Tag: Microsoft

Oh, yeah! It’s the dumbest ad campaign of the past decade…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImyK29QLs_A
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Kudos to the folks at Datamation who put this list together…

“Tired of your boring screensavers? Need a game that allows you to survive the boring hours before quitting time? Wish your PC looked more like the terminals in the Matrix?

Or maybe you’re more business-minded: do you need an open-source solution for ERP? Project management? Bookkeeping? CRM?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, keep reading. These 75 noteworthy projects – each deserving of your love and affection – will help you do everything from creating desktop widgets to avoiding repetitive-stress injuries to visualizing distant, exotic landscapes. Or at least dreaming of life beyond your cubicle… “ 75 Popular Open Source Desktop Downloads

There are other lists for specific applications here…

It is possible to have a rich computing experience without paying through the nose for Apple Hardware or Microsoft software. You betcha! It all begins with Ubuntu! Use the contact form if you want to know more…

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via thingstodoingreenbay.com

There are few people I know that have leveraged the internet more effectively to build their personal brand than ‘Green Bay Greg‘ Dallaire. The video is one that he shot for a client of mine, Tailwind Flight Center, and it demonstrates the quality of the work he’s doing at ‘365 Things to do in Green Bay’ along with Tony Rouse from MindSeed Labs. If you want to know how to use the internet and social media to build your brand you don’t need to look much farther than Greg Dallaire…

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Image via CrunchBase

I write frequently about my disdain [hatred is too strong a word] for Microsoft and their evil licensing practices and my newfound love for Ubuntu. Over the weekend, the two final barriers to moving ‘full time’ to Ubuntu were removed. I wrote about one last night — VirtualBox allows you to run Windows seamlessly inside Ubuntu for the application or two you just can’t do without. The last remaining app I needed was a text expander like Texter for Windows or Text Expander for Mac that takes blocks of text and reduces them to keystroke combos. Lifehacker puts it this way…

“You write some blocks of text over and over. “My address is …” for example, or addresses you enter frequently into mapping web sites, or a list of email addresses. Text expansion tools instantly write those blocks for you when you write a trigger word, and are smart enough to auto-insert dates, text you’ve just copied, and then move the cursor to where you’ll be. On Windows computers, your Lifehacker editors use Texter, while the Mac writers run TextExpander (your sole Linux stalwart is tinkering with AutoKey at the moment). Save yourself a few words at a time, and soon you’ll have freed yourself from hours of mechanical typing.” Source: Top 10 Productivity Basics Explained – Productivity – Lifehacker

So today I found Autokey and while it’s a different paradigm than As-U-Type which has been my Windows favorite for many years, it shows great promise. Henceforth, I’ll be working on an experiment on my home computer to NEVER boot into my Windows partition. The transition is now as complete as it’s going to get for awhile. So long Windows — hello, Ubuntu!

btw, go to the source on the blockquoted article; the top 10 productivity basics post is priceless!

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“A common perception is that in the aftermath of the dotcom crash of 2001, the market remains flooded with information technology (IT) workers with skills, but no jobs.

However, the reality is just the opposite. In fact, an IT worker shortage is hitting companies across the nation, including southeastern Wisconsin.

As the baby boom generation drifts off into retirement, the next generation is not as large, and the talent pool is not as deep. That equation recently prompted Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates to declare that North America has a “pretty significant shortage” of IT workers.

The Wisconsin Department of Work Force Development projects that there will be approximately 12,745 IT jobs in Wisconsin by the year 2014, which would be up 12.3 percent since 2004.” Click here to read more…

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Top 20 Free Applications to Increase Your Productivity

“The Internet is loaded with free software, making it hard to know which one’s you really need. This article will act as your guide to the top 20 free applications (Web and Windows) for increased productivity.” Click here to read more…

Don’t forget to check Google Pack and Ninite to grab some of this software!

