PROS

1. Email and Calendar are very intuitive. Email has been in the palm of our hands for years with devices such as the iPhone, Blackberry, and Smartphones. However, the iPad takes mobile email to a whole new level. You can scan through previews of each email and select the one you want to read with ease. Another great feature is that when you add applications such as PDF readers, Pages, Quick Office, or iAnnotate, you have the option to open attachments in any of the installed corresponding programs. The Calendar has multiple views, and appointments are color-coded depending upon the type of calendar. For instance, if you have multiple calendars – Personal & Work. Adding an appointment with attendees is simple. Syncing with Microsoft is a no brainer.

2. The ability to take notes with applications called PenUltimate and iAnnotate. I take notes in different digital notebooks and then email the page after the meeting with follow-up, etc. I also like that with the application, iAnnotate, you can actually sign documents without having to print them out. This is critical for someone who needs to sign a lot of contracts or edit/fill out a lot of PDF documents.

4. Ample Battery Life. I got on a plane leaving San Francisco at 7:30AM and got arrived after a layover to Philadelphia at 7:00PM and still had 20% battery life remaining. I would say I worked on the plane, but I mostly played Card Shark.

5. Landscape Feature. The landscape feature makes reading attachments, books, and websites easier.

6. The App Store. Having the App Store readily accessible makes solving problems convenient.

7. Pay for what you need. You are not locked into a contract – you can buy bandwidth as you need it. For example, if you want to go on vacation and you don’t think you will use a lot of cellular that month, you can just stop it. Bandwidth is purchased in Unlimited or 250MB packages.

CONS

1. Flash is unavailable. I realize that this feature was avoided to increase battery life and performance, but I hate that I need to boot up my laptop to surf certain websites.

2. Pages is OKAY. This application is practical for someone who is just creating a basic document. However, if you are trying to edit a word document, it just simply doesn’t work. The document imports with a totally different look and feel.

3. The External USB Keyboard is not efficient. You have to initiate the keyboard every time you want to use it. The feel of the keyboard and the use of it with applications not specifically created by Apple work, but not consistently.

4. A few design frustrations. The glass screen easily displays fingerprints, and the Apple case is durable, but makes it hard to access the side controls.

CONCLUSION

All in all, the iPad is a great tool, but many day-to-day functions leave a lot to be desired.

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Spyware

In response to the staggering growth of spyware, a small industry specialized in anti-spyware software has emerged. Running anti-spyware software has become a widely recognized element of computer security practices for computers.

For instance, statistics have shown that nearly 90% of all computers are affected by spyware. To put it in perspective, that is virtually everyone with an Internet connection!

Protect your personal information and stay safe online by following these quick and easy security tips provided by LAVASOFT:

1. Be sure to have anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-spam and firewall software, and always have Windows auto-update turned on.
2. Only go to websites you trust. Be cautious of free, file-sharing programs, which are often bundled with sneaky spyware.
3. Read all End User License Agreements and Privacy Statements carefully before installing new software.
4. Never click “Agree” or “OK” to close a pop-up window – that can trigger spyware. Only click on the red “x” in the corner or click on Alt + F4 to close the window safely.
5. Update your software regularly to make sure you have all the latest security updates.
6. Use an updated Web Browser to make sure you’re taking advantage of its current safety features. Firefox or Opera are great alternatives that may help lower your risk of malware attacks.
7. Adjust your Browser security settings to Medium or Higher.
8. Do not let other people use your computer.
9. Be wary of e-mail attachments and links in both e-mail and instant messages. Use caution even when the message appears to come from a safe sender, as identity information in messages can easily be spoofed.
10. Secure sensitive online information through file encryption software.
11. Be cautious about giving out your personal information to anyone. Find out why the information is needed, and if it’s absolutely necessary to give out.
12. Shred digital documents that contain personal or financial information before discarding them. This prevents hackers from bypassing information that has not been permanently deleted from your computer.
13. Choose secure passwords with both numbers and letters. Never use birthdays, family or pet names.
14. Never log into your bank or other financial accounts from public computers or from wireless networks where login information can be stolen.
15. Stay alert to the latest scams. Awareness and caution are effective methods to counter fraud.
16. Share security tips you learn with friends and family.

In addition to the advice above, please check out the list below for specific software programs that we currently recommend to our clients:

Malwarebytes has developed a variety of tools that can identify and remove malicious software from your computer. You can download a free version or the full version, which unlocks more enhanced features.

UnHack Me is specifically designed to detect and remove Rootkits. A rootkit is a program that installs a “backdoor” on a computer or network, giving a hacker full control. It hides files, registry keys, and network connections from your eyes. This program is free, but is usually for more advanced users.

