This week, I wanted to tell you about what wasn’t hard.

I connected the iPhone to our Exchange server and synced my email, contacts and calendar. It took me about as much time to do that as it’s taking me to write this sentence.

I couldn’t believe how easy it was. The only thing remotely difficult was knowing our company’s server address (which you can easily get from your IT company or lookup on a similar device with a colleague). I went to the email settings, put in my email address, username and password and then our Exchange Server address. Then I waited.

Five minutes later it was done. And it just worked.

Last time I hooked up a new Blackberry I had to get one of our techies to log onto our Blackberry Enterprise Server. They needs to put in an activation password on the Blackberry. Then they needed to troubleshoot why the contacts and calendar were not syncing perfectly both ways. The process took way longer and it’s one we go through for our clients frequently.

With an iPhone it just worked. Ahhhhhhhhh…

Here’s the other great thing – when we set up iPhones for our clients, we almost never hear about issues again. The only time is when passwords have changed, but that’s a really easy fix.

I tried a couple days this week of just using the iPhone and not my Blackberry. It was quite comfortable.

The only weird thing was the email works as a “pull” instead of a “push”. That means I need to open up the email and tell it to check for new email. That might bother some people. To me, it felt like I was actually gaining back some more control.

I can decide when I want to check my email and I don’t need to react to a red flashing light on a Blackberry.

Now the only thing is about the typing… I’m happy to report I’ve gotten much better. I’m still not typing out blog entries on it but I’ve been pleasantly surprised how quickly I’ve gotten used to the keyboard.

Next week I’ll write the 3rd and final part of this series with my decision on whether to stick with Blackberry or ditch it for the iPhone. It ain’t looking good for the folks at RIM right now…

People who are patiently waiting, hoping for a Blackberry renaissance. Hoping that the Canadian company we have supported for so long will somehow find its way again and start coming out with devices that are ones to talk about, instead of just adding a few new features that try to play catch up to the iPhone.

We are the people who get sneered at by all those Apple groupies. Especially when we travel down to the U.S., people look at us funny. “Really? A Blackberry? Those things are still around?” we hear.

Well, I’ve gotten fed up with waiting. I’ve taken one small step. I haven’t abandoned my Blackberry altogether but this weekend marked the beginning of the end for the device I’ve relied on for the last decade.

I’ve borrowed an iPhone from a friend and over the next couple weeks I will be trying out what a transition will be like.

I plan to document that transition here for others, because I get asked about smartphones and tablets more than any other technology these days.

I hooked up the iPhone yesterday. It connected to the wireless in our house without a problem. I tried out the camera and was impressed.

I wondered if I could get all the apps and music my wife (an Apple groupie) has bought onto my iPhone. She took the iPhone from me and a few minutes later came back and it was done.

My Blackberry and my Playbook still doesn’t have any music on it.

Apps for my two-year-old to play with? Check. They were quickly downloaded too without any extra cost. I’ll be downloading that potti training app I talked about in a previous blog as well.

The one thing everyone frets about with a move to the iPhone (and I’m not an exception) is the keyboard. After all those years using a Blackberry, will I be able to type on the touch screen?

Well on that, it’s going to take some time. It took me 10 minutes to post my status on Facebook. I clearly need practice.

It’s not like typing on my Blackberry, where, I’m actually typing out this blog right now.

Hmmmm… We’ll definitely need to see about that one.

I’ve been able to play with the iPhone a lot over the weekend. I even played a couple games (I’m awesome at Risk in case you were wondering) but I refuse to get sucked into Angry Birds. I might never get anything done if I download it.

Now this week’s test will be using it for work. Tomorrow I will see how hard it’ll be to get my email, calendar and contacts on it.

I’ll try our line of business software on it. I’ll see if I can be without my Blackberry and just use an iPhone a whole day.

Time to see what you got iPhone.

I’ll let you know how it does.

Please delete the below email immediately – it will likely lead to a virus or malware being installed on your machine if you click on the link.

From: System Administrator [mailto:info@support.com]
Sent: March-12-12 1:23 PM
Subject: Warning Your Mailbox Has Exceeded

IT Service,

You have exceeded the limit of 23432 storage on your mailbox set by your WEB ITSERVICE/Administrator, and you will be having problems in sending and receiving mails Until You Re-Validate. You have to update by clicking on the below link and fill out the information to validate your account.

Please Click the link Below or copy paste to your browser To Validate Your Mailbox

[LINK DELETED]

Warning!!!
Failure to do this, will result in limited access to your mailbox.
failure to update your account within Three days of this update notification, your account will be closed permanently.

Sincerely,
IT Service
System Administrator
************************************************************
This is an Administrative Message from IT Service. It is not spam. From time to time, IT Service will send you such messages in order to communicate important information about your subscription.
************************************************************

Of course it can easily be argued that technology does provide a return for your money. If you don’t think so, try communicating with your clients and market without e-mail or tracking inventory with pen and paper.

And the right technology applied with a smart strategy can certainly give any business owner a strategic advantage in faster delivery of goods and services to customers, greater productivity, lowered production costs and the like.

