The Slice

New Business Broadband Plans!

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 16:24:39 GMT

TOAST.net is excited to offer 4 new Business Broadband plans

New Fiber for Business Plans!

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:18:47 GMT

TOAST.net is excited to announce 3 new Business Fiber Plans

New Residential Fiber Plans!

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 17:11:03 GMT

TOAST.net has added two new residential Fiber Internet plans!

Switch to Universal Pricing

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 19:58:08 GMT

Last Chance for a Low Price on DSL or Fiber!

This coming Monday, Aug. 17th, we will be switching to universal pricing -- one price for all DSL speeds (around $65) and one price for Fiber (around $90). So if anyone is thinking they could use one of our basic service plans, now's the time to order. For example:

DSL - 12 Mbps for $43.95/month - Great for seniors on a fixed income. Plenty of speed for surfing the web, checking email, and streaming for 1 or 2 TVs.
Fiber - 60 Mbps for $45.00/month - Awesome solution for just about any household. Note that fiber is a new technology and only about 20% of the country can get it.

Check your address to see what service you qualify for and order by Sunday, 8/16/20! This is your last chance to lock in the speed and price of a great DSL or Fiber plan before they are grandfathered!

Google Meet

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Wed, 20 May 2020 21:34:25 GMT

Now Free for Everyone!

Home Users

Google Meet, the premium video conferencing service used by businesses and schools, is now free for everyone! All you need is an email address to sign up and get started at https://meet.google.com .

Meet is similar to Zoom, but doesn't require you to download and install additional software. Plus you can have up to 100 participants and meetings can last as long as 24 hours (1 hour effective 10/1/2020). See Google's blog post for more info.

Organizations

Groups and Teams can also use Meet to create video meetings that help coworkers connect one-on-one, collaborate as a team, and more.

Current G Suite customers -- have free access to Meet's advanced features, such as the ability to live stream for up to 100,000 viewers within the domain, through September 30th, 2020. In addition, you can add additional Meet users without paying for incremental G Suite seats.
Net yet a G Suite customer? Contact TOAST.net and we can set you up with access to Meet's advanced features as well as Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides for modern collaboration.

New Features

Google has recently made several enhancements to Meet. These new features improve meeting quality and user experience.

See up to 16 Google Meet participants at once with tiled layout.
Present high-quality video and audio in Google Meet.
And more!

See this blog post for more info on the new features.

Work from Home (part 2)

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Fri, 01 May 2020 16:30:05 GMT

Free Apps that can help you WFW

Google - Meet

Meet is video conference software, similar to Zoom. To help businesses, schools, and people around the world navigate remote life, Google is making Meet free for everyone with availability rolling out over the coming weeks. See Google's blog post for details.

SolarWinds - Take Control

You may need to run applications off your PC or server at the office. In that case, SolarWinds makes makes an easy-to-use application that allows home users to remote desktop to their PC in the office. It's secure and doesn't require special hardware, a static IP, or VPN. We're offering this software free of charge for 90 days. Please contact us if interested.

Work from Home

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 22:05:24 GMT

Technologies to help employees work remotely...

This week we've taken quite a few calls from companies asking how their employees and staff can work from home (WFH). We're happy to offer several WFH solutions to help organizations mitigate health risks to employees and customers.

TOAST.net understands how important it is to keep your employees connected, productive, and safe during this unprecedented pandemic. Here are the services we have to help your business through this difficult time :

Business Portal is a 'home page' for your browser that improves communication and efficiencies within your organization. It's a private Intranet that features company news, announcements, links to vendors and cloud apps, an employee schedule, and more! We offer this at no charge to our customers. Visit https://start.toast.net
Google's G Suite - TOAST.net is an authorized reseller of G Suite, a cloud-based collaboration tool featuring Email, Calendar, Chat, Hangouts (video conferencing), and Drive. You can create files, documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with just your browser (no software to install) and share these with fellow workers, customers, and vendors. More info
Remote Desktop - an easy-to-use application that allows home users to connect to PCs in the office. It's secure and doesn't require special hardware or a static IP. We're offering this free of charge for 90 days.
High-speed Internet for Home - We provide residential Cable, DSL, and Fiber Internet service . So you can pay for your employee's Internet connection on your business invoice.

Please contact us if you're interested in any of these services. B est wishes to everyone to stay healthy, safe, and upbeat as we socially distance ourselves for a quick end to this situation.

Note: Our customer support team continues to work their regular hours. We operate support teams in multiple locations and, while there may be some disruption at certain locations for a limited time, overall we do not expect any significant change in access to support.

Cut The Cord With Unlimited Data

Mon, 28 Jan 2019 20:21:00 GMT

In the month after Christmas, we’ve seen a high demand for our Internet service with unlimited data. Much of it is from people wanting to use their new streaming device (Fire Stick, Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, etc.) to cancel their expensive cable TV service. This is commonly referred to as “cutting the cord.”

There are many low-cost streaming services (Hulu, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, Netflix) to replace cable, but it can be challenging to get it all working. Fortunately, there are some great websites to help you out — we recommend the Cord Cutters News. Be sure to check out their introductory article on cord-cutting for some great tips on how to get started and make it a smooth transition.

And if you’re not using TOAST.net for Internet, check out our Cable, DSL, and Fiber service . Cord-cutting is a great way to save money, but it needs a lot of gigabytes, so our service with unlimited data is the perfect match!

Fiber Expansion

Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:37:00 GMT

TOAST.net is pleased to announce fiber Internet service in 12 new metro areas:

A fiber Internet connection from TOAST.net lets you connect faster for gaming, streaming, and video-conferencing. Eligible residential customers can choose from three plans which have the same speed up/down: Fiber 60, Fiber 100, and Fiber 1000

Fiber service is also available to businesses. Fiber lets businesses take advantage of new solutions like cloud computing, video conferencing, collaboration tools, and VPNs. See Fiber Internet for Business plans .

This brings our total footprint to 10 million locations across 84 metros in 21 states. The network, powered by AT&T Fiber℠, is expected to reach 14 million locations by mid-2019.

Start Page Updates

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 21:38:00 GMT

Moved Facebook link from top bar to the Popular Sites section. Added Yahoo Finance to the Personal Finance section. Yahoo Finance is one of the largest business news web sites in the United States by monthly traffic.

Fall Guide to Sports Streaming

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 14:36:00 GMT

One of the last lingering reasons why many cable customers keep their overpriced subscriptions is to have access to the best live sports. With so many sports networks out there, cable often seems like the best option for watching sports. Thanks to the revolution in streaming video, though, it’s no longer necessary to pay for cable to keep up with all of your favorite sports. There are many different streaming services which offer live streams of popular sports networks and even streaming services devoted entirely to sports. Here’s a rundown of some of the easiest ways to stream the most popular sports this 2018-2019 season.

How to Stream the MLB Playoffs Without Cable
The MLB Playoffs are heating up. Do you have a way to stream the baseball postseason? Luckily, it’s easier than ever this year to watch the MLB Playoffs online without cable . The majority of the games this year are being broadcast by FOX, FS1, and TBS. Check out the MLB postseason schedule for a rundown of which games are on which channel. Luckily, these are available on most of the live TV packages offered by streaming services.

Hulu with Live TV offers live streams of more than 50 popular cable networks including FOX, FS1, TBS, and even ESPN – all the channels you need to stream the 2018 MLB Playoffs. Hulu Live starts at just $40 a month and includes Hulu’s massive on-demand library and a 50-hour DVR. Hulu Live works on most major streaming devices and Smart TVs, and can even be viewed on mobile devices. Try Hulu with Live TV free for 7 days to see if it’s a good fit for your household.

For customers looking to cut the cable but retain a cable-like experience, DIRECTV NOW is a good option. DIRECTV NOW offers a huge package of channels, a DVR, and an interface which should be familiar to former cable subscribers. Packages start at $40 a month and can be upgraded with loads of packages offering even more sports content. Most importantly, DIRECTV NOW hosts streams of all the channels you need to stream every game of the 2018 MLB Postseason. Give it a shot with a 7-day free trial and see why so many cable cutters are switching to DIRECTV NOW.

How to Stream the NBA Season Without Cable
The 2018 NBA season kicks off later this month, so now’s the time to find a way watch the NBA online without cable . Luckily, in addition to Hulu Live and DIRECTV NOW there are a wide range of streaming services you can use to stream every NBA game without the need for cable.

Sling TV is a perfect go-to for streaming the NBA season and just about anything else on TV. Sling TV is becoming one of the most popular streaming services thanks to the incredible value it offers. For just $25/month, Sling TV offers more than 30 channels and the option to upgrade with many different add-on packages. Sling TV packages offer ESPN and ESPN2, TNT, NBA TV, regional FOX Sports and NBC Sports carriers. Best of all, Sling TV works on just about any device, making it a great choice for catching the NBA on the go.

For streaming any sport, fuboTV is a great choice. fuboTV was designed from the ground up for sports and features more than 75 of channels of sports from around the world including NBA TV. When it comes to streaming the NBA, fuboTV is best for watching local affiliates of the major networks for regional games. However, fuboTV does have a few gaps in its channel coverage, so you might miss a few games. Still, for $45 a month, fuboTV offers more sports coverage than any other streaming service around. Like most streaming services, fuboTV offers a week-long free trial.

How to Stream the NHL Season Without Cable
The 2018 NHL regular season just started , and this year you don’t need cable to catch all of the on-ice action. There are more ways than ever to watch the NHL online without cable using streaming services which offer live TV. Aside from the options listed above, there are a few newcomers offering channels that stream the NHL without cable.

Despite its name, PlayStation Vue does not require a PlayStation game console and works on a wide range of devices, smart TVs, and web browsers. PS Vue offers close to 50 live streaming channels for $45/month, making it a full-on cable replacement that even works on up to 5 simultaneous devices with one subscription. PS Vue doesn’t yet have the NHL Network, but does offer NBCSN, NBC, regional FOX Sports, and regional NBC Sports, making it a great option for watching the NHL without cable.

Cut the Cable and Start Streaming Sports Online
As you can see, there are now a wide range of streaming services which now offer live streams of TV networks over a huge variety of devices, allowing users much more flexibility in how they watch sports. All it takes is a stable high-speed internet connection; since you want to stay up-to-the-second when watching live sports, it’s important to have the best internet connection possible . You might get away with streaming using your data plan here and there, but doing so regularly will eat through your monthly plan in a heartbeat. Still, the cost of a good internet connection and streaming service subscription should still be lower than your average cable bill. Say goodbye to cable and hello to streaming and see why sports are the next big thing in streaming video.

Updated Start Page

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 15:40:00 GMT

Check out these changes:

support@toast.net

News Module

hostmaster@toast.net (Mike Pawlecki) — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 19:40:20 GMT

7/13/18

Changed the news feed on the Start Page to Noozilla.com because the Yahoo! feed was out of date.

Pro Football Contest

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 20:08:00 GMT

Pigskin Pick’em Football Contest

Monthly Statement

Sat, 01 Sep 2018 20:20:00 GMT

My Account

News Module

Fri, 13 Jul 2018 20:22:00 GMT

(7/13/18) Changed the news feed to Noozilla.com because the Yahoo! feed was out of date.

How to Optimize Your TV Using the Internet

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 15:20:00 GMT

Over the past few years, entertainment systems have taken a quantum leap forward. If you’re still channel-surfing, you’re probably missing out on some of the best content the web has to offer, along with a host of smart web-connected apps. The key is to connect fast, stream-friendly internet to your TV. A smart TV isn’t the only option to start using your favorite streaming services in your living room; these simple hacks will help you get the most out of your TV, whether it’s “smart” or not.

The Rise of the Smart TV

Today’s best HD TVs often have built-in Wi-Fi receivers , which are easy to use if you have fast internet . These “smart TVs” come equipped with on-board streaming applications and a host of other useful programs, similar to what you find on a tablet or smartphone. If you already have a smart TV, getting the most out of it is as simple as navigating to the application store and downloading your favorite apps. Streaming apps like Netflix and HBO, weather apps, music apps, and others give your smart TV a lot of extra features over a standard HD TV.

Smart TVs come preloaded with their own operating systems, and the capabilities and available apps vary by manufacturer. Most Sony TVs use an Android operating system, while TVs from Element come preloaded with Amazon Fire TV. Look into the operating system before you buy if you want to take advantage of specific apps, channels, or services.

Benefits of Video Streaming

If you love bingeing shows on Netflix and HBO, smart TVs make a great component in any entertainment system by bringing your favorite internet streaming services directly into your living room. In many cases, smart TV owners can ditch their cable package and save hundreds of dollars a year. If you prefer binge-watching through online apps like Netflix and HBO, upgrading to a smart TV is the perfect cord-cutting strategy.

To make the process simple, TOAST.net has high-speed internet that will support your streams. It’s recommended that you have speeds of at least 5Mbps per simultaneous stream, so make sure to get the package that will work for your situation.

Upgrading Not-So-Smart TVs

If your TV is a few years old and lacks a Wi-Fi receiver, there are still several ways to connect your TV to the internet. You can turn any TV into a smart TV by using a video streaming device, a computer, or a game system. These devices add web streaming capabilities to any TV, along with an operating system and a plethora of useful apps. All you need is an HDMI port, a power outlet, and a Wi-Fi connection.

Video Game Consoles

The newest crop of game consoles aims to replace most of your TV’s multimedia devices. According to Nielsen , game systems represent the vast majority of smart TV streaming devices in use today, which may be surprising given the buzz around devices like Apple TV. PlayStation and Xbox both offer their own in-system entertainment apps that replicate most of the capability of a dedicated streaming device. If you’re an avid gamer, these systems can get you most of the way towards a smart TV by themselves.

Dedicated Streaming Devices

In many ways, a video streaming device can be even better than the preloaded systems on a smart TV since you can choose whichever device best suits your personal preferences (and budget). They can also work in tandem with your cable box, giving you the best of both worlds.

The Roku TV uses a wireless connection and a power outlet and plugs directly into your TV. Once it’s set up, you can stream thousands of shows and movies through its paid and subscription channels and utilize several web apps like YouTube. Roku is broadly available and has a budget-friendly version, so it’s a great system for dipping your toes into streaming devices.

Amazon’s Fire TV works similarly to the Roku but with the added benefit of Amazon-specific apps. Fire TV also integrates perfectly with the Amazon Echo’s AI, Alexa, expanding your smart home possibilities. It’s a great pick for the voice activation capabilities, and it comes preloaded on some smart TVs.

Apple TV plays well with other Apple products. You can use your iPhone as a remote, or access your music and movie library through iTunes or Apple Play. It’s also easy to switch between your TV, phone, tablet, and computer, so you can pick up your shows right where you left off.

Using a Home Computer as a Streaming Device

If you have a laptop, consider adding “smart TV” to its list of capabilities. You can plug your computer directly into your TV and have full access to the web, including your favorite streaming services. The interface isn’t quite as friendly if you’re sitting across the room, but there are third-party apps aimed at users who want to dedicate a PC to their TV.

Advanced users can create their own “streaming device” using a basic PC as the brain of their smart TV, which offers a lot more flexibility and customization over a set-and-forget device like a Roku. A wireless keyboard and mouse are great options for PC setups, but it’s possible to control them from your smartphone as well.

Wi-Fi Enabled Blu-Ray Players

If you’re holding on to your collection of physical media, a Blu-ray player with a Wi-Fi connection can marry all of your technologies together into the ultimate entertainment system. These work exactly like a regular Blu-ray player but add the capabilities of a streaming device. It’s a practical option if you want to maximize the number of media sources you have access to at any given time.

Once you’ve expanded your entertainment empire, additional upgrades like a surround sound system, game controllers, and advanced universal remotes make for great additions to your new smart TV. Either way, once you upgrade with a smart TV, it’s sure to be the center of your entertainment. And with TOAST.net high-speed internet, you’ll be able to enjoy your streams in great quality no matter which TV set-up you choose.

– Alex Haslam, cord-cutting expert at CutCableToday.com

3 Things You Need to Know about Cord Cutting

Thu, 25 May 2017 20:51:00 GMT

If you’ve considered cord cutting you might have heard that you should just do it. While it’s true that nothing is holding you back, it never hurts to be a little prepared. There are some things that could certainly help you create a smoother experience for yourself. You need to consider things like your Internet speeds, how you’re going to get certain channels, and where you’re going to put the antenna.

The following suggestions should help smooth the transition for any new cord cutter. These ideas are just basic starter points and you may find that other things also have helped you. If that’s the case, we welcome you to share them with our other readers!

1. Using an Antenna Will Give You Broadcast/Local Channels for Free!

There is a lot of talk about what live stream services allow local channels and in what cities. With a digital antenna, these are things you don’t need to worry about because you’ll be able to watch them absolutely free on your TV. This is going to be especially helpful for people who love award shows, special events, and sports because these are often on local channels.

If you like basketball, having a digital antenna means that you can watch all of the local CBS March Madness games at no cost to you. The same can be said for football, as many NFL Games air on local channels throughout the season! An antenna is going to let you watch all of this and more, and it’s all free once you’ve made the initial purchase for the antenna.

2. About 5 mbps per Simultaneous Stream Is Required for Streaming

In order to properly stream audio and video in the best quality possible you need the highest Internet speeds possible. Lower speeds may mean buffering or decreased audio/visual quality. For example, the video might go from HD quality to being fuzzy if it doesn’t buffer. Each streaming service will say a different speed requirement is suggested. A good rule of thumb in general is 5 mbps per stream. This could mean you need faster Internet. Some cord cutters prefer DSL for the faster speeds.

Whether that’s the case for you or not, we recommend you check out your speed and adjust it accordingly. If you find you need faster speeds, if you’re thinking of cutting the cord (or already have) it’s a purchase you should make so that you have reliable streaming options. Otherwise, you may find that streaming leaves a lot to be desired.

3. Your Wi-Fi Setup Matters

More little things about your Wi-Fi setup will matter than you could ever anticipate. For example, you need to be sure you’re placing your Wi-Fi router in the best place. If you tuck it in the back room of your home in the far corner is it going to reach your attic or your basement level office? You want your router placed in a spot where it will cause minimal dead or weak spots in other areas of the home. Sometimes, unfortunately, due to the size of your home, dead spots are a reality. If that’s the case, you might want to consider something like an Eero mesh network .

Using multiple access points, Eero allows Internet access to run smoothly throughout your home removing weak spots and dead spots altogether. Your devices will connect to the point in the network that is closest to them. This ensures a strong, reliable signal every time.

More than anything, having reliable Internet, fast speeds, and an antenna are some of the building blocks for a strong streaming relationship. This will allow you to experience minimal problems, in turn making streaming easier and more enjoyable as you experience your transition from cable to streaming.

Protect Yourself from the WannaCry Virus

Wed, 17 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Run 'Windows Update' on your PC and make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. See our Tips for Safe Computing .

Streaming Important Playoff Matchups This April with Your Home Internet Connection

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 22:31:00 GMT

April is known for being a sports month. Some big events start and end in April, filling up the start of Spring with some of the most sporting events you’ll see all year long. Now that March Madness is in the books, it’s time to concentrate on the NHL and NBA playoffs. The cool thing about the playoffs is that they go on for weeks. There won’t be a shortage of games to watch for either sport.

Even better is that you can watch both the NBA playoffs and the Stanley Cup playoffs using an Internet connection without cable! You can use streaming services to watch all of the games in both series of playoffs. That said, it’s important to note that if you don’t want to get stuck buffering or missing parts of the games that you need reliable, fast Internet and a good data package. If you’re uncertain of your speed or need an unlimited data package, Toast has a performance test and data plans with unlimited data at a fair price.

If you’re all set on your Internet package and ready to watch some sports, here at the services that will ensure you don’t miss a thing this playoff season.
Stanley Cup Playoffs

Sling TV – Sling TV has packages that include the NHL playoff channels for $25/month. This package has both USA and NBCSN. It also has NBC in select cities or on-demand access nationwide. You can add the NHL Network in the Sports bundle for a few additional dollars. You can also add CNBC, which is available in another bundle. Sling TV airs on most streaming devices and to get you started they offer a 7-day free trial.

DIRECTV NOW – If you want the complete lineup of channels to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs you’ll need the Go Big package, which is $60/month. This gives you access to 80 channels including the four you need to watch the playoffs. DIRECTV NOW does offer streaming and mobile service, but it is not yet available on the Roku. As with most streaming services, DIRECTV NOW includes a one-week trial.

PlayStation Vue : PlayStation Vue does not include NHL Network, but does have all the other channels you need to watch the playoffs. You’ll pay just $40 if you live in an area with all the locals like NBC live streaming or $30 if it’s only available on-demand. PS Vue does include a cloud-based DVR that will allow you to record shows and watch them for up to 28-days. A 5-day trial is also available.

FuboTV : FuboTV started as a sports streaming network, and it still caters to many sports fans. While the service also offers other channels, it has everything you need to watch the Stanley Cup playoffs except NHL Network. All other channels are available as either a live stream or on-demand channel for just $35/month. FuboTV also includes a free week at the beginning of each membership.

NBA Playoffs

DIRECTV NOW – If you want to watch the NBA playoffs you only need the Live a Little package for $35/month. This gives you access to ESPN, ESPN2, ABC, and TNT. If you also want NBA TV or ESPNews, you can get those in a bigger package. These are all the channels you’ll need to watch every playoff game. The complete set of channels you’ll need comes to $60/month. You’ll also get a free week trial.

Sling TV – Here you just need the $20 Sling TV Orange package and the $5 sports add-on to have access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TNT, ESPNews, and NBA TV. While you don’t have ABC directly, you will have live stream access to any ABC airing games through ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app. You can watch Sling TV on most any device, and you get a free one-week trial.

While FuboTV also includes NBA TV, they do not offer ESPN or other networks that you would need to watch the playoffs online.
That’s all there is to it! Each of these services will allow you to watch the NHL playoffs and the NBA playoffs. Best of all, they all start with trials that will allow you to watch some of the games for free!

How to Make Sure You’re Ready to Stream March Madness

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:05:00 GMT

The NCAA Tournament is quickly approaching and so is the excitement for some of the best weeks in all of sports. Both casual and diehard fans tune in every year to follow along with all of the action to watch all the drama unfold.

March Madness is truly one of the most exciting events in all of sports, and thankfully there are multiple ways to stream the NCAA Tournament . Before the games begin, there are a few key things you’ll need to do to make sure you’re ready to stream the entire tournament. Here are some of the most important steps you need to take to get ready.

Hopefully, you take this advice and get yourself completely prepared for March Madness. It can easily be streamed, so just make sure you get set up correctly ahead of time and you’ll be able to enjoy every second of the action!

We've gone https!

kimm@corp.toast.net (Kim Mossing) — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT

All pages at www.toast.net now load over a secure connection.

Start Page Weather

Sun, 15 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Switching to a new weather provider who uses an https: feed.

This will make it more secure for our customers. Don't worry; we'll still have links to AccuWeather and Weather.com.

TOAST.net Partners with SmarterTools

Mon, 25 Jul 2016 21:19:00 GMT

We officially announced our partnership with SmarterTools this Saturday.

TOAST.net has signed an agreement with SmarterTools Inc. to distribute their software as an authorized lease-reseller. TOAST.net has been using SmarterTools software since 2006, and this agreement officially formalizes the relationship.

TOAST.net primarily uses the SmarterMail mail server to deliver a cloud-based email service to a growing list of small and medium businesses throughout the country. The SmarterMail software allows TOAST.net to provide enterprise-level functionality at a price that’s more affordable than similar services such as Office365.

“We’ve found that many small to medium businesses want to move to the cloud, but are scared away by mailboxes costing $6 to $12/month.,” said Kevin David, president of TOAST.net. “Our Email for Business starts at $3/mailbox and goes lower with volume.”

TOAST.net has moved thousands of mailboxes to SmarterMail. Users can access their email from anywhere using Outlook, their smartphone, or the powerful webmail interface. TOAST.net manages the hardware, software, network connection, security, updates, and backups so the customer can enjoy reliable and worry-free email.

SmarterMail includes many advanced features such as group collaboration, file storage, detailed reporting, email archiving, intrusion detection/prevention, antivirus, and antispam. In addition, TOAST.net makes use of several SmarterMail add-ons including Cyren Premium Antispam and Exchange ActiveSync for synchronization of mail, contacts, calendars, and notes across all devices.

About SmarterTools

Founded in 2003, SmarterTools Inc. is an information technology management software company based in Phoenix, Arizona. SmarterTools builds a Windows mail server, customer service software, and Web log analytics and SEO software that simplify and automate the day-to-day IT operations of businesses and hosting environments in over 100 countries. Additional information about SmarterTools Inc. and the SmarterTools product line is available at the company website: www.smartertools.com .

About TOAST.net

Started in 1996, TOAST.net provides Internet and cloud services for residential and SMB customers nationwide. Based in Toledo, Ohio, TOAST.net specializes in website design, email hosting, high-speed DSL, and wireless Internet access. Additional information about TOAST.net is available on their web site: www.toast.net .

New Year — New Web Site!

Fri, 16 Jan 2015 21:41:00 GMT

The goal of any web site is to inform and attract new customers. An outdated look and/or incorrect information detracts from these goals. It just might be time to take a good look at your current site and start taking steps toward making improvements. Reach out to your web designer and discuss design updates. Make sure your employee list is current and you include a comprehensive list of services and products. Are all of your hyperlinks still working? Would you like to add powerful features like a shopping cart, blog or photo gallery? If you use a site builder tool like TOAST.net’s Web Presence Builder some of the content changes are easy to make on your own. If you are really savvy you may even be able to update design elements within your site. If you don’t feel you are ready to tackle the design … contact your web designer for advice. Remember that your goal is not only to have customers find your site but for them to gain valuable information about your company when they get there.

That brings me to my next point… how are they getting to your site? Are your customers sitting at a desktop computer? Are they in their car (in the passenger seat) searching for your store? Your web site needs to be mobile-friendly, easy to traverse while on a mobile device or tablet. Check to see if your web design tool automatically creates a mobile version of your site, or has a responsive theme. Site design tools can help you quickly build and maintain a beautiful website that is fully functional on all devices.

Once you have published your newly redesigned website it is now time to take a break, right? Wrong. Revisit your site at least once a month. Make sure all content is up to date and that your web site design software has been updated to the latest version. Hackers are often able to enter a site through security vulnerabilities that reside in outdated software versions. Although time-consuming, making sure you are using the latest and greatest software is critical for the security of your site. With sites hosted at TOAST.net you can set WordPress, its plugins and themes to automatically update to the latest version. Our Web Presence Builder automatically updates so that you are always developing in the latest version.

New Year – maybe it’s also time to say – New Website!

The Heartbleed Aftermath

Mon, 12 May 2014 20:13:00 GMT

by: Doug Zbikowski

After its discovery earlier this year, Heartbleed is still a serious threat because it can potentially release usernames, credit card information, passwords, and other personal data to attackers. It was determined a flaw in OpenSSL, a common tool used to encrypt and secure communication between a user to a server, is the source of this security breach.

Graham’s numbers are concerning, and they might just be the tip of the iceberg.

His testing was done by scanning port 443 (a port is a “channel” used in Internet communication that is reserved for a specific function. Port 443 is typically used for SSL traffic). There may be thousands…even millions…more servers out there using undetected alternate ports that are still unpatched.

What Exactly IS Heartbleed?

The easiest way to describe how Heartbleed works is to imagine a computer and a server talking to each other. They don’t want anyone else listening in, so they speak to each other in a unique language only they can understand. Any other computers trying to join in the conversation would just hear gibberish.

Once in a while, there may be a lull in the conversation, so the computer will want to make sure the server is still listening. The computer will send a “heartbeat”, or a nudge saying “Hey! Prove you’re still there!”

Your computer might say “Prove you’re there: respond with “Pineapple (spelled with 9 characters)”.
The server replies “Pineapple”.

“Prove you’re there: respond with “Car (spelled with 3 characters)”.
The server replies “Car”.

Some clever person discovered that if you form a heartbeat request to say something equivalent to “Prove you’re there: respond with “Phone (spelled with 1000 characters)”, the server would respond with “Phone” and then the next 995 characters of data in the server’s memory. This data would include data from anyone else’s SSL transactions, so payment information, personal data…everything that was supposed to be secure could be exposed. (Of course, this is a very simplistic explanation, but it gets the point across.)

World Status

It’s clear that a lot of servers on the Internet have not been patched to fix the Heartbleed bug, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Ars Technica , another well known security firm, found that a month after Heartbleed was announced vulnerable servers decreased only .44%. This indicates that server patching has essentially stopped.

If you’re wondering what you can do to protect yourself, you’re in the same boat as everyone else. Nobody knows exactly which services and servers still have the flaw. Many companies have done their best to let their users know if they were or were not affected, but there is no comprehensive list saying “We fixed the problem, so change your password.” You can bet that financial institutions, ISP’s, and large companies patched their OpenSSL servers quickly, so most of the remaining servers are probably going to be run by small businesses that either do not know they have the bug or do not have the expertise to repair it. You best bet is to check with any services that require a username/password to log into an account to see if they were affected.

On a positive note, Heartbleed has made security a top priority again. Many companies are reviewing their security practices, making sure they have the basics like antivirus software and are getting their software updates in a timely fashion. You’ll probably want to join in with them .

New vulnerability endangers Internet Explorer users

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 14:50:00 GMT

By: Doug Zbikowski

UPDATE (May 1, 2014, 1:30pm ET): Microsoft has released an emergency patch for the Internet Explorer vulnerability. In a surprise move, they also released an update for Windows XP! Head over to Windows Update to get it.

A new bug has been discovered that could put Internet Explorer users at serious risk. Until the problem is fixed security experts are calling on users to switch to an alternative browser such as Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox . In a rare move, the US Government is advising to users to switch to another browser until Internet Explorer is fixed.

On April 26th, 2014, Microsoft announced that all versions of Internet Explorer are at risk for “drive-by” attacks from malicious websites. This new vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2014-1776 , has the potential to give hackers direct access to your computer, allowing infected web sites to install malicious applications, create new Windows accounts, and change or delete data stored on the computer. Disturbingly, these attacks have actually been observed in the wild by Internet security firm FireEye , who started observing this type of attack as early as February. Microsoft says attacks seem to be coming from websites that feature advertisement feeds or user-provided content where an attacker could insert malicious code. At this time it is unknown whether Microsoft will release an emergency patch or wait until patch Tuesday on May 13th to fix the vulnerability.

No Fix for XP

While you can rest assured that Microsoft will be releasing a patch quickly, a significant number of Windows users will not be fixed. Microsoft officially ended support for Windows XP on April 8th, 2014, and the aging OS will no longer receive security updates as a result. Over 1 in 4 computers are still running Windows XP, so the only alternative for these computers would be to use an alternative web browser. Google has promised Chrome support for Windows XP until April 2015 , while Mozilla has yet to announce an end-of-support date. If a security flaw hits either of these browsers it will be fixed, unlike Internet Explorer.

Microsoft’s Saturday alert may be the first example of a serious exploit that puts Windows XP users permanently at risk. In March, antivirus manufacturer Avast reported Windows XP was already under attack six times more often than Windows 7 . Security advisers are issuing strong recommendations that Windows XP computers be replaced as soon as possible.

TOAST.net Recommends:

Also Read: Microsoft kills Windows XP – so now what?

Microsoft kills Windows XP – so now what?

Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:57:00 GMT

April 9th, 2014 – a day that will live in computer infamy.

Windows XP was unleashed on the market on August 21st, 2001, and it’s an example of an operating system that may have been made a bit too well. Normally, versions of Windows become so outdated and frustrating that people mob stores when a new version is released. This never really happened with XP. People just kept using it, Microsoft kept updating it, and it seemed to work well enough for everyone. If it works, why change?

I Can’t Change! What Can I Do?

We get it. Maybe a new computer isn’t in your future right now. Maybe you need to get a lot of information off of your old system before getting a new one. Maybe your company built its entire infrastructure around Windows XP and it would cost millions of dollars to change. There are lots of reasons people simply can’t give up the ol’ girl. If this describes you, you’re in luck. While it’s still recommended you at least make a plan to get off of your beloved 12+ year old operating system, there are some things you can do to keep it running and reasonably safe in the near-term.

Change Your Browser

Internet Explorer 8 is the last version of IE available for Windows XP. It came out in 2009 and it really shows its age.

You need to stop using it. Like… really stop using it.

IE8 doesn’t support a lot of features on modern web pages (a lot of email and banking systems will tell you to upgrade immediately if you log into them with IE8). Therefore, websites you visit may not be fully functional, and since it’s not going receive security updates anymore your information or identity could end up at risk.

Fortunately there are more modern replacements for Internet Explorer that DO still work on Windows XP. Google Chrome is a very popular web browser alternative that is both light-weight (meaning it runs pretty well on older PCs), and has a lot of neat integration features that make using Google-based services like Gmail, YouTube, and Google+ easier. Chrome also features a sync feature that allows you to sign in to the browser and synchronize all of your bookmarks, history, saved passwords, and more on multiple devices. This allows you to keep your own personal setup no matter where you’re accessing the Internet. Chrome is completely self-contained, so it will continue to receive updates and allow all web content to work correctly and securely.

Firefox is another option if Chrome doesn’t fit your needs. Firefox more closely resembles Internet Explorer, and is popular with the tech-savvy crowd due to its customization features. It is larger than Chrome however, so performance on older PCs might take a hit.

Antivirus

M icrosoft S ecurity E ssentials became very popular with the Windows XP crowd. This free security software from Microsoft gave users basic virus and malware protection, with the added benefit of being updated automatically through the Windows Update service.

Alas, MSE is R.I.P. for XP.

MSE will no longer be updated, and antivirus software that isn’t updated is basically useless. You’ll want to uninstall and replace it with something that is continuing XP support. AVG is currently keeping XP support, and they offer free as well and paid versions of their service. Another company, Avira , is offering the same deal.

What’s Going To Happen?

XP users are seeing warning prompts here and there already. Things like “Windows XP Support Has Expired” or “You Are No Longer Receiving Updates” might flash on your screen from time to time. While this can get annoying, it doesn’t really affect anything…yet.

