Technology Services and Support for the Small Business
IPv6 - What? The Internet is running out of addresses!
IPv6 - What? (If you have Windows 7, you have this.. so what...)
The current Internet Protocol, or IP addressing schemme called IPv4 was developed over 30 years ago. At that time, the creators had no idea what the Internet would look like in the future. IPv6 builds on the strengths of IPv4 and contains everything that was proven to be good and stable in IPv4 and extends it to meet the needs of the future Internet.
IPv6 is in the news now, but it was first developed as a standard back in 1998. The problem is that IPv4 is running out. Current estimates suggest that by 2011, all of the left over addresses will be used up, meaning anyone not already connected to the Internet risks being left behind.
Of course, there are ways to extend the use of IPv4. One such solution is network address translation (NAT) where a single address is split up by a piece of bridging software. A bit like running six lamps off one electrical outlet with the help of a power strip or adapter.
The average Internet user is unlikely to notice the effect of IPv4 exhaustion at first. It will not make any significant difference whether they access the Internet using an IPv6 or an IPv4 address. However, in the future parts of the Internet may be unreachable if the destination is an IPv6-only network and ISPs do not provide IPv6 addresses.
As a small business owner, this may sound like, and is, techno-babble. Just be aware if you are planning an upgrade of any major size, ask your vendor and/or project manager if your project integrates IPv6 compatible devices.
You will begin to see more about IPv6 over the next several months - we will keep you updated.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com.
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Our Towne Lake area cusomters, go here: www.TowneLakeTech.com
Our Western North Carolina Customers, here: www.SmallBizWebServices.com
Marketing and Advertising - Free Tips
We are always looking for ways to maximize resources. In this economy, you need all the help you can get to ensure that your business is noticed amid all the noise. Marketing is key. We found these free or cheap marketing tips - do you use any of them?Spruce up your Web site.
Stale sites don't attract business. Fresh, frequently updated Web sites show your customers you're a vibrant and active business. Let users subscribe to get update notices, then update frequently.
Visit your own Web site frequently.
Look for ways it can be improved. Too often, small business Web sites load slowly, are poorly organized, and are difficult to navigate. Fix bottlenecks that impede customers and look for ways to get customers to act. Make sure all links work and lead to up-to-date content. Test campaigns with printable coupons and other incentives. For more help here, contact us for help!
Provide free, helpful information to your customers.
Such content should be related to your type of business and can include tips, hints, reviews, and other information that can help drive sales. For example, a business selling paint can provide a guide to selecting the best paint for different uses. Such informative content is often available from suppliers.
Visit online marketing sites.
Good Marketing Ideas is an excellent site, with plenty of useful tips. The suggestions here cost little or nothing to implement, and will likely lead you to resources you might never have thought of on your own.
Check out your suppliers' Web sites thoroughly.
Add links on your site to informative and helpful content on those sites. Many corporate sites offer instructional videos and other material that can inform your customers and lead them back to you, ready to do business.
Use Facebook and Twitter or use our Managed Internet Marketing Services
Having a Facebook page may not earn you any new business, but not having one may cause customers to ask why you don't. Take some good pictures of your offices and your employees (unless you'd rather leave those details to your customers' imaginations), or, in some fashion, put a more human face on your company identity. Twitter is a young technology, and everyone's scrambling to figure out useful applications. It works great as a simple news feed back to your own site. <Check this Out
Increase visibility in your community.
Join local organizations that provide business networking opportunities, or start your own. Do volunteer work for a large charity. You'd be surprised at the marketing support such activities can bring.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com.
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Our Towne Lake area cusomters, go here: www.TowneLakeTech.com
Our Western North Carolina Customers, here: www.SmallBizWebServices.com
Google Tags - Increase Your Web Site Hits
Google Tags is the name of Google’s advertising service designed for local businesses. It highlights your company with a special symbol and message on Google Maps, or on the 7-pack which appears in the regular search results.
Do Google Tags Work?
Yes. A recent study should Tags increase action by a web surfer by over 80%. In other words, they clicked on your site because you offered something the others did not.
Tags allows you to highlight one of several different items – you can choose between your website, photos, a coupon, or a video. Goolge is offering 30 days free use of Tags if you sign up soon.
What is interesting to this point, very few web sites use Tags. This is sure to change, so give it a try ASAP. As with any technology and marketing effort, this does take some time - Contact TowneLakeTech.com or SmallBizWebServices.com for help.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com.
