I haven’t mentioned anything about SOPA or PIPA, the government and Entertainment Industry’s attempt to Censor the Internet, on the blog at all.

For those of you who already know about the way that Hollywood’s money is influencing our House and Senate to Censor the Internet, you may already be joining in the protest. If you have a WordPress blog and want to join, here is a link for the SOPA blackout Plugin I am using to blackout the blog from 8am til 8pm tomorrow.

For those of you who are not aware or just don’t care, sorry for the inconvenience. But this is important to our First Amendment Rights.

T.G.I.F.

The end of another week has finally arrived and it’s time to take a break from all the headaches and problems of the past 7 days.

Just a little something to help brighten your weekend and maybe put a little smile on your face to boot!

- The thought that a CD could refer to finance or music rarely enters your mind.

- You are able to argue persuasively the Ross Perot’s phrase “electronic town hall” makes more sense than the term “information superhighway,” but you don’t because, after all, the man still uses hand-drawn pie charts.

- You go to computer trade shows and map out your path of the exhibit hall in advance. But you cannot give someone directions to your house without looking up the street names.

- You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon.

- You become upset when a person calls you on the phone to sell you something, but you think it’s okay for a computer to call and demand that you start pushing buttons on your telephone to receive more information about the product it is selling.

- You know without a doubt that disks come in five-and-a-quarter and three-and-a-half-inch sizes.

- Al Gore strikes you as an “intriguing” fellow.

- You own a set of itty-bitty screw-drivers and you actually know where they are.

- While contemporaries swap stories about their recent hernia surgeries, you compare mouse-induced index-finger strain with a nine-year-old.

Smile! It’s Friday!

T.G.I.F.

The end of another week has finally arrived and it’s time to take a break from all the headaches and problems of the past 7 days.

Just a little something to help brighten your weekend and maybe put a little smile on your face to boot!

- You are so knowledgeable about technology that you feel secure enough to say “I don’t know” when someone asks you a technology question instead of feeling compelled to make something up.

- You rotate your screen savers more frequently than your automobile tires.

-. You have a functioning home copier machine, but every toaster you own turns bread into charcoal.

- You have ended friendships because of irreconcilably different opinions about which is better, the track ball or the track pad.

- You understand all the jokes in this message. If so, my friend, technology has taken over your life. We suggest, for your own good, that you go lie under a tree and write a haiku. And don’t use a laptop.

- You email this message to your friends over the net. You’d never get around to showing it to them in person or reading it to them on the phone. In fact, you have probably never met most of these people face-to-face.

- You don’t even read magazine articles anymore, unless someone’s keyed them into e-mail and forwarded it to you.

- While you’re away from home, the first three numbers you call are your voicenet, a bulletin board, and one of your e-mail accounts.

-You are reading this from a computer screen.

Smile! It’s Friday!

T.G.I.F.

The end of another week has finally arrived and it’s time to take a break from all the headaches and problems of the past 7 days.

- You know Bill Gates’ e-mail address, but you have to look up your own social security number.

- You stop saying “phone number” and replace it with “voice number,” since we all know the majority of phone lines in any house are plugged into contraptions that talk to other contraptions.

- You sign Christmas cards by putting next to your signature.

- Off the top of your head, you can think of nineteen keystroke symbols that are far more clever than .

- You back up your data every day.

- You print the itinerary of your vacation from a scheduler software.

- You pack the laptop computer first for any trip.

- You know more about the computer than about all of your friends.

- You think jokes about being unable to program a VCR are stupid.

- On vacation, you are reading a computer manual and turning the pages faster than everyone else who is reading John Grisham novels.

Just a little something to help brighten your weekend and maybe put a little smile on your face to boot!

Smile! It’s Friday!

- Your stationery is more cluttered than Warren Beatty’s address book. The letterhead lists a fax number, e-mail addresses for two on-line services, and your Internet address, which spreads across the breadth of the letterhead and continues to the back. In essence, you have conceded that the first page of any letter you write is letterhead.

- You have never sat through an entire movie without having at least one device on your body beep or buzz.

