Never Underestimate the Value of a Good Reference Library

Fifth in a Series: Technology in the SOHO

Sadik Antwi-Boampong recently established the first library in a poor town in Ghana.

How many of you don’t have a reference library? You know books that support your computer technology after you finish NOT reading the manuals that came with your hardware and software. You realize that there is an industry designed around showing you how useless the manuals that came with your computer are. And you need to do your part to keep that industry thriving. Not for the industry’s sake, but for your own. Manuals just don’t tell you enough. They were never designed to give you more than rudimentary skills in using the hardware and software you purchased. You need supplementary publications and a lot of that information is available on the Internet. However, the best of these books will always cost something. Remember our earlier post: you get what you pay for…

You should keep a library of information regarding your hardware, software, network technology and other assets. Download and keep the PDF manuals and enhance them with books that may increase your understanding. I know you are not a computer person. You are <insert occupation here>. The days of the singularly dedicated IT person standing by waiting for you to call them are gone.

Okay, that is not quite true. IT people are still out there. But corporations are reducing the number of them at every turn. There are fewer and fewer of them while the number of things they are responsible for continues to grow in number and complexity. You may have to wait a while if you are working someplace that has managed to keep IT on staff. If you are a small business, you are not likely to have an IT person at all. You will have to find someone, hopefully someone good, recommended and vetted by someone you trust, or you will have to go to the phone directory and hope for the best.

When I was in the Navy, everyone onboard the ship was trained at boot camp and again at later training schools with the basics and practical skills for firefighting techniques. We were taught how to put out fires, wear breathing apparatus, use fire hoses and perform CPR.

Why you ask? Because when you are a thousand miles out to sea, you cannot call for the fire department. You are responsible to know enough to get you through the day, until you can call for help and while you wait for help to arrive. This is just as true with your computer, especially if your business revolves or is highly dependent on your computer.

Having access to a reference library will, over time, give you the basic skills to handle simple problems with your technology. 75% of all computer difficulties can be corrected by the user without serious technical support by first checking the technical guides that can be found online or with the service disks that shipped with your hardware.

Creating a directory of information about your hardware does not mean you need to do a lot of work, just copy the Adobe Portable Document files about your hardware created by the vendor of your equipment onto your computer (and a flash drive as a backup). These files are usually found on the disks that ship with your equipment. You can also usually find them on the vendor website that you bought your computer from.

If you got a computer without the original disks you may have to do a bit of work using Google to find those files. You can search by the name or model number of your computer, found on a tag in the back. Dell, Gateway and other large manufacturers have databases of PDF files on each model of their equipment. If you cannot find a specification file, you can get general guidelines from the advertising brochures that companies use on their vendor websites.

These files are often called User Guides, Technical Specifications, and Customer Brochures. User guides are what used to be printed as the User Manual. In order to save printing costs, the PDF is all some vendors are giving out now. You don’t usually need to print them for them to be useful, but it would be good to keep a copy outside of your computer just in case. Technical Specs are the hardware specifications, gear inside your particular computer, your motherboard, your hard drives, your CD-DVD drives and any other attendant information to help define your hardware. Your technical person would want this document the most. A Customer Brochure will have general information regarding a model of your computer. It is not as precise as a Technical Spec document, but it is better than nothing in the hands of a skilled technician.

If you keep up with these files, especially when you get new hardware, it will help you when you troubleshoot problems that may show up when you connect that new hardware into your environment. You can also search with precise product names because you have the specification and model numbers in your documentation. Printers are especially difficult with all of the different model numbers and very slight variations producing a forest of devices to search through when you need help with your particular device. If you can, you should create a small network map of your environment if you have more than three or devices, as this will help you if you start having network difficulties in the future. You can also convince your network technician to do the same thing for a modest price. (A platter of brownies usually does the trick. Some might want money, though. Your mileage may vary.)

You Get What You Pay For

Fourth in a Series: Technology and the SOHO

Your real mission is to get the best value for the price, and ensure the longest functioning life for your technology. The best way to do that is to buy as close to the cutting edge as you can afford. The cutting edge is usually the province of gamers and hardware enthusiasts (with rigs that cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000.)

