None of these really applies to most small businesses and so I ended up shutting down my client’s virtual server and moving their estimating server software to the main physical server. Performance was better. Sometimes IT guys get a little too caught up in what they CAN do and forget about the simplest way to do things that’s right in front of them. In any case, another day, another happy client.

The project I have just finished has allowed my clients to :

• Host their own website from their office
• Host their email server from their office
• Share calendars, contacts and emails through Microsoft Outlook
• Share files on a RAID1 (mirrored) drive (if a hard drive fails on this drive it can be replaced without any data loss or downtime)
• Store documents paperlessly, securely and centrally on the server (which is also RAID1)

That last one is what is called a document management system. There are many different programs designed by different companies, but this particular one is open source and designed by many talented, volunteer programmers from around the world (as is common for open source projects like Mozilla Firefox, WordPress, GIMP, OpenOffice, etc.) It’s called OpenKM. The key feature that I like as an IT professional is that it does not require the installation of client software on every workstation in the office. It only requires installation on the server, and the system is accessible through a web browser. Which means when it comes time for updates, it’s easily updated on the server and no update is required on the workstations. Also it means that it’s easily and securely accessed over the internet from any computer that has an internet connection.

All in all, it’s been a pretty sweet project and my clients and I are very happy with how it turned out, especially since all our wallets are fatter after avoiding that big ‘ol windows tax.

Linux has some other applications as well. Besides being a fun desktop operating system for hobbyists, Linux can help your business, too. Linux business servers can allow for sharing of documents and collaboration with a DMS (Document Management System) and to share email, contacts, calendars, and tasks with various email programs, including the notorious information hog, Microsoft Outlook. It can be a good file server as well to have a central place for your files to be in your office. These are just a few of the many applications that Linux can have for an office. If you have never heard of linux, visit this site to get a pretty good overview of what it is:

https://www.linux.com/learn/new-user-guides/376-linux-is-everywhere-an-overview-of-the-linux-operating-system

To find out about how linux can help your business, check out this software called Open Xchange:

http://www.open-xchange.com

In fact, many of these are questions that come up even for home users that dont do much more on their home computers than get on the internet, check email, and use word/excel/powerpoint. Some people like to take a Saturday and try to figure it out for themselves, but I get so many calls from folks who have used up their Saturday and gotten virtually nowhere. Getting some professional help can save you hours upon hours of frustration and wasted time.

Another way you might be sending spam is through a POP3 client. Most people are familiar with the most popular POP3 client out there, Microsoft Outlook. It’s relatively easy to steal your email account’s credentials if there’s malware on your computer and then use your computer to send spam without your knowing. This can go on for a while before you ever figure it out.

The moral of the story is if you use webmail, change your password as often as you can stand it, and if you use a POP3 client get some good antivirus.

I just had a client come in with a dead computer that had all of his data including pictures and important documents. The hard drive, pictured here, was relatively intact and did not give me much trouble when getting the data off. One of the other things my client mentioned was that they paid for a preinstalled Microsoft Office on this computer, and wasn’t interested in paying again. I was able to get his product key off the hard drive and extract the product key. This saved my client an extra $140 when buying his new computer. Not something most computer retailers will mention when you buy a new computer.

www.healthyplacecounseling.org

On the personal side of things, here are some of the things you can do with skype:

- Keep in touch with family -  and their faces. Have you ever played “pass the phone” at Christmas, where everybody has a turn talking to everybody else on the other end, one by one? Skype can put an end to that for you. You can all gather around the laptop and as long as it has a webcam and a microphone (almost all laptops and netbooks do these days) you can all talk at once like you’re having a group conversation. And for those quiet ones – don’t worry at least you can see them. And don’t worry about the sound echoing through the microphone, Skype has built-in echo cancelling. Pretty sweet.

- Send large files – Ever sent some photos to your family and then couldn’t figure out a way to send the awesome videos you took as well? Youtube is nice, but sometimes people want the actual video and don’t want Google to displaying your family for all the world to see. Skype will allow you to send large amounts of large files, in fact there’s no limit on the size or file type.

- Free calls to anywhere in the world - Skype is great for keeping in touch with family members far away, especially those in other countries. Skype-to-skype calling is free. You can call someone in Iceland (first place that popped into my head) for free for as long as you want, as long as they have decent internet access.

There are some pretty cool features that are useful for businesses as well:

- Conference calling – Skype features free conference calling. This does not include video calling, that you have to pay for but the regular conference calls are pretty convenient.

- Instant messaging - Email can be a pain to click around in and check. It has it’s place but Skype’s instant messaging can make certain things a lot easier. Sometimes you want to just converse very quickly with a colleague or even write down a note for yourself that will appear at home.

- Send large files – I mentioned this once above but it is applicable to businesses as well. I use skype to send my accountant my quickbooks file every year. You can send large presentations or documents – as I said, no limits on size or file type.