- You need to fill out a form that must be typewritten, but you can’t because there isn’t one typewriter in your house, only computers with laser printers.

- You think of the gadgets in your office as “friends,” but you forget to send your father a birthday card.

- You disdain people who use low baud rates.

- When you go into a computer store, you eavesdrop on a salesperson talking with customers, and you butt in to correct him and spend the next twenty minutes answering the customers’ questions, while the salesperson stands by silently, nodding his head.

- You use the phrase “digital compression” in a conversation without thinking how strange your mouth feels when you say it.

- You constantly find yourself in groups of people to whom you say the phrase “digital compression.” Everyone understands what you mean, and you are not surprised or disappointed that you don’t have to explain it.

T.G.I.F.

The end of another week has finally arrived and it’s time to take a break from all the headaches and problems of the past 7 days.

Computers and Dogs: Same or Different?

– Favorite Food

Dogs: kibbles

Computers: bits

– Method used to end undesirable behavior

Dogs: hit with rolled up newspaper

Computers: hit control-alt-delete

– After destruction of personal property

Dogs: dog not found

Computers: file not found

– Favorite trick

Dogs: roll over

Computers: play dead

– Comic-page hero

Dogs: Dogbert

Computers: Dilbert

– Fun way to mess with their heads

Dogs: peanut butter on roof of mouth

Computers: peanut butter in CD-ROM drive

– Consequence of virus

Dogs: replace valuable carpeting

Computers: replace valuable data

– Widely ignored government mandate

Dogs: leash law

Computers: Communications Decency Act

Just a little something to help brighten your weekend and maybe put a little smile on your face to boot!

Smile! It’s Friday!

MacBook Pro

How long does your laptop’s battery last on a single full charge? I still remember when this MacBook was new – I could stay unplugged from four to six hours (depending on what I was doing) without becoming edgy because of having to be absolutely sure that there was an available socket. Today, after many months of almost constant use, my laptop battery gives me about 3 hours max – if I am lucky.

I know that, for sure, I am not alone in this. Every laptop user experiences battery issues, and I am willing to bet that many will pay for a solution that results in longer battery life – as long as it does not involve having to lug around an extra 5 pounds!

The good news is that there is an existing solution to getting more out of your battery. It is simple – you simply need to change the way your laptop uses Wi-Fi. Of course, the average user will not want to waste time monitoring and tweaking settings all the time. And it may not even be possible to monitor and retrieve all the necessary data.

That’s where the new system called SleepWell comes into the picture. This technology has been developed by Justin Manweiler of Duke University. His idea is based on the fact that Wi-Fi drains the laptop battery (and other devices, for that matter) faster than a mosquito can suck your blood. ¹ This is even more applicable when there are a lot of devices around you competing for the Wi-Fi signal. With the plethora of Wi-Fi enabled gadgets these days, it is inevitable that your laptop’s battery will always be working hard because of Wi-Fi.

The solution? SleepWell will take control of the laptop’s activity with respect to accessing the Wi-Fi when there are other devices around. This simply means that when another laptop in the vicinity is hogging the bandwidth temporarily and there’s nothing you can do about it, SleepWell will let your laptop “rest”, thereby conserving your battery. The great thing is that SleepWell has been designed to cycle stagger the activity cycles of your laptop (or other device) so that you will not notice (or barely notice) the sleep times – performance is not affected.

The ultimate result – possibly double the battery life that you have now!

This is very new, but if it really does work as it is supposed to, we might very well see the technology applies in the near future.

Via
Photo courtesy of niallkennedy

1. Okay, exaggeration.

We are at the end of our really long weekend.  It is sad – but it will be nice to get back to a little normalcy.

We had friends come to town for the 4^th of July AND a bridal shower.  The bridal shower was first.  There were 8 couples that all got together for great food, a few yard games and too many drinks.  It was so great to get us all together – that doesn’t happen as much as we would like.

After that we spent the next day planning for our big 4^th of July party.  We were getting all of the details finalized – and our friends have always helped more than we could imagine every year.  But we also got in some needed relaxing and sunshine!  That night we even made homemade sushi!  Yummmmm!

