</a>, <a href=”http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/” target=”_blank”>Microsoft</a>, <a href=”http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/” target=”_blank”>Salesforce</a>, and <a href=”http://www.skytap.com” target=”_blank”>Skytap</a>
Tags: Cloud Computing, networking, Utilities
Posted in Business Tools, Computers, Internet, Small Business Tips | 1 Comment »
Thursday, August 26th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland providing two services, Internet Marketing / SEO and Technical Support to small and medium business.
Your small business has graduated to a medium-sized business. Congratulations! Now that you have a lot more employees, you also have a lot more business being done. The old ways of preventing people from accessing certain data or, worse, not putting precautions in place won’t work anymore. You’ve got to put up walls to make sure that no one gets greedy and goes looking through private data. If you’re running a Windows environment, which the odds say you are, then Security Groups, a part of Active Directory, are a good place to start. Your network administrator will be responsible for rolling this out, but this will give you a good idea of how this works.
Security Groups are a logical organization of users on your network. These groups are good for setting users apart as needed. The easiest way to do this is sorting by department. However, you can sort these groups in any way you like. Now, the best part of this is that you can tailor your security measures to these groups. This includes access lists and control restrictions.
Another great use for Security Groups is rolling out new policies. You can determine which groups get which updates when. This is good when you don’t know how an update could potentially affect a network. You can deploy to these custom groups beforehand. Several popular solutions are Microsoft Active Directory for a Microsoft Windows or mixed Windows, Unix, Linux environment, Likewise Open for Unix / Linux/ Mac environment, or Centrify Suite for Unix / Linux/ Mac environment.
-Josh
CDTek
Tags: Information Technology, Medium Business, Security, Tips
Posted in Business Tools, Computers | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide several services, like Internet Marketing and Technical Support to small and medium business.
Congratulations! Your small business is expanding. You might even have an IT guy/gal working for you now. This is a big step. He/She has told you that since the company is growing, you’ll likely need a server to help out soon. However, you don’t know where to start. We can help. Here is a list of reasons why you might need a server. Take a close look and see if any match your organization.
Hosting Software
Some software requires that you host (install and run) it from a server. This is usually true of database software or some other records keeping programs. For example, Champion’s Way’s MAS software, designed to help martial arts studios track vital statistics, will only run from a server. Take note of software you might need in the future and what it requires to run.
Storing Data
Along the lines of running software, storing data in a central location, not tied to any one user is often a good idea. This is good as servers have redundant drives where workstations usually do not and keeps one person from having too much control, though you will still need to trust some people to keep the server up and running (usually your IT employee). This ties into another important consideration for servers.
Security
Keeping PCs secure from viruses and malware is one thing. However, you need to start putting protections in place to prevent people from just sitting down and accessing your network. Security settings on servers (for example, those running Windows Server 2008 R2), can give you the control you need to make sure that you are meeting the “prudent man” standards. That is to say, doing what is reasonable to protect yourself.
Internal Email Hosting
This is sort of a hassle, but setting up your email system internally can be a great benefit to a growing organization. Using a Microsoft environment (Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange 2010) for example, allows you to integrate your various pieces of software. Interoffice emails won’t depend on an external connection, leading to faster send/receive times and occasionally sustained productivity in the event of an Internet outage.
-Josh
Chesapeake Digital Technologies
Tags: Exchange, internet, PC, Server, Tips, windows
Posted in Computers, Hardware, Small Business Tips | No Comments »
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
 Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide several services, like Internet Marketing and Technical Support to small and medium business.
Cloud Storage is something we’ve talked about here before. If you’re not familiar with it, you can check out links here and here to brush up on the data. Now that that’s out of the way, there’s a big question that a lot of people have about cloud storage: Is it safe? Well, that’s a great question, so let’s go ahead and check it out.
Know Your Provider
Make sure you do some research on the company providing your Cloud Storage service. Any site worth the free will use some form of encryption. Check to make sure that this is the case. With bigger companies’ solutions, like Amazon’s S3, you don’t have to worry. They use secure connections to handle everything.
Will Others See My Data?
Make sure to read the terms of service agreements when handling this. The fact of the matter is that some cut-rate services may offer free data storage, but could possibly comb through it for marketing information. If this is something you are uncomfortable with, then make sure you know where you’re sending your data.
How Reliable is Cloud Storage?
In a word? Very. Again, this depends on your provider, but the quality services have your data backed up and duplicated in several locations. This prevents any one point from breaking the whole system. This process is important in any IT project, and so a good provider will ensure that your data isn’t easily lost.
-Josh
Chesapeake Digital Technologies
Tags: Backups, Cloud, data, internet, Secure, Storage
Posted in Computers, Internet | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
 Untitled photograph of an Google Talk Retrieved July 2010, from: http://www.google.com/talk/ Hello and welcome to Chesapeake Digital Technology´s blog. We’re an information technology firm in Maryland. We provide several services, like Internet Marketing and Technical Support to small and medium business.
Google is an Internet giant. They continue to offer valuable services to consumers and today we’re going to look at a rather simple, but perhaps very effective one. Google Talk is an instant messaging services offered by the company to allow for users to chat with one another.
Let’s start with an overview of the features offered by this free service. First, it has basic chat functionality. You can send text to friends in messages via the client. This isn’t anything impressive. Just about any service offers this in some form. However, your chats are limited to text alone. Using a plug-in developed by Google, you can user voice and video to chat as well. These can allow for more synchronous communications that possess greater detail.
Another valuable feature is the file transfer option. If you are chatting with a work associate and they need a file, rather than emailing it to them, you can simply send it in the chat.
Because this is a Google offering, interconnectivity is present. All of your contacts are your Google contacts, which is a huge time saver since you don’t need to register for new account anywhere else. Also integrated is archiving of conversations. Google treats chats just like emails, so you can search them later. However, should you be discussing sensitive matters, you can always go “off the record”.
Now using this software is super easy. If you have Google Mail, aka Gmail, there is a chat client option built in. However, if you don’t want to keep your browser open all day, you can download the software to your PC to use it there. If you use a Mac, there is no official release, but a chat client called Adium, which is an amazing free program that supports tons of messaging systems, can handle this for you.
-Josh
Chesapeake Digital Technologies
Tags: Communication, Google, Google Talk, Office Tools, software, Talk
Posted in Business Tools, Computers, Google Apps, Productivity | No Comments »
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