Lavasoft Ad -Aware combats the most complex forms of malware, protecting you from viruses, spyware, trojans, rootkits, keyloggers, password stealers, and much more. Minimal strain on system resources and advanced real-time detection technology.  A free version is available along with Business, Pro and Plus.

AVG is an anti-virus software that keeps you safe from harmful sites, provides protection against viruses and spyware, and has automatic updates to ensure consistency and efficiency.  There are both free and upgraded versions.

Spy Sweeper provides the most comprehensive anti-spyware solution available – continuous monitoring, advanced detection, automatic defense updates, and free customer support.  Starts at $39.95/year for up to three computers.

Please keep in mind that these programs need to be updated regularly, and not all of them are needed simultaneously. Only one is sufficient depending upon your needs, and some programs can identify more malware than others. We do recommend, however, that if you were to get an “infection” on your computer, that you should run a combination of these programs to ensure all viruses are found and removed.

Surf safely. Secure your network.

What is the other half?  Testing. Testing does two things for your recovery strategy: it identifies weaknesses, and it alerts you to misconceptions about your overall strategy. Weakness in a plan is just that, weakness.  It is common to see people try to gloss over or even hide deficiencies that appear during testing.  Don’t be afraid of the results and don’t avoid them.  Fix them. Finding hidden problems is the point of carrying out exercises and scenarios.  It is so much easier to find solutions to issues in a non-production environment than it is to do it when you are in a real situation.

Misconception is another concept that can be lost in testing.  What I mean by misconception, is you might think that you have an air tight plan.  You know all of your dependencies and have accounted for every possible problem.  Don’t be so sure.  I have carried out testing on a system and had it go smoothly with little issue.  Then the next time I conduct the same test, it fails because one of the dependencies has changed and no one thought to update the plan.

If you have not previously worked in a Disaster Recovery capacity, creating plans and testing scenarios may seem like a difficult task.  It can be.  I will not try and tell you it is not.  Much of the information that is available is not easy to find, and many times what you find is only a portion of an entire concept.  Having no clear starting point and some (but not all) of the information you need, can lead to endless frustration.

One way to make sure that all of your time, effort, and money are not wasted is to employ the help of an outside resource, like a consultant or vendor.  Assistance with planning and testing from an outside company has many advantages: They are 100% focused on your needs and goals.  This means that you will need minimal internal resources to assist. They have gained invaluable experience from working in multiple environments.  Many times an experienced IT services company can provide solutions and offer insights that you would never have thought of yourself. Everything that they offer equals times savings, which can add up to cost savings over time.

Vendors are in the business of supplying solutions. If you purchase a backup or recovery solution from a third party, they will often offer additional services that fall right in line with planning and testing those solutions.  Some vendors will even work with existing recovery plans and integrate their product solution right into it for you.  It is in a solution provider’s best interest to have complementary services like this.

Photo Credit: Network 24

Matthew Shallue, Disaster Recovery Specialist and Systems Administrator, Financial Industry.

You can find more of Matthew’s work on his blog, Disaster Admin.

Hi there.  The name’s Robroy.  You don’t know me, but – can I ask a personal question?  It’s about your medical history.

Have you ever had amnesia?

No?  Me neither.  In fact, I have never even met someone who had it.  And yet, rare as it is in real life, amnesia must be one of the most commonly dramatized illnesses in all of Hollywood.

Goldie Hawn lost her memory in Overboard.  Mickey Rourke lost his memory in Angel Heart.  So did Keanu Reeves in Johnny Mnemonic.  And Jim Carrey in … what was that one called … Spotless in Seattle?

Wouldn’t it be great if we had amnesia?  If more companies caught a little case of it?  Think of the benefits.  We could wipe out all of our old excuses.  Starting with the software and technology that runs and grows our business.  You’d take one look at our server racks and say, “Why are we hosting our stuff on company hardware, instead of in the cloud?”

You’d be absolutely right.  With cloud computing, we could get more computer power, instantly, on demand, at a fraction of the cost.

And nobody could say, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it!”  Because we wouldn’t know that.  We’d have amnesia.

Right?  That Hitchcock classic, Spellbound.  Gregory Peck.  Let’s list some more in the comments below.  Who else had amnesia?

Rob Macdonald, Partner & Senior Consultant, EntreQuest.

Read more Robroy at www.robroysblog.com

The local weather report said “blizzard by week’s end.” As the week progressed, folks were even calling this the “Storm of the Century,” and “Snowmagedeon.” After much consideration, I sent a company-wide e-mail Thursday night, informing them that Friday would be a snow day. You see, a “snow day” for us means that all phones are forwarded, all systems are available via online desktops, and it is business as usual. Our teams can collaborate via Instant Messenger, and we can share files and computer screens using tools like Skype and GoToMeeting, etc. Short of meeting with clients face-to-face, we are still able to conduct face-to-face meetings via webcams and GoToMeeting. I even conducted my first Skype to Skype video interview for a potential Project Manager. I am happy to report she has been hired.

