Tag Archives: Adobe Systems Inc.

About 1787 days ago Business Software

Free Tech Programs on the Web that Work

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One thing most small and mid-sized businesses will agree upon is the necessity to keep costs down wherever possible — but without comprising the company’s ability to stay productive and competitive. A potentially costly area is in computer software, whether it’s a spreadsheet program, anti-virus protection against malicious threats in cyberspace, or other tools entrepreneurs and businesses might rely upon, including financial applications, online backup, disc burning utilities, or photo editing programs. “It’s a great time to look for free software,” says Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director at Jupiter Research, a New York-based technology advisory firm. “There’s so much available, and quality products, ranging from office suites and Web browsers to image editors and sound recorders.” Office suites They might not offer the same feature set as Microsoft Word and Excel, but downloadable programs such as Sun Microsystems’ open-source OpenOffice.org or online tools including Google Docs & Spreadsheets are no-cost but powerful alternatives for word processing and spreadsheet management. With Google’s offerings, for example, users simply begin a new document or spreadsheet or import an existing one, including .doc, .rtf, .xls, .odt, .ods, and .csv files. You can access your documents and spreadsheets anywhere in the world you’ve got an Internet connection and Web browser — but yes, you need to be online, so you can’t work on a sales report while at 30,000 feet (at least you can sync these files with your BlackBerry, though, to continue working on the plane). “These programs will meet the needs of an average user and are going to do the job really well,” says Gartenberg. “You can do a lot for free.” Gartenberg says, however, that there are drawbacks. “You often need to be connected to the ‘cloud,’” he says, as in cloud computing, in which dumb terminals need a connection to a network of computers to take advantage of more sophisticated functionality. “They might not have all the bells and whistles found in commercial programs. And you don’t necessarily have a vendor to go to for support if you need it.” Online storage Many companies spend hundreds — or hundreds of thousands — of dollars on backup solutions to ensure company information is protected against theft, fire, flood, viruses, power surges, or accidental delete. Depending on the size of your business and the number of files you need to backup, you might opt for online storage, which can help protect from local problems. Microsoft has recently unveiled up to 5 gigabytes (GB) of free storage per month with its new Windows Live SkyDrive. Not only is this password-protected online file storage solution easy to use but you can access your files from any Internet-connected computer in the world, which can prove very handy for you and your traveling employees. Need to send large files to someone? Along with Windows Live SkyDrive, which also offers a “sharing” feature, try the free YouSendIt.com (with or without the Outlook plug-in) to “e-mail” up to 100 megabits (Mb) of data to someone. Anti-virus, anti-spyware Just as you wouldn’t leave your front or backdoor unlocked at home, your office PCs be running without decent anti-virus and anti-spyware protection, respectively. Reliable free options exist, including AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition and Avast! for antivirus protection and Ad-Aware 2008 for spyware. “AVG has a good product for those who want a free alternative to paid software,” says Adam Hils, principal research analyst for security, privacy, and risk at the Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner. “It might not have as deep a feature set as paid antivirus software but does the job for many people.” Hils mirrors Gartenberg’s cautionary note about the lack of support often found with free software, but advises to look for an online community of users, usually linked or on the product’s webpage, for answers to frequently asked questions and other troubleshooting tips. “Or, in some cases the software is free but the support costs something, which is an option for some businesses,” adds Hils. Money management and more Here are some other free programs you might want to try to help your business meet software needs: While it’s no Quicken or Simply Accounting, small businesses in need of some finance software might want to check out GnuCash, which runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The program handles the management of customers, vendors and jobs, supports double-entry accounting, and can import QIF and OFX files from other accounting programs. Put down that disc burning software package at your local big box retailer — instead, download JetBee, freebie software that can burn CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and HD DVDs. Burn commands can be added as a right-click menu option within Windows. If Adobe’s PhotoShop will break the bank but you’re in need of decent photo editing tools, consider Google’s Picasa, Adobe PhotoShop Express or the powerful GIMP. And before you buy a pricey audio recording suite, be sure to try to download and install the amazing — and free — Audacity software.

