I’m often asked which smartphone is best for small business users.  My gut response from dealing with pretty much every make and model of mobile phone and smartphone is the Apple iPhone.

With that said, there is often a better answer for small business users than simply stating the iPhone is best.  If you are a small business owner or sales person traveling far from major metropolitan areas, the accompanying and mandatory AT&T mobile service may not be the best fit for you due to smaller coverage areas outside big cities and major highways.  If AT&T’s coverage is a deal breaker, then I suggest going with Verizon and one of their smartphone options.  I’ve managed, configured and used Droid phones and am not a big fan of the size of the devices.  There are other smaller, and less expensive mobile device options that will serve the same purpose and more easily fit into your pocket.  I’m several sentences into an opinion on choosing a mobile phone for small business and have nary a mention of the ubiquitous Blackberry; the crown jewel of enterprise business users and the leader of the free world.  I am not a big fan of Blackberry devices.  However, I do see many successful business owners and companies using Blackberries who all love them.  And that is really where the gut reaction of my first sentence could be completely wrong for a particular user.  If you “grew up” on a “Crackberry” then that is likely the best mobile device for you.

As a side note for Blackberry users: If you’ve always wanted the experience of the Blackberry Enterprise Server that large organizations use but didn’t know how or didn’t want to pay for the data plans and licensing you’ve got another option now.  Blackberry offers another option, Blackberry Professional & Express Server.  Get real-time synchronization of mail, calendar and contacts to your company’s Microsoft Exchange mail server.  Here is the best part, though, you do not need the upgraded and more expensive BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server) data plan anymore for all the advanced sync features.  On top of that, the new Blackberry Server option is FREE.  Correct, 100% free licensing for the server and user licenses.  If you want more information on how to sync your Blackberry to your Exchange mail server with no license fees or upgraded data plans just let us know.

If you are open to change and are not put-off by the AT&T iPhone data plans, then I strongly recommend opting for an iPhone.  It does not need to be an iPhone 4 or even the iPhone 3GS.  The iPhone 3G and the newer ones mentioned all provide a large screen to more easily read emails, pdfs, web pages, view pictures, follow the built-in map function and GPS and obviously has a whole truckload of available apps.  Oddly enough, as cool as the multitude of iPhone applications are, and as entertaining as so many apps can be, there are actually many useful iPhone apps available to grow your small business and allow you to be more productive and effective in your daily work.  But, alas, that is for another post.  Cheers.

Again, to add the weather widget to your Droid’s home screen press and hold in an empty area on your screen and be sure you have empty space on your main screen for the widget to display.

I hope that helps a few Droid users and some computer techs too.  Enjoy.

One point to note with Windows 7 launch is the confusion about the upgrade process and compatibility with business networks and domains.  Below is a graphic from Microsoft’s website detailing the Windows 7 upgrade & install process.

Use this chart to determine whether you should do an upgrade or custom (clean) installation.

UPGRADE TO:		Windows 7 Home Premium	Windows 7 Professional	Windows 7 Ultimate
Windows XP, all editions
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Ultimate

Upgrade available Custom (clean) install required

To upgrade an earlier operating system than Windows XP (for example, Windows 95 or Windows 2000) you will need to purchase a full license of Windows 7 and perform a custom installation.

Speaking with several clients we still hear some misconceptions about upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 and upgrading from Vista to Windows 7.

Windows XP – Home and Professional Versions

As noted in the info above you cannot perform and in place upgrade from any version of Windows XP to Windows 7.  That means you will need to save data from the Windows XP install to an external drive and then install Windows 7, which will erase everything on the disk including Windows XP and all the data.  This is the same as upgrading or migrating form Windows XP to Windows Vista.

Windows Vista upgrade to Windows 7

With Vista you can perform in-place upgrades to Windows 7.  This means you simply insert the WIndows 7 installation media, CD, DVD, and upgrade with a valid license to start using Windows 7.  The graphic above shows the different versions of Vista and the upgrade options to Windows 7.  One nice thing Microsoft did was to change the names back to the Windows XP version names of Home and Professional editions.

So there is not any confusion for business users, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate may be joined to a Windows server domain.  Windows 7 Home Premium, the only home edition, cannot be joined to a business network Windows domain.

Windows 7 easily works great for home as well as business users.  The professional and Ultimate editions of WIndows 7 may be joined to your Windows business network domain, including SBS, with ease.  It is a solid alternative to XP and Vista and provides compatibility with older Windows XP programs if needed.  One other point to note when looking to upgrade or change to Windows 7 is to make sure you get the correct version regarding business use as well as 32 bit or 64 bit for your hardware and programs.

Let us know if you are interested in upgrading or moving to Windows 7 computers for your business network.  We can help. Indianapolis computer service provided by L5 Solutions.

So I’ll highlight another route that cyber criminals take in an attempt to steal your identity during the holiday season, shipping confirmation emails that appear to come from FedEx, UPS or the USPS.  Again, with many gifts shipped from homes and business along with increased online purchases, identity thieves send out spam emails asking you to verify sipping information with your credit card or ask for personal information to receive and confirm packages.  If you ever receive a request online to confirm any account or personal information, you should open a new browser window and type in the sites address, such as www.fedex.com, and then proceed or call their customer service department.

If you think just because  a link in an email says it it from fedex or goes to bankofamerica.com look out.  In my original example of the Bank of America Alert, there is a link to update your account info, but the link actually goes to awilmer.net not bankofamerica.com.  It really is difficult to differentiate between valid emails and phising scams aimed at stealing your identity and personal information.  Remember though that banks, credit card companies and other valid companies will not request personal, account or credit card info by email.