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Bypass the 20 Twitter List Limit with a Sidekick Account

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Writing a killer blog

…without killing yourself in the process. Good thoughts from Louis Gray…

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Steve Jobs: Master of Irony

I’m not sure if it still is, but at one point in time this commercial was the most popular of all time…

Now, ironically, Robert Wright of the New York Times says Steve Jobs has become the ‘Big Brother’ that Apple warned us about in 1984…

“Jobs stands accused of what in Silicon Valley is a capital crime: authoritarian tendencies. He’s long played hardball with journalists who reveal details about forthcoming products, and now he’s deciding what content people can view on the iPhone and iPad. Apps featuring even soft-core porn are verboten, and some kinds of political commentary don’t make the cut. Apple recently rejected an app from a political cartoonist — and then, embarrassingly, had to reconsider after he won the Pulitzer Prize.

Put these two Jobs profiles together — emerging infotech hegemon and congenital control freak — and you get a scary scenario: growing dominance of our information pipelines by a guy who likes to filter information. No wonder Jobs’s detractors have been making ironic reference to Apple’s famous 1984 Super Bowl ad, the one that implicitly cast the IBM-Microsoft alliance as Big Brother.” Source: Is Steve Jobs Big Brother? – Opinionator Blog – NYTimes.com

Follow the source — it’s an interesting read…

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From thinker to thought leader in one easy workflow

So you wanna be a thought leader? There’s no better way to make your point of view ‘searchable, findable, and knowable’ on the internet than this suite of tools. It is the simplest and most straightforward blogging workflow I can imagine and if you’ve got a better idea, I’ll be the first to admit [and use] it…

Updated 5/25/10 to include LinkedIn and YouTube. h/t Alan Petras. Lesson learned? Don’t leave YouTube off a social media workflow when you’re talking to a video guy…

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Spring clean your PC; outside and in!

CCleaner
Image via Wikipedia

Here’s something constructive to do this weekend…

“Most of us clean our computers about as often as we spill something on the keyboard. But to keep your computer in good working order, you should scrub it down about twice a year–more often if you like to eat chips at your keyboard. Before you start, you’ll need some supplies: a large microfiber cloth, a can of compressed air, and a solution of 50 percent isopropyl rubbing alcohol and 50 percent mineral water, and a pair of tweezers. Once you have everything together, shut your computer down (if you’re cleaning a laptop, remove the battery as well). Now that you’re ready to go, review these five simple steps for getting your hardware shiny again…” Source: Spring Clean Your PC in 5 Easy Steps — Life Scoop

You’ll have to go to the source to get the list, but before you do, here are some thoughts for cleaning the INSIDE of your PC…

Click the ‘Tune Up Utilities’ button at the bottom of the right sidebar and download a free trial — Tune Up Utilities is the only utility that I pay for every year. Unlike most tools of this nature, it works quietly and unobtrusively in the background without sucking the life out of your computer. If you only have $50 to spend on improving your computer [subsequent years are $30] then this is where you should spend it! Now, if even that’s too much for you, I suggest you go to Ninite.com and download these 5 things:

  • Ccleaner [used to be called ‘Crap Cleaner’; for getting rid of computer detritus and fixing other issues]
  • Defraggler [for defragmenting your drive]
  • Revo Uninstaller [for performing CLEAN uninstalls]
  • Microsoft Security Essentials [this free Microsoft tool will fix all your antivirus and security needs — after all, Microsoft caused them! It’s about time they cleaned them up…]
  • Chrome browser [because it rocks with Google products and if you’ve been reading this blog, you’re using Google products!]

These tools will serve you well — almost as well as Tune Up Utilities — as long as you remember to use them at least every week…
;-)

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No surprise here!

Image representing Android as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase

Apple is dominating the smartphone market and Google is giving them a run for the money with the Android OS…

“comScore has released a report on the state of the US mobile market from September to December 2009, and it shows that the recently established trends of Android and iPhone growth don’t show signs of ceasing.

