Month: August 2009

ABC Nightlife, 13 August 2009

For the August 2009 Nightlife we had a look at what’s available in the computer stores right now and how much a household user should spend on a system. More details are on the PC Rescue website.

Callers were a diverse bunch, one area that people were really focussed on was how they could speed up Vista chich leades the questions.

Disabling Vista indexing

Tony asked about Windows Vista running slow. The usual culprit is the Windows Search service which has a habit of reducing Vista to screaming and frustrating halt.

To disable the Windows Search service, type Services at the Start Search bar, right click on the Windows Search service and select Properties. In the start type choose Disabled for the start type. Then stop the service by right clicking on it and selecting Stop.

It’s worthwhile leaving the Indexing service off as Microsoft’s indexing service has had problems in the past. If you do find it is affecting some software, then you can turn it back on later.

Speeding up Vista

Steven also asked about speeding up Vista and this is something we’ve covered previously on our IT Queries website. The instructions there cover some of the simplest ways to get more from Vista.

Buy versus rent

On the theme of buying computers, Fred asked if renting was a better option.

Generally renting’s a pretty expensive way to go, as most rental companies aim at the corporate market and the demand for systems for special events and emergencies. Usually the cost of a few week’s rent is more than a cheap system.

Alternatives to Norton

Sandy’s pretty sick of using Norton anti virus and she asked what alternatives there are. We’ve a list of them on the PC Rescue website.

The next show is September 17 and we’ll be discussing what you should be looking for in an Internet connection package. Hope you can join us.

No fear of failure

Failure is the biggest test of friendships and trust. Being in a sinking business is a stressful time and you quickly find who can be trusted, who’ll stand by you and who isn’t as reliable as you like. Once you’ve established who you can really trust in business, you then have the foundations for a wildly successful second business.

Most IT support businesses are doomed to failure and that’s why they are such a good training ground.

“My friend cannot find work so he wants to start a computer repair business. Do you think this is a good idea?”

When a taxi driver or anyone else asks me this, my reply is “why does your friend think it’s a good idea?”

Most people think computer repairs and IT support is easy and anyone can do it – after all it’s just a matter of clicking a few buttons and if you know how to use email, you can fix most PC problems.

Strangely, the only industry that shares this mentality seems to be coffee shops. Many people seem to think they can run a café because they can drink coffee, but at least setup costs are a barrier to entry which doesn’t exist for the mobile computer support businesses.

The funny is were you to ask the same people if they could be a swimming pool cleaner because they go swimming or if they would be a good motor mechanic because they drive a car to work, they’d think you were crazy.

That said though, I usually don’t discourage friendly taxi drivers or anyone else from telling their friend to go ahead and set up that computer business.

Even though I personally think the computer support sector is a graveyard for most entrepreneurs, it’s a great training ground. You learn about the importance of cashflow and how it’s different to profit – although some techs take a while to pick up they arent’ the same thing.

More importantly, you learn how customer service is the greatest challenge in most business. As a proprietor of a computer repair business you learn quickly how to politely explain the customer’s problem lies between the keyboard and chair or that the error is really a code ID10T.

But the main reason for recommending an IT support business precisely because most are doomed to failure.

Failure is the biggest test of friendships and trust. Being in a sinking business is a stressful time and you quickly find who can be trusted, who’ll stand by you and who isn’t as reliable as you like.

Once you’ve established who you can really trust in business, you then have the foundations for a wildly successful second business.

Watching those software licenses

The recent story of how Skype may be forced to shut down is straight from the Bill Gates textbook on how to do business.

This article originally appeared in Smart Company on August 4, 2009.

The recent story of how Skype may be forced to shut down is straight from the Bill Gates textbook on how to do business.

In late 1980, IBM were casting around for an operating system suitable for their new line of personal computers. The obvious choice was the CP/M program. However, IBM couldn’t come to an agreement with Intergalactic Digital Research (seriously, that was their name) over using the software.

So they ended up on the doorstep of a small company in Seattle who specialised in programming languages, not operating systems, who’s main product was previously highway traffic counting systems.