Normal non-graphic business users can get away with significantly less power (and cost). The range for a good business rig is from $650 to $1500 for a desktop and $900 to $2500 for a laptop. You can spend more if you like, but try not to spend less. The less you spend, the faster you fall on the obsolescence curve. Buy the fastest processor and the most RAM you can put on the computer. These two elements compose the most important devices you can put on a computer and are the most important factors in determining how long your computer can resist obsolescence. Here go a few things to remember about your computer to help you enjoy it for a good long time.

1. Know your hardware and the software that you use. I know how hard it is for some people to focus on their computer’s age, processor speed, and hardware it has shipped with, but this information is very important, especially once your computer begins to age. If you bought your computer new, your shipping information should include all the most important data about it. File all the paperwork that came with your computer, you may not need it now, but two years from now, you will be thankful you have it.
2. Know how old your computer is and keep track of the day you got it. Your warranty will be based on that date. You may be able to extend the warranty on the computer before it has expired, especially if the computer’s hardware has been problematic. Know the operating system that came with it. It is likely that your computer was optimized for that operating system and will work best with that one installed. If you have a very powerful computer, it may not matter what operating system it shipped with as long as you have the driver disks needed for installs. If your computer came with a set of CD or DVDs, keep up with them! You will need them if you ever have to reinstall your computers operating system.
3. If you still have a warranty, familiarize yourself with what it covers and what it doesn’t. A good warranty covers all hardware issues and offers free over the phone technical support for software issues. A new computer should have at least one year of warranty. A new laptop should have a three year warranty (even if it costs more) because laptops are more likely to suffer problems due to their traveling lifestyle.
4. Know your basic internal hardware: Processor name, hard drive, CD-DVD drive, internal cards, (video card, sound card) RAM amount and type of peripherals attached. This helps your technical support person know how best to help you when they come to see you or when you have to get tech support over the phone.
5. If you got your computer without any specification data, use the free application System Information (Sysinfo) to make a printout of the most important data about your computer. The system summary contains the info you need. You can find Sysinfo under the Start Menu>Accessories>System Tools>System Information. You will be amazed at how much information there is to know about your computer.
6. Know the names and versions of the applications that you use the most. This helps when you are troubleshooting, updating, seeking out new versions of your software or updating your drivers. Invest some time in mastering the programs you spend the most time with. Time invested with a program pays itself back tenfold over time. You can usually find the version number under the Help Menu or under the menu option, About <insert software name here>.
7. Its time to buy a new computer if: you spend more time waiting on your computer than working on it. Let a tech come out and evaluate your system to make sure you have the most RAM and the fastest processor your motherboard can support. Let them determine if your technology is running okay, or if there are still things you might be able to do to make it faster.  If after a complete reinstall, you are still waiting, let your current computer go and embrace something new.

Pricing Estimates for PCs

User	Low End	High End	Vendors
Home Desktop – email, web surfing, simple games	$300	$600	E-machines, Acer, Gateway
Student – desktop; web surfing, email, office suites, proprietary class software	$450	$700	Acer, Compaq, Dell, Gateway
Student – laptop (mini-laptop); desktop, web surfing, email, office suites, proprietary class software	$650	$1,000	Apple iBook, HP, Fujitsu, ASUS
Entrepreneur – desktop; web surfing, email, office suites, high speed network connectivity, quality motherboard, 2 GB RAM, video card	$800	$1,300	MPCCorp, Dell, HP
Entrepreneur – laptop	$900	$1,800	Sager, Dell, Lenovo, Panasonic
Enterprise – desktop; web surfing, email, office suites, high speed network connectivity, quality motherboard, 2 GB RAM, video card, CD/DVD RAM drive	$1,000	$1,500	MPCCorp, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Panasonic
Enterprise – laptop – armored shell, quality display, high end video and sound, 2 GB RAM, video card, CD/DVD RAM drive	$1,500	$2,800	Sager, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, Panasonic
Gamer – Dual video cards, sound cards, fast processor, 4 GB RAM, video card, CD/DVD RAM drive	$1,600	$6,000	Alienware, Falcon, Velocity Micro
Graphic Design/3D Intensive – fast processor, 4-16 GB RAM, large HD	$2,000	$8,000	Apple, Dell XPS, Alienware, Velocity Micro

Computers can be even more expensive than this but it is unlikely that your average computer user will need more horsepower than we have mentioned above. A computer is a personal choice and likely to be the most important technology you will buy after your car. You (or someone in your household) will certainly a significant period of time on it, so consider it an investment in your future. Spend some money on it, but talk to someone who knows.

