Small Business Computing Staff

Entrepreneur: Facebook Do’s And Don’ts For SMB Marketing Scott Gerber’s Facebook marketing do’s range from making use of Facebook Places to carefully placing a ‘Like’ button on your site. Don’ts include turning off user comments and sending mass messages. “Facebook may have 500 million users, but having an outpost on the social-media site won’t necessarily […]

PCWorld: Cisco Umi – A Bust In The Home, A Boon For SMBs Tony Bradley says that Cisco’s Umi telepresence-quality home videoconferencing product could actually save SMBs money over business-targeted alternatives. “This week Cisco unveiled Umi, its high-definition telepresence system aimed at consumers. While the concept is impressive, it is also costly for consumers. However, […]

Social Media Today: B2B Marketing Analytics – Measuring Your Results What are the hot trends in B2B marketing analytics? Social Media Today spotlights seven and links to tools that can help you keep up with measuring results. “No matter what area of the B2B market you’re involved with, change is a constant. In order to […]

SMB News from Network World: Cisco Umi – Telepresence For Everyone Cisco’s Telepresence is the leader in high-quality videoconferencing for the enterprise. Umi brings similar HD quality to home – and, potentially, small business users. But at cost – $600 for the device, $25 a month. “Cisco has introduced Umi, a home telepresence system that […]

Entrepreneur: Essential Tech Tools For Entrepreneurs It’s an interesting mix of products that the author says are ideal for entrepreneurs starting out on a budget. But how did he choose the Acer Aspire laptop, for example, over zillions of competitors? It’s a mystery. “Ok, you’re finally stepping out on your own. And if you’re like […]

Entrepreneur: Five Tools To Help Make The Most Of Twitter The tools include Google-like search, an app that grades Tweeters by a number of criteria and Backtype, a real time index to conversations not only in Twitter but in blog comment sections. “Small-business owners often can gain an edge on larger competitors with cost-efficient and […]

CNet: Go HeyWire – Text Anyone, Anywhere, Free The free online software/service even lets you send texts to international contacts for free. It’s available now for iOS, but will be available later for Android and BlackBerry. “Certain apps floating around CTIA Fall 2010 are compelling enough to make it the “download immediately” list. HeyWire is […]

PCWorld: Review – Intuit QuickBooks 2011 Premier Accounting Software The big additions are mobile access to accounts and a simplified getting started process. But is it worth $230 plus $10 per user per month? “With QuickBooks 2011, Intuit performs a balancing act of reaching out to new users while trying to tempt veterans to upgrade […]

Smallbiztechnology.com: The Cure For PC Entropy? The nine root causes of PC slow-down include some already understood, such as registry errors and registry bloat, but some that iolo claims have not been properly understood before. “From Iolo Labs press release: Following nearly a year of research, iolo Labs, iolo technologies’ independent research arm, has discovered […]

Wired: Skype Now On Android Phones – With Limitations While users outside the U.S. can make free Skype-to-Skype calls and use low-priced SkypeOut calling rates over 3G networks, U.S. cell phone customers will only be able to make calls over Wi-Fi networks. “Skype is now available for phones running Android 2.1 or better, a significant […]

PCWorld: Review – Sony VAIO VPCEA22FX Laptop With prices starting at $699, PC World says Sony is targeting “the everyman” with this stylish laptop. The reviewed configuration, with i3 processor and 4GB of RAM, costs $849. “Sony targets the everyman with its VAIO EA series of all-purpose laptops. They’re affordable, medium-size, general-purpose workhorses with a […]

ZDNet: IBM Introduces Hosted E-mail Service To Compete With Exchange The new service, which is distinct from IBM’s earlier LotusLive iNotes, offers e-mail, calendaring and instant messaging. “IBM has introduced a new hosted e-mail offering, LotusLive Notes, that it is pricing at $5 per user per month. IBM is touting the newest addition to its […]