Small Business Computing Staff

PCWorld: HP Pavilion HPE-170t: Chart-Topping Performance–and a Few Quirks With a 2.80GHz Intel Core i7 860 processor and screaming RAID hard drive array, this was the hottest ‘value’ desktop PCWorld tested. “At first glance, HP’s Pavilion HPE-170t might look out of place in the Value PC category. And it almost is: Its price of $1434 […]

InformationWeek SMB: 4 Steps To Avoid Social Media Landmines In a nutshell: establish guidelines, monitor activity, recognize what’s in your control, be transparent. Now, go forth and market thyself. “Many business owners are embracing social media for marketing and customer retention, but don’t guard against legal exposure and threats to business reputation. Get started with […]

PCWorld: Find Your Windows 7 Desktop PCWorld’s Nate Ralph offers detailed analysis of the types of available desktop PCs running Windows 7 and clear logic on how to figure out which is best for you. “Remember when buying a desktop computer was simple? You’d stroll into your local electronics boutique, pick out the homely beige […]

InformationWeek SMB: Microsoft To End Support For Older Windows Versions In April, Microsoft is ending official support for several older versions of Windows including XP SP2. It means the company won’t issue security updates for these versions, making them a serious security risk. “Microsoft is warning customers that support for some older versions of the […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): The Best MFPs for Business This roundup includes best budget MFP, best monochrome MFP for small office, best color MFP for small office and so on. Five Editor’s Choice winners in all. “Whether you prefer the term multi-function printer (MFP), all-in-on (AIO), or some other variation on the name (multi-function copier, or […]

InformationWeek SMB: Intermedia Launches Hosted UC For SMBs Will SMBs see the value of integrating telephony, instant messaging, presence and other communications modes? Intermedia believes its hosted approach will appeal. “With the launch of Unison today, Intermedia stakes a claim to the unified communications (UC) market for SMBs. The hosted offering combines 6 core UC […]

Smallbiztechnology.com: Collaboration Software: How To Choose What’s Best For You Advice on how to sift and evaluate the many different products available. The best advice: try them out first – they’re usually free to try. Duh. “One of the hidden disadvantages of the Internet is that it has enabled dozens and dozens of companies to […]

ITBusinessEdge: Nuance launches Free PDF Reader SMB Tech blogger Paul Mah makes the case for ditching Adobe Reader and switching to a less vulnerable alternative, such as the newly released (and free) Nuance PDF Reader. “I previously made my case for moving away from Adobe PDF Reader, which despite frequent patches, continues to hold an […]

Entrepreneur: 11 Characteristics of Highly Influential Blogs Learn from the best. Some of the essential qualities of great blogs, according to Tamar Weinberg at Techipedia: consistency, uniqueness, eloquence, specific, personal. “It seems everyone has a blog these days, and the plethora of information available can make it difficult to attract a solid group of readers. […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): Microsoft’s MultiPoint Server 2010 Similar to a product announced yesterday by Userful, this one allows multiple thin client devices to access computing resources on a single computer over the network. Mainly aimed at education, but it could deliver savings to cash-strapped SMBs too. “Microsoft announced today the global launch of Windows MultiPoint […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): Lenovo Updates ThinkServer Line The new servers, based on technology licensed from IBM, use Intel Core i5 and i3 processors. Prices start at $400. No word on release date. “As a part of the TS200 series of single-processor servers, Lenovo has revealed its newest product in the line, the TS200v. This server […]

GearLog: LaCie Intros Big Storage for Businesses One has a single disk, one has two disks, one has five. Multi-disk models offer RAID 5 and/or 6 support. Prices start at $229. “Small- and medium-size businesses, LaCie has your storage needs covered with a line of three new big data solutions. They include the d2 Network […]