In fact, there aren’t too many businesses that can operate without a few core IT applications. But the reality is that your bank account is going to be a bit lighter after you install that new upgrade or technology, so how do you know if that IT upgrade or project is worth the money?

The right way to look at the true price of any IT project or upgrade is to look at TCO or “total cost of ownership” and not just the PRICE of the project or upgrade. For example, if you buy a car, the price of the car is only one cost of owning it.

You also have to consider insurance, gas and routine maintenance like new tires and oil changes to get an accurate look at what you’ll pay. Therefore, the total COST of owning a car is far more than just the price tag – and a cheaper car up front can end up costing more in the long-haul if frequent repairs are needed.

In IT, the same principle applies. You have to look at the TOTAL cost of a particular IT decision, not just the price tag, when comparing options.

For example, the real cost of not upgrading a network may actually be higher than spending several thousand dollars on new equipment and upgrades when you accurately assess the total cost of maintenance, service fees and poor performance.

These days, many business owners are looking at “going to the cloud” because they want to save money. And in many cases, it will do just that, but the cost savings will often come in the form of cheaper devices, less maintenance and low (or no) upgrade costs over a 3 year period – not in a month to month service fee.

So before you say “No” or “Yes” to that next IT project, make sure you are taking into consideration the TOTAL cost of your decision, and make sure you are talking to a true pro who understands the difference between the price of something and the total cost.

If you are interested in learning more about Cloud Computing, please click here to see more details on a webinar we are holding on March 8th.

This is one of my favourite secrets about how we manage our company’s social media updates…

Hootsuite is an online aggregation tool that allows you to review and manage all your online postings and presence through a simple, easy to use interface. All in one place, you can manage your company’s Twitter accounts, your personal Facebook account, your company Facebook fanpage, your LinkedIn posts, your WordPress blog entries and even more. You can even assign rights to any of your accounts to other team members without ever giving up a single password.

Other helpful features of HootSuite include:

• Monitor social mentions of your name or company wherever they happen.
• Pre-schedule posting to happen any time in the future.
• Easily post your message across multiple social media sites with the simple click of a button in your HootSuite portal.
• Create custom reports to see where your traffic goes and what is working.

Google is attempting to combine the most popular features of Facebook and Twitter into a centralized social hub where users have the ability to share content with specific groups of people called “circles.” As users build these circles, they’ll be able to see web sites that members of their circles have +1’d (is that a verb?). There’s also a group video chat feature called “Hangouts,” and a user-defined topical news feed similar to Twitter’s hashtag called “Sparks.” While positive (or even negative) reviews from users online have always been viewed through the lens of skepticism, Google+ will add a level of validation to those reviews since you only see the +1’s from people in your circles.

While it’s still too early to tell how Google+ will affect your company’s SEO, it’s safe to assume that Google will reward web sites that get lots of +1s because of the web’s evolution to become more “social” and user driven.

The bottom line to all of this (and a key ingredient to any company’s success online OR offline) is good old fashioned customer service. These days it’s easy for any disgruntled customer to post a negative comment online. And once it’s posted, it’s practically written in indelible ink. Get enough negative reviews and your reputation will definitely take a hit. Additionally, it’s important that you monitor your company’s reputation online and encourage happy clients to post positive comments about you.

While there are a number of advantages to a VoIP system over a standard phone system, the biggest reason companies switch is to save money. It’s not uncommon for a company making a lot of long distance calls to save 50% or more on their phone bill. Of course, there’s no guarantee of this since there are a lot of different VoIP systems and the amount of money that you will save really just depends on which system you buy – and in some cases, no savings will make up for poor sound quality or dropped calls. So what are the pros and cons?

The upside is that most business class VoIP systems will offer you the same features you’re used to with your current phone system, including call forwarding, call waiting, conferencing, voice mail, and (depending on what your current phone system is) additional features like the ability to share data, applications and even transmit video in addition to voice so that you can see and hear the person that you are talking to.

Of course, there are some downsides you need to consider before jumping on the VoIP bandwagon. The biggest problem with VoIP systems is the sound quality. In some cases, it’s a bandwidth issue that will cause problems, but it’s not the only one. Since the voice data is being broken up into a series of packets and transmitted over the Internet, there could be moments of silence, broken voice patterns, echoes, delays and static sounds. Sound quality is the #1 complaint most VoIP users have about the service.

Another issue is that VoIP systems cannot be used if there is a power or Internet outage. A traditional phone can function during a power outage because the phone company transmits electricity over the phone line. This electricity is used to power the phone (cordless phones being the exception). That way, even if the power goes out, the phone will usually still work because the phone’s power is coming from a different source.

From our research, the best scenario to use VOIP is if you have a high speed fibre internet line in your office. If you’re using a cable or ADSL connection, we find that it often just doesn’t work well and what happens is the VOIP provider blames the internet connection and the internet company blames the VOIP provider.

In the end, you’re the one who gets frustrated and it hurts your business. If you see a really good business case for going VOIP, then look at it but tread very, very carefully.