As new flaws and loopholes in security are uncovered, fixes have to be put in place on web servers for protection. Sometimes these patches require that your web browser or operating system work in a different way in order to be secure. Since XP will not receive these workarounds, you will slowly see the Internet becoming less and less functional (and in turn becoming more and more dangerous). Following the suggestions above will add some protection, but it’s a band-aid rather than a solution. The solution is upgrade to a more modern computer. In the end, I can almost guarantee you’ll be saying “Why didn’t I do this earlier?”

Passwords: Your First Line of Defense in Internet Safety

Wed, 05 Feb 2014 14:24:00 GMT

…and probably more. That’s 10+ services for a novice user on a weekly basis. Each one of these services requires a way to identify yourself, and that’s usually in the form of a username and password.

Passwords are a weak link in any security system. Forming a password means you have to remember it, and when you’re using several services it gets difficult to keeps things straight. You may get past this by habitually using the same password for everything. To make things even easier, you may be using a simple word or name for your password. On top of these, many services require you to use your email address as your username, and you may be using your email password to log into other services as well.

We all do this- heck, I’ve done it. The major flaw with this practice is you end up with the key to your email messages being stored by several 3rd parties on the Internet. If even one of those services gets compromised by a hacker, they’ll also have full access to your email. From there they can see what services are sending you promotional messages, statements, and bills, use your email account to reset passwords, and gain access to any number of your accounts. Savvy hackers even use social engineering to get information out of friends or family: they may send a message to a coworker or a family member asking for their password information, links to viruses, or even requests to send money to their bank accounts – since the message looks like it came from you they may very well comply with the requests.

Scary!

Passwords Are Serious Business

According to our security partner GFI , the most common passwords are:

123456
123456789
1234
password
12345
12345678
Admin
123
1
1234567

If your password is on this list (or anything similar) and your account gets attacked, your information can be accessed within seconds. Numbers especially are terrible passwords as computers can generate huge lists of numbers instantly, meaning a numbered password is essentially one step above having no password. Keyboard patterns (qwerty”, “zxcvbnm”, “poiuytrewq”) and words found in the dictionary are in this same group. Hackers don’t just sit there and try to type in different passwords. They often employ specialized hardware and software to generate password possibilities. One report I recently read from Security Ledger demonstrated how off the shelf graphics cards used for PC gaming can be used to try billions of passwords at once.

The next most popular set of passwords involves the name of a family member followed by a number. Out of 10 people reading this, I’ll bet one of you is using something on this list:

Emily1
Joshua1
Jessica1
Jack1
Sarah1
James1
Olivia1
Thomas1
Georgia1
Matthew1

This is a recent list of the most popular names for boys and girls followed by a “1”. Using any names associated with you makes it easy to figure out your password. Shy away from using proper spellings of children, pets, or possessions. Adding numbers to the end doesn’t help much, so it’s best to avoid the practice. Other personal information to avoid are proper spellings of birth dates, maiden names, or anything else that can easily be tied to you through a bit of research.

The best tip, and I can’t stress this enough, is to stop grouping your email address and email password together when signing in to services. If an account requires you to log in with your email address, that’s completely fine. However, you do NOT need to use your email password to log in. Using a different password will prevent any security breaches on that service from giving access to your email account.

Complexity Can Be Easy

You need to start using complex passwords. It’s actually easy to create a “hack-proof” password using a few simple tricks:

The trick is to come up with a pattern that you can remember, but looks complex to everyone else. DO NOT write down passwords anywhere. Most services offer “reminder tools” to nudge you in the right direction if you find yourself with a temporary case of password amnesia. Use these tools rather than relying on a piece of scrap paper that anyone can get a hold of.

Once you come up with your password, you can check its “strength” with Microsoft’s Password Checker Tool: https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx . If your password comes up as medium strength or less, revise it until it gets a ‘strong’ rating.

Many Internet users are simply unaware of the importance of security. It is a huge concern, and you need to do your part to protect yourself. Even if you consider an account to be unimportant, the bits of information it contains can easily lead to bigger problems down the road.

25 Worst Passwords
Password Security – You Need to Care

Google Sync and Outlook 2013

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 20:29:00 GMT

Download Google Apps Sync v. 3.5.365.980 with support for Outlook 2013 Click-to-Run edition.

Google Sync is a powerful product for business : it provides complete email, contact, and calendar synchronization between a Google Apps for Business account, mobile devices, and Outlook…or at least it used to .

Recently, Microsoft began distributing its popular Office software via a new method called “Click to Run.” CTR versions of Office software install from the web and seem to operate partially on the user’s desktop and partially in the cloud. This change makes CTR version of Outlook 2013 incompatible with Google Sync, and Google is hinting that a work-around from them is not likely.

If you search around, you’ll see some goofy solutions to get Outlook 2013 and Google Sync to play together nicely: do tricks with the Outlook Profile, change registry settings, etc. After evaluating these fixes, they all seem to be unreliable and even a bit dangerous. The good news is we’ve found that the full install version of Outlook 2013 does indeed work with Google Sync. Unfortunately Microsoft has made the full install version very difficult to get (some are saying you actually have to buy the Enterprise version of Office 2013 in order to get a physical DVD!).

So, the easiest solution we’ve found is to install the Office Professional Plus 2013 trial software. Microsoft posted a portal on their TechNet site that allows you to download a full version trial of Office 2013. Installing this version will allow you to use Google Sync with Outlook. Granted you’ll need to purchase a license for Office Professional Plus, but this solution does work. Be aware this setup requires a blank DVD and a DVD burner.

These are the steps you’ll follow:

The license keys from the Click to Run version of Office and the direct install versions are interchangeable (Home & Student and Home & Business editions will not work).

As Microsoft and Google seem to be pulling away from each other, we may be seeing the end of Outlook support for Google services in the coming years. Google has been spending a lot of time revamping its webmail interface, causing many people to skip Outlook all together and use their mail strictly from the web interface. The benefit of no software costs, no settings to worry about, and seeing the same information on any device is becoming more and more appealing. If you haven’t logged into your Google webmail recently, you may want to take another look !

The Right Tool for the Right Job: Using Apps on Mobile Devices

Fri, 15 Nov 2013 21:27:00 GMT

It’s predicted that this year tablets will outsell PCs for the first time , a clear sign that Internet usage is moving towards a more portable and accessible format. Smartphones are showing a similar upswing, with a recent Pew Research Center study showing that 56% of Americans are currently using a smartphone. Both tablets and smartphones are small devices with a big job: display all of the information on the Internet in a usable manner on a small screen: you could be viewing content on a screen anywhere from 3.5″ to 10″. Compared to a laptop’s 15″ screen or a PC’s 23″ monitor, that’s not a lot of room. All of that information needs to be converted into a format that works well with a small display, and there are specialized tools to do that.

Apps

An “app” is a buzzword you’re hearing left and right, but I was surprised at how many people don’t actually know what an app does. An app , short for “application”, is a specialized mini-program that allows information from the Internet to be presented on a tablet or smartphone in a friendly way, and often includes enhanced features. For instance, if you wanted to see some news on your PC, you might head over to CNN.com and read the headlines. However, if you did that on a tablet, you may find that same site is a bit difficult to read. Instead of going to the CNN website, you could go to your tablet’s Apps Store (example: iTunes or Google Play ), and install CNN’s news app. By using the app, not only is CNN’s content easier to read and easier to navigate, you also get features like breaking news alerts, better video playback, and more. The app makes CNN’s content easier to view and takes full advantage of your device’s capabilities.

Nearly all web services have apps that you can install, and many times they’re free of charge. Instead of trying to use your bank’s website on your smartphone screen, try installing their app so you can use larger controls and specialized tools to do your banking. Sites like YouTube and Facebook also work better in their app versions than going directly to the website on your mobile device.

Many of TOAST.net’s service work with apps as well, allowing you to maximize the capability of your tablet and smartphone.

Set Up TOAST.net or Google Based Email, Contacts, and Calendars

If you have a TOAST.net or Google-based email account, you can actually set the account up on your tablet or phone to receive new message notifications as well as synchronize your contacts and calendar with your PC, webmail, and any other mobile devices. This is an incredibly powerful feature and is very easy to set up.

Google Phone/Tablet Users: Follow these steps .
Apple Phone/Tablet Users: Follow these steps .

Other Types of Email Accounts

If you’re using a traditional (non-Google) email account, you can set your phone’s standard email app to receive your messages. Some business-class email accounts are even able to sync contacts and calendar information. TOAST.net residential and business customers can get instructions for their specific account type using the TOAST.net Email Wizard.

Photos & Video

Any photos or videos you take with your phone or tablet can be automatically backed up and made viewable on the web. If you have a TOAST.net or other Google based email address, you can install the Google+ app ( iTunes or Google Play ) on your device, then set the app to backup your content:

To View and Manage Your Backups

On your Google email screen, click your name+ in the upper right corner to open your Google+ account. If you’ve never used Google+ before, you might have to fill in some brief account information before starting the service.

Documents

Google Drive allows you to create, share, edit, and sync documents directly on your mobile device, and once you create a document, it’s also available on your PC or other devices. Besides the obvious “work from anywhere” benefit, this app is handy for creating lists, instructions, or other quick notes. Install the Google Drive app ( iTunes or Google Play ), and anything you create on your phone will also be accessible in your Google-based email account under the “Apps” icon. Any documents in your Drive can also be easily emailed and shared with others, making collaboration easy.

These are only a few of the apps that optimize your portable devices and make them more usable. Feel free to list your own favorites!

-Doug Zbikowski

Cryptolocker- What You Need To Know

Fri, 08 Nov 2013 21:51:00 GMT

Within the last month, Internet security companies have discovered a new type of “ransomware” named Cryptolocker .

Ransomware has been around for a while. You may have seen those fake popup windows that show up on some websites saying “Your Computer is Infected! Click here to clean it!” Once you click, you’re prompted to run some shady software, and then that software keeps throwing up “Pay me or these screens will keep popping up” warnings.

Rogue antivirus software is the most common type of ransomware, but Cryptolocker puts a new twist on holding your computer hostage…and it’s both genius and a scary at the damage it can do. Unlike rogue antivirus software (which pretty much just keeps generating pop-up windows), Cryptolocker searches out all of your documents, photos, music files…anything you hold dear on your computer, and then proceeds to encrypt them with military-grade encryption . After it does this, a countdown screen appears and you have until the timer runs out to pay $300 (US) to obtain the key. As mentioned this is military grade encryption, meaning it has one key to unlock your files, and if that key is lost not even the NSA can get your files back.

Cryptolocker is spread through email using “Phishing” attacks. You may receive an email that looks like it came from a legitimate company saying something like “Attached is this week’s payroll file” or “These are the proofs from the photo-shoot”. There is usually a file attached (the most common file types are .zip or .pdf), and once the file is opened the virus executes.

Targeted files are those commonly found on most PCs today, which include those with the extension:
3fr, accdb, ai, arw, bay, cdr, cer, cr2, crt, crw, dbf, dcr, der, dng, doc, docm, docx, dwg, dxf, dxg, eps, erf, indd, jpe, jpg, kdc, mdb, mdf, mef, mrw, nef, nrw, odb, odm, odp, ods, odt, orf, p12, p7b, p7c, pdd, pef, pem, pfx, ppt, pptm, pptx, psd, pst, ptx, r3d, raf, raw, rtf, rw2, rwl, srf, srw, wb2, wpd, wps, xlk, xls, xlsb, xlsm, xlsx

In some cases, it may be possible to recover older versions of your files using Windows System Restore. The geniuses over at Bleeping Computer have more information on how you can try this.

Removal and Prevention:

Cryptolocker has no reliable fix available. The virus can be removed by most antivirus software (such as MSE , TOAST.net’s Managed Antivirus , and others), but if the virus is removed from your computer the file encryption remains. Once the damage is done, there’s no going back. The best thing to do is make sure you’re prepared.

Backup and Be Safe

The best defense against Cryptolocker is off-site backups. Backing up your important files with secure cloud services is one way to keep your information protected. For instance, TOAST.net’s Online Backup allows you to install a small program on your computer, and it will automatically back up your files to a secure server. Anytime you need a file restored, you just request it from your backup software and it gets restored from the server. Since copies of your files are stored off of your computer, they can not be affected by viruses.

TOAST.net customers with Google accounts can also use the built-in Google Drive and Google+ features to store documents and photos. These free services are available by clicking the square Apps button in the top right of your email screen.

The best offense in this case is a good defense. Keep your important files safe, keep your PC security up to date, and Cryptolocker will not be anything to worry about.

Using Windows 8? Windows 8.1 free upgrade is now available!

Fri, 25 Oct 2013 20:24:00 GMT

Windows 8. Love it or hate it, it’s what you can expect to be using if you buy a new PC these days. Microsoft stirred up more controversy with its latest operating system than anything in recent memory by completely changing the familiar Start button based interface we’ve come to love over the last 18-or-so years. In its place is a screen full of bright colors and big tiles, and with Windows 8.1 Microsoft’s flashy new OS is getting its first facelift. Overall, the changes are minor, but bring some much-needed options and tweaks to make Windows 8 more comfortable.

What Is Windows 8.1?

A free “service pack” for users of Windows 8 that introduces bug fixes, options requested by users, and a few new features.

What’s New

When Windows 8.1 boots, you probably won’t notice many differences right away. The “Metro” screen is still full of tiles, and the desktop looks like the same desktop you had before you installed the upgrade. Your “Charms” bar still shows up when you move your mouse to one of the right corners of your screen, except now it positions itself towards the top or bottom depending on which corner you use to open it. You can also resize, move, and group tiles easily on the Metro screen, but other than that, it pretty much looks identical.

However, if you dig a bit deeper, you’ll being to see the improvements:

Return of the Start Button!

Hello old friend! Due to popular demand, the Start Button is back.

Well…sort of.

If you click on the new Start button, it simply returns you to the Metro tile screen, so Metro tiles are your new Start menu (as was originally intended, but poorly executed). You can also right-click on the button to get a list of common Windows controls, such as Programs and Features, Power Options, Task Manager, and more.

New Search

This is becoming one of my favorite features of Windows 8.1: the “Omnisearch Tool” allows you to start typing while on the Metro screen, and it will find anything you want. If you haven’t used it, try it! Just type (no window needed), and a search window will appear, showing you relevant information. Can’t find an app? Just type the title and it appears. Want to do a web search for giraffes? Type “giraffes” and check out your options. I’m finding myself using Omnisearch more and more.

Boot to Desktop

Microsoft gets it…the Metro tile screen isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. If you’d rather be in Desktop land when you start up your computer, a simple checkbox solves all your problems. From the Metro screen, type “Taskbar and Navigation” (See? That Omnitool is awesome!), open “Taskbar and Navagation” icon, and a settings window will appear. Click the Navigation tab, then checkmark Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in , and click OK. From that point on, anytime you start your computer, it will to right to your beloved desktop.

Metro Background Wallpaper Matching

This is one of those “it doesn’t look like it matters, but it does” features. When the Metro screen has the same background as your desktop, it makes your experience feel more connected–you’re no longer switching screens, you’re simply bringing up options. It’s minor, but I suggest giving it a try. Go to the Taskbar and Navigation properties (as mentioned above), and checkmark the “Display desktop background on Start”.

Move, Resize, and Group Tiles

If you right-click on a tile, you now get options to resize the tile to your preference, and you can put tiles into locked groups. Groups prevent tiles from being spread into a sprawling mess as in the last version. You’re then able to freely move tiles around inside the groups.

Windows 8.1 is essentially a tweak for Windows 8. It fixes some of the inconsistencies an annoyances that plagued the operating system’s initial release, and adds some things that users requested. I like these enhancements, as it finally makes Windows feel completely usable without the need for add-ons for the first time since I started using it. The Omnisearch additions are fantastic, and the new organizational features of tiles helps keep things organized and easy to find.

While this new version catered to the “old-schoolers” by allowing you to boot to the desktop, it’s obvious that the majority of Microsoft’s attention is going to go toward the Metro screen from now on. More and more apps are appearing in the App Store to replace your desktop applications, so expect your work environment to transition in the coming years. Metro tiles still haven’t grown on me, as working on the Metro screen seems confining…like I should be able to do more things at once than I’m actually allowed to do. It has a tablet mentality to it that, at the moment, is still a bit clumsy and cumbersome for desktop or laptop use.

Windows 8.1 is available as a free upgrade for current Windows 8 users from the Microsoft Apps Store . Be warned that it is a 3.3GB download, so if you’re on a limited data connection, you’ll want to use an alternate Internet connection to install.

TOAST.net customers can now set up the Windows 8 email app using the Email Setup Wizard

Is your iPhone or iPad having trouble with Wi-Fi connections? iOS 7 may be to blame.

Thu, 03 Oct 2013 19:49:00 GMT

It seems the original release of iOS 7 has difficulty locking on to wireless connections that use the “auto”channel settings. WiFi connections can use up to 11 different channels in the US, and your router may be set to automatically select which channel is the best for broadcasting. This channel may change several times during the day, but your Apple devices may not be able to follow those changes, and this results in a lost connection.

The official fix for this problem is to upgrade to iOS 7.0.2, which is available right now. However, if you’re only able to connect to Wi-Fi on your device, upgrading can be a bit of a problem. Here are some workarounds to get your iPhone or iPad running so you can get the upgrade:

Reset Your Connection

Use iTunes to Upgrade

If you have access to a PC or Mac computer with iTunes installed, you can download and update the software directly from iTunes . Open iTunes, and then plug your device into the computer. It should prompt you to update.

From a computer, you can log into your wireless router or hotspot, then navigate to the wireless settings. If your wireless channel is set to “auto”, you can change it to a specific channel (it doesn’t really matter which: 1-11 will all work fine, but some channels may be stronger than others). TOAST.net issued Netgear DSL modems and Arris Cable modems both use auto channels.

Updating Your Apple Device

Once you get your device connected again, on the Home screen simply tap Settings > General , and then tap Software Update . Any available updates will be displayed for download.

Be careful out there: Conduit Search spyware is annoying the Internet

Wed, 02 Oct 2013 18:09:00 GMT

While not a destructive infection (it’s considered spyware, not a virus), Conduit can expose private information to third parties, and the software is unethically generating money to its manufacturers through advertising and search manipulation. On top of that, Conduit encourages others to create their own “Conduit Toolbars” through a Conduit Community website, promising a share of those advertising profits. Because of this, 3rd parties are using trickery to get you to install the software. One common method is to generate a fake “update” screen on a website, claiming to require an update to Flash Player or Java to continue. Another method is posting free software for download, and then piggybacking Conduit in with the installation.

Once installed, Conduit and the Conduit Toolbar hijack your web browser settings and change the homepage to search.conduit.com . The default search engine is switched to search.conduit.com, your homepage is changed to Conduit’s, and from that point on any attempts to use the address bar to search the web, results will redirect to search.conduit.com . Conduit is paid when users click advertisements, as well as by the amount of page views they generate.

How to remove Conduit Search

Conduit Search is not a virus, so antivirus programs such as Microsoft Security Essentials , Vipre, and GFI Antivirus usually will not stop it from installing. You can manually remove the software from your computer using this method:

Remove Conduit Toolbar and Search Engine

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Google Chrome

Stay Safe In The Future

To prevent getting nasty infections, keeping up with updates and running good antivirus software are always a good idea, along with the steps listed on our Tips for Safe Computing page. Also be skeptical of windows that randomly appear saying “An update is required” or “A virus has been detected.” Pop-up windows like these are often designed to look authentic with the purpose of tricking you into installing malicious software. If you see a message saying:

“A virus has been detected, click here to clean” – Most antivirus programs automatically clean infections and then tell you what they did after-the-fact. It’s best to close these warnings and go directly to your antivirus software to run a scan if you’re in doubt.

“You must update to the latest version of Adobe Flash to view this content” – Adobe Flash is a browser add-on that allows you to play videos and show advanced features on some websites. Go directly to Adobe’s Web Site to check to see if you have the latest version installed instead.

“Your version of Java is outdated, click here to update.” – Just like Adobe products, Java is an add-on that allows you to see advanced web site content and is usually updated automatically. Go directly to the Java Web Site to see if you have the latest version.

Google Mail Has a New Compose Window!

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:06:00 GMT

Google has recently upgraded the Compose Window of Gmail. The new Compose Window is much cleaner, more compact, and offers some new convenience features. When the upgrade is available on your account you’ll be prompted with the following screen:

Simply click Try It Now to automatically upgrade to the new Compose Window. If you click “Not Now”, you will not be upgraded, but you will be prompted to upgrade each time you log into your email.

Once you click the Try it Now button, you will be shown a very brief tutorial on the Compose Window changes:

This window demonstrates where the various buttons are and what they do. It also illustrates one of the new compose windows most powerful features: you can compose new emails while viewing other emails or navigating around your inbox.

Once you have taken a look around, click Got it and you will return to your normal email screen.

New Buttons:

Controls for the new Compose Window are located on the bottom of the screen as opposed to the top. Also, a lot of the lesser-used features are hidden to keep things clean. Holding your mouse cursor over a button will tell you what the button does, and clicking a button will give you more options. For instance, click the A button and you will see all the text formatting options. From here you can change the font, underline, bold, italicize, add lists, change alignment or remove all formatting.

The new Compose Window is a huge improvement over the older method as it allows you to open multiple windows and continue to see your email while you are writing. Enjoy!

By: Josh Bierwiler

Save Money On Your Tablet Purchase

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:06:00 GMT

To 3G, or not 3G…

Most tablet manufacturers offer tablets with either Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi and 3G/4G combination options to connect to the Internet. Wi-Fi access is available through most routers on home Internet connections, as well as in coffee shops, libraries, and bookstores. 3G/4G connections allow you to be connected anywhere a Wi-Fi connection isn’t available (provided you’re within range of a cell tower). So, you have to ask yourself “Do I need to be connected every single place I go?”

If you think about it, tablets aren’t used like smartphones. You don’t whip out your tablet to check your Facebook status while walking down the street. They’re used in places you have a chance to sit down and get comfortable, and it seems like most of those places have Wi-Fi available. I myself have owned a tablet for two years and haven’t once regretted saving the extra $200 for the built-in 3G/4G option.

If you’re one of those people that does use your tablet while on the go, or if you tend to travel a lot, there is an alternative that will save a lot of money.

Mobile Hotspots – Better Way to Go

Tablets with a built-in 3G/4G radio are going to charge a premium over their Wi-Fi only counterparts (often $200-$300 more), and then you have to get a 2 year contract with a carrier for your monthly data plan. If you use your tablet in Wi-Fi free areas often, an alternative would be using a Mobile Hotspot. These “credit card” sized devices grab an Internet connection off of a local cell phone tower, then distribute it to your tablet via a Wi-Fi connection. Hotspots have a number of advantages over built-in 3G/4G service

a) Large cost savings when purchasing.
b) Avoids often over-priced/contract locked data fees from the major carriers.
c) Hotspots can supply Internet to any device, not just a single tablet.

Since Mobile Hotspots are so compact, you can just keep it in your pocket or purse and turn it on if you happen to be in a place with no Wi-Fi available. Hotspot data plans tend to be a lot less expensive than going through carriers like AT&T or Verizon. Also keep in mind that you have the option of turning the service off if you know you’re not going to use it for a while. Some people only want the service while they travel in the summer, or if they live in two different locations and need Internet access at only one of them. You can simply deactivate the service, and then reactivate when you’re ready to use it again (a great advantage to not being stuck in a contract!).

Skip the 3G/4G Option — It’s Not Needed

If you need to be able to connect your tablet in areas without Wi-Fi, definitely skip the 3G/4G option. In the same way a 20 oz. bottle of soda is often more expensive than a 2 liter bottle, you’re being charged a premium for the packaging. If you need to keep your tablet connected anywhere, using a Mobile Hotspot makes for a smarter purchase.

Security Firms Recommend Disabling Java Due To New Exploit

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:25:00 GMT

Java, a set of software tools that allows advanced features to run on websites, currently has a vulnerability that can allow an attacker to run unauthorized applications on a vulnerable computer. Being a zero-day vulnerability , antivirus firms and Oracle (the manufacturers of Java), have not had time to implement a fix, leaving both PC’s and Macs unprotected until a patch becomes available. Security firm Alien Vault as reported websites using this exploit are already showing up in the wild.

Until a patch is made available, it is recommended that users either disable Java if not required, or use a separate web browser if you do require it.

You can disable Java by following the instructions listed here . (Note you must have the latest version of Java for these instructions to work.)

The latest version of Java is available at: http://www.java.com

UPDATE:

After review of the situation, experts in the field are estimating it could take up to two years to fully fix the problem. Therefore, TOAST.net is recommending that users simply uninstall Java . It is not really required as most webpages no longer use it extensively, and modern web browsers are able to work with those that do without the extra help.

If you don’t need Java installed on your computer (which covers 9 out of 10 of us), you can uninstall the software with these instructions: http://www.java.com/en/download/uninstall.jsp

New Gmail App for iPhone/iPad for Google Apps users

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:20:00 GMT

A year or so ago, an app for Gmail was finally released for the iPhone and the iPad.

It was terrible.

In response, an embarrassed Google rushed out several updates to try to make things right…and it didn’t help much.

Today, the slate is being wiped clean as Google announces GMail 2.0 for the iPhone and iPad …and it’s not terrible! In fact, it’s downright snazzy.

The new app features a lot of things Apple users have been begging for:

They also gave the interface a new look with new animations…it feels like they got it right this time.

Go to the App store on your Apple device to download Gmail 2.0. TOAST.net and Google Apps users can simply enter their email address and password into the app to get it going. Enjoy!

UPDATE: We’ve discovered that the app has a problem with @toast.net email accounts. However, the app works well with Google powered TOAST.net sub-accounts and all Google Apps for Business accounts. I’ll keep you posted with updates.

Source:

Official Gmail Blog

Try the New Compose Feature in Google Mail

Google Drive Now Available: 5 Cool Things to Do

Try the New Compose Feature in Google Mail

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Quick and Easy

One of the chief complaints about creating an email in the old system is the Compose window takes up the whole screen. If you need to reference another email, you couldn’t see your email list. The new Compose window is smaller and more compact, allowing you to see your email while writing, search, and see new email coming in. You can even compose several emails at once and minimize the window if you need to come back to them later.

And finally, one of the most requested features has also been added: the ability to insert images into your messages!

Give the new Compose a try and let us know what you think.

High-speed Internet can save you money? Turns out “Yes!”

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 19:31:00 GMT

The study was conducted by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), showing that the average savings actually increased from $7695 last year. The savings mostly comes from the extremely competitive pricing of online retailers, social media, comparative shopping, and “deal-seeking” community websites that aggregate low prices. “Consumers are spending more, and there are more opportunities for differential pricing” says Bruce Mehlman, the IIA’s co-chairman.

The biggest savings is in entertainment, where high-speed Internet customers saved nearly $2500 through on-line discounts and exclusive web-only offers. Other big savings come in the form of travel and clothing expenses, where consumers save up to 60% off of retail prices. Other savings came from newspaper subscriptions (85%), drug expenses (33%), and food (26%). The study bases these savings on an average household income of $63,700.

Mehlman calls the Internet a “game changer,” forcing stores to rethink the way they price merchandise, while giving consumers more spending power. Not everyone will save $8,400, but high-speed subscribers that use the Internet to comparison shop should find significant savings. High-speed users get the most benefit because “it takes time and work” to find these savings. People using older dial-up connections often run out of time and patience before maximum savings can be found. “The savings are there,” he said, “and you’ll far more than pay for the cost of the broadband.”

Source: PC World Internet Innovation Alliance

Internet Explorer 10 Release Preview now available to Windows 7 users

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:25:00 GMT

The “IE10 Release Preview,” as it’s called, appeared on Microsoft’s site early Tuesday and is only available for Windows 7. The newly released Windows 8 already has a full version of IE10 integrated, and the word on the street is Windows Vista (and obviously Windows XP) will not be supported for this release. If this proves correct, it will make Microsoft the first web browser maker to drop Vista support, just as it was the only developer to drop support for Windows XP when IE9 shipped last year.

IE10 is marked as a “Release Preview” to indicate it’s almost done, but some features may not yet be fully functional. If Microsoft follows suit with its previous Internet Explorer releases, we should see the final version before the end of 2012.

The most prominent feature of IE10 will ironically be the least used on Windows 7: touch support. Most Windows 7 users do not have touchscreens available to take advantage of a touch interface, so many interface enhancements will be unnoticed. What will be noticeable are the performance improvements. Microsoft claims its IE10 benchmarks will be “twice as fast” as competitors, but that remains to be seen in real world testing.

IE10 will replace IE9 on your computer instead of running alongside it. If the preview is not working out for you, it can be uninstalled and you can go back to IE9 using Microsoft’s instructions available here .

Also included is Microsoft’s much-talked about “Do Not Track” (DNT) feature, and it will be turned on by default. This new feature prevents IE10 from storing tracking cookies and other personal information, making your browsing more transparent to advertisers and possibly protecting you from nefarious websites. Keep in mind this feature may also break certain web-based tools, so if problems appear you may want to turn DNT off. A splash screen will appear when the browser is run for the first time showing you how to disable DNT if needed.

If you prefer to wait for the official release version of IE10, Microsoft will automatically upgrade all Windows 7 users to the newest browser shortly after it officially launches.

Get Windows 8 for Dummies e-book for free!

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:33:00 GMT

If you’re not familiar with the changes in Windows 8, it’s essentially Microsoft trying to get everyone to start using touch-screen devices. Don’t get me wrong…the new OS works great on the new MS Surface tablets . But, using an operating system optimized for touch on a laptop or desktop computer is proving to be more frustrating than innovative. They even have touchscreen-equipped laptops and desktops out now that allow you to “experience Windows 8 the way it was designed”.

My problem with that is: When I’m using a tablet or a smartphone, I end up getting finger smears all over the screen and have to wipe it off on my pant leg every 10 minutes. I can’t do that with a laptop…so unless I keep a bottle of ~~Windex~~ “ computer display approved cleaner ” with me at all times, I’m doomed to looking at my screen through a layer of finger crud.

That being said, Windows 8 is coming pre-installed on new desktops and laptops, so if you buy a new system you’re going to have to learn to live with it. The interface is very different, so it is safe to say users will need some guidance on how to use it.

To help out, our friends at Dell are giving away a copy of Windows 8 for Dummies – Pocket Edition for free download (simply fill out the short form and you’ll be prompted to download the book in PDF format ).

If anyone is using Windows 8, please share your experiences so far. I’ll be interested to hear what you think. Hopefully the book will help.

XP Users: Alternatives to Internet Explorer 8

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:51:00 GMT

For example, when digital video came out in the 1990’s, you needed a lot of special hardware, software, and patience to watch a tiny video clip. The quality was often grainy, sound was out of sync, and there were a lot of adjustments the users had to do to make the video viewable. Today, we often watch several videos every day on a computers, and they’re plastered everywhere. You don’t have to download anything or own any special equipment — you just click “Play” and the video starts.

Behind that simple play button is a lot of advanced technology. File compression, video encoding, bit-rate streaming, automatic resolution settings, and a bunch of other technical mumbo-jumbo are all in play behind the scenes to bring you this video. This technology took years to develop and continues to improve. However, any improvements need to have the proper tool to implement them. Older tools aren’t going to work, so it’s important to keep up to date.

This is situation with web browsers. Older browsers can not understand the new technology being used on websites these days, resulting in broken features, poor performance, or in some cases the website not working at all. Internet Explorer is a particular problem because 1) it’s integrated into Windows, making it widely used, and 2) Microsoft can choose to stop updating older versions of Windows, leaving users stranded.

This brings us to the Windows XP/IE8 problem. Internet Explorer 8 is the last version available for Windows XP (Microsoft is set to cut off support for Windows XP completely April 2014 ). It’s still widely used, and those people are either going to need an upgrade path or will need to move to a more modern version of Windows — most likely in the form of a new computer. Using IE8 on the Internet in the coming year is going to become more and more frustrating as new standards and technology are adapted.

OK, so the problem in a nutshell is Windows XP is still working fine for many people, but the main tool used to connect to the Internet does not. If getting a newer computer is not in the cards, there are a few ways you can extend the life of your XP-based computer:

Install Chrome Frame

The easiest way to get more life out of Internet Explorer 8 is by installing Chrome Frame . This is a free tool created by Google that ingeniously allows you to “run a web browser inside of your web browser.” Installing Chrome Frame is very simple: you download the file, run it, and you’re done. After that, any websites that require modern features will use the code from Google’s popular Chrome web browser to display the page. Chrome Frame is completely transparent, meaning you won’t notice any differences in the way IE8 normally operates. It’s a nice, simple solution.

Google Chrome

As I mentioned, a LOT of people use Internet Explorer for web browsing as it’s built-in to Windows and they don’t realize that alternative browsers are available (there’s a joke in the geek-world that says “Internet Explorer is the #1 web browser used to download a different web browser”). Google Chrome is one such product, offering a modern web experience and it’s completely compatible with Windows XP. Chrome offers some nice advantages over even modern version of Internet Explorer:

Installing Chrome

Download the Chrome installation file and then follow the prompts. The browser itself is fairly small, so even those on dial-up connections shouldn’t have much difficulty. Once installed, there are a few tweaks to make things more familiar. Click the Tools icon in the upper right corner, select Settings, and perform the following:

That should get you started. Simply open your Google Chrome icon and you’re off and running.

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox has been a popular browser for nearly a decade and has a wide fan-base. It offers many of the advantages of Chrome, but the interface is a bit more robust and allows for a high amount of customization. This browser updates automatically so you’ll always have to the latest version (and Mozilla tends to update Firefox frequently). Add-ons are available to perform functions such as mail checking, music streaming, etc., but unlike Chrome, there is not a central app store to get these add-ons.

Installing Firefox

Download the Firefox installation file and follow the prompts. The installation file is fairly large, so people on slower connections will have to have some patience. Once installed, you can customize the settings to act similar to Internet Explorer. Click the orange “Firefox” button in the upper left corner, click Options, then do the following:

That should be all you need to get going.

Bottom Line

While these three tips will help modernize an older computer, do keep in mind that Windows XP came out over a decade ago. You can keep on truckin’ for a while, but a more modern version of Windows should definitely be on your roadmap. There comes a point where you spend more time finding workarounds to get something to work than actually using it, and we’re just about at that point with Windows XP.

