advice | Paul Wallbank - Communications Professional

Thoughts on Windows 7

With the release of Windows 7 Microsoft has formally buried Microsoft Vista. But should Windows users rush out for the new version.

“From today, when we say Windows we’re talking about Windows 7”, announced Jeff Putt, Windows Consumer Lead of Microsoft Australia last week. And with that, Microsoft formally buried Windows Vista at their Sydney Windows Seven launch.

We won’t miss Vista, it was slow, clunky and irritating to use. Like Microsoft’s previous OS disaster, Windows ME, it was a hybrid of new and old technologies that managed to satisfy few users.

Vista’s poor reputation effectively broke the upgrade cycle where businesses and consumers replace their computers roughly every five years. Rather than taking their chances with Vista, PC owners decided to stick with their ageing XP boxes.

So Windows 7 is being held out as the saviour of the computer industry as Microsoft’s customers are expected to rush into long overdue upgrades. Some commentators predict the new operating system will reinvigorate PC sales that have been battered worldwide by the Global Financial Crisis.

The reality is probably a bit more complex, there’s no doubt the combination of the global downturn and customers putting off computer purchases hurt the industry, but to expect a surge of sales may be optimistic.

Most computer users are a cynical bunch who have heard all the hype before and won’t be rushing out to buy anything just because some bloke on the web tells them it’s the greatest thing since Wordperfect 5.1. The days of crowds waiting to buy the latest operating system are long gone, at least in the PC world.

While it isn’t worthwhile queuing up on a cold morning for Windows 7, the new program is a vast improvement on Vista. In a hopelessly unscientific experiment, I installed a complimentary copy of Window 7 Ultimate supplied by Microsoft on my wife’s cranky, Vista supplied laptop.

The results were good. Boot up time was reduced by 34% to 55 seconds while Internet Explorer loaded twice as fast and Word 2003 documents opened a whopping 300% faster.

For the record, the machine isn’t exactly a powerhouse being an Acer Extensa 5220 Celeron 2GHz CPU with 512Mb of RAM – exactly the sort of machine that should never have been supplied with Windows Vista in the first place, which was part of Vista’s problems.

So my experience with Windows Seven has been so far favourable. If you have been through pain with Vista, it may be worth upgrading although you will probably find driver and software problems won’t be solved by the new program.

For XP systems it almost certainly isn’t worth the upgrade to Seven as the process requires a fresh install, substantially increasing the cost, time and risk involved in making the move.

Overall, XP machines are best replaced outright as many are well past their retirement date as owners have held off being forced into buying Vista machines.

If upgrading or buying Windows 7 systems is on the horizon then you should start preparing now. Get a few Windows Seven machines and test them in your office; monitor how they go with your critical line of business systems, check they connect properly to your network and start getting familiar with the quirks and differences in the new system.

While Windows 7 isn’t flawless, Microsoft have learned from the mistakes they made from Vista, it is faster and so far seems less irritating and more stable. If you are struggling with Vista, or your Windows XP systems are on their last legs, the upgrade will probably be worthwhile.

It’s all about trust, baby

Imagine losing all your contacts, emails and calendars – you know have a meeting with an important client next week but you can’t remember which day and you can’t ask the customer because their contact details are gone.

That’s been the fate of a million Sidekick mobile phone owners in the United States over the last two weeks when the servers storing the Sidekick data went down.

The Sidekick is an unusual mobile phone that saves all its data “on the cloud”, a big group of servers run by the device’s designer, Danger, who were bought out by Microsoft in early 2008. Unlike other phones and PDAs, the Sidekick doesn’t synch with your own computer and stored data may get wiped if it can’t find the cloud servers.

This is exactly what happened a few weeks ago when the Sidekick cloud stopped. Owners of the Sidekick, a phone that’s never been sold in Australia, have been through a harrowing fortnight hoping their data will be recovered which Microsoft now believe can be done.

Sidekick’s outage is a major embarrassment for Microsoft who are pitching their Azure cloud product as alternative to other cloud services provided by competitors like Amazon and Google and the failure certainly deserves to be one of the technology disasters of the decade.

The question now is how badly this outage will affect cloud and software as a service providers. These service rely on customers trusting data and critical business applications to a third party and the Sidekick saga doesn’t inspire confidence.

It would be a shame if this is the case, as cloud services offer a lot of advantages to smaller businesses. In many ways they offer the same advantages big business have had through outsourcing services at a fraction of the price and complexity.

We need to remember that all technology breaks. People press the wrong buttons, unexpected software bugs appear and sometimes things just break or go wrong. Every business needs a contingency plan if things stop working.

While a data backup regime is a critical part of a contingency plan, you still need to consider other aspects such what happens if the power grid fails and leaves your without electricity for three days, if bushfires and floods stop workers getting to the office, or what will happen if you forget to pay your phone bill and suddenly you have no Internet access for a week.

