Over the years, the computer operating system (OS) has become one of the most important pieces of software for any user. Many business users have some version of Windows they are comfortable with, such as Windows 7. However, now that Windows 8 is out, many companies are upgrading, although many users take time to feel comfortable with the new layout and get the most out of this latest version.

Here are five tips that can help you get the more out of Windows 8.

Enable GodMode In older video games, GodMode was a cheat or code you could enter to get access to every power, giving you unlimited lives or even making you invincible. Windows 8 has a GodMode as well, only it won't make you all powerful. Instead it puts hundreds of settings into one central folder.

You can activate GodMode by creating a new folder and adding the following code, with the period and curly brackets, at the end of the name: .{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} For example you could create a folder named: GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

As soon as you click anywhere outside of the folder, it should change icons. Opening the folder will bring up a list of close to a dozen settings options. You will notice numbers beside each entry, indicating how many settings are inside that specific category.

Bring back the Start button The Start button is, to many Windows users, the most important button. Pressing it gives you easy access to installed programs, search, settings and many documents. The new Windows 8 layout relies on tiles and has seemingly done away with the Start button. The good news is that it is still there, just hidden.

You can get Windows 8 to show the Start button by:

1. Right-clicking on the Taskbar which is the bar located at the bottom of your screen.
2. Selecting Toolbars followed by New Toolbar.
3. Navigating to: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu. Note: username will be different for every user. Pick the file with the username you log into your computer with.
4. Selecting Select Folder with the Start Menu folder selected.

A modified version of the Start bar should now be on your Taskbar. You can click on this to explore your files and installed programs but will not be able to search for programs or files. If you can't navigate to the above folder you will have to enable Show Hidden Files through Folder Options in the Control Panel.

Utilize the Quick Access Menu If you are looking for a quick way to get to a number of Windows 8 features, like the Command Prompt, Programs, Task Manager, and Control Panel, etc., you can use what's called the Quick Access Menu. It is also referred to by some as the admin menu. To open this menu all you have to do is press the Windows key and X. You can also access it by moving your mouse cursor to the bottom-left of your screen and right-clicking.

The best thing about this feature is that it will work in both the more traditional Desktop and the new tile based Start screen as well.

Shut down Metro apps Metro apps are essentially Windows versions of popular mobile apps, which are only for desktops and touch devices running Windows 8. While these apps are useful, many are designed to stay open in the background. While this means little to no wait time to open them, they could take up valuable computing resources.

If you aren't using a particular app, or don't use it on a regular basis, then you should close it. This can be done by hovering your mouse over the left side of the screen to bring up the Open Apps bar, right-clicking on an app and selecting Close.

Simplify Search If your computer has a large amount of files and programs installed on it, searching for one could take time. By default, Windows 8 is set to search everything, including apps, like the Windows Store, making it so much quicker. You can configure what apps, files, folders, etc. Windows will search by:

1. Hitting the Windows key + I.
2. Selecting Change PC Settings.
3. Clicking on Search.
4. Selecting what you want Windows to search through when you use the Search bar.

This will speed up any search you execute for programs, apps, files, etc. on your computer.

If you are looking for more tips and tricks to help you get more out of Windows 8, please contact us today to see how we can help.

One of the most popular Internet based services is social media. It has drastically changed the way we communicate and interact with one another. One of the bigger platforms, Google+, has been consistently playing catch-up with other more popular services. However, Google recently announced and rolled out a big update to Google+ that should make it more appealing for many users.

Here is an overview of the new Google+ features recently introduced.

A new layout One of the first things you will notice about the updated Google+ is the layout has been drastically changed. On the main (Home) screen you will notice that posts have been changed to individual cards, similar to the Google Now cards, and are arranged in either one, two or three columns. These posts now take up more space horizontally which makes it far easier to view more content at the same time.

The menu bar that took up the left-hand side of the previous layout has been moved and is now collapsible. If you hover over Home on the upper-left of the screen the menu will pop out from the left-side. Circles and related feeds have also been added at the top of the window and clicking on a related circle name will bring up content only from your friends in that circle.

Adding new posts has also been turned into a card layout which is found at the top-left of the content stream. The different options e.g., Text, Photos, Link, Video and Hangout, are now big buttons that you can push to create a related post.

Improved Hangouts Possibly the most intriguing new feature introduced is actually an update to the existing Hangouts. The numerous Google chat functions have been merged into a single chat and video messaging app available for Google+, iPhone, iPad, Android, Gmail and Chrome.

This means that you can host group chats for up to 10 participants which users can access through various systems. What this means for businesses is that you now have an easier way to communicate across multiple systems without having to worry about compatibility.

