Using a Mac in a Microsoft environment. Part 1

I am a Windows person.  I have always been a Windows person.  I have been a Windows person for so long that before I was a Windows person, I was a DOS person (I would rather not calculate how many years that is).

Life Lessons… it isn’t always sunny in the cloud… and free is rarely worth the money.

Many companies are moving IT services to the cloud.  Some are moving just a little to see how they like it, while others are jamming everything into the cloud as fast as they can do so.  The advantages are supposed to be reduced costs and more reliable services.  The assumption is that a cloud vendor with a gazillion servers in multiple datacenters will achieve a better up-time record than a company running their own in-house servers.  Personally, I think these basic assumptions are correct, especially for small businesses who can’t (or won’t) spend the $$ to build a proper network incorporating redundancy, backup, and disaster recovery. 

What you need to know about your own computer network.

I am constantly amazed at how comfortable companies are with the lack of information they have about their own IT systems.  Some companies know nothing about their own network and equipment.  They blindly trust everything to a single IT person or to an outside IT services company.  I understand that small business owners/managers have their own areas of expertise, and they may know nothing about information technology.  This is OK.  Most small businesses need to concentrate on what they do best, and hire others to do the things which support their operations (IT, HR, Legal, etc…).  But this is not an excuse for a complete lack of institutional knowledge of in-house IT systems. 

We are all pawns.

It’s not as if I didn’t already know that big companies don’t care about us.  Small companies and individuals get jerked around all the time by the large companies they do business with.  In the tech world especially, we are all just pawns in a huge chess game between cable companies, phone companies, computer companies, and in some cases, the Government.  As if running a small business wasn’t hard enough, dealing with industry titans when you have no clout makes it even harder.

In the last two weeks….

Should you get an iPad from AT&T, Verizon Wireless, or neither?

The release of the iPad2 requires that this post be updated but the basic options are still the same.  You can still purchase a Wi-Fi only iPad2.  You can also still get a 3G enabled iPad2 from AT&T.  The 3rd option is to get a 3G enabled iPad2 from Verizon (previously, Verizon didn’t have a 3G enabled iPad).  Keep in mind though that you have to choose either Verizon or AT&T in advance of purchasing a 3G enabled iPad2.  Verizon’s iPad2 will not work on AT&T’s network, and AT&T’s iPad2 will not work on Verizon’s network.  Of course, the final option has also not changed…  you can get the Wi-Fi only iPad2 and then purchase a portable Wi-Fi hot spot from almost any cell phone company.    This works if you start with a Wi-Fi only model, and then decide you want 3G.  It also works if you don’t like either AT&T or Verizon (shocking to think that people wouldn’t like such beloved companies).

When bad things happen.

If a disaster strikes your place of business (flood, fire, theft, etc…), you risk the chance of losing your data.  Total data loss is an event most small companies do not survive.   The only way to protect your company’s data from a disaster is to make a copy of it, and then put that copy somewhere else. 

2010 Buzzword Of The Year….. The “Cloud”.

As is always the case, the computing landscape is evolving.  For businesses of all sizes, one of the most profound changes taking place is the potential to move in-house computing services offsite.  This concept introduces the number one buzzword in our industry this year… the “Cloud”.