The irony, of course, is that I had spent most of the previous week researching this column on how to extend your PC's battery life while you're on the road.

In a 2002 survey by chipmaker Intel, 57% of laptop users said they wished their batteries lasted longer. And that is wishful thinking, according to Isidor Buchmann, president and founder of Cadex Electronics in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He suggests that although batteries become about 10% more efficient every year, the average PC's power needs also increase by about the same amount. Result: The average battery life is still painfully short (just three to four hours for most laptop models).

But you don't have to end up sitting in a waiting area, staring at a darkened screen

The Weakest Link in Network Security
By Peter Alexander

Your small-business network may be protected by firewalls, intrusion detection and other state-of-the-art security technologies. And yet, all it takes is one person's carelessness, and suddenly it's as if you have no network security at all.

Let me give you an example. In March 2006, a major financial services firm with extensive network security disclosed that one of its portable computers was stolen. The laptop contained the Social Security numbers of nearly 200,000 people. How did it happen? An employee of the firm, dining in a restaurant with colleagues, had locked the laptop in the trunk of a SUV. During dinner, one of the employee's colleagues retrieved an item from the vehicle and forgot to re-lock it. As fate would have it, there was a rash of car thefts occurring in that particular area at that particular time, and the rest is history.

Read more about Network Security

It's Not Easy Being Green 
Written by: David Tan, CTO

Green IT is one of those industry catchphrases we love to use so much. Essentially it is the practice of using computer resources in a more efficient and environmentally conscientious way. This can include everything from reduced power consumption to recycling and safe disposal. The trend is growing fastest among large enterprises, but clearly this is something everyone can do, even the smallest business and home user. As a caveat, going green can also mean more green for the company – in the form of cost savings or tax benefits. Reducing power consumption can clearly lead to lower utility costs. Server consolidation can free up valuable office space for other revenue generating functions. Many states are offering incentives for the safe disposal of old computer components – and some that aren’t are starting to enact regulations mandating the practice. This is something you need to be thinking about for your business immediately.

Here are some tips you can think about to help get you started:

There are three problems with relying on paper. First, there is no fault tolerance for paper, except another piece of paper – ironic, isn’t it? Second – paper can only be in one physical location. Both of us can’t look at the client invoice at the same time. How many times have you looked for information to find out it was on someone else's desk? Third – paper can only be filed one way, and therefore only retrieved in the way it was filed. That kind of limitation has real effects on how well a company can function – should invoices be filed by number or by client? Should they be filed by date for easier removal to an off-site location?

Technology today has given us many great alternatives to printing to paper

            May 2008

 

Employee Spotlight

Matt VanderPloeg

Matt grew up in Michigan and moved to Arizona 5 years ago.  He is the latest addition to the InSwift team and provides Level 1 tech support for our clients.  He is a A+ and Network+ certified technician.

The InSwift team is delighted to have such a great addition.

 

Tip Of the Month

If you have a HP computer with a AMD processor, don't install Microsoft's Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

Find these and other issues with SP3 HERE at Microsoft's TechNet.

The trouble with learning
from experience is that
you never graduate.

~Doug Larson