Better pictures and albums A key component of any social media platform is visual content like pictures and videos. Google has introduced some interesting photo based features that could help make your content even more attractive. One feature is Auto Enhance, which will touch-up photos by looking at factors such as blur, contrast, saturation, etc. From what we have seen, the touch-ups are effective in making your pictures look better.

There is also a new feature called Auto Awesome, which looks at the types of photos you upload and can do various impressive things. For example, if you upload a series of similar pictures, say a sequence of images taken one after the other in a short amount of time, Auto Awesome will create an animated GIF which you can share on your wall. This function can also create panorama or HDR images.

Auto Highlight is another recently introduced feature which uses an algorithm to analyze pictures and skip over duplicate, blurry or underexposed pictures while uploading them, supposedly leaving you with only the best pictures.

Hashtags The hashtag (#) has become popular on many social media platforms and is an easy way to find similar content. Google+ has improved the hashtag system and will now automatically add relevant tags to your posts. You will see these as small blue tabs on the right of the card, and hovering over these will show the relevant hashtag. If you click on it, the card will flip over and show you other posts that have the same tag. This could be a great way to find similar content and could help bring more exposure to your profile.

The new Google+ layout is definitely a big change compared to previous versions and could prove to be useful for your company's profile and online presence. If you would like to learn more about using Google+ please contact us.

When it comes to your business on the Internet, reputation and a presence are everything. Customers expect you to be online, and many companies go to great lengths to establish and protect their reputation and image. Part of being online means that you will eventually have to deal with a complaint, and if you handle it wrong, you could see your reputation tarnished and customers disappear. To minimize the chance of this happening, it is a good idea to practice some reputation management.

Here are five reputation management practices you can employ to better manage your online brand.

1. Don't remove negative content If you see a negative comment or post online it may be your first impulse to delete it. This isn't necessarily advisable, as the main rule about the Internet is that nothing ever goes away. If you delete negative comments on a regular basis, customers could notice and this may lead to them losing trust in your company and ultimately, to lost sales.

What you should be doing is replying instead and encouraging any users who complain online or make criticizing posts to contact you directly, or through a more private medium like email. That being said, if you see malicious posts or content that is posted just to incite a negative reaction (trolling), there is nothing wrong in deleting. Just make sure to acknowledge this by posting a warning that states something along the lines of: "Please note, malicious content will be deleted."

2. Address complaints promptly You should have someone monitoring your online platforms for complaints or negative feedback, so that you can respond promptly. This will also show customers that you actually use your platforms and are willing to engage. If you do not take steps to address negative material, you could be sending the message that you don't care enough about customers, which could drive them away.

3. Provide people with a place to complain Being proactive is important when it comes to reputation management. Instead of waiting for complaints to be posted on various review sites, blogs or even social media, which are all out of your control, why not provide a place that you can control, for all types of feedback.

Having an easy to see form, forum or other similar area on your website, where customers can interact with you, could go a long way in helping limit where complaints pop up. If you are in control then you're more likely to see complaints sooner and better able to answer them quickly too.

4. Ensure colleagues and staff are all on the same page Two things that turn almost customers off of a brand are a company that isn't organized and being told different things by different people within the same company. If you have more than one staff member managing your online reputation you need to ensure everyone is on the same page. If a client asks a question they should get one answer and if there is a complaint there should be one response or person handling it.

It is a good idea to establish how to deal with complaints, who will deal with them and when they will be dealt with, and communicate this with all staff, not just those handling your online presence. A unified procedure could go a long way in minimizing the harm negative feedback can cause.

5. Monitor online activity We don't mean monitor the activity of your employees, we mean take a look at the different communication channels used by your customers and the public at large. If your business relies on reviews, simply monitoring your own profiles and website isn't enough. Many customers complain on review sites like Yelp, Ripoff Report, or their own blogs. Taking time to search for, and browse these sites could help you gauge the general perception of your company. If you see an increasing number of negative reviews for example, you know it is time to look at what needs to be improved.

Having a well managed online reputation won't guarantee new customers will come flooding in the door, but it can help decrease customers from going out the door, taking valuable sales with them. If you would like to learn more about reputation management please contact us today.

A common goal of many business owners and managers is to find ways for staff to be more productive, or how improve efficiency. If you search on the Internet for tips on improving productivity you will likely be overwhelmed with the sheer number of results and suggestions. One common productivity trend is using technology, or more specifically apps, to make improvements.

Here are four productivity apps that could help make you more efficient.

