Skype is a chat program that allows people to use their voice to communicate over the internet (not to be confused with VOIP) and even if equiped use a webcam to share video, great for business and the holidays alike!
A client recently emailed and asked:
How do I know if my laptop can be used for Skype? I don’t think it has a microphone from what I can recall. Is there an easy way to check this?
And I replied:
In order to use Skype you’ll need a microphone, so you’re on the right track.
To check if you HAVE a microphone the easiest thing to do is click start, all programs, accessories, entertainment and then Sound Recorder. This opens a small box that will allow you to record using the microphone, hit round red record button, lean in real close to the computer and YELL! If the little green line pops up and down, YES! You have a microphone if not, you’ll need to buy one, and to be 100% honest if you’re going to use skype often or effectively you’ll need a microphone anyway. The built in ones tend to not be well suited for skype because they pickup the echo from the speakers as well.
There are lots of skype microphone / headset / phones on the market, some as cheap as $25 some as expensive as $150, pop into staples, futureshop or bestbuy for a headset or skype phone you're comfortable with and you should be good to go!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
To upgrade or not to upgrade, that is the Microsoft Windows Seven Question!
Clients are asking, emails are coming in, the phone is ringing, no it's not Christmas wishes, well some of it is I guess. But Mostly it's questions about windows Seven, is it right for my business, should I upgrade? Which Version should I get, did you know there can be as many as 11 different versions of Windows Seven? And many of the lower end versions then have upgrade add ons to move them to the features of the higher end versions? Yikes!
You'll find details on the different versions for home and office HERE on the Microsoft website in as plain english as Microsoft can muster.
So should you upgrade to Windows 7? The short answer is NO! I define an upgrade as installing a new version of the Microsoft Operating System on your current computer, ie a Windows XP or Windows Vista computer. And if you've already got a computer with those operating systems on it, then stick with what you've got, it's not worth the extra efforts, headaches and time (and cost!) to upgrade just the operating system.
Now if you've got a computer that's a few years old, YES, you should, and especially now because of recent tax legislation changes (part of the Canadian stimulus package) you'll be able to write off 100% of the cost of your new computer in the first year (versus 40% in the first year prior to 2009) but it's a short term change and we'll be back to the 40% rule starting February of 2011, so buy before then for that tax advantage.
Did you know a new desktop computer with an Intel® Core™2 Duo processor & Windows 7 Professional can run nearly 3 times faster than your 3 year old Windows XP or Vista computer PC while using half the electricity? Also, compared to an older laptop with Windows XP, a new business laptop with Windows 7 can deliver up to 68% increase in performance power. Now that's a good reason to upgrade!
PCs older than three years can experience much more downtime than newer ones. With new PC's you'll experience increased uptime, less waiting and you'll find the system can keep up with your inputs and requests. Which in turn means you're more productive decreasing the work-time it takes to get things done and more profitability for your business!
So if you're office computers are more than 3 years old, are sluggish, unresponsive or you experience frequent (or even just inconvenient) downtime, give us a call at The Technology Coach, we'd love to chat with you about increasing your uptime and decreasing your frustrations!
You'll find details on the different versions for home and office HERE on the Microsoft website in as plain english as Microsoft can muster.
So should you upgrade to Windows 7? The short answer is NO! I define an upgrade as installing a new version of the Microsoft Operating System on your current computer, ie a Windows XP or Windows Vista computer. And if you've already got a computer with those operating systems on it, then stick with what you've got, it's not worth the extra efforts, headaches and time (and cost!) to upgrade just the operating system.
Now if you've got a computer that's a few years old, YES, you should, and especially now because of recent tax legislation changes (part of the Canadian stimulus package) you'll be able to write off 100% of the cost of your new computer in the first year (versus 40% in the first year prior to 2009) but it's a short term change and we'll be back to the 40% rule starting February of 2011, so buy before then for that tax advantage.
Did you know a new desktop computer with an Intel® Core™2 Duo processor & Windows 7 Professional can run nearly 3 times faster than your 3 year old Windows XP or Vista computer PC while using half the electricity? Also, compared to an older laptop with Windows XP, a new business laptop with Windows 7 can deliver up to 68% increase in performance power. Now that's a good reason to upgrade!
PCs older than three years can experience much more downtime than newer ones. With new PC's you'll experience increased uptime, less waiting and you'll find the system can keep up with your inputs and requests. Which in turn means you're more productive decreasing the work-time it takes to get things done and more profitability for your business!
So if you're office computers are more than 3 years old, are sluggish, unresponsive or you experience frequent (or even just inconvenient) downtime, give us a call at The Technology Coach, we'd love to chat with you about increasing your uptime and decreasing your frustrations!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Turn on Private Browsing in Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 has been loaded with new safety features to protect you and your privacy, such as InPrivate Browsing and Filtering. When you turn on InPrivate Browsing and Filtering, you’re telling IE that you don’t want it to save information about your browsing session, such as cookies and your browsing history. InPrivate Filtering also allows you to block or allow specific sites that collect information about your browsing habits.
1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click the Safety button and choose InPrivate Browsing to turn on that feature.
The Safety button is one of the new buttons on the IE 8 toolbar.
3. Click the Safety button and choose InPrivate Filtering Settings. Choose the level of blocking you want.
You can choose to let InPrivate Filtering Automatically Block any site that uses content from other sites you’ve visited. Or, you can choose Manually Block to select specific sites to allow or block using the InPrivate Filtering Settings dialog box.
4. Click OK to save your settings.
After you’ve browsed a bit, you can reopen the InPrivate Filtering Settings dialog box (Safety→InPrivate Block) to see which sites were blocked or allowed.
If you don’t want to use InPrivate Browsing but want to periodically clear your browsing history manually, with IE open, just press Ctrl+Shift+Delete.
1. Open Internet Explorer
2. Click the Safety button and choose InPrivate Browsing to turn on that feature.
The Safety button is one of the new buttons on the IE 8 toolbar.
3. Click the Safety button and choose InPrivate Filtering Settings. Choose the level of blocking you want.
You can choose to let InPrivate Filtering Automatically Block any site that uses content from other sites you’ve visited. Or, you can choose Manually Block to select specific sites to allow or block using the InPrivate Filtering Settings dialog box.
4. Click OK to save your settings.
After you’ve browsed a bit, you can reopen the InPrivate Filtering Settings dialog box (Safety→InPrivate Block) to see which sites were blocked or allowed.
If you don’t want to use InPrivate Browsing but want to periodically clear your browsing history manually, with IE open, just press Ctrl+Shift+Delete.
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