Small Business Computing Staff

Small Business Trends: Social Media Time Wasters This roundup leads with stories on social media for small business from two different sources, but also includes links to articles on everything from entrepreneurship to finance to sales. “Are you wasting your time with social media? How about the many other tools out there you’ve heard will […]

CNet: RIM’s Future Riding On Next-gen BlackBerry Technology Despite strong challenges from iPhone and Android, the market leading BlackBerry smartphone platform, which its maker, Research in Motion, is about to refresh, is still well positioned for continued dominance. “For Research In Motion, the new BlackBerry 9800 is more than just its latest device. It’s an […]

Smallbiztechnology.com: Does Cloud Computing Mean You Can Dispense With Servers? Jason Dominie, a senior product manger responsible for Microsoft Small Business Server makes the case that many small businesses, despite the lure of cloud computing, still need on-premise servers. (Video with text summary.) “There has not been much talk about plain old servers (those more […]

PCWorld: Budget Photo & Graphic Design Software From Xara The Xara software is ideal for small businesses looking for help designing graphics-based documents. It comes with ready-made templates that simplify the process and produce good results. “Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 6 ($90, seven-day trial) is a graphic design alternative to Photoshop that specializes in […]

Entrepreneur: In-depth Review Of Google Apps For Small Business If you use the internet and your firm is not Google Apps-savvy, you are making a mistake, reviewer Jonathan Blum says. He goes on to reviews “the great, the not-so-great and the downright awful Google small-business tools.” “In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s not Bill Gates’ […]

PCWorld: Travel Tech – What You Need To Stay In Touch And Be Productive From extra USB cables to portable power packs and spare memory cards, Daniel P. Dern runs through the gamut of tech accessories you shouldn’t leave home without. “Today’s tech products are remarkably self-sufficient when it comes to accessories. Most of us […]

Small Business Trends: Need A New Phone Service? Take Your Pick TJ McCue looks at virtual and hosted phone system and services suitable for small businesses – including Skype, Google Voice, Yahoo Voice and Grasshopper. “Can you hear me now? That phrase is one we all utter, most frequently from mobile phones, but sometimes from […]

PCWorld: Hot Download – Speed Up Windows Boot With Saluto Saluto sped up the reviewer’s three-minute-plus Windows boot by about 30 seconds. “Frustrated by how long it takes for Windows to fully load after you’ve logged in? So is just about every other Windows user on the planet. Now you can do something about it. […]

Entrepreneur: Security For Remote Employees’ Computers Dal Gemmell of Trend Micro Small Business spotlights some of the security problems faced by companies adopting telework or telecommuting strategies and offers solutions. “No matter the size of your business, technology has blurred the boundaries of the traditional work space location and has made remote working a reality […]

PCWorld: Making The Switch To Linux – Not So Fast Reasons to think twice about moving away from Windows to Linux include the fact that Linux isn’t as easy to use, does not support many printers and does not fully support some file types. “A happy customer might tell someone. An unhappy customer tells everyone. […]

Small Business Trends: Mobile Apps For SMBs – All Business Lisa Barone’s mobile apps that SMBs should care about include some for social media marketing, such as Bump, and others that can help improve productivity such as Docs To Go and Shoeboxed, an expense tracking app. “While seated at Albany’s 5th Annual Small Business Day […]

SMB News From NetworkWorld: HP Will Introduce Two iPad Killers Stephen Lawson of IDG News Service analyses the announcement from HP that it will produce two tablet computers, one for enterprises, one to compete more directly with Apple’s iPad. “Hewlett-Packard will use Windows 7 in a tablet exclusively for enterprises, while making a consumer-oriented unit […]