1. Doodle

A common hindrance to productivity are meetings. Everyone has to take time out of their day to attend, and it can be even harder to schedule a time to actually meet, especially when your colleagues are so busy. Doodle is an app that helps users find a time and date to meet.

It works by the meeting leader setting a number of dates and times for a potential meeting. Doodle then creates a calendar with these times and dates, allowing users to click on. The app aggregates the feedback and then suggests a time and date that works for all invitees.

The Doodle app also integrates with Outlook, Google Calendar, Yahoo and iCal, which means you can schedule meetings and send invites directly from the calendar. The basic app is free, but you can also sign up for the Premium version which gives you more functionality, such as being able to send reminders and mobile support. Click here to learn more.

2. Any.do

As a business owner or manager, you are likely busy and have a never ending to-do list which may get out of hand from time-to-time. Any.do is a beautifully designed and simple to use task manager for your mobile device and Web browser. When you enter a task on your mobile device it will seamlessly sync with other versions, meaning lists will be the same wherever you view them.

An interesting feature that sets this app apart from many similar apps is that you can share lists and tasks with people to ensure that everyone is on the same page and knows what needs to be done today, tomorrow or later. It's free and available for most browsers, Apple and Android devices. Visit the Any.do website to learn more and download.

3. Due

Sometimes being productive means you actually have to be proactive. You may need a little nudge or reminder to get an email written, or file your tax return if you can't ever seem to find the motivation, best time to start, or even to remember.

Due is an app for the iPhone whereby you set reminders for yourself. A flashing a message on your screen acts as a reminder and continues to alert until you have completed the task and marked it as such in the app. It could be annoying, but just the right prompt you need to get important tasks started. You can download the app from iTunes for USD$4.99

4. HootSuite

There's a good chance that you, or someone you work closely with, spends a seemingly inordinate amount of time each day on social media. Maybe it's maintaining your company's profile or finding interesting content and physically posting this. If you have more than one social media account this could prove unproductive.

HootSuite is a social media dashboard that brings all of your social media platforms into one app. You can schedule posts for all of your networks at once, and easily view each service from one screen. This cuts down the amount of time you spend on social media and allows you to focus on running your business. The app is free for up to five social media accounts and one user, and USD$8.99 a month for the Pro version. Check out the HootSuite website, to learn more.

There are countless apps available that can help improve your productivity, or at the very least make you work in a more efficient manner. What are your favorites? Let us know.

Do you have a mobile data plan for your smartphone? While a fantastic idea - who doesn't want to be able to check their email, social media and browse sites from their phone? - it can turn out to be expensive, especially if you go over your data limit. However, If you have a set amount of mobile data for your iPhone there are steps you can take to minimize how much you use.

Here are five tips on how to use less mobile data on your iPhone.

1. Turn on Wi-Fi When your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi it does not count against your mobile data usage. If you find yourself using too much data, try looking for open connections at places you frequent. Chances are you already have Wi-Fi at home and maybe even in the office, so be sure to connect to it wherever possible.

While there are many more connections than ever, be careful when using a public unprotected Wi-Fi connection. This can lead to devices being hacked, or data tracked. If you have to send important documents best wait until you can connect to a secure Wi-Fi network.

You can turn Wi-Fi on by: Tapping on the Settings icon. Sliding the tab beside Wi-Fi from Off to On. Selecting the network you want to join and entering the password if necessary.

You can tell whether your Wi-Fi s turned on by looking at the top of the screen for an inverted striped-triangle. If you leave this option on, and are not in range of a Wi-Fi connection, your phone should automatically connect to data, and if you are in range, it should automatically connect to a Wi-Fi connection.

2. Save content for offline reading If you use your phone to read blogs, articles or anything with a large amount of text and pictures this could be an unexpectedly high drain on data. What you could do is download an app like Pocket that allows you to save articles for reading offline. Most of these apps allow users to search for and save articles on their Web browser which then syncs with the mobile app. You can then access these without an Internet connection; cutting down on the amount of data you use.

3. Install a data counter A data counter or tracker is an app that keeps tabs on how much mobile data your phone is using. Your phone has a built in counter, accessed by tapping on Settings, selecting General, followed by Usage and Cellular usage. However, it doesn't tell you if you are going to go over your data this month, or send out warnings when you are close to your quota maximum.

If you want better data usage tracking, an app like DataMan (USD$0.99 on the App Store) could really help. This app is perfect if you have a limited amount of data as it can help really manage data use and alerts you when you are close to your monthly data amount.

4. Cut back on streaming Streaming videos and music has become incredibly popular. Think about how many people you see on a daily basis watching a video on YouTube or listening to Spotify on their phones. It can be great to watch a YouTube video while waiting for a colleague, or listen to an album in the car on the way home. The problem is, streaming is bandwidth intensive, so a five minute video on YouTube can use anywhere from 5 to 10 MB of data.