“Obsolete before I opened the box!”

Third in a Series: Technology in the SOHO

You have always suspected it. It is true. Your technology is obsolete before you get it out of the box.

Planned obsolescence is real (where companies plan for things to become obsolete or ineffective as quickly as possible to maximize their profits) but computers are really developing faster than any other technology that has ever existed before them.

If cars developed as quickly and as effectively as computers have, you would have a car that would virtually indestructible and drive to the moon and back on a teaspoon of gasoline! A computer is the most advanced technology on the face of the earth with over a billion manufactured parts inside of each and every one.

1. A tightly-packed stack of new $1,000 bills totaling $1 billion would be 63 miles high. In comparison, jet planes fly at 30,000 – 40,000 feet (5.7 – 7.7 miles high).
2. About a billion minutes ago, the Roman Empire was in full swing. (One billion minutes is about 1,900 years.)
3. About a billion hours ago, we were living in the Stone Age. (One billion hours is about 114,000 years.)
4. About a billion months ago, dinosaurs walked the earth. (One billion months is about 82 million years.)
5. A billion inches is 15,783 miles, more than halfway around the earth (circumference).
6. This sophistication does not come without cost. Thousands of man-hours have been spent in the design of the manufacturing process that creates computers and millions more on the programming of the operating systems that allow them to do even the most rudimentary task of booting up.

You get what you pay for.

Your real mission is to get the best value for the price, and ensure the longest functioning life for your technology. The best way to do that is to buy as close to the cutting edge as you can afford. The cutting edge is usually the province of gamers and hardware enthusiasts (with rigs that cost anywhere from $3,000 to $10,000.) You don’t have to spend what a good gaming rig costs to get a box that will do what you want.

1. Free is nice and low price is good, but sometimes, what you need will cost money and you will often pay handsomely for it. The trick is to be able to get help in deciding what something should be worth to you and what a reasonable price for that would be.
2. This does not mean you can’t economize and buy effectively or wait until a good price shows up at your computer store but this rule is one that should always be in mind.
3. Buy the best equipment you can. If after determining your needs, talking to a professional, and deciding what would truly be the best for you, you cannot afford what you need, then wait.
4. Save to get exactly what you need rather than a poor substitute. My experience after buy millions in information technology is: Buy it once and buy it right. But if you buy it cheap you’ll buy it twice. Once for what you thought would work, and then twice because you have to still buy what was truly needed in the first place.
5. Normal non-graphic business users can get away with significantly less power (and cost). The range for a good business rig is from $650 to $1500 for a desktop and $900 to $2500 for a laptop. You can spend more if you like, but try not to spend less. The less you spend, the faster you fall on the obsolescence curve. Buy the fastest processor and the most RAM you can put on the computer. These two elements compose the most important devices you can put on a computer and are the most important factors in determining how long your computer can resist obsolescence.
6. Know your hardware and the software that you use. I know how hard it is for some people to focus on their computer’s age, processor speed, and hardware it has shipped with, but this information is very important, especially once your computer begins to age. If you bought your computer new, your shipping information should include all the most important data about it.
7. Know how old your computer is and keep track of the day you got it. Your warranty will be based on that date. You may be able to extend the warranty on the computer before it has expired, especially if the computer’s hardware has been problematic.
8. If you still have a warranty, familiarize yourself with what it covers and what it doesn’t. A good warranty covers all hardware issues and offers free over the phone technical support for software issues. A new computer should have at least one year of warranty. A new laptop should have a three year warranty (even if it costs more) because laptops are more likely to suffer problems due to their traveling lifestyle.
9. Know your basic internal hardware: Processor name, hard drive, CD-DVD drive, internal cards, (video card, sound card) RAM amount and type of peripherals attached. This helps your technical support person know how best to help you when they come to see you or when you have to get tech support over the phone.
10. If you got your computer without any specification data, use the free application System Information (Sysinfo) to make a printout of the most important data about your computer. The system summary contains the info you need. You can find Sysinfo under the Start Menu>Accessories>System Tools>System Information. You will be amazed at how much information there is to know about your computer.
11. Know the names and versions of the applications that you use the most. This helps when you are troubleshooting, updating, seeking out new versions of your software or updating your drivers. Invest some time in mastering the programs you spend the most time with. Time invested with a program pays itself back tenfold over time.
12. A quick rule to determine whether its time to buy a new computer: if you spend more time waiting on your computer than working on it, it probably means it’s time for a new one. Let a tech come out and evaluate your system to make sure you have the most RAM and the fastest processor your motherboard can support. If after a complete reinstall, you are still waiting, let your current computer go and embrace something new.

