Yes, the software giant headed by one of the world’s wealthiest men is an easy target for bashing whenever we’re faced with issues involving our Windows based personal computers.  How many times have you exclaimed or heard someone exclaim in frustration, “Windows SUCKS!” whenever a computer runs into a problem?  It is probably a pretty frequent occurrence – I know in my line of work I hear it constantly.  The complaints that Microsoft can’t make a decent operating system.  The complaints that Windows just doesn’t work right.  The complaints that Windows crashes all the time….

I know a number of people that have sworn off Windows based PC’s and moved to Apple – adopting both their standard desktop O/S and their newer mobile device O/S as the base for all of their personal computing.  Unfortunately what I also hear are the complaints about these platforms as well.  Every piece of technology has its own list of pro’s and con’s.

Trust us, a hammer doesn't fix it...

The one thing that the now gadget champion Apple does get right and always has is the basic principle of – software runs better on good hardware.  In recent years, Apple has moved away from their old Motorola based RISC processing hardware sets to more industry standard and PC-friendly Intel processing platforms.  Yet, they still build their products on a more robust and sturdy hardware set and charge a premium for it.  Honestly, is their operating system and software set worth the $1799.00 starting price tag for a 15-inch MacBook Pro?  Not for the software alone – no it is not.  But they base their software ALWAYS on a robust, high-end hardware set.  Not just the latest names, but actually good, quality hardware.

Is that laptop with all the bells and whistles that you got on sale for $299.00 at your local big box store built on a robust, high-end hardware set?  If you think it is, I have some magic beans you might be interested in…

So if you’re not running Windows on good hardware, can you definitely say for certain that Windows itself is what is failing you, or could it be any one of the thousands of complex chips, devices or resident applications that have to run within Windows, dependent on that same hardware, that might be failing you and causing those blue screens?  Should Microsoft really be responsible for making their operating systems to ensure they work with every piece of hardware that comes pressed together by $.12 per day workers in Asian 3rd world countries?

I say no.

After all, Windows XP Pro has been running on my IBM ThinkPad for 4-years now and daily, I have no complaints about how my laptop works.  My desktop in my office runs constantly and is rebooted less than once every other week and is error free daily.  Solid hardware = good O/S performance.  Windows is Windows regardless of the PC you put it on; the hardware makes a huge difference.

Why are graphics workstations so expensive?  Because they are based on some of the must rugged and well made hardware in the industry.  Why do they need to be?  Because multimedia application for video, audio and graphics editing are brutes when it comes to system resources.  High-memory allocation and repetitive tasks that tax the hardware even more than the operating system.  This is the same reason Apple systems are lauded as being ideal for graphics professionals.

Getting the picture?  No pun intended, of course.

So the next time your computer blue-screens, before you start cursing Microsoft Windows as being the ruination of all things computing, think about the computer you’re actually using.  And if it was a discount special from your local big-box store, remember your current feeling of frustration the next time you go out to buy a new computer.

You don’t have to spend $1799.00 just to get quality – but if you spent $299.00 I can assure you, you got the level of quality you paid for.

The Easiest Target is a post from: @ Blog

Ok, all you banking executives can put your hands down.

And I bet if I asked what is the government doing wrong, the overwhelming majority of people would respond with, “Everything.”

I saw someone make mention, in a very, “I’m Republican and I hate everything that is not Republican,” way that President Obama has increased he debt as much in three years as Bush did in eight. Well, almost as much.

But this is almost like saying Captain Obama has let as much water into the sinking ship as Captain Bush did when he ran it into the rocks, so it is Obama’s fault he isn’t bailing the water fast enough.

No, the real problem is he is handing the buckets to the people pouring the water right back into the broken hull.

Looking for economic relief? Look to yourself first.

And I shouldn’t state this as if it were all the fault of the two Presidents. It takes a hundred people to make a Presidency, not to mention he may or may not have the cooperation of the 535 members of Congress. In the end, this becomes a governmental problem and the government has proved repeatedly that they do not have the solution. See the sinking ship metaphor above.

So if they can’t fix it, who can?

It starts at home folks. This is our country and ultimately WE are responsible for it.

Economic growth and recovery has always started at home. We elect politicians to represent us in office, but who do they invariably serve first? The special interest groups and big businesses. Why? Money. They have it.

Odds are if you’re reading this article, you don’t.

Am I calling for a revolution against the upper class? No! Well, not really. Maybe a little. But throughout history that has always been necessary at times to sort out the ills of society and make things better for the people again. It is cyclical and in today’s world where information flows at the speed of fiber-optic around the globe and travel between continents can happen in a few hours instead of months, the cycles come around faster than ever before.

Like the title says, economic ills spread like a cold: from hand to hand throughout a community. The good news is, the cure to this cold can be spread the same way.

So, what can each person do to make a difference?

