GGGroup Blog » Tech Tips for the Office
Did you buy a new PC this past summer with the promise of a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it launched? Unfortunately, upgrades are never completely free.
While the license for the Windows 7 upgrade itself may not cost anything- delivery of the new disc typically comes with a small charge of between $10-20, depending on the manufacturer and model of your system. What’s more, there is also the cost of installing the new operating system.
The real question remains: is it worth any cost? Several GGGroup employees have been using Windows 7 internally and are pleased to report that the generally positive reviews on Windows 7 are justified. Microsoft has made improvements in key areas such as: installation and compatibility, performance, stability, networking, and search – to name a few.
Installation:
While the in-place upgrade worked – we recommend a fresh installation whenever possible because it is a good opportunity to do ’spring cleaning’.
Compatibility:
An operating system install is never fun, but unlike Vista, Windows 7 recognizes a surprising amount of hardware. This is the result of many manufacturers having released drivers in time to be bundled with the release.
Stability:
What’s been the nicest discovery is that Windows 7 appears to be the most stable Microsoft operating system in recent memory- and in some cases moreso than XP.
Wireless Networking:
Windows XP was created before wireless networking was standard and it showed. Vista had wireless networking issues that were a combination of poor interface design and wireless driver problems. Windows 7 fixes all this with a revamped networking control panel that simplifies networking management.
Search:
Search in Windows 7 is vastly superior to the Windows Search add-on in Windows XP and Vista. The search interface is responsive and results come up promptly. The indexing process working behind the scenes does not appear to have a noticeable impact on performance.
Final considerations:
As with all technology investments, planning is important. It always makes sense to do some preliminary research on hardware and business application compatibility before taking the plunge. One must also consider the cost of transition. Many times, the best strategy is to plan for Operating System upgrades to take place ‘organically’ in conjunction with your hardware lifecycle management plan.
Posted at 11/8/09 by jchiang in Industry Trends, News & Views, Newsletters, Tech Tips for the Office, Tech Tips for the Small & Home Office, Uncategorized Tags: Hardware Lifecycle, PC, Upgrade, Windows 7, Wireless Networking | No Comments »
› Why do you need BES for your Blackberry?
Blackberry Enterprise Server has the following advantages over any other forms of Blackberry connection to your Exchange server:
Much better security:
If you lost your Blackberry, you can initial a remote wipe procedure to your Blackberry. When your lost Blackberry connects to your service provider, it will shelf wipe the data in the Blackberry to prevent anyone from accessing information on your Blackberry.
Contacts sync wirelessly:
No other method will allow you to sync your Outlook contacts wirelessly.
Much easier to troubleshoot:
If you run into problems with Blackberry not getting email, having BES allows your IT support to troubleshoot quickly. You get support directly from RIM instead of your Blackberry data service provider like Verizon.
Much better management:
You can manage all your Blackberry from a single management console.
Posted at 10/12/09 by ewong in Industry Trends, News & Views, Security-Mobility-Accessibility, Tech Tips for the Office Tags: Blackberry, Blackberry Enterprise Server, Mobility | 1 Comment »
SnagIt:
It’s the easiest to use screen capture tool. It’s the perfect tool for documentations. It cost $49.95 per license.
www.snagit.com
X1:
The most flexible searching tool for Outlook & files. It allows you to index multiple
PST files as well as Public folders. It cost $50 per license.
www.x1.com
pdfFactory:
This is the fastest pdf creation tool. It cost $49.95.
