Archive: March 2006

March 30, 2006

Hot Resources is updated!

I've just updated the resources section of smallbiztechnology.com!...

March 30, 2006

Google's Web Site Page Creator - VERY easy to use

Well I've just finished testing out Google's Web Page Creator and my test page is here. I must say,...

March 30, 2006

When Exchange Goes Down Keep It Up

One of the problems in using Microsoft Exchange I've heard is that it's very hard to manage if you are...

March 30, 2006

Small Business Podcasting Demystified

I can't say that podcasting is for everyone, but if you want to learn how one of the best ways...

March 30, 2006

Thin is In for Gateway

I'm typing on a a 5lb Gateway, wide screen notebook that works VERY well. Nothing fancy (it's the software that...

March 29, 2006

Nevada State Bank launches small business resource Web site

Although we small businesses get a lot of information from "traditional" small business media such as Inc Magazine, New York...

March 29, 2006

Pick, Pack and Ship - Warehouse Managers Want it faster

If your are managing a warehouse for an online business or a physical retail operation your success and customer satisfaction...

March 29, 2006

New Business Planning Tool for Technology Solution Providers

Technology solution providers looking for new strategies to improve their financial performance now have access to a business analysis tool...

March 29, 2006

New Desktop: Linux Based - From Novell

The march of Linux, like watching a National Geographic video of wild beasts crossing a river, continues. Novell released...

March 28, 2006

Avatar's On Your Web Site Speak For You

Oddcast makes a range of avatars that enable visitors to your web site (or certain areas of it) to...

March 28, 2006

Bill Gates - Software as a Service is Good...but

Software, delivered as a service over the Internet is growing, however Microsoft, which makes the bulk of its money selling...

March 27, 2006

Making Payment Processing Transactions Save Money

For those businesses that have many financial transactions to do, the fees associated with processing these transactions (credit card payments,...

March 27, 2006

Wireless Time Cards - More Time For Employees More Productivity For Your Business

Keeping track of the time employees work on projects is 100% important if you want to ensure that you...

March 27, 2006

Putting the Tower PC To Rest

Many small businesses who are still working on their computers of 5, 7 or more years old have the...

March 27, 2006

Web Host Homestead 1) Talk on the PHONE with the customer 2) Make Services Easy and Feature Rich

Homestead Technologies is a web hosting company focused on helping small businesses build web sites as simple but as...

March 25, 2006

PayPal's Cell Phone Text Message Service

I think PayPal's Cell Phone payment via text message is a smart move and simply an evolution of using a...

March 24, 2006

Wireless Broadband - Verizon, Cingular or Sprint?

WiFi is great, but if you want to connect to the Internet from anywhere, you'll need a wireless broadband service...

March 24, 2006

What REALLY SMART Cell Phones Can Do

My simple, basic, boring LG-4400 cell phone is only good for talking. I can tether it to my notebook with...

March 24, 2006

Encrypting Data on Mobile Devices Is the Answer for Lost Data on Mobile Devices

Today's Wall Street Journal writes about the theft of notebooks and how it causes a lot of privacy / data...

March 24, 2006

Skype is Cheap/Free But It Can Slow Your Network.

If you have 10 people in your office, and they are using Skype did you know that Skype uses the...

March 23, 2006

As You Grow Which Accounting Solution is for You

As your business grows, it is VERY important to consider what accounting solution will grow with your business. Quickbooks, PeachTree,...

March 23, 2006

When Sticking With "Small Business" Tools is Dumb

There comes a point in your life when you realize that the pants or other clothes you are wearing don't...

March 23, 2006

Is Your Web Site Accessible to the Disabled

To those who can see, hear and move perfectly (well sometimes I don't hear what I should and do...

March 23, 2006

Small Business Trends Radio: The Mobile Entrepreneur - Equipping Your Office for Maximum Mobility

Yesterday I had the honor of being a guest on Anita Campbell's (the DIVA of small business) SMBTrendwire Radio...

March 22, 2006

Paper Eater - New Scanner from Fujitsu

Scanning documents is one of those business tasks that can be a pain to do, but the benefits are wonderful....

March 22, 2006

New Microsoft Small Business Specialists

When a technology vendor has a new "partner" (reseller or otherwise) complete the necessary certification to earn a certain designation...

March 22, 2006

RFID Tags With Viruses - Remote Possibility but Possible

I had to really think and ponder if it was worth informing you of this news - that RFID tag...