Moore’s Law states that the capabilities of computer processors will double every 24 months. Yes, this means approximately every two years, a new processor comes out and computers get faster. This also means that every two years your computer loses potency, effectiveness and becomes slower. Programmers write their programs for the fastest chips possible, so when this new software is used on your computer, the program will feel slower and slower as time goes on because it was not designed for your slow computer. Moore’s Law has been effectively predicting the capabilities of processors for years and is believed to be able to do it for another ten to twenty years at least before physical limitations in the construction of materials and the limits of the laws of physics (as we understand them currently) will prevent components from getting any smaller. They might still grow more efficient but that remains to be seen. When Moore Law reaches its limit, it may be that the current design of computers as we know them may radically change, almost as much as the concept of the computer did compared to the ideas of the 1950s and now.

Weird Al’s video “All About the Pentiums” is the source of the quote for this section. Enjoy!

So You Need to Design a Small Office?

Second in a Series: Technology and the SOHO

What does the successful small office have in it that sets it apart from the unsuccessful small office? The expectations that your time in your office is as productive as possible. Having the technology you need within reach, easily configured, can go a long way toward enhancing your productivity. Your technology list should include some or all of the following:

• A good desk, with the ability to alter part of its height or the ability to raise and lower your keyboard and a good chair, also with the ability to raise or lower it as well as the ability to tilt it forward or backward
• A foot rest to place your feet on, to help give your back the support you need if you are sitting for extended periods.
• A comfortable keyboard and mouse setup if you spend a lot of time with your computer
• A large and easy to use display (or two) to help you stay organized on the screen
• A color-coded cable management system to keep your cables untangled and easily identified
• A telephone headset if you are on the phone for a good portion of your time at your desk

Technologically sophisticated

• A computer (needs internet access, either wirelessly or through a secured medium)
• A friendly operating system that works with you, not against you
• Well designed software, that is user friendly, powerful, works as part of an industry standard and reliable
• A good printer (inkjet will work, a laser printer is better) I recommend the laser printer over the inkjet printer. Two problems are deal breakers for the inkjet.

1. The first is cost. The inkjet printer is very inexpensive as little as $100, but the cost of the ink is prohibitive considering the output level of a cartridge of ink. The average ink cartridge will produce 150 pages and cost $50-100 dollars. The average medium volume laser printer can sell for as little as $300. The average laser writer cartridge costs $75 to $150 but will produce 5,000 to 10,000 sheets of output.
2. The low cost of the inkjet printer is significantly offset by the high price of the consumables (ink). A laser printer is a significant investment but the quality of output, quantity of output, the durability of the device and the volume of output are far better than the inkjet device. The only exception to this rule is if you need high visual quality (but low volume) color output. Then inkjets are only a bit more economical.
3. The second reason is output durability. Inkjet output can be destroyed by something as simple as a sneeze or cough. The ink does not penetrate the paper deeply and can be damaged by sneezing, coughing or even sweaty hands. Laser output is far more durable and stable and can be stored effectively for years.

