Archive for the “Technology Solutions” Category

Have you ever experienced an above average level of noise or hum coming from your computer? This noise is usually caused by cooling fans or poorly installed components. I’ve received queries from clients who are fed up with the noise coming from their legacy PC’s and they make noise a central issue when upgrading to new systems. Noise is even a bigger issue in the SOHO business segment, where smaller office sizes and cramped quarters seem to make computer fan noise even more pronounced. This more pronounced noise level, may contribute to making employees more annoyed and generally less enthusiastic about the workplace. There is also a psychological component to the noise problem in that in makes the owners of the technology feel that they bought worthless junk or that they overpaid for their technology.

Just How Do You Fix Unwanted PC Noise?

Well, there are many ways to address the noise problem in your technology. There are many solutions out there, so it is important to correctly identify the source of your problem. However, I have outlined some possible scenarios that will help get you started.

Regular Desktops and Small Form Factor Workstations from Major Manufacturers — In my work I’ve seen quite a few entry level desktops and small form factor workstations that exhibit excessive noise problems. In many cases the noise would become more pronounced, the older the machine gets. With some older HP and Compaq SFF workstations, sometimes the cooling fan in either the power supply or the CPU cooling fan is the culprit. Replacing these components with a higher quality component will fix your noise problem.

Non-Branded Machines Built To Order — These types of machines are kind of scary in that you never know what you will find in these boxes until you open them up. These non-branded machines are usually built by some no-name discount computer stores or dis-reputable people trying to cash in on someone’s naivety. I’ve seen quite a few of these come in for repair and they are all sloppily made with poor components. The case is always shoddy, and how things are installed are shoddy as well. And in all cases, people have paid high sums of money for this worthless junk. With machines like this, a repair is never worth it; just salvage what you can and get a quality machine.

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When speaking with many business owners who are contemplating a web presence for their company, I find that in many of them usually have unrealistic expectations as to what a website can do for them and a shaky understanding of how much web development actually costs. In a lot of cases they would site over-hyped articles in trade magazines and whiz-bang sales pitches from slick marketing firms as the foundation to their beliefs. Unfortunately, many of these articles and tactics from marketing firms reinforce the idea that a website is easy, maintenance-free, inexpensive and is the magic pill the will cure what ails your business.

As with anything in life, a truly exceptional website takes a lot of investment in both time and money. Taking advantage of the latest technology and designing your site with the future in mind will add great value to your site. Yet unrealistic expectations still persist among business people who are new to web services. In order to avoid web services sticker shock and the paralysis that goes along with technology unawareness, it best to educate yourselves on the common fallacies that exist with web services.

Common fallacies of web services

SEO strategies are equivalent to sales prospecting — As simple as this sounds, for many business people it is not an obvious statement. Many hold the view that seach engine optimization is the most critical component to sales prospecting and the only reason to have a web presence — this is simply not true. In order for any SEO strategy to work successfully, you need a website that has a wealth of content that is valuable to your customers as well as a business strategy that is sensitive to your customers needs. SEO strategies should not be looked at as a sales prospecting vehicle; they simply don’t work that way.

SEO strategies as a replacement to good content — It is a mistake to look at any SEO strategy as a shortcut to having a robust web presence with compelling content. Any SEO strategy alone, will not keep users coming back to your site. There is simply no replacement to having a website that is designed in a usable way and is a valuable service to your users. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a perception in the marketplace that technology seems to get cheaper and better every year. In fact marketing initiatives of many purveyors of technology are very good at creating buzz about what is the latest and greatest and what is the “must have” technology items.

For a lot of small business owners that I work with, it seems that the price-point for technology is usually the selling point. However, I am always quick to point out to my business partners that there is a lot more to the message than the marketing. No matter how attractive pricing becomes, it is very important to focus on the total cost of ownership or TCO.

There are many factors to consider when trying to determine the total cost of ownership of a piece of technology. For example, let’s say we are looking for a desktop workstation for our business — there are a wide variety of additional potential costs that should be taken into account.

Finance Charges – During a typical 3 – 4 year product life cycle of a desktop workstation, many small businesses will find it advantageous to lease for the term of the entire product life cycle. You don’t pay for the entire product up front, but over the course of your lease, you will pay additional finance costs that are built into the lease — that increases your TCO.

Migration or Setup - If your new workstation is a replacement for an existing workstation, there will need to be a migration of your data and environment to the new system. If the workstation is a new system, there will need to be a setup of your required software, environment so that everything works with your systems. Read the rest of this entry »

With the ongoing price drops with notebook computers aimed at the consumer retail market, it is no wonder that notebook sales are out pacing the desktop PC market. I see it quite often with my business clients which prefer replacing traditional desktops with a notebook computer. The advantages they site are space savings and the ability of taking their work home with them, without having another computer at home. When small business users meld the requirements for their technology between their professional and personal lives, they are sometimes forced to make compromises.

One of the common complaints that I hear from users making the switch from their desktop to a notebook PC, is that the sound of their notebook is not as robust as they would like. I always have to illustrate to these users that the internal speakers on their business notebooks are very small and lightweight and as such are not made for high-volume multi-media escapades. Now it is true that there are multi-media notebooks on the market that have good sound and even sub-woofers, but these notebooks tend to be more on the larger and heavier side; a big issue with small business road warriors. Still, these larger multi-media notebooks don’t compare with the audio quality from traditional consumer electronics.

For general listening, I recommend that my clients get PC speakers from Logitech, Creative or other companies. They are inexpensive enough that you can have a set in your office and at home. For most users, a good set of PC speakers is more than enough for listening to webcasts, the occasional DVD and listening to music. Notebook users should generally experience the same sound from these speakers as when they were using a desktop. The good thing about these types of speaker packages is that it all comes complete in one box, like a complete kit. The bad thing about them is that sometimes the connections are proprietary and if one satellite speaker blows or doesn’t work, you usually have to get a whole new set of speakers.

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