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas. SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Our Towne Lake area cusomters, go here: www.TowneLakeTech.com
Our Western North Carolina Customers, here: www.SmallBizWebServices.com
Steps to Lower Your Computer Support Costs
Simple Ways to Lower Your Computer Support Costs
Use this tips to take care of many of your PC issues yourself! If you need to assist you, maybe even a process audit, give us a call!
1. The 3 Finger Solute - The Reboot
Before you consider an issue a real computer support problem and call your computer consultant, always reboot first. Exit out of whatever files and programs you're working on. Then run through a Shutdown and Restart sequence to reboot your PC.
2. Do not count on a free Anti-Virus Program!
Have a strong defense to guard against expensive emergency computer support service calls for virus-related problems. Be sure every PC is protected and you get an update every day, if not every 2- 4 hours.
3.Your Employees Peronsal Computer is not Thier Personal Computer
Many end users in offices of all sizes mistakenly assume a personal computer (PC) is their personal asset and that they can install whatever software they like. Do not let users install whatever they want on thier PCs.
4. Assign a Software-Hardware Coordinator
This person will keep all software diskettes, CD-ROMs, license agreements and installation codes locked up. They should also approve ane control any changes to your computers.
5. Have Battery Backups on all PCs
Are your computers ready for brownouts, blackouts, surges and sags? Do you have adequate surge protection measures in place? Do you have an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) fully charged up, tested and ready to go? If you answered "Not Sure" or "No," you're certainly not alone.
6. Are you backing up your data?
Don't wait until it is too late to answer this one! There are several free tools out there to assist with this. Contact us for an audit and recommendations.
7. Google it
Launch your Web browser to get solutions for common problems with software applications and operating systems. For example, with popular Microsoft products like Microsoft Office and Microsoft Windows, you can search Microsoft's online Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com.
8. Windows Help File
If you are using Windows 7, the new Help File is great. I have found it to be the best knowledgebase Microsoft has included in one of their Operating Systems - and don't overlook integrated Help functions available in most software applications.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com.
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Our Towne Lake area cusomters, go here: www.TowneLakeTech.com
Our Western North Carolina Customers, here: www.SmallBizWebServices.com
Make Your PC Screen Easier to Read
Getting harder to see that tiny font on your PC?
Do you find yourself squinting and moving closer and closer to the PC screen because you can't see text and images clearly? Changes in your eyesight don’t have to interfere with your ability to see things on your computer.
1: Make your text larger
No, the text is not getting smaller. But you can make the text and other items―your icons, folders, and mouse pointer―larger. How? By increasing the dots per inch (DPI) scale. If you need to make everything fit on the screen, you can decrease the size of the text, and then use the Magnifier to see the text as you type.
2: Increase the size of your icons
You can also quickly make just the icons on your desktop larger and easier to see.
•Right-click the desktop, point to View, and then click Large Icons, Medium Icons, or Classic Icons. (Classic icons are the smallest size.) .
You can also use the scroll wheel on your mouse to change the size of your desktop icons.
•On the desktop, press and hold CTRL while you scroll by using the wheel to change the icon size.
3: Use the Magnifier
You may have been using Windows for years and not realized there is a built in Magnifier that enlarges part of the screen. You can adjust the Magnifier to zoom in at various levels and focus wherever you want to focus on the screen.
Magnifier in Windows 7 includes full-screen and lens modes. Full-screen mode lets you magnify your entire screen and follow your mouse pointer. In lens mode, the area around the mouse pointer is magnified. When you move the mouse pointer, the area of the screen that is magnified moves along with it.
4: Improve your screen resolution
Screen resolution refers to the clarity of the text and images on your screen. At higher resolutions, items appear sharper, but they also appear smaller, so more items fit on the screen. At lower resolutions, fewer items fit on the screen, but they are larger and easier to see. Choose a screen resolution that is better for your eyes.
5: Enlarge your mouse pointer
You can change the look of your mouse cursor so it is easier for you to quickly and easily see on-screen. Try selecting a new pointer style, and also try changing the color and size of your mouse pointer.
Windows 7
Click the Start button , click Control Panel, and then under Hardware and Sound, click Mouse.
Click the Pointers tab, and then do one of the following:
To change the look of all of your pointers, in the Scheme list, click a new mouse pointer scheme.
To change an individual pointer, in the Customize list, click the pointer you want to change, click Browse, click a pointer, and then click Open.
More ways to change your mouse settings.
Windows Vista
Click the Start button , click Control Panel, and then under Hardware and Sound, click Mouse.
Click the Pointers tab, and then do one of the following:
To change the look of all of your pointers, in the Scheme list, click a new mouse pointer scheme.
To change an individual pointer, in the Customize list, click the pointer you want to change, click Browse, click a pointer, and then click Open.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com.