Technology is complex and we have trust a lot of things are reliable and sometimes some of our partners aren’t as trustworthy as we’d like.

So have fall back systems just in case your trust in technology, partners and vendors is misplaced and test them regularly.

Protecting yourself from the Conficker worm

Nearly a year after it was identified, the Conficker computer worm continues to plague Windows users, infecting systems controlling everything from fighter planes to bus lane fines. We look at how to protect your computers from this threat.

Nearly a year after it was identified, the Conficker computer worm continues to plague Windows users, infecting systems controlling everything from fighter planes to bus lane fines.

The problem has become so great, a consortium of vendors have set up the Conficker Working Group to deal with the malware’s spread, and Microsoft are offering a $250,000 reward for the identity of the writer.

It’s not a problem that should be understated – the worm’s main use appears to be as a controller of botnets, networks of remote controlled computers used to launch attacks on other systems or to hide the tracks of scammers and password thieves.

Update your systems

Given the risks and embarrassment of being infected, avoiding this worm and others like it should be a priority for your business. First of all your Windows computers should have the latest updates as Conficker relies on some old security bugs that Microsoft patched last October.

Run an anti-virus

Naturally, you should be running an up to date anti-virus. Most widely used AV programs will do the job, including Open Source detectors like Clam AV and freeware programs.

Note though that the licences for freeware programs like AVG and Avast! are specifically for home use only. If you are running those on your office system, respect the developer’s right to make a living and buy a commercial licence, they are actually cheaper and more reliable than many of the better known brand names.

Restrict your users

Finally, make sure your users log on in Limited User mode. The reason why Windows computers are more prone to viruses than their Mac and Linux cousins is because most users run their Microsoft systems as the powerful Administrator mode which is the equivalent of leaving your car doors unlocked all night.

I’ve some instructions on setting up Limited User Profiles for Windows XP systems on the PC Rescue website. If you have an office with a Windows 2003 or 2008 server, your IT department or consultant will be able to do this through the network, which is a lot more secure way of doing things.

Be warned that some programs won’t work unless they run in Administrator mode. If you find this is a problem then you should consider replacing that software as the vendor has shown they are either incompetent or are prepared to put their customers at risk to save a few dollars.

Either way, you don’t need suppliers that have no respect for their customers.

Your computers are too important to your business and shouldn’t be exposed to these sorts of embarrassing and expensive risks. Get your IT people to make sure the office systems are locked down properly.

How the net is changing business

We often talk about how the internet is changing marketing and distribution, but we often overlook just how fundamental the basic ways we do business are changing.

Internet tools like social networks and the web itself are forcing us to be more honest, open and ethical.

This occurred to me during the annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival a few weeks ago, where I was fortunate to go along and see how the advertising sector is dealing with challenges to their clients’ traditional marketing channels while a global financial downturn hits business.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer put the worst case scenario of the world economy resetting to lower debt levels with marketing spend declining faster than GDP, as newspapers and magazines vanish at the same time consumers tighten belts.

Perhaps it was to be expected that Google CEO Eric Schmidt had the opposite view that Americans were too wedded to their credit cards to do anything else but spend.

The marketing bosses of Proctor & Gamble, Kraft and McDonalds had a very different outlook to either of the CEOs. They saw online advertising growing, while print and broadcast spending stays static – the most quoted statistic was the net occupies 20% of consumer’s time while only 7% of budgets are allocated to internet marketing.

A splash of cold water was from Kofi Annan and Bob Geldof who launched the “tck tck tck”, Time for Climate Justice campaign to get real results from the UN Copenhagen Convention in December. Their speeches were compelling and a reminder that some things are bigger than how much you spend online.

Back in the online world, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone gave an entertaining talk on how Twitter came about and some of the possibilities for making money from the service (charging for richer data) but the best social media talk was from Kevin Eyres, LinkedIn’s Managing Director for Europe.

Kevin’s key point is a business’s social media profile is just as much from what employees say on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, as it is of customer’s comments and the efforts of the marketing team.

This is spot on and shows just how broad the risks and opportunities are for managers and entrepreneurs.

Modern management has to be honest and consistent – the days of hollow mission statements and empty commitments to customer service and equal opportunity are over.

If you don’t hold by your principles then your customers, staff and suppliers will rat you out to the wider world. If you do hold by them you’ll gain respect and true followers.

The final thing from the Cannes Festival was just how innovative and creative the world advertising industry is. While the prize winners were impressive there were many clever entries that changed the way you’ll look at marketing.

Luckily, most of them are online at the Cannes Lions website, so have a look at the speakers and get some inspiration from the entrants. Don’t copy them though as you’ll probably be dobbed in on Twitter.

The business of business

With the coming of the airlines and the US interstate highway system, American railway owners misunderstood they were in the transportation business, not the railway business.

Shortly after World War II, with the coming of the airlines and the US interstate highway system, American railway owners misunderstood they were in the transportation business, not the railway business.

As a consequence, they missed the opportunities to get into the new markets and most of them died.

This is true today as new technology and changed economic circumstances batter old, established industries.

Newspapers for example are not in the newspaper business, they are in the news business and fixating on paper as the medium to deliver that news leaves them struggling to adapt in a world where the main source of news is increasingly the Internet.

We see a similar thing with telephone companies wedded to their old copper networks or car manufacturers building fuel guzzling road yachts.

Recent comments by Rupert Murdoch about charging for content along with Associated Press’ attacks on Google show how the traditional channels are struggling.

This trend is bigger than news or media organisations, the developing communication channels using mediums like Facebook and Twitter are going to challenge many organisations and change the way business is done.

Business is far more open and transparent, good and bad reviews of your organisation travels further and faster than before.

Your employees, contractors and customers are communicating in channels outside your control.

That’s just in the communication field. The changed economic environment means even more challenges to established businesses.

So the question is what exactly is your business? Which of your customers’ needs does your business fulfil?

ABC Nightlife June 2009

The July Nightlife will be on Thursday July 9 with Tony Delroy and we’ll be looking at whether you should worry about the upcoming Windows 7

abcbanner_local The July Nightlife will look at whether you should worry about the upcoming Windows 7 on Wednesday July 15.

We’ll be live across Australia on ABC Local Radio. Show starts at 10pm and we’ll be taking questions from around 10.30. Call in early.

Tune in through your local ABC station or stream online through the Nightlife website

Would you like Wi-Fi with that?

Thanks to a series of unfortunate events, I had to rely on wi-fi hotspots for internet access last weekend.

One of the things I quickly discovered was McDonald’s restaurants are a good bet for a reliable connection. As somebody who rarely goes into fast food chains, it was interesting to notice how offering free wi-fi has changed McDonald’s customer base.

When I was a uni student, it wasn’t the done thing to be seen in a Maccas. Sydney Uni students used to hide upstairs in the Broadway outlet so passers by wouldn’t see them enjoying a guilty burger.

Things have changed.

Sitting in the Melbourne McDonald’s last Sunday night I was surrounded by young people using their laptops; in turn this had attracted their friends, and the place has become a gathering spot.

While they probably aren’t spending that much in the way of fries and burgers, they were giving the store a buzz at the time when it probably wouldn’t have been that busy.

The thing that intrigues me is how McDonald’s is now viewed by a group who – having grown out of Happy Meals and the kids play area – were probably not that likely to think of a fast food chain as a destination.

So rather than losing this age group and demographic, Maccas is re-engaging with them on another level. It’s also making it almost respectable for middle aged businessmen to be found sitting in them with a guilty container of French fries.

I see two lessons for other businesses from what McDonald’s is doing – the first is not to fixate on the short term bottom line. The people coming into their restaurants may not be buying much right now, but this move is positioning the chain for the long run.

The second is McDonald’s executives are thinking about how technology can help them.

Many executives seem to be proud of their almost wilful ignorance of all things technology and what it can do for their businesses. Maccas has shown how to take tech and use it to its own advantage.

It’s thinking outside the box that separates the business that will thrive from those who will struggle in this period of great economic and technological change.

How are you thinking outside the box? Have you given any thought to how you can adapt new technologies to meet your customers’ needs, and position your business with tomorrow’s markets?

Buying a new computer

While computers are a tool, they are unique in their flexibility, and every user has different needs. So these suggestions are based on pretty generic use – if you have a specific application, or you’re a high-end user, then you really need to make sure your system meets your requirements.

This article originally appeared in Smart Company.

After discussing tech purchases my Smart Company column two weeks ago, a few readers have asked what they should be looking for in a new computer.

The answer, like everything in IT, is “it depends”.

CPU

Some people obsess about chip speeds and processor specs. The ugly truth is it barely matters for most users. Don’t sweat all the CPU mumbo-jumbo and leave the “front side bus” penis envy to others who don’t have work to do.

Hard drive

If you are connecting to a network, hard drive space isn’t critical. For a desktop computer, 320Gb drives are the standard entry point, and 160Gb for laptops. If you are running a home office or you handle lots of media files, then 750Gb or a terabyte (1000Gb) may be the way to go.
If you are considering netbooks then you will find hard drive space is far smaller, with as little as 9Gb; this is OK if you intend to store files on network servers or out on the internet cloud.

Memory

This is the easy bit – the more memory the better. All good value systems come with 2Gb and an upgrade to 4Gb is money well spent.

Graphics card

Video capacity is where cheap systems fall down. Many entry level systems use “shared memory” where the video system shares the work with the CPU. These systems perform dreadfully on Windows Vista and struggle to support higher resolutions.
Spend the extra and go for a video card with at least 256Mb of RAM. Many units have the option of going up to 512 and 764Mb, although I’d prefer to spend the money on system memory before video cards. Your view might be different to mine though.

Monitor

On desktops, the bigger the better. Go for a 20″, 22″ or 24″ monitor. Get two monitors and you’ll see office productivity soar.

Portables are a different kettle of fish. Personally I love the compact 7″ netbooks for their weight and size, but many people prefer 15″ screens. When choosing a laptop, you need to make a compromise between price, screen size and weight that meets your needs and budget.

Optical drives

DVD-R/W is still the way to go. You don’t save much by leaving the writing function out, and being able to burn disks from your system is handy. Ignore BluRay as it remains expensive with little take up in the market.

Networking

Some real cheap and nasty machines may still have 100Mbit ethernet. Avoid these like the plague. If it doesn’t have a gigabit ethernet don’t buy it.

Similarly, all laptops have wireless capabilities and the 801.11g standard (54Mbit) is the norm. Most laptops now have some version of the newer 801.11n standard, but keep in mind the final 801.11n standard won’t be released until the end of this year.

Warranties

Three years is the only way to go; don’t consider otherwise. If the computer is mission critical, a same day warranty makes sense, but most businesses go for next business day service to balance cost against reliability.

Mac or Windows

Whenever a SmartCompany blogger wades into the Mac versus Windows argument, Amanda Gome is delighted with the increased site traffic until the server melts down and the death threats start arriving.

Suffice to say, you should use whatever works best for you. It’s your equipment and your business, and no-one else has the right to tell you whether Microsoft, Linux or Apple are better.

Price

Overall, a good business computer to these specs will come in around $1500 for the desktop and $1800 for a portable. Add another 25% for Apple equipment, although the lifetime cost of ownership is around the same for Apple and Windows-based PCs.

That’s a rough idea what to look for when specifying computer systems for your office. Have a good look at your needs and budget and you should be able to find some good bargains to help your business work better.

ABC 702 Weekends: How to run a sustainable computer

This Sunday Simon and myself will be looking at how to run computers in an evironmentally friendly and sustainable way.

Tune in at 702 on your AM radio or stream us online from the ABC Website.

Your comments and questions are welcome so call in on 1300 222 702 or SMS on 19922702.

Has Microsoft learned anything from Vista?

Microsoft have announced a release date for Windows 7. Have they learned anything from Vista?

CNet’s Ina Fried reports Microsoft has set an October 22 release date for Windows 7, their new operating system to replace the flawed and unpopular Windows Vista.

In an article earlier this year, Ina quoted Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte that Microsoft has learned important lessons from Vista.

One lesson they appear not to have learned is how multiple versions of the product confuses the marketplace and tarnishes their brand.

That we still have FIVE versions of the new system, and that they’ve locked themselves into a release date before the final Release Candidate version, doesn’t bode well for Windows 7.

As usual, the advice for most computer users will be to sit and wait until the first Service Pack is released. I wonder if Microsoft will repeat the bluff of claiming there will be no service pack which failed so dismally with Vista?

Let’s see if they’ve actually learned anything from the humiliation that was Vista.

ABC Weekend computers

The next ABC spot is this Sunday at 10am on 702 Sydney.

Join Paul Wallbank and Simon Marnie to discuss what you should be looking for in new computers and end of financial year technology shopping.

Your comments and questions are welcome so call in on 1300 222 702 or SMS on 19922702.

If you aren’t in the 702 Sydney area, you can listen online through the 702 website.

Weekend computers on LinkedIn events
Weekend Computers on Facebook events

Being proud of your business

Too many businesses have bland “about us” pages featuring stock photos and generic corporate phrases

Too many businesses have bland “about us” pages featuring stock photos and generic corporate phrases, here’s two examples;

We have many years of practical experience as sales managers, directors and business leaders.

Our staff have a great deal of experience, having placed hundreds of candidates in positions at many different hospitals and clinics

Both of these businesses have owners with fantastic experience, great staff and a terrific story to tell, yet from their web site you would never know this.

For all the reader knows, they are just another anonymous branch of a multinational which is a terrible waste for these great teams.

The web is one of the few ways a small business owner can tell their story without restrictions. So there’s no excuse to be shy about why you are so good at your job. Tell people who you are, why you are doing what you do and how good you are at doing it.

And ditch the stock photos. Chisel jawed models in Italian suits playing with laptops are fooling no-one. Put your own photo up and be be proud of who you are.

Potential customers visit your web site to find about you, they want to hear your story and why your businesses will delight them and meet their needs.

So use that “about us” page properly, tell your story and introduce yourself. Don’t be shy, you should be proud of who you are and what you do.