About 1848 days ago PCs, Laptops, and Notebooks

Assembling the Best Content-Creating Machine

I blog, therefore I am.  I also podcast, “Photoshop” images, and edit video.  Yeah I know, I’m no René Descartes.  And thank goodness I don’t have to be in order to capture the attention of people Googling for assistance that my business can help them with.  That’s why millions of business-minded people are diving head first into using words, pictures, videos, animated characters, and even virtual worlds.  Because the more creative you are with delivering your messages, the greater chance you have to begin conversations that lead to lasting business relationships. Now that I’m really getting heavily into creating and editing all kinds of content,  I recently upgraded from my five-year-old desktop.  I needed a machine that made it painless to run things like Adobe’s Creative Suite of tools, which includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Flash, etc.  I also needed to transfer video from my camera into the computer.  Plus I wanted to be able to create online demos quickly and easily. But like a growing number of business people these days, I was on a budget.       Here are a few things you may want to consider if you’re in need of a solid content-creating machine in the ball park of $1,500: Processor — going quad core A lot of people still are on the fence about which kind of processor to get.  The big choice seems to be between the dual core processors versus the quad core processors.  Keeping this at a high level, the quad-core chips have four processor cores in them, compared to the two in a dual core.  Generally speaking, dual core processors are less expensive, but perform on par if not better than quads for many basic functions. This is because there still aren’t a great deal of applications created to fully take advantage of the quad’s architecture.  But one area where quads do seem to measurably outperform duals is video editing.  So if you plan on using the Adobe tools mentioned above, as well as something like Microsoft Windows Media Encoder, you may want to make sure your next PC has a quad core processor.  There are many to choose from, and some models just got a lot cheaper as Intel recently slashed prices on two of their popular quad processors — the QX6700 or the less expensive QX6600 I opted for. Memory – get as much as you can Even the most novice of PC users know that the more memory you have the better.  And memory can be pretty expensive.  But if you’re planning to run Microsoft Vista, do yourself a favor and get at least 4GB of DDR2 of memory, as I did. You can get by with less, but this will allow you to simultaneously run all sorts of applications without a real hiccup.  Particularly if you want to run the kind of apps for creating multimedia content. Graphics card – see results in fast-loading and crisp images The graphics card can make a difference between having a good setup and a great setup that renders crisp images, lightning fast.  You can also spend as much on a graphics card as you can on the other parts of your machine — combined.  But even on a strict budget of $1,500 for the whole PC, you can get a great graphics card like the Nvidia GeForce 8800GT.  Without going into great detail, this card packs a wallop while costing a great deal less than other cards in its class. It’s power efficient and runs pretty quiet, which is great when you’re recording audio.  I went with the model that has 512MB of memory, but for a few bucks less you can drop down to the 256MB model.  Firewire – a necessity these days Since I’m planning to use a lot of video to grab people’s attention on the Web, it’s important to have a way to transfer the video to my new PC from my Sony HDR-HC9 MiniDV HandyCam.  And the best way to do this is through a Firewire port.  Most new PCs and laptops come with this port, but you’ll just want to make sure you have it.  Although USB 2.0 ports can transfer data at high rates, Firewire can sustain high transfer rates more reliably because of its architecture.  The bottom line here is that frames typically won’t be dropped when video is transferred from a camera to the PC.  USB ports have been known to drop frames, which isn’t good if you’re transferring large videos you plan on editing.  I can also plug in my Mackie Onyx 1220 mixer to record near-studio quality level conversations for my podcast.  Other pieces to the pie With all the content you’ll be creating you’re going to need a big hard drive to store it all.  I went with a 750GB hard drive, but you should be able to make due with 500GB.  And make sure your PC has room to grow as you’ll probably want to add a second internal hard drive strictly for storing content.  In fact you may want to pick up an external Firewire hard drive that you can carry around if you plan on using multiple machines to work on.  Another key component is the monitor.  If you plan on having a lot of applications open at the same time, do yourself a favor and get the biggest one you can afford.  It makes a big difference in productivity when you’re editing video while answering emails and shooting out blog posts.  I’m already wishing I went with the 30 inch wide screen instead of the 22 inch model.  But I still may double up later on and go with the duel monitor setup! All things considered, I’ve been extremely happy with the computer I put together for $1,600 (yeah, I went a bit over budget.).  I ended up buying the HP Pavillion d4999t with all the above components.  In fact, I think I’m all set for the foreseeable future.  Now all I have to do is let those creative juices flow. Brent Leary is a small business  technology analyst, advisor, speaker and award winning blogger.  He’s the host of “Technology… for Business $ake”, a weekly radio program on BusinessTechnologyRadio.   His popular blog can be found at brentleary.com.

