Whether you have invested or are getting ready to invest in Windows 7 and Office 2007, you cannot afford to approach the migration willy-nilly. The switch promises to be like no other, especially if you are upgrading from XP. The user interface is radically different, and your employees will hit snags just trying to figure out how to perform basic tasks. How you handle the inevitable learning curve depends on your preparedness -- and it may dictate future budget allocations, even the health of y…
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Posted by Jen Darr on November 6, 2009 at 10:52am —
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Remember dial-up? The squealing, pinging sounds that indicated a connection was imminent?
Imagine having to do your job using such obsolete technology today, when wireless is standard and photocopies can be made with a handheld computer. If you worked in one of the United States’ 66 nuclear power plants, that is precisely what you’d be working with.
According to a recent article on
Wired.com, the Nuclear Regulat…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 23, 2009 at 11:04am —
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Clean, polished correspondence is important, especially when you are the boss. As simple as such a goal sounds, Word nevertheless makes it a challenge to achieve. Here’s a rundown of some recent PC Helps formatting tips to help you along.
Stray Bullets (Word 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007)
When using bullets or numbered lists in a Word document, the list items should be neatly aligned with minimal effort. But when the bullets and numbers do…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 23, 2009 at 11:03am —
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Recently, MSNBC featured a story with this headline: “
Lack of computer skills foils many job-seekers.” The article highlighted how many of those included in the recent record-high unemployment stats don’t have adequate enough skills to file for their unemployment benefits online, let alone compete in a fierce market for jobs.
But it’s not just the jobless who are struggling with rudimentary computer skills. E…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 23, 2009 at 10:59am —
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The tech world’s knickers have been in a bunch these past few weeks. While Mozilla (makers of the Firefox browser) and Google (makers of everything else) are sniping at each other over Google’s new Chrome plug-in, the anti-Microsoft camp is warning of the dangers of the Ribbon. There is an upside: Out of all that griping we have two new tech terms (new to us, at least). Read and enjoy.
Ribbonize: (verb,
derogatory) To remove universally familiar software menus and put in newfang…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 5, 2009 at 3:35pm —
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The Wall Street Journal never fails to address topics that seem obscure but are awfully relevant to current affairs. This time the paper turns its attention to the
growing battle over keyboard layout due to the proliferation of full-keyboard smart phones.
It’s QWERTY versus Dvorak and the fight is getting ugly. That is, as ugly as a keyboard layout melee can get.
A little background: The first typewriter’s key…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 5, 2009 at 3:33pm —
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Recently, I was reading our customer comments and one in particular caused me to pause: The customer stated that he didn’t know Outlook personal folders could fill up.
I thought to myself, “Where do you think all that mail goes? The great .pst in the sky?”
That was the bad-mannered former software consultant in me, and I quickly reminded myself everyone has their own areas of expertise — some technical, some not.
Case in point: I know someone who is a carpenter and general contractor. He had…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 5, 2009 at 3:31pm —
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Recently, while reviewing the quality assurance surveys we conduct with our customers, I noticed a common thread in the comments: the importance of following up.
Here’s a sample:
“You were awesome and this follow-up e-mail speaks volumes of how wonderful your service was.”
And another:
“I was absolutely thrilled when I got an e-mail from [the consultant] the next day with tutorials. I thought that was amazing customer service. Customer service is dead these days. Your company renewed my fait…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 5, 2009 at 3:30pm —
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With the imminent release of Microsoft’s newest operating system, Windows 7, the tech world is full of chatter about the new OS, the old OS, and that
other OS. Windows 7, they say, is more polished and faster. XP, however, is getting its share of good ink; some publications have made the case for why businesses will stick with it.
Regardless of which OS you opt for, there is at least one guarantee — that is, that you will face a migration eventually. The more information you have, the…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 5, 2009 at 3:17pm —
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Our help desk handles many “how to” calls, which often have straightforward solutions. Sometimes, however, the requests that come in require a little more creativity from our consultants.
On a recent call, consultant Bradley Lyman found an ingenious way around a potential hurdle.
