Do you know where your data is tonight?

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Eileen Stroup

While you watch the news tonight, you will probably see at least one business that has been damaged by a disaster. Fire, water, and wind damage are common in our area. Business insurance will help rebuild structures, restock inventory and even replace computer equipment. What about the data? If the company had a data back up system onsite, it was probably destroyed with the computers. If paper records are available the business can try to start over entering the all the data, but many times paper records are destroyed in fire and flood.

We recommend that all businesses invest in some type of data back up that takes critical data offsite. If you are up at night worrying about your data, send us an email. We can help you find a solution to the “Where has my data gone blues”.

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Wine may improve with age but shoes and computers do not

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Eileen Stroup

This one came from one of our techs as he was describing an old (10 year old) notebook that was not cooperating on a new network. Just think about the change in technology over the last ten years with your cell phone, your TV and your car. So how can you expect a 10 year old notebook to work on a new network? Keep it to use as a word processor (but save your work somewhere else) or as a door stop, but don’t expect to use its old extinct carcass in a business environment unless you want to pay us to babysit it. I may sound harsh but I am to be your advocate when it comes to making good IT decisions and I can not recommend throwing money at obsolete equipment.
Eileen Stroup

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The Subject of this Email is __________

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Eileen Stroup

The following post is from a great website called dontquityourdayjob.net.

The Email Subject Line is Important

Submitted by Joann on September 28, 2009

Emails that lack subject lines, or have generic one- or two-word subject lines, are frustrating to receive. Many of us get hundreds of emails a day. Non-specific subject lines are time-wasters for email readers who are sifting through many emails trying to pick out the urgent and actionable ones.

Write something specific in the subject lines of the emails you send. Tell your reader the gist of the message and the action you expect. Many readers sift through emails on handhelds and detailed subject lines facilitate out-of-the-office reading and responding. Your emails will get quicker attention and faster responses. And you may be surprised at your own ability to distill your message into a short phrase.

I totally agree with Joann! I would also add from a technical standpoint that email filtering programs will frequently block emails that lack subject lines or have subject lines that have been associated with viruses. These include, “Hi and Check It Out”.

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What do you want to do on your computer?

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Eileen Stroup

I often meet with business owners who are frustrated with their computers. My first question to them is: “What do you want to do on your computer?”

The answer is usually something like, “Documents, spreadsheets, email and my accounting package.” That is rarely all they do. They all want me to hurry up and get out of their office so they can get back to work. But if I don’t ask more questions, I will not be able to give them the appropriate solution. Why not take a little more time and get the best solution?

Think about what you really do on your computer everyday and what would help you do your job better.

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