About 1909 days ago Business Software

Bye Bye Vista

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Hate Vista? Join the club. Computer users have groused about the new Windows operating system ever since Microsoft introduced it last year. Some have taken matters into their own hands by removing Vista and installing XP, the operating system Vista was supposed to replace. Companies without in-house IT support are paying outside technicians to do it for them. Microsoft calls its downgrading. But small business owners like Nancy Masse who claims to be living in “a Vista nightmare,” say switching back to XP is the real upgrade. “I should have just kept my old computer,” Masse says. Tech support businesses expect to stay busy helping Windows users like Masse uninstall Vista at least until July. That’s when Microsoft expects to stop selling OEM and shrink-wrapped versions of XP. After that, computer shops and technicians who build custom machines will steer business customers to Linux or other alternatives. Companies are hanging onto XP as long as possible because of the associated costs of upgrading. Lots of applications  that “just worked on XP do not automatically just work” on Vista, says Chris Benson, president of Geeks a Knockin, a Portland, Ore., computer reseller and service company. As a result, customers pay him to install a manufacturer’s free update, or pay for the Vista version of the software if it’s out, Benson says. For a program like QuickBooks “that might run $150 on the low end to several hundred dollars if you have multiple users or need premium or specialty applications,” he says. Multiply that by a couple applications and it quickly adds up, he says. Vista puts computer reseller in the spotlight A & D Computers, a Milford, N.H., computer reseller and repair shop, got its 15 minutes in the spotlight earlier this year helping business PC users with their Vista frustrations. The shop received national attention after a picture of a sign in the company’s window advertising its Vista removal service was posted on a popular blog about Microsoft. Aaron Kaplan, who runs the 20-year-old business with his dad, Ron Kaplan, says thousands of people looked at the picture online and he got phone calls from businesses as far away as Texas wanting to talk about it. A & D Computers put up the sign last year after Vista debuted and customers started asking how they could remove it. Requests have tapered off lately, but the computer shop is still helping customers switch. A & D builds custom computers for business customers, and as long as XP is available “we’ll give people the option between the two. It’s all up to the customer. We won’t force Vista on anyone,” Aaron Kaplan says. Some small businesses have resigned themselves to living in “Vista hell.” That’s what Masse calls what happened to her after she bought a HP Pavilion PC in July 2007. Masse, owner of a marketing and direct mail business in Tampa, Fla., says Vista looks good and has some nice features. But it makes her PC crash whenever she tries to upload updates for programs like Adobe. Initially Masse thought she’d wipe the PC’s hard drive and install XP. But she quickly realized it would take days to find and upload the XP drivers she’d need for all of the programs she uses, time she couldn’t afford to take away from work. So she’s stuck. “If you can get away with not having to upgrade, do it,” she advises. SIDEBAR: What Businesses Can Do What should businesses do? Here are some suggestions from business PC experts: Upgrade hardware. Vista has higher hardware requirements, so if you’re having problems, it could be because your current system isn’t beefy enough to handle it, says Benson, with Geeks a Knockin. Hang in there. Vista service pack 1, which includes updates that could fix some problems, is expected to be out this month and will be built into new PCs beginning in April. Replace Vista. If you don’t want to use Vista but switching to XP feels like going backwards, consider alternatives such as Ubuntu Linux, some computer resellers suggest. Plan ahead. Talk to your IT vendor. Companies like Geeks a Knockin are contacting business customers to see if they want to upgrade while they can still get new machines with XP. “That way we can get them new hardware with XP and see them through for a few more years,” Benson says. Protest. The momentum against Vista has propelled more than 94,500 Windows users to sign a Save XP.com online petition. Microsoft hasn’t responded to the petition but has publicly stated it is listening to feedback from partners and customers.