Lyman received a call from a customer asking for help copying a YouTube video for a presentation. There was one snag, however; the customer did not have rights to use the video. His presentation, which he was schedule…
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Posted by Jen Darr on October 5, 2009 at 3:00pm —
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With all the complaining about social media sapping the productivity out of the world’s workers, Twitter ruining the English language, and smart phones extending the work week to 24-7, it’s nice to read a story or two about technology’s blessings.
Two recent examples that caught my attention:
1. Information Week’s “
GPS Can Save Drivers 4 Days Per Y… Continue
Posted by Jen Darr on September 14, 2009 at 3:32pm —
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics had
two big announcements recently: The nation’s productivity rose at an annual rate of 6.6 percent from April through June of this year, and labor costs fell by 5.9 percent during the same time period. The former is the largest increase in six years; the latter, the deepest drop in nine years.
It’s good news for managers who have endured budget-cutting headaches for what seems an eter…
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Posted by Jen Darr on September 14, 2009 at 3:28pm —
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Some of our customers are so surprised that our consultants are friendly, they send us letters like this:
"Now I must tell you that I'm not the brightest when it comes to technical-type stuff. I'm sure I asked a lot of ‘silly' questions, and probably had to ask them more than once. [Your consultant] never made me feel stupid and demonstrated the utmost patience and kindness when dealing with me. I have had to call back on a number of occasions and requested to…
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Posted by Jen Darr on September 14, 2009 at 3:17pm —
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Help desk techs are geeks who use jargon to make themselves feel superior, and delight in torturing users with basic computer skills. Customers who call help desks are governed by superstition, are unable to understand basic logic, and think that computers will take over the world some day.
Chances are one of those stereotypes will bother you. And they should.
A
recent post in TechRepublic titled "10 Habits of Super…
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Posted by Jen Darr on September 14, 2009 at 3:10pm —
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About a decade ago, when I worked for a once-prosperous ISP, I signed up for a Microsoft Access class provided by the company's training department. I daydreamed of the databases I would create and the data I could mine.
The three-day class was taught at company headquarters in Northern Virginia, so I flew from LaGuardia to Dulles. Factor in the dip in my productivity due to being out of the office, and throw in my two-night stay at a Reston hotel, plus meals and taxi rides, and it added up to…
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Posted by Jen Darr on August 27, 2009 at 1:14pm —
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It's reassuring to reach an actual human being when calling the help desk. It's even more of a comfort nowadays, when automated menus are standard and pressing "0" often loops you back to the beginning of the options menu.
That's one of the main takeaways from a
recent commentary piece by Mike Schaffner published on Forbes.com, and it's something we hear all the time f…
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Posted by Jen Darr on August 27, 2009 at 1:08pm —
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I've asked the question on this blog before, but I have to ask it again: Are you still waffling about supporting mobile devices, and, in particular, the iPhone?
You had better get it together. The heavies are starting to weigh in.
Last month, Forrester Research released findings from a study that said IT departments are moving closer to supporting all mobile device platforms. Although BlackBerry (upwards of 60 percent) and Windows Mobile (40 percent) still take the lead, according to the study…
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Posted by Jen Darr on August 27, 2009 at 1:04pm —
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According to an Aug. 12, 2009,
Computerworld UK article, six out of 10 CIOs were not able to measure the financial effect outsourcing had on their company. The result has been a whole lot of pointed fingers, canceled contracts and dissatisfied customers.
Stop clinging to the old rules, which said that if you hired an outsourcer with a pretty SLA, things would work the…
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Posted by Jen Darr on August 27, 2009 at 1:01pm —
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If you've noticed a change in attitude at the supermarket meat department lately, you're not imagining it. Some big-name grocery store chains have begun a meat education renaissance, training their employees on everything from the difference between cuts and grades to the many ways to prepare and cook meat.
It's an effort to make supermarket butchers more personable, more knowledgeable, according to a…
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Posted by Jen Darr on August 20, 2009 at 1:03pm —
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In an
April post, I looked at the financial impact human error can have on a company. With news of Best Buy's recent
web site pricing doozy, it seems only fitting to revisit the issue.
Last week, Best Buy shocked customers with a whopper of a deal: a 52-inch Samsung HDTV for $9.99. Orders came in and credit cards were…
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Posted by Jen Darr on August 20, 2009 at 1:00pm —
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