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Tag Archives: Technology
“5 Ways To Keep Your Laptop Running – Without Plugging It In”
5 Ways To Keep Your Laptop Running – Without Plugging It In
On the road, in the airport, at a client’s site, or simply at home on the couch … these are places you can’t or don’t want to – plug in your laptop. Want to keep your laptop running as long as possible without searching for an outlet? Here are five tips to help:
1) Keep your screen dim. A laptop’s backlight requires a lot of power. Reducing the brightness conserves battery life.
2) Turn off unused hardware. Your Bluetooth and your Wi-Fi receiver can both be turned off if not in use. Unplug your external mouse or other device. Mute the PC’s sound system. Not only will these steps save power, they will avoid annoying everyone else around you.
3) Don’t multitask. Run as few programs as you can get away with. Stick to one application (word processor, browser, or whatever) if possible. (If online keep your antivirus and firewall on in the background.)
4) Avoid multimedia. Save your photo editing and video watching for when you have AC power. These tasks use immense battery life. To listen to music, use your iPod (or similar device).
5) Sleep, standby or hibernate. Sleep mode (a/k/a “standby” in XP) keeps your PC on. It still uses power, just less than normal. Hibernate uses no power initially, but a lot of battery life to start back up.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
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Tagged "Tech Tips", battery, Business, Computer, Computer Support, Ener Systems, J. Michele Miller, laptop, Laptop battery life, Technology, Technology Tips
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“What is your Centerpoint? Meet Blue Angels Pilot, John Foley”
What is your Centerpoint? Meet Blue Angels Pilot, John Foley
Recently while in Dallas at an industry conference for Tigerpaw Software, I had the great pleasure of hearing John Foley speak in person. He is Amazing and the focus that the Blue Angels have is Amazing. When the Blue Angels fly in formation, they start with the planes at 36 inches apart and get the planes as close as 18 inches apart. It must take incredible focus to achieve such precision. John explains that for every show, the Blue Angels have a centerpoint that everyone remains focused on. This centerpoint allows all of the pilots to focus on one thing and achieve unbelievable accuracy. Just imagine what you could do with that kind of focus. What is your centerpoint? What are you going to focus on that will make you achieve unbelievable goals?
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
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Tagged "Tech Tips", Blue Angels, Business, Centerpoint, Computer, Computer Support, e-mail, Ener Systems, Focus, J. Michele Miller, John Foley, Online, Technology, Technology Tips
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“A simple way to increase productivity”
A simple way to increase productivity
According to a University of Utah study, you can increase your efficiency (or your employees’ efficiency) by 25% just by adding a second monitor. With multiple monitors, you can get more done since you aren’t minimizing and maximizing all day long. Therefore, adding monitors can be a money maker for your company.
The study documentation states that 108 university and non-university personnel participated in a comparison of single monitor, multi-monitor and multi-monitor with Hydravision display configurations. Respondents edited slide shows, spreadsheets and text documents in a simulation of office work using each of the display arrays. Performance measures—including task time, editing time, number of edits completed and number of errors made, as well as usability measures evaluating effectiveness, comfort, learning ease, time to productivity, quickness of recovery from mistakes, ease of task tracking, ability to maintain task focus and ease of movement among sources—were combined into an overall evaluation of productivity. Multi-screens scored significantly higher on every measure. Respondents got on task quicker, did the work faster and got more of the work done with fewer errors in multi-screen configurations than with a single screen.
Consider trying this in your office. Add a monitor or two to your desk and to those of your employees. See what kind of feedback you get and how much more efficient and productive you become when you have the ability to move quicker, use multiple applications at once and no longer have to constantly minimize windows
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
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Tagged "Tech Tips", Business, Computer, Ener Systems, increase productivity, J. Michele Miller, monitor, multiple monitors, screen, Technology, Technology Tips
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“10 Easy Ways To Eliminate E-mail Overload”
10 Easy Ways To Eliminate E-mail Overload
E-mail driving you crazy? Every time you delete one, do five more show up? Are you finding it impossible to answer every e-mail you receive? If this is you, then here are 10 tips to reduce e-mail overload.
1- Get a good spam filter. Even if it saves you just 10 minutes a day, that adds up to over 59 hours a year.
2- Cancel subscriptions to unwanted mailing lists. Also, make sure you are careful to check the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” box when purchasing items online.
3- Ask your friends to remove you from joke groups or chain messages.
4- Don’t post or publish your e-mail on websites.
5- Don’t respond to every e-mail you receive. Yes, it’s okay NOT to respond to some e-mails.
6- Be succinct. Restrict your messages to a few sentences. If you can’t, pick up the phone or talk in person.