About 1969 days ago Tools on Managing Technology

Essential Tools for the Solo Entrepreneur

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In last year’s Future of Small Business study commissioned by Intuit, the phrase “personal business” was used to describe the increasing number of one-person businesses, making up roughly 70 percent of the nation’s businesses.  Many individuals started these businesses to have more control of what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and where they do it from.  Mompreneurs, mothers who start their own home-based businesses to have a better work-life balance, are great examples of professionals opting to “go it alone” instead of climbing the corporate ladder.  In the past, a good number of people were forced into entrepreneurship, or in this case solopreneurship, due to layoffs and downsizings.  But now more than ever people are gladly stepping out on their own — and not just to do business with those in their local communities. These entrepreneurs can conduct business half way around the world.  With cheap, high speed Internet access, not only can you reach a greater number of people, you can do so in a more meaningful way. Just as important, you can make it easy for them to reach you. With the infrastructure in place for cheap broadband access, software-as-a-service (SaaS) is making it possible for solopreneurs to utilize tools and services that would have been unavailable to them just a few short years ago.  Marketing, ecommerce, Web conferencing, and other applications are now easier to use than ever before. Plus these tools are also inexpensive, easy to pay for on a monthly basis, and in many cases come with no long term contractual commitments. So everything is in place for solopreneurs to reach a worldwide audience. Here are a few tools the aspiring international solopreneur can use to build up their  Web credibility. Tools to build your Web presence This may seem a bit obvious, but you need a location on the Web that is yours.  However even in 2008 upwards of 50 percent of all small businesses still don’t have a website. If you’re planning on being a successful solopreneur, you’ll have to have a either a website, blog, or possibly both. For those with basic website needs, check out Microsoft Office Live or Google Apps for Domains.  For those with more complex needs like selling products online or working with affiliate partners, companies like Homestead and Web.com have made it pretty simple to set up a fully functional website quickly.  And if the website templates provided by them don’t do it for you, stop by Template Monster and pick out one.  Or use a service like Elance.com and place your web design project up for bid, at your price and timeframe.  You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to meet your price.   If you’re looking to build a platform in order to be viewed as an industry expert, it takes all of five minutes to get a blog set up, allowing you to syndicate your knowledge to a worldwide audience.  Blogger is a free tool from Google you can use to get started.  However, if you don’t mind kicking out a few bucks for a more professional looking blog, you may want to consider Six Apart’s TypePad service, used by many popular bloggers.  And if you have a little more tech savvy and are looking for even more control over how your blog looks and functions, you can step up to WordPress or MoveableType.  And don’t forget to check out WidgetBox.com and pick up a little free “bling” to your blog to add style and functionality with just a few clicks. Tools to create interesting content Whether you choose to start with a blog or a full blown website, the content you create needs to attract the kind of people you’re looking to do business with.  And people expect great content to be delivered in multiple formats, allowing them to consume it on their terms.  That means in addition to the traditional whitepapers and slide decks, you’ll need to use a tool like Adobe’s Captivate to create compelling interactive demos and puzzles.  The popularity of podcasting is making it important to create audio content for people on the go.  Audio recording software Audacity or Apple’s GarageBand, along with a USB microphone, can quickly turn you into an industry commentator.  Or you can use a nice webcam like the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, with a tool like Adobe’s Visual Communicator to create full-fledged professional looking video presentations.  And then add that video to your site, blog and YouTube as well. Tools to build your presence on the Web As important as it is to build your own Web presence, it’s equally as important to interact with people on their turf — meaning the rest of the Web.  Especially if you want all that great content you create to reach a lot of people.  According to Alexa.com, six of the top ten sites are social sites like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.  According to Internet research firm Comscore, almost two-thirds of all iIternet users visit MySpace at least once a month.  And over half of these folks are older than 35.  Facebook has over 100,000 users older than 64.  And these sites are doubling in population at ridiculous speeds. Social sites have made it easier for us to leverage our relationships and connect with people on a much deeper level than we could have imagined a few years ago.  All because it’s very easy to collaborate and share information. And this can be as simple as answering a question on LinkedIn Answers, Digg-ing someone’s blog entry, or writing a book review that everyone in your Facebook network can see. Even share your Powerpoint slide decks with the world by uploading them to SlideShare.net.    These are just a few of the tools and services you can use to build your reputation and become a world-renown, international solopreneur.  Find the ones that let you create the kind of content that help those needing your services to find you anywhere on the Web. Brent Leary is a small business  technology analyst, advisor, speaker and award winning blogger.  He’s the host of “Technology… for Business $ake”, a weekly radio program on BusinessTechnologyRadio.com.   His popular blog can be found at www.brentleary.com.

