Less Then Successful Tech

Smartphones, iPads, iPods, and notebook computers are some of the must-have products of the last five years. However, for each iPad there's an Apple TV—a tech failure. Businesses take a chance when they send a new piece of technology into the market. There's no assurance that no matter how cool or handy a gadget is that it'll become popular with the purchasing public. With that in mind, listed here is a quick look at some of the best known technology failures of the last 10 years.

Famous tech failures

  • Apple TV: This product gives users the ability to purchase entertainment from iTunes then stream it to the device of their choice. Good idea? Most likely, if it wasn’t so limited to iTunes. 
  • Sony Mylo: Mylo came in under the radar that is why you may not remember it. This was a Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device from Sony that allowed individuals to connect to the Internet, send e-mail and it included Skype! It didn’t get much attention as the iPhone and its app store overwhelmed it.

The Segway peters out

  • Segway PT: The Segway PT scooter had a lot of media hype before its release. It was expected to be wildly successful, that it may even replace cars in metropolitan areas. However, people thought it made them look kind of silly so it never quite caught on. I suppose next to a flashy sports car there is no comparison.

The CueCat doesn’t purr

  • CueCat: The CueCat was a portable barcode reader in the shape of a cat. Consumers could use it to scan any barcode and it would navigate them to the company’s website. This didn't catch on but did it pave the way for QR codes?

3 Tips to Get the Most Out of Microsoft Outlook

If you use Microsoft Outlook on a regular basis, chances are that you probably take it for granted. Outlook has been around for a long time, helping us organize our email and our daily schedules. It may seem simple, but it is in fact a very powerful and robust program. In order to make the most of your experience with Outlook, let’s take a look at a few of its unknown features.  Below we’ve discussed only 3 of the often-overlooked functions that help you work more efficiently.

Eliminate the Clutter

You probably have “Conversation View” turned on in Outlook already.  This view helps keep conversations neatly arranged into one thread. You can find the desired email without having to search through days of backlogged emails. There is a potential downside to this view however. More recent conversations can become very cluttered with repetitive quoted text. Turning off this quoted text is very simply with Outlook.  Right-click the conversation thread and select “Clean Up Conversation.” All the unnecessary duplicate copies will now be eradicated from the individual emails in the conversation thread.

Say it in a Picture

If a picture is worth a thousand words, consider how much time you’ll save by including screenshots in your emails.  Including screenshots can be very valuable particularly when sending a support ticket.  Outlook makes including a screenshot incredibly simple. Click the “Insert” tab and then select “Screenshot.” A sequence of images of all open windows on your desktop will be displayed.  Select the window that is suitable and Outlook will place the screenshot directly into your email – easy as that!

Take Out the Trash

Did you know that all of those old emails in your trash folder are using up lots of precious space? It can be easy to forget to empty our email trash. Outlook has made that straightforward too! Choose the “File” tab and then select “Options.” Go to the “Advanced” section and look for the “Start” and “Exit” options. By checking the box after “Empty Deleted Items” when exiting Outlook, this will enable Outlook to automatically clean out your trash folder each and every time you quit the program.

Your Small Business and Data Security

When looking at data security, many people think they have a good amount of systems and safeguards in place to keep their data secure. Sure, you might have antivirus software and you may even update it frequently. You may also think that you’re too small of a company to be a target of a hacking attempt. Only big firms that have thousands of clients need to be concerned about cyber criminals, right? Wrong. Hackers and cyber criminals have actually escalated their focus on small businesses. We would like to help you understand the dangers your small business may be facing.

Small firms: low-hanging fruit

The truth is, hackers have discovered that small businesses are easier targets, and therefore are increasingly preying upon them. They are able to infiltrate their systems at a much faster rate, and with a better percentage of success as well. This means a cyber criminal can invade multiple targets in the time it would take them to lay siege to a better-guarded system with a higher level of data security. How can it be worth their while to steal from a mom and pop business? In the current modern world, just about any business employs digital payment processing methods. When your customers pay using a credit card, this data must run through your system to be validated. This represents a goldmine of information for hackers, as they can lift this data without being discovered. With your customers’ credit card numbers, addresses and names, they are able to make counterfeit charges on their accounts.

How hackers gain access to your data

Even though you probably have systems in position to defend your data, hackers will make use of several points of entry, so firewalls alone may not be enough. Malicious email attachments are among the biggest offenders. These attachments can leave your system wide open for data mining. This year alone in the first quarter, 6 million malware programs were found. Aside from these more high-tech tactics, cyber criminals also use low-tech methods to steal information. Telephone calls or even personal visits by someone pretending to be a network administrator or security firm can be damaging. We all hope our workers are smart enough not to be seduced by an obvious phishing scam, but it only takes one slip up to open yourself up for attack.

The buck stops with you

If you feel that maintaining data security is not important, take into account that should your systems be breached, your customers will in all probability hold you personally responsible for any stolen information or property. These kind of events cost companies thousands of dollars each year and can damage a company’s reputation so badly  that they have to close their doors forever.

An ounce of prevention…

Data security is extremely important and any extra precautions you can take can be sensible. Use strong passwords and update your existing security systems often. Educate your staff on safety measures they can take, such as creating strong passwords and never giving out login information. Hiring an outside consultant to help you ensure you and your client’s information is safe is another good idea. Simple measures can give you peace of mind that your systems are safe, and your clients will know you have their best interests at heart.

Part 2: Improving the Culture Within Your Company

Our last blog centered around company culture and the effect it could have on your brand. Your company’s culture, good or bad, shows up in your brands reputation. We discussed ways to gauge the cultural health of your organization, but how do you give your company a cultural makeover?

The first step is to decide how you want your business to “feel.” Below are a few questions to ask yourself:

  • What attributes do you value that you would like to show up in your company’s culture? Respect, acceptance, creativity, fun, etc.?
  • What are the primary values or focus of your company? How do you make that prominent in the culture?
  • How is information presently distributed in the company and how does this affect the culture?
  • How are employees presently recognized? 
  • Does the organization give everyone a “voice?” Are employees asked to communicate their ideas and opinions?

More questions than answers may come up, so brainstorming with your co-workers is a wonderful strategy for finding creative answers. Here are several ideas to start with:

Suggestion/Thought box – Allowing people to anonymously share their feelings or opinions about the day to day in the office can cause a more open feeling in the company. These concerns can be mentioned in company meetings if they relate to everyone.

Empower employees – Let your employees make decisions. Treat the employees as peers; allow them to have a say and listen to their suggestions. Also be a transparent leader. Don’t just inform your employees when things are great, but also make them aware tactfully when things aren’t going very well.


Flexible hours – Providing people with some flexibility to get their work done exhibits trust. Trusting them to regulate themselves will cause them to respect you more.

Dress code – Gone are the days of the suit and tie on a daily basis (at least for most fields), so let personnel express themselves with their clothing. This will make them feel free and accepted. Another approach is to have themed clothing days. Examples of this are: wig day, silly t-shirt day, hat day, etc. Let employees make suggestions for themes. A little silly goes a long way.

Celebrate – You are all part of the same company and hopefully share the same goals. Celebrate this by having a monthly movie day, a team outing after work, or a lunchtime game day - anything fun that gets the group doing something together.


Below is a list of things that real companies have done to incorporate some fun to their culture:

  • Spontaneous Nerf gun wars
  • Painting inspirational quotes on the walls
  • Hitting a loud gong when there is a success to let the whole company know
  • Foosball tournaments
  • Lunchtime Yoga
  • Lunchtime Crafting Club
  • Monday Mad Libs, