Small Business Computing Staff

by Jamie McAfee Your employees need to be free.Employees should be focused on their jobs, not tied to the office. “I spent at least an hour everyday on the phone going over schedule changes,” says Laura McLean of Lynwood, Wash.-based Glover Homes. Now superintendents dial into the network via cell phone to sync their PDAs […]

by Leanne Italie Doug Erwin knows his job is done when one of his customers is finally whooshing down a monstrous mountain in Lake Tahoe. But Erwin, president and CEO of the ski services startup tahoecentral.com, can’t get them to the top of the mountain by himself. A pilot has to fly them there, a […]

by Phil Albinus Don’t call Jonathan Trichter a slacker. Earlier this year he started working from home, but that just means he works more than ever. Telecommuting lets him balance 60-hour weeks working for Global Strategy Group, a New York strategic research and consulting firm, while still pursuing a career as a freelance political columnist […]

by Wayne Kawamoto Most businesses today have networks in place and use e-mail, an intranet, or the public Internet to communicate. However, despite the various high-tech pipelines that are now available, the lowly fax machine remains a staple in many offices. The fax is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to send and receive documents. […]

by David G. Propson Between the covers of Code is the best book yet written about the Internet and society, a succinct, 125-page survey of law, technology, and how they interact, which should read by experts and laypersons alike. Unfortunately, the book is twice that long. Lessig is a good writer, but sometimes obscures his […]

by Douglas Gantenbein Like a lot of small business owners, Richard Small knows the key to keeping his Portland, Oregon-area print shop thriving is to keep his customers happy. “You have to find ways to make yourself more attentive toward the customer,” Small says. “It used to be that competition meant other businesses in a […]

by Amy H. Blankstein Convincing consumers that their credit card information was safe on the Web was a big step forward for e-commerce. But consumers are pretty well protected from fraud by the credit card companies: It’s the merchants who are left in the lurch. “From a consumer perspective, your chance of getting ripped off […]

by Victoria Hall Smith E-mail has been dubbed the “killer app” that ignited the Internet explosion. Most businesses would surely agree it’s a killer ­ they struggle not to drown in the ever-increasing volume of e-mail, not to mention voice mail, phone calls, and faxes. Managing and having immediate access to all that noise, whether […]

by Jamie McAfee & Liz Levy ERGO-TYPEReduce keyboard-related injuries with the Goldtouch Adjustable keyboard. Align the left and right hand sections of the keyboard both horizontally and vertically to suit individual comfort. The adjustment ranges between zero and 30 degrees. Editing keys are placed for left-to-right movement. Goldtouch Technologies Inc.; 800-593-2453 www.goldtouch.com; $129.00 SLEEK SERVERThe […]

by David G. Propson In this country a business is free to do or sell whatever it wants ­ and if you do it over the Internet, you might even find investors. One industry that has been changed forever is the collectible and antiques market, which had traditionally been fragmented and widely dispersed. Online behemoth […]

by Jamie McAfee It’s not just for selling Beanie Babies anymore. Auction sites are turning their attention on the increasingly lucrative business to business market. Even eBay, the King Kong of consumer auctions, has stepped into the ring. Its Business Exchange is just one of a number of auction sites, including Auction.com, USBid.com, and even […]

by Jamie McAfee & Liz Levy Now consumers and businesses alike can reduce hefty long distance bills by making PC-to-phone calls over the Internet, instead of over standard phone lines. Internet telephony technology allows phone calls to be carried over the public Internet as packets of data. All of these services are a little bit […]