My Story

I like to say that I started using computers when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. I was about ten when my father introduced me to a Commodore Vic-20. I started using the computer for games, programming, and accessing other computers on bulletin board systems throughout the United States.

When I went to college, I thought I’d be an artist. Well, that didn’t pan out and I had to focus on something that’d feed me. During the early 1990′s, Total Quality Management was really en-vogue so I thought I’d end up doing that, until a friend of mine called me up and asked if I would like to be on Microsoft’s technology support team for a new product called Windows95. It was brand-new technology and sounded really cool. I progressed from technician, to network engineer, systems manager, IT director, and finally vice president of information technology for a corporate credit union. These were the boom-years in tech and it was an exciting time to be working.

After Y2K, though, a lot of my work was about cost-containment: reducing staff, increasing efficiency, outsourcing, and doing more with less. I saw the writing on the wall and figured, hey: this is all what IT was going to be about and cost-containment was dull. I wanted to innovate! So I hung-out my own shingle in 2004 and went at it alone.

Running my own gig has been great for me: honestly, there’s nothing better than being able to use tech to pull-off something amazing – like we did in the 1990′s – or at least help a company use technology more effectively. The capability offered by microcomputers today rival the power of mid-range and mainframe systems that I managed over a decade ago; there’s a lot anyone can do with little investment. I try to bring enterprise-level expertise and service to the small business and differentiate myself from other break/fix techs by concentrating on trust, value, and respect – core ideas that made me successful in the enterprise.

Thanks for your time today. Please join me on Facebook to learn more about how I can bring value to your small business.

R

How To Have Windows Remember RDC Passwords

Like you, I've struggled with having a Microsoft Windows client computer remember RDC session passwords. On a Windows7 machine, try this:

1. Open GPEDIT.MSC with Admin Privs. Using a Win7 edition without GPEDIT.MSC installed? Follow these instructions.

2. Navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Credentials Delegation.

3. On the right pane, double click Allow Saved Credentials with NTLM-only Server Authentication.

4. Click Enable.

5. Press the SHOW button.

6. In the Contents dialog box, ADD this expression: TERMSRV/*  - this says allow all connections to any terminal server with stored NTLM credentials.

7. Confirm/OK all.

Then:

1. Under GPEDIT.MSC, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Remote Desktop Services.

10 Apps Everybody Should Have

Here are 10 free mobile apps that I simply can't do without. I'd recommend them to anyone. 1. Chrome. Simply a superior browser, Google Chrome synchronizes settings between your mobile device and your desktop computer. Save a site password in Chrome on your computer and, presto! - that password is securely synchronized to your mobile device. Benefit: saves time, repetitive motion, ease of use.

2. Evernote. Imagine folders and files of notes. Now imagine those notes available to you on any device - your PC, tablet, or phone. You make a change on your tablet and it's immediately synchronized to your PC; make a change there and it sync's to your phone. Now imagine all of that stuff searchable, organized, and sharable with a touch of a button. And Evernote can save content from websites, music, and audio clips, too. Right on. Benefits: saves time, improves productivity, shareable content.

3. Flipboard. You remember newspapers? Well, what if you could aggregate all of your feeds (Twitter, Facebook, news, entertainment, websites and RSS feeds, whatever) into a column format like, yeah, a newspaper? It actually makes reading Facebook and Twitter an easier experience, and everything is in just one app (which, um, works a lot better than the Facebook app). If you setup a free account, your settings are synchronized between mobile devices and updates are immediately downloaded. Benefits: aggregation, social, ease of use.

4. Dropbox. If you own a Dropbox account and save files to it, you need to install Dropbox on your mobile devices. Your files everywhere, readable and shareable. Benefits: improves productivity, shareable content.

5. Mint. Aggregate all of your financial data into one application with built-in reports and alerts. If you're not using Mint, you should be. It's a financial dashboard. Benefits: improves productivity, aggregation, ease of use.

6. Google Maps. I like to think of maps as a superior product to Apple's mapping program on the iPhone - in the least, it provides a second opinion. Great tools for people who use public transit, biking, and walking. Benefits: ease of use, travel accuracy.

7. Google Earth. An incredible tool to visit anywhere on the planet from your mobile device. I'll use it to scope out an area that I'm traveling to but have never been to before to get a lay of the land. Benefits: ease of use, productivity, travel accuracy. 

8. Square Register. I wouldn't understand why anybody would want to enter into a merchant services account these days. Payment processors like Square are redefining the micro-payment landscape with apps like Square Register. Accept credit cards anywhere and everywhere. No terms, cheap rates. Plus the reporting on the web is quite choice. You can download all of your transactions and the data behind them making reconciliations a breeze. Benefits: ease of use, increased productivity.

9. Downcast. Subscribe to podcasts and download them to your mobile device. Listen or watch the content; tons of options for controlling downloading frequency. Benefits: aggregation, ease of use.

10. Google Voice. With a Google Voice number, you can control a telephone number that is always yours. You can forward that number to an active cell phone or place it on permanent do-not-disturb. Your cell phone's voicemail can be linked to Google Voice. And when somebody leaves you a message, it's transcribed into text and emailed to you. Using the app, you can listen to voicemail but also make free calls across Google Voice in wifi spaces, just like Skype. A powerful tool: it centralizes voicemail for multiple phones into just one box. Benefits: aggregation, ease of use, increased productivity. 

R