Small Business Computing Staff

by Jamie McAfee What if they threw a financial revolution and nobody came? There’s no point in paying some of your bills on line when most of the world isn’t ready to receive them. Now a few companies are offering to take care of it all ­ whether a bill arrives electronically from Mega Phone […]

by Robert Wagman Not sure what to do with this new-fangled Internet telephony thing? Neither is the government. In a bureaucratic maneuver that seemed to befuddle many in the public and media, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to outlaw any future per minute Internet access charges, or so-called increases to “universal service” […]

by David Haskin The dream of every mobile employee is to turn wasted travel time into productive work sessions. Who hasn’t sat in an airport waiting for a late flight while thinking about everything they could be doing if they just had access to their datebook, address book, and e-mail account? But for many users, […]

by Tracy Baker The perfect notebook system for mobile employees is difficult to define. Bulky systems are tough to travel with, yet few lightweight notebooks have the necessary features to serve as an employee’s primary computer. Since the notebook will be moved often, durability and overall design quality also are important considerations. Then there is […]

by Wayne Kawamoto Work Manager Suite 2.5Rating 90 For offices looking to improve the way they share and manage paper and electronic documents, Eastman Software’s Work Manager Suite 2.5 offers a very attractive solution. This suite combines powerful document imaging, document management, and workflow software into one system that works seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook and […]

by Daniel Grotta Axis 5600 Network Print ServerRating 79 Whether your office has a client/server or peer-to-peer network, setting up a network printer can be an excruciating exercise for non-experts. The Axis 5600 Network Print Server is a network-attached device that practically installs itself. Our only qualms about the device concern its questionable support of […]

by Alan S. Kay Watchguard SOHORating 82 All roses have their thorns. And that wonderfully fast, always-on DSL, or other type of broadband Internet connection, exposes your systems to security risks you didn’t face when all you had was a dialup connection. WatchGuard SOHO is one of a new breed of Internet security tools that […]

by David Schloss Tripplite Internet Office 700Rating 92 MGE Pulsar Ellipse 800Rating 89 There comes a time in every computer user’s life when, after spending hours on a project, a power failure hits. Lights flicker and then go out, and the computer emits a slow whine, until everything is silent, and all the work is […]

by Steve Bennett Samsung MSYS 4700Rating 87 Just what the world needs: “another” multifunction device. On the surface, the Samsung MSYS 4700 resembles most multifunction machines in its class with printing, copying, scanning, and faxing. But given its price/quality/performance mix, the 4700 does standout in a crowded marketplace. The printer offers three modes: draft, normal, […]

by Angela R. Garber Anytime a business offers goods or services before collecting full payment, it is taking a risk. In today’s marketplace, few businesses other than the local mom-and-pop can get away with a cash-only operation. Most companies, especially those in a service industry or whose clientele is made up primarily of other businesses, […]

by Cathy Brower On a recent trip to california, i truly felt the impact technology has had on the average small business. First I was sitting next to the vice president of marketing for a small public relations firm. He spent hours waxing poetic about his firm’s new Web site. After spewing out a couple […]

by David G. Propson TCP/IP: Five of the most familiar, least understood letters around today. Anyone who’s ever done some casual fiddling with a modem or an Internet connection has probably stumbled across them, registered their importance, dropped the keyboard, and fled. Normal humans fear acronyms; techies, however, love them. These particular five letters stand […]