Here is the Bank of America Alerts email for reference:

Dear Bank of America Customer,

This email was sent by the bank of america server to verify your e-mail address. You must complete this process by clicking on the link below and entering your account information . This is done for your protection , because some of our members no longer have access to their online access and we must verify it. To verify your e-mail address and access your bank account, click on the link below.

Update Info  (http://www.awilmer.net/inc/scurepdat/index.html)

Please fill in the required information.
This is required for us to continue to offer you a safe and risk free environment .

Thank you
Accounts Management

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC Privacy Promise Terms & Conditions
Copyright © 2009

Business technology really can help your business and not just exist as a necessary evil. If you’re interested, you can learn more by talking to us and our customers.

• Compare Windows 7 editions.
  

  Windows 7 Home Premium

  Windows 7 Professional

  Windows 7 Ultimate

Some good news on Windows 7 are the new features Microsoft piled in to the new OS.  One example is the Direct Access VPN connection to Windows Server 2008 R2 systems.  Instead of dedicating a VPN device to handle the encrypted tunnel, if IT admins implement IPv6 and IPsec (IP security) machines, such as remote offices and remote laptops, can connect directly as if there were inside the office on the company network.

Another point to note is the enhanced power management options for systems running Windows 7.  Microsoft and others are touting between $50+ – $107 energy savings per computer each year.  That justifies the upgrade cost of the license and install time for many tech managers.

There are also several more security enhancements included in Windows 7 such as BitLocker for USB thumb drive encryption, AppLocker to disable programs and DNSSec extensions which many security researchers agree is the next large scale vulnerability to computers and networkds.

With all the hype and bad press form Vista, it appears Microsoft may have overcome the past failings and developed a solid business computing platform.  The big question though is still, will large enterprises and small business adopt the new OS and drive the migration from XP to the new Windows 7?

According to some local telecom providers, new customer interest and demos are growing, with significant increases in the past several weeks.  Telephony is a good barometer of the overall business climate because nothing is more basic and necessary as voice and data connectivity to a business.  With that said, voice and especially data purchasing has been down significantly since the recession hit and was realized in Oct of 08.  So when business cut back even on the basics the overall cascading affect hit most businesses, some harder than others.  Again, the point to note is that business executives and small business owners are increasingly optimistic about the direction of the economy and business in Indiana.  According to several online job sites, new job postings are up, but to temper expectations it is also reported that there is only 1 job for every 6 job seekers.

So with those tempered expectations, I think that with the recent experiences over the past year we’ll see businesses focus more on vetting their business partners, vendors and other relationships more thoroughly.  What that will mean is a leaning out of local small businesses.  A few will prosper and the others will most likely struggle or fail.  The successful businesses will drive each others bottom line and grow together.  Will we see Indianapolis business again invest in their core processes, business infrastructure and technology?  The indicators look good.

Print screen from your iPhone:

• To take screenshot on your iPhone hold down lock/off button on top of phone & click the home key; saves it to your camera roll.

*

How to print from your iPhone:

• Here are some limited options to send items to a printer directly from an iPhone or iPod, along with options to print to shared printers on a MAC and how to run applications on a PC or MAC that enable printing from your iPhone.

*

MacWorld’s iPhone section provides some more good help and tips for your iPhone.

These are just some of our business technology tweets, follow us for more Indianapolis business consulting news and advice.

If you have some more tips please let us know or send us your questions to utilize your iPhone within business.

It seems odd that these same businesses and decision makers would never compromise on their business cards, business suit or other marketing items.  Really, what do you do first after you meet someone, exchange business cards and are looking to do business together?  Do you open a phone book to check out their yellow pages ad, drive by their office…  maybe, but most likely you take a look at their company’s website.  To be clear, I am not suggesting or condoning flashy websites for businesses.  What I am suggesting is the necessity of a clear marketing message that is consistent across all mediums; your personal appearance, print materials and online media such as websites.

This is not a new or revolutionary topic, but I continue to encounter significantly lacking websites and Internet marketing from what appear to otherwise be solid businesses.  The most common reason I hear for these deficiencies is related to budget.  Once a company puts up their website there is no more money allocated to it, ever.  They think it is “good enough.”  I wonder if potential customers think it is good enough?

As a business executive, CIO or business owner do you know where most threats are coming from that target business networks, computers and users?  Most likely it is not something you have seriously researched.  As business consultants, we focus on knowing as much as possible about threats to business so we can effectively combat their tactics.

Most people, including many IT professionals, assume spam most predominantly originates in China, Nigeria and the former Soviet Republics such as Russia.  Oddly enough spam, its viruses and more importantly rootkits/trojans that allow those criminal enterprises free access to steal information from your computers and use your computers to launch other attacks that steal from additional business originate in some countries not usually associated with online threats, South Korea, Brazil and… the United States.

There are definitely larger and more aggressive threats targeting business networks as well as their servers and computers.  But you cannot minimize or dismiss the serious consequences of a single computer on your company’s internal business domain network.  The reason is, that single compromised computer can be used as a pinhole opening for criminals, either foreign or domestic, to launch more complex and sophisticated attacks to steal your business data, personal employee information or make it appear your computers are attacking other organizations.

Knowing what you know is as important as knowing what you do not know.  If you have any doubts about your business’ current security posture ask a qualified business consultant.

- Tsung Tzu, Art of War, Chapter 3 “Attack by Strategem”

“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a thousand battles without a single loss.
If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.
If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.”