In December 2009 RIM was still the leading mobile smartphone operating system in the U.S., with 41.6% market share, a slight drop from 42.6% from September 2009. Apple has risen from 24.1% to 25.3% in that same period, and Google (Google), although still in the fifth place, has doubled its market share – from 2.5% to 5.2%.” Source: Apple Grabs 25% of the Smartphone Market, Android Doubles Market Share

The big losers? Blackberry [RIM], Microsoft and Palm…

Smartphones are an important technology tool for thinkers and thought leaders; picking one that works with your online world is important! More than just a flashy accessory, smartphones can be a key component of an overall communication strategy. Comment, call or contact me to talk about what this means to you and your business…

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Tactic #8: Use ‘branded’ email

I took a little time off from my ‘tactics and tools’ series — no one’s paying attention in December anyway, right? ;-)

Now that everyone’s waking up from the holidays it’s time to get back on track with tactic #8 — using ‘branded’ email. ‘Branded’ email? What’s that? ‘Branded’ email is email that comes from a professional domain and supports your brand. Excuse me for ranting about one of my biases for a sec, but it drives me nuts when I see an entrepreneur using their sbcglobal, att, charter, road runner, etc. isp domains for conducting business — especially when there’s a great tool like Google Apps for Business! Every email is a chance to advertise your business by using a domain that points to your Facebook page or website. Besides, there’s nothing that screams ‘mom & pop shop’ more than using your personal home account to try to bring in that big deal…

Here’s a quick overview of Google Apps:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_TzCpYGpzw

Google Apps hits the ‘good, fast and cheap’ trifecta. Simple, yet powerful! A couple of years ago, I worked with a local entrepreneur in Green Bay that had an office with 7 people. He wanted the benefits of Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint for his team and spent $35,000 [first year acquisition cost of $5,000 per employee] for the hardware, software, licensing, and labor to acquire those benefits. Here’s the dirty little secret; there was no benefit he acquired that could not have been done better than Google Apps at the cost of $50 per user per year…

Consider the benefits of Google Apps:

“Google’s web-based messaging and collaboration apps require no hardware or software and need minimal administration, creating tremendous time and cost savings for businesses.

End users can use the familiar Microsoft Outlook interface for email, contacts and calendar as they transition to Gmail and Google Calendar. Source: Reduce IT costs, get less spam, and improve productivity – Google Apps for Business target=”_blank”

But wait, there’s more! Benefits include…

  • Proven cost savings
  • Email, calendar and IM access from any computer or smartphone connected to the internet, regardless of platform…
  • 99.9% uptime reliability guarantee
  • 50 times more storage than the industry average
  • Information security and compliance
  • Full administrative and data control
  • Helpful 24/7 customer support

Go here to read more…

Wow! A lot of cool features you say, but is it safe?

“Google applications provide a variety of security features, says Eric Ogren, a security analyst with the Enterprise Strategy Group. For one thing, “you have to have authority to get in. Users can determine policies of who looks at a particular document, the amount of collaboration offered, and users have the flexibility to store data on their corporate laptop or have Google do it for them.”

In addition, he voices the security argument most commonly heard about SaaS solutions: “The customer’s IT department doesn’t have to maintain upgrades, so you don’t have to deal with patches with Google Apps, and that’s a nice feature.” Source: Google Apps has its advantages, but is it secure? – SC Magazine US target=”_blank”

Google Apps for Business is THE killer app for entrepreneurs, small businesses, non-profits, schools, and political campaigns. If I didn’t make myself clear, comment, call or contact so we can talk further about your particular situation…

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3 ways for small businesses to save money on IT

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc...

Regardless of what the government says, most business owners feel we’re still in a recession…

“The recession is cutting into small and midsized businesses’ IT spending, and some industries are hurting more than others, according to the results of the latest IT Effectiveness Index (ITEI) survey.

The ITEI is a benchmarking tool that measures the technology effectiveness of small and midsized businesses. (Small Business Trends is one of the partners of the study.) According to the latest survey, the manufacturing industry has been hit hardest, with 66 percent of people in this industry delaying, halting or canceling IT projects, and a similar number reducing capital expenses.

Also hard hit were the communications industry (at 55 percent), wholesale businesses (52 percent) and service providers with 48 percent reporting an IT spending slowdown. Not surprisingly, the computer industry was the least affected — only a third of the respondents in that industry said their IT projects had been affected by the recession. And the woes don’t end there. Half of the manufacturing industry respondents said their IT operations were either understaffed or critically understaffed. Thirty-three percent of service providers said the same, as did nearly a quarter of the respondents in the computer industry.” Source: SMB IT Budgets and Staffing Hit Hard by Recession | Small Business Trends

From where I sit, most small businesses squander money unnecessarily by not thinking about saving money where possible on IT. Here are three easy ways to stretch your technology dollar…

  1. Outsource your email and back office collaboration to Google; Google Apps is a powerful, cost effective way to communicate both internally and externally.
  2. Explore using a Content Management System like WordPress as a website; link it to social media outposts to drive your internet marketing.
  3. Get off the Microsoft licensing treadmill; no one NEEDS Windows 7, in face, most end users haven’t mastered XP and 2003 yet. Consider buying older computers on eBay, using Ubuntu, OpenOffice, and other money saving strategies and tactics.

These are just a few of the many ways small businesses can stretch their IT dollars and smart business leaders look to months like December when much of the world loses focus to implement ideas like these. Let’s talk about how you can start the new year with more cost effective tools for IT…

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Google unveils their new operating system

Will it be a Microsoft killer? You betcha! It has the power to change the face of computing for the next generation…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QRO3gKj3qw&feature=player_embedded
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Tactic #4: Use an external blog editor

Last week I covered tactic #3 in the tactics and tools series: blogging. Assuming that all my clients and readers went out and immediately launched a new blog by now you’re thinking to yourself ‘there’s got to be an easier way’. That easier way is to use a blog editor. Not just any blog editor; use ScribeFire. Jon M. of the Affiliate Business Advisor blog writes this:

“I mentioned previously in an older post how I have used various Blog Editing software, some have been good some have been complete crap and some fall, somewhere in the middle.

I just want to mention one that I have been using now for quite some time. Previously I was using software called Post2blog and I worked closely with the designer to add features in that I thought would make it better.

After Microsoft came out with their free Windows Live Writer software, the owner of post2blog decided to call it a day, and with it a number of features stopped working.

So i [sic] moved over to windows writer. I started to find that has numerous issues and was extremely slow to use. Posting videos was a nightmare though I believe they have fixed that now.

At which time I began looking for another editor to use to post to my multiple blogs.. i came across Free Scribefire which at the time seemed excellent but once again I found a ton of issues like you couldn”t align images which was a pain, they also had a number of other issues.. Yet I could see that it had potential if only the creator would fix some of the issues.

Well I have to say that the creator took the feedback from his users very seriously and I kid you not… within a matter of a month or 2 he had output at least 4 to 5 new updates to Scribefire… taking into account pretty much all of peoples requests.

Yet still there seemed to be a few issues that I ran into so i decided to create a video to show the owner..

And once again the owner took seriously the feedback and within a week had a new update out which included some of my suggestions

I stand behind this as its not only FREE but the support is by far some of the best support I have seen provided for a free based application.” Source: Internet Marketing Blog – Making Money Online » Blog Archive » Scribefire Review

Jon also put together a nice video review which you can view here…

Why use ScribeFire?

  1. You want to easily be able to slurp content from websites you visit.
  2. You want additional features or enhancements like Zemanta.
  3. You edit multiple blogs and want a way to quickly update them all.
  4. You want to actively manage pings and technorati tags.
  5. You want an easy way to generate ad revenue.

Slurp content? What is that you say? Here’s a video — easier to show than tell…

I’m a little bit rushed today — my focus is on gettings things in order before my trip to Germany Friday so I may have missed a thing or two. You can always ask a question in the comments or via the contact page. One final note; I would have liked to write about Windows Live Writer which had shown some promise, but due to the pissing match between Firefox and Microsoft, the Windows Live Writer add-on for Firefox does not work with the current version. If you’re an Internet Explorer user, you may want to evaluate that solution as well…

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What is the Best Way to Manage my Tasks?