Happy 11th Birthday Windows XP – Not Quite Dead Yet

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 19:10:00 GMT

I’m sure Microsoft hopes to have the same success with Windows 8, but its track-record has been hit and miss…history shows the “odd” number releases are usually the good ones. We’ll have to see if Windows 8 breaks that mold.

Windows XP was so successful because it solved a lot of pain-points for PC users at the time. Hardware installation, file limitations, memory management…all of these issues made computers more of a complicated tool rather than the appliance-like device it is seen as today. Windows XP is the product that made that possible. Its so well made that even 11 years after its introduction, XP is still used 41% of the world’s personal computers as of September 2012. Only the much newer Windows 7 has a larger share, and it didn’t surpass Windows XP until August!

All is not well with Windows XP however, and its longevity is quickly coming to an end. Back in 2001, XP was the crown jewel of Microsoft’s security and vision– but things change quickly. We’re doing things on the Internet today that weren’t even imagined back then, and that led to Microsoft having to release 1000’s of patches and three complete service packs to fix security holes and compatibility issues over the years. You can only put duct tape on something so many times before deciding it needs to be replaced, and Windows XP actually came to that point in March 2011 when it declared that new versions of Internet Explorer no longer be compatible. IE9’s focus is security, and XP’s background has way too many holes in it to even bother. Microsoft has still continued official software support for the operating system until April 8th, 2014…just 18 months from now. After that, the line is cut and all support for Windows XP will be discontinued.

So, where does that leave people still using this classic operating system? Not in a very good place. As the cutoff date looms, fewer and fewer developers are going to be including Windows XP compatibility in their products. Since no updates are provided for Internet Explorer 8, websites are going to become less functional, forcing the use of an alternative web browser such as Chrome of Firefox . Finally, you’re going to get to the point where you’re spending more time looking for workarounds to get things working than actually doing work.

Upgrading options are also limited. If you purchased a Windows XP PC in the 2005-2007 range, you may be able to simply purchase an upgrade to Windows 7 and continue on your way. PC’s that are much older than that may be too limited to handle a more modern version of Windows, forcing the purchase of a new computer…which is scary to many people. Cloud services such as Google Drive , Picassa , Online Backup , and such store important documents and photos on the Internet, allowing the transition to a new PC much easier. Still, it can be a lot of work. If you approach it from the perspective of “Maybe I’ll get another 10 years out of my new computer,” it doesn’t seem so bad (and you know you’ll be happier in the long run).

So, Happy Birthday Windows XP! You got us here, we’re grateful…and we’ll make sure your retirement home has the best shuffleboard lanes and buffets available.

Keeping your computer safe

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:29:00 GMT

Keeping your computer safe and secure is easy. Cleaning up the results of not having the proper protection is difficult. Follow these tips to keep your computer…and your information…safe on the Internet:

Internet Explorer 8’s Last Hurrah?

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:54:00 GMT

Google made the announcement last week on its Apps Blog as part of its on-going commitment to keep products up to date . Google firmly believes older products introduce more security flaws, and newer browsers provide the best user experience.

“We support the latest version of Google Chrome, as well as the current and prior major release of Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari on a rolling basis. Each time a new version of one of these browsers is released, we begin supporting the update and stop supporting the third-oldest version,”” Google mentioned in the post

Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) will be introduced on Oct. 26. Google will therefore stop support for IE8 on Nov. 15, according to their blog post. IE8 users can expect to see a notice telling them to upgrade to a newer version after that date. Users of TOAST.net’s residential email system, as well as Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government will be affected.

Google’s policy of supporting only the latest browsers began in June of 2011 as it announced support for new Web standards, such as HTML5 . These standards allow web-based applications to operate just like locally installed software, providing advanced features and usability.

“For Web applications to spring even farther ahead of traditional software, our teams need to make use of new capabilities available in modern browsers,” Venkat Panchapakesan, Google’s vice president of engineering, wrote in a Gmail Blog post at that time. “For example, desktop notifications for Gmail and drag-and-drop file upload in Google Docs require advanced browsers that support HTML5 . Older browsers just don’t have the chops to provide you with the same high-quality experience.”

Included Google services will be affected by the change are:

IE8 users of these products may experience reduced functionality, performance, and prompts to upgrade your web browser. Google search services will be unaffected.
The new changes mean that users who are still running older browsers and older computers will have to consider other web browsers. Windows XP was released in 2001, and the highest version of Internet Explorer available for XP is IE8. Users running Windows XP can use Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as an alternative browser. Both of these web browsers are available for download on TOAST.net’s Software Page .

Security Alert for Internet Explorer Users

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 13:38:00 GMT

UPDATE: Microsoft has released a patch to fix this security issue as of 9/22/12. Please run Windows Update to make sure you are patched.

This week, Microsoft is urging Windows users to install a security tool to protect against a newly discovered bug in Internet Explorer.

This security issue may allow hackers to take control of infected PCs and affects all versions Internet Explorer browsers. Microsoft is currently working to patch the flaw, but their security tool should protect users in the meantime.

The free security tool, called the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit , is available from Microsoft.

The malicious software, known as Poison Ivy , was discovered last Friday and has the capability of stealing data and assuming remote control of infected PC’s. Being a “zero-day” infection, there are not any effective patches or protections available against it as of yet. Antivirus manufacturers are working on updates to protect against Poison Ivy, and are expected to have them available later this week.

In the meantime, be sure to install any Windows updates as soon as they are available. Check for the latest updates from Windows Update .

For free antivirus software, visit TOAST.net’s Software Page .

Update 9/20/12:

Microsoft has announced a patch for this vulnerability will be made available on Friday, Sept. 21st via Windows Update .

Google Drive is Now Available: 5 Cool Things To Do

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 20:26:00 GMT

I had a nice 8GB USB thumb drive a few weeks ago. It had some large files on it that were impractical to email, some photos I was going to use on a web site, and a few other miscellaneous items. The little memory stick was a convenient way of moving information because it was small enough to fit in my pocket, and I could plug it in to any computer I happened to be in front of.

You’ll notice I wrote that sentence in the “past-tense,” because I lost it. I also had a portable USB hard drive that I carted around in my travel bag for the same reason…which died after I dropped it.

Two problems with storing information on a piece of hardware is if your hardware malfunctions or you don’t have it with you, your information is at best inaccessible and at worst lost forever.

Google Drive was recently released to everyone, Google’s new cloud storage product that gives you 5GB of free storage . Sundar Pichai, a lead Google Apps developer, describes Google drive as “a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.”

He’s not kidding either. Google Drive is integrated into your email system (Click the Documents or Drive link at the top of your mail screen), and can be set up to work just like a virtual hard drive on your computer, smartphone, or tablet. Once logged into your Drive, you can upload files, create and share documents , and manage the accessibility of your files. Photos and information I frequently use are now in a central location that can’t be lost or victimized by my butterfingers, and I can access these files from any Internet connection.

To sweeten the deal, here’s 5 things you can do with Google Drive to make it even better:

1. Google Drive on your desktop

2. Get Google Drive on your smartphone or tablet

3. Send large attachments

4. Fax Documents

5. Add a “Send To Google Drive” command to Windows

Now you can right-click any file and select Send To -> Google Drive .

TOAST.net Email Updates Explained

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:45:00 GMT

This week, TOAST.net has expanded the functionality of our email accounts even further by making them fully compatible with other Google-based services. This means that any Google-based service can be used with your TOAST.net email account without have to create a separate Gmail account. For example, in the past if you wanted to sign into YouTube to upload videos or Picasa to share photos, you had to have a separate Gmail email address. Now, if you’re logged into the TOAST.net Start Page , your TOAST.net email account will log into these services automatically!

Note that TOAST.net’s policies on privacy are not changing — your personal account information will not be shared with 3rd parties. Customers should notice a “license agreement” screen the next time they log into their mail account. Simply select “I accept. Continue to my account.” to enable the new features. If you do not use other Google services, you will not notice any difference in your email functionality.

Another benefit of this change is the ability to use multiple Google-based email accounts from a single screen. For example, I have an @toast.net account , a Google Apps business account, and a standard Gmail account. If I log into one of these accounts, I can click on my email address in the upper-right corner of the screen and switch addresses instantly:

If you have additional Google-based email addresses and they’re not showing up, you can click “Add Account” to sign into them and enable instant switching.

These changes will make your @toast.net email address more convenient to use and give you access to a lot of great services. Enjoy!

Conserve Data: Getting the Most Out Of Your Wireless Plan

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:50:00 GMT

This leaves customers with the question “How much data do I need per month?”

Data is an abstract term, and it can be confusing. Just like using electricity in a new house, it may take a few months to discover your usage patterns to see which level of service will be best for you. There are ways you can keep your data use in check, however. Here are a few tips to make sure you are getting the most out of your wireless connection:

Monitor Your Usage

It’s a good idea to keep track of your usage during the month. This gives you an idea of how much you truly use the service, plus may indicate behaviors you want to limit. Most wireless carriers let you see your data usage on their website. TOAST.net allows you to view your usage by logging into My Account on the TOAST.net Start Page .

Avoid Streaming Media

Streaming music and video is obviously very popular, with services like YouTube, Pandora, Spotify, and Netflix being some of the most popular services on the Internet. If you’re a streaming addict, you may want to find yourself a free Wi-Fi connection to feed it. Any streaming service will eat through your data plan faster than you can say “kitten video.” When using your mobile hotspot, it’s best to avoid these sites.

Use a Web Accelerator

TOAST.net is one of the few wireless companies that offers a Web Accelerator with our service. I have no idea why this practice isn’t more wide-spread, but using an Accelerator while web browsing is a win/win for everyone. Web Accelerators work by directing your traffic through an “acceleration server,” which takes any information you’ve requested from the Internet and squeezes it down to a fraction of its normal size. Once received on your computer, the information is then decompressed and displayed normally. The result is your webpage loads faster …usually a LOT faster, and since you’re downloading less you get more browsing for the buck.

Automatic Updates

This is a sticky subject as there are some good and bad aspects to software that updates automatically. Windows, antivirus software, Adobe products, and other applications are often set to automatically update when a new version is available. These updates patch recently discovered security holes and fix bugs. However, these updates can also be quite large, not to mention slowing down your connection at inconvenient times.

Since you pay for data, you are also in effect paying for these updates to download. It may be best to update your software when you’re on an “unlimited” connection (such as using the WiFi at a library or a coffee shop). You can set Windows to only prompt you when updates are available by doing the following:

You can also turn off automatic updating on other Windows software by adjusting the settings on the little icons on your Tooltray (in the lower right corner of the screen next to the clock).

Now, there’s a ‘gotcha’ to doing this: if there is a security update that is being released, you will be vulnerable to what ever problem is being fixed until you run that update. If you are going to turn off automatic updates, be sure to install the updates in a timely manner .

Apps and Games

If you are using a tablet with your wireless hotspot, Apps stores can get you into hot water. Some apps are not only gigantic (my son downloaded a Zombie game to his Kindle Fire last week that was nearly 500MB!), apps can also be set to automatically download updates and new features. Be sure to carefully examine the size of any apps you download, and after installation see if they are set to update on their own.

Game sites are in a similar boat. They download “mini-apps” in your web browser each time you visit them. Sites like Pogo or Kongregate can be so data-intensive that you end up blowing through your data plan in a couple of days. Be careful with gaming sites with intensive graphics or ones that require large downloads to operate.

Use Webmail

The majority of people have weened themselves off of email programs like Outlook Express or Windows Mail by now, but there are still some sticklers out there. Webmail is the preferred method of viewing email on a wireless hotspot because all of your email comes in the form of a simple webpage…meaning low data transfers. When you use an email program, there’s a lot of extra requests and authenticating going on in the background, then each message has to be downloaded when you open it. Email programs are much less efficient when trying to conserve data traffic.

Be Realistic

Data plans with TOAST.net start at $25 for 1GB/month . A lot of people switching from dial-up to wireless figure “I only used to use 400MB/month, so 1GB should be fine!” The problem with that logic is wireless is a LOT faster and therefore more convenient to use. When something is convenient, you tend to use it more. Watch your usage patterns and then decide if you are indeed on the correct data plan. If you’re below or only going a tad over 1GB /month, then that’s fine. If you’re constantly hitting a lot higher than that, a 2GB or 4GB plan may be better suited for you.

8 New Gmail Features: Google Has Been Busy!

Thu, 10 May 2012 18:26:00 GMT

Gmail is a constantly evolving product, which makes it the key reason it’s so popular. More updates are on the way, and we’ll keep you updated as they become available.

Study: Business Pros Recommend Android 50%, iPhone 32%

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:52:00 GMT

TechRepublic recently released its poll of phone recommendations in the workplace. While the iPhone has the most marketing muscle behind it, it turns out that Android based phones are enjoying a healthy lead in the workplace. 50% of IT professionals are recommending Android phones to their workers, and with good reason. Android has replaced the struggling Blackberry as the de facto email workhorse. Its ability to easily synchronize multiple accounts from any platform is something users have been looking forward to for years. Coming in second is Apple’s popular iPhone, which is a capable business phone but has a few factors that may limit its appeal in the workplace.

Bringing up the rear are Windows Mobile and Blackberry. Surprisingly, 13% of recommendations are for Windows Mobile 7 phones. Microsoft is struggling to get their new phone platform into the hands of users, and while its mobile operating system is getting high praise, the Nokia phone hardware it’s being featured on is not. What is interesting is Microsoft has only gained about 2% of the phone market, so the fact they scored as highly as they did may be good news for them.

Blackberry was the former king of the smartphone, and is a perfect example of what happens to a company when they don’t keep up with the times. Blackberry used to make mobile email so convenient and addicting that people would call them “Crackberries.” Unfortunately, not showing any innovation for a decade and terrible business decisions have made people jump ship, which leads to a lowly 2% recommendation for the Blackberry platform.

My Recommendations

I myself usually recommend Android phones because they are a natural fit for Google Apps . The growing number of businesses using Google Apps makes smartphone integration very simple. Android’s default Gmail app works great with your Google apps email address: simply enter your email address and password and your email, calendar, and contacts automatically synchronize with your phone. The available larger screens on Android phones makes it easier to work with as well. In fact, there’s a handy little guide right here to walk you through the process.

Apple’s iPhone isn’t a bad choice either. It has a well developed user-base, and can handle your email and contacts, but the calendar function seems to be a bit limited. The 3.7″ screen is also getting a bit cramped these days. I have a lot of users complain about checking multiple email accounts as well…Apple’s email client doesn’t seem to be as robust as its Android counterpart. It’s a good phone, but it doesn’t fit every situation.

Windows phones are in their infancy and it shows. I can’t really recommend Windows Mobile for business at this point because it is severely under-developed. At this stage, Microsoft is trying different strategies to see what works, and right now there’s a lot of things that don’t work. A lack of apps, less than stellar hardware, and a flaky email client are keeping me away from an endorsement, but at least Microsoft recognizes the problems and is working to improve them. It may be a better choice in a year or so when Windows 8 settles in. We’ll have to see what kind of syncing and interplay Microsoft has in store for the platform.

Blackberry: don’t bother. The Blackberry platform as a whole is a one-trick-pony, and that trick is email. Today’s business environment requires so much more. The only reason one would consider a Blackberry is if you are locked into the platform…and if that’s the case it may be time for a change. I fear Blackberry may not survive the next two years much less provide a quality phone anytime soon.

9 Things Our Children Won’t Be Using

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:34:00 GMT

Really fast.

Not so long ago, a new gadget or system that was accepted into the mainstream would hang around for decades. People listened to music from their record players for 70+ years, cassettes for 20 years, CD’s for a bit less than 20 years, MP3’s for ten years, and now we’re on to cloud based streaming as the most popular way to get tunes. It seems the more advanced a technology gets the shorter its lifespan.

This rapid-fire upgrading will become more and more common as we advance. I have two teen-age children right now, and by the time they’re my age, they’re probably going to be looking at these common technologies the same way I look at my VCR:

Nobody pulls out photo albums to see pictures of the family last Christmas anymore. Nobody gathers around a TV to watch home movies of your 4-year-old running around a pumpkin patch. Everyone IS looking at these things on the Internet. If there is not an easy way to get your photos or movies to the Internet, people won’t bother looking at them. Both cameras and camcorders are being integrated into smartphones with ever-increasing quality. An all-in-one communications device that takes quality photos, movies, plus allows you to communicate with anyone in the world has a lot more appeal than carrying around a dedicated device, and that puts the writing on the wall for cameras and camcorders. Soon cameras will only be used by specialists and hobbyists, while everyone else in the world is simply going to use their phone to record their memories.

The writing is on the wall for landlines. They’ve been sitting underground and on top of poles for around a century, and people are moving on. A 2010 study shows that 25% of all Americans have dropped their landline service and moved to cellphones exclusively. By the time my kids are grown, the landline will be gone for the most part. Cellular phones are portable, more accessible, and serve more function, not to mention cost to phone companies is far less to maintain. Maybe all those copper lines can be repurposed for low voltage electricity to recharge our cell phones?

Your Pictures Are Too Big!

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:23:00 GMT

There’s one problem with rating cameras like this: What the heck is a megapixel?

Camera manufacturers know that the general public isn’t “techie”. If they start blurting out things like “Our product features a fully adjustable f-stop and aperture range on a 35-430mm lens” their customer’s eyes would glaze over. They needed some kind of rating to say “hey, this camera is better than that one.” The megapixel rating is what they latched onto, and now we have a megapixel war going on with new camera models.

So, what is a megapixel? A pixel is short for “picture element,” and it’s the smallest piece of a photo…essentially a dot. Mega refers to a million, so a megapixel means a camera can take a picture made of 1,000,000 dots. A 10 megapixel camera will take a picture with a resolution of 10,000,000 dots, and so on.

So, the higher the megapixel rating, the better the pictures then, right?

Not necessarily.

The quality of a photo mainly depends on the quality of the lens focusing light on the CCD (the “digital eye” the camera uses to process photos), and how accurately that CCD is able to translate the colors it sees into a digital image. The problem with high megapixel rated cameras is the pictures files they create are HUGE. A 15MP camera could easily take photos 5-10MB in size each . The first thing people like to do after they go on a photo-shoot rampage is post their work to the Internet, and that’s where the problems begin.

How to Optimize

When you go to a website, you want all the information to pop up fairly quickly. If you were reading a book and had to wait 20-30 seconds for the words on each page to fill in, you wouldn’t bother reading it, would you? The same goes with pictures on the Internet. Huge picture files take a long time to display, and if people have to wait, they’re not going to bother.

So, you have these giant photo files and you want to get them posted on the Internet. What’s the best way to do it?

Before posting any type of photo, you need to optimize it for the Internet…especially if you’re going to use it for a website. As a general rule, I like to keep my photos for websites well under 100K (as opposed to a 5000K, or 5MB directly from the camera). This will involve some simple editing.

Many websites will automatically adjust the size and resolution for Internet use. Some of the more popular free sites like Picresize or ShrinkPictures will make your photos more web friendly and allow you to resize as needed.

For more advanced editing, you’ll want to use some photo-editing software. Many cameras come with this type of software, or you can use 3rd party software such as Photoshop Elements .

Windows Vista and 7 actually updated MS Paint and made it a fairly useful editing tool. I use Paint all the time for quick edits and size adjustments. To learn how to adjust your photo files in MS Paint, check out this quick tutorial from Microsoft .

Finally, if you know you are going to be taking pictures to publish to the web, consider cutting down the quality settings on your camera. Some cameras (especially cell phone cameras) have a “web quality” setting that will automatically optimize files sizes for the Internet.

To get an idea of how long a large photo takes to load, check our our Internet Performance Test and choose the “Blue Angels” option under “Test Type”. This test will download a 4MB photo to your computer and calculate how long it takes to complete. Imagine every photo on your website loading like this! Optimize your pictures before placing them on the Internet and say NO to those ridiculous megapixels.

If you have any questions about optimizing your website, feel free to contact our expert Web Design Team . If photos aren’t slowing your site down, we can probably figure out the problem.

Your Wireless Questions Answered

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:48:00 GMT

As with any new product, there are some questions that frequently come up. I can appreciate someone wanting to be well informed about a product, so here’s a run-down of the most common questions people ask me about wireless:

Q: I live in a rural area. Can I get wireless Internet?

A: Maybe. As a rule of thumb, if you can use a cell phone with no problems, you can typically get wireless Internet. TOAST.net is able to check actual coverage at your location at the time of sign-up.

Q: Your wireless plans allow for 1000MB, 2000MB, and 4000MB of data usage per month. What does that mean?

A: Data is measured in megabytes. For example, a CD can hold 640 megabytes of data and a DVD can hold around 4000 megabytes of data. Every time you browse to a webpage on the Internet, you’re downloading data, and wireless access is charged by the amount of data you transfer per month. A typical person switching from dial-up to WiFi uses 1000-2000MB per month. If you’re a heavy user that likes to watch YouTube or play games, a 4000MB plan might be more appropriate.

Q: Since I have to pay for data usage, how large is a web page?

A: This question doesn’t really have a specific answer. It’s like asking “How many pages are in a book?” It depends on what’s in the book! The same concept applies to websites: the more photos and videos on a website, the larger it will be. TOAST.net is unique in that we offer a Web Accelerator that compresses normal web traffic, meaning if a website is 5MB, the Accelerator may squeeze it down to 3MB and therefore giving you more “bang for the buck”. As a rough estimate, 1000MB of data translates into around 40 hours of web browsing per month.

Q: What happens if I go over my data plan allowance?

A: We try to be as fair as possible about overage charges. If you go over your allotted data usage for the month, you are only charged 4 cents for every MB you go over. This means if you are 100MB over, the extra cost is only $4. If you happen to go way over, you can move to the next highest data plan at any time to avoid any extra fees.

Q: My computer doesn’t have wireless capability, but your MiFi card requires my computer to have wireless to work. How can I add wireless to my computer?

A: Most desktop computers and some older laptops do not have wireless built in. You can easily add wireless capability with a small adapter available from TOAST.net. The adapter runs $29.95 and simply plugs into an available USB port on your computer.

Q: What kind of devices can connect to your MiFi card?

A: Any device with wireless capability can use our MiFi card to get Internet access. The card itself will support up to 5 simultaneous connections. For example, you would be able to connect two laptops, a desktop computer, a tablet, and a wireless printer at the same time. Do keep in mind that the more devices you connect, the more data usage you will incur.

Q: Can I connect my XBox or Netflix device to the MiFi card?

A: In theory, yes…but it would not be cost-effective. Game systems and streaming video services such as Netflix or Amazon Video use large amounts of data. For example, one or two movies on Netflix could use up your entire data plan for the month! TOAST.net recommends a dedicated high-speed connection such as DSL for these types of applications.

That covers the main questions I’ve heard over the last few weeks. I’m really excited about this product because it’s one of those things that everyone can use. I took a day trip this week and happened to bring a MiFi card with me. The hotel I stayed at wanted $25/day to use their wireless Internet…which I was able to avoid. The card paid for itself in one day!

If you have any additional questions, I’ll be happy to answer them for you. In the meantime, if you’re stuck on dial-up or tend to travel a lot, I HIGHLY recommend checking out our high-speed wireless. You’ll be impressed!

TOAST.net Wireless FAQ

Go Mobile or Stay Behind

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:03:00 GMT

Of course, that day has since arrived. In fact, many of us can’t imagine a world where we aren’t able to check Facebook or read the news from our mobile devices. Sales of smartphones even surpassed PC’s last year , making them one of the most popular methods of connecting to the Internet. Mobile Internet is trending so quickly that many businesses are in danger of falling behind if they don’t start re-thinking their mobile strategies.

Desktops Are Getting Dashed

The iPhone arrived in June 2007, and its snowball effect on Internet usage is still shaping things today. This was the first phone that could run applications and display websites as well as a full blown computer, and now an avalanche of Android and Blackberry devices have followed suit.

Before the iPhone’s arrival, over 90% of the Internet connected devices world-wide consisted of Windows PC’s. IT tracking firm Gartner is predicting PC sales for 2012 will be 400 million units, while smartphones are projected to hit the 600 million unit mark. These figures mean only 35% of the new devices connecting to the Internet this year will be running Windows . That’s a heck of a jump in only 5 years!

Things look even worse for PC’s in the next few years: By 2015, Gartner projects PC sales will grow to over 500 million, but tablets increase to 300 million and smartphones will jump to 1.1 billion.

Despite this dramatic shift in the way the Internet is being accessed, Internet content still seems to focus on the computer. Computers will still be the work-horses for workers to develop, build, and create content for some time, but the way users will be primarily consuming your company’s content will be through a mobile device.

How To Prepare

When switching over to a mobile-friendly environment, the first thing you need to do is stop relying on software to communicate. The thought of buying a CD, installing it on a PC, and keeping track of a license key is both outdated and cumbersome. Cloud applications should be the focus. The beauty of using the Internet for your applications is they will work on nearly anything you can connect to the Internet. If you look at common cloud applications such as Google Docs , you are able to create a presentation on your office PC, make a quick edit on your smartphone while riding the bus home, use your tablet in bed to go over it before your morning meeting, and then use a PC at your client’s office to bring it up for display. The author has complete control from any location.

This same train of thought should be applied to your email system. Most mobile devices can check email from any mail system, but can they actually synchronize with your mail system? Mail systems usually do much more than mail: they keep your contacts list, calendar, task lists, and other features. ALL of these features should be available via mobile. There are many options for implementing this (in some cases, it’s a matter of “Our system does this, but I don’t know how to use it”), so look at the options available and decide if your current mail system is still doing the job. Most offices will agree that email is one of their most important tools, and being able to use its information anywhere is crucial.

Finally, think of your company’s website design. There was a web designing habit of using fancy Flash animations and floating menus over the last few years, and yes…they look great on a PC with a high-speed Internet connection. However mobile users HATE these features. They take forever to load, seldom display properly, or may not even work at all. Consider cleaning up your website , or make a mobile version of your site that focuses on function over form. You don’t want someone coming to your webpage looking to contact you for a sale, only to be frustrated because they can’t navigate to the information they need.

Time To Get Moving

Customers and employees are demanding the freedom to go mobile, but the Internet changes don’t seem to be coming fast enough. I was just reading how users have little patience for slow or bloated websites on mobile connections , and I myself share a lot of their feelings when browsing. If mobile is going to be the top way of accessing the Internet, not preparing is going to tick people off, driving potential business opportunities to competitors and making your own workforce frustrated.

Solutions to make the mobile jump are often easy and inexpensive to implement. It’s time to take a look at your work environment and make sure you’re prepared for the new way the world is going to interact with you.

Getting Rid of the ol’ Desktop – Laptop Buyers Guide

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:57:00 GMT

Best Buy was a different store back then. They were one of the few places locally where you could buy a decent computer at a (then) decent price. Their flyer was lined with giant beige boxes from Packard Bell, IBM, Gateway, and Compaq…and I would drool profusely over every one of them. A whole market-line of computer specific furniture was created to house these beasts. Dropping $2000 on a computer also required the purchase of a computer desk, a computer chair, a computer desk lamp, a computer storage unit…people would base house purchases on “is there a room big enough for my computer?”

Times have changed…drastically. At one time, people used to choose a desktop computer because it was more powerful and considerably less expensive than a laptop. The explosion of wireless access has created a demand for portability, and now that laptop computers cover all price-ranges, a stationary desktop computer no longer makes sense. So, the question I’m hearing more and more is “I want to get rid of the boat anchor on my desk and replace it with a laptop. What should I get?” The answer depends on a few factors.

Where Will You Be Using It?

Laptops are like shoes. Different styles have different functions. Since laptops are portable, you have to ask yourself “Where will I be using it?” There are 3 categories:

For Travel: If you plan on being a road-warrior with your new laptop, you’re going to want to look for features that are travel-friendly and support power efficiency. Light-weight models with a long-lasting 6 or 8 cell battery and a 13″-14″ screen will be your main focus. I wouldn’t recommend going below 13″ as you’ll start to run into a problem where you have to scroll around a lot to see content on websites…which quickly becomes annoying. Be sure the screen is visible in bright light, and the keyboard isn’t too cramped for touch-typing. I also like to test how long the laptop takes to come back to life if you close the screen without powering down. Closing the screen prompts the laptop to enter “Sleep mode”, and should be ready to wake up within a few seconds of reopening. Also, the lighter the better. Try keeping the weight under 5lbs. or your arms will hate you at the airport.

Light Travel/Home Use: If you’re looking for something for home that will be a “jack-of-all-trades” laptop for the family, or if you’re in an office but only occasionally travel, a mid-range laptop with a 15″-16″ screen will suit you fine. You’ll still want to go for at least a 6 cell battery for home so you don’t have to worry about dragging a charger with you between the couch and bed. Make sure the speakers sound decent…a lot of manufacturers skimp on the sound and there’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to hear that funny YouTube cat video posted on Facebook. Weight is not as much of an issue here as you won’t be lugging it around for long distances often, but you’ll want to stay in the 5-7lb. range to be comfortable.

Desktop Replacement : If you don’t plan on moving your laptop (I hesitate to call this class of computer a laptop, because you would need a lap the size of a coffee table to accommodate one), you’ll want to look at a class of computer called a Desktop Replacement. The concept here is to take everything a desktop computer offers: a large screen, a large keyboard, and nice speakers, and put it in a consolidated package that can be easily moved without having to unplug dozens of cables. Desktop replacement laptops will have screens 17″ or larger. Battery life is not a concern as these big guys aren’t really meant to be moved around much. The larger screens are a hit with the older generations, and if you move furniture around, you don’t have to worry about hiring an IT guy to disconnect and reconnect everything. Just don’t think about travelling with one, as they can weigh in at well over 10lbs. (I recently set one up for a relative that weighed 16lbs!).

What About Power?

In the past, all computer owners used to brag about the parts in their computers the same way muscle car owners brag about their cam shafts and brake pads. Today, with the advent of cloud computing , hardware isn’t as much of a factor anymore. It doesn’t take much power to use the Internet, which is why 10 year old computers running Windows XP are still in use. Therefore, when asked “how powerful of a computer should I get?”, I usually respond with “Just about anything off the shelf is adequate.” Here’s a breakdown of the main parts of your laptop and what to look for:

Processor: The “brain” of your laptop, this determines how fast your software is going to work. Processors outpaced the needs of most software used today some time ago, so unless you’re into something that takes a lot of horsepower (graphic design, movie editing, or gaming for example), anything with an Intel i3 processor or higher will be more than adequate. If you’re one of those that does need a bit more power, look for an i5 or and i7 processor.

Hard Drive: This is the main storage area of your laptop…the “bank vault”. As mentioned, cloud computing has changed the needs of computers , and that includes local storage. Since everything is stored on the Internet these days, hard drive space isn’t that critical anymore. A lot of laptops are coming standard with 320GB hard drives, and that’s more than enough for general needs. If you want some extra performance, consider a model with one of the newer Solid State Drives (SSD’s). These hard drive replacements generally have a smaller capacity (64GB-120GB is common), but they operate several times faster than a standard hard drive. If most of what you do is Internet based, an SSD is a good option.

Memory: This is your laptop’s “work area.” The more memory your laptop has, the more things it can handle at once. 4GB is pretty standard in a new laptop, with some higher end models coming with 8GB. I like having a lot of memory in my laptops…it decreases the chances of something bogging you down. Make sure any model you are considering has at least 4GB installed.

Screen: There are two common types of screens on laptops right now: LCD and LED . LCD is the older technology and uses a fluorescent backlight to brighten up the screen. LED uses (you guessed it) LED’s as a backlight. Of the two, LED’s give better battery life, but don’t always look better. If you’re looking for portability, opt for an LED screen (preferably something with a “matte” coating on it to prevent glare if you’re going to be outside a lot). If portability isn’t a concern, go with whichever screen looks best to your eye. Print should be readable and crisp, not jagged.

Accessory Slots: There should be plenty of slots for accessories on your laptop. At least 3 USB 3.0 slots, and an SD card slot for your digital camera are highly recommended.

Other Goodies: If you can get a laptop with Wireless N included, that’s a plus. Wireless N is the latest wireless standard (replacing Wireless G) and offers better range and stability on wireless connections. A webcam is also not a bad idea, as they’re great for making video calls or taking a quick picture of your surroundings.

Final Thoughts

The drive to portability and the use of wireless connections is making the Internet a more personalized experience for everyone using it. The idea of being able to connect and interact with the world anywhere you go has changed the way we live, and these new devices are the tools we’re using to get the job done. Not everyone is an expert in technology, but knowing the basics will get you through. If you’re thinking about ditching the old desktop dinosaur and going wireless, hopefully this guide points you in the right direction.

Stay On Schedule: Google Calendar Changes In Progress

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:42:00 GMT

The current Calendar changes are cosmetic, so functionality isn’t affected. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s changed:

Google’s Privacy Change: Not Such a Bad Thing

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:39:00 GMT

Google runs a LOT of popular services. Gmail, Google Docs, Picasa, YouTube…all of these have millions ( even billions! ) of users. The problem is each service requires a separate account. You needed to sign up every time you wanted to use a different service, meaning each service required its own username, password, and set of terms and privacy conditions.

Last week, Google decided to fix this problem by integrating account information over all of their services. Google outlined the changes in a blog post , saying settings and information used on one service can now be used on all other services. Many people, especially businesses using Google Apps , have been wishing for this for years. The benefits being:

So, Google’s privacy changes now say “We have this information you gave us, and it’s going to apply it to all of our services.” Users will have a single login for email, the Marketplace, YouTube, Google Music, and any other Google service. Settings and preferences will automatically migrate over as your same account information is used on every service.

We’ve all become paranoid over privacy changes due to other services such as Facebook getting a reputation for mishandling information, but I actually see this change as a positive thing. Other large companies such as Microsoft, Apple, and others have done this for years. For instance, with Microsoft, I have a single account I use to log into their Support areas, Software Development areas, and even their XBox and Zune music service. Google is shaping itself in the same way, but the fact they came together in a piecemeal fashion (many parts of Google were acquired through purchases rather than internal development), integration proved to be more difficult.

Note that TOAST.net’s privacy policies regarding customer information have not changed.

For Google’s updated privacy policy (effective March 1st, 2012), click here .

For TOAST.net’s Terms and Conditions, click here .

