Well Windows 7 has been out for a year now and has overtaken Windows Vista. there are still many people that have the impression there is no need to go to Windows 7 as XP still works, Windows 7 is just a fixed Vista, blah blah blah. Unless someone uses it and understands the benefits they will always have preconceived notions of what it is or does. From the features below you tell me, should you?

The other question that goes along with it is what version to buy. Well talking on the business side of things. You need at minimum the Professional version, however there are some benefits to going to the Enterprise or Ultimate version that could save downtime or data theft. If either of those are of value or importance read on.

Ultimate and Enterprise are basically the same, only licensing and purchasing methods are different. Ultimate = Retail, Enterprise = volume license.

Now for the fun stuff:

The built in windows backup will make full system backups for quick recovery using Virtual Hard Drive (VHD) images. The VHD images are mountable and bootable making for easy file recovery and quick system restores or virtualization.

BitLocker is a feature to encrypt hard drives, volumes, and files. Using this encryption USB drives and hard drives can be encrypted in-case of loss or theft protecting valuable company data.

The big tech industry news of this week is the FCC announcement of their National Broadband Plan http://www.broadband.gov/ to push broadband to millions more people at much higher speeds. The term broadband is to be redefined from the measly 768kpbs of today to 4Mbps in a few years, and they want companies to offer 100Mbps service to the homes of everbody in the next 10 years. Part of the plan will be to barter wireless spectrum from companies that already have licensed the frequencies and sell or license it for companies that will facilitate this new broadband for areas that currently have little or no broadband coverage at this time. While this is all well and many of the things that will come out of it are great, there are down sides.  One of the biggest downsides is that like phone lines currently there are going to start being more taxes and fees added to broadband services to help cover the costs. Also there is not a plan to force more competition in the industry where many companies own entire markets and are locked in such as the cable companies.

Microsoft has introduced to us a new way to find and capture talented web-savvy and technical-type folks:  The “Students-to-Business” program, which works with local businesses (engaged in IT work, of course) and college-level students to pair-up students with a mentor under an internship arrangement.

According to Microsoft’s website:

The objective of the S2B program is to inspire local businesses to communicate the competency requirements for new talent, to evaluate the skills of students ready for an entry-level job or internship and collaborate with Microsoft and local education institutions to provide the curriculum and training needed to ensure students are prepared to meet the innovation needs of company’s around the globe.

Students engaged in S2B benefit from unique mentoring, training and certification opportunities. Various offerings are available to students at each stage of S2B – when profiling, in application and after their job connection.

We think this is a great opportunity for all involved, and you can see more about it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/studentstobusiness/home/default.aspx

Recently, Google has put itself into the High-Speed Internet fray by announcing they’re looking to build a network almost 100 times faster than what many people have access to now.

Check out the Google link for more info:

https://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/

If you’re a government official, you can go through the process of nominating your municipality to be part of the test scheme, and even receive additional benefits. Not with the government? Then you can nominate your own community group, city, or state agency.

We had an opportunity this week to meet with a company to talk about our managed services, and discovered they supply a machine and supporting technology that creates some of the coolest things we’ve seen in a log time!

After our meeting regarding a proposal we’ve been working on to supply them with IT service, we were invited for a plant tour of their Scottsdale, AZ training and technical support facility. (To be fair, they actually manufacture the machines in a building just about right next door, but we simply didn’t have time to visit both.)

All we can say is: Wow.  Their laser system is a self-contained CO2 system that etches, marks, and engraves ALL KINDS of material! We watched one system in action taking an 8 1/2 X 11″ piece of walnut board (plaque-type material), and “burning-in” a picture of a vacation shot one of their tech’s took while overseas. The detail was phenomenal. Sure, it was 2-D and monochrome, but it was done in under a few minutes and was ready for show.

See more of their unique systems at their site:

http://www.versalaser.com/

Oh, and the coolest part? Their business cards.  Etched aluminum.   Wicked.

Careful followers of our Blog may have noticed our conspicuous absence this week, and we have a darn good reason for it: We’re busy!

From meeting with some nice folks from Microsoft, to recovering lost Exchange servers, to working out pricing deals with the local printer, I have to admit we’re behind the 8-ball.

It’s not the fact our business is up 25% (or more) from last year, and it’s also not due to increased demand for our services (although that IS true), it’s just that our marketing efforts to try and expand our reach and influence have been paying off a little earlier than we’d anticipated.

We’ve had the opportunity to meet with some great new service providers and learn how we can be more effective, more productive with less effort, and that’s helpful when there’s just a few of us running the show.

So don’t be dismayed, we’ll return with some really juicy tidbits about what’s happening in the tech world next week!