First, go get a job. I don’t care what it is – if you don’t have one, get one. Unemployment is at 9.7% nationwide but there are jobs out there to be had. Get one or even, get two. Granted a lot of these jobs are going to be in national franchises, or big national retail stores and it might suck compared to the job you used to have, but these jobs are necessary to fill for the sake of the economy – and if you, the American citizens turn your noses up at these jobs, please for the sake of all that is good stop complaining about illegals taking jobs from Americans. We can deal with that in a future article.

Get a job and be a good, diligent, hard working and responsible employee. After all, a good work ethic also spreads from hand to hand.

Second, stop patronizing the big corporations as much as possible. Yeah, you’ve got it. I’m going to rail on about how small businesses are the life-blood of the economy. If you know me, you know this is my crusade! Small businesses need to grow up and become mid-sized businesses and then become competition for those larger businesses. Anytime the economy has flourished, small businesses have led the way through innovation and development. How many times have you heard a story about a big business buying a small business just to shelve the small business’s ideas and innovations? Big business is about keeping things they way they are – and the way things are isn’t working. That is advice the government should heed as well – give the small businesses what they need and you WILL feed your people.

Third, a lot of this mess was started and exacerbated by the larger banking institutions. Stop patronizing them, too. Move your money to the smaller community banks.

It might not be a huge difference, but any organization that prioritizes profits before people deserves to have some of their resources stripped from them.

Fourth, conserve our resources. Stop buying into the consumer based economy that has been built around us. Shop at your local thrift stores when possible. Plant a garden. Better yet, start a community garden in your neighborhood. Take a look at what you have and make better decision regarding what you need vs. what you want.

Fifth, make a real difference in government and get involved. Tired of the career politicians? Start at the local level where it is easier to meet and collaborate and work as a community to put someone in a government position that you believe can make a difference. A community effort can change the way government works and who is representing you and that is a difference that can pay dividends for years and years.

Hey, if Jesse Ventura can get elected as a state Governor, anyone can get elected.

Finally, buy American. In Elma, NY there is a store named “Made in America.” This store has grown in popularity nationwide. They have tripled their staff in under a year. They have been featured on national news programs. They have had hundreds of inquiries about possible franchising. They are forcing the hand of American companies to re-evaluate how and where their products are being made. “Made in America” won’t carry any products not fully made in America – American companies are seeing the success of this model and getting on board.

Look – a small business making a REAL impact on the economy and the community.

Bottom line is, we can all fret about the national debt, but there is little we can do about it directly. Too many people are content to sit back and wait to see if someone else fixes the problem; meanwhile those that claim they can fix it have only succeeded in making it worse. Revolution doesn’t have to be about guns and violence – making changes and demonstrating a willingness to put in the effort or make some sacrifices intelligently can be the most powerful weapon we have in changing our world today. Money makes the world go around – decide how you want to make the world go around and remember the old saying: insanity is the process of doing something the same way over and over again, but expecting a different result. It is time to make some changes!

Take a look at your community and see what you can do to make it better. After all, communities and the people in them are what REALLY matters.

Economic Ills Spread Like a Cold is a post from: @ Blog

Here is what else we see as a result:

• Unrefined business processes that cost time rather than save it, because time wasn’t spent on learning an application properly.
• Poor technology platform choices because the only person consulted was a 16 year old nephew that knows what technology is cool, but not necessarily what technology works for business or how to implement it.
• Poor technology performance, due to cutting corners on vital, required items such as PC hardware specs and maintenance, Operating system maintenance, security and anti-virus or internet access services, and centralizing critical data on a server or network storage device.
• Time and money lost due to inadequate printing devices and no management.
• Improper file storage and no backup or recovery solution.

One of the main things that wastes time and money is either ignoring problems until they snowball into issues, or setting untrained, inexperienced employees to the task of managing the business’s IT and with no budget to do so. Not only do they not have the training required to adequately manage and make good IT decisions, but the task of problem solving takes them away from their primary roles – the role they were hired for – which can have a negative impact on productivity throughout the organization and less visibly end up costing the company a whole lot more than a qualified IT consultant or contractor would.

Storing critical data on your Best Buy bargain laptop? Yeah... that's why they're not called Best Plan.

Lest we ignore the biggest disaster waiting to happen; leaving back-ups in the hands of the employees themselves. If your job was painting houses, would you use ladders or stand on the shoulders of your employees? And when there is a failure, what is the plan to recover from it? A single hard drive failure could potentially put a business out of business.

What is the simple solution? Treat your IT as it deserves to be treated and put it in the hands of professionals. The technology industry moves fast – let a company that keeps up with those changes advise you in what changes would work best to improve your business.

Not everything is a do-it-yourself project. Some of life’s necessities need to be handled by a professional, or the results could end in disaster.

Is your business headed for an IT disaster?

What IT Means Today is a post from: @ Blog