Microsoft Office Outlook
Image via Wikipedia

Here are the results of a recent lifehacks survey…

“If all the methodology of the best GTD applications loses you in the productivity shuffle, there’s nothing like a classic, simple to-do list to keep you on track. You’ve never had more options—both simple and robust—for managing your to-do list as you do today. On Tuesday we asked you to share your favorite to-do list managers, and today we’re back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a glimpse at the five best to-do list managers, then vote for the to-do tool you like best.” Source: Hive Five: Five Best To-Do List Managers

Personally, I use Rememberthemilk because of the ability to integrate it into Gmail and my Blackberry, but I’m fluent in Outlook as well as ‘pen and paper’. Questions? Feedback? Leave a comment or use the contact page to reach me…

Update 10/25/09: Lifehacker lists these tools: Microsoft Outlook, Rememberthemilk, Pen and Paper, Text and Todoist. It’s one of the rare times I take issue with one of their posts. Here are a couple of other tools that are getting my attention in this space lately:

  1. ReQall; create todos, notes, share taskes with other users via phone calls, website, or iPhone. More with $25 annual subscription.
  2. Jott; Used to be my favorite in this category. Similar to ReQall, more features, more $$$. Very cool!

If you only have time to look at one, try reQall. Easy to use and inexpensive…

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Tactic #1: Master Firefox!

Image representing Seth Godin as depicted in C...
Image via CrunchBase

First, what’s this nonsense about ‘Tightening your Tribe’? Well, it’s a reference to Seth Godin’s social media masterpiece ‘Tribes‘. As I read the book, I really enjoyed the strategic discussion but found any reference to practical, tactical tools was missing. I therefore decided to create a series of posts on tools that could possibly accompany the book. This is the first post — there are 9 more. I hope you enjoy them all!

Just in time for the first major entry in my series ‘Top 10 Tactics and Tools for Tightening your Tribe’, Google was kind enough to do a short video on the topic of browsers…

They even launched a new site called What Browser? for people who are unclear on the concept. The truth is there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of different browsers you can use to view content on the internet, but most people never venture beyond the familiarity of Internet Explorer. Personally, I go back and forth between the 5 browsers [Internet Explorer, Firefox, Flock, Chrome and Safari] I have installed on my computer and many times I have multiple browsers open at the same time because not only is it possible, but also desirable, to use a certain browser for a specific task.

I have joked before that Firefox is my wife and Chrome is my mistress, but my wife does not think that analogy is very funny. Maybe it’s better said that Firefox is my workhorse and Chrome is my show pony. In either case, I do most of my work in Firefox, although I am using Chrome more and more — especially with web-based Google products. So why do I love Firefox so much? Let me break it down for you… Continue reading “Tactic #1: Master Firefox!” →

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Making the switch from Microsoft Office to Web apps

Image representing Bill Gates as depicted in C...
Image via CrunchBase

‘For him who has ears to hear!’ as the Good Book says. It’s possible to have a powerful computing experience without using a single Microsoft product [or paying a single penny to Bill Gates]…

“The only reason I’ve opened Microsoft Outlook or any other desktop e-mail program in the last year is to test tips. Since I added my ISP account to my Gmail in-box, and moved my Outlook appointments to Google Calendar, I get all the information I need in my browser.

Now I’m getting ready to boot Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for their Web alternatives, but before I bail on Office entirely, I stuck a toe in the Web-apps water by using the free ThinkFree Online service irregularly over the past few weeks. So far, I haven’t missed Word, Excel, or PowerPoint one bit. In fact, I appreciate the comparative simplicity of their Web counterparts, which have worked without a hitch–so far, at least.”

Click here to read more…

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“Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack…

Microsoft Office PowerPoint
Image via Wikipedia

… for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats” can help! Last week, I sent a PowerPoint preso to someone who couldn’t open it. I suggested that she download and install this free tool that is available at the source…

“By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats. For more information about the Compatibility Pack, see Knowledge Base article 924074.” Source: Download details: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

Install it and you’ll never run into those obnoxious Office incompatibility issues again!

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