Now, what does it take to create a successful “snow day?” Well, besides 27 inches of snow, you must examine all areas of the operation to determine what job functions simply can’t be done without being present in the office. Additionally, consider what functions can’t be done without utility services to your office. You may ask, “Why start from what can’t be done?” Well, most folks take care of the obvious elements, but forget things like phone forwarding, remote access, client notifications, and alternative methods for simply getting business done.

This snow day has caused us to review our current plan for what we call “work from home,” and determine what worked and what didn’t. I highly recommend, while it is still fresh in everyone’s mind, to have a meeting with key personnel to discuss the impact of the storm on both the business and your employees. Did your employees feel connected? Connected with a purpose? Did they feel out of touch? Or, did they fall right in line?

An idea that resulted from our recent snow day was the ability to train our professional staff online, while working from home. Think about it. Everyone who is in production, accounting, or finance, needs to refine or update their skills every so often. What better time to do this then on a snow day. Another idea was the thought of creating a list of items to do on a snow day. This is a list compiled of things that would be ideal to finish, but are not necessarily high priority. For example, we are currently testing an Online Forms Tool. I spent last Friday working with the service provider in California to set this up. This is something that probably wouldn’t have gotten done without a snow day.

So I ask, how productive was your company’s snow day?

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Let’s relate this to Golf.

How many times have you been invited to play a new golf course that you have never been on (I apologize if you are not a golfer, but if you are not that is your problem)? First of all, it is exciting to play a new course, and second, you know nothing about the course except what you have heard from someone else.  You step on the first tee, and you bomb the ball right down the middle –“because that’s what you do.” However, when you get to where your ball should be, you find that it rolled into the pond. How did that happen? Well, if you would have visited the course before, you would have known that it was only 220 yards to the water, and you could have hit your 3 iron 200 yards. Instead, you bombed your Driver 240 yards smack dead into the pond. Why did that happen?  Because you didn’t have a plan of attack to play the course – you just showed up, and decided to try and “figure it out.”  You think to yourself, “Oh well, I’ve got 11 more brand new golf balls fresh out of the pack.” Is that the way you would treat your business? How many times do you miss before you look at what is right and what is wrong? That’s all fine and dandy for a Sunday golfer but what do the Pros do? Let’s take a look.

Before Pros even play the course themselves, they send out their caddy to walk the course and take precise measurements. They do this by walking the course forward and backwards. Now, if the goal of a golfer is to get the ball into the hole, where should they start? The hole of course! Looking up the fairway from the hole paints a completely different picture. You are able to see where the course designer strategically placed all of the “obstacles.” However, you may not have noticed these same “obstacles” from the tee box.

Once the caddy has his measurements, he takes this knowledge and directs the Pro to hit the ball from the tee to a very specific location on the fairway (with intentions to set him up to be in the best possible position to hit his next shot onto the green).  The Pro must trust all the information that his caddy has given him so that the only thing left for him to do is to visualize where the ball is going, and then commit to that beautiful swing that he has spend countless hours perfecting. He hits his next shot onto the green, sinks his putt, and makes a birdie. Now, he has to repeat this process 17 more times.

Is this what your sales cycle feels like? How prepared are you for challenges that you can not foresee? Most importantly, how accurate is the information that you have available to you to make good business decisions?

Mike Gillett, Account Executive, GoBeyond IT

I found a tool called Corelytics created by CoreConnex. Corelytics is an application that will enable me to determine what my goals are for the year by using company data from QuickBooks. Hooray! It also compares my financial data against thousands of other service providers just like me.

Corelytics was up and running in about 30 minutes, and I was able to import my QuickBooks data with a few simple steps. There was a need to interact with a Corelytics representative; however, the process was virtually painless. Amazingly, in rapid fashion, I’m now able to evaluate and dissect my QuickBooks data from a much different perspective. This application has already helped me make some key decisions, and it has only been running for 1 day! I am happy to report that the cost was $349.00 for setup, and $49.00 per month.

The second application is Get Satisfaction. This application enables customers to rate your service. It also provides clients with a support portal that has a lot of user interactions. I am excited about Get Satisfaction because I truly think this will help us to connect with our clients. Community based support and client ratings are rapidly becoming the only way people buy a product or service. We will be trying Get Satisfaction, along with other functions of our business, to increase client satisfaction and loyalty.