7 Tips to Keep Your Smartphone Safe

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:23:00 GMT

1. Open Wi-Fi

Most smartphones allow you to use Wi-Fi connections to supplement your 3G or 4G connection. While connecting to Wi-Fi at home is perfectly safe, using public Wi-Fi can introduce some dangers. People can use software to intercept traffic from your phone, exposing any information you are entering or viewing. When using a public wireless connection, you may want to be careful of using apps or websites that require you to enter a password. Avoid looking at bank for financial information as well. When you use public wireless, you never know who’s watching. If you need to do something secure, switch to your phone’s 3G or 4G connection.

2. App Safety

The Android Market and the iTunes App Store have more apps available than you can shake a cyber-stick at, but not all of them are gems. Malware does make it out there. Like a virus on a PC, a malware app can steal data, disable or modify functions, and cause a lot of other nasty problems. The good news is Google and Apple do a fairly decent job of filtering out dangerous software (they even have the ability to “recall” applications, ripping them off of your phone automatically if they’re proven to be malicious). Read reviews and do some research to make sure you’re not installing a steaming bowl of virus on your phone.

3. Password Protection

If you lose your phone, anyone may be able to pick it up and view your contacts, calendar, email, not to mention do all sorts of embarrassing stuff with your Facebook profile. Most people are using the simple “finger swipe” lock screen. Secure your phone using a password or any of the other security options your phone offers. To lock your phone:

4. Be Careful About Side-Loading

Some software isn’t available in the app stores. You may find cases where websites actually host apps themselves and want you to download them directly rather than go through the normal channels. The problem with doing this is there is no third party saying “This app is safe to use”. Be careful about installing software from non-official sources.

5. Watch your GPS

GPS integration into services is a double-edged sword. Sure, it’s cool to have Foursquare or Facebook say “You’re at this location at this time,” but telling people where you are is also telling people where you aren’t . Thieves can easily use social platforms and information from GPS-based apps to plan burglaries. A tip I like to give to people: Share all you want, but do so AFTER the fact. “Just got back from the movies” is a lot safer than “I’m currently at the movies.” Keep GPS tracking in social apps turned off.

6. Keep Up To Date

All those apps you have installed can also have vulnerabilities…a word hackers love. Phones are constantly being poked and prodded looking for a loophole to gain profitable information. If possible, set your applications to update automatically so you receive patches to these security holes as soon as they’re available.

7. Tracking Services

If you ABSOLUTELY can not function without your smartphone, you may want to consider a tracking application so it can be recovered should you ever lose your baby. Applications such as Where’s My Android and Find My iPhone can help you locate your lost device, and even feature GPS functionality to zero in on its exact location.

Final Thoughts

I’m often asked “What about antivirus software for my phone?” It sounds logical, but I’m torn on the subject. I’ve tested various products from McAfee, F-Secure, and a few others, and was left underwhelmed. These products really bog down the phone and seem to block a good number of the legitimate things I want to do. On top of that, the reports I’m seeing say they’re not very reliable for blocking mobile viruses. This all points to an immature product. At this stage, I’m recommending to follow the above seven tips and you’ll be safe. I think mobile antivirus needs some time to grow up to be worth it, so I’ll revisit the subject in a few months.

While mobile devices greatly increase your productivity and communication, there’s a lot of “gotchas” to be aware of. Just like using any Internet device, it’s good to know the pitfalls before you encounter them. This information isn’t meant to scare you but make you better informed. Watch yourself out there and you should be fine.

CES 2012 Overview: It’s Thin, Mobile, and Cloudy

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:55:00 GMT

The biggest buzz-word of the show seems to be “Ultrabook.”

What is an Ultrabook? Well, tablets have taken off because their super-thin form factor and instant-on abilities makes them a perfect way to get on the Internet instantly. The iPad and the Kindle Fire sold millions over the holiday season for this reason, but they do have limitations. Tablets are notoriously cumbersome for typing, touch screens have accuracy problems, and slow processors can mean weak performance. Ultrabooks address this by taking a high-end laptop, squashing it down to tablet thickness, adding some nice features like an aluminum case and an extra long-life battery, and you have something that makes both laptop and tablet owners turn their heads. Large desktop workstations are quickly going the way of the 8-Track Tapes and Console TV’s because people are demanding uninhibited portability.

Portability, and more importantly, mobility is key. Cloud services are being introduced left and right, and there is a need for more convenient ways to access them. The idea of cloud services is using the Internet as a gigantic hard drive, where all of your tools, files, and applications installed. All that’s required is some kind of screen to view them. Gone are the days of having to go to a specific room, sitting at a specific desk, and using a specific computer to read your email or create a document. Cloud applications work exactly the same on any device, being a Smartphone, tablet, or 8 year-old desktop PC. This new-found freedom opens a lot of interesting options for today’s workforce.

TOAST.net foresaw this mobile revolution, which is why so many of our services are integrated with cloud services. Google Apps , Managed Antivirus , Online Backup , and other services are designed to be used when you need them, not when your computer is handy. There’s a sense of accomplishment when you’re able to edit sales figures from your phone while sitting in a car waiting to pick up your son or daughter from school. There’s a sense of security knowing you can get to your important documents from your home laptop because your office PC is on the fritz. Most important, there’s a sense of empowerment knowing you are fully in control of your information rather than your computer.

CES 2012’s underlying theme this year may be mobility, but the underlying theme is something more basic that people have wanted since the dawn of the Information Age: control.

The January Roadmap: Happy New Year!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:32:00 GMT

Wireless: It’s Out, and It’s Awesome!

We spent most of December 2011 rolling out our new Wireless Internet to pilot users, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive: people are LOVING this product. We’re getting the most feedback from travelers and “snow-birds” — being able to use the Internet in any location and not having to worry about constantly switching service providers is turning out to be a big plus for them. TOAST.net’s Wireless is a bit different than other providers as it comes bundled with our Web Accelerator software. This software, unique to TOAST.net, increases website browsing speeds and decreases data usage via advanced compression technology.

I’m pleased to announce that Wireless is now officially available to all! Visit our wireless page for details on pricing and service plans.

Build a New Website EASY!

Web Presence Builder is our new tool that allows anyone create a sharp and professional website in minutes. It’s amazing how much website construction has progressed. Ten years ago, you needed a degree in Computer Science to put something on the web. Now, you just log into a tool like Web Presence Builder, drag and drop some content in place, and the world can see your creation instantly. A lot of small business owners are flocking to this because it gives them exactly what they need: a presence on the Internet that can be updated and maintained in-house. Consumers use the web more than any other method to find products and services they need, so at bare minimum a website with your business hours, location, contact info, and a description of services is essential. After that, you can spice things up with coupon offers, online scheduling, and photo galleries. All of this can new be achieved in less than an hour with Web Presence Builder. I put together a quick video overview showing off its great features and ease of use:

Web Presence Builder is included with all of our new Web Hosting plans . If you have any questions about creating a website, let me know. I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction.

Resolution For 2012: Internet Security

TOAST.net wants to focus on Internet Security for Small Business this month. We’re receiving more and more calls from offices where people want to know if their computer can be fixed after they’ve received a nasty malware infection. Cleaning an infection after-the-fact is tricky and often requires specialized tools and services. Prevention is the key. Antivirus software is designed to block viruses from coming in, not as something you install to an already infected computer. Sadly, virus protection isn’t something most people think about until it becomes a problem. The 2 most common phrases I hear are:

These two phrases may be accurate, but they’re missing a “ , but…” at the end of the statement. New computers usually do come with some type of Antivirus software, but it is usually a trial version . This means the software will be fully functional and receive daily updates for 60 days or so, and then you have to purchase it. If you don’t fork over the cash, the software will no longer receive updates and will only protect you against old infections. As for service providers, they do often supply Antivirus protection, but only for email . Email gets scanned before it reaches your inbox, so the chances of receiving an infected email or reduced, but there is no way a service provider can protect you against malicious websites. These two “gotchas” give a false sense of security and put your data at risk.

Home users should make sure they have a current subscription to their Antivirus software. If it’s not current, you’re probably seeing pop-up balloons giving subscription warnings. TOAST.net recommends Microsoft Security Essentials (available for free on our Software Page ) for home use. It works very well, and it’s friendly for people on slow connections (especially dial-up users).

Business users have another problem — there are usually multiple PC’s to keep track of. It’s difficult and time-consuming to make sure everyone has the latest update and everything is functioning correctly in an office environment. For this situation, TOAST.net has designed Managed Antivirus. This subscription based security service allows you to pay a low fee every month and TOAST.net keeps an eye on your protection. We’ll make sure everyone has software installed, is receiving updates, and daily report is sent to let you know how everyone is doing. Starting at just $3/month, it’s also less expensive than most “off the shelf” software and gives more comprehensive coverage. We want all businesses to have the best protection available, so see everything Managed Antivirus has to offer with TOAST.net!

Business Fiber

Video conferencing, streaming, file sharing, VPN’s…they’re all a part of today’s business environment, and they all demand the fastest Internet connection possible. TOAST.net’s Metro Ethernet provides a fiber optic based connection allowing your office to reach speeds up to 100 Mbps! Many businesses think they are limited to slow upload speeds from DSL or cable connections — not so! Put your business in the fast-lane with Metro Ethernet. Get a hold of one of our account specialists to see if your area qualifies.

When Normal Becomes Frustrating

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:38:00 GMT

I’m here to tell you that in 99% of cases — this is completely untrue .

A frustrating experience with technology usually comes from 3 sources:

The top product people seem to have issues with is email, so today I’m going to focus on making email-life easier. Follow these simple tips to keep your blood pressure down and your messages sending.

Downsize Your Message Flow

Receiving so much junk mail you can’t find the messages you actually want to see? Spam filtering is essential for mailboxes, otherwise email would be a useless form of communication. Many have accepted the fact that opening your email means you have to download 70 messages you don’t want and 2 that you do want.

After all, spam is normal, right?

Absolutely not! It is actually illegal for a business to send you email without your consent. The way they get around this is through mailing lists: if you sign up for a contest, fill out a rebate form, give your email address to a store during checkout, or even shop online, there may be a stipulation in the transaction saying “I agree to let a list of vendors contact me.” The next thing you know your inbox is full of “20%-off Sales” and “One-Time-Only Events”. Once a month, I like to go through my inbox and unsubscribe to these messages. Email that comes from a legitimate mailing list will always have an unsubscribe link on the bottom of the message. Sometimes the unsubscribe request takes a few days to go through, so be patient. It makes a big difference in cutting down inbox volume.

Illegitimate messages are of the “buy pharmaceuticals” or “send me money and you’ll get a lot more in return” variety. You won’t find unsubscribe links of the bottom of these messages, and it’s important that you don’t reply to them. If your email provider is for some reason not able to filter these messages out, you’ll want to use the spam blocking tools available to you in your email application. TOAST.net email users have tools in webmail that allow you to mark messages as spam on the server level. This allows the system to learn the patterns of new undesired messages and filter them in the future.

If you run your own mail server, spam is a difficult problem to handle. I’ve even heard some IT people give up and say “eh…spam happens…deal with it.” This attitude of acceptance not only makes the IT person’s job more difficult, it causes productivity loss and can even be dangerous. It only takes one person to respond to a fake “Your password needs to be changed” message to expose your network to hackers. The easy solution to this is a mail protection service . Mail protection puts another layer in front of your mail server to cleanse your mail before it hits the mail server. The idea is essentially the same as the guy with the clipboard that lets people in at nightclubs: if an email wanting to get in looks shady, it’s not allowed in.

Email Clients

I like to prepare for the future instead of trying to relive the past. Email clients fall in this category. Fewer and fewer people are actually installing software on their computers. High speed Internet and web applications are doing away with the need for local software. I know there are still people out there where we’ll have to pry Outlook from their cold, dead hands, but the very thing they love so much is also causing a lot of problems.

Ever have an error message saying “mail server can not be found?” How about “This program as performed an illegal operation.” Did you ever lose your email because of a damaged .PST file? Having trouble installing service packs? Information not syncing correctly?

…these problems plague all Outlook users, and they have nothing to do with your email system directly. It’s why I push people to use web mail as much as possible. Using a web interface gives you a pure email experience — you’re working directly on the mail server so nothing has to synchronize, you see the same information from any computer, and often you have more tools and options available. On top of this, it just works . There’s no mail server settings to set up, no software to install, and no updates to worry about. If you insist on using an email client, it’s like you’re saying “I like to make things more complicated.” TOAST.net features some of the most advanced web mail systems available; if you’re using our email, head over to the Start page and give it a try.

Doing It The Wrong Way

Attachments are a hairy issue. Everyone loves sharing pictures, and everyone knows how to use email, so logically people try to email pictures to others. The problem with that is today’s cameras are a little too good to do this. Ten years ago, a 1 megapixel digital camera would make a 100K photo, so emailing them was not really an issue. Today’s 10+ megapixel cameras take high-resolution pictures that be as much as 5-10MB each! TOAST.net’s mail systems usually allow around 20MB attachments, but many others are limited to 2MB.

It’s not a good idea to send something that large anyway. Sending large attachments is considered rude in the Internet world…especially if the recipient has a slow Internet connection (it ranks right behind typing IN ALL CAPS). Upload the file to a 3rd party service and you’ll make all parties involved much happier. Photo sharing sites like Google Photos , video sites like YouTube , or file sharing sites like Dropbox allow you to put your files on the Internet, then send a link to the files. This way you can email anything you like without worrying about size limits, and the recipient can decide when it’s convenient to download it.

So, normal is NOT supposed to be frustrating. If something about email is driving you crazy, there’s probably a reason for it. Hopefully these tips will save some hair follicles from being ripped out.

I’d be interested to know what drives you crazy about your email? Drop me a line and I’ll see if I can get you set straight.

If your technology isn’t transparent, it’s not working.

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:35:00 GMT

Everyone can not be an expert at everything. People specialize and excel in certain areas, then use specialists in other areas to support their endeavors. This is why you don’t see many lawyer-doctor-physicist-programmers out there. However, when people are setting up a small business, they are often shoved into this situation. Accountants have to decide on what type of computer to use. Mechanics have to decide what email system they’re going to implement. Plumbers have to decide how to build a website. They do some research on the products they need, then usually settle on whichever product vendor spent the most on advertising.

Businesses rely on efficiency, especially small businesses. Making a wrong or inappropriate choice in the beginning can set the business down a slippery and expensive slope. I like to teach by example, so here’s an example of a typical scenario I see constantly:

Dave runs an engineering firm and has 13 employees. He needs an email solution, so he looks online and sees a lot of people are talking about Microsoft Exchange . He decides to use Exchange for his email platform. Dave hires a consultant, purchases a server, backup equipment, a dedicated high-speed Internet connection for the server, a domain name, and Outlook licenses for everyone in the office. After spending several thousand dollars on the initial setup, Dave is also required to maintain the mail backup system, install his own security updates, pay a service tech $100/hr every other month to fix a server problem, and tends to lose email every time his Internet connection goes down.

The above scenario is very common, and a shining example of non-transparent technology. The setup Dave went for is more suited for a 500 person office, not 13. All of the references found during the initial research of Exchange were mainly technical support questions…people in his same situation asking for help. There is no redundancy built-in, so Dave has to worry about backing up the server and keeping everything running.

Doesn’t leave much time for his actual job, does it?

As I said, all modern technology is complicated, but it also has two facets: usability and support. These two sides need to be weighed. If you put a lot of weight on the support side, you’ll have much more functionality on the usability side. If you put less weight on support, you’ll have less usability. This is why the concept of managed services has been taking off with small business owners as of late.

Having a service provider manage your systems gives the best of both worlds: All the back-end support is handled automatically on a low-cost subscription model, while maintaining a high usability level for workers. Email, virus protection, backups, and even workstation upkeep are all be handled automatically, giving you a “virtual IT department”. This gives your business tools the same transparency as your car radio — you just turn it on and it works. No hardware to support, no expensive service calls, and since you can turn services on and off as needed, no money is wasted to keep extra capacity on-hand.

I’ll now retell Dave’s saga using a managed service model and see how it turns out:

Dave runs an engineering firm and has 13 employees. He needs an email solution, so he looks online and sees a lot of people are talking about Google Apps for Business. He decides to use Google Apps as his email platform. Dave calls a Managed Service Provider, and purchases 13 Google Apps accounts at $48/per user/year. The provider registers a domain for Dave, and hosts a website for him for $9.95/month. The technical work is finished on the Provider’s end in a couple of days, and all the employees have to do is log into the service. If additional features are needed, such as monitored anti-virus or file backups , services can be added instantly. No hardware to install, no technician visits needed.

You can see the difference. Dave and his employees are now able to use the tools they need without having to worry about the technical end of things… they just work .

Transparency is the key to technology. If you aren’t “aware” it’s there, then it’s doing it’s job properly. If you have to constantly babysit, adjust, or maintain your technology, it probably isn’t the right solution.

I’m curious to hear what types of systems everyone is using and what they think of them. Comment away!

Getting Those Gift Gadgets Connected…

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:12:00 GMT

Game Systems:

The XBox 360, Playstation 3, and the Wii are all going to show up under people’s trees this year, and they all require a high-speed Internet connection to work properly. Fortunately the Wireless modem that TOAST.net includes with our DSL connections is already configured to work with these consoles out of the box — simply enter the wireless password into the console’s network settings and you’re off.

There is a catch however…wireless connections may work well, but are not actually the best for gaming. Ask a gamer about the most important thing when playing something like Modern Warfare or Call of Duty , and you’ll hear “ ping time .” Ping time is a measure of latency, or how long an action takes to register on the Internet and get a response. The lower your ping time, the faster a game will register your trigger pull, giving you an advantage over players with higher ping times. By nature, a wireless connection is a bit “lossy”. It may randomly drop pieces of information due to natural interference (similar to the way a radio station in your car may fade in and out from time to time). For the best performance on a game console, plug them directly into one of the Ethernet jacks in the back of the modem. This will reduce lag, decrease your ping, and help the kids rack up more kills during the holidays (wow, that would sound really bad out of context).

Smartphones

I just read that 33% of cellphone users world-wide are now using smartphones…and why not? How cool is it being able to get any piece of information that pops into your head instantly? The problem is the data plan. Cell phone data plans are based on usage…meaning the more 3G or 4G data you consume, the more expensive your plan is. You can actually save some money on your cell bill by optimizing your phone to use available WiFi connections. Smartphones are aptly named…they’re smart! Since free WiFi is available nearly everywhere these days, all you have to do is tell your phone to connect to any available wireless network once, and in the future anytime you are within range of that network it will automatically switch off your carrier’s 3G or 4G connection and use WiFi. I’m an incredibly heavy smartphone user, but WiFi is available in my office, in the mall, in most restaurants, and in many other public places. Therefore I only average around 500MB of usage per month. If I didn’t use WiFi, I would be around 4GB per month. That’s quite a savings. Turn on your phone’s WiFi and connect to public networks whenever you can! Once you get a nice collection going, you can evaluate your data plan and save some cash.

Blu-ray Players and TV Apps

One of the best things about Blu-ray players and newer “Connected” flat screen TV’s are the online features. If you connect your Blu-ray player to your Internet connection, you gain access to automatic updates that may improve performance and add features. Many players and TV’s are coming with Netflix, Amazon Video, and other apps that allow you to stream movies and TV shows. Some even let you play games and connect to social networks. You can usually connect these devices with wireless or Ethernet, but the speed of your connection is going to determine your limits. High definition video (video that takes advantage of 720p or higher video) requires a minimum of a 3.0Mb connection. Any less than that and your movies may start skipping and buffering. If you want to go with 1080p video (Apps like Vudu and Blockbuster offer these choices), you’ll need a 6.0Mb connection. You can check with TOAST.net if you’re having problems watching movies on these devices. We usually have higher speeds available for an extra $10/month.

Also, as with gaming consoles, high-definition video may work better with Ethernet rather than wireless due to the lossy nature of wireless connections. If you have a fast connection and you’re still having problems with skipping or buffering, try switching to Ethernet.

Laptops/Tablets

Laptops and tablets have officially replaced the desktop computer as the preferred way to use the Internet. They’re portable, they don’t confine you to a desk, and they have wireless connectivity built-in. However, your new-found mobility may reveal some “dead-spots” around your home or office. These areas may see a drop or complete loss of wireless signal, creating frustrating no-man’s-land areas.

A typical wireless router will realistically give about 300 ft. of coverage area, but different materials can block or interfere with WiFi. If you have walls made from plaster lath or cider block, wireless hates you. If your wireless modem is shoved under a hand made Amish oak armoire, you’re not going to have much better luck. To maximize the wireless signal for your laptop:

Use these tips and enjoy your gifts!

The December Roadmap: Heading for the Holidays

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:07:00 GMT

Where’s My Wireless?

TOAST.net announced 3G wireless as “Coming soon” last month, and unfortunately it’s been a little past “soon” at this point. We’re ironing out some items on the technical side so we can ensure our wireless connections will be the high quality and trouble-free product that you’ve come to expect from TOAST.net. Our customer service is currently beta testing a few wireless connections with select customers, and we expect to roll out the product within the coming weeks (and we’re not kidding this time!). Prices for 3G Wireless service are expected to start around $25, and dial-up users rejoice! We checked and most of you are covered in our service area! Stay tuned for further updates.

Email Sub-Accounts

TOAST.net residential customers are able to create extra “vanity’ email addresses , and this week we retired one of them. “@cubfanbudman.com” email accounts have officially gone to that big domain cloud in the sky. Maybe rightfully so…I’m not even sure what a “cubfanbudman” is supposed to be. You can still choose from over two dozen more-sensical email addresses to use for family, friends, spare accounts…anything you wish! If you have college football fans in the house, maybe using an @michiganwolverine.com or ohiostate1.com address will spark some rivalry. Maybe you’re a NASCAR lover, and Dale Earnhardt would certainly take notice if you sent an email from an @jr-88.com address. These email accounts are fun, functional, and free to all residential users! Log into My Account , set some up, and have a blast.

Thank You for Your Response – Small Business Saturday

American Express© once again sponsored Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26th, and they reported it was the most successful year ever! TOAST.net participated with a great Website special, and because of the response we’ve decided to keep it going. There is no excuse for a small business not to have a website: the web is the #1 way people find out about businesses they want to deal with. If your business doesn’t have a website, prepare to lose a customer to the competitor that does. We’re helping correct that by offering a 5 page, professionally designed website and free domain registration for $250. We’ll even wrap it up and put a bow on it if you wish! For details on this great offer, check out our Small Business Saturday page .

Get Those Smartphones and Tablets Setup for TOAST.net

All of TOAST.net’s email systems can be setup for use on your iPad, iPhone, tablet, Android phone, Blackberry…you name it. In most cases, you can also sync your contacts, and calendars, and Start Page . Our Email Setup Wizard is going through an upgrade and now supports mobile device setup — configuring your device to receive email and appointments has never been easier! Enter your email address, select your phone, and receive specific instructions for your particular email address (residential and business…they’re both covered). We’re going to be adding more upgrades in the next week or so.

That’s it for this month. Have a great holiday season!

And the 25 Worst Passwords Are…

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:05:00 GMT

“Password”, “123456”, and the ever more secure “12345678” are the most used passwords of 2011 according to a recent report from security provider SlashData . Hackers love simple passwords, and it seems we’re making it easy for them. According to the report, sequential characters such as qwerty and 123456 are popular choices, as well as names of children and pets. Other choices such as “dragon” or “superman” are harder to explain, but may come from objects or images in the vicinity of the user. As websites require passwords to contain numbers and letters, it makes sense that we’re seeing abc123 and trustno1 on the list as well.

SplashData has compiled this list based on millions of passwords posted to the Internet by hackers:

Weak passwords can lead to your email account being used to send out viruses, identity theft, and fraud. If you are using any of these passwords, you’ll want to get busy changing them as soon as possible. Some tips I like to use to create secure passwords:

Playing with Web Presence Builder

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:42:00 GMT

Once you choose a template, Web Presence Builder’s “smart” technology takes over and pre-fills the site with relevant and useful content. Restaurants will have a menu and reservation section. Doctors will have appointment and contact info showing up. Design studios will have photo galleries set up. It also inserts data into the background automatically to make sure the site gets picked up by search engines. You click a button and half of the work is done for you automatically!

I made a quick video showing me creating a decent looking, functional website in under 10 minutes . I’m throwing down the gauntlet and taking on all challengers: who can build a website from scratch faster than this?

Cloud Services: Going Green Saves You Green…

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:14:00 GMT

AT&T just finished a large-scale study (PDF) on the advantages of putting your data in the cloud, and the results are shocking. The report shows switching cloud platforms would save companies billions of dollars per year, and up to 200 million barrels of oil by 2020.

It actually makes sense. Cloud services alleviate the need for power-hungry mail and file servers to run in-house 24/7. This also leads to a cost savings in support systems, extra staff, lighting, backup battery systems, and anything else required to keep a server running. The report states that companies that switch to cloud based systems use only 69% of their total IT budget. While most of the savings comes from less power consumption, IT administrators cite the fact that wasteful redundancy is eliminated — you only pay for what you need. Since new servers and services can be set up in minutes instead of days, resources are activated on demand. Also noted is these services are accessible from any Internet connection, so less time is spent travelling.

If you would like your air to be a little cleaner, gas to be a little less expensive, and the inside of your wallet to be a little greener, it looks like going green with TOAST.net Cloud Services is the way to go!

Websites are easy! Back in MY day…

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:19:00 GMT

This is actually no longer true. Advances in web apps have brought forth amazing tools that let anyone, and I do mean anyone , create a website. No HTML coding knowledge needed. If you know how to use a mouse you can point and click your way to publishing on the web. A website is your storefront on the Internet. More people check websites for information than read phone books or read print ads, so a presence on the Internet is a must.

This month, TOAST.net introduces three easy options to make your own website:

1. Do-It-Yourself: Web Presence Builder

We’ve just implemented Web Presence Builder this month and I’m really liking this tool. Creating a website is a simple three-step process:

You can have a fantastic looking site up and running in under an hour. The controls are very similar to what you could see in a word processor, the options are intuitive, and it all works very seamlessly. Once you get your feet wet, you can get more advanced by setting up photo galleries, displaying video, adding an online store…all by dragging modules from a menu to your page. This means the first time do-it-yourselfer can get everything created and running quickly, has the power to make changes to the site at anytime, and has room to grow as needs develop.

One of the most impressive features of Web Presence Builder is it’s Social Media sync capability. You can easily add buttons for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so forth, and that’s fine, but what made my eyes pop is the Facebook page sync functionality. Facebook is an awesome marketing tool, and it can be a bit complicated getting a Landing Page set up for your business, hobby, or organization. By turning on the Social Media tool, anything you publish to your website gets mirrored on Facebook.

For example, we set up a simple demo website here: http://www.euc.com

I filled in some content, added a TOAST.net menu option at the top, and added a couple of graphics. It took about 10 minutes total. I then turned on the Social Media feature and linked it a Facebook page.

The body of the page and the tabs are now duplicated, and any changes made on the website will automatically sync with Facebook. How cool is that? If you want to make a great website quickly and easily, Web Presence Builder is definitely the way you want to go. Here’s a quick video demonstrating how a website is made. Turn up your speakers because the music will make you smile as much as the creation process:

2. Advanced User: Concrete 5

The second option we’re offering to create your own website is Concrete 5. While offering some of the same features of Web Presence Builder, I would compare the two as a paint-by-numbers kit vs. oil paints and canvas. While you can get the same results from both, Concrete5 will give you more freedom and control over the look of your pages. Geared towards businesses desiring a uniquely stylized site that is easy to edit, Concrete5 is one of the most powerful website construction tools available. You can start with a template, start from scratch, tweak colors and behaviors…it’s completely customizable.

Administration is another strong point of Concrete5. The site administrator can assign people to be in charge of certain pages, allowing for an editing hierarchy. For instance, John may be in charge of sales, so he can edit the “Sales” page. Donna may be in charge of research, so she can update the “Upcoming Products” page. Dave maintains the entire site, so he has access to all pages. This helps keep fresh and useful content flowing, and keeps updates timely since the responsibilities are spread among multiple people.

As mentioned, the interface consists of “modules”, meaning you can pop in boxes for text, slide shows, forms, you name it. Concrete5 has a very extensive library of modules, allowing you to add just about any content in any manner you can think of. Designed for users with some experience in web design, Concrete5 is an awesome choice to get a top notch website up and running quickly.

3. A Third Option: Have It Custom Designed

Even though both Web Presence Builder and Concrete5 give you easy options to create any type of website you may need, some of you out there just don’t have the time or energy. That’s OK too. TOAST.net has a highly skilled design team on staff to help you out. These people are amazing — give them your ideas, pictures, sketches on napkins…anything you have, and they will create a website you can be proud of ( check out some of their previous work! ). Development time on this option takes a while longer obviously, but you get a finished product out the door and training on using your site when it’s done. As always, updates or changes can be made whenever you wish by simply logging in to your site. Nice!

Any Way You Go, No Coding Required

They’ve made publishing a website so easy now that I’m actually a little annoyed that these tools weren’t available back when I started. I remember trying to debug pages of code, getting frustrated, making a work-around, getting frustrated, making a work-around to my work-around, then saying “eh, good enough.” A lot of pro web-designers are feeling too: horror stories of what they used to go through for website development are starting to get as common as grandpa spouting off about “walking 5 miles to school, through 4 feet of snow, up hill, both ways…”.

You kids and your websites today have it so easy.

Technology Integration: It’s OK to ask for help

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:25:00 GMT

Small business owners tend to resemble this stereotypical guy. Technology is changing quickly, and it needs to be taken advantage of to keep a competitive edge. When it comes to integrating technology into a company, many owners try to implement costly and complicated upgrades themselves. When things go awry, weeks of Google searches and forum posts result from trying to find fixes for their situation. In the end, the cost tends to be higher and the functionality much lower than planned.

I would compare this to a couple of years back when I wanted to hang drywall in my basement. I’ve never done this before, but I figured “how hard can it be?” I did a week or two of research on the best practices to use, bought all the hardware and tools, bought the materials, and got to work. Since hanging drywall isn’t something I had experience in, I had a lot of difficulty — nails were showing through, there were grooves in the joints, the framing wasn’t quite square, the holes for the electrical boxes didn’t quite line up…it took me weeks to get everything done, and there were a lot of mistakes that I was just going to have to live with in the finished result. A couple of weeks later, I found out a local contractor could have done the job in a day and a half for about 70% of what it cost me for the tools and materials. In the end, I blame my wife for letting me loose in Home Depot with a credit card (she’s well aware of my Tim Allen syndrome), but ultimately I was trying to do something complicated that was not in my area of expertise, and it cost me.

Technology is the same way. If you run a carpet store, you can’t be expected to know how to set up a website for ordering, administer email, run data backups, and keep viruses off of your company’s workstations. Your expertise is measuring square footage, padding, and styles of Berber. If you’re dealing with computer problems, who is focusing on your customers? You can’t do both.

One of the things TOAST.net does well is showing people the best way to handle technology in your business. The experience I had with my basement drywall directly relates to buying computer hardware and software for your company. If you’re not aware of the most efficient way to do things, you can end up spending a lot of unnecessary cash on a less-than-optimal solution. It’s our job to keep up on trends and services, and we are able to take a snapshot of your environment and let you know what you need. One of the best things about the Internet-centric world we live in is buying your own hardware and software is becoming a thing of the past. The smallest business can now purchase the technology they need as a service and instantly have the same resources available as the largest enterprise. The best part: you don’t have to do any installation, it just works! No hardware to install, no servers to deal with, no networking, no backup power supplies…turning on a new mail system is about as complicated as starting a magazine subscription.

Nearly all technical requirements are now covered with services. Email , website creation , security , patch management , backups …all of these can be handled without the need to buy a single piece of hardware, not to mention you’ll most likely get a lot better results at a lower price.

The moral of the story is “It’s OK to ask for help.” Getting assistance got my GPS working right, my drywall fixed, and can even get your company’s technology working for you instead of against you. And yes my fellow men out there: sometimes calling a pro shows you’re in control better than doing it yourself.

The November Roadmap: Good Stuff Ahead!

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:43:00 GMT

3G Mifi Internet – Almost Here!

New Mail Protection Serivce

A lot of businesses run run their own email systems, but things like server failures, loss off connectivity, or spam attacks can disrupt email services in an instant. TOAST.net’s new Mail Protection prevents message loss during an outage and prevents spam and viruses from reaching the server. What I like about this service is it adds a LOT of high end features for only a few cents per user. Things like spam filtering, daily quarantine reports, and even an emergency web portal that lets user check mail if things go down would cost big bucks to install locally and support. This product should help out a lot of overworked IT people out there.

Everyone wants a website, but a lot of people have a phobia about creating one. Reasons like “I don’t know what I’m doing,” “it’s probably too expensive,” or “I don’t have anyone to help me with it” are commonly given. Well, these reasons are now MOOT! We’re introducing Web Presence Builder , and there has never been an easier way to get your own website going. If you can create an email, you can make a webpage. The process involves logging into a web app, typing content and uploading photos using a simple interface, and clicking a button to post it to the Internet. At less than $10/month, I’m hoping Web Presence Builder will get small businesses and organizations the Internet face-time they deserve.

SmarterMail Enhancements

A lot of our business customers are using the SmarterMail email system, and we’ve made a couple of great changes. First, we’ve made the spam filtering feature better than ever! Messages will now be more accurately filtered, and you can teach the system which messages are spam and which are not by marking them “Spam” or “Not Spam”.

Second, we’ve added an advanced Collaboration option to SmarterMail. You can now share contacts, notes, calendars, company wide, and mobile syncing is now available. If you’re interested in adding these options to your SmarterMail system, just let us know! This clip will show you some of the details:

Google Apps and TOAST.net Email Updates

Google Apps and TOAST.net email accounts are due for changes, and they’re coming soon (if not already). Last July, a new mail preview theme was made available . After some feedback and tweaks, the new look is about ready to roll out. In the next few days when you log into your Google Apps account, you’ll see a prompt to switch to the new version. Here’s what to expect:

Email responses will now be grouped together like a chat window. Profile pictures from your Contacts list will mark each response, making it easy to follow an email conversation.

Feel your email is too spaced-out? (in a size way, not a “this person is crazy” way). You will now be able to make adjustments to your taste.