If you want to cut back on the data you use, try to limit the amount of streaming you do on your phone. You can always email yourself links to watch or listen to when you get home too.

5. Be less social Social media has become a large part of our lives, with many of us constantly checking our feeds for updates, or even posting updates from our phones. While just looking at feeds is fairly light data-wise, clicking on links or posted content can really eat up your data allocation. It is a good idea to limit social activity while using mobile data. One tip is to pick just one social media network and only check that specific one on your phone, letting the others wait.

How do you limit the amount of mobile data you use? Let us know. If you would like to learn more about managing your iPhone, please contact us today.

When most people read or talk about social media, they are usually thinking of Facebook, the most popular social media platform. Because of Facebook's popularity, there are constant stories of accounts being hacked, or people forgetting passwords and being locked out of their profiles. Facebook has numerous account recovery tools, and has recently introduced Trusted Contacts, a feature that calls on your friends to help you regain access.

Trusted Contacts was officially introduced by Facebook in early May 2013, after nearly two years in testing. It is a potentially really useful feature that could help you out one day.

What exactly is Trusted Contacts?

According to Facebook, "Trusted Contacts lets your friends help you if you’re having trouble logging into your account." If you have been previously using the Trusted Friends feature, this has now been renamed and merged with Trusted Contacts.

Trusted Contacts allows users to set up to five Facebook friends who can help you regain access to your account. For example, if you forget your password your nominated friends can send you a phrase to enter so that you can get back into your account.

It is a good idea to set this up, but beware that at least three friends who you set as a Trusted Contact will need to send you a private code before you can regain access. The friends will only have access to the code if they log into Facebook, so make sure you  pick someone who is able to log into Facebook regularly.

How to set up Trusted Contacts

You can set up Trusted Contacts by:

1. Logging into your Facebook profile and clicking on the cog at the top right-hand side of the window.
2. Selecting Account Settings followed by Security in the window that opens.
3. Clicking on Edit beside the Trusted Contacts field followed by Choose Trusted Contacts.
4. Typing the names of three to five reliable friends. You should see the name of each friend in a blue box below the search bar.
5. Clicking Confirm.

Facebook will notify the contacts you've selected with more information about how the process works.

If you are having trouble accessing your Facebook account you can tell your trusted friends to visit facebook.com/recover to get the code and then pass it to you. Once you have entered three codes, provided by your friends, you should be able to get into your profile.

Trusted Contacts could be a useful tool, especially if you don't use or access your personal Facebook profile on a regular basis. It's important to stress that you pick someone you trust, and who is reliable.

If you would like to learn more ways you can keep your Facebook account secure, please contact us today.

Computers are continually increasing in power. In fact, such is the weight of this pattern of hardware power doubling in power every two years that it even has it's own phrase to acknowledge this observation: Moore's Law. While processing power may be going from strength to strength, the fact is that many businesses struggle, or simply cannot keep up with the changes; it's just too costly. This is one reason why the idea of virtualization can be appealing to many company owners and managers.

Virtualization is the act of taking an existing system, say a server, and creating a virtual copy of it that is hosted either in a physical unit or somewhere out of the office. Some systems you can virtualize include: Desktops, Operating Systems, servers, hardware and storage. Most small businesses start with storage and server virtualization as this can usually be done with relative ease and at an affordable cost.

Benefits of virtualization The question many business owners ask when they are looking into virtualization is what benefits it can bring. While the positives are numerous, here are the five most common:

1. Reduced space Physical hardware can take up a lot of space, and the common trend among many businesses is that the space available per person is shrinking in order to save costs. Take for example your servers. If you virtualize these, you can probably fit all of them onto one or two units. This will reduce the space your hardware takes up, freeing up extra storage capacity or possibly another desk.

2. Reduced overhead Having hardware and servers in an office can be expensive to maintain. You have to have climate control to start with which means higher electricity bills and higher maintenance costs. Virtualization will often reduce overhead costs and save you money. Beyond that, many solutions offer a pay-per-use pricing model which makes predicting costs easier.

3. Quicker backup and recovery Many virtualization solution providers also offer backup services that can be automated. This means that your vital data is always backed up and protected. Beyond that, the backups can be stored at a different location, meaning that if there is a disaster, you can recover lost data quickly and easily.

4. Longer hardware replacement cycles Virtualized solutions and platforms often require lower computing resources because they are hosted on the provider's servers. This means that you won't have to replace existing tech hardware. Beyond that, existing systems can be used for longer which will save you money.