7- Take advantage of subject lines. If possible, put your question in the subject line of your message. Here’s another tip: create a set of codes with your co-workers and place them in the subject line to help them process and prioritize messages. For example, use “FYI” for informational messages. Use “AR” for action required and “URG” for urgent messages.
8- Block time to answer your e-mail and fight the temptation to check your e-mail every few minutes.
9- Respond to messages when you open them so you only read them once.
10- Set time aside in the morning and the evening to process your inbox. Shoot for a completely empty inbox. File messages you need to keep and set reminders for messages that require you to follow up.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
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Tagged "Tech Tips", Business, Computer, Computer Support, e-mail, E-mail Etiquette, E-mail overload, Ener Systems, J. Michele Miller, Online, Security, Technology, Technology Tips
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“4 Questions About Backups That You Should Know The Answers To”
4 Questions About Backups That You Should Know The Answers To
The old saying, “Pack your own parachute,” comes to mind when I think of data backups or, more specifically, data RECOVERY. However, how many people actually know how to pack their data backup “parachute.
Since the absolute WORST time to check your backups is AFTER a data disaster, all business owners ought to know the answers to the following questions NOW so they aren’t unpleasantly surprised later when data gets erased and they’re scrambling to get back up and running:
1. Where EXACTLY is your data being backed up, and how do you get access to it?
Ideally, it should be in your network documentation that is kept in your operations manual or somewhere you can easily access it if necessary.
2. Who’s responsible for monitoring the backups to make sure they are working?
When data is lost, the finger pointing starts
3. How often do you run a test restore?
The only way to know if your backups are working properly is to conduct a test restore or “fire drill” of your data. We recommend running this once a month at a minimum to verify that you can actually restore from your backups in an emergency.
4. If your data is lost, what’s the process required to restore it?
Business owners should know what is required and how long it will take to recover data before an emergency strikes. Not all backup and recovery options are created equal. Setting up the proper process before you need it, will make your life a lot easier after an emergency.
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“Should You Leave Your Computer On at Night or Turn it Off?”
Should You Leave Your Computer On At Night Or Turn It Off?
I’ve been asked by clients whether or not they should leave their computer on all the time or turn it off when they are not using it.
Several years ago I would have told my clients to turn their machines off to save power. But with the proliferation of viruses and threats over the last few years, I have changed my mind.
Today, anti-virus programs and anti-spyware applications need regular updating. These updates are often scheduled to run in the wee hours of the morning when you are not using your computer.
Windows also needs to be updated whenever a new security patch is released. This is usually not daily, but it may happen several times a month. It’s important to update your operating system as soon as a patch becomes available because hackers move very quickly to reverse engineer Windows updates. As soon as an update is released, they create a virus specific to that vulnerability and start looking for unprotected machines to infect and invade.
In addition to the above, you should be backing up your data every day, and the best time to do this is at night when you are not using it.
So bottom line, leave your computer on all night and restart it two or three times a week to clear the memory.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
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Tagged "Tech Tips", Antivirus, Business, Computer, Ener Systems, J. Michele Miller, leave computer on at night, leave on, On or off, Online, Security, Security updates, Technology, Technology Tips, turn off, Windows updates
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“How to Pick a Good Password!”
How to Pick a Good Password!
What’s the most common password? You guessed it…”password.” Obviously this is not the best way to protect yourself against hackers and online thieves. But even if you don’t use the word “password,” you might be using an equally easy password to decipher.
We suggest you DON’T use the following passwords for really important web sites, such as your online banking web site or other financially related sites.
• Your name or your spouse’s name.
• Your children’s names.
• Your pet’s name.
• Your birth date.
• The last four digits of your Social Security number.
• Your phone number.
• Your address.
• A series of consecutive numbers, such as “1, 2, 3, 4.”
• A single word that would appear in a dictionary.
Your best bet for creating a strong password: Use combinations of letters, numbers and special characters.
I hope you will find this post informative and useful. I am looking forward to hearing your comments. That’s all I have for today, until next time make it a great day!
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Security Alert!
Security Alert! Ads for fake antivirus and antispyware programs are multiplying! How to avoid getting tricked? Many “reputable” sites are compromised and the owners don’t know it. So it’s not always where you surf. Here are four tips that may … Continue reading
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Tagged "Tech Tips", Antivirus, Backup, Business, Computer, e-mail, Ener Systems, Fake antivirus, J. Michele Miller, Online, Security, Security Alert, Technology, Technology Tips
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“What do Cars and Computers Have in Common? “
“What do Cars and Computers Have in Common?” Both cars and computers are indispensible, complex and will eventually break. Do you change the oil in your car? You probably do. But WHY? You do this to prevent problems that you … Continue reading
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Tagged "Tech Tips", Business, Car, Cars and computers, Computer, Ener Systems, J. Michele Miller, Online, Technology, Technology Tips
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