• A fax machine (or the technological equivalent to be able to send and receive a fax). There are online services as well as office devices that will allow you to send faxes (eFax Plus for $16.95 per month is one such service). Multipurpose printer/scanner/copier/fax machines are how most offices send faxes both from their computer and from the copier/scanner surface of the glass.
• A copier (or the ability to duplicate a page successfully using a scanner and software like Acrobat). A multipurpose scanner/printer/copier often serves this function in a small office. This is not recommended for heavy duty printing as its capabilities are generally sub-par and printing is very, very expensive on an inkjet printer. You can use the scanning function to import documents into the computer, convert them into Adobe Acrobat PDF files and store them on your system, print them out, or send them to someone else as an email attachment.
• A telephone (or technology that allows you to make a phone call such as Skype)
• Buy a GOOD surge protector! Most places have questionable power quality. Old buildings are especially likely to have electrical spikes and drops in power integrity. Depending on where you live, more dangerous than just ‘dirty power’ is lightning!

1. A lightning strike can have over one million volts of electricity and can destroy your computers internal components in seconds. A good surge protector protects your computer by dying instead of your computer if a major power surge should strike your power line.
2. Quality surge protectors will defend against lightning, offer insurance coverage (at least the cost of your tech) and connect your modem or cable line as well. It will also offer spacing to support large power bricks from external devices.
3. A good surge protector can cost upwards of $30 to $100 dollars. (Balanced against the cost of replacing your tech!)

Information-retrieval friendly

• A fireproof and waterproof safe (not water-resistant) to protect your backup files (either on digital analog tape, CD/DVD, a small removable hard drive or on a USB flash drive) and your most important office documents; property deeds, insurance policies, warranties, etc. All of these documents and gear, should be stored in watertight sealed bags within the safe, (just in case the seal is not perfect).
• Good filing cabinet or storage for reference materials, a bookmark system for storing important websites. I recommend the Google Toolbar online book-marking feature or the program Evernote (in working beta format) from the Evernote Corporation as online bookmark libraries. The bookmarks are not stored in your computer, they are stored online, so they are available to you anywhere you have access to a web browser.
• Good asset management of all IT related documents, software, receipts, and warranties. A secondary external hard drive to back up your important files or a tape storage media system if you have a server or small enterprise environment and need to backup more than one computer. See Rule number 7, Backing Up.

Technological luxuries would include:

• An iPod or other MP3 storage device – if the device has a large hard drive, it can function as another form of data storage for files you might need to transport such as PDFs or PowerPoint presentations.
• A portable computer, portable printer, a webcam to create a conference call environment and a small removable hard drive – for the road warrior
• A smart phone or personal digital assistant – If you communicate mostly by email, this is the way to go. The smart phone or personal digital assistant or PDA allows you to connect to your office and get your email and respond without the bulk of a laptop computer. Like any technology it will have its limitations and should be a part of an entire office plan.
• A USB flash drive (2-4 gigabytes, with security features if possible) – One of the best technologies to come along in decades. You can store your data, you can install your programs and run them from the device, you can even store entire operating systems (Linux, easily, Windows with some work) on it and use them from the USB drive.

1. The only weaknesses of this excellent storage medium are its size (so easy to forget somewhere or lose by accident) or its interface (USB is ubiquitous in new systems but not always responsive in older ones such as Windows 2000 or Windows 98.)
2. There is a question of security as well, since if you lose it, you lose all of the data it contains.  New vendors are creating tools to encrypt your data automatically and several of these devices are already on the market. Kingston DataTraveler Elite Privacy Edition is a good example of such hardware.
3. You can also use software to encrypt the data yourself but this is not without its own inherent risks. If you lose your password, you lose access to all of your files. If the password is not robust, it won’t keep anyone out. If it’s too robust, you may forget it. I have included PassWordSafe on the CD for you to experiment with as a password manager.

Remember, you get what you pay for!

• Free is nice and low price is good, but sometimes, what you need will cost money and you will often pay handsomely for it. The trick is to be able to get help in deciding what something should be worth to you and what a reasonable price for that would be.
• This does not mean you can’t economize and buy effectively or wait until a good price shows up at your computer store but this rule is one that should always be in mind.
• Buy the best equipment you can. If after determining your needs, talking to a professional, and deciding what would truly be the best for you, you cannot afford what you need, then wait.
• Save to get exactly what you need rather than a poor substitute. My experience after buy millions in information technology is: Buy it once and buy it right. But if you buy it cheap you’ll buy it twice. Once for what you thought would work, and then twice because you have to still buy what was truly needed in the first place.