March 22, 2006

Microsoft Vista Delayed

Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, is going to be delayed and released in November 2006 for businesses and to consumers...

March 21, 2006

Should You Upgrade To Microsoft Office 2007 - Here's Your Guide

Microsoft makes the bulk of its money on two things - Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. There's one main...

March 21, 2006

WiMax As A Backup Option

Broadband is a MUST for any respectable business to operate. When disaster strikes the world of telecommunications, after human loss,...

March 19, 2006

Phishing - You Can Protect Yourself If You Stay Awake Online

Phishing scams are gaining in use by scammers all the time. You don't have to be caught by it. The...

March 19, 2006

VOIP - Beyond Just Price

As you get into using voice over the Internet services for your business, price is ONE reason to consider purchasing...

March 19, 2006

Madison Area Chamber of Commerce Technology Showcase

I love it when businesses get together to hold a technology showcase of any kind and was particularly happy...

March 17, 2006

Why Linux is 100% NOT for Small Businesses (at this time)

I recently had the experience to see the world of Linux in action and it was NOT a pretty site....

March 17, 2006

Avaya's one-X Quick Edition - Pretty Neat for Smaller Offices

Telecommuniation's company Avaya has released its one-X Quick Edition Internet Protocol (IP) telephony solution which is part of Avaya's new...

March 14, 2006

Homestead Web Host Called Me and They'll Call you Too!

Tonight, for an upcoming story, I was set up with a trial account for web host Homestead's service. What...

March 14, 2006

Best Buy and Microsoft Get Closer + Microsoft Reaches Out MORE to Small Businesses With Financing

Best Buy is becoming THE PLACE for smaller businesses to get help with their technology solutions. Best Buy's ACE is...

March 14, 2006

Microsoft Outlook Express Replacement

For years, since 2001, the default email program bundled with Windows was Outlook Express - a very miniature version of...

March 14, 2006

March Madness and Your Network

As March Madness rolls around the corner, YOU KNOW, people in your office are going to be visiting web...

March 14, 2006

Lenovo Changes and Upgrades Its Resellers Program

Resellers are the foundation of many sales for technology vendors. Sure, some vendors do quite well with a direct model...

March 14, 2006

When Your Staff Works Out of the Office How Can Technology Help?

In many industries, a company's staff are spread all over a city, a state or the entire country. Home...

March 13, 2006

How Can you Serve Customers Better Without Customer Intelligence?

One of the most exciting things for me (well there are quite a bit of exciting things) is to be...

March 13, 2006

Online Services Will Grow - Software Use Will Decline

When Microsoft Chairman and Founder Bill Gates rallies his company in a new direction it is VITAL that we all...

March 12, 2006

Should You Consider Unified Threat Management

Over the past several weeks several vendors have brought to my attention the latest in security protection for businesses -...

March 12, 2006

Cnet's Computer Clinic Video - Really Good

I just visited Cnet's computer clinic and viewed a video by Tom Merritt, Editor, Cnet.com. This particular video was about...

March 11, 2006

Book Review: Repairing and Upgrading Your PC

I DO NOT advocate that you become a computer technician and repair all the PC's in your office that...

March 11, 2006

Low Int'l Rates from Your Cell Phone

Calling over seas from a land line phone with an international calling plan is not that expensive. But the problem...

March 11, 2006

Outlook Add-On Software - Add MOBILITY to Outlook

Millions of people in cubicles and offices all over the world use Microsoft Outlook for their email and day to...

March 11, 2006

Google Helps Small Businesses With Search Results

Companies with large search engine budgets can pay to have their listings appear in the top 10 search results of...

March 11, 2006

It's Time to Refresh Your Web Site - $125

Web sites are great tools, but like a nice home, they should be refreshed from time to time. SOHO IT...

March 10, 2006

No News Reporting Today

Today I'm not reporting on news until much later on this evening. Have a great weekend! Ramon Ray, Editor, Smallbiztechnology.com...

March 9, 2006

Book Review: Fixing Access Annoyances

O'Reilly has a new book on Microsoft Access and writes - Millions of users count on Access for everything...

March 9, 2006

Move Your Plain Old Telephone Service to VOIP and Save

It's relatively easy to make telephone calls over the Internet - download Skype or use some other service and you...

March 9, 2006

Smaller PCs - Not Tablets, Not Notebooks, Not SmartPhones...something different

Microsoft, Intel and its hardware partners are launching a new computer form factor, Origami or Ultra-Mobile Personal Computers, that's...

