Six Ways Employees Abuse the Internet at Work

Okay, it’s another hopefully productive day at the office and you’re wondering, again, why is your network so slow? Peering across the room, your employees are seemingly productive, working on the applications and information systems that typify their own business day. But something isn’t quite right. Internet response feels… sluggish, and it takes a long [...]

Patching the Past to Protect the Present

Once in a while, somebody will ask me why Windows keeps bugging them. An icon will appear on the system tray (that space by the clock in the lower right of your screen) that announces new updates are available. New updates are available; new updates are available; new updates…  ”It won’t shut up,” a recent [...]

Technology Reflections Newsletter – June 2009

Technology Reflections – Fifteen http://www.micklerandassociates.com/newsletter/fifteen.htm R

Google Sync for Microsoft Outlook

Google Sync for Microsoft Outlook As a follow-up to my success story with Cloud Computing, today I spent my time configuring my client’s email systems, phones, and laptops to use Google as a centralized repository for email, calendars, tasks, and contacts – essentially eliminating the need for a local Microsoft Exchange server. Making this process [...]

Risking Everything: The Perils of USB Drives

I often tell this story to my students. Several years ago, a new client approached me, and she was concerned about the recent loss of her company’s financial data. When she provided further details, I learned that she was backing up her Quickbooks files to a thumb drive, and she recently lost her keys; the [...]

Life in The Clouds – A Small Business Success Story

Two weeks ago, I was approached by a new company to set up file storage, email, and calendaring for five users. Eventually, I imagine they’ll want a website and some other web-based services. Generally speaking, the traditional approach to this problem would be to convince the company to purchase a small business server running these [...]