New Themes, better search, and improved navigation round out this update.

This is only a taste of the incredible things we have coming up. Let us know what you think and stay tuned!

Windows XP hits 10, and is still the most used OS

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:36:00 GMT

In the 80’s and 90’s, it was all about hardware. Faster processors! Larger hard drives! More memory! People upgraded their computers with the same passion that car enthusiasts put into their hot-rods. Those PC’s needed the extra horsepower to run essential software such as Microsoft Office , Lotus Notes, or Doom smoothly. In the mid-90’s however, people started using their computers in a different way: online services AOL, Prodigy, and even my home-base TOAST.net had people dialing in to take advantage of online apps and content. Dial-up connections were the only affordable way to take advantage of these services, and while the connection speed was fine to download small bits of information, a majority of the work was still done on the computer.

The turn of the century saw the broadband revolution. High-speed connections for businesses and consumers took hold, meaning rich on-line content could finally be pushed down to the computer in a timely manner. Windows XP made its début around the same time frame. XP’s beefy hardware requirements pretty much ensured you were getting a powerhouse computer out of the box, and the pairing of high-speed Internet with powerful PC’s turned out to be a perfect match. More and more complex online applications were made available, and “always-on” Internet meant that less had be stored locally on the computer.

Fast forward to today and we have a world where the Internet is essentially a giant hard drive, and we’re running all of our applications from it. Computers are being used as “dumb terminals”, and even though we’re 10 years after Windows XP’s release, hardware requirements have actually stayed about the same. Windows XP features the best of both worlds for Internet use: enhanced security to block Internet threats (it took a couple of service packs to get it right though), and it can run advanced web browsers. Physical media such as CD’s and DVD’s to install and run software locally are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Taking its place are web-centric applications such as Google Apps and web-based email . Entertainment is coming from YouTube and Netflix instead of TV and movie theaters. Music and books are being distributed from Amazon and iTunes instead of the radio or stores. All you need is ANY working computer to get to your stuff, and a lot of Windows XP systems are still working. If it runs in the cloud, your operating system doesn’t matter as much. This is why a lot of the world is still using Windows XP: nothing has come along that forced it out. There were no “Beta vs. VHS” or “CD vs Cassette” or “Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD” wars to convince people they need something better, and XP still handles the basics just fine.

All good things must come to an end however, and Windows XP is just about at that point. Microsoft will not allow you install anything higher than Internet Explorer 8, and older browsers can introduce security risks. XP’s built-in firewall isn’t the best, and there’s not much in way of malware protection included. HD video is probably out of the question with the hardware requirements. Built in applications like Outlook Express are prone to security hacks and viruses. As a whole, it’s not the safest thing to use on the Internet in 2011. Much like the guy you see driving on the highway in a car covered in duct-tape and rolling on two spare tires, his car may still get the job done but I’m not sure I’d feel safe driving it.

So, Happy Birthday Windows XP! I hope you enjoyed the party, but it’s getting late and there’s the door. Goodnight.

It’s Phone Season! – Best of the Best Smartphones

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:39:00 GMT

Verizon

Motorola Droid Bionic: This phone is a powerhouse, but I’m reluctant to recommend it because I’m angry with Motorola. The Bionic was supposed to be the phone I wanted. It was supposed to be awesome. It was supposed to be amazing. And is was…back in February 2011 when it was first introduced. Right before its release, Motorola decided to take it back and rework the whole thing. Months went by… SEVEN MONTHS to be exact, before it was released. Don’t get me wrong, the Bionic is probably one of the best 4G phones available right now. Its dual core 1GHz processor packs a wallop. The phone’s shape and 4.3″ screen are both pleasing to the eye. Verizon’s 4G wireless service is SCREAMINGLY fast and widely available. The phone can even dock with a keyboard/monitor station and be used like a netbook. The problem is it is late to the party. The Bionic is being competitively priced right now because of other offerings around the corner (I actually saw it offered free on Amazon last week). This is a great phone, especially for the bargain shopper. I just don’t think I’ll ever be able to look it in its red eye after standing me up.

Samsung Nexus Prime: To paraphrase the 80’s band Foreigner , “ I’ve been waiting, for a phone line you… ” The Nexus Prime is gong to be THE phone on Verizon’s network. Due to be officially announced on Oct. 19th, the Nexus Prime touts some jaw dropping specs: a super crisp 4.65″ OMLED curved screen, a dual core high-efficiency 1.2GHz processor, 4G, and the coup de grâce: it will be the first device to feature Android 4.0 aka Ice Cream Sandwich. This completely revamped version of Android will feature a new interface, new tools, and coolness we haven’t even thought of yet. The screen is huge, which is why the device is curved. Sources I’ve consulted have said the curved design gives it the footprint of a 4.3″ phone, so you won’t need mitts like Andre the Giant to hold the thing. I’ll be patiently awaiting its arrival and will give a hands on review once officially available.

AT&T

Samsung Galaxy S II: The successor to the Samsung Captivate, the Galaxy S II boasts a beautiful 4.3″ AMOLED display covered in super tough Gorilla Glass , thin design, a peppy 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and something we don’t see very often: an excellent 8MP camera. Samsung is known for its vibrant screens, and this one doesn’t disappoint. They packed a lot of power into a wafer thin case, so you’ll be happy with this phone for at least a couple of years. 4G capability and excellent call quality round out the Galaxy S II’s features, making it a great choice for users looking for an upgrade.

Apple iPhone 4S: AT&T is the original carrier of the iPhone, and it’s here to stay. Expect the same features as the iPhone 4S on every other carrier…front facing camera, Siri voice commands, Facetime, 5MP camera, and a dual core 1GHz processor.

Motorola Atrix 2: Newly released, the Atrix 2 is similar to the Droid Bionic on Verizon. It sports a 1GHz dual core processor, a fantastic 4.3″ qHD screen, Android 2.3, and an 8MP camera. While not a true 4G phone, it does support HSPA+ for internet speeds up to 21Mbps. Like the Droid Bionic, it also supports docking so it can plug into a keyboard/monitor dock and be used as a netbook. This guy should be released in the next week or two, so keep your eyes peeled.

Sprint

Apple iPhone 4S: Same iPhone 4S, new carrier! Sprint has finally got a hold of the iPhone, letting fans of the Sprint data network unleash their Apple-y phones to Sprint’s excellent data plans. The iPhone 4S doesn’t support 4g, but Sprint’s 4G coverage is a bit lacking at the moment so no big deal (their 3G service is actually excellent and widely available).

Motorola Photon: This powerhouse, features an NVidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor running at 1GHz, a great 4.3″ qHD screen, Android 2.3, and an 8MP camera, it is similar to the Atrix 2 and the Bionic on those “other” carriers. It also sports webdock capability, letting you plug into a monitor/screen docking station and use the phone as a netbook. The Photon is unique among Android phones in that it includes Enterprise Security, so the IT guys at work will like you a bit more when using this phone to access company resources. I also really like the beveled edge case design. Definitely worth a look.

Samsung Epic 4G Touch: The Touch is probably the best Android based phone on Sprint right now. Its gigantic 4.5″ Super AMOLED Plus screen is simply gorgeous to look at, packs a smoking fast 1.2GHz dual core processor, is 4G capable (although Sprint’s 4G coverage is limited right now), and the 8PM camera is quite good…all in a package just a hair over 1/3″ thin. The Touch carries Android 2.3.3, and is currently Sprint’s flagship phone (next to the iPhone of course…don’t want to tick off Apple). Not everyone can handle the screen size however, so you may want to try before you buy.

T-Mobile

HTC Sensation 4G: The Sensation is aptly named, as it caused a sensation at its release. Sporting a sleek design and a gorgeous 4.3-inch qHD display, the Sensation is one of the best Android phones you can get from any carrier. Features include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 8-megapixel camera, plus the unique HTC Sense user interface that brings some clever and welcome enhancements. The rounded case design and aluminum construction make the phone comfortable to hold, and 4G support gets you on the Internet wicked fast.

Samsung Galaxy S II: The Galaxy S II runs a dead-heat with the HTC Sensation. It has a slightly faster 1.5GHz dual core processor, and a slightly better Super AMOLED Plus 4.3″ screen, and a slightly newer version of Android (2.3.5), but the build quality and interface enhancements featured on the HTC are not there. It’s a matter of form vs. function. The specs on this phone will get you past the next two years with no problems, and it is stunningly quick in both performance and 4G Internet speeds. I don’t envy you if you need to choose between the two phones — I’m not sure I could do it.

Other Things to Consider

If you’ve never owned a smartphone, or if you’re upgrading from an older phone, there’s some things you’ll want to keep in mind as you explore new territory:

Wireless: It’s Quickly Cutting Your Cords

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:22:00 GMT

“Do you, or someone you know, live in an area that does not have high-speed Internet available?…”

According to a study in February 2011 by the NYTimes , 40% of US residence in rural America do not have access to a broadband connection. That’s a staggering amount of citizens that are missing out on the largest source of information and education in the history of man.

I speak with these unfortunate souls quite a bit, as our company still sells quite a few dial-up connections. We’ve developed technology to help dial-up download information faster , and it still does a decent job of checking email or browsing a few websites, but in the end it leaves most disappointed. Users want to use the Internet to watch their TV programs, listen to music, download games, connect multiple computers, use tablets, take on-line classes, check out videos about kittens doing something hilarious …things that a slow connection simply can’t handle. Conversations with people stuck in the slow lane often follow the course of “Well, the phone company said we should have DSL available next year.”, or “The local cable company is supposed to be running service through my area in the next few years.” I kind of grit my teeth when hope is mentioned, because I doubt help is on the way: if you don’t have lines laid for high-speed Internet by now, you most likely never will.

Infrastructure is expensive, and the data it carries is cheap. Expensive networks with low profit margins mean a certain population density is needed to make a service worth providing. Since the United States is relatively huge, our population tends to be more spread out. DSL and cable have a certain range, and if you’re beyond that range a new facility is needed to broadcast a signal. In order to make a couple of bucks from a connection, a provider will need a customer density of…I don’t know…let’s say 30 people per mile. Many rural areas may only have 8 people per mile, meaning providers would lose a huge amount of money in expanding to that area. Now, imagine if they had to expand in 50,000 other places, and you’ll quickly understand why a lot of farms and mountain dwellers are never going to be updating Facebook on a wired broadband connection.

What is needed is a way to provide high speeds without expensive infrastructure…and we are actually able to do that. 3G and 4G wireless connections give you fast access without the need for a physical line. You use a small wireless receiver that catches a signal from a cell phone tower, and poof! You’re in business.

Wireless carries so many advantages over wired connections that many view it as the future of Internet connectivity. Cell phone towers are relatively cheap to install, and one tower can cover a large area. Phone companies caught on to this some time ago, focusing on wireless expansion and leaving land-lines by the wayside. Some are even dropping their land-lines all together . Sprint is putting serious cash ( that they may not have ) into making sure 3/4G service is available in 260 new areas by the end of 2013. Growing pains aside, in one form or another, wireless is most likely the method you’ll be using to get to the Internet in the coming years. Before you get all weepy thinking “Awwww…they did this just for me!”, the main reason for it isn’t to offer service in dead areas. It has to do with trends.

The desktop computer is dead. Other than a few niche groups, nobody likes being chained to a desk using a big, bulky, power-hungry PC anymore. It’s a hold-over from the 1980’s that is at the end of its day. Users want freedom! The explosion of tablets, smartphones, and notebook sales demonstrates that, and the technology is finally available that allows for easy mobility. Most of these devices now have some form of wireless built-in, and all of them need a provider. Customers waiting in line to buy service for their mobile device is why providers are scrambling to cover as much area as possible.

So ye poor dial-up users, fret not, for help is on the way. Although you are not the intended target, you will soon be able to reap the benefits. Investing in scissor manufacturers may be a wise move because there’s about to be a lot of cable cutting going on. You might as well profit from it.

Steve Jobs: The Henry Ford of Our Generation

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:56:00 GMT

Steve was not only a visionary, but a rare type of visionary that actually acted on his ideas and beliefs. Instead of going with the flow, he would start at the beginning of an established concept and carve his own path. Apple’s company slogan: “Think”, is very profound. Progress isn’t made by following existing ideas. Progress comes from thinking of new ways, and Steve demanded everyone around him to follow this mantra. This philosophy not only produced amazing products, it shaped an entire generation:

The comparison to Henry Ford is an apt one. It is rare that one person can have so much influence and shape the world for the better. Ford revolutionized transportation, making people and places more accessible. Jobs did the same thing, making information and knowledge more accessible. Steve made us think differently about everything. Cloud computing came about from the concept of iTunes and light weight apps. Smartphones used to be for business people checking email, now 1 out of every 4 of us use one as their primary way of accessing the Internet. Electronics are thinner, more efficient, and look better because of Apple’s design influence. Products are more functional as everything runs Apps these days: TV’s, Blu-ray players, watches…even cars and kitchen appliances. Wireless internet is now accessible in more places because of iPhone and iPad demand.

I, for one, am enjoying the scenery on the trail Steve Jobs has laid out for us. All I can say is: Thank You.

Do You Need Antivirus Software Anymore?

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:39:00 GMT

If you’re the one asking this question, the answer is probably “yes.” The full answer is a bit more complicated as antivirus software is but one ingredient in the recipe for security. Home and small business users will want to take note of this, because you are the people who tend to be on the lax end of PC security: Threats come from multiple sources, so you have to maintain multiple forms of protection. Multiple forms of protection does not mean running multiple copies of antivirus software. I see this from time to time on family and friends’ computers, with the proud claim “Nothin’ gets by me! Look at all the stuff it catches on a daily basis!” I’ll look at the logs and see a bunch of warnings about Norton Antivirus detecting suspicious activity from McAfee Antivirus, McAfee blocking Norton due to suspicious Internet traffic, or both of them failing because they’re trying to scan a file at the same time. Run only one antivirus package at a time . You’ll be better off and enjoy a much faster computer.

Multiple forms of protection DOES mean “keep a well rounded approach to all of your computer’s systems.” Here’s some things to consider when thinking about Internet Security:

Keeping these points in mind, this is an effective strategy to be safe on the Internet:

The one thing you should leave with is: use common sense. You don’t need to be paranoid about security, but if someone walked up to you on the street and said “Hey! You want a free iPad?”, you would probably walk away. Use this same philosophy when using the Internet and you’ll be a lot better off. Offering something free or creating a sense of urgency to install something is always a red flag.

We have many of these tips summarized on our 5 Steps for Safe Computing page . Print it and pass it out to friends and family to spread the word.

Happy 13th Birthday Google! 14 Things You Didn’t Know…

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:06:00 GMT

Top 5 Trends for Small and Medium Businesses

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 19:30:00 GMT

Cloud Computing

The idea of running a server in-house these days will get you the same looks as asking the guy in Wal-Mart’s music aisle if they have Grand Funk Railroad on 8-track tape. On site servers are very impractical for the SMB — they’re expensive to run, expensive to maintain, present risk of theft, can be damaged, tend to be power hungry…there’s a long list of reasons they’re being shunned. As a shining example, I must speak to a half-dozen small companies a week having problems with their in-house Microsoft Exchange server. These people had their servers set up by a consultant ten years ago and have no idea how to adjust settings, correct problems, and in some cases they don’t even know who to contact for support. Hosting services such a mail, web sites, applications, and databases with a cloud service removes all of those problems. A web browser is used to log into all of your hosted services, giving you full administration without having to worry about the back-end support. The cost savings and efficiency of this move is astounding, so it’s no surprise so many business owners are making it part of their 2012 strategy.

Going Mobile

This point goes hand in hand with the Cloud Computing trend. Smartphone and tablet usage is skyrocketing. A recent study reported that 28% of smartphone owners use them as their primary form of Internet access . Mobile devices inherently have limited storage and are designed to use web-based apps, so a mobile strategy is important. Designing your business to go mobile allows productivity outside the walls of an office. Data and email can be accessed anywhere, therefore extending contact with clients. Some business platforms, such as Google Apps , cater to this strategy by integrating email, office documents, scheduling, and task management into one web-based product that is equally accessible from any PC, iPhone, iPad, or Android device. Employees aren’t tied to a desktop computer in a cubicle anymore, so their strengths now have a wider area of influence.

Storage

Offsite web storage is a huge focus on today’s SMB. Since nobody wants to keep an on-site server anymore, a centralized and secure location to store company data must be employed. Web storage allows company records and backups to be accessed from any location, as well as providing off-site backup and disaster recovery options.

Service Support

With the influx of all of these services and devices, training and customer engagement are high on the list for 2012. With any web-based service, you’ll want to make sure the proper resources are available to facilitate integration. I speak with customers all the time that need help because their transfer to a new mail system hit a snag and are not able to contact their host for help. Integration support makes moving to a new platform smooth and painless, and is a required resource when modernizing an infrastructure.

PC Maintenance: Using Band-Aids When You Need Stitches

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 14:00:00 GMT

The Cheap Way Out

The unsettling trend of business owners becoming “do-it-yourself” IT people. How hard can it be? Head over to Best Buy, pick up off-the-shelf software, then spend time installing it on all of your computers. Afterwards you can dust your hands off, proclaim a congratulatory “That was easy!”, and the issue is never addressed again.

Much like milk passing its expiration date, PC’s tend to get a bit funky if they’re not looked after. Over time, an update gets missed here and there, some new spyware doesn’t get caught, a file is left open and doesn’t get backed up at night, software expires…after a while, you’re left with nasty mess that needs to be cleaned up.

So, do-it-yourselfers inevitably end up with a laundry list of no-no’s: expensive repairs, lost productivity, placing company data at risk, and I’m thinking the owner of a company should be focused on things like business strategy and quarterly growth instead of installing big-box-store software (but that’s just me). It’s not that they don’t have the knowledge do this maintenance, it’s just not their primary job function, so things tend to be put by the wayside.

The Right (and less expensive) Way

Much like an orchestra, all security components need to work together to get the desired result. AntiVirus software must be updated and run scans. Software must receive patches. Backups need to complete. If one of these pieces fails, your orchestra hits a sour note and that leads to bad consequences. It is the job of an IT manager to make sure each piece is keeping the beat and doing its job.

However, with all the cuts going on, it’s very well possible that you no longer have access to an IT person. This used to be a tough situation, but these days there’s a simple and inexpensive solution available: Get a virtual IT manager.

Software and services can now emulate a lot of the duties an IT staff performs. Many businesses are moving towards these managed IT services because they cover all the basics and look great on the balance sheets. Existing IT staffs are even enhancing their effectiveness by getting rid of onsite servers and employing managed services to their arsenals. Turning servers into services reduces maintenance workloads, thereby increasing efficiency and allowing for expansion with fewer resources.

How Does it Work?

A managed service is just that — a service that somebody else manages and reports to you. You can purchase a managed AntiVirus license from a provider, then the provider monitors for any virus activity, update issues, license issues, and can many times even assist in virus removal if something does get through. A Patch Management service would make sure security updates and fixes are applied to your PC’s software in a timely manner. Online Backup services make sure your file backups complete on schedule with no errors to a secure location, ensuring your files can be recovered when needed.

These managed services are an incredible bargain for the value they offer. Costs usually run in the $3-$10 per PC range on a monthly basis. Not a bad price to have a professional maintain the upkeep on your office computers. A few IT consultants I’m speaking with are even installing these services at client sites so they can take on more work. It’s an inexpensive way to hire an extra set of eyes and improve their services.

Is It For You?

Managed Services fit a lot of niches. They may be a great money-saving or service enhancing option if you are in one of these situations:

I love these types of solutions: inexpensive, effective, and easy to implement. I also like automating mundane tasks. Take a look at Managed Service options and I bet there’s a lot you’ll like as well.

Windows 8: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:37:00 GMT

Windows Vista, Google, and Apple all smacked some sense into the Redmond headquarters over the last few years. They managed to prove people don’t want a bulky and overloaded operating system. Consumers want an OS that starts instantly, navigates quickly, and shows relevant information. Windows 8 is the fruit of these hard-taught lessons, and has the potential to bring Microsoft back into the limelight.

The Good Stuff

The new tiled interface really grabs your attention. At first glance, you think “What is this??? It looks like something made by Playskool .” Microsoft realizes the days of the standard PC are numbered, so they want Windows to run on everything…a universal operating system in a sense. That means tablets and phones are a high priority. Windows Phone 7 was a test bed for the ideas in Windows 8, and you can see the similarities. The bright colors and large tiles are meant to facilitate both mouse use and touch screens. What makes these tiles unique is they’re not just large, square buttons — each tile is its own little monitor that shows the status and updates of the app behind it. This active icon environment makes using Windows 8 very efficient as you can see a lot of information with a single glance, much the same way you can glance at your phone and see if you have new email, the time, temperature, new voicemail, etc.

Here’s a run-through of some impressive new additions:

Touchscreen Password Unlock

Most of us use passwords to lock our computers, so we’re very familiar with typing in a password each time we need to log in. Windows 8 wants to get away from text based passwords. To unlock your Windows 8 profile, you can set a series of taps or swipes on a picture to let you in. For instance, in the picture below, you can set your “password gesture” to be a tap on the mountain in the upper left corner, a left swipe across the water, and a circle around the glass.

“Metro” Interface

Windows 8 has a standard “Windows 7-like” desktop option, but all the action is on its new default Metro Start Screen. Easy-to-read and informational tiles replace icons and the Start menu, meaning you can see everything you need to know in one look. The more I used the Metro interface, the more I liked it. Those familiar with the XBox 360 will feel at home as it has a similar feel. It’s definitely designed for tablet use, but seems to work fine on a computer. This is one of those things that I urge people to try before judging.

Grouped Apps

With the Metro Interface, you can use Groups instead of folders to organize your apps and files. Media, games, social networking, work…make a group and add your apps to the pile. This makes it easy to find what you need without having to dig.

Fast Boot

I hate restarting my laptop. It takes forever. It can take so long that a lot of people schedule their bathroom breaks around reboots. Reboots are a lot like commercials during a football game.

Well, the old “I’m rebooting my computer” excuse has now been thrown out the window. Windows 8 can restart in 8 seconds. Eight Seconds. My phone takes longer to start than that. Microsoft explained they’re using some new kernel sleep technology so the core parts of Windows never actually shut down, therefore it’s always ready to go at a moment’s notice.

More Social

Microsoft caters to the social networking crowd by adding in some really nice streaming tools. The Windows 8 “at a glance” mantra follows through here as you can see updates from multiple services at one time.

New Multitasking

Windows 8 takes a different approach to multitasking. Instead of resizable windows, each app carves out its own nook on the screen so it can be viewed in conjunction with others. The example below shows how you can watch a video and keep up with a newsfeed from your friends at the same time.

Built In RSS Reader

Most news sites have an RSS feed to give you instant updates and quick information. Previously you had to have your own browser-based tool to view these. RSS capability is now native in Windows 8. All of your favorite sites can now be previewed on one screen as soon as your computer powers up.

Reinstall Windows Without Losing Anything

The new Control Panel has a button called System Refresh, which essentially reinstalls Window 8, but leaves all of your documents, music, photos, and other files in place.

Odds and Ends

Other things they’ve finally added are universal spell check (not sure what the hold up on that was), universal zoom (allows you to magnify/shrink the screen with the mouse wheel or a pinching motion), and an easy Share feature that lets you share media and web items with your social media friends via drag and drop. All of this, and it runs on half the memory of Windows 7. How ’bout that!

The Bad Stuff

Some ideas are great, others not so much. It may be due to being an unfinished product, but there were some glaring flaws in Windows 8 that need to be addressed.

Apps Can’t Be Closed Easily

We’re all used to clicking the red “X” when we’re done using something in Windows 7. Well, the Windows 8 people decided that closing apps is too much work, so now the only way to end something you’re running is through the Task Manager. The Android operating system actually runs in a similar way (apps are supposed to close automatically when resources are needed), but I frequently have to use an app killer program to keep my phone from bogging down. The Task Manager is Windows “App Killer,” but it’s very inconvenient to reach. OS app management sounds good on paper, but in the real world users need to be in charge of their resources.

The Start Menu is Finished

We’re approaching our second decade of the iconic Start menu in Windows, and in Windows 8 its roll is clearly being diminished. In fact, by default there IS no Start menu — the new Metro interface shows you a “Start Screen” instead. You have to retool your thinking about organizing your files and apps. This will result in a large learning curve for the average user. It is possible to add the Windows 7 taskbar to the bottom of the screen…but it only works with legacy 32-bit programs. New Windows 8 apps will not use the taskbar. Seems like this will cause a lot of fragmentation.

Powering Down Is Awkward

We all know how to shut down Windows: you click the Start button and click the “Power” icon on the bottom of the menu. Windows 8 seems like it doesn’t want you to shut it down…ever. You have to go through 4 to 5 clicks to power down Windows 8, with icons on opposite sides of the screen. It actually took me a while to figure out how to shut it down. Hopefully the Power Button Design Team simply didn’t get its project done in time for the preview and this will be adjusted in the final release.

The Ugly…

As I said, it appears that Microsoft has seen the death of the PC and therefore wants to make sure Windows continues to run on all replacement devices. Phones, tablets, “ultrabooks”, cars, kiosks, TV’s, you name it. It’s a decent strategy…Apple did it and is now the #1 tech company in the world. The problem is, unlike Apple, Microsoft doesn’t produce the hardware that it wants to employ. Designing an operating system that works universally on multiple hardware platforms while having no direct hardware control can lead to trouble. I’m worried that we’re going to see a flood of buggy first generation Windows 8 gadgets on the market, and the user experience is going to be marked as “Vista all over again.”

Conclusion

Windows 8 is going to be a turning point for Windows. It’s new interface is slick, it’s code is tight, and it’s vision is contemporary.

It also has baggage to deal with: compatibility with previous Windows applications, multiple platform support, no direct hardware control, and entrenched tablet competition from Apple and Google. Only time will tell if Microsoft can pull this off. My Magic 8 Ball says “Concentrate and Ask Again.”

That thing never works.

HP and Amazon Are Shaping Your Computing Future.

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:24:00 GMT

No?

That’s OK, neither did most people. Apparently, HP’s fire-sale price of $99 for a 16GB tablet (or $149 for the 32GB version) is the price point at which everyone notices tablets — even if it’s a discontinued product . In the last two weeks, over 500,000 Touchpads were sold, with another 200,000 on the way . People that previously never gave a thought to using a tablet are now suddenly very interested.

On the other side of the coin, Amazon recently announced they were going to start selling a new tablet (probably associated with its popular Kindle). The pricing is supposed to be $249 or less, making it one of the least expensive offerings on the market, and it’s already generating a lot of buzz. In fact, the Amazon tablet is already being hailed as the “iPad Killer”, even before it’s being released.

Why all this hype over tablets when they’ve been available for years? One simple fact: they’ve been way too expensive, and hardware manufacturers are just now catching on.

The first viable tablets were equipped with Windows XP and cost nearly $2000. These tablets were clumsy, heavy, and difficult to use (Windows XP was not designed to be used with a touch screen). Microsoft tried tablets with Vista and Windows 7 as well, all failing miserably. Apple’s came along with it’s iPad and took the world by storm with it’s nice display, long battery life, spot on touch-screen, and low price of $500-$800. They flew off the shelves, effectively creating the tablet market.

Since current Windows versions are not suited for tablets, hardware manufacturers are left with one alternative to compete with Apple: the Android operating system. Android, already powering many smartphones, is a great OS — it’s fast, it’s clean, and easy to use. Samsung, Motorola, Asus, Acer, and others jumped on the tablet bandwagon using Android, and have only met with limited success. There’s a couple of reasons:

First, Apple is seen as a premium brand. It’s a status symbol. People that buy Apple products are proud of their purchase and show it off. They willingly pay the “Apple Tax” to own one of their products. Nobody feels like this about other brands, so there’s no point in matching their pricing. Apple laptops and computers always cost at least 30% more than their competing PC counterparts, so why should tablet pricing be any different?

Second, a tablet’s value is questioned when it’s more expensive than a typical laptop. A laptop is a lot more functional and has a larger screen. Customers will not pay out the nose for a device that is not as useful if it doesn’t offer a clear advantage. It’s like saying “Hey Bob! This car is half the size of a normal car, gets half the gas milage, goes half as fast, but costs 30% more. What do you say?” Until now, the answer has been “no thanks.”

So, Amazon and HP started making waves in the market by selling tablets on the cheap, and interest is finally starting to grow. Hopefully this gets the message across to manufacturers: $500 is too much for a tablet. When you start seeing product releases in the $300 or lower range, tablet computing will be ready for takeoff. Asus and Acer have already had products priced that low during back-to-school sales, so permanent price drops may be around the corner.

Another interesting aspect of this price cutting may spell doom for Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 tablets. Microsoft, in typical Microsoft fashion, is very late to the tablet party. I also think they don’t know why people want tablets, they just do. Therefore, they’re making Windows 8 tablet friendly, and are expecting it to go on a $800 PC-like tablet device. By this time, consumers will be used to the sub-$300 and Microsoft is going to be priced out of the category. I may be getting my vibes wrong, but seeing how MS has handled everything from cloud computing to its smartphone products, this seems perfectly feasible.

If you’re in the market for a tablet, I recommend holding off for a few months. I have a feeling we’re going to see some price wars around the end of the year, and we’ll all be reading this on our shiny new sub-$300 tablets soon.

Related Articles:

The Future of Computing – No Computers

Bring Your Tablets to the Table

Offline Google Mail is Back — Finally!

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 18:19:00 GMT

Google has released the Offline Google Mail app in the Chrome Marketplace this week. This app allows you to work with your Google mail when an Internet connection is not available. It also features limited Calendar and Docs capabilities, with more advanced features to be added in the next few weeks. The catch is you HAVE to use Google Chrome as your web browser — the app will not work in any other browser. I have been using Chrome for a couple of years now just because it’s so light weight and speedy (It also doesn’t choke when you have 15 tabs open at a time, which I frequently do). If you haven’t tried Chrome yet, it’s well worth it.

The Offline Mail app supports most of Google Mail’s features and is based off of the popular tablet format of Gmail (as seen on iPads across the world). Calendar and Docs features are currently limited to viewing and RSVP schedules as well as viewing existing documents. As stated, more features are on the way, but I’m not sure how they’re going to handle offline documents — are documents going to be downloaded en masse, or are you going to be able to choose which documents are available locally? They’re probably still working that out, hence the current limited functionality.

Word on the street is offline compatibility will be added to Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari down the road. In the meantime, if you really need offline email functionality Chrome is the browser for you.

Update: It appears that some basic Google Apps accounts need to associate their email address with a Gmail account when you install the Offline Mail app. You can either sign into an existing account or create a new one. Not sure if this is a temporary work around or something permanent, but something you’ll have to look have to look out for.

The Student Laptop Guide

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:11:00 GMT

Lack of Size Matters

One couple I saw went directly to the 18″ XL Mega-Behemoth laptop. They were attracted to the huge screen and giant keyboard, and ended up buying it for their son heading to college. They made a huge mistake.

The compact laptop will have a screen size under 15″ (12″-14″ is ideal), is light, has a long battery life, and is meant to be lugged around. In my view, this design is infinitely more useful as you can take it with you and use it anywhere. 5-8+ hour batteries means your student will have power all day, and prevention of back and shoulder problems will really cut down on your chiropractic bills. Compact laptops aren’t typically as powerful as giant sized models and may lack certain features such as a DVD drive, but with the popularity of cloud computing, these issues are moot. The trend today is to use a web browser for everything, so local computing power and storage really don’t matter so much anymore. This leads to the next tip…

Keep It Simple

You’ll notice a lot of computers seem to be downsizing these days. No more huge hard drives, and manufacturers are skipping DVD and Blu-ray drives, and more power friendly processors. The reason? Local storage and processing power are becoming less important with the advent of high speed Internet and cloud computing. The trend today is to use web-based tools and web storage for everything, so very little is actually stored on your computer. The advantages of this are huge – your information and content is accessible from any computer anywhere in the world. Kids can no longer use the excuse “I forgot to bring my homework” because their work follows them to school. Many students and educational facilities are using the popular Google Docs for their schoolwork for this very reason.

Keyboard layout: You want often used keys accessible, decent button spacing, and the touchpad should not get in the way when typing.

Screen quality: Look for an LED screen for best performance. Older LCD screens do not have good performance in bright light, tend to be battery hogs, and colors may look a bit washed out compared to the newer LED screens.

Battery life: Your computer is only useful if it has power. The longer the battery lasts the better. For students, look for models with a 6 cell or higher battery that provides at least 5 hours of usage.

Extras

Along with a laptop, you may want to consider a few extras. An extra battery is a lifesaver in a pinch. Check with online resellers such as Amazon.com for decent prices on laptop batteries.

A sleeve or a storage bag is also handy. Laptop backpacks allow for the storage of books, an iPod, a laptop, and more. Some are even pretty darn stylish looking .

A printer may also be needed. When considering a printer, the first thing you want to look at is the cost of ink. Printers follow the Gillette Razor model of marketing – lock the customer in with the product and make money on the refills. Usually the less expensive the printer, the higher the price of ink. I’d also recommend a printer with wireless functionality. This lets you place the printer anywhere you wish without the need to use cables.

Finally, as a companion device, tablets are beginning to come of age. A tablet computer can supplement a laptop nicely with its ultra-portable form factor and long battery life. The iPad, and Android tablets from Asus, Samsung, and Acer are great for quick web browsing, note taking, and online classes. At this stage I wouldn’t recommend a tablet as a replacement to a laptop since they can be uncomfortable to type on, but for extremely portable web access they’re tough to beat.

Summary

So, the perfect student laptop should have these features:

Your kids will thank you.

The One Thing That Prevents Email Chaos

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:33:00 GMT

“Hey! How’s your mortgage? Want to refinance?”
“You look like you’re having problems – I have special herbal pills to fix that!”
“I’ve been trying to find you! A prince in Nigeria left you a ton a money!”
“Our store has SALES SALES SALES!”
“Do you want to pursue an online degree?”

All these people are preventing you from speaking with the person you want to reach. This is EXACTLY how email would work if it weren’t for a single technology: Spam Filtering.

A little trivia first: the term “spam” originated from a Monty Python skit involving a restaurant that only served combinations of the famous gelatinous canned meat. The customers “don’t like spam!” but keep getting it forced upon them.

