Windows 7 32 bit vs 64 bit

A client recently bought a computer off the shelf loaded with a Windows 7 64 bit OS. Why? That’s just the way it came. Later he asked us if that was the right decision.

We are in a transition period from 32 bit to 64 bit systems. As with any transition there are disadvantages for the early adopters of the newer technology. First came 64 bit processors, then 64 bit operating systems, then other 64 bit software to take advantage of the new processors.

The main disadvantage of 32 bit systems is the limitation on RAM. 32 bit computers are limited to using 4 GB of physical RAM with 3 to 3.4 GB available to you, the user. It sounds like a lot of RAM, and it is, unless you are working with large files as in video editing or major scientific work. But hell, watching a DVD on your computer can have a 4 GB file.

The advantage of 32 bit is that it’s accepted technology – everything works. Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

How To Download YouTube Videos

How do I download YouTube videos? That’s a question we get quite often, so I created a quick video tutorial showing how to download YouTube videos.

There are two steps: downloading the video and downloading a player onto your computer that can watch the videos, which are Flash videos with an.flv file extension.

Related links:

Firefox web browser
NetVideoHunter addon
VideoLAN player (most audio and video files)
Wimpy Player (.flv and .swf)

If you don’t want to use a Firefox addon there’s a video download toolbar that works in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Just follow the directions on the page, but it only works on .flv files, not other types of video..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Video – How To Avoid Adobe PDF Reader Vulnerability

PDF files usually seem harmless. People don’t think twice about opening a PDF, even if it’s an email attachment,  or reading one online.

Adobe has acknowledged a vulnerability in its Adobe Reader/Acrobat that allows hackers to hijack data from compromised computers. They are investigating the problem but haven’t come up with a patch yet.

You have two options: disable Javascript in Adobe Reader or use an alternate reader. The video below shows you how to do either option…

The alternate readers described in the video are:

Sumatra PDF

MuPDF Firefox Plugin

Further reading:

Adobe confirms PDF zero-day attacks.

How to mitigate Adobe PDF malware attacks

[Author's Note 1/18/2010] Adobe released a fix for Adobe Reader/Acrobat Jan 15th. If your software hasn’t automatically updated then go here for directions on how to update..
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Is Google Chrome OS Right For Small Business?

Google Chrome OS is not right for everyone, nor is it right for every computer. What Chrome OS does is put the “net” in netbooks.

These are small, lightweight computers (I wouldn’t even call them laptops) for use on the road or for quick access to the Internet. The operating system is really an advanced web browser.

The advantages are faster boot and load times and less computer power (read battery power) to operate.

The disadvantage is everything is done on the web. No programs or files are stored on the computer.

Now, a cynical person might think that Google is leading everyone into cloud computing, especially Google Apps. But the trend is probably headed in that direction anyway.

Google Chrome OS is set to release an early ‘bare-bones’ version of the OS. I don’t recommend getting in too early. They will be continually updating the OS until it has reasonable functionality over the next year.

But, for planning purposes, small businesses need to see whether they can integrated it into their IT structure.

If your business uses Microsoft Office or other computer based software to do most or your work (Outlook sharing, Word documents, etc.) then you may want to stay with something like Windows 7 Starter edition to integrate with the other office applications.

If your business is moving into the cloud for most of its applications then Google Chrome OS may be worth a look for your road warriors.

Further Reading:

Google’s Chrome OS: Will you give up desktop apps?

Chrome OS will give Microsoft a run for their money

Is imminent Chrome OS launch reckless?

Small Business and the Cloud

.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Membership Management Software – There Are Two Kinds

So, you want to start a membership site and are looking for membership software to run it. Well, there’s one thing you need to know before you start – there’s two types of membership software, a fact I stumbled on after spending $1,000 on the wrong kind.

The first kind protects directories (folders) on your web site. An example is aMember. ($179 per domain) You select the directory or directories that you want members-only access to. You can put downloads, web pages, audio, video, even a whole web site in there and aMember protects it.

But, the second type of membership management software protects a database. That means that all of your protected content has to be entered through the membership software interface. And, from what I’ve found, it doesn’t protect any directories. Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Small Business and the Cloud

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “the cloud” and how it affects businesses. First, what is the cloud? The cloud has often been synonymous with the whole internet, so what we’re talking about here is cloud computing. It’s been more commonly called Software as a Service (SaaS) and refers to software applications hosted on the Internet like Salesforce.com and Google Apps.

Technically, in addition to SaaS there is also Platform as a Service and Infrastructure as a Service. For example, Salesforce.com also has Force.com which acts as a PaaS, allowing developers to add on to the basic Salesforce.com software. Amazon Web Services acts as an IaaS for storing data, streaming video and other options in the cloud.

Cloud computing can be public, private or virtual private (you get a private section of a public provider). It’s really like using a mainframe computer in the 60′s – all the outlying parties use one main computer. It’s just that now that computer is on the web, not in the basement.

So what’s the big deal, you ask? You may be a small business owner with only a few computers. But, here’s the rub. What if you grow? How do you scale your business? Read more.
————————
HOSB RSS Feed

Microsoft Office vs Open Office Comparison

For years we have been recommending Microsoft Office Suite to our small business clients. Within the past year we have switched over to Open Office as a free office software suite that we recommend.

The video below shows how Microsoft Office and Open Office match up…

Here is a summary of my recommendations:

For a home office – Open Office

For a small business (less than 5-10 employees) – Open Office with maybe one employee/computer having Microsoft Office.

For larger businesses that have collaboration between departments you might consider the collaboration and edit tracking features available through MS Office.

Caveats:

For heavy or interactive database use Microsoft Access is better than OpenOffice Base.

For heavy PowerPoint users Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 has a lot more bells and whistles than OpenOffice Impress.

Related Links:
OpenOffice.org
Microsoft Office (Amazon).
————————
HOSB RSS Feed