Author: Jean Westcott

Ribbon Hero – Learn Office programs by playing games

by Jean Westcott

Microsoft’s OfficeLabs has created a new way to learn Office 2007 and Office 2010’s workhorses:  Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote.  It’s called Ribbon Hero and basically it is a downloaded add-on to your Office Suite that gives you challenges to learn new skills and earn points.

We all have our ways of learning how to use office software, but most of the time many of us just keep humming along with the skills we learned when we first started out.  We might watch a video or two, attend a one-day training class or buy a book.  More likely we just ask around the office to get the answers to overcome whenever we can’t remember how to get the ‘thingy’ to do that ‘thing’.

Each of us learns in different ways, but the genius of this approach is that it challenges you to try new things—taking advantage of the new capabilities of these tools.  Instead of cursing the changes each time your software is upgraded, you can find out how to use the new features.

Imagine signing up some of your colleagues to see who can get the most Ribbon Hero points in the office.  Or provide incentives to your employees when they hit a certain number of points.  You can share your achievements and points ranking with Facebook.  The game is there for you to use—how to use it is up to you.

Portable Storage Revolution—A terabyte (or more) of storage for under $100

by Jean Westcott

Over the past few months, a quiet revolution in external storage devices has been taking place.  USB-pluggable external hard drives have gotten cheaper and cheaper, making the threshold of the under $100 TB storage device thoroughly broken.  CNET reviews list 34 USB external hard drives that meet or exceed that amount of storage.

Sometimes it is hard to wrap our heads around how much data each of our files uses.  A terabyte is 1,000 GBs.  If you understand that a standard DVD can hold just under 5 GBs, imagine that a TB hard drive can hold well more than 200 times that.

External hard-drives can be one of the smartest investments any small-business owner could make in protecting their business.  From a handy back-up storage device, to using it as a one-stop storage place for your photos, music and video files, an external hard-drive is portable, easy to connect and great for taking along with your smaller devices for access to your most important files.

Next week we will be looking at some online storage solutions.

Skywriting? Try Google docs and Microsoft Office’s Web Apps for Cloud Collaboration

by Jean Westcott

When we talk about working in The Cloud, what do we mean?  Web-based software applications are the fastest-expanding Cloud technologies.

The first of these applications to gain a significant share of users was Google Docs with a four-year head start.  Google has documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings and forms.  You can create, share, and collaborate on any of these tasks with co-workers, friends or members of your organizations.  You can control if you want your work to be public or just shared with designated individuals.  And it is all free.  Want to give it a try but need an idea for a project?  How about trying a family calendar?  Google Docs has lots of templates that users have uploaded and rated.

Just this past week, Microsoft joined the Cloud-based Aps world with its new Office 2010 Web Apps beta.  The idea of the dominant business technology provider giving free access to their software was unimaginable up to now, but here we go with easy-to-use, easy-to-share and easy-to-access software that will be recognizable to anyone using Microsoft products in their work life.

The website Lifehacker gives a program by program comparison.  Try them out—life in the Cloud is getting interesting.

The Cloud—What is it & How can it help you?

by Jean Westcott

Everyone is talking about ‘The Cloud’ or ‘Cloud Computing’. Basically, Cloud Computing is the movement from site-specific data storage to storage that is held in the Cloud of the internet. Instead of your personal or business data being stored on your computer or computer network, it is moved to a shared resource accessible via the internet and not tied to your own resources.

The old model of sending your information back and forth from your computer server to another is replaced by centralized storage by a provider such as Google, Apple or Microsoft (or the many smaller or more specialized service providers) which is accessible by you or your partners wherever you have internet access.

The obvious benefits are:

1. Savings on the cost of owning and maintaining computer servers

2. Reduced risk of data loss due to local emergencies

3. The ability to use a wider range of devices such as smartphones that don’t have large memory resources

4. Access to your data no longer requires you to have access to your company’s network or personal computer

5. Shared programs will save on software purchases with more and more applications being designed for a cloud-based future

There are other factors to keep in mind, however:

1. Be sure you are working with a trusted provider. In all cases, your reputation, your business and your financial well-being is tied up with your company’s information. Make sure that there are controls to allow for only secure access to your data; protecting it from all unauthorized access.

2. Make sure there is redundant storage so that if there is a catastrophic data loss at one location that there is a backup of all files.

3. Ensure that if the company you choose to work with has a continuity of operations plan if they decide to no longer provide the services you have contracted for.

4. Don’t neglect backup routines for the data not stored in the cloud. You will still need to budget for maintenance of your IT resources.

5. Cloud-based software may not be as robust as the full-blown software suites.

Many of us already have been living in the clouds with our internet based email accounts or photo sharing sites for years. The Cloud is no longer science fiction—it is rapidly becoming the new model.

Are you using cloud-services? If so which ones, share them in the comments!

Tech Smarts–Keeping up with (and ahead of) your competition

by Jean Westcott

Running a small business is a lifestyle not a job. Keeping up on industry trends, making new connections and maintaining relationships are key components in your success in addition to the actual running of the day-to-day operations. Now, add in the rapid changes in the technology arena and it is easy to see how we often feel overwhelmed and behind the curve. Here is some general advice on how to keep your tech literacy up-to-date:

1. Determine what you know and what you don’t know. Congratulate yourself on the former and make a plan to correct the latter. If you feel particularly weak or lost on a certain topic—it probably means that you know that others have outpaced you. Leave the stress behind by coming up with a plan to fill in the blanks of your knowledge.

2. Weigh your options. Think about how you learn best. There are lots of great resources out there for all type of learners—books, in-person training, on-line tutorials, college coursework, library seminars, asking for the help of a trusted colleague, paid consultants or even self-instruction by reading articles on the internet.

3. Keep up-to-date by reading your industry-relevant publications and attending meetings. Newsletters and trade magazines cover technology by presenting specific examples of applications in your field and meetings will help you connect with others and see how they are using tech to compete in the same market as you.

4. Talk to your colleagues and ask questions. Most people love to talk about their new gadgets or skills. Thank them for their time and insights, knowing that they are sharing their valuable information.

What tips do you have that have worked for you? Please share them in the comments!