Email as a whole would be a useless, garbled mess without spam filtering technology. According to the Message Anti-Abuse Working Group , spam messages accounted for 88–92% of all email messages in 2010. That means for every legitimate message received in your inbox, nine were junk mail. Fortunately we’ve come up with some pretty amazing technology to filter out these unwanted messages. The task is more difficult than one would think.

Where Does All This Stuff Come From?

When the average email user receives some spam, they tend to get a picture of some guy sitting in a basement with 1000’s of email addresses in an Outlook message sending to random people. Truthfully, spam usually comes from a more local source — your family, your neighbors, your coworkers, and anyone else around you.

Botnets, or networks of virus infected computers, account for nearly 4/5ths of all spam sent on the Internet. Once a computer is infected, it joins other infected computers to blast out messages to unwary users. Addresses are often pulled from the computer’s email contacts list, but can also be gathered from websites, chatrooms, and forums. These lists are sold to spammers, who in turn flood the Internet with messages from the infected computers — hoping someone will fall for whatever scam they’re trying to peddle. It’s the equivalent of someone sending your neighbors a flyer in the mail and expecting you to pay for postage.

Fortunately we have a lot of ways to prevent this from happening. Decent and up to date antivirus protection is essential . You don’t want your computer becoming a spam zombie. The other side depends on your email provider.

How Spam Filtering Works

There are several different methods of spam filtering ranging from desktop software to mail server side artificial intelligence. As a rule, spam filtering is much more effective if handled by your email provider. Most mail providers have at least some type of server side filtering options. Here’s a few of the most common:

Blacklisting: Several organizations collect IP addresses of mail servers reported for sending out spam. Collections of lists can used by mail providers to block mail from these sources.

Content Filtering: Advanced filters can look at the wording of mail messages and determine if it is spam. For instance, a message with the subject “Cheap Pharmaceuticals – Buy Now!” would most likely be filtered because the key words “cheap, pharmaceuticals, buy, and !” are used, and these frequently show up in spam messages. This is why most spam has strange misspellings — they’re trying to get around content filtering.

Scoring: An email provider will often use several different spam checks. Scoring keeps track of the number of checks a messages fails, and if it fails too many, the message is filtered. For instance, if a message fails 2 out of 10 tests, it may be allowed to pass, but if it fails 5 out of 10, it may be filtered. Providers have different formulas to determine filtering rules in a scoring system, but it tends to be a very effective method.

On top of these basic methods, advanced spam filtering services are available for businesses that want more control. Services like Postini give users of Google Apps accounts a higher level of filtering (as well as archiving and encryption services), and TOAST.net has just launched a new spam filter product that lets those running their own mail server access to advanced filtering options (as I’m learning about it’s features I’m really impressed! I’ll have more on this later.).

Is It Really Spam?

It should be noted that there is a big difference between solicited and unsolicited email . If you find you’re getting a lot of undesired email in your inbox, take time to see what is actually coming in. Things like store sales, coupons, contests, newsletters and such are NOT spam. Do not filter these — it is better to unsubscribe to them (there’s usually an unsubscibe link at the bottom of the email). These sources probably received your email address through an online purchase, signing up for a contest, a store register, or anywhere anyone asks your for your email account.

Unsolicited email includes messages that come out of left field, usually prompting you to do or buy something. Scam messages asking you to reset your password on your banking website, asking you to buy drugs or invest in markets, or adult messages fall into the category of spam and SHOULD be filtered.

It is important to know the difference because filtering systems often learn from your choices, so learning the difference can lead to more successful filtering results.

Without all of these spam filtering methods, email would be a useless form of communication — everyone would be trying to talk to you at once. The next time you hit your Mark as Spam button, think of it as yelling “SHUT UP! I’M TRYING TO TALK!” to the Internet.

I might look into installing a button like that in my car the next time I take the kids on vacation.

Collaboration with Google Calendar – Make Scheduling Easy!

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:49:00 GMT

One of the best things you can do to organize time is employ a calendar, as many of us already do. While we tend to be fully aware of what our day ahead holds, those around us generally have no idea what our schedule looks like. Google Calendar overcomes this with easy to use share settings, allowing you to share the details of your calendar with friends, family, co-workers, even your entire organization. This makes communication and timekeeping much more efficient.

The New IT Department – Focused, Smaller, and Possibly Non-Existent

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:53:00 GMT

During the technology boom of the mid-90’s, those working in IT were looked upon as the top of the food chain. They were amazing! They were miracle workers! They could accomplish anything using little more than their pocket protectors and some magic DOS commands.

Times are a changin’. PC’s are as user friendly as ever, cloud computing is replacing complicated office network setups, most hardware is to the point where you plug it in and it works…a lot of IT workers are starting to look like the Maytag Repairman. As a result, many small and medium businesses are focusing their computer staff on development, putting them on a contract basis, or getting rid of internal IT staffing all together. This is a great money saving idea in theory, but there is a flaw in the logic — with nobody running maintenance on the hardware, problems inevitably creep up and costly repairs can result.

This gap has brought rise to a whole new view of IT. Over the last few years, business owners have trended towards consultant based network support, meaning someone stops by at regular intervals, checks things out, and takes off. A buddy of mine is in this business and charges $125/hour to make sure everything is patched and secure. He stops by his client locations once a week, and usually for a couple of hours at a time. I’ve become very familiar with his “I can’t believe how messed up a network can get in a week” stories over lunch…mostly because nobody is on-site keep an eye on things.

For this reason, many companies have begun transitioning to managed services . Remote services are now offering everything a dedicated IT staff can do at a tiny fraction of the cost. Here’s a quick overview of the most popular types of managed services:

Antivirus Protection : – Sure, anyone can install antivirus software. The trick is to make sure it’s getting updated, not being turned off by employees, and is catching everything it should. Managed Antivirus solves this problem by “subscribing” to a monitoring service. This service will provide an antivirus client, monitor update and protection status of all computers, and even send you a security report so you know where you stand. These services are often the same cost or even cheaper than “off the shelf” solutions, so this is a no-brainer. I’d go as far to say that there is no reason any business should not be using a managed antivirus solution.

Patch Management : Hackers can practice their craft because of flaws they discover in common software. They depend on you running around the Internet with your security hole showing so they can take advantage. That’s why Windows, Adobe, Java, and other software makers constantly release endless streams of updates. All those updates can become overwhelming, and sometimes you’re not even aware they’re available. Patch Management services review your computer’s vulnerability status, then either pushes down any needed updates or gives you a status list letting you know which computers have targets painted on them. I like these services because they let you focus on working rather than PC maintenance.

Online Backup : One of the jobs of my IT consultant buddy is to restore files from backups for the companies he visits. They make a laundry list of files that need to be restored, he sorts through tapes, runs buggy software, and hopes he can get them back. This means there’s no guarantee a file can be restored, it’s a lengthy process, and they have to wait for him to show up once a week to make the restoration attempt. The better way to go about this is Online Backup. With these types of services, you run a small client on your computer, it automatically runs backups on selected files daily, and files are stored “in the cloud”, so there’s no physical media to deal with. The main advantage of Online Backups is your files are available from any location instantly. You can restore files to a new computer, a home computer…anywhere you want simply by logging into your backup account. This type of service can be used in addition to or as a complete replacement of your existing backup systems (if you even have one).

If you’re in a situation where an IT staff is either affordable or impractical, Managed Services are definitely something you should be considering.

New Look to Google Docs!

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 18:57:00 GMT

Last month, Google lets us preview their new revamped email interface with good results. The improvements in readability, functionality, and efficiency were evident right away. This week, the interface update is being applied to Google Docs ( video ) .

If you head over to your Docs Account , you should notice a “Try the New Look” link in the upper right corner of the screen. You’ll notice that the new look spreads things out a bit. If you’d prefer your document titles to be closer together, you can click “Document Settings” in the upper right corner and adjust “Row Height”.

A few new keyboard shortcuts were added as well for those that wish to go “sans-mouse”. For example, you can now use your arrow keys to move up and down the items on your list. Once you’ve selected your item, type A to open the Actions menu and use the arrow keys to make a selection.

Document creation became a little easier with new keyboard shortcuts. Shift + S will now create a new spreadsheet, Shift + T will create a new text document, and Shift + C creates a new collection. If your memory is as bad as mine, you can hit ? to remind you of these shortcuts. (The chart below symbolizes the Shift key with a fat up arrow.)

Keyboard shortcuts are only available with the new interface, so be sure to click the “Try the New Look” link before using. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

New Gmail Feature – Preview Pane!

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:19:00 GMT

Currently, TOAST.net’s Gmail and Google Apps email accounts allow you to see “snippets” of your messages so you can figure out if they’re worth opening or not. However, sometimes a snippet is not enough.

Starting today, a new feature is available in Google Labs that allows for a full preview pane. You may be familiar with the preview pane feature if you have ever used Outlook or Windows Mail — it allows you to see your message in a “split screen” view, allowing you to sort through email faster.

To enable this feature, log into your email account, then head over to “Settings” in the upper right corner. Select Labs from the list of options, and then enable Preview Pane (as shown) :

Be sure to Save Changes when finished (feel free to play with some of the other Labs features as well! There’s some cool stuff in there!)

Once enabled, you will have a new Preview Pane control in the upper right corner of your Inbox screen that looks like this:

You may choose “Vertical” or “Horizontal” for your layout. Once selected, you will now have full preview functionality of your messages!

More new and exciting features are on the way. Let us know what you think!

TOAST.net’s Back to School Tools

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 14:15:00 GMT

Classrooms have evolved over the last 10 years. The introduction of email and interactive websites has changed the way students operate. The “new” traditional way of typing up reports, term papers, and other fun things that are normally done last minute on a Sunday night require software. A lot of people use Microsoft Word , which can cost upwards of $150 to purchase. Documents in Word are saved on the computer’s hard drive, then either emailed to the teacher as an attachment, copied to a USB drive and carried to school, or printed out and popped into a folder.

This traditional method is also wrought with problems. Students tend to be the forgetful sort, so forgetting to send a paper or forgetting to print it out leads to trouble. There’s also the “My computer ate my homework” excuse, “I hit delete instead of save on my paper,” and the ever popular “My house was robbed last night and my laptop was stolen” story. TOAST.net has a better way to get homework done, and it’s already included with all residential TOAST.net accounts!

Google Apps + Schoolwork = Success!

TOAST.net’s residential email system is based off of Google Apps. Google Apps is a state of the art communication system that integrates email, document creation, scheduling, chat, and more into one easy to use package. Google Apps has become quite popular with schools. A recent study shows that 58% of educational institutions are now using Google Apps . Google Docs is a feature of Google Apps, and not only matches MS Word’s functionality, but actually outperforms it is many areas.

As previously mentioned, the “new” traditional way of writing a paper forces you to type a paper on one particular computer, and that paper is stored on that computer…it is not located anywhere else. You have to make copies in order for people to see it. With Google Docs, your paper is securely stored on the Internet . This means your document is available from any Internet connection on any computer. You can work on your paper at school, at home, while visiting relatives, at the library — it doesn’t matter where you are, and as there is no software to install, it doesn’t matter what computer you use. Your documents follow you anywhere you go.

Loaded With Features

One of the most useful features of Google Docs is “collaboration.” This allows you to share a document with anyone in your Contacts list, and multiple people can work on a paper at the same time. Groups of 2,3,5,10 or more can all work together on a single paper to finish a project. Collaboration makes scheduling meet times unnecessary, emailing attachments a thing of the past, and ensures everyone is seeing the same copy of a document.

Smartphone and tablet apps allow you to work on documents while on the go. It’s nearly impossible to lose your work as your efforts are automatically backed up every few seconds, and auto-correct prevents costly grade point reductions because you can’t spell “pneumoencephalographically.” Google Docs has become so useful that business owners, schools, and even entire states are moving to this platform. Take advantage of this powerful tool in your TOAST.net email account by clicking on the Documents link at the top your email screen (note that a business version of Google Apps is also available for as low as $5/month if you’re looking to add these benefits to your company or organization).

TOAST.net strives to provide the best features and we are pleased to make Google Apps a standard feature for all of our residential customers. Take a look at why more and more teachers are recommending Google Apps for students:

If you have any questions or comments about Google Apps, let me know and I’ll be happy to help you out.

One of the Most Important Tools Your Business Probably Isn’t Using

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:11:00 GMT

So, how is an Intranet used? It can actually be one of the best communication systems in your company if designed properly. Your Intranet is a central location to pull company documents, schedules, and email. It can organize files, list policies, and can even facilitate training and consistent behavior among employees. It’s a tool that centralizes management and makes information flow smoothly. In short, an Intranet summarizes everything in your company and puts everyone on the same page.

The next thing you may be thinking is “Great! I wouldn’t mind using an Intranet, but I barely know how to turn on a computer, much less create a website.”

Creating a website used to require high levels of skill in HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and a bunch of other technical names that make people’s eyes glaze over. We’ve come a long way in making the Internet more user friendly, so programming knowledge isn’t required anymore. If you can create an email, you have the basic skills needed to create a website.

Google Sites is a website building tool that is included with Google Apps , and is a great place to start your Intranet. It works much like a word processor: type something, click the save button, and *poof* you have a website. It really is that easy! Google Sites includes a number of pre-made templates, backgrounds, and themes to get things started. It’s just a matter of filling in the information.

Deciding what your Intranet should include can be tricky — even a bit intimidating at first. Publishing your information is a lot easier if you break it down into these 5 areas:

1. A Central Billboard – A lot of communication occurs at the office every day. Meetings, email, phone calls, shouting across the room…you get the picture. The problem is not everyone is always in the communication loop and may miss something important. An Intranet site should include a “billboard” page, allowing the latest news, events, and changes to be communicated as soon as a web browser is opened. This keeps everyone informed and allows information to spread efficiently.

2. A Document Library – Think of how many documents you use every day. Forms, letters, charts and procedures are constantly flying around. Finding those documents can be a hassle. Sometimes you have to go out on the network and remember what folder it’s in, sometimes you have to search your email for an attachment, and sometimes you have no idea where to look. An Intranet page can be made that has links to all of your documents for easy retrieval. It reduces the need for email attachments and paper copies, and puts everything in a central location that is searchable. Employees can upload and open documents as needed, and permissions can even be added to limit people that have access. The organizational and efficiency benefits of a library page will become evident immediately.

3. Scheduling – Everyone has their own schedules, and it’s difficult to keep up with what everyone else is doing. A schedule page is a great way to get employees synchronized to avoid missed appointments and double bookings. Easy to use scheduling modules can be added to your Intranet, and many of them even synchronize with smartphones and Outlook!

4. Procedures – A procedures page can ensure employees are not missing any steps. For instance, if a job involves answering the phone and taking down detailed account information, an Intranet page could display a checklist of the process. Being able to instantly pull up procedure manuals is a great way to keep consistent and avoid mistakes.

5. Contacts – A central company directory is essential. All employees can be listed on a contact page, with phone numbers, extensions, locations, email addresses, and positions. This master list can be used for quick reference, printing, who to call in case of a problem, or use it to update your personal contacts list in your email account. Contact information can be updated in one place instead of having to communicate changes to large groups.

Finishing Touches

As mentioned, what makes an Intranet different from a normal website is it’s not publicly available. With Google Sites, you can set page permissions to limit who has access to your new website. This allows your internal information to remain private, while employees can view your content normally. Being able to log into your Intranet from any Internet connection is invaluable. Sales associates, travelling employees, and even those on vacation will appreciate the added convenience.

TOAST.net has been using Google Sites as an Intranet platform for some time now, and I can’t see living without it. It gives me the ability to work from home, make updates from my smartphone, and keeps my coworkers updated on my scheduling…all from a simple tool that’s already included with your Google Apps account! If you are interested in getting an Intranet set up for your own business or organization, drop me a line and I’ll get you pointed in the right direction. I’m betting you’ll be amazed that you got along without one.

Tech Curmudgeon: Invent a Problem, Sell a Solution!

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 14:10:00 GMT

Need to eat quick? Microwave.
Need to get there quick? Car.
Need to look up something? Computer
…while travelling in your car to buy a new microwave? Smartphone.

You get the idea — every normal situation has a product that makes it more convenient. Since all the common situations are accounted for, it forces manufacturers to create “new” common situations. Using mystical powers and Jedi mind tricks, they convince you that you’re going to experience these invented happenings, and before you know it you’re whipping out your credit card. Here’s a few examples I ran across recently.

Etsy is an online vendor of belts, nick-knacks, and such. One day they thought “You know, technical people don’t have any accessories to make them stand out in a crowd.”

Their solution: Belts made from computer mice.

Computer Mouse Buckles keep your belt tight and your pants around your chest. You never know when you’ll need to grab a pointing device off of your Batman-like utility belt and save the day! I can’t say for sure, but wear this and you’re either going to be the last one asked to dance or the hero of your Dungeon’s and Dragons gaming club. For the PC inclined, they come in a Compaq version as well. Etsy GettingWeddy — $15 – $22

Fossil makes great watches. I own a few myself, but there’s only so much you can do with a watch. One day, a Fossil designer thought “What happens if you can’t get your smartphone out of your pocket fast enough?”

Their solution: Put a mini smartphone screen on a watch.

Tactical Grilling knows war is hell. Apparently they also believe blackening meat over hot coals in the backyard is just as bad.

Their solution: Create a grilling apron that will keep you covered.

The Tactical Grilling Apron is available in several versions of camo (just in case a bovine sniper tries to get a bead on you for grilling up her sister). This apron is sure to protect your body from up to .38 caliber BBQ sauce rounds. Prepared to return fire? Lob a grenade of your favorite beverage from its handy front pouches. Want to see who your real friends are? Shake up a can, throw it on the ground, and see which one of your buddies throws his body upon it to save the platoon. Tactical Grilling Apron — $45.00

Wavejet wondered why all the fit and muscular people are the only ones having fun skimming around on 30′ waves. The Big-Gulp drinking, Little Debbie eating masses want in on the action too! It’s a lot of work swimming out into the ocean with all that water getting in the way.

Their solution: Create a jet powered surf board.

The Wavejet Jet Powered Surfboard contains a battery powered water jet (hence the name) that will propel your bulk up to 12MPH. I’m sure the fit surfers will appreciate the extra assist when trying to get out to that upcoming barrel, but in my view this is just a continuation of a trend of laziness — people became too lazy to push wagons and invented cars. People became too lazy to pedal bikes and invented motorcycles. People became to lazy to walk and invented the horsey-back ride. You could pre-order one of these boards, but I bet you’re too lazy to do it. Wavejet — Expected Price $4800

Gmail Labs: The 6 Best Add-Ons

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:24:00 GMT

#1 – Custom Keyboard Shortcuts

Microsoft Office 365 vs. Google Apps. It’s ON!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:40:00 GMT

Interface

Google and Microsoft come from different sides of town when it comes to user interface theory. Google prefers a spartan, minimalist functionality, while Microsoft likes to add bling and flashy menu designs. Both sides have advantages and disadvantages in speed, usability, and efficiency, but which one is better?

Your web browser is your desktop with Google Apps. Everything you do is within the confines of this universal tool. Gmail handles your email, documents are created in Google Docs with your browser, collaboration is performed through Google Talk or inside of documents themselves. This has the advantage of simplicity: no software needs to be installed, the controls are familiar, and you can work from any device that can connect to the Internet.

On the flip side, Office 365 requires software plug-ins to be installed that links you up to the cloud. Microsoft Office needs to be installed on your computer if you want to use the offline features, and the .NET framework has to be installed for everything to run properly. Lync 2010 is Microsoft’s collaboration solution, and this requires a server to be installed as well as Active Directory to be in place on your network. A list of system requirements is listed on Microsoft’s website if you want to take full advantage of Office 365’s features. Compared this to Google’s requirements ( a supported web browser ), it’s a complicated and costly setup.

Document Creation and Sharing

Microsoft has had over two decades to polish its Office software suite, and this experience is shown in Office 365. Advanced formatting and features are read much more accurately than in Google Apps. The same formats, templates, and tools that are on the desktop are also available on the web. This means you can create a document on your desktop, upload it to the web, and edit it without worrying about a loss of formatting.

Microsoft’s solution for document sharing is Sharepoint. We previewed the Sharepoint platform for a couple of months in our office and were not impressed. It seemed to make everything more complex than it needed to be. The software will keep a log of document changes, who currently has a document open, and integrates with MS Office applications on your desktop, but it requires a dedicated IT person to set up and administer the system. Google Apps does all of this by default without the need for another platform.

Chat and Communication

Office 365 uses Lync (aka Office Communication Server) for chat and communication. Lync integrates with Microsoft Office and Office 365 products and allows you to see who’s available. It’s an additional service that requires Active Directory and a server. Lync does handle VoIP and desktop sharing, so it can be used as a full communications platform.

Cost

It is clear that Office 365 and Google Apps have very similar features and functionality. Which is more affordable?

Microsoft Office 365 starts at $6/month per user. Not bad, but hidden costs come into play which can make that price a bit misleading. For full functionality of Office 365, you’ll need Active Directory in place on your network, an Exchange server (either hosted or on site), and servers for Lync and Sharepoint, not to mention a staff to run them or a service to host them. I did some research on the total costs taking these features into consideration, and the actual price comes out to between $20-$50/user on the low end. Prices go even higher if you want to install a local copy of MS Office on each computer for offline document use (Microsoft allows you to use a local copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus for $12/month).

Google Apps has a few pricing plans : free for under 10 users, $5/month per user for more than 10, and a discount of $50/year if you want to commit. Since all features are integrated into the web interface, there are no extra services or servers to employ, therefore IT costs are kept at a minimum.

Office 365 is definitely a larger investment, but Microsoft feels the extra “feature depth” justifies the price difference. From my testing, the things they seem to be charging a premium for are features that very few people tend to use. They’ve had a problem comprehending the needs of a small business in the past, and it still seems that they are clueless on the subject. Google Apps is more realistic in it’s feature set, and truthfully it almost seems underpriced .

Which One Is Best?

Both products can do the same thing, just using different methods. The best way to compare the two is using a cake analogy:

Office 365 is a lot of frosting with little cake. Although this is French bakery quality frosting made by world-class chefs, you end up paying way too much for quality poured into the wrong places. It’s impressive but not very satisfying.

Google Apps is a box mix cake with canned frosting. It’s easy to make, reasonably priced, works for most situations, and still enjoyable.

For most small and medium sized businesses, Google Apps is going to be the more sensible choice. For a few special cases and enterprise level companies, Office 365 should be considered as the tools seem to be geared toward a huge infrastructure. At some point in the future the two products may meet more in the middle, but Microsoft isn’t really known for lowering their prices, so I doubt we’ll see equilibrium anytime soon.

New Gmail Sorting Features On The Way

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:38:00 GMT

The Gmail design team is in overdrive this month. New interfaces, new integration, and new features are Google’s fashion statement for July! In the next few weeks, you’ll notice some new Inbox sorting features that make it easier to organize your messages. Once activated, you’ll see sorting tabs at the top of your Gmail and Google Apps Inboxes.

Here’s a quick overview of the upcoming choices for sorting:

Once you’ve chosen a style you like most and use it for a week or so, the tabs will disappear. If you want to change your Inbox sorting style, you can make adjustments from the Settings page . More features are on the way — stay tuned!

Preview Google’s Changes to Gmail and Calendar

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:35:00 GMT

Both Gmail and Calendar are scheduled for new interfaces this month to tighten things up and give a consistent look. Calendar features should be slowly rolling out in the coming weeks, but Gmail’s new look is available for a test drive now. You can get a sneak peak by selecting a Gmail theme: click the “Options” icon in the upper right corner of your mail page (the one that looks like a cog), select Mail Settings, Themes, and choose either Preview or Preview (Dense) .

I actually dig the new look. It’s less cluttered and more intuitive. The standard Preview theme had a bit too much white space for me, so I prefer the Preview (Dense) version out of the two. I noticed performance seems to be improved as well. Hopefully this will make the interface more usable for people on slower connections.

Changes to the Calendar’s interface are going to be along the same lines. A cleaner layout, better controls, and design changes will begin rolling out automatically, so you won’t need to change anything. I assume that all of Google’s apps services will be getting the same treatment eventually.

What do you think about the new look? A step the right direction, or should they leave things the way they are?

Mozilla: We Don’t Do Enterprise. Google: WE DO!

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:40:00 GMT

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser , has increased it’s production schedule in a big way: it’s pushing new versions out the door in months instead of years, and ending support on it’s previous versions in the interim.

This is great for home users as they get the latest and greatest on a regular basis. In the business world however, rapid releases are bad news. Web browsers have to be tested for compatibility and security by IT departments, and this process can take weeks…months…even years in some cases. So what happens when the browser manufacturer your company bases its web platform on decides to create major releases every few months? Chaos.

Mike Kaply, a Firefox specialist and consultant, posted a blog lamenting the rapid release schedule. Firefox 4 was released in March of 2011, and now Firefox 5 is available just three months later. A response to his blog really hit home:

“I have 500,000 corporate users on Firefox 3.6. We’re just completing a test cycle of Firefox 4 on many thousands of internal business web applications. Many hundreds of application owners and their test teams have participated. We gave them several months to ready themselves. We worked with dozens of internal Add-On developers and product teams to prepare their add-ons for Firefox 4. ”

All of that work is for naught because Firefox 4 is no longer supported by Mozilla. The basic message is “Businesses should not be using Firefox.” That’s fine and everything, but when was this rule established? Just this week , it turns out, when Asa Dotzler, community coordinator for Firefox marketing and founder of Mozilla’s quality assurance scheme, made the statement “Firefox is for ‘regular users’ — not businesses. Enterprise has never been (and I’ll argue, shouldn’t be) a focus of ours.” Why wasn’t this stated years ago? Nobody knows for sure, but the mob of IT people carrying torches and pitchforks is well deserved.

On the flip side, Google is taking the approach of coddling the corporate world. Google Chrome is confirmed to be built with the enterprise in mind. There’s even a Chrome for Business page to prove it (Mozilla confirmed you can’t just assume these things). As the business world begins to shun Internet Explorer more and more, Chrome looks to be the up-and-comer. It’s fast, it can run add-ons and apps, and it can be administered via a control panel…exactly what IT people look for. Chrome’s “Apple-esque” Apps Store is available, with apps like LucidChart , Springpad , and Sliderocket taking hold and replacing traditional software apps.

Like Firefox, Chrome automatically updates to the latest version. The difference? Google will support up to three previous versions. This support is vital to report bugs, flaws, and gather security updates if needed. Typically Chrome updates include minor changes rather than huge, sweeping revisions. This helps maintain compatibility and gives IT departments shorter testing periods.

Google is focused on not alienating businesses because it plans on pushing Google Chrome OS as the next operating system for the enterprise. During the All Things Digital D9 conference in April, Rajen Sheth, business manager for Google, stated “My mission is to bring Chrome to business and to ask how we make it something that can reshape the enterprise desktop.” So, their philosophy is “If you love our browser you’ll REALLY love Chrome OS!” I think I agree with that strategy.

Gmail, Google Apps, Apps for Business, and Apps for Non-Profit — What’s the Difference?

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:57:00 GMT

Gmail Personal

Gmail is the free entry level version of it’s email services… sort of an “Apps Basic.” After signing up, you receive an email account that ends with @gmail.com, about 7GB of mailbox storage, and access to Google Docs, Calendar, Picasa, Talk, Sites, and Blogger. The account is free, but the only technical support is in the form of help files and forum posts.

Google Apps account

Google Apps is a type of Gmail account associated with your website domain. Your email address will end with @yourdoman.com, and features are similar to a free Gmail account. Calendar, Docs, Sites, and Blogger are available, as is the same 7GB of email storage. Being associated with a domain gives your email a more professional look, and document collaboration is made easier by being able to easily share documents within your domain. This type of account was formally known as “Google Apps for Your Domain,” then they changed it to “Google Apps Standard Edition.” It now is known as plain “Google Apps.”

This type of account is also free as long as you own your own domain. Sounds good, but there is a catch — it’s limited to 10 users or less . Google Apps is a good way for groups, organizations, and clubs to coordinate, but a ten user limit is a low ceiling. Like Gmail, support is offered in the form of forum posts and help files, so small businesses going this route may need some additional assistance with setup or migration.

Google Apps for Business

Google Apps for Business is the heavy hitter in the Google Apps arsenal. It offers a powerful and scalable platform on which to base business communications. Mailbox space is upped to 25GB, with the addition of Outlook and Blackberry Sync. Along with the standard Docs and other apps, Google Video and Google Groups for Business are also included for more effective video and document collaboration. Reliability is ensured with a 99.9% uptime guarantee as well as email and phone support.

Migration tools are provided to help your business move email, contacts, and calendars off of legacy systems, but many Google Apps resellers will actually handle migrations for you (which I would recommend as migrations can get a bit hairy if you don’t know what you’re doing). Postini Message and Security is available to if additional security layers are required. Administration is performed via a provided Google Apps Dashboard.

Google Apps for Business runs $50/year (or $5/month) per account, which isn’t too bad of a deal if you consider the costs of alternatives like Exchange and SharePoint servers.

Google Apps for Non-Profit/Education

Google is all for helping organizations. They offer Google Apps for Business accounts free of charge to Non-Profit organizations and Educational institutions. All of the features such as a 25GB mailbox, Docs, and other apps are included. Many Google Apps resellers offer very low cost migration and support to assist in transitioning to the new platform. Apps for Non-Profit/Education is proving to be very popular with various charities as the collaboration tools allow multiple offices to pool their information and resources together instantly, therefore allowing donations and funding to work harder towards their causes.

Comparisons

If you’d like to compare the features of the various Google Apps accounts, take a look at this chart . While small groups may benefit from the standard Google Apps package, a business of any size will probably want to opt for the actual Google Apps for Business due to the scalability…you don’t want to be limited if you find yourself needing more accounts or mailbox space, plus the extra support and tools make things a lot easier to manage.

Migration costs have to be considered as well. Some of the conversion tools can be a bit tricky, so it may be worth the cost of using a service to assist in the transition. Migration services are relatively low cost and have experience moving many different infrastructures to Google Apps. You’ll want to weigh the costs and downtime of doing it yourself vs. having a service provider handle it for you.

Congrats Wyoming — The First State to Go Google!

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:57:00 GMT

The first state to create a national park (Yellowstone).

The first state to claim a national monument (Devil’s Tower).

The first state to allow women to vote.

The first state to go Google.

…wait, what was that last one?

Wyoming doesn’t exactly have the reputation as a trailblazer state, but that perception should change. It has an impressive list of firsts, and converting all its state employees to Google’s cloud based Apps platform adds to the impressiveness. Government agencies are known for being slow to adopt new technology, and an entire state moving to something as modern as Google Apps is almost unheard of.

For those not in-the-know, Google Apps is Google’s cloud based communications and collaboration platform. Users receive a 25GB mailbox, a suite of tools for document creation that allows sharing without sending attachments, scheduling, video hosting, and web site hosting. Since these tools are Internet-based, employees can work from any location and any Internet connected device, which in turn allows employees from across the state to easily contact and work with one another. The cost savings from efficiency alone will save a lot of tax dollars. Governor Matt Mead says the change will save the state “ one million dollars per year .”

In 2009, the City of Los Angeles switched it’s 30000 employees to Google Apps with great success. Randi Levin, Chief Technology Officer of the City of Los Angeles , talks about the city’s success:

“ Because the email and other applications are hosted and maintained by Google, ITA employees who previously were responsible for maintaining our email system can be freed up to work on projects that are central to making the city run.

By ITA estimates, Google Apps will save the city of Los Angeles millions of dollars by allowing us to shift resources currently dedicated to email to other purposes. For example, moving to Google will free up nearly 100 servers that were used for our existing email system, which will lower our electricity bills by almost $750,000 over five years. In short, this decision helps us to get the most out of the city’s IT budget.”

My own office has used Google Apps as a platform for a few years now, and the sheer convenience and efficiency of having “everything available everywhere I go” has become a concept I can’t live without. An example of government efficiency doesn’t come along very often, so Wyoming’s move is great news. Hopefully others will follow their lead and start chanting the strange phrase “ I want to be like Wyoming.”

Gmail App Gets 3 Upgrades for Apple Devices

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:43:00 GMT

Gmail and Google Apps users can now take advantage of the new sync service, which allows users to search through ALL of the messages in their mailbox… not just the ones stored locally on the device. Also, Google Sync for iOS now supports the “Send Mail As” feature, giving the ability to send email from multiple accounts. Google added this feature to Android phones earlier this year.

Calendar sync now allows users to edit, accept, or decline events directly from the Calendar app. This highly requested feature greatly improves mobile scheduling functionality.

Keep in mind that you must set your email account up as an “Exchange” account in the email app to gain sync functionality. If you need some help, TOAST.net provides a guide to do this: How to Configure Your Google Apps Account on the iPhone/iPad

Source: Google Mobile Blog

It’s Tablet Time! 4 Tablets You Should Be Looking At

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:28:00 GMT

Asus has been quite the busy bee in the last several years. They brought the netbook to market, they’ve made some incredible innovations in laptop design, and now they’re taking on tablets. The 10.1″ Transformer is currently Wi-Fi only, but 3G/4G add-ons are planned. At 1.5 lbs. and a hair over half and inch thick, it is very comfortable to hold for long periods (a complaint I had about the original iPad). Asus has thrown every feature you can think of in the box. Wireless N, Bluetooth, 4 in 1 card slot reader, 5MP camera, 1.2 MP front mount camera, GPS, headphone jack, HDMI-out — it’s a gadget lover’s grocery list. Most intriguing is a port that allows you to dock the tablet with an optional $150 keyboard, effectively “Transforming” it into a netbook (see what they did there?). The keyboard has its own battery, nearly doubling the tablet’s power reserves. It’s a very cool concept that may be riding on a trend (Asus has also announced the Slider, a version of the Transformer with a built-in keyboard that should be available by fall of 2011). The Transformer’s excellent 1200×800 LED screen is sharp and great for video, and it’s powerful Tegra 2 dual-core CPU and 1GB DDR2 SDRAM keeps things moving along smoothly. Watching entire movies aren’t a problem either, as its 9.5 hour battery life should allow you to fit at least two of the three Lord of the Rings movies in.

The Transformer runs Android 3.0 , which is built from the ground up to be a tablet interface. There aren’t many tablet native apps available in the Marketplace as of yet, but just about any app runs well. Android 3.1 has been released, so I expect an update in the coming months, and hopefully it will take care of a few software glitches the tablet seems to display. One being the video camera is very choppy. Recorded video stutters and distorts, making it very annoying to use. Also I noticed that when using the keyboard dock, the tablet occasionally freezes and becomes unresponsive. As I said, these seem to be software glitches from a 1st-gen product, so I’m sure they will be corrected by updates.

Apple showed the world what a tablet should be like, and they got it right. They’re projected to sell 40 million iPads in 2011. Some blame this huge following on a cult-like religious experience , others say “when you build something that works, people buy it.” It definitely does work. Apple’s design team has made the iPad2 thinner and lighter than it’s predecessor. While the specs are a bit behind of some the other tablets on the market (only 512MB of RAM, a “mystery megapixel” camera that takes poor photos, etc), its new A5 processor is very fast, and the interface is tight. Nuances such as the “micro-animations” make it feel like a polished product, with every touch feeling like you’re actually doing something. The tablet is completely sealed, which simultaneously looks great and cuts off your expansion paths…something that will always annoy me about Apple products.

3G and 64GB versions are available, and since you can’t add memory to it, you may want to consider going higher end to future-proof yourself. Unfortunately, the top of the line can reach a steep $830. You also have to factor in that everything costs extra with Apple. Apps are .99 or higher, accessories seem to cost twice what everyone else charges…it’s like there’s an Apple tax anytime you buy hardware from them.

The iPad 2 itself is an experience. Easy to use, crisp and vibrant display, and with the weight factor from the original iPad fixed, it’s easy to hold. It’s the de facto tablet at the moment, and with good reason. There are plenty of apps to keep you busy, and it’s just plain fun. I only have 3 complaints: poor photo quality, constant pop-up windows — it seems like I am closing notifications at every turn, and the lack of Flash support (which makes me use apps instead of the web browser to view certain sites). There is a work-around for everything but the photo issues, to which Apple’s response is “the camera is designed for video, not stills.” I don’t see me taking a lot of photos with a tablet anyway.

Acer comes in on the lower end of the scale with the Iconia line. The build quality of the Iconia is solid and sturdy. At 1.7 lbs. it is the heaviest of the tablets reviewed, and hands will begin to feel the strain after holding it upright for a while. The screen looks to be the best of the bunch — the 10.1″ 1200×800 WXGA touch screen is among the sharpest tested, and like the Asus Transformer, it’s packed with features. You’ll find Wireless N, Bluetooth, a card reader, HDMI, GPS, and a dual-core Tegra 2 processor packed inside the case. Memory on this model is limited to 16 GB of DDR2 SDRAM, with a 32GB version available for $100 more. A keyboard dock is available for another $69 and also acts as a charger (but lacks a battery). The Acer runs Android 3.0, and photo quality from it’s 5 MP camera is actually pretty decent. The front facing 1.2MP camera allows for video conferencing, which works smoothly. Battery life is sufficient at 8 hours, but it’s a bit lower than the competition. If you’re looking to roam free, 3G service is available on the European model, but hasn’t quite made it to the states yet. Tethering from your smartphone can get around this in a pinch.

The Iconia’s touch screen works well — almost too well. I noticed I could manipulate things on the screen without even physically touching the glass. I wasn’t able to find a control to adjust the sensitivity, but I noticed other people mentioning the same issue. It appears to be something that can be fixed with a software patch, so stay tuned.

I enjoyed a couple of the included apps. It’s nice to see some non-junkware being installed on these tablets. SocialJogger displays your Facebook and Twitter accounts on the same screen in an attractive interface. Need for Speed: Shift was also a nice touch as the racer does a great job of showing off the tablet’s horsepower.

I liked the Acer Iconia. It’s a great entry-level tablet, and can grow with you as your needs evolve, but those upgrades can get pricey.

Blackberry is the father of the smartphone industry, and recently they’re trying to make waves with tablets. Their first attempt, the Playbook, isn’t half bad either. For those that think a 10″ screen is too large, the Playbook comes in a 7″ 1024 x 600 form factor which makes it a bit more portable. Blackberry’s new proprietary operating system with QNX technology is very sharp and polished, with Flash and HTML 5 support built-in. Weighing less than 1 lb., this tablet is easiest on the hands for extended viewing.

The hardware is pretty impressive for such a small package. The Playbook sports a dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage, Wireless N, Bluetooth, HDMI, and GPS, but no external memory card slot. Blackberry’s plan is to have all expansion options connect via Bluetooth (they’ve already released a Bluetooth keyboard option), but this may be a major setback to some. There is a micro-USB port for connecting to a computer when needed.

The physical buttons on the tablet are…not so good. They’re hard to press, and the power button is in a place that can cause trouble when adjusting the audio controls. The touch screen on the other hand…whoa! It supports 4 finger swipe commands, and I have to say it’s pretty slick. The built-in apps are standard Blackberry fare, so if you had one of their phones, you’ll recognize the prettier versions of the apps on the tablet. The camera is rated at 5MP back, 3MP front, and both are grainy…I would have expected better from a business oriented tablet. 3G support is available from multiple carriers.

If you are a Blackberry fan, the Playbook will make you feel at home. It’s interface is top-notch, but it’s hardware implementation is a bit behind the competition, especially with its $600 price tag. It’s still one of the best 7″ tablets out there, and worth a look if work in an all “Blackberry shop.”

Up and Coming

We are in the infancy of the tablet revolution, so expect a lot of new products in the coming months. Hardware specs will probably be similar for at least the next 6 months, with form factor and design being the key differences. HP is releasing a tablet based on WebOS soon, and if the previews are any indicator, it could be a major player. HTC has also recently released a new 7″ tablet with a 1.5 GHz processor that looks promising. Microsoft is late to market again, and I feel they’re going to miss the boat in the same way they missed the smartphone train. Microsoft is creating Windows 8 to be tablet compatible and expects a product by late 2012.

In the mean time, if you are in the market for a tablet, it’s a good time to buy as we’re at the beginning of a new hardware platform cycle, so you won’t get the obsolescence blues for quite some time.

Five Questions About Managed Services for Small Business

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:55:00 GMT

What are managed services?

How much do managed services cost?

Managed services cost much less than buying software, servers, and administering things yourself. Typical small businesses do not have a dedicated IT staff, making software problems and installations very disruptive. Since managed services are handled automatically by web apps and a 3rd part staff, reliability and functionality is greatly increased.

One thing to consider with managed services is the Internet connection. Business class DSL or better is required to run these services effectively. As a lot of information is transferred back and forth between your workstations, you’ll need to make sure you have the bandwidth to handle the increased traffic. Most service providers can review your connection specifications and make recommendations as needed.

How much will managed services save?

Savings come from not having to purchase physical hardware and software. For instance, a typical server can cost between $2000-$5000, and a company may require several servers. In addition, software such as Microsoft office can cost $200 per seat, and you’ll need backup hardware, security software, and payroll for IT staff to keep everything running. That’s a lot of money for something that is not to the primary focus of your business.

Managed services allow you to essentially “buy into” an existing system. Experts have set up a network and dedicated themselves to running the service, meaning you receive software that “just plain works.” The services are also scalable — you can add or subtract resources as needed without having to go through huge deployments. This is great for companies that hire temporary help and need workstation services for just a few months. You can add and subtract employees by simply contacting your provider, adding a lot of control to a business infrastructure as well as lower short and long term cash investments.

Are managed services reliable?

The short answer: Yes.

Most managed service providers boast 99.5% uptime…and some even higher. That translates to a few hours of downtime per year . Of this downtime, most is typically caused by maintenance and performed in off-hours. Service providers will have backup systems in place and be able to anticipate system issues, as compared to a local server outage in an office that may result in hours to days of downtime in the event of a failure.

Uptime does depend on your Internet connection, however. The service provider may be up, but you have to be able to reach them. A stable internet connection is key. Some service providers may recommend a second backup connection for redundancy. This depends on your connection track record and type of connection being used, but it is something to consider.

What should I be looking for?

When shopping for managed services, it is helpful to identify the problem you are trying to solve and it’s ramifications. If Sally’s workstation is used for accounting and keeps getting infected with viruses, the knee-jerk reaction is”Sally needs antivirus software.” However, infections usually find their way into a computer via security holes in web browsers. Also, what happens to the data on Sally’s PC if she does get infected? In addition to managed antivirus software , patch management and online backup would also be appropriate to give complete protection.

You’ll want to make sure your provider spells out what they will handle, that way you will know exactly what each service covers. Uptime statistics are important as well. You don’t want your service going on in the middle of the business day for maintenance. Finally, check for hidden fees/charges. The provider should be up front about service pricing. Providers that nickel-and-dime you at every turn may be an indicator that you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Manged services are very cost-effective and offer the small business a powerful platform on which to base itself. With value per dollar greatly increased, any business can now employ tools that were previously out of reach. This is leading to a revolution in efficiency and innovation as more resources can be used for growth instead of internal maintenance, leading to a boon in the small business segment.

Google To Give Old Browsers the Boot

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 18:05:00 GMT

The reason? Google wants to make it’s web apps more “desktop-like,” with features such as drag-and-drop and active notifications.

These advanced features require HTML 5 , and you’ll need a modern browser if you want to use them. “Older browsers just don’t have the chops to provide you with the same high-quality experience,” says Venkat Panchapakesan, Google’s vice president of engineering, in a recent blog post .

As of August 1st, Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3.5, Safari 3, and earlier versions of these browsers will no longer be supported in Google Apps . Users will notice certain features such as Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Docs failing to run properly, and eventually all Apps services will stop functioning. “As the world moves more to the Web, these new browsers are more than just a modern convenience, they are a necessity for what the future holds,” writes Panchapakesan.

Mozilla has already announced plans to update Firefox 3.5 to 3.6 automatically . Chrome and Safari users are automatically updated as well. Internet Explorer users will have to obtain the latest version from Windows Update . Keeping your browser updated not only provides more functionality, but also receive improved protection against exploits and security holes.

Internet Explorer’s lack of automatic update functionality often leaves users using older version for far longer than intended. Microsoft even went as far as to release ie6countdown.com , warning users that they need to upgrade or be left in the cold. At last count, 10.9% of the world is still using Internet Explorer 6.

Twelve Easy Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy

Sat, 21 May 2011 01:37:00 GMT

There’s a widely-held belief that computers have this much power.

The truth is, the Internet isn’t all that bad. It’s actually the user that has all the power. Part of the perceived problem is caused by common sense (or the suspension of). Something happens where a user’s inhibitions go out the window while they’re online. It’s like their mouse is injecting tequila into their bloodstream, and after a while — WOOHOO!!! Anything goes! I’ll tell anyone anything!

The other part of the perceived problem is complacency. If you’re in your pajamas, in your office, or better yet — in your pajamas while in your office, you feel safe and secluded. Nothing can reach you there. You start getting lazy about update notices, stop reading things through before clicking on them…and then BAM! You’re nailed.

Vigilance is the key. There is no vacation from following safe practices. Just follow these twelve steps and keep yourself out of trouble:

1. Use WORKING Antivirus Software

I hear the following daily: “I have Antivirus software! Look — it came with the computer!” Yeah, and it expired 2 years ago, meaning it’s protecting you from threats that came out two years ago. The prevalence of rogue antivirus junkware and exploits that take but a single click to execute means if you’re not protected, you’re playing with fire. This warning gets beaten to death, but our service desk gets a lot of computers every week from people that think they’re immune from the dangers of the world. We have free antivirus software on our Software page (free for anyone!), so if you need protection, you have no excuse.

2. They Make Updates for a Reason

“Groooooaaannn… more updates???” I know… it can be a hassle when you see that notification appear on the taskbar. There’s a lot of utilities running on your computer, and they all have to play nice with each other to work correctly with Windows. Sometimes, in order for a utility to work correctly, there must be a small security compromise made — intentionally or unintentionally. There’s also a huge group of hackers out there looking for these compromises so they can get access to your computer and start messing up the place. Updates are fixing security flaws before someone can take advantage of them, and hackers hope that you’re to lazy to get them installed. When updates show up on your computer, get them installed ASAP.

3. Use the Latest Web Browser

New versions of web browsers are released to:

a) Introduce new, convenient features
b) Increase performance
c) Correct flaws that create security risks
d) All of the above
e) None of the above

If you answered “d”, you are correct. If you answered “e”, you are probably still running Internet Explorer 3 and can’t read this page, so I don’t understand how you answered. If you answered “w” I no longer wish to speak with you.

Anyway, new versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox are released from time to time. They’re not released to annoy us with long, unnecessary download times as many think. They’re made available for our benefit and safety. Make sure you take advantage of them. Chrome and Firefox users are at a bit of an advantage in this area, as their browsers update automatically. You just open your browser one day and it prompts “Restart: we install a new version.” Internet Explorer users have to go through Windows Update for the latest version.

4. Use Better Passwords

I can’t stress this enough. If your password is something easy — like your name, your pet’s name, your phone number, your address…then it’s going to be easy for someone else to guess it. Worse yet, there’s even software designed to crack easy passwords — often within minutes. Make your passwords as least 8 characters long, and mix it up! Add some capital letters, numbers, and even some punctuation marks in there. Simple things like this make your password crack-proof AND guess-proof.

5. Secure Your Wireless Connection

If you use a wireless modem or router, it should be password protected. If not, anyone can use your connection — which in itself isn’t so bad. Some people see it as neighborly. However, if they can use your connection, they can also see any shared folders on your computer. Photos, documents, music, movies, and even your keystrokes in some cases…all of these may be publicly available up to 1/4 mile away from your router. Your wireless connection should use at least WPA or WPA2 Security. If it’s off, check with your equipment documentation on how to activate its security features. Older wireless routers used WEP Security, which is completely inadequate (programs are freely available that can break WEP keys in 30 seconds). Consider upgrading if your equipment still uses WEP.

6. Watch Your Bank Accounts

I know — “What does my bank account have to do with the Internet?” A lot actually. If you use your credit card to buy things online, you’ll want to check your statements from time to time to make sure you’re the only one using your credit card to buy things online. Credit card thieves are getting sneakier, and often make “micro-charges” — or small charges that they hope you won’t notice. If you see charges that don’t look familiar…no matter how small…check them out.

7. Properly Dispose of Documents

A good number of identity thieves get steal their information from dumpster diving. Bills, financial statements, and other records often have account numbers that will give anyone access to online accounts. Make sure they’re shredded. If you don’t have access to a shredder, tearing into small pieces and disposing of the paper in separate garbage bins works well too. I go the extra mile and empty my cat’s litter box on top of the shredded paper. Seems to work well.

8. Online Checkout Needs HTTPS

Buying something online usually requires a credit card. Before you enter your card number, make sure the address of the site starts with https:. This signifies that the site is encrypted, and prying eyes can’t see your card number as you hunt and peck it in.

9. Don’t get hooked in phishing

Your bank will never email you asking to confirm your bank account numbers. Your ISP will never email you asking for your password. Your mom may email you asking why you haven’t called her in the last three weeks. The first two examples are things to which you should never reply. Phishing, or sending fake emails to try tricking you into sending personal information, is very common. Never email someone sensitive information without verification. If in doubt, contact the sender.

As for that last example, you can choose to ignore it, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

10. Consider a “Junk” Email Account

Nearly everything requires you to enter an email address these days. Warranties, contests, surveys, you name it. Many companies return your generosity by selling your address to marketing services. Once a marketing service gets it, it’s up for bids. Anyone from Nigerian pirates to Canadian mob bosses can send you spam. You can sign up for warranties and contests with more confidence by using a secondary “junk” email account. That way, you don’t get spammed to death in your main account, and you can check the junk account once in a while — knowing most of the stuff in there can be disregarded.

11. Social Networking Bleeds Your Info

Facebook is basically designed to share everything about you to everyone else. I’m sure you don’t want everyone else to know that you ate too much cheese at the Christmas party, are about 20lbs too heavy to be wearing the bikini in that photo, and what your relationship status is these days. Facebook has turned into the #1 data mine for scam artists. They just browse Facebook looking for open accounts, take down information, and go to town. Be sure to set the privacy controls to show your info to “Friends” only. For information on adjusting your Facebook privacy, check out Facebook’s Privacy page .

12. Don’t Tell Strangers Personal Info

Ever get a phone call during dinner saying “This is George from the Human Fund. We’d like to get some information on your habits. First we’ll need your full name, address, birth date, where you went to school…”. You really have no idea who these people are, and they can use this information to open online accounts, recover passwords, and lots of other evil stuff. If they are a legitimate company, they should be happy to mail you a form to fill out rather than taking down your life history over the phone.

Prevent Embarrassing Email Mistakes

Fri, 06 May 2011 23:41:00 GMT

These types of mistakes can cause a lot of wasted time and confusion and it’s completely understandable. There are quite a few steps to preparing an email, and all of them have to be accurate for success. You have to deal with contacts, CC: and BCC: fields, signatures, spelling checks, choosing “Reply” or “Reply to All”, forwarding addresses…there’s bound to be a faux pas in there somewhere. The secret to making sure email is getting to its recipient is following a list of best practices. Oh look! I just happen to have a handy list to share right here:

1. Leave the address field blank

Ever see something like this in your inbox?

……

Hi Bill!

It is very important that you check out this website as it has the instructions needed to finish the project:

……

Either the email is leaving you in suspense on purpose or the sender contracted “I didn’t mean to send that!” syndrome. Incomplete emails like this happen because a demented programmer at Microsoft thought Ctrl-Enter would be a good shortcut for the Send command in any of its email applications. If you type 643 characters per minute like I do, that means pasting a link into a message with Ctrl-V and then hitting Enter has to be perfectly timed. If “Enter” makes it to the finish line first, you’re going to end up cursing a lot and having to send another email. This is easily prevented by leaving the To: field blank until your email is completed. Compose your masterpiece, correct your spelling mistakes, make all those grammar corrections, add your links, and resist the temptation to pop open your Contacts list until everything is ready. It’s like putting a safety on your Send button to remind you to double check everything. Without an address, accidentally sending a message saying “Meat me for lunch” will never happen.

2. Attach before you type

“Uhh…I got your email. Where’s the forms?”
“It’s in the email.”
“No it’s not.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it’s not.”
“Oops…let me resend that…”

Before you get too distracted, put your attachments in first and there’s no chance of forgetting.

3. Verify a new email address before sending something important

Everyone exchanges email addresses, and they’re only written down accurately 78.2% of the time (I did my own personal survey). If I tell someone my address is dailyslice@toast.net, I’ll inevitably get reports back of difficulty sending to dailyslice@toastnet.com, dailyslice@toast.com, and my favorite: dailyslice@toast.net.com (There’s always an urge to shove that .com in there for some reason.). Before sending something important to a new email address, send a “feeler” email. Something along the lines of “Hi! I’m going to send some things over to you shortly, just wanted to let you know!” If you get a response back, the account is valid and ready to use. If you don’t hear back, a quick phone call to verify the address would be a good idea.

Or it will confirm the person is ignoring you.

Either way, a phone call will clear up your next course of action.

If someone calls you and says “I never got your email.”, don’t just say “OK, I’ll resend it!”. Believe it or not, there is no magical email troll that wanders the Internet randomly eating messages. If a message is not received the first time, you need to find what caused the failure. Verify the email address you’re using letter by letter or have the recipient send you a message and see if you can reply. Watch for any “bounce” messages (messages returned to you by the mail server). These messages will have a lot of gobbledygook in them, but at the bottom is usually a nugget of information. Look for things like “Error 554: The Message Was Rejected by the Recipient’s mail server…” or “Error 550: mailbox is not available…”. These errors will give a clue as to what’s happening. You can try forwarding the message to your email provider or administrator to help decipher it if it is too cryptic.

5. Auto-complete: It’s out to get you

Auto-complete is designed to make your life easier. Your Contacts list most likely uses it so you don’t have to scroll through all 25,000 contacts that all you popular people keep . It’s also waiting to take you down. If you simply type in Brian in your To: field, it will auto-complete Brian’s address…but as to WHICH Brian is totally random. It might be Brian C., it might be Brian G., it might be Brian W., and God help you if you have Brians with last names that start with the same letter. One mis-click and you’re done. If you fall into this trap I think auto-complete even adds “Ha ha!” to the email’s header information. Don’t become a victim. Double check anything that auto-complete tries to pass off on you.

6. Don’t attach your entire hard drive

We all need to send attachments from time to time. You have to be reasonable though — don’t try sending a 52MB PowerPoint presentation and act surprised when your colleague says he didn’t get it. TOAST.net allows you to send a generous 20MB of attachments per message , but most mail providers aren’t that nice. 2MB to 8MB is the normal limit, and I actually consider it rude to send anything over 2MB (there’s nothing like a huge clunker attachment clogging up your mailbox while you’re trying to read something quickly). If you’re sending photos consider shrinking them down to a lower resolution, or use a photo sharing service so you only have to send a link. TOAST.net’s mail allows for direct document sharing, so this could be used to get around file size limitations all together. If you really need to send something gigantic consider one of the many free file sharing services like YouSendIt .

7. Verify your links

These quick tips will transform you from an email ignoramus to a messaging matador in short order. If you have any other tips I may have missed, don’t just sit there– reply away!

Bringing Tablets to the Table

Thu, 05 May 2011 21:24:00 GMT

The first thing that came to mind: apparently I am only capable of understanding people who fall within my own age group.

The second thing that came to mind: The iPad has been available for over a year now, and yet there is not a single successful competitor to the product. It’s not due to lack of attempts. Motorola released the Xoom tablet a few months ago, the Dell Streak is available, Samsung’s Galaxy series is in stores…and nobody is buying them. Tablets will be the primary way we’ll be using the Internet within the next few years, but it seems that Apple is holding all the cards at this point and it’s holding up progress. It’s not that Apple is doing this on purpose…it just so happens that they have a number of factors that are working in their favor at the moment.

When thinking about tablets, I like to compare a tablet to a microwave oven. Just as you use the microwave to heat up your leftover pizza quickly, you would use a tablet to get information off of the Internet quickly. If you think about it, what do you use more often in your kitchen, your microwave or your oven? Apple has perfected the quick and snazzy interface that lets you see the web quickly, and because of this “microwave” quality tablets completely fill a needed niche– unlike the netbook.

If you remember, when netbooks were introduced prices were in the $500 range and were honestly no better than a standard laptop. In many ways they were worse. Netbooks came with the nearly decade old Windows XP (mostly because their wimpy Intel Atom processors couldn’t handle anything more modern), their small awkward screens made it difficult to view websites without scrolling all over the place, they had cramped keyboards which made typing difficult…who in their right mind would buy into an experience like that? Lots of people it turns out, as netbooks outsold laptops by a huge margin in 2009. What was selling these torturous machines? Three factors: they were cheap, portable, and had a long battery life. These are the main things that consumers previously did not have available to them yet desperately wanted. Therefore, netbooks were purchased in droves.

In 2010 Apple introduced the iPad, and immediately millions of people… started laughing . Apple decided to stay out of the whole netbook quagmire and headed in a different direction. It took its hyper-popular iPhone and blew up the screen to nearly 10 inches. After the giggles over the name died down, serious business began as consumers caught wind of the “cheap-portable-battery life” features, not to mention it could turn on instantly and offered fairly snappy performance. The iPad became a hit and single-handedly killed netbook sales , ending the whole netbook fad in short order. Manufacturers had an “Ohhhhh…so THAT’S what you wanted…” moment and began to design competing tablets.

Apple’s advantage is it is a software AND hardware manufacturer, so it had the proven iOS from their iPhone to run on the iPad. Other companies don’t have that advantage (well, except for HP , but they’ve been pretty secretive lately). Windows is not suitable for low power tablet, and Microsoft is once again caught with it’s pants down (in the same way it was with smartphones and music players). Steve Ballmer is basically saying “Yeah…the next version of Windows will be tablet compatible. We’ll get to it sometime in the next couple of years and be shut out of the market again for arriving too late.” Competitors had to go open source, and Google’s Android was about the only viable choice. The problem is Android had been designed for smartphones with small 4″ screens. Early adopters like Samsung ended up having to sell 7″ $700 tablets with a non-optimized interface, and you can guess how that panned out. Google helped things along by developing Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” as a tablet-only operating system. So, for now, Honeycomb is the OS choice if you want a competing tablet. It’s user friendly, slick looking, and lots of apps to fuel whatever addictions you have. Problem solved.

So, why aren’t we all using tablets yet? Everything is in place for consumers to rip them off the shelves. They have everything that made netbooks popular, and more:

Small form factor: check
Long battery life: check
Speedy: check
Cost: che….oooooo…wait a minute

That last one is a killer. Being priced in the $600-$800 range, it’s the one thing preventing us from putting tablets on our shopping list. Apple is supposed to be a “premium” hardware vendor, so its products are always in the higher end of the price range. Yet, the iPad priced at $499 is the lowest cost 10″ tablet on the market. Using this logic, “every-man” tablets should be in the $250-$300 range, but instead are being priced out of the market. What may surprise you is prices may be staying high on purpose.

Desktops, laptops, and netbooks are all suffering from discount cancer . HP, Dell, Toshiba, and others keep lowering build quality and cutting profits to shave dollars off retail prices. The PC market that used to have products with an average retail of $2000 is now in the $400 range. Netbooks, with paper thin margins as it is, plunged into the sub-$300 range. Manufacturers are having difficulty making a profit at these prices, and is exactly why you see modern computers covered in trial software, advertisements, and offers of service agreements– they’re selling the hardware at costs and hoping to make money after-the-fact. They want to prevent this from happening to tablets. Therefore the prices are being set artificially high for now. With rapidly plunging prices being associated with junk products, nobody wants to be the first to dip their toes in the bargain bin.

Things are looking up though. I see 2012 as the Year of the Tablet (<–official prediction). The tablet pricing sweet spot seems to be around $250-$300 for a base model. When we get to that point, they’re going to be in people’s cart’s pretty quickly. The trick is going to be convincing consumers that a tablet in that price range is a quality product. My bets are on Asus to start things off (their new Transformer line is making waves with $400 pricing. They’re also the ones that started whole netbook craze). Once tablet computing takes hold, it’s probably going to be here to stay. We’ve already assimilated tablet computing into our lives through smartphones (which are in effect tiny tablets) so we’re already accepting of touch-screen technology. This is just the next logical step, and it’s a good one. The touch interface is the most natural and intuitive of all, and will open technology to a whole new class of people who were previously intimidated by computers. I hear people say “I can’t use that darned mouse” all the time, but “I can’t use my darned finger”…not so much.

Google’s New Docs App- Take Your Office With You

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:33:00 GMT

You could always log into your Google Docs from your phone by going to docs.google.com , but the interface is a bit clunky and difficult to work with on small screens. If you want to edit a spreadsheet from there, you reeeeally have to want to do it. Google realized this, so they made a slick Android app that is more touch-screen friendly (sorry iPhone users- you’re still stuck with the web for now). Larger icons and displays are the main improvement, but the overall functionality of Docs from your phone or tablet has been vastly improved.

Here’s a rundown of the new features:

As always, any changes to your content automatically sync with your Docs account, and you have the ability to collaborate as well (two or more people can edit a document simultaneously). These features prove to be incredibly useful for taking notes at presentations, jotting down information when you’re evaluating products, and my wife recently discovered she can instantly edit my grocery shopping list if there was something I forgot to add (I was in the middle of the bread aisle and “Dove Chocolate Ice Cream” suddenly popped on my list). Definitely a keeper.

The Google Docs app for Android is free and available in the Android Market . Android 2.1 or higher is required.

If you’re the fancy type that has a barcode scanner on your phone, just set its sights on this QR code and cut to the chase:

Jumping Ship – Moving Your Website to a New Host

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:24:00 GMT

I’m hearing this complaint more and more from my peers. Not only is GoDaddy losing focus of it’s core business, it’s making several questionable decisions that are turning people against the company as a whole. CEO Bob Parsons ‘ recent shooting of an elephant has animal activists up in arms, it’s TV ads are accused of being sexist by the watchdog community, and it’s customer’s grumblings have even caused waves in the social networking world . People are jumping ship, and more would like to but have no idea what’s involved.

Getting Out of Dodge

OK, so your nephew set up your website, you know little to nothing about how domain registration works, and you want to move to a new host.

Sounds bleak. The good news is it’s actually not quite as difficult as you think. All web hosting moves involve the following steps:

Get A New Host- Before cancelling anything, you’ll want to find a hosting company to house your website. It’s helpful if you know what your website’s functions are in order to choose an appropriate hosting plan . For instance, is your site just informational? Does it contain a lot of pictures? Can you purchase items on it? These will all matter when figuring out what features your host plan will require.

Back Up Your Website- Copy your website down to your computer. There are various ways to do this, most simply involving using FTP to copy/paste the files to your computer. Check with your host’s user instructions on the best way to do this. Keep in mind: if your website was created using special web based tools provided by the host, you may not be able to copy your website. The site will have to be created from scratch with your new host .

Cancel Your Current Web Host/Domain Registrar- The next step will involve cancelling your account with your former hosting company. Your current host either has a control panel you log into to do this, or there may be a customer service contact you can use to request cancellation. I know GoDaddy’s cancel procedure is a bit buried, but I’ve been told that this is the best method:

This will get you out of the GoDaddy quagmire. Other hosts usually have a similar technique.

Moving Your Domain Name- This is the hardest part. You’ll need to initiate the transfer of your domain from your current host to your new one. Keep in mind you’re probably going to have to verify your identity more times than a 19 year old trying to buy liquor at a carryout, but it’s all for your safety:

Password Security – You Need To Care

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:03:00 GMT

I thought I would take some time to explain why password security is critical on any Internet account, despite it’s importance.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

The Internet is a powerful tool. Any person can say anything and interact with anyone, anywhere. The more it’s used, the more seemingly unrelated items get tied together. Most don’t realize this…they just check their email , see if anyone posted anything funny on Facebook , maybe play a quick game of FarmVille, and then go about their business.

Now, let’s set up a scenario where an evil hacker cracks your email password of “ qwerty “, then logs into your email account:

In five steps, our resourceful hacker person gained access to your bank account due to a weak password. It’s almost like playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with your bank account. Granted this is an extreme case, but some version of it happens thousands of times a day to people with weak passwords. Leaving poor safeguards on any Internet account invites abuse.

A lot of people I know picture Internet hackers as fat kids with pimples and glasses, wearing a black concert t-shirt and tapping away cryptic codes while swigging Mountain Dew. Yes, 20 years ago that might have been the case (I don’t think I wore black concert t-shirts though). Today’s hacking crowd is a much more sophisticated and greedy bunch. Often they’re groups based out of chaotic areas like Nigeria, China, and Russia, and if they’re attacking someone’s account, there’s a payoff attached to it. These guys know a thing or two about human behavior and computer practices, and if you fall into their guidelines, you’re vulnerable. How do they “guess” passwords for accounts? There’s many different techniques:

Social Engineering- One of the top ways of getting you password stolen is caused by you giving it to the hacker. Those seeking your password might find it on a piece of paper you have on your desk, or even going as far as going through garbage bins and dumpsters to find login information. Sometimes they’ll even find personal information about you to guess potential passwords. If they see a website that lists your daughter’s name as “Samantha”, they may try variations of that name to gain access.

Intercepting Data- A keylogger is a small program that gets installed on your computer and records your keystrokes. These are then sent to hacker’s computer, and they’ll be able to see anything you typed. These programs can be installed via “trojans”, or programs masquerading as legitimate software .

Cracking – Cracking involves trying to guess a password by using common words, phrases, and names. More sophisticated attacks involve using “brute force” software. This involves using a program that generates every possible combination of letters, numbers, and characters. Passwords with names and words found in the dictionary are usually found rather quickly, while capital letters, numbers, and special characters add complexity. With enough time, any password can be discovered with this method, but every character added can change the cracking time from hours to weeks.

Theft- If your password is secure, that doesn’t mean that the sites that require it are secure. Hackers often target corporate databases to gain usernames and password for accounts. Cracking a database often has a large payoff, but also has the most risk of being caught.

Password Recovery – People have a hard time remembering their passwords, and rely on password recovery systems frequently. Unfortunately these are a weak link in website security. If an email account is compromised, any site that sends a “reset your password” link to your email account is also vulnerable.

OK, you’re now convinced that you need to use more secure passwords, but how? Simply changing your password from “ dave123 ” to “ dave1234 ” isn’t going to cut it, so you’ll want to follow these quick tips to keep prying eyes out of your business:

This should minimize the possibility of your accounts being compromised. It’s also important to run excellent AntiVirus software on your computer to prevent keyloggers and other types of programs that can collect personal data. One compromised account can bring down your house of cards, but keeping your information secure is your ace in the hole.

In For the Long Run – The Glass City Marathon!

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:08:00 GMT

Website Hosting- The Internet Storefront

People used to have three primary ways to get local information. If services were required, one used to look in the phone book for available services. One used to catch up with current events by reading newspapers. Local news used to involve waiting for a local news broadcast. “ USED TO” being the key words here.

In today’s world, I dread coming home and seeing another phone book sitting in my mailbox. They just sit there, piling up until I take them to the recycling facility. Fortunately I discovered the Yellow Pages Opt Out site that curtails phonebook delivery a bit, but the point is all of that money that went into ads was wasted. Never looked at. At all. Since I managed to stop delivery, there is probably a large group of Spruce trees out there that are letting a sigh of relief over not getting turned into pulp for no good reason.

Newspapers are in the same category, but worse. I get sent a newspaper every morning, and I work all day. After work, I come home, eat dinner with the family, help the kids with homework, putter around the house for a bit, then go to bed. Newspapers tend to sit on our kitchen counter unopened. I actually called to cancel my newspaper subscription, but the paper vendors are so desperate to keep subscribers that they practically gave me the subscription for free. Free is hard to pass up, so that group of Spruce that had the false sense of security went to the paper mill after all. Sorry guys.