www.fineprint.com/products/pdffactory/index.html
Posted at 8/13/09 by ewong in GGGroup, Tech Tips for the Office, Tech Tips for the Small & Home Office, Tips Tags: PDFFactory, SnagIt, Tools, X1 | No Comments »
› Blackberry plan with your Wireless Service Provider
When you buy a new Blackberry device from your Wireless Service Provider (Verizon, T-mobile, at&t or Sprint), make sure you ask for “Blackberry Enterprise” feature with “Unlimited Data Usage” data plan.When you are ready to travel abroad, you need to call your Wireless Service Provider to enable “International Data Roaming”. Keep in mind that not every Blackberry device will work in the country you travel to and coverage veries. See following resources:
Posted at 7/21/09 by ewong in Security-Mobility-Accessibility, Tech Tips for the Office, Tips Tags: Blackberry, handhelds, mobile device | 1 Comment »
› Why we chose Ruckus as Wi-Fi solution for our clients
Over the last 5 years of looking for a wireless solution, we have tried solutions from Cisco, Aruba, LinkSys, Dlink & Netgear. We finally chose to partner with Ruckus Wireless for the following reasons:- Unique smart antenna technology which provides performance and range that is consistently 2 to 4 times better
- Robust coverage that keeps user connected even with neighbor’s wi-fi interference
- Simple, yet powerful management features that allow small businesses to control wi-fi with minimal training
As an added bonus, I really like that my team can learn a single product line from Ruckus Wireless that will satisfy both home and small business applications.
Posted at 7/5/09 by ewong in Industry Trends, News & Views, Security-Mobility-Accessibility, Tech Tips for the Office, User Reports Tags: Security, Wi-Fi, Wireless | 1 Comment »
› Using Skype in office network
Skype is well known as free voice & video calls over Internet. Aside from free voice calls, Skype also allows users to send large file of up to 2GB. This feature can be very handy to bypass email attachment size limitation. However, this feature can leak out your business trade secret without any traces.
Posted at 7/4/09 by ewong in Industry Trends, News & Views, Tech Tips for the Office, Tips Tags: Skype, Voice, VOIP | No Comments »
Don’t connect to “Free Public Wi-Fi”
“Free Public Wi-Fi” is broadcasted by hacker’s laptop. If you connect to “Free Public Wi-Fi”, for sure you won’t get Internet. You can be sure that your laptop is being hacked.
Be aware of Wi-Fi without passkey
When your laptop or PDA discover a Wi-Fi network without the need of passkey, be extra careful about using the connection to browse websites that require passwords. Unsecure Wi-Fi networks may be put up by hackers. Even your website that you are browsing, like bank or shopping sites are protected, your password may be captured easily. Instructions of how to hack users who connected to unsecure Wi-Fi network are widely available on Internet. So, be aware and safe browsing.
Posted at 7/2/09 by ewong in Security-Mobility-Accessibility, Tech Tips for the Office, Tech Tips for the Small & Home Office, Tips Tags: Security, Wi-Fi, Wireless | 3 Comments »
Yammer:
This is the best tool that you can update your co-workers about your status. All you need is Internet connection on your desktop, Blackberry or iPhone. It’s easy to install and use.
Go to www.yammer.com to activate accounts for your own company. You can pay Yammer to get more features.
Spark:
Want an in-house only Instant Messenger? This is it. It does require software installation on server and desktops.
www.igniterealtime.com
SyncToy:
A free file synchronization tool from Microsoft. This is a simple tool to keep files on your laptop synchronizes with your file server.
Browse to www.microsoft.com/downloadand search for “synctoy”. Download “SyncToy v2.0″.
Posted at 6/13/09 by ewong in GGGroup, Tech Tips for the Office, Tech Tips for the Small & Home Office, Tips, User Reports Tags: Spark, SyncToy, Yammer | No Comments »
› Video Conferencing Made Easy
Video Conferencing Made Easy Simple and affordable video calling for small businesses, remote offices and telecommuters who need to talk face-to-face has never been more affordable. Historically, video conferencing has been the domain of large corporations that invested heavily in dedicated ISDN telecom lines for proprietary hardware. GGGroup has tested various video conferencing solutions and feels that Polycom offers the most affordable and capable products for the SMB market.
Polycom solutions allow you to leverage your existing IP-based Cable, DSL, or T1 connection (backwards compatible with ISDN); delivering natural, smooth motion video and crystal-clear audio in a convenient and compact design–ready to plug into a standard NTSC or PAL display and any broadband connection. Ideal for the office environment and conference room within a small enterprise, it is also suitable for a telecommuter operating from their home office and ready to hold a face to face meeting over their high speed broadband connection.
Posted at 5/3/09 by ewong in GGGroup, Industry Trends, Tech Tips for the Office Tags: A/V, Polycom, Teleconferencing, Video Conferencing | No Comments »