Asian Chamber Receives Beacon Award for "Diversity Champion Organization" 2010
Asian Americans Who Have Made a Difference - King of Waves
Orlando Named 2010 Top North American Golf Destination by International Golf Association
Tech. Tip 6: WolframAlpha: Searching for Answers Beyond GOOGLE
Tech. Tip 5: Netbook vs. Laptop
Tech. Tip 4: Windows 7: High Hopes for Microsoft's Newest Operating System
Tech. Tip 3: Lock Up Your Servers!
Posted 11/06/2009
NETBOOK VS. LAPTOP: WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
The Holiday Season is fast approaching, and great bargains are available for the careful consumer looking to purchase a new laptop or netbook. Whether you are in the market for yourself or for a gift-purchase, you should understand some pros and cons of both items:
What’s the Difference? Think cost, capabilities, and size and weight:
● Netbooks are smaller and lighter than laptops, which is one advantage for people on the go. A typical netbook weighs less than three pounds and has a 10-inch display monitor.
● Netbooks have slower processors and less RAM, which may lead to slower playback time for video clips or stuttering when you are running several programs at once.
● Netbooks cost about $300 while a laptop (also sometimes called a notebook) might cost twice that much, or more for higher-end models.
● Netbooks are perfect for basic tasks, such as e-mailing, word processing and Web surfing. However, if you will be spending lots of time as a gamer, designer, watching movies (DVD or online), or running several programs at once, buy a laptop. Even low-end laptop models, such as the Gateway MD ($550), feature large screens, faster processors, and lots of memory so you can run several programs at once.
● Netbooks are equipped with batteries that can last twice as long as a laptop/notebook. Typical battery life is about 6.5 hours for a netbook. The batteries last longer because netbooks don’t have optical drives, such as a hard disk drive with moving parts. Instead, they are equipped with Solid State Drives (no moving parts), which increases battery life.
● Most netbooks can run either Linux or Windows XP. However, with the recent rollout of Windows 7, check carefully to determine if your netbook is compatible, or even preloaded with, Windows 7. Microsoft’s newest operating system demands higher memory and speed (1-GHz processor & 1GB of main memory and 128MB of interface memory), so you may have to opt for a laptop instead if you want Windows 7’s full functionality and speed.
● Netbooks don’t allow you to watch a CD or DVD because they have no optical drive.
● Got big hands or poor vision? Opt for the laptop with the larger keyboards and display screen.
● CAUTION: Laptops are slimming down. Skinny is in. A new generation of ultrathin and affordable laptops is now available. HP’s dv2z laptop is 3.8 pounds with lots of computing power ($600; www.hp.com). The Acer Aspire Timeline 3810T is 3.5 pounds and runs cooler than most laptops ($600; www.us.acer.com). And the MSI X340 is a 13-inch laptop weighing only 2.9 pounds ($900; www.msimobile.com).
● Bottom line: Netbooks are smaller, usually lighter, cheaper, and simpler than laptops/notebooks. When in doubt, visit your electronic retailer to test and compare your options. Happy Holidays!
Posted 10/22/2009
Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 7, overcomes many of the deficiencies pointed to by critics of Microsoft’s much-maligned Vista system.
Windows 7 reportedly runs faster than Vista (launched in January, 2007) or its predecessor, Windows XP (released October, 2001), and Windows starts up and shuts down more quickly. Files are easier to organize, clean up and find. And the files can be permanently “pinned” to the task bar at the bottom of the screen. Another improvement: By grabbing the title bar of a window and shaking it (with your mouse, of course), you can minimize all windows at once. You can now “Aero Peek”, “Aero Shake” and “Aero Snap” to more efficiently handle files and applications. Non-essential programs and those annoying alerts are dramatically reduced.
Unlike Vista, which introduced many new features, Windows 7 is a more user-friendly, incremental upgrade to other Windows systems, and it promises to be more fully compatible with other software applications and hardware. However, some applications which were included with prior releases of Windows (Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Calendar and Mail), will not be included in this newest version. Some of these applications may be offered separately via the free Windows Life Essentials suite.
The new operating system also makes possible the use of iPhone-like multi-touch screens. If you have a multi-touch, touch-sensitive screen, which can detect more than one finger-press at a time, you can use your fingers to pinch, stroke and swipe files, much as you do on an iPhone. Might this be the end of keyboards and your mouse? Expect the major PC makers to roll out various touch-sensitive monitors in the months ahead to take advantage of Windows’ latest feature.
Windows 7 is available in various editions: Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate. To see Windows 7 in action and to see one retailer’s suggested prices, click here: www.samsclub.com
If you wish to purchase an upgrade from your previous system, be sure your PC meets system requirements. One way to check is to download the free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor (go to www.microsoft.com/downloads), which will let you know in minutes if there are any compatibility problems.
Posted 10/09/2009
EDITORS NOTE: "Tech Tip No. 3" comes courtesy of AACC member, Long Hoang, of TeamLogicIT based in Lake Mary, Florida, and author Jason Appel, Security Practice Manager, of Sage Computer. For more information, email Mr. Hoang at: lhoang@teamlogicit.com. Website: www.teamlogicit.com/lakemary
Lock up your servers!
One aspect often overlooked when securing our information is physical security. The goal of physical security is to control who can walk up to the information and touch it. The idea is to prevent unwanted information disclosure, loss, or corruption, the same as when securing the information across the network or from the internet. The difference is that physical security deals with the “real world".
For most of us, this doesn't mean training your Chihuahua as an attack dog or outfitting your employees with dark shades, cheap suits and sleeve microphones; it simply means using some common sense.
Before we can take measures to physically secure our information, we need to know what type of information needs to be protected. There is no need to post armed guards around your product catalog after it's been published: it's meant to be seen by others. Before it's published could be a different story as you may not want your competition getting a sneak peek. In other words, we need to classify our information.
While there are many excellent information classification schemes, they all boil down to one question: who needs to have what level of access. The rest is deciding how to limit access to just those people. With this in mind, there is one common sense step we can take to beef up our physical security in the typical small office. Lock it up.
While it may be true that "a locked door only stops an honest man", locks go a long way towards letting people know what is out of bounds. If the file cabinet has sensitive information in it, lock the cabinet or put it in a locked room.
If your network server is vital to your business operations, make sure it's locked up to limit who has access to it. Remember, loss of services such as email, files, printing, faxing, and internet can mean the loss of access to vital information. Thus tripping over the server's power cord could be classified as a "Denial of Service" (DoS) attack.
Sometimes, it's just as important to have taken all reasonable steps to secure the information, as it is to actually prevent unauthorized access to it.
If you are uncomfortable with the way
you are currently classifying your information or concerned about locking up
your servers, feel free to contact us. (Email: lhoang@teamlogicit.com)
Posted 10/03/2009
Some of us have so many phone numbers (work 1, work 2, home, cell 1, cell 2) that we're afraid we'll miss an important call. Fear no more: Google will soon roll out its Google Voice service, allowing you to obtain a universal phone number for all your phones.
Here's how it works: You obtain a new universal phone number along with your choice of area code. You will also receive a web-based inbox so you can manage your voicemail, text messages and call history. You then set up calling rules and filters. For example, you can allow your spouse and children to call, so that all your numbers ring at once. But when a loquacious (read: chatty) acquaintance calls, only one phone rings or it goes straight to voicemail.
You can also listen in as the caller leaves a voicemail, or the voicemail can be transcribed and sent to you as an e-mail or text message. Of course, it helps if your caller enunciates reasonably well. Beta testers report that the transcriptions are fairly accurate and allow you to get the gist of the voicemail message.
Google Voice has additional features such as conference calling, call block, call screen, and call history in addition to the voicemail and voice transcription mentioned above. Best of all, the service cost is free.
Google Voice was launched on March 11, 2009, but by invitation only. While software bugs still need to be worked out, expect the service to roll out fully sometime in the fall of 2009. Users must have an established U.S. telephone service. For more information, go to www.google.com/voice.
Posted 09/11/2009
Welcome to the first in a series of "Tech. Tips". To help our AACC members stay abreast of technology trends, control their costs and truly make them useful, we will present a series of articles showing you how to stay on top of the Technology Wave.
FIRST TIP: HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON TEXT MESSAGES:
1) Some recipients prefer to NOT receive any text messages because of their cost (15-25 cents per text message on average) while others find them intrusive. Solution? Ask your cell phone provider to turn off your ability to receive any text messages. Cost: FREE.
2) Bundled Plans: Your cell phone company will list various packages at different costs (review them online or call your company) for texting plans. T-Mobile, for example, now offers up to 300 text messages for $5.00 per month. That's less than two cents per message. You can also sign up for unlimited texting, albeit at a higher price.
3) Blackberry Users: Did you know that Blackberry users can text each other for FREE? This is a little known secret. All you need is the other user's PIN number. (Look for it under your Options icon. Scroll down to check on your Status, then scroll down again to the PIN number. Copy it and send to your friends.)
Your PIN message will show up in RED so that it stands out, and T-Mobile does not bill for this as it is not routed through their servers. Best of all, the cost is FREE. So text away!
(Source: Orange County Bar Association/Woody Rodriguez, President)
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