The next day was the 4^th of July.  After more tanning and getting all set up – we were ready to party!  This year was a success – as it is every year of course.  But we could not do it without the help of all of our friends.  They all help in some way, either bringing food, activities for the kids, setting up and everything else.

So today was just a relaxed family day.  It ended up being nice – but we stayed inside, went to a movie and are going to bed early.

Ahhhhhhhhhh – summer!

What did you do this year for the 4^th?

 

Brooke has been a part of the WAHI family since March 2009 writing articles for the WAHM Wisdom section. She has had her own business since 1997, – Cataluña – web sites redesigned from scratch. Her newest business venture is Cataluña Designs – unique beaded hair accessories and jewelry- has been around since January 2010 and has been a great adventure.
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“You can’t market to everyone.” I remember this phrase by my college entrepreneurship professor quite well. At first I doubted her, thinking, well why couldn’t I market to everyone? What’s wrong with having everyone as a potential customer? Wouldn’t that be any small business owner’s dream? If only running a technology consulting company were that simple!

Years after college, I’ve quickly begun to realize why she was right – and why most experts on the topic generally suggest that you at least be somewhat selective on what clients to take on. Not everyone who calls/emails for work will be profitable for your business. You’ve likely come across this truth on your own already with a client who took forever to pay a small invoice. Or perhaps a customer who expected “everything for nothing.” These kinds of customers are anything but: they drain you of the time, energy, and financial flow that allows you to handle the rest of your client load effectively. My advice for small computer business owners? Be selective, don’t take on everyone under the sun, and market your services effectively for the potential clients you are actually trying to reach.

A stellar article from the June 2011 issue of Inc. Magazine honed in on this principal very well. J.J. McGorvey penned “When Slow is Better” which describes why charging a higher rate to a smaller set of clients is better for the long run. More precisely, McGorvey went into how white-glove-treatment service businesses would be better off by maximizing revenue from a higher rate because of the specialized attention they provide. The theory behind the concept is to provide a top notch experience, or service, to the customer and charge appropriately for it. There is a quality-speed trade off that can be extrapolated for application to the technology business sector which most small business owners already take into account, albeit subconsciously. You can either serve more customers with a lower quality of work, or less customers and a higher quality (and hence a higher rate). The latter is better time and again.

Whenever I have a discussion with someone about this very issue, there is some dark veil that always has to be overcome. It’s as if losing a customer is always a bad thing. There are many reasons why this isn’t the case, and why I actually advocate for being picky with who you take on. This question has even been raised in the Technibble forums on threads that ask, for example, if looking for new customers at a flea market is a great way to drum up business (you can find one such thread here). Are the kind of clients you want to market towards generally at a flea market to begin with? I’m going to make sure I say generally because I will admit that I frequent my local flea market. But I’m visiting the flea market with one intention in mind: to find deals, and great ones at that. Don’t position your business in the same category of dirt cheap or you will end up having to uphold such an image to these new “customers.”

How should you ensure that your company’s marketing structure and pricing reflect who you want as a client? Here’s a few simple things to remember.

Who are you marketing to? I showed earlier how you can’t expect to market to everyone. It’s a lofty goal that will only force you to run a business model that is unsustainable and unprofitable. When you think about your company’s image and marketing strategy, don’t try to foresee every possible client. Focus on who an ideal new customer is and what they entail. This can be a broad range of people, but don’t settle for everyone – ever. As a matter of policy, I almost never turn down a referral, even if that client is not an ideal one. Why? Because their business was garnered through good word of mouth, which I consider one of the keystones to my success thus far. Taking in a referral that doesn’t always fit the mold of what you want in a client isn’t a bad thing. Remember that an entirely new customer that found you through normal marketing is along the same lines of plucking business through a cold call: they have no baseline for what to expect from you and are merely choosing to go with you due to either price or wording used to gain their attention. Therefore, set their expectations properly and “fish” for clients that match your expectations.

