January 30, 2012 Ten Downsides of an Aging Computer
An increasingly common question is how long to stick with an aging computer? Frequently it becomes a question of continuing to use an older computer that “sort of” meets your needs, or upgrading to a new computer with its many potential benefits. Having the budget to buy a new computer is a key starting point. Transferring documents, data, programs, favorites/bookmarks and settings are other considerations for a computer migration. As part of the keep it or replace it question this post will examine Ten Downsides of an aging computer system. Also be sure to see my tech tip on Why a Five Year Old Computer Is Slower Than a New Computer,
- Too Slow — The current computer is too slow, especially with several programs open at the same time. Everything takes longer and you sometimes don’t do certain tasks, including maintenance, because they just take too long.
- Too Unreliable — There are too many quirky or weird behaviors that sap your productivity or enjoyment when using the computer.
- Too Long — The computer takes longer and longer to boot up and to shut down.
- Too Little RAM — The computer does not have enough RAM (memory) and it makes the system run significantly slower than it would with a greater amount of RAM installed.
- Upgrading Components Won’t Help – There are various component upgrades that can be done such as adding RAM, upgrading to a faster graphics adapter, or upgrading to a faster network adapter, but the CPU and bus speed will still be the same – Slow.
- Repairs May Be A Bad Investment – It may be necessary to repair a component (CD-ROM drive, graphics card, hard disk drive, or network adapter), but is it worthwhile to pour money for components and labor into an aging computer that may crash completely in six months?
- Software Confusion – There is uncertainty about all the programs and processes that are loading every time the computer boots up. Which ones are necessary, which ones just bog the system down and which ones are safe to deactivate or turn off?
- More Software Confusion – Over the years you have installed numerous programs, utilities, add-ons, plug-ins, and widgets. This creates lots of software clutter and more uncertainty about what can be uninstalled cleanly.
- Version Confusion — Not sure what programs, drivers, upgrades, add-ins, plug-ins or widgets are up to date or if they can all work together without causing strange behavior or intermittent problems.
- Tune Up Needed — The computer hasn’t been tuned up or cleaned up effectively in years. For desktop computers in particular this can lead to accumulations of dust, cobwebs or possibly pet hair in the vents, filters or interior of the computer.
Aging Computer – Ten Downsides Versus A Budget
There are always good reasons for sticking with the computer you currently own and use. And if you don’t have a budget for a new computer then replacement becomes a non-issue. However, sometimes the decision to replace a computer becomes more urgent when a serious problem with an aging computer doesn’t leave much choice but to replace it. In the meantime be sure to keep your computer tuned up and your data backed up because there are a whole set of Murphy’s Laws that apply to computers.
Posted in Tech Tips
January 17, 2012 How “Hosted Exchange” Can Solve All your E-mail Problems While Savings Your Big $$$
If you are a small to medium sized business that has frequent e-mail problems, including servers going down, slow performance, too many spam e-mails and high IT support and software cost, read on.
Hosted Exchange is often a much cheaper and easier way of getting rid of all these issues at a much lower cost to your company. Here’s how it works: Instead of purchasing and maintaining your mail in house, which can be costly and time consuming, your Exchange server is hosted (and maintained) in a high-performance, high-security hosting company “in the cloud” where you can access it securely from any device or PC.
Bestof all, you don’t have to make any changes in HOW you access your e-mail – your messages will simply be delivered to your inbox, phone, or other device faster and with fewer issues, and it will always be synchronized and up-to-date!
Here are just a few of the advantages:
No more software, hardware or maintenance costs.YOU don’t have to purchase the hardware and software, nor do you have to maintain the system. This is all included in very low monthly fee.
High Speed, “always on” e-mail. The hosted Exchange platform that we provide to our clients are high-performance systems with
multiple “fail over” backup servers, maintained and monitored like Fort Know – something you normally wouldn’t be able to afford for your small business. However, when you’re hosted on this platform, you get all of the benefits of a high-performance system without the costs. Your in-house network could go down and you’d STILL have access to your e-mail, contacts and
calendar.
Automatic backup and archiving. What would you do if your in-house e-mail server failed and erased your messages? Or what if a disgruntled employee deleted all of their e-mails? If you were hosting your Exchange, those would be non-issued since your e-mails would be backup up daily and secured.
Faster set up. Installing an Exchange server can take days. When you host Exchange, setting up a new user takes minutes.
Access your e-mail and calendar from anywhere. You don’t have to remote into your office PC; now you can securely access your e-mail from any device or PC.
Call us today to set up free Exchange hosting consultation.
May 17, 2011 3 Ways to go Green.
3 Ways to go Green.
This month tip is all about “going green” with your office to not only cut down on waste and environmental pollution, but also save you money on utilities, overhead and IT service. Here are 3 simple ways to do this:
1. Go Virtual! Desktop virtualization (sometimes called client virtualization) is a process of replacing your expensive, power-sucking computer workstations with a less expensive “thin client” option. This not only cuts down on the power needed (and your electric bill), but also reduces hardware and maintenance costs because these systems are much easier to maintain. Best of all, you won’t notice any difference in how you use your PC!
2. Go Paperless! Why keep printing, filing, and shuffling all of those paper documents around when document management systems are are so easy and inexpensive to implement? Not only does going paperless cut down on paper and ink (saving you money while cutting down on waste), but it’s also far easier to file, find and share documents. Plus the chances of an important document getting lost or stolen are greatly reduced.
3. Go Remote! Working from home, even a day a week, will cut down on gas and emissions. Some businesses are moving to a complete remote workspace where everyone is working from home, saving them a ton of money to rent, utilities and overhead. In fact, most of our computer repair and support is delivered to our clients remotely thanks to our Management Software.