Computers are a staple requirement for most employees in most businesses today, much like a desk and a phone.  The  difference is that desks and phones are designed to last for many years, computers are not. After three years, computers are mostly obsolete due to advances in both hardware and software technology.  After four years, a computer has worn out and is likely to fail; compare it to a 16 year old car – would you rely on it as your primary source of transportation?

Old computers cost you money.  How you might ask? Consider an employee that loses 6 minutes per day due to computer related issues, this works out to 30 minutes per week and 2 hours per month.   For a $15/hour employee, the loss to your business is $30/month.

The average business desktop on a 36 month lease is $30/month, the same as the lost time, but with the added advantage that the cost can be written off as an expense!  Further consider that employees that work on outdated computers are often frustrated and less productive than ones that have current hardware.

When you factor in increased moral, efficiencies of current software and faster hardware, a new computer can actually make your business money! If you are interested in learning more about how to replace your old computers, call us at (416)913-8998, or email us at blogs@tdcnet.ca.

If you think using ‘password’ as your password is no big deal, then it’s time to rethink.

Security experts have recently compiled a list of the worst passwords users can choose, and ‘password’ (not surprisingly) is at the very top of the list. Weak passwords make your information more vulnerable simply because hackers can guess them. It may be easier to pick a password that you don’t have to think about, but it’s a choice that you may come to regret.

To help you avoid common password choice mistakes that users make, management application provider SplashData has compiled a list of the 25 worst passwords to use:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

Make a smart password choice

Experts advise using a combination of letters, numbers and symbols when creating your passwords, and to avoid things that anyone might be  able to guess, such as birthdays and anniversary dates. Passwords with eight characters or more are safer and it’s best to use different passwords for different accounts and websites. Use a password manager to help you keep track of all of your passwords if you’re finding it difficult to remember them all.

No matter how sophisticated your security system is, a weak password gives hackers and online thieves an advantage. Helping all the users in your organization understand the importance of password strength will help you secure the IT systems in your organization.

If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us so we can develop a comprehensive and custom security blueprint that meets your specific needs.

1. Get a better backup system – you need to ensure your critical business data is properly protected. If you’re still using tape drives or not employing the latest professional-grade backup software, there’s no bigger New Year’s resolution that you should have. You should have both an onsite and offsite backup of your data that allows you to restore files fast. Your backup should also be image-based, not just file-based. Data loss can happen from human error, hardware/software failure, fire, flood, theft or other disaster. Every hour that you’re without your critical business information could cost you thousands of dollars.

2. Examine Cloud Computing – do you wonder if Cloud Computing is right for you? In many cases, parts of your IT infrastructure can easily be put in the cloud to save you money and give you better service. It is important to talk to someone who can honestly assess your situation and tell you the pros and cons of making the switch to the Cloud. It’s not for every business but it’s worth exploring closely.

3. Get rid of those clunky old computers – we know that no one really likes spending money on new computers but think about how much unproductive time your staff spend waiting for their slow machines to boot up, load programs or restart when they freeze. You can get an entry-level business desktop now for as little as $600. How much is it costing you having your staff sitting around waiting for their computer to load programs or dealing with computer problems?

4. Upgrade that slow, productivity-sapping server – new servers are light years ahead of the ones made three, four and five years ago. Your company is less productive and less profitable with a server that’s slowing everyone down. Plus, you can now use new technology to reduce the number of servers in your business and therefore lower operating costs.

5. Change network passwords – most businesses regularly have employees leave, including those who were involved with supporting the computer network. Changing passwords regularly will improve security.

6. Do a full security review – we’re seeing all sorts of increased threats from hackers these days and you need to make sure your security approach is up to date. There are many parts to your security that you should examine including password strength; anti-virus software; and getting a strong firewall that will prevent intrusions, attacks and other malicious activity.

7. Provide Help Desk support to all your staff – the last thing you want is your team wasting time on computer problems. Given them access to Help Desk support from techs that can remotely fix their issues and make them more productive.

8. Recycle old computers – you probably have a bunch of old computers and monitors sitting in a storage room in your office or under someone’s desk. These are just taking up space and should be picked up to be recycled. There are companies we work with that specialize in recycling old computer equipment so it doesn’t end up in a landfill somewhere. And it’s free!

9. Reduce power usage – make your company greener and lower your power bill by taking a few power-friendly steps. There are many ways automation can help with power management. You should also upgrade older equipment which has higher power usage such as those CRT computer monitors, which are both power hogs and very hard on your eyes. Consolidating servers can save tons of power too.

10. Perform regular maintenance on your computers and network – downtime and annoying IT problems can be prevented with regular maintenance on your computers and network. If you’re not doing this now, it’s time to start!

Interested in Implementing These for Your Business?

Start the year right with a full audit of your network to develop your IT plan for the year. Our Network Audits are a 27-point review of the security, performance and reliability of your network and include a full hardware and software inventory, plus checks on the health of your server.

Contact us at (416) 913-8998 or visit www.tdcnet.ca for more information!