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
A Handy Tip: Sending Email from the Desktop
Send an email attachment from anywhere on your computerHere’s a really handy tip. (So handy, had to add this to our blog a second time. I see so many computer users struggle with this basic and efficient tip.
1.Locate a file anywhere on your hard drive that you want to email, right-click the file’s icon, click Send To, and then click Mail Recipient. A new mail message will open with the file attached and ready to send. But what’s really speedy about this tip is that your mail program doesn’t open. This action creates only a single new mail message.
2.To send your attachment, type the recipient's email address in the To text field, add any accompanying message, and then click the Send icon. The subject and attachment fields are already set.
3.If you have just completed a document, spreadsheet, presentation, etc.., simply email the file from within that application. Click File, Send, Send To Email recipient.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com.
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Our Towne Lake area cusomters, go here: www.TowneLakeTech.com
Our Western North Carolina Customers, here: www.SmallBizWebServices.com
SmallBiz Networks – Is Yours Running Slow?
At some point during the day, your small business network grinds to a halt. No one is happy with the speed of the network and even print jobs take forever to complete to a printer 3 feet from your desk.You may have some network issues that need to be addressed. A PC’s network card may be going bad and creating a ‘broadcast storm’ on your LAN (Local Area Network). It is rare, but I have seen it more than once cause major grief for two organizations.
You may have some users that stream music or video all day and a combination of those can bog down a small network.
TowneLakeTech.com can analyze your network and computer usage to see what the issues may be and recommend corrective active. Using analysis tools we can see every packet that is being transmitted on your network and from which device. Contact us here if you need network help!
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com .
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Adding Video to your Web Site
Can adding a video to your web site really boost traffic and sales? Absolutely — as long as your video is relevant, entertaining and/or informative and optimized for search engines.
Many studies show having a search-engine optimized video on your site increases your odds of showing up on the first page of Google in an organic search dramatically — more than 50 times greater than if you just had text on the page.
To prove this to myself, I created a short video just after a snow storm in January 2010. I emailed the link to about 50 people. Within 3 days, over 600 (local and targeted) had hit the site and watched the video.
Since this was just a ‘feel good’ video and had no call to action, I did not really sell anything other than brand awareness. However, had this been relevant to the local ski industry, outdoor hiking equipment, etc, etc, then that would have been a different story.
Given it was about 105 degrees in Atlanta this past weekend, why not enjoy this video and cool off remembering when we had sub-freezing temperatures and a foot of snow on the ground! .
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com .
Contact us to see if we can help you with your business!
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Small Businesses Need a Business Continuity Plan
Nearly all businesses will have a technology outage of some sort that could last for an hour or a day, or longer. All businesses, even small ones, need to have business continuity plan.
As IT (Information Technology) continues to integrate into every part of modern business, the cost of downtime becomes greater. Do you have a plan? Business owners should think how long it may take to recover from an outage. Even something like a PC takes a time to rebuild.
Maintaining good data backup practices is one thing, but what if you can't get to the data because your PCs are toast? Do you use an offsite storage service? What if
your Internet connect is down for a day or two? Do you have copies of all your software? Do you have a spare PC just in case?
Blog-SmallBiz.com recommends all business take some time to evaluate their business continuity plans. A good mixture of onsite and offsite storage of your data is the first step. Then, don't treat all applications the same, find the processes that everyone notices if they're down for 15 minutes and concentrate on those.
An Example: One of our clients (a retail business with over 80 employees) maintains at least 2 spare PCs at all times. Other than the delivery staff, every employee spends 95% or more of their day on the computer. To have just one employee down for more than an hour or two is too painful.
Contact us to review your business continuity plans!
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com .
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas.
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.
Increase Your Productivity 30% + with Dual Monitors
Have you tried using dual monitors with your PC or laptop?
Business people who’ve made the switch say using two monitors make them more productive. And they swear they’d never go back.
Some estimates claim a 35% increase in productivity for heavy PC users with dual monitors.
Multiple monitor users can be found in many information-heavy professions including graphic design, stock trading, software development, IT administration, and publishing. Many financial professionals and even interior designers benefit from them.
Multiple monitors can also come in handy when discussing a project or new product at your desk or small conference room.
If you need help, contact us - we can assist in you in setting this up.
Blog-SmallBiz.com is a web log service of TowneLakeTech.com and SmallBizWebServices.com .
TowneLakeTech.com services the Towne Lake and Woodstock, GA areas .
SmallBizWebServices.com servcies the Highlands, Cashiers, and Sapphire Valley areas of Western North Carolina.