About 1969 days ago Tools on Managing Technology

Essential Tools for the Solo Entrepreneur

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In last year’s Future of Small Business study commissioned by Intuit, the phrase “personal business” was used to describe the increasing number of one-person businesses, making up roughly 70 percent of the nation’s businesses.  Many individuals started these businesses to have more control of what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and where they do it from.  Mompreneurs, mothers who start their own home-based businesses to have a better work-life balance, are great examples of professionals opting to “go it alone” instead of climbing the corporate ladder.  In the past, a good number of people were forced into entrepreneurship, or in this case solopreneurship, due to layoffs and downsizings.  But now more than ever people are gladly stepping out on their own — and not just to do business with those in their local communities. These entrepreneurs can conduct business half way around the world.  With cheap, high speed Internet access, not only can you reach a greater number of people, you can do so in a more meaningful way. Just as important, you can make it easy for them to reach you. With the infrastructure in place for cheap broadband access, software-as-a-service (SaaS) is making it possible for solopreneurs to utilize tools and services that would have been unavailable to them just a few short years ago.  Marketing, ecommerce, Web conferencing, and other applications are now easier to use than ever before. Plus these tools are also inexpensive, easy to pay for on a monthly basis, and in many cases come with no long term contractual commitments. So everything is in place for solopreneurs to reach a worldwide audience. Here are a few tools the aspiring international solopreneur can use to build up their  Web credibility. Tools to build your Web presence This may seem a bit obvious, but you need a location on the Web that is yours.  However even in 2008 upwards of 50 percent of all small businesses still don’t have a website. If you’re planning on being a successful solopreneur, you’ll have to have a either a website, blog, or possibly both. For those with basic website needs, check out Microsoft Office Live or Google Apps for Domains.  For those with more complex needs like selling products online or working with affiliate partners, companies like Homestead and Web.com have made it pretty simple to set up a fully functional website quickly.  And if the website templates provided by them don’t do it for you, stop by Template Monster and pick out one.  Or use a service like Elance.com and place your web design project up for bid, at your price and timeframe.  You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to meet your price.   If you’re looking to build a platform in order to be viewed as an industry expert, it takes all of five minutes to get a blog set up, allowing you to syndicate your knowledge to a worldwide audience.  Blogger is a free tool from Google you can use to get started.  However, if you don’t mind kicking out a few bucks for a more professional looking blog, you may want to consider Six Apart’s TypePad service, used by many popular bloggers.  And if you have a little more tech savvy and are looking for even more control over how your blog looks and functions, you can step up to WordPress or MoveableType.  And don’t forget to check out WidgetBox.com and pick up a little free “bling” to your blog to add style and functionality with just a few clicks. Tools to create interesting content Whether you choose to start with a blog or a full blown website, the content you create needs to attract the kind of people you’re looking to do business with.  And people expect great content to be delivered in multiple formats, allowing them to consume it on their terms.  That means in addition to the traditional whitepapers and slide decks, you’ll need to use a tool like Adobe’s Captivate to create compelling interactive demos and puzzles.  The popularity of podcasting is making it important to create audio content for people on the go.  Audio recording software Audacity or Apple’s GarageBand, along with a USB microphone, can quickly turn you into an industry commentator.  Or you can use a nice webcam like the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, with a tool like Adobe’s Visual Communicator to create full-fledged professional looking video presentations.  And then add that video to your site, blog and YouTube as well. Tools to build your presence on the Web As important as it is to build your own Web presence, it’s equally as important to interact with people on their turf — meaning the rest of the Web.  Especially if you want all that great content you create to reach a lot of people.  According to Alexa.com, six of the top ten sites are social sites like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.  According to Internet research firm Comscore, almost two-thirds of all iIternet users visit MySpace at least once a month.  And over half of these folks are older than 35.  Facebook has over 100,000 users older than 64.  And these sites are doubling in population at ridiculous speeds. Social sites have made it easier for us to leverage our relationships and connect with people on a much deeper level than we could have imagined a few years ago.  All because it’s very easy to collaborate and share information. And this can be as simple as answering a question on LinkedIn Answers, Digg-ing someone’s blog entry, or writing a book review that everyone in your Facebook network can see. Even share your Powerpoint slide decks with the world by uploading them to SlideShare.net.    These are just a few of the tools and services you can use to build your reputation and become a world-renown, international solopreneur.  Find the ones that let you create the kind of content that help those needing your services to find you anywhere on the Web. Brent Leary is a small business  technology analyst, advisor, speaker and award winning blogger.  He’s the host of “Technology… for Business $ake”, a weekly radio program on BusinessTechnologyRadio.com.   His popular blog can be found at www.brentleary.com.

About 1969 days ago E-Commerce

Essential Tools for the Solo Entrepreneur

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In last year’s Future of Small Business study commissioned by Intuit, the phrase “personal business” was used to describe the increasing number of one-person businesses, making up roughly 70 percent of the nation’s businesses.  Many individuals started these businesses to have more control of what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and where they do it from.  Mompreneurs, mothers who start their own home-based businesses to have a better work-life balance, are great examples of professionals opting to “go it alone” instead of climbing the corporate ladder.  In the past, a good number of people were forced into entrepreneurship, or in this case solopreneurship, due to layoffs and downsizings.  But now more than ever people are gladly stepping out on their own — and not just to do business with those in their local communities. These entrepreneurs can conduct business half way around the world.  With cheap, high speed Internet access, not only can you reach a greater number of people, you can do so in a more meaningful way. Just as important, you can make it easy for them to reach you. With the infrastructure in place for cheap broadband access, software-as-a-service (SaaS) is making it possible for solopreneurs to utilize tools and services that would have been unavailable to them just a few short years ago.  Marketing, ecommerce, Web conferencing, and other applications are now easier to use than ever before. Plus these tools are also inexpensive, easy to pay for on a monthly basis, and in many cases come with no long term contractual commitments. So everything is in place for solopreneurs to reach a worldwide audience. Here are a few tools the aspiring international solopreneur can use to build up their  Web credibility. Tools to build your Web presence This may seem a bit obvious, but you need a location on the Web that is yours.  However even in 2008 upwards of 50 percent of all small businesses still don’t have a website. If you’re planning on being a successful solopreneur, you’ll have to have a either a website, blog, or possibly both. For those with basic website needs, check out Microsoft Office Live or Google Apps for Domains.  For those with more complex needs like selling products online or working with affiliate partners, companies like Homestead and Web.com have made it pretty simple to set up a fully functional website quickly.  And if the website templates provided by them don’t do it for you, stop by Template Monster and pick out one.  Or use a service like Elance.com and place your web design project up for bid, at your price and timeframe.  You’ll be surprised at how many people are willing to meet your price.   If you’re looking to build a platform in order to be viewed as an industry expert, it takes all of five minutes to get a blog set up, allowing you to syndicate your knowledge to a worldwide audience.  Blogger is a free tool from Google you can use to get started.  However, if you don’t mind kicking out a few bucks for a more professional looking blog, you may want to consider Six Apart’s TypePad service, used by many popular bloggers.  And if you have a little more tech savvy and are looking for even more control over how your blog looks and functions, you can step up to WordPress or MoveableType.  And don’t forget to check out WidgetBox.com and pick up a little free “bling” to your blog to add style and functionality with just a few clicks. Tools to create interesting content Whether you choose to start with a blog or a full blown website, the content you create needs to attract the kind of people you’re looking to do business with.  And people expect great content to be delivered in multiple formats, allowing them to consume it on their terms.  That means in addition to the traditional whitepapers and slide decks, you’ll need to use a tool like Adobe’s Captivate to create compelling interactive demos and puzzles.  The popularity of podcasting is making it important to create audio content for people on the go.  Audio recording software Audacity or Apple’s GarageBand, along with a USB microphone, can quickly turn you into an industry commentator.  Or you can use a nice webcam like the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000, with a tool like Adobe’s Visual Communicator to create full-fledged professional looking video presentations.  And then add that video to your site, blog and YouTube as well. Tools to build your presence on the Web As important as it is to build your own Web presence, it’s equally as important to interact with people on their turf — meaning the rest of the Web.  Especially if you want all that great content you create to reach a lot of people.  According to Alexa.com, six of the top ten sites are social sites like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.  According to Internet research firm Comscore, almost two-thirds of all iIternet users visit MySpace at least once a month.  And over half of these folks are older than 35.  Facebook has over 100,000 users older than 64.  And these sites are doubling in population at ridiculous speeds. Social sites have made it easier for us to leverage our relationships and connect with people on a much deeper level than we could have imagined a few years ago.  All because it’s very easy to collaborate and share information. And this can be as simple as answering a question on LinkedIn Answers, Digg-ing someone’s blog entry, or writing a book review that everyone in your Facebook network can see. Even share your Powerpoint slide decks with the world by uploading them to SlideShare.net.    These are just a few of the tools and services you can use to build your reputation and become a world-renown, international solopreneur.  Find the ones that let you create the kind of content that help those needing your services to find you anywhere on the Web. Brent Leary is a small business  technology analyst, advisor, speaker and award winning blogger.  He’s the host of “Technology… for Business $ake”, a weekly radio program on BusinessTechnologyRadio.com.   His popular blog can be found at www.brentleary.com.

