Small Business Computing Staff

by David G. Propson & Laurie Windham The importance of the Web to most businesses has been greatly exaggerated. Television programs, popular books, and, yes, even magazine articles conspire to convince business owners that if they don’t do something ­ anything ­ on the Web, they’re going to be dead in the water. Laurie Windham’s […]

by David G. Propson Sometimes you can teach an old company new tricks. Trident Inc. is the world’s leading producer of industrial inkjet print heads and ink for the packaging industry ­ they’re responsible for countless bar codes and expiration dates printed on cartons and plastic containers everyday. But when Sheri Dougherty took over as […]

by Gina M. Costa You are operating on an old platform.The demise of DOS is evident – it isn’t compatible with many modern applications. Salt Lake City custom pool cover manufacturer, Cover Pools, tried with no avail to add a manufacturing package to their system. “We had an old mainframe computer that ran on DOS […]

by David G. Propson A big question for small businesses is whether violations of customer’s privacy by big online companies will cause consumers to mistrust sites that really are playing by the rules. After all, most small businesses can’t afford the sophisticated and expensive technologies it takes to collect really valuable information about customers. But […]

by David Haskin It almost qualifies as a law of nature: As a business grows, so does the complexity of its computing needs. Working with old software applications that were cutting edge a few years ago ­ say that DOS-based inventory management program or green screen database ­ today will probably make a company less […]

by David G. Propson A poor understanding of ergonomics and poorly designed office spaces combine to cause physical pain for many workers. To fix these problems, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed new safety requirements that may hurt their employer’s wallet even more. OSHA’s proposal would require any business that employs more than […]

Comp-USA Woes, ContinuedI noticed H. R. Leavy’s comments regarding unsatisfactory service at Comp-USA. I can only support that position. I got a similar runaround with a printer under extended warranty. Their warranties are worthless, their service is nil. They do little to take care of the customer. My policy is to never go to their […]

by Lowell Rapaport Jukeboxes manage and organize CDs for any data-intensive business, storage is a primary concern. While there are plenty of options, many choose Compact Disc (CD) for its convenience, durability, and cost-effectiveness. As the discs pile up, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to quickly find and access data. A CD jukebox is the […]

by Lowell Rapaport Jukebox management software puts CD storage on lineEvery business has data — information that must be saved, stored, and referenced. Because of their reliability and low cost, CDs (compact discs) are the favored choice for many organizations. CD jukebox management software combined with hardware (See the supplemental guide this month) provides a […]

by Lou Grinzo HP Colorado 20 GB Tape DriveRating 90 Data disasters are inevitable. So the only question is how well you can recover from one? Tape is one of the most reliable methods to backup your system and guard against data loss. It also packs the highest-capacity punch in a single piece of media. […]

by Alan S. Kay GoWebRating 90 The internet is truly everywhere these days. It’s on desktops, laptops, portable phones, PDAs, and now on pagers. GoAmerica’s GoWeb service takes on the challenge of delivering usable Web pages and information on the RIM 950 Inter@ctive Pager. The GoWeb service is also available for different RIM pagers, PalmPilots […]

by Daniel Grotta Rating 84 The new professional edition of Canon’s OfficeReady plug-in software for Microsoft Office provides templates for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. More than 1,000 new bundled templates extend the power of Office to handle repetitive business tasks and projects more efficiently. The Excel templates, which provide formulas and automatically perform calculations, […]