March 9, 2006

Verizon Delivers FASTER Speeds to Multiple Dwelling Units

DSL and Cable are great, and there's two things that technology will always bring - LOWER prices and FASTER...

March 9, 2006

Best Buy Goes for Smaller Businesses

I guess large businesses are being left behind more and more. Best Buy is making a new push to...

March 8, 2006

Online Tools to Make Simple But Time Consuming Tasks Easier

There's things we do every day, often several times a day that take time and by virtue of their repetition...

March 7, 2006

Differentiating Lenovo and ThinkPad Branded Notebooks

I wondered how Lenovo would differentiate its Lenovo and ThinkPad branded notebooks and now I have the answer. Lenovo tells...

March 7, 2006

Why You Should Not Use a Wireless Network and other things your mother never told you

Of course a wireless network is about as a "must" for your business as electricity. HOWEVER you've really got to...

March 7, 2006

The MAC Is Just As In-Secure As Windows

For many years, some have been led to believe that the Macintosh computer systems were more secure than Windows,...

March 6, 2006

Wireless USB Devices - Way Cool - No Wires

USB devices are great, but you've got to have your PC looking like a messy Christmas tree with all the...

March 6, 2006

Sony VAIO BX Notebook - If It Was a Car It Would Be A Benz

For the Small Business Summit 2006 I had the opportunity to work with Sony's VAIO BX Notebooks. The particular...

March 6, 2006

HP Adds Longer and Smart Life to Batteries; New Notebooks Come Out

I'm working on a notebook computer right now on the train and one of the most important things for...

March 6, 2006

Scanning As Easy as Using A Toaster: Kodak Simplifies Document Sharing

Scanning, can be a complicated thing to do. You press the scan button, then go through a series of...

March 6, 2006

Do Your Customers Want RSS Feeds?

Email has been the standard method for pushing information out to customers for some time and will continue to be....

March 6, 2006

Using Blogs to Know What's Happening Before it Happens

As I write this I'm cringing a little bit thinking that some of you might think of blogs as the...

March 6, 2006

Microsoft and Cisco Move Phone Tag Out of the Office

In my earlier post about AT&T I commented that there was so much competition from VOIP providers the "anti-AT&T" merger...

March 6, 2006

Buyerzone.com - Check 'em out!

I'm really honored to have BuyerZone.com advertising on smallbiztechnology.com! I've known of their services for years and like them for...

March 6, 2006

What Does AT&T Mean for Small Businesses

You've heard, as I have that AT&T is buying Bell South for $67 billion in stock plus the assumption...

March 5, 2006

TurboTax.com - Works Well and Saves Money

This year I started to use Intuit's Turbo Tax online to prepare my taxes. I was impressed by the...

March 4, 2006

Hackers Are Only The Second Problem In Protecting Your Wireless Network

For those of us who have wireless networks, protecting them from hackers is often our primary concern. We don't want...

March 3, 2006

Sabio Storage - Network Storage that's easy to use and affordable

There's many storage solutions on the market that you can deploy to ensure your data is backed up, but...

March 3, 2006

$2.2 Billion in Software Spending for U.S. "Small Businesses"

AMI Partners reports that Small and medium businesses in the United States are on track to spend $2.2 billion on...

March 3, 2006

Book Review: Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances

Using Microsoft Power Point is something we learn to do when we're about 4 years old. However, there's those...

March 2, 2006

1&1 Internet Offering Free.info Domains

Although I don't think you should rush to register a.info domain name, it can't hurt to have one, especially if...

March 2, 2006

If You Trust Caller ID - Don't

When you get a phone call and the number shows up on your caller ID, you assume the caller ID...

March 2, 2006

Corel Bundles with Lenovo

I am pleased to announce that Corel's Small Business Centre will be bundled with Lenovo computers. Once again this proves...

March 1, 2006

Process Credit Cards with Intuit QuickBooks Credit Card Processing Kit

Intuit continues to push out new, simple, low cost products to make it easier for smaller business to manage...

March 1, 2006

Verio Helps Multi-Web Site Owners

If you design web sites for others or build online applications you want to be able to treat each web...

March 1, 2006

Cabinet NG 3.0 - more and better features for document management

Cabinet NG, which makes scanning software integrated with QuickBooks, has built some new features into version 3.0 of its product...

March 1, 2006

How to improve security? Training, Training, Training

Although you tell your IT users over and over again about the dangers of clicking on links in an...