About 2000 days ago Business Software

Buy Web Apps? Webware Lets You D-I-Y

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Do-it-yourself webware programs such as Coghead, Python and Microsoft Office Live can be a cost-effective way of building a customized application platform for a small or medium-sized business. These webware applications are run through a Web browser, rather than a desktop application, and include servers, task scheduling, session management, cascading style sheets, and databases. The goal of these applications is to create interlocking computer platforms that are easy to deploy. Popular uses of these applications include database management, customer relationship management (CRM), asset and bug tracking, project and event management. So why would a small business rely on these D-I-Y technologies rather than hiring an outside consultant or buying a pre-packaged application? Advantages: Ownership — With a D-I-Y software application, you have full ownership and control of the product, so when you need to tweak a servlet, you do not need to wait on someone else. Cost — You don’t need to pay an outside programming consultant for the initial set-up; you don’t need to worry about the cost of upgrades, and there is no management fee for your server. A program like Adobe’s ColdFusion runs $1,600 and still needs to be customized, which is costly for the small business. Time — These applications will save you the consultant’s programming time since you’re doing all of the work yourself. Disadvantages: No maintenance — Since these applications are D-I-Y, you or someone on your team needs to know how to maintain the system and fish out the bugs. No upgrades — You need to ensure that your codes remain encrypted and secure to prevent hackers and system failures. How to decide whether to try webware Aaron Hyde, the founder/owner of BrewedFresh Media.com, a Web content and publishing company in Cary, N.C., says that with these D-I-Y applications users need to know if they are tech savvy enough to manage these applications on their own. “With full ownership comes full responsibility and some small businesses don’t have the time to spend programming and managing these applications,” Hyde says. He adds that these businesses may think that they are saving money, but they still need to know how to install and customize these applications. Businesses need to also determine whether they can get some of these applications from a vendor or an on-demand software provider. Farming out development and maintenance of your applications may end up being more economical when compared to the value of the time spent in-house developing and maintaining your D-I-Y webware application. Conclusion Although the folks in the IT department may look down on those of us who use D-I-Y webware applications, RSS feeds, wikis, mashups, and blogs, they are all part of the Web 2.0 revolution, the second generation of Web applications for the Web user who connects with others and participates in the global conversation. Implementing D-I-Y Web-based applications for a small business makes sense if your company has the right people on board who know what they’re doing so that significant cost and time savings may be achieved. SIDEBAR:D-I-Y Webware Applications Coghead Coghead is a Web-based application that helps users build and host custom database applications in a much shorter timeframe than traditional software development applications. Examples of Coghead’s business applications include project management, CRM, bug tracking, and dynamic programming. Pricing starts at $49/month for five users and a multi-user account is free for 30 days. Python Python is an open-source programming language that can run on Windows, Mac, Nokia mobile phones, and Palm Pilots. Companies and individuals use Python for game development, networking, databases, and bug tracking. Microsoft Office Live Microsoft Office Live is a hosted service allowing small businesses to customize their own website and Web-based applications. With Office Live, users can store and share documents via online workspaces and can efficiently track projects and company information. Three levels are available at varying monthly subscription rates: Office Live Basics (free), Office Live Essentials ($19.95/month), and Office Live Premium ($39.95/month).