News broadcasts have really taken a downward spiral. First, you have to be in front a of TV at 6pm to see them, They spend the first 15 minutes talking about national news that you already heard, you get a funny weatherman that uses terms like “Super Quadruple Mega Monster Doppler!”, a few minutes of local events, and then sport scores that were available since yesterday. Not the most effective way to alert the public of an event, and I’m not really sure of their stance on Spruce killing.

What IS effective is the Internet. Since you can view the Internet from anywhere today- your computer, your phone, your TV, tablets, even eventually your car – it has become the choice method of finding information. An effective web presence should be the top priority of any business or organization that wants to get it’s word out today. Since TOAST.net’s design The Glass City Marathon’s website , in addition to provided communication tools, it has given runners and interested parties a more convenient way to interact with the Marathon . This in turn greatly increased participation and success of this year’s event, and not a single evergreen was harmed in the process.

Keeping In Touch

Behind the scenes of the Marathon , there are more logistics involved than most major wars. Vendors, sponsors, media, printers, designers, planners…they all need to be contacted and coordinated. TOAST.net’s offering of Google Apps for Business fit this bill perfectly. Google Apps is designed from the ground up to keep everything organized and manageable. The ability to create multiple schedules, easily share them with groups, and being able to keep apprised of changes instantly is invaluable. Clint McCormick, racing director for the Marathon , says “The calendar sharing functions of Google Apps became a critical tool in planning the event. I can’t think of any other way I could have gotten so many people coordinated at the same time. Real time syncing with my smartphone allowed me to keep on top of changes anywhere I went.”

Email is still the core of today’s communication, and Google Apps’s 25GB of storage space means there’s plenty of room to archive correspondence from earlier Marathons . McCormick mentions “I’m able to reference conversations from previous years to track requirements and costs. It gives me a point of reference to start with each year.” Google’s unique email labeling system and search features keep all of these messages organized and accessible. Plus, the fact that the mail system is cloud based means that email is accessible from any Internet device.

Google Docs , included with Google Apps , proved to be a powerful tool and a great time saver for the Marathon’s paperwork. Contracts had to be made up, forms created, signs posted, and all of this would normally involve endless email attachments to and from various people. Google Docs allows you to create a cloud based document and share it to the interested parties. They can then access it and make changes in real-time. “I was able to draw up a form, share it with three people on my Contacts list, and watch on my screen as they made needed adjustments. It turned a three-day process into 15 minutes,” McCormick explains. “It’s such a time saver! I’m even able to view and make changes to forms on my phone. Since I’m always on the go, I need a system that follows me, and Google Docs does the trick.” Google recently created Cloud Connect, an add-on that allows Microsoft Office documents to behave in this same manner. This across-the-board compatibility makes Google Docs usable by anyone.

Communication with a large amount of people is always tricky. The Marathon has the task of sending out large amounts of email to distribute forms, maps, rules, and other race related material. TOAST.net’s Constant Contact served as the delivery system, allowing not only the proper groups to receive their needed information, but allowing the Marathon to gather valuable feedback. McCormick explains “ Constant Contact allows me to not only send forms, courses, and newsletters about The Glass City Marathon , but I was also able to add surveys, videos, and track the effectiveness of the correspondence. The template system in Constant Contact make the emails easy to create- it’s just like using a word processor. The content you can include in even a simple newsletter just isn’t possible with a printed brochure, and the feedback and statistics I get back let me know what areas I should focus on.”

Results!

McCormick’s involvement, plus the use of Google Apps for Business and Constant Contact has allowed The Glass City Marathon’s participation rates to rise over 600% in the last three years. TOAST.net’s expertise is in cloud services integration for small business, and it is encouraging being able to see our tools bringing such great success to this organization. I wish good luck and good weather too all the participants of the 2011 Glass City Marathon ! I’ll see you at the finish line, and don’t worry… I’ll keep all those phonebook and newspaper people away from the Spruce trees.

Microsoft Office Faces New Competition with Google Cloud Connect

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 01:37:00 GMT

Email Lists Hooked – Phishing Warnings Abound

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:19:00 GMT

Email addresses that are matched to company client lists can mean a wave of targeted phishing is on the way. Phishing, pronounced “fishing” for those that don’t know, is an email message that tries to trick you into sending personal information, usually for criminal purposes. Right now scam artists can only send out random emails saying things like- Your bank account password needs to be changed to meet NCA342.34 standards. Please reply to this email with the following information:

Routing number:__________
Account Number: __________
Username: ___________
Current Password: ____________
New Password: _____________

Etc….

Not many people would fall for this, but if an email with the label “Mr. Jones, your Best Buy Account needs to be updated, please reply with the following information…” came in, readers may be a bit more apt to fall for the trick due to the personalization.

While the tech savvy community is very unlikely to simply email account information to a random email address, novice and elderly email users are usually the main victims simply from not knowing any better. Protect yourself and those you know by adhering to these simple tips:

For more tips on how to keep yourself safe out there in the big, scary Internet world, check out TOAST.net’s 5 Steps for Safe Computing . It helps get rid of the “scary” part.

Google for Nonprofits is Rewarding On Two Fronts

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:23:00 GMT

Computer hardware, software, and staffing are some of the biggest cash dumps for any organization, and all three are essential. Google for Nonprofits replaces these costs by making all resources cloud based. Servers? Not needed. Software? Available from any web browser. IT staff ? Not necessary. Liberation from these former confinements can make a huge difference. Google recently posted an exposé about the nonprofit Samasource . This organization took advantage of Google for Nonprofits , saving tens of thousands of dollars that they were able to divert to their programs:

If your nonprofit organization is in a similar situation, I can’t recommend Google for Nonprofits enough. It’s one package that does everything needed to effectively communicate, allowing your organization to spend less time focusing on the accounting and more time on its vision. I get to help you set things up and make sure everything runs smoothly, and you get to further your cause with increased efficiency. In the end, we both get to wear a big red S on our chest for our “super” achievements.

The Google Apps Calendar – More Powerful Than You Realize

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 23:11:00 GMT

Organization is the key to efficiency, and most of us (including myself) are too lazy to be organized. People that have all of their papers “just-so” on their desk with their color coded tabs and rubbers bands and sticky notes and highlighters drive me crazy. It amazes me that they can actually find their work when it’s buried under all those office supplies. What I need is a personal assistant that follows me around and lets me know everything I’m supposed to be doing at a specific time. Someone to tell me things like “Call your client at 11am,” “Your mom’s birthday is tomorrow,” and “At 2:00 you have a company meeting about buying more office supplies.” Unless you make Charlie Sheen money, you’re probably not able to pay someone to walk behind you all day rattling off your schedule. However, technology has once again provided a suitable substitute.

No, it’s not robots (although R2-D2 rolling around beep-booping my to-do list would be way cool). What we’re talking about here is a “cloud calendar,” or a scheduler that you set in one place, and it propagates to multiple locations. The Calendar built into Google Apps is probably the best example of this. Google Calendar is amazingly powerful and records, schedules, and reminds you of everything you’re supposed to know. It’s multiple contact methods mean it will be difficult for you to avoid your taskmaster…it goes where you go.

First base – The Web

Google Calendar’s station of operations is the web. Our TOAST.net customers can reach their calendar via our Start Page (which also gives you a preview of your Google Calendar). You can also go directly to your calendar by going directly to Google’s Calendar site . From here, you can easily create appointments by clicking on a date and setting it’s parameters. You can also color code appointments, make multiple calendars, share schedules with colleges…just about anything you think a calendar should be able to do. Choose from pop-up notifications, alarms, email alerts, even SMS text messages . If you use Google Chrome as your web browser, you can even add an extension that will give you one click access to your calendar. To get even more fancy, there is simple code available to post your calendar on your website. Many companies do this on their Intranet page to do things like schedule conference rooms, meetings, or other events.

If you have a smartphone, your calendar hits the streets with you. Any appointments you add to your phone automatically sync with the web calendar, and visa versa. Most smartphones (especially Android powered phones) allow you to see multiple calendars, keep your color coding, and have multiple methods of notification (I like to use the Air Raid Siren notification when I have an appointment. It makes everything sound important.)

Android phone users have it easy- all that needs to be done is open your Gmail app, create a new account, and enter your Google Apps email address . You will then have the option to sync your calendar. All done.

iPhone users need a little more work. You have to set up the email app to use the mail server m.google.com. I conjured up a Knowledge Base article on our Support site to walk people through the process. It sets up like a standard email account, but you have to tell your iPhone to use Exchange settings to get calendar sync working.

Blackberry users sync their Google Calendar with a special app, because Blackberry users are special people! Just browse to http://m.google.com for download instructions. Once installed, you’ll be asked to enter your Google Apps email address and password, and the app will do the rest.

If you don’t have a smartphone, you can still use your cell phone to receive SMS text messages to remind of you appointments. A text message allows you to check your schedule- text GVENT (48368), and add the commands “:next”, “:day”, or “:nday” to check the next appointment, the whole day, and the next day’s schedule. For example, to check your slave list for tomorrow, you would send a text to: 48368:nday.

Third Base – Microsoft Outlook

Some offices are still using Outlook for various reasons (the use of email clients is on the decline due to advancements and easy administration of web-mail). Google Calendar can sync with Outlook with Google Apps Sync for Outlook . Not only will your calendar synchronize with this tool, but it will bring down your email and contacts as well, giving connectivity similar to Microsoft Exchange Server . As with your phone, any changes you make to your calendar will propagate to your phone and the web.

Home Run! – You’re Organized

The reason a lot of scheduling software useless is you can only make changes at your computer, and the need to schedule something most often comes up when you’re not at your desk. The beauty of Google Calendar is it follows you around and is accessible via multiple methods. Booking appointments in real-time will transform you into Mr. Organized in no-time. All this without the use of colored tabs, rubber bands, and sticky notes. It would still be nice to get a robot involved in all of this, but I think that’s still a few years off.

Firefox 4 – Fashionably Late to the Party

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:19:00 GMT

I’ve tested Firefox 4 since the early beta versions, and had a sinking feeling with every install. Functionality, rendering, and stability were terrible. Around 5 beta versions in, they added graphics acceleration (the big buzz word with browsers these days), and it pretty much made Firefox unusable. I put in a few bug reports from a convenient “what were you doing when the browser crashed” window, uninstalled, and didn’t look back.

Firefox is very popular with the “super-user” community. This is the group that can do anything you can think of on a computer, some things you can’t think of, and a few things you don’t want to think of. This enthusiast community often brags of the customizations they do with Firefox on technical forums whenever browsers are mentioned:

“I use Firefox, so I don’t have to see ads on websites!”
“I use Firefox and have an add-on that lets me transfer files automatically!”
“I use Firefox and it blocks any pop-ups and virus attacks!”
“I use Firefox and it saved the Earth from an asteroid impact!”

Because of this user base, Firefox has to maintain high standards. Also this user base tends to find a lot of bugs: techie people tend to use ALL of the features. This means, to paraphrase Orson Wells, “Firefox will release no browser before it’s time.” The Firefox developers spent that extra four months cleaning up bugs and fixing features to give a bug-free release. This compares to Microsoft’s “Release it and we’ll fix it later” philosophy, and Google’s “Release it, we’ll slip in fixes without the user knowing, and everyone will be happy” philosophy.

Much like IE9 , Firefox 4 allows you to turn websites into “pinned applications”. If you right-click on a tab, you can select “Pin as App tab” and have instant access to the website with its own customized icon. It’s not nearly as slick as IE9’s implementation, but it is still useful.

Tab grouping was added, allowing you to organize your tabs into manageable groups to keep things organized. It’s a feature than looked nice when it was first presented , but I found myself not using it much for some reason. It turned out to be more of a “look what I can do” feature than something actually usable. It takes too much time to set up to be worth the trouble.

GPU acceleration helps sites with video and moving graphics to load quickly and smoothly. The initial problems with its implementation early on appear to be resolved, and things are downright snappy now. You’ll notice this most on sites like YouTube when playing HD video.

Other minor features include touch support (getting Firefox ready for the upcoming tablet revolution ), and a very useful “tab specific” download indicator. This download indicator change allows you to keep track of file downloads on each page- something very handy for those of us that download a lot of files.

XP: To Support or Not To Support

Microsoft made a bold decision to cut Windows XP out of it’s IE9 upgrade path . Windows XP is still used by millions of people, and they’re effectively saying “Keep using XP if you want guys, but we’re moving on…”. On the other hand, Firefox is taking the “ Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses …” route, and in the end this could actually increase its market share. Not only will Firefox 4 support Windows XP, it will also work on Windows 2000. GPU acceleration functionality is reduced on both operating systems, but my guess is you’re not too concerned about that if you’re still running something like Windows 2000. As long as users have an upgrade path, they’ll take it, and Firefox 4’s compatibility may make these ancient operating systems viable for a few more years.

Firefox 4’s speed is a big improvement over 3.6. It’s a great time to be using the web because we have three corporations trying outdo each other and flex their coding skills. It’s a lot like the Big 3 automakers in the late 60’s trying to outdo each other with muscle cars. Any way you look at it, we benefit from the competition.

The main test I like to run with any new browser is HTML5test.com . It checks browser compliance with the latest page coding standards. If a browser does poorly on the HTML5 test, it means it’s not ready for things to come. This was a major concern I had with Internet Explorer 9 , as its abysmal test scores were puzzling after Microsoft spent a lot of press time touting it’s standards compliance . In the test I compared IE9, Chrome 10 and Firefox 4 (higher score is better):

Internet Explorer 9: 130 (+ 5 bonus points)
Chrome 10: 288 points (+13 bonus points)
Firefox 4: 240 (+9 bonus points)

This shows that Chrome 10 is 17% more likely to display a modern website correctly than Firefox 4, while Firefox 4 is 46% more likely to display a modern website correctly than Internet Explorer 9.

JavaScript performance is also important on sites like Facebook and webmail sites. I like to use JSBenchmark for this test (a higher score is better):

Chrome 10: 653 ± 80
Firefox 4: 361 ± 21
Internet Explorer 9: 294 ± 0

Chrome 10’s JavaScript performance is BLAZING fast. Firefox 4’s performance is much better than version 3.6, but not as much as an improvement as the people at Google cooked up. Internet Explorer 9’s score is again, an improvement over IE8, but still a bit lacking.

So, What Do I Think?

Firefox 4 is a nice browser, but it’s only going to appeal to a few sets of users: the “I’ve used Firefox for years” crowd, the “my techie friend told me to use Firefox because it doesn’t get viruses” crowd, and the “My computer is 9 years old and I can’t run anything else” crowd. It’s this last crowd that will receive the most benefit, as it will allow them to use a web browser with modern features on an old machine. Firefox’s lack of central administration, plus it’s “anyone is allowed in the pool” add-ons policy makes IT departments shun the browser for business, so I don’t expect much corporate integration.

The interface changes are just “OK”, nothing really to rave about. Some changes are useful, some no-so-much. It’s hard to recommend this browser when there are better products out there. Chrome 10 performance pretty much mopped the floor with Firefox 4. It does run faster than IE9, but IE9 also has a more modern interface, it’s “Pinned Applications” feature works better, and it’s Windows integration comes in very handy.

In the end, Firefox 4 seems a bit half-hearted. The user community is very passionate about Firefox, and I have a feeling they were giving the message of “We want change but don’t change anything!”, which restrained the Firefox developers from doing more than they could have. I can recommend Chrome 10 as the best overall browser. I can recommend IE9 as manageable and business compatible. However, Firefox 4 only receives a “Get it if you have an old computer” recommendation.

Firefox 4.0 will be available after 3/22/2011 from the TOAST.net Software Page .

Internet Explorer 9 – Unleashed!

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:56:00 GMT

TOAST.net’s Software Page

graphics accelerator

Javascript engine

Contacting Large Groups? You’re Probably Doing It Wrong…

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:24:00 GMT

One of the struggles of running a business is reminding people that you exist. There is a lot of competition out there, so your customers have to be continually reminded of why you’re the best! The question is, “What is the most effective way to get the word out?” Mailing flyers and letters is one way, but it’s expensive, takes a long time, and you have no idea how many people actually looked at your mailing vs. throwing it away. Calling gives more instant results, but it is slow and annoys people (I know I make a point never to use any business that calls me during dinner). Email would seem to be the most efficient and least expensive method of communicating with your customer base, but it has its own set of problems: creating an effective email is difficult, spam filtering , and face it: if the email isn’t interesting, they’re not going to read it. The main disadvantage to these three methods is, in the end, you have no idea how effective your message is. It’s like putting a message in a bottle and hoping the ocean takes it to someone. Ironically, I would be more likely to read a message sent to me in a bottle than a mailing due to packaging, but that’s another topic.

How Do They Do It?

When checking your email , ever notice that certain things always make it through to your inbox? Bills, for one (if anyone finds a fix for this, please let me know). Newsletters, coupons, advertisements, sale alerts…they all come through with no problem. Also, notice that they know exactly what you’re looking for…it’s like you’re being targeted. How can this be?

The reason is you are being watched. Not watched in a “close your curtains and call the police on the paparazzi” kind of way, but more of a “Bob bought a ratchet set, so he must be handy. Therefore we’ll send him coupons and sales on tools, home repair, car service, etc.” kind of way. These companies are doing something called “behavioral marketing.” Behavioral marketing is often done through web browsing and email habits. Marketing companies employ a group of tools that are used to measure a customer’s habits, allowing for effective communication between the two. Sound complicated and expensive? Just ten years ago, something like this would have required a marketing firm to design procedures to do this, and media creation would have taken months. Today, we have all of those resources compacted into a single , awesomely easy tool: Constant Contact .

Hard Things the Easy Way

Imagine coming into work one day and the boss says “Hey! We have a lot of events going on this month. We should get a flyer sent out to our clients!” Normally, you would need to draw up some kind newsletter format, send everything to a printer, wait for everything to come back, arrange for postage, dread your job for a while, and then guess that a percentage of the people who received the mailing actually read it. That’s a lot of work.

Now, let’s do the same thing with an emailing using Constant Contact :

Simply log into the Constant Contact site, and you are guided to choose from one of dozens of professionally made templates. We’ll choose this one for example:

All that needs to be done is choose your colors, pictures (use your own, or use images from the Constant Contact library), fill in your text and you’re ready to send! Seriously, how easy is that? I’ve seen people put more effort into forwarding a joke email.

Contacting Those Contacts

Once the masterpiece is complete, you have to choose your recipients. Constant Contact will hold lists of email addresses for you. You can either type these lists in manually, copy/paste them, or import from Outlook, Google Apps mail , or most other popular email platforms. These addresses can be divided into groups depending on your target audience. For example, you could have groups named South Customers and North Customers, and send separate correspondence to each one ( Robert E. Lee was a big fan of this naming convention). Choose your target, attach it to your letter, and send! You can also create pre-made letters and schedule them to be sent at specific times/dates. This is especially helpful if you want to schedule around specific events, or still want to keep in touch with your clients while on vacation. Note that this is all done from a website- no troublesome email clients like Outlook or Windows Mail are needed.

Who Are You Reaching?

As I said, the main problem with traditional business correspondence is you do not know who is actually hearing your message. For all you know, those fancy flyers you had made up are being used to line someone’s litter box. Constant Contacts actually tells you who is opening your email and what they’re most interested in, allowing you to do your own behavioral marketing without having to hire anyone! This information is invaluable for any business as it tells you what you need to be focusing on, what generates the most interest, and most importantly: what the customer most desires from you. Two way communication is vital to making any business grow.

Success!

As you can see, I’m a fan of Constant Contact . It’s a straight-forward, affordable, and easy to use application that will be useful in many situations. As students of the old phrase “ eat your own dogfood ,” TOAST.net employs Constant Contact in many of its own communications with customers, and if it wasn’t effective we would not be using it. We even use it for our own internal company newsletter. The possibilities it provides actually make it fun to write instead of it seeming like a past due term paper.

I love turning business owners on to helpful tools that I know will benefit them, and can honestly say that Constant Contact is one of those rare “must haves”. If anyone else has found a better product, let me know…this one is hard to beat!

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Walkthrough

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:31:00 GMT

Windows 7 is viewed as a vast improvement over Microsoft’s Vista PR disaster, and the first major update for the operating system recently became available. Service packs are a series of security patches, bug fixes, and new features Microsoft periodically groups together into a “pack” for more convenient installation. Unlike service packs for earlier versions of Windows, this one doesn’t really have any major new features. If you’ve kept up with your regular windows updates, there’s really no need to drop everything and install this right away.

What’s New?

As I said, not much to see in this update, and the few things that are new aren’t really anything we’ve been grinding our teeth over:

The most interesting update of the group might interest laptop owners that want to use their TV for a monitor:

For more details, check Microsoft’s technical article . I’m really surprised that Microsoft didn’t hold off to include the release of Internet Explorer 9 with the service pack, but I’m sure they had their reasons.

Installation

Service Pack 1 will eventually be pushed down automatically to your computer, but if you’d like to get a headstart on the process, you can download it through Windows Update . You’ll see it on the list of available updates as: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (KB976932) . Download time will vary depending on what updates you already have installed and the speed of your Internet connection. I’ve installed in on a half-dozen computers and it’s taken around 30 minutes each time over a 6.0Mb DSL connection .

downloading the full .exe installer or the ISO CD image from Microsoft’s website.

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The Money Pit of Doing It Yourself

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:30:00 GMT

I was helping Dave, one of my long time clients, with an email problem the other day. He was complaining of email performance issues; things such as “it takes a long time to send messages,” and “email takes forever to show up when I check the Inbox.” The first thing I do with this type of problem is check the Internet connection . Diagnostics showed it to be working well, but there was a lot of traffic being sent out from his network. So much, in fact, that it was crippling the ability of his office to operate. After a bit of detective work we pinpointed the problem: Dave’s in-house Exchange server is going berserk. “It’s been a problem for a few days…I was hoping it would fix itself,” he explained. He’s holding off on calling his server technician because an average visit costs over $600. Many small businesses can’t afford a bill like that on a regular basis, yet problems seem to pop up on a regular basis when you’re running your own equipment. It’s a bad situation that’s really affecting Dave’s bottom line.

In another case, I was speaking with my friend Sue. She was in need of a new website and spent over $1500 to have a professional web designer create one for her. They designed a very nice site: it had pop-out menus, interactive graphics, the ability to purchase products…it even had fancy graphics of horses strewn everywhere. This struck me as odd as Sue’s business has nothing to do with horses, but ‘eh’, to each his own.

Sue was very pleased with the site, but soon discovered a couple of critical flaws:

Dave and Sue’s cases are not isolated. In fact, from what I see, it is actually the norm in small business. The Internet is an essential tool to sell any company. It is the main way today’s customer locates you, contacts you, and becomes informed of your services. Yet, many choose “do-it-yourself” methods for their web-presence that end up costing a lot of money with the least effectiveness. It’s along the lines of going to a Wal-Mart and saying “That blender costs $40? I’ll just get the parts and build my own!” You could do this, but the $200 in parts you’d have to buy and the training you’d have to go through will still not create the quality of blender you get for $40. On top of that, if something breaks you have to worry about fixing it yourself. Nobody would actually do this, but it is exactly the approach many businesses take with their Internet services.

The solution is simple: instead of trying to do everything in-house, consider using service providers that can supply your company’s Internet needs. They’re becoming more and more popular in the small business community because they make all the tools and resources that the “big guys” use accessible at a fraction of the cost. Your thirty person office probably can’t afford a fully staffed IT department running multiple servers, but a service provider could take the place. I’ll apply typical service packages to the above situations to demonstrate:

The most comforting thing with either solution is phone support is included with either pricing model. You have your own IT staff to contact if something doesn’t work correctly. Have a question? Either myself or one of my colleagues are on hand to demonstrate features or fix cryptic error messages. The worst part of my job is when a customer calls for help and I find that they have made a bad decision and backed themselves into an expensive wall. Fortunately I have an arsenal of easy fixes to get your business back on track. In the end, I’m happier providing something that I can actually help you with, and you’re happier because you feel in control of your business again…it’s a win/win situation. All of it Prius, sump pump, and wire chewing cat free!

Google plays nice with Microsoft (finally)

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 23:03:00 GMT

Google and Microsoft don’t quite see eye to eye these days. Google Search vs. Bing, Gmail vs. Hotmail, Internet Explorer vs. Chrome…it’s a long list of battles. Microsoft was a little late to the “use the cloud” concept, so people stuck on the MS Office platform are still doing the “save a document, email it to a colleague, wait for a response to be emailed back, make changes, wash, rinse repeat” method of data collaboration. Not only is it slow, it’s fraught with problems because so many steps are involved.

Today Google released its Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office utility that gets rid of those steps. This free app allows you to share your Office documents instantly with anyone you choose, and collaborators can even do real-time document changes- similar to the way Google Docs documents are shared. I’m not a fan of email tag when trying to get work done, and this solves the problem nicely. Give it a whirl and let me know what you think!

…with YouTube and Facebook for all.

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:16:00 GMT

High speed Internet connectivity has become so important in the last few years that it is considered an essential utility rather than a convenience. Just as if one’s electricity, water, or gas were to become unavailable, an Internet connection may cause hardship if it were suddenly to go down. Today’s Internet isn’t just for browsing: it’s for college courses, powering their home security systems, supplying their phone service, providing local news and severe weather updates, leaving self-indulgent 140 character summaries of ones activities …it’s integration with our lives has outgrown its original vision. As such, a high-speed reliable connection should be available everywhere.

Yet, it’s not.

“Government mismanagement!”, “Greedy tel-coms!”, “Anti-competitive business!” are all reasons I hear, but the actual answer is something people don’t usually consider.

There are several methods to deliver high speed Internet to your home or business, with each one having a delivery advantage and disadvantage. Some of the more common methods include:

So what’s a dial-up user to do? Why aren’t providers spreading their service to all those unserviced customers across the country? Smaller countries like Singapore, Japan, and especially South Korea (which, by the way, is the best Korea) already have standard 10.0Mb connections available anywhere. The U.S. struggles to get 1.0Mb to many areas. The main reason for this is something most people over look, a principle I call I.H.C.F.- “Internet Hates Corn Fields”.

The U.S. is a huge country. Not Canada or Russia huge, but it’s up there. Since it’s so large, edges of the country tend to house the largest cities, with sprawling undeveloped bald spots in the middle. You could say the U.S. is designed much like my head (I’ve still not accepted middle age). Since people flock to things like jobs, coastlines, and 45 minute traffic jams, population density tends to be highest in these areas. A high population means a lot of people that want to pay someone to maintain a network. Due to I.H.C.F., the Field of Dreams mantra “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t work with network construction.

Help is on the way (hopefully)! The Government recently finished is Map of Broadband Availability , which basically shows the haves and have-nots in the U.S.. The “have-not” areas are going to be targeted for the Obama Administration’s Wireless Broadband Initiative , which is supposed to supply funding for wireless networks in under-serviced areas. This means that you may finally be able to watch those forwarded “ Watch this guy suffer a crotch injury! ” YouTube links anywhere you go within the next few years. New advancements in cell tower miniaturization should make deployment easier for those involved, faster and less expensive deployments. Just cross your fingers that funding doesn’t get diverted to other programs like so many other hopeful initiatives (I’m talking about you “ Fund to Hunt for Radioactive Rabbit Droppings ” supporters).

So, high-speed Internet isn’t available everywhere yet, but at least the problem has finally been mapped out and a plan is coming together to deal with it. In the mean time, if your Facebook wall is loading too slowly, blame corn.

The future of computing: no more computers!

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 21:13:00 GMT

There’s nothing like starting off an article with some contradictory double-talk, but in this case, it’s actually true. The Internet is changing the way we access our information, and the methods that we’ve used to access that information for the last 40-or-so years is slowly becoming obsolete.

Right now, most people have a desk either at home or at work, and on this desk they have a laptop or a desktop computer. This computer holds all of their programs, files, photos, music, etc. that they use, and if any of that information needs to be accessed, that computer is the first thing that pops into their mind. “Oh, you should see the pictures my son sent me from his vacation! Come over to my computer and check them out!” Accessing your information is associated with particular place. Some people even have a whole room of their house called “the computer room.” I didn’t get to have my own room when I was younger. In fact, I’m married, own a house, and have children, and STILL don’t have my own room. We really think highly of our computers.

In contrast, look at the way we use a telephone. When you need to make a phone call, the first thing that pops into your mind is not “I have to get home to my ‘phone room’, access my address book, and partake in a communiqué.” People used to think like this in the 1930’s, but as telephone service and technology expanded, we changed the way we thought of telephone communication. Today’s mobile phones can be used from anywhere, you can call anyone from anywhere, and people can contact you from anywhere. People also stopped using the word ‘communiqué,’ which is a bonus. You can’t help but to sound pretentious when saying that word.

A similar evolution is occurring today. The wide-spread availability of wireless networks and high speed Internet has made people realize “If your information were to be stored in a central location out on the Internet, it would always be with you.” This means that no matter what device you’re using: a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet…as long as you have an Internet connection, you have your stuff. This concept is also being expanded to applications and tools. The recent unveiling of the Google Apps Marketplace , the IPad and the IPhone’s success with its Apps store, and even Microsoft’s commitment to moving it’s Office Suite to the web are all proof in the pudding. Software is all going Internet based, and I think it’s going to be the event that finally converts computers into appliances that everyone can easily operate. Your 80-year-old grandmother generally doesn’t have to call technical support to figure out how to install bread in her toaster or how to get ice out of the freezer. This is the same concept: turn it on and it just works.

The point? In the next several years, we’re going to see the computer as we know it become obsolete. A hybrid of the smartphone and a tablet will most likely be carried around to access our “Internet profile.” Nothing needs to be installed on your device (much the same way nothing needs to be installed on your telephone for it to work). It just tells the Internet that you are “you”, and your apps and information become available. Since there’s nothing to install, you won’t have to worry about application errors, system resources, keeping track of installation CD’s. You simply subscribe to an application you want to use and it becomes available in your web browser.

I’ve had experience with using web apps for the last few years, and they are getting better and better. Google’s Gmail is my favorite example of this, as it comes bundled with Google Docs . Docs includes a word processor, a scheduler, a pretty decent spreadsheet tool, and a presentation tool- all of which rival MS Office in their functionality. The magic of Google Doc’s integration with email is the ability to share documents with other people easily. You simply “invite” someone to view, edit, or corroborate something you created, and they have access to it. No more sending attachments that get rejected due to size limits, no more antivirus programs blocking my presentation files, and it makes document sharing so simple! I just heard of a local 8th grade class that uses Google Docs to share homework assignments between the students and the teacher. The students don’t have to worry about forgetting their assignments because they just have to log into their Docs to see them. Unfortunately it makes using the excuse “the dog ate my homework” a bit more difficult to use.

The buzzword for this whole situation is “Cloud Computing.” It is already revolutionizing the way companies conduct business by lowering IT costs, lowering energy costs (no need to keep those pesky servers running on-site!), and increasing employee efficiency. Home users may already be enjoying cloud concepts and not even realize it. Do you use webmail? A photo sharing service? A movie streaming service? These are all excellent examples of cloud applications. Many of these even have non-computer devices to use them. For example, many people receive their email on their smartphone now, have electronic picture frames that display photos from their sharing service, and watch Netflix on their Blu-ray player. A bit further down the road, the smartphone/tablet hybrid devices I mentioned earlier will probably take over these duties, with wireless connections to larger screens when needed. Your device will store your Internet profile, and you can pop any movies, photos, or music you own onto anyone’s TV with the touch of a screen.

The end of the traditional use of a computer is definitely on the horizon. Transitioning to cloud based services may seem daunting at first, but the accessibility and functionality rewards are well worth it. The best part? You’ll be able to reclaim a whole room of your house- no more need for a computer room! Perhaps people will have a “cloud room” in the future. All I know is, I probably still won’t have my own room.

Oh Jeeves…please fetch my data and clean my computer.

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 22:26:00 GMT

I’ve always been fascinated by butlers. It’s a career where you have to dress up in a tuxedo everyday, then be paid great money to do things like answer the door with a smug look on your face or lay out your boss’s clothes for him every morning. You also have to bring everything to your employer on a silver platter for some reason. Breakfast bagels, the remote control, the newspaper, car keys…all of them get the silver platter treatment. I imagine a whole “silver platter course” in butler college. It takes training to be able to cart 12 glasses of Champaign across a crowded room of people on one of those things.

Unfortunately, not many of us are lucky enough to obtain our very own Mr. Belvedere. However, the latest trend in the industry is allowing everyone to get their own “computer butler” per se. Managed Services are low-cost, specialized services that take over critical but mundane tasks for you. Things like data backup, antivirus, email marketing, and web site administration are all examples of things that can be very expensive to handle yourself. You can hire your own staff for only a few dollars a month to handle these services for you:

How about that? You can hire an entire entourage of people who take care of you and your business for a fraction of the price of a Gentleman’s gentleman. You’ll save thousands on the cost of silver platters alone!

You may need antivirus software for your antivirus software…

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 21:21:00 GMT

You’re browsing along on the Internet, just like you do every night before you go to bed. You head over to your favorite news site, when suddenly something disturbing pops up:

“Wow! Windows detected viruses! Good ol’ Microsoft, always protecting me…” you think to yourself, and confidently click Remove All . Its bold and authoritarian letters will surely do the job. However, you’ve just unwittingly taken the first step down a slippery and potentially expensive slope.

Upon closer examination of the window, you notice a few items that strike you as odd:

As you’ve probably already deduced, this isn’t a Windows Security window at all. It is actually the number one method of obtaining a virus today: Rogue Antivirus software, and once it’s installed, it may be very difficult to remove.

Rogue Antivirus software is a multi-million dollar industry, in the same way that credit card fraud is a multi-million dollar industry…neither are legit, but both are profitable. It’s also infuriating, because what is essentially happening is someone is holding your computer hostage, and wanting you to pay a ransom to get it back. Here’s a breakdown of the scam:

The unsuspecting victim will then enter their credit card information, making them pay for the very software that is causing the infection (not to mention being open to credit card fraud). Many of these companies are being ran out of Russia and China, so they are beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. The best thing you can do to protect yourself is preparation and education. Here’s some tips on how to avoid the scam all together:

Follow these tips and you can pretty much “spyware proof” your computer. Take all that money you’ve saved on repairs and buy yourself something nice, but please consider donating to the “Unemployed Repair Technician” fund. Since you’re no longer paying them, they’ll need to find a new way to put food on the table.