Computerware Blog

Today's international headlines are dominated with stories like WikiLeaks spreading secret documents, and the United States' NSA spy scandal. These stories are making people doubt how secure their communications really are, which is why Russia is taking the drastic measure of using paper to communicate in a digital age.

Visiting downtown is a fun and magical experience. Having your computer break down and then experiencing downtime are completely opposite. The only thing downtown and downtime have in common is that each cost you money, and they both make for one catchy song. The best way to prevent downtime is to have your technology professionally managed, here's how it works.

It's crazy how much technology has advanced within our lifetime. From Pong, to Pac-Man, to Mario, to the mind-blowing video game graphics of today, it feels like technology is pushing the boundaries of what's possible! Technology has also become commonplace. No longer is technology regulated to just nerds. These days everybody is enjoying its benefits, including businesses.

The mechanics of a hard drive are ridiculously precise. Data is stored on metal platters that spin 4,000-to-15,000 revolutions per minute. Data is read by a tiny head on an actuator arm using mechanics like that of a record player. Because hard drives are so intricate, you should use extra caution when handling your computer.

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? While there may be many sleep solutions available out there such as ergonomic pillows, medications, or sleep apnea mask that help you breathe, a new study has found that your brain may be the culprit. The University of Tubingen, in Germany, found that syncing sounds, while you sleep, to the rhythmic pulse of brainwaves helps people sleep.

Smartphones are beautifully designed to accomplish many tasks with just a few swipes of your fingertips. However, sometimes your fingertips cause problems because the screen is just too dang small, especially when it comes to texting. There's a new app called Fleksy that promises to make texting easier and help smartphone users that suffer from fat finger syndrome.

When it comes to working remotely from home, the reviews are mixed. On one hand, you have employees that enjoy the freedom of working in their pajamas. On the other hand, some employers don't like having their team spread out because it takes away from company culture. Taking advantage of a webcam is a great solution that may satisfy both parties.

By taking advantage of a video conferencing solution like Skype, remote workers, their employers, and other co-workers can have some semblance of face time. Seeing a person's facial expressions and body language communicates a lot more than just audio and instant messaging. By adding a visual element to team communication, you can see how someone really feels about a project, and it will be easier to avoid the miscommunication of reading false emotions and opinions into e-mails.

Adding a webcam to the remote working experience is not a radical suggestion, although, to make webcams work best for remote workers, it may be in your best interest to use webcams in the radical way of always having them on. Keeping your Skype app open throughout the entire workday will take up extra computer resources, but it may be the missing link to making telecommuting work.

One way that an always-on webcam can help is to give employers a better sense that their employees are standing by. In order for the remote workplace to be successful, the employer has to have a high level of trust that their employees are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Earlier this year, the reputation of telecommuting took a hit as Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer discovered that several of her employees were abusing the privilege of working remotely by not being honest about their use of company time. If Mayer would have had the ability to check on every member of her remote team by glancing at Skype, then perhaps her team would be more motivated to be honest.

A webcam monitoring a remote session would also encourage employees to clean up and dress appropriately before logging on to their computer. Dressing up to do office work from home has been proven to be motivating, increase productivity, and it's a best practice, just in case the remote employee receives a message from work that requires an urgent trip to the office. Employees may be bummed out about losing the ability to work in their pajamas, but keep in mind that it's easy to angle the webcam so that only the waste up is viewable.

Working remotely will be unable to completely capture every communication intricacy that makes face-to-face interaction in the office valuable, but taking full advantage of Skype may be the next best thing. For assistance with setting up your network so that your employees can enjoy working from home, along with saving the expense of commuting and travel time, call Computerware at (703) 821-8200.

With our Desktop Virtualization solution, you can have employees remotely access your company's network from anywhere, and we can streamline videoconferencing for the entire office with our affordable VoIP solution. Call Computerware and talk to us about your company's specific communication needs so that we can build you the best telecommuting package for your remote team!

Take a minute to look at the computer you're using to read this. Are you using a flat screen? How large is your hard drive? What do you use to transfer your data from one place to another? Most likely your screen is indeed flat, your hard drive is no less than 300-500 gigabytes and you carry a portable hard drive on your key ring. Technology, it seems, gets better with every passing day.

Working on a team means that projects are passed from person to person. If one person makes an error, passes it on, and the error is not caught, then the whole project is in jeopardy. When working in Excel with a team, here are three steps to take to help you find mistakes and keep the project moving forward error-free.

Not sure what to look for when purchasing a server? Having trouble with your current server or in the market for a new one? Purchasing a server can be a daunting task, but if not done with careful consideration, it can significantly impact your business' ability to operate smoothly. Here are some things you may want to consider while shopping for one.

How much do you spend on the workstations your employees use? Most business owners admit that it's, "more than I would like," and that's because they would embrace a scenario where they could get away without paying anything. Who wouldn't, right? We don't have a solid method of obtaining free workstations, but we do have a method of significantly reducing the cost of such a task. The solution is desktop virtualization.

Nobody makes a budget for the fun of it. Budgets are painstakingly made and kept track of so you can have money for fun. Despite all the work put into a budget, all it takes is one surprise expense to ruin everything. The best way to safeguard your budget against surprises is to control expenses. We can help you with this.

It cannot be overstated how important it is to have a data backup solution in place for your business. A company without a backup plan is gambling their businesses continuity just to save a few bucks. While using any backup plan is better than nothing, there is one solution that stands out at as the best: a backup and disaster recovery solution.

While redundancy may be annoying when it comes to storytelling and instructions, when it come hard drives, redundancy is great! The more places your data is backed up to, the better your security. There is a common hard drive formatting procedure called RAID that redundantly copies your data in order to back it up and boost performance.

Cloud computing is providing many businesses with options they've never had before. According to a survey conducted by Gartner; over half of businesses have set aside more funds in their budget for cloud services in 2013 than in previous years. Cloud computing may not be right for every business, however, and you will have to determine what kind of computing infrastructure will work best for your business.

How do you take over the planet? First, you control it's flow of information (Google Search). You then develop and analyze a map (Google Earth), then you send in reconnaissance for a closer look (Street View Car), then you set up encrypted communications (Google Loon), you can then strike when least expected.

Have you ever got those e-mails that state that there is a problem with your bank account and that they need to verify your personal information? Or while researching material on the web, click on a site where it wants you to download something? You may know that these things pose threats to your security, but not everyone in your office does, which could mean trouble if they don't.

How much time do you think you spend on your smartphone each day? Your answer will be different depending on your generation, but a recent survey by Experian Marketing Services determined that on an average, adult Americans spend one hour of their day using a smartphone. If you're part of the younger generation then that number probably seems quite low.

It is the end of the day and you have been stressed from the days workload. You're ready to just go home and spend some time with your family. As you're leaving, you remember you left your USB drive connected to your computer. Do you just disconnect it and stuff it in your bag or do you spend the time to safely remove it?

Your wedding day is arguably the most important day of your life, which is why your wedding anniversary is such a big deal. A partner that forgets to celebrate their anniversary is due in for a world of pain, as seen in classic sitcoms. How can technology help? Alaska Jewelry has helped by upgrading the token of marriage: The wedding ring.