About 2000 days ago Telecom and Wireless

Collaboration 101: Why You Need These Tools

Steve Karakas needs to stay in constant touch with his clients. Karakas is strategic branding consultant and partner at marketing firm Nonbox.com. The work they do is very visual, and changes to the design work happen all through the process — from concept to final proof. However, many of Nonbox’s clients are thousands of miles away, from Miami to France and Finland. In fact, his partners’ offices are also spread out. While Karakas is based in Portland, Ore., his Nonbox colleagues are in places as diverse as Wisconsin and Florida. “Often, the ability to meet physically is minimal, if not impossible,” says Karakas. Nonbox has found that the key to managing collective work over long distances is collaboration tools. Almost anything that’s possible in face-to-face meetings can now be done virtually through the various components of a collaboration tool suite. Long-distance communication is made more efficient and effective with the ability for long term teams as well as short-term project groups and outside contractors to work together in real-time. New collaboration tools from vendors Depending on the task at hand, collaborative teams need a matrix of communication tools, including e-mail, IM, forums, wikis, communal whiteboards, video, desktop sharing, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) combined with conferencing, among others. The trick is to find a vendor that offers a suite of tools that fits your business — and your employees’ — needs. “We tried other collaboration systems before we found the one we felt comfortable with, and being an all-Apple company, our choices were more limited,” Karakas says. “We don’t mind the price as long as it does the job.” Karakas expects to lower or even eliminate the cost of their collaboration needs once they upgrade to the newest Apple OS X.5, Leopard, which includes a number of collaborative tools like screen-sharing, video, and slideshows. Apple is not unique. More and more major technology providers, such as Microsoft, Cisco, and Adobe, are joining a number of startups — like Zoho, Vyew, and Yugma — in offering suites of tools meant to increase collaboration between workers. In fact, there seems to be an all-out race happening in the last year or so to create the next great collaboration platform that will juggernaut over the rest of the pack. With the numerous entries available, how can you decide if collaboration tools would benefit your company, and how to choose exactly the right one that will further your business, without draining your available revenue? How to pick collaboration tools for business All too often, companies will choose a collaboration tool based on how easy it is to implement, how much it costs, if it’s compatible with what they already use, and other technical criteria, instead of the actual needs or requirements of the job at hand, and how the end users — the employees — tend to work. If the workers aren’t going to adapt easily and really use the tools to advantage, then all the technical reasoning is meaningless. Better to understand just how your workers tend to collaborate first, and then find the tool that’s right for them. How your workers collaborate in person can provide a clue: Do your in-house brainstorming sessions involve visual work, using whiteboards or printed graphics? Then make sure your team has that ability built into their tools for online collaboration. Do you have documents being worked on by a group? Then perhaps using a sharable online word processor, or even a wiki, will streamline their tasks. Many teams are unofficially using some form of instant messaging, even if their company hasn’t implemented that tool yet. Find out if your workers are, and make sure that’s in the package as well. Does your business tend to use e-mail as the primary means of textual collaboration, through attached files and memos? E-mail was never created to replace face-to-face meetings, and in the rapidly shrinking world of telecommuting and outsourcing, it’s simply not the right tool for the job. Collaboration tools place e-mail in its rightful place as a messaging platform, just one component of successful group-think. For Greg Chambers, of Chambers Product Design, Inc., it took a couple tries with different collaboration tools to find the right fit. Some worked well in one or two aspects, but fell down in others. But through trial and error, he found the right choice for his needs. While his final choice isn’t the cheapest, Chambers has happily used the same collaboration tool suite for three years now. “We needed that ‘in the same room’ feeling on a daily basis, no matter how far away, in order to create just what the customer wants to see,” says Chambers. “It’s worth every penny to make sure I’m going in exactly the right direction for my clients.”

About 2214 days ago Business Software

Do You Need Utility Software for Your Business?