Microsoft didn’t have an operating system so they bought one from a nearby computer store, modified it slightly and did a deal with IBM.

Most of us would have sold the system to IBM and happily congratulated ourselves on making a quick couple of million dollars or so, but that wasn’t Bill Gates’ style.

Rather than selling the program outright Microsoft licensed it to IBM and so millionaires and one or two billionaires were made.

It also set the course for the world’s software industry. By and large software is licensed, not sold. Buying a disc at the local computer superstore gives you nothing but permission to use the program.

That’s the same model Skype’s founders, Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis used when they sold the business to eBay for $3.1 billion US dollars – the underlying software that actually drives the service was licensed to eBay.

Now Zennström and Friis are claiming eBay have breached that license and want to withdraw eBay’s rights to use the technology.

For eBay this is a big problem as they were hoping to sell Skype and the founders’ move makes that almost impossible.

Both the Skype and Microsoft stories show licensing can be a lucrative option with the bonus of a steady cashflow if you have the right product.

For business buyers, the lesson is stark – do your homework, talk to your lawyers and understand exactly the ramifications of licensing and similar arrangements.

If you’re a Skype user, you don’t need to worry as the case isn’t expected to be heard until June next year. By then either an agreement will have been reached or your Skype credits will have long expired.

Nightlife computers, 13 August 2009

This Thursday, August 13 from 10pm Tony Delroy and I will have a look at whats on offer for computer buyers.

This Thursday, August 13 from 10pm Tony Delroy and I will have a look at whats on offer for computer buyers.

We’ll be looking at the best deals, whether it’s worth waiting for Windows 7, the pros and cons of netbooks and how to get the most from cashback schemes.

If you’d like to listen, tune in your local ABC station or listen online at the Nightlife website.

We love listeners comments, questions and opinions so call in on 1300 800 222 and have your say.

The fires of failure

At last night’s Mobile Monday Sydney, I was a chatting to a serial entrepreneur about business success and failure. One thing we both commented on was just how important failure has been in the process.

At last night’s Mobile Monday Sydney, I was a chatting to a serial entrepreneur about business success and failure.

One thing we both commented on was just how important failure has been in the process.

The main thing we’d both taken from the stress and heartache of being in a failing business you learn who your real friends are and how they can be trusted in a crisis.

Some of your friends turn out to be totally rock solid while others go to water. A few surprise you with unexpected talent and genius while some disappoint you at critical moments.

Whatever happens, it’s a great test that help you select the right people for future ventures.

I have to admit it must be nice to hit a home run on your first business venture and be lauded as a genius for the rest of your life, but for most of us mortals failure is part of the learning process and often it’s a painful but essential lesson.

Twitter 101

To help businesses establish themselves on Twitter, the service has released a free guide to show companies how to use it, to help them build relationships, along with some of the best practice tips and case studies.

Twitter 101 opens with a basic description of the service and illustrates how Twitter can be used by businesses, most of which we’ve discussed previously. There are also a few cute stories, such as ice-cream-deprived workers in the empire State Building sending out tweets to a delivery service.

Having established what Twitter can do for your business, the next page goes through the set up process.

One important flag they raise is how they don’t support name squatting and supply a contact link to report people who are trying to hog names, so if you find your business or trade name has been pinched by someone who doesn’t have a valid claim to the name, you can take action.

Once online, Twitter 101 takes you to the basic terminology. If you wanted to know what a hashtag, trending topic or Tweetup is, this is the page to visit. Probably the most valuable page is the Best Practices section, which details the good, the bad and the spammy. It also provides a link to report spammers and other dills who abuse the service.

If you are going to only read one section, Best Practices is the bit to read. You’ll avoid many mistakes and get more from the service, both as an individual and a business.

Finally, the site finishes up with some case studies. Along with the well-known Dell and JetBlue stories, is the description of how Dave Brookes of Teusner Wines in the Barossa Valley started using Twitter after watching Lance Armstrong in the Tour Down Under.

Finally, there’s some links to useful resources on using Twitter. The guide continually emphasises how it is all about building relationships. Twitter may not be the right tool for you or your business, but the Twitter 101 guide will certainly help you decide one way or the other.