Welcome

I think I’m finally catching up on things.  With all the nice weather we have had over the past week, it has me motivated to get some projects done.  I love the feeling of spring.  I hope you are taking some time to get outside and enjoy the weather.

News

Here are a few things that are trending in the Tech World.

TABLETS  Apple announced their new iPad.  Tablet computers are slowly becoming the go to device for quick access to the internet and your data.  While Apple leads the way with their design and functionality,  keep your eye on Amazon, Dell, Asus and others for some innovative tablets in the coming year.

I personally own the Kindle Fire.  While it does have a few drawbacks, I really enjoy using it.  My usage will be different than yours.  I love the calendar app, the To Do list app and the ability to load reference material onto a portable device.  Soon I will be adding a free and busy calendar to my corporate website.

BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP.  When it comes to backing up your data, you are only as safe as you are comfortable.  Take a look around your office right now.  If everything disappeared, could you still function?  Is your data backed up?  Are your photos backed up?  Where is that backup?  Is it sitting next to your computer or is it offsite?  How often are you backing up?  Is that enough?  These are some of the questions I ask people when they inquire about how and when they should backup their data.  If you do not have answers to these questions, we need to talk.   There are many different plans for backing up your data, some are free.  The plan for you depends on the amount of risk you are willing to take.

SCAMS  I received a call from a client this week that was referred to a tech support company that wanted to charge him $99 to fix a problem that they found on his computer.  This is one of the biggest scams in the tech industry.  I see it on TV, in magazines, in the newspaper, on billboards, everywhere.  It’s the “speed up your computer” or “fix it over the internet” or “ you have a virus” scams.  Please don’t get caught by these people.  The idea of a quick fix is alluring, but chances are you will get way more then you wanted and end up costing you more to fix it later.  I posted an article to my corporate blog this week about the top 10 scams of 2011.  How many of them have you heard of before?  Would you get caught?  Here is a link to the article: http://www.mysmbc.com/blog/?p=9

Welcome

Spring Break is over and the kids are back in school.  Hopefully you are out enjoying this great weather and not stuck inside all day.

News

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Released – There was a lot of news over Spring Break about the release of Windows 8 Consumer Preview.  First, a Consumer Preview is Microsoft terminology for final beta before release.  This is where IT professionals, corporate IT departments, peripheral manufactures and software companies get excited about then new Windows.  This is their chance to download it, test it, build for it and start making plans to implement it.  From what I am reading, Microsoft is on schedule for a Fall release of Windows 8.   I will be talking more about features, changes and when you should be thinking about upgrading in future newsletters.

Microsoft Office 15 News – Microsoft Office 15 (2012 or 2013 depending on when its finally released) had reached its Technical Preview stage.  This is where third party vendors get their first look at pre-beta code.  There is still no official announcement for a release date, but I’m guessing they are trying to get it ready for release at the same time Windows 8 is released.  It’s going to be an exciting fall.

Microsoft Patch Tuesday – Today is Microsoft’s monthly patch date.  From what I have been reading, it looks to be a light; one critical, four important and one moderate update.  It looks like all versions of Windows and Visual Studio are getting patches.  If you have Windows Update turned on, this should happen over the next few days.  A reboot of your system might be required, so please save and close everything before leaving your computer until after the updates have completed.  If you are a retainer client, I should have you on the schedule for your monthly checkups.  For those my remote access clients, please leave your systems on overnight for the next two days and I will run all updates.

How many of these scams did you know about?

http://mashable.com/2012/03/10/top-scams/

Welcome to the new blog.  Due to some problems with updating wordpress, we decided to start over.  Please check back frequently, our plans are to post multiple times each week.