5. Virtualization is scalable If your company is growing, you will eventually have to add new systems. In an already cramped office this means finding the space for hardware or servers needed to support your growth, not to mention investing in systems that are compatible with existing hardware. Virtualization is highly scalable, and can grow with your company, often without the need for extra services.

In general, virtualization could help your business grow, while IT costs remain stable, or are even decreased. If you would like to learn more about how virtualization of your systems can help your company, contact us today.

We found this list of questions (and their answers) on Entrepreneur.com and felt it would be useful for our clients.

Cybercriminals are increasingly preying on small businesses, which often lack the expertise and resources to adequately protect themselves. Last year, companies with one to 250 employees were the victims of more than 30 percent of all cyber attacks, according toSymantec’s 2013 Internet Security Threat Report. That’s a threefold increase since 2011.

But your company doesn’t have to be vulnerable if you simply take some basic protective measures. Here are 10 key questions to ask when securing your company from cybercriminals:

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226456#ixzz2U5BoG1Vt

1. Should I install antivirus software?
2. How should I handle suspicious emails from known and unknown senders?
3. Whom should I allow access to my company’s critical data?
4. Should I use a firewall to protect my company’s internet connection?
5. How often should I back up essential company information?
6. Should I use data encryption?
7. How should I communicate company cybersecurity policies to employees?
8. How can I secure my Wi-Fi network?
9. How can I secure company mobile devices?

(The article headline says “10 Questions” but actually skips #3 completely…)

-wim

Our customers often ask us – what is the most reliable laptop or computer to purchase?  Everyone hates to buy a lemon, or get frustrated by their new computer, or want to throw it out the window!

Here is a report into the most and least reliable computers. They have defined “Reliable” as meaning the physical reliability of the computers combined with the after-sale support provided by the manufacturer.

The computer reliability report scores for 2013 are:

1. Samsung (648)
2. Asus (332)
3. Lenovo/IBM (228)
4. HP (124)
5. Toshiba (118)
6. Apple (76)
7. Dell (60)
8. Sony (54)
9. Acer (28)

Click the link to read more!

Wim

To some fans of Apple's products the thought of using anything from Google is simply ludicrous. Why would you use something from a competitor? Well, it could be that the product or app is better than anything else out there. This is true for Google Search, which brings Google's powerful search tools to the iPad and iPhone. The app has recently been updated with a new feature called Google Now. Have you heard of it?

Here's a brief overview of Google Now, and how to install and use it.

Ok, so, what exactly is Google Now? Google Now is best thought of as Google's answer to Apple's Siri. It's an app that functions like a personal assistant and has become a large component of Google's Search for mobile app. The idea of Now is that you can use natural language to search for answers to questions, find recommendations or even perform actions like creating a calendar entry, or writing an email.

Google Now also passively delivers information that it thinks is useful to you. While creepy at first, especially when you see how accurate predictions can be, it is actually a really cool tool. What's interesting about Google Now is that relevant information is displayed below search results in what are called 'cards'. The cards shown will depend on your location, recent searches, calendar and even method of transport.

Probably the best way to explain Google Now is through an example:

Say you have a meeting with a potential supplier at a coffee shop across town tomorrow. You pull up the Google Search app on your iPad, tap the microphone button and ask Google, "What's the coffee shop on 5th Avenue?". Google searches for the coffee shop and comes back with three search results including the shop you are looking for. You then enter the name and address in your Google Calendar, along with the date and time.

The next day, you look at the Google Search app again because you've forgotten the exact address. Just below the Search bar you will see that new cards have popped up. The first is a reminder of the scheduled event, along with the contact information of the person you are meeting. Just below that is a map on how to get to the coffee shop, along with driving directions.

When you get in the car, you notice that traffic seems a little heavier than usual, so you pull up Google Search and the card has been updated with a map showing current traffic along with what Google thinks will be the fastest route, without you having to ask.

This app works surprisingly well, and many users have noted that both search results and the cards are accurate. Where Google Now really shines is when you are traveling. If you go to another country, cards will pop up with the exchange rate, translator, local map with landmarks, time back home and even flight information (assuming the reservation has been sent to your Gmail account).

How to install and use If this app sounds interesting, all you have to do to get it is download Google Search app from the Apple App Store, install it, open it and sign in using your Google account. Cards will start to popup after a couple of days. You can tweak what cards appear by using the search feature, or through the app's settings.

While this is a Google product, it can be useful for your Apple device, especially if you have a Google account. If you would like to learn more about this app or how the iPad can make your business easier, contact us today to see how we can help.