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Concepts and "Hints" for consumers Bigger hard drives are not always better Computers don't last forever.FREE printers are never free.. Software LicensingTechnology isn't perfect.Windows Vista and MS Office licensing Wired vs. WirelessSpyware is a huge expense for business. It can take longer to diagnose and remove a root kit (or morphing virus) than it takes to build a server. We wrote a paper about a year ago on the subject. Today, the problem is getting worse. The last report that I saw shows over 200,000 viruses, spywares, and Trojans on the Internet.Your users can be "tricked" into installing dangerous programs. A frame on a webpage or a popup says "You have a problem....Click HERE to fix it" A well-meaning employee will want to fix the problem for the company, and the spyware is installed. However, not every page on the Internet is truthful.... Not all software does exactly what it claims. Not all people are honest...We have found key loggers that record and report every keystroke...every user name, every password and every website. We have found financial records and credit cards in the key logging files. We have found records of every instant message and email typed on a computer. Maybe your "Free Smiley's are also reporting where you go on the Internet. Maybe you have spyware that tracks every keystroke and is giving away your credit card information.If you get spyware, please understand that these types of programs are designed to be difficult to nearly impossible to remove. Removal can take a lot of time. Sometimes, it's more economical to simply rebuild the PC.The rule is simple: Nothing is free. Never install any software from the Internet without knowing exactly who wrote it, what it does, and how to contact the company that supports it. There are few exceptions. For example, this website has links to many excellent "free" programs. However, it is easy to contact the manufacturer/support staff of every program that we recommend. These programs do exactly what they clam to do. And the program author is readily identified.There is no single program or disk that can remove the 200,000 variants on the Internet. The only solution that JK Technologies recommends is what Microsoft recommends.
We perform these tasks (and more) under our maintenance program. Feel free to email us with any questions. The best "technology" invented is the POTS telephone. (POTS is an industry term for "Plain Old Telephone Service" We drop phones, slam 'em down, and they almost always work. The "2nd best" technology is probably the ATM machine and it's cousins. Money counting machines RARELY make mistakes.That being said, my telephone is down right now and an ATM shorted me this week. Modern technology isn't perfect, and all systems require maintenance. If your company uses computers, they will need maintenance, and occasionally, they will have problems. That's why all companies need an expert on call. For some businesses, it's an in-house expert. For many smaller businesses, a company (such as JK Technologies) is critical to the business processes.Wireless is really cool. Everyone loves it. However, a wire is ALWAYS better for the data. Wired networks are more secure and more reliable. Maintenance on wired networks is almost non-existent. Wires are always better than air! Bigger Hard Drives are not always better. A much better alternative is to have multiple copies of your data. Multiple copies of your data is always better. All hard drives eventually fail. RAIDS, and backups are the best way to protect your data. So, make certain that you have 2 copies of your data. Investing in a 500GB hard drive to store 50GB of data is OK. But, it would be much smarter to buy 2 100 GB drives and keep multiple copies of your files. Free printers are never "free.." The profit in the printer industry is is the supplies. So, beware of "free" printers. Currently, a major manufacturer is giving away printers, that require the user to spend $600 to replace the cartridges. A printer that requires $600 in print cartridges can be very, very expensive to own. The "Free" printer created a new income stream for the manufacturer. That income stream is the reason that the printer is "free." Printers should be purchased based on the cost per page to print, and the required features. The cost of the printer is often insignificant over the life of the purchase. Just say "NO" to free printers. Analyze the costs to own and use the printing system. History shows us that the fastest computer today, will be an old "piece of junk" in 5 years. This fact has been true since the introduction of the PC. So, a monster PC in the summer of 2006 will be unusable by 2012. The best way to buy a PC is to purchase the best PC you can afford today. Realize that it will get obsolete sooner rather than later. The better the PC (the more RAM and speed of the processor) will last longer than a less expensive PC.Most industries refresh their computers every 3 years. Almost all industries replace their PCs every 5 years. Budget for it! (Budget for IT!) You don't own ANY software. The software author owns the software...whether it's Microsoft, IBM, Symantec or Cheshire Solutions. Customers own a LICENSE to use software. That license is a contract between the customer and the author has restrictions. You may not be able to install it on another PC, or may not be able to resell it, or may not be able to use the output.The IT industry is totally disorganized. There is no "standard license" in the industry. Every company hires lawyers, and those lawyers write the contract so that the advantages are with the software author. The user must agree to the terms or they can't use the software. Copy protection is almost always included. We spent one hour getting a code to reinstall an application on a single PC, when the company's patch removed a license key. (A code that activates the software). There is no way around it, and the user agrees to put it with the hassles when they agree with the software license. The federal penalties for violating software licenses are $150,000 per infringement.Here's the SPA page on piracy Windows Vista and MS Office licensing Microsoft's licensing is has simply gotten too complicated. It's frustrating for our IT consultants and for our customers. The legal issues are often more complicated than the technical issues of upgrading a computer's operating system or upgrading an office suite. The expense of making a incorrect choice can be costly. Microsoft has some websites that help. Windows Vista versions Windows Vista upgrade paths But it's tricky. For example, we can't upgrade Vista Home to Vista Business. All the applications go away. There is a "upgrade anytime disc," but it's not commonly available yet. It may (or may not) be included with a Vista PC. For this reason, we cannot recommend any version of Vista except Vista Business for your office. To avoid unnecessary costs, please consult us before purchasing any new PC. Microsoft Office 2007 was even worse. There are seven versions of MS Office 2007 in the USA. In addition, you can buy Office through the retail channels, through the OEM channels, or through Microsoft's Open Licensing or Cloud licensing.
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