I am amazed at how fast one can find and implement ideas using applications delivered from the Cloud. The two applications listed above would have taken thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and a lot of trial and error to execute in years past. Instead, in the time it takes me to finish a good meal, I have two applications that I couldn’t be happier with. I think you’ll agree.

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT

Essentially, Green Computing is the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems—such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and networking and communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment (whew!). In a nutshell, it is the term used to denote the efficient use of resources in computing.

Now, I’m not the tree-hugging – let’s start a revolution – peace, love & happiness – type (not to sound stereotypical or anything – trust me, I’m not judging). But, I do believe that even the smallest changes and commitments in the way we use computers and technology, do make a big difference in both the environment and our business models. Whether it’s turning off your monitor when it’s not in use, refurbishing and reusing old computers, or server virtualization – we must be proactive in our efforts to help pave the way for green computing. After all, every little “click” counts.

Our Green Resolution for 2010
Over the past six months we embarked on a study which proved that 50% of the time systems were logged on, they remained idle. In an effort to enable our clients to do more with less, we recognized the need to provide them with the same quality of technology, in a quantity that makes sense for their job function. As a proud supporter of Green Computing, GoBeyond IT is proud to announce the launch of the Hosted Hourly Desktop: a fully-hosted Microsoft Desktop that give companies the flexibility to pay for what they need, when they need it. The Hosted Hourly Desktop provides current and future clients with an opportunity to right size their technology – conserving energy and their budget.

What’s your green business resolution for 2010?

Lindsey Paolucci, Marketing Manager, GoBeyond IT

Upon further review, you need to dig deeper to see why their process works so well.  Let’s take a look. Jimmy Johns is a Culture and a way of doing business. Jimmy Johns success lies in the preparation to take care of the customer through proper planning and staffing. When you enter the store you are greeted immediately.  The cashier asks to take your order. Next to the cashier is the “breadman” who listens to the customer and begins to prepare the bread by cutting and garnishing the sandwich. He/She passes the sandwich to their teammate who puts the required meat on the sandwich, and then passes it to a third teammate who wraps it up for the customer. Meanwhile, the “breadman” is listening for the next order. This is all performed in sixty seconds or less.

How is it performed consistently? Two breads, seven meats, one cheese, and freshly prepared tuna.  No soups, no salads, no toasting of the bread, no hot foods. If you want cross selling, you can get chips, pickles, cookies, fountain sodas and bottled water.  That’s it! Jimmy Johns will not even offer you a bag or napkins for one sandwich.  They want you to go around to the end to get it yourself (but you would never notice that unless someone pointed it out for you).  Most people walk out the door with the sandwich in hand, no bag or napkins – paper product savings adds up! The process is so seamless that you don’t care about napkins or a bag. Your meal is delivered to you fast and it tastes great.

Why does this model work so well? SIMPLICITY! They are not spending millions of dollars trying to develop the next great bottled fruit spritzer with extra virgin pomegranate juices to try and capture 1/10th of 1% of market share.  They take the approach from Field of Dreams: “If you build it, he will come.”

Now, you might be asking yourself -”how does this relate to my business model?”  Have you spent so much time trying to invent, market and sell the next latest and greatest thing to come along, or are you focusing on your core competencies that establish and still run you business profitability today?  Are you lean and mean so that as the economy turns, you are poised for growth?

Our company is like the Jimmy Johns of the world in that we provide a simplistic approach to your technology. We focus on one thing and one thing only – we make sure your IT works, and works well.  We don’t do websites, we don’t do SEO, we don’t sell software! But, we will take care of your IT so you don’t have to. We deliver it fast, seamless, and I promise your meals will taste better as a result if IT!

Mike Gillett, Account Executive, GoBeyond IT

Now, I wonder how long it will be before cars are connected to the Cloud? In essence, I am already connected to the Cloud (or am I?) with BMW Assist, which could have rebooted my car remotely. But, how long will it be before cars are just another computer on your network? I know it’s a stretch, but in the future when I enter a destination, could my email calendar automatically sync with my car’s navigation system with directions already in play? If I am headed to a meeting and hit unexpected traffic, could my car send an email letting them know I am running late?

Imagine if cars could correlate information from the Cloud to your trip. For example, what if you’re someone that needs to drive long distances for work, but you have a health condition. Imagine if the Cloud could calculate your drive time and provide you with alerts as to when and where to pull over and take a break.

Imagine if gas stations could publish their prices on the Internet (some already do), and while you’re traveling and your car gets low on gas, not only does it find the lowest price, but your navigation gets updated with directions. There is already an application for the iPhone that helps you find nearest gas stations and their prices, why couldn’t your car do the work too?

What are the limits for cars and the Cloud? If my car isn’t truly connected to the Cloud, then I can’t wait until my lease is up!

Rick Crane, President & CEO, GoBeyond IT