What are you charging? I won’t delve into a discussion on exactly what you should be charging, as I did so in a previous article. However, keep in mind a few good principals on rate. Be mindful that your rate directly represents a few different aspects of what you bring to the table, including your level of service, experience, and overall quality. The “pizza techs” as we call them who work for $25 per repair generally provide the kind of work that their final bill reflects. Do you think someone that could actually provide excellent service due to experience and knowledge would truly charge that little? No, because the market would allow them to charge appropriately. Don’t let such business models throw you off – you aren’t competing with these individuals. The clients you want to bring in know generally what price range they are looking at, and a few dollars up or down will not sway them hopefully. If price is the sole factor that such a customer is judging their computer company on, is this someone you see as a great client? I wouldn’t say so. Simple price-minded individuals are merely deal-hunters that will take their business to whoever waves the lowest price at them. Don’t settle for such customers because there are loads of others who will have some level of loyalty to your company that isn’t fostered on price alone.

Don’t be afraid to part ways with bad customers. What’s a bad customer? That definition is up to you, to be honest. To my company, a bad customer is someone who will only call once every year or so and expect loads of discounts for legitimate work. It could also be a client who takes months to pay a bill but wants next day turnaround. Or it could be someone that routinely asks me to order product which they end up changing their mind on and returning – using my company as their Best Buy replacement for “buy and try” product testing. These are all customers that I would pick out and kindly part ways with, letting them know that I cannot service their needs effectively and it would be better if they tried giving competitor x or y a call. It’s as simple as that. Remember, just as customers have a right to choose who they use, as a small business owner you also have the same choice. Fair treatment needs to go two ways in a company-customer relationship.

Give your best customers the extra treatment they deserve. I always go the extra mile for clients that are a pleasure to work with, pay on time, and bring in a decent amount of billable time. It’s a definite win-win because they feel like you care about them and they are more likely to continue bringing in not only more service, but potentially new customers as well. Shave off the travel from an invoice here or there, consider that last 30 minute phone call complimentary, or throw in a free upgrade on a product purchase. These little gestures will go a long way with building a better trust relationship and keep that client from considering someone else when lower prices or other incentives are waved in front of them. Keep long term customers coming back based on strong relationships and not one-time deals.

No one ever said that running a successful computer business was an exact science. Much of what we do requires a fine tuned mixture of experience and calculated risk. Even though we can’t predetermine the success of everything we set out to do, it’s much more manageable to set boundaries that you can control, and in this case, that boundary is what potential clients your company markets to. Don’t get caught in the endless hole of bargain-bin pricing. You will attract a whole variety of clientele that will recognize you as such, and recovering from such a reputation-changer is a very tough task (it’s why Apple sells $1K+ systems with ease and Dell is lucky to do so). Set your goals appropriately, and you will build a client base that truly appreciates the value you bring to the table.

Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email at info(at)firelogic(dot)net and I will do my best to respond!

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit.

How to be Selective with Customers you Take On

A laptop can be taken anywhere to work, stay in touch with business contacts, friends or family; play games or do their internet shopping whenever an individual chooses to do so. The new generation of smart phones, however, is almost making the laptop redundant. Able to do just about anything that can be done on a laptop, these incredible miniature computers offer everything a laptop has and more, while – for obvious reasons – they are even more convenient and portable.

The new 4G Slide Android Phone, to be released this July, for instance, features one of the most advanced camera phones on the market, with zero shutter lag, the ability to take extra wide, sweeping shots and many more advanced features. The pictures taken with this incredible camera, as well as videos shot with the built in 1080P HD camcorder, can be shared on social networks – such as Facebook and/ or Twitter, for instance – directly from the gallery of the phone.

Then, of course, there are other features, such as the handy QWERTY keyboard, for instance. This keyboard type enables users to write texts, e-mails and instant messages with much greater ease and speed than ever possible before. The 4G network coverage allows for much quicker internet access, messaging, downloading and use of the many available apps.

The premium quality of its design and the advanced technology used, combined with a high resolution LCD screen make this new smart phone a must have and a serious competitor for any laptop.