Spam, spam, spam. Digney York, a Vienna, Va-based general contractor specializing in hotel renovation, was getting inundated by it. Pop-ups, too. So Ann Versteeg, chief financial officer of the 25-employee company, took action, having anti-virus and spam-stopping software installed at the company’s offices. While Microsoft’s basic utility software is “adequate” for most things, says Versteeg, “in the areas of virus protection, anti-spyware, and anti-spam, we use third-party products.” WinZip and Adobe Reader are other programs that Digney York has installed. “Microsoft doesn’t offer an equivalent to these,” she notes. Do you need to buy utility software for your business? For many businesses, the answer is “Yes.” Microsoft’s Vista offers additional utilities, but… Just as a car needs a mechanic, a computer needs utility software to keep it running in tip-top shape. The right utility software can make your business’s computers run faster, protect them against spam, viruses and other security concerns, and customize them to meet your business’s unique needs. The operating system’s utilities package just isn’t comprehensive enough. “Operating systems come with a basic set of software, but, like I said, they’re basic,” says Gary Chen, analyst of small and medium-sized businesses with the Yankee Group, of Boston. Chen acknowledges that Vista, Microsoft’s newly released operating system, does offer more utility than its predecessor. Vista includes Windows Defender spyware, transfer wizards, reliability monitors, and better backup imaging for quick data recovery. But Chen doesn’t see small and mid-size businesses breaking out of their typical upgrade cycle to buy Vista, even for the utilities. “Most [small businesses] will wait nine months to a year to see if the improvements really play out,” he says. “And even then, they won’t be buying it just for the security.” And even if Vista is better at the basics, it still doesn’t offer WinZip or Adobe —  staples in most offices. Moreover, there is a breathtaking range of customized utility software out there tailored for business use. A search of online retailer Newegg.com’s business utility software offerings turned up over 400 items, including hundreds of security options, voice-command software, and backup products. Beware of freeware There are hundreds more options available as free downloads, everything from mouse-drawing functions to enhanced printer/photocopying programs. But most are targeted at the consumer market, notes Chen. For those freeware options with wider applications, business users should question how free they really are. Be sure to read the fine print, as many licensing agreements only allow personal use of certain software, or permit 30-day trials only. Remember also that the customer service available for a free product is likely to be limited at best. Assuming you can use these free utility software programs for your business, Chen notes that free downloads are impractical to all but the smallest companies. “If you have a couple hundred computers to maintain, you can’t be downloading something onto each one,” Chen says.  Meanwhile, purchased business utility software is often a one-time-only installation that functions across an entire office network. So, to keep your computers running their best, assess what your specific utility software needs are, and go shopping. Spending a little money now on utility software might well be worth it in the long run.

About 2214 days ago Spyware and Malware

Do You Need Utility Software for Your Business?

Spam, spam, spam. Digney York, a Vienna, Va-based general contractor specializing in hotel renovation, was getting inundated by it. Pop-ups, too. So Ann Versteeg, chief financial officer of the 25-employee company, took action, having anti-virus and spam-stopping software installed at the company’s offices. While Microsoft’s basic utility software is “adequate” for most things, says Versteeg, “in the areas of virus protection, anti-spyware, and anti-spam, we use third-party products.” WinZip and Adobe Reader are other programs that Digney York has installed. “Microsoft doesn’t offer an equivalent to these,” she notes. Do you need to buy utility software for your business? For many businesses, the answer is “Yes.” Microsoft’s Vista offers additional utilities, but… Just as a car needs a mechanic, a computer needs utility software to keep it running in tip-top shape. The right utility software can make your business’s computers run faster, protect them against spam, viruses and other security concerns, and customize them to meet your business’s unique needs. The operating system’s utilities package just isn’t comprehensive enough. “Operating systems come with a basic set of software, but, like I said, they’re basic,” says Gary Chen, analyst of small and medium-sized businesses with the Yankee Group, of Boston. Chen acknowledges that Vista, Microsoft’s newly released operating system, does offer more utility than its predecessor. Vista includes Windows Defender spyware, transfer wizards, reliability monitors, and better backup imaging for quick data recovery. But Chen doesn’t see small and mid-size businesses breaking out of their typical upgrade cycle to buy Vista, even for the utilities. “Most [small businesses] will wait nine months to a year to see if the improvements really play out,” he says. “And even then, they won’t be buying it just for the security.” And even if Vista is better at the basics, it still doesn’t offer WinZip or Adobe —  staples in most offices. Moreover, there is a breathtaking range of customized utility software out there tailored for business use. A search of online retailer Newegg.com’s business utility software offerings turned up over 400 items, including hundreds of security options, voice-command software, and backup products. Beware of freeware There are hundreds more options available as free downloads, everything from mouse-drawing functions to enhanced printer/photocopying programs. But most are targeted at the consumer market, notes Chen. For those freeware options with wider applications, business users should question how free they really are. Be sure to read the fine print, as many licensing agreements only allow personal use of certain software, or permit 30-day trials only. Remember also that the customer service available for a free product is likely to be limited at best. Assuming you can use these free utility software programs for your business, Chen notes that free downloads are impractical to all but the smallest companies. “If you have a couple hundred computers to maintain, you can’t be downloading something onto each one,” Chen says.  Meanwhile, purchased business utility software is often a one-time-only installation that functions across an entire office network. So, to keep your computers running their best, assess what your specific utility software needs are, and go shopping. Spending a little money now on utility software might well be worth it in the long run.