Many Microsoft users are asking themselves the following question:  Do I hold onto my XP software, that I’ve used and loved for almost 10 years, or make the switch to W7?

Those folks aren’t alone. Not surprisingly, a majority of our clients who have been in business for more than 10 years are asking the very same question, and rightly so.  After all, their infrastructure is set up, tested, working, and requires basic maintenance for continued operation. However, with the upcoming release of Office 2010, I fear there’s no room to quibble – make the change or suffer the wrath of the bloatware gods.

In all fairness, some of our clients have made the conversion with little to no subsequent difficulties. Most of what we’re experiencing relates to updates to their printer drivers, antivirus software, and attached devices (including video cards, USB drivers, etc.). And even in some cases, where the manufacturer doesn’t support Win7 or IE8, we’ve gotten devices to work under the built-in XP Mode that Win7 Professional and Ultimate has. It’s really quite helpful for those using legacy devices.

All said, we believe it’s a safe bet to make that jump into Windows 7. For further advice and suggestions, visit the Microsoft Windows 7 website at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/

Click around and explore some of the features they highlight – we think you’ll see more than a few reasons to make the switch!

We’ve just signed on with DATATECH LABS out of Colorado. They offer a comprehensive data recovery solution to those who have corrupted, lost, or overwritten data on their hard drives, memory cards, or even damaged media such as CD’s or DVD’s.

You can find out more about them here.

Sure, it’s a service that will make us some money, and yes, we added it so we can grow in the Phoenix and Tucson markets, but there’s more.  Until we met the nice folks at DATATECH LABS, we didn’t have an easy solution for our clients to be able to recover their data from catastrophic loss. Normally, we would refer them to another local company or suggest they contact the drive manufacturer for options on sending the unit in for repair. We had no answer for memory cards.

Now we don’t have to send them away. It’s nice having an in-house option for clients (and even new customers)  to determine if their data is recoverable. Another cool thing DATATECH LABS features is their cleanroom. They can rebuild most hard drives at their facility in Denver, and that’s handy in case it’s just a logic board or read/write head that’s the problem. If you’ve ever seen a hard drive disassembled, it’s a bit daunting, so we have great respect for the technicians over there.  So much respect, in fact, that we decided it would be a smart business move to partner with them and offer their services in Tucson and Phoenix, making it easier than ever to recover and keep the data our clients really need.

Is it worth it? Well, I suppose that depends on your point of view. Data recovery isn’t cheap (it’s easily four to five times as much as buying a new drive), but if you have data that can’t be easily reproduced, then this is the only way to go. What, are you going to re-write that entire proposal that took weeks to compile? Are you going to re-enact the first words out of your baby’s mouth? And how will you explain losing all those e-books your spouse downloaded to read?

Easy answer: Call us for your data recovery needs – we’ll get you back on track!

If you know our dynamic owner, Greg, you know that he’s not a man to mess around. He’s got plans. He’s got dreams. He’s got work. And he needs techs! Our Tucson and Phoenix locations are currently growing at a remarkable clip, so that means we’re in the process of searching for talent that will allow us to service our expanding base of professional clients.

This is not a want-ad, or a solicitation for a résumé, it’s simply a way to share our positive growth during an economy where employment is just under 90%. It seems there are lots of people worried about the idea that we’re in double-digit unemployment numbers right now, but that number just doesn’t affect us at all.  As a matter of fact, I doubt that 20% or even 25% unemployment numbers would affect us much at all.

You see, technology doesn’t stop. Ever.  Whether company’s are inventing new ways to reduce workload or develop products, there’s a need for someone (us) to support the computer equipment that’s being used. Because of that, it’s our firm belief our business is “recession-proof”, so we’re looking to expand and dominate NOW while the market is down. That way, when things pick up (or even roar back to life), we’re prepared with trained, competent staff to deliver the same excellent performance and advice we’re known for right now.

So, going into 2010, I think it’s safe to assume this will be a banner year for Asset Technology. Visit us at www.technologyanswers.net to see what we’re up to!

As a heavy user of a Blackberry (a requirement of the job, actually), I find it difficult to separate myself from its influence when I travel. Specifically, I try to do business while at the same time attempting to escape from the responsibilities of my work life. The unfortunate duality that follows can severely crimp a vacation, my friend.

The Wall Street Journal has a great article today about some ways to minimize the impact of your “electronic leash” , and you can find it here:

WSJ Excerpt

You may have noticed that the excerpted article is from the WSJ’s upcoming book, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK. The Journal has always produced quality information and great reads, and this should be no exception.  Pick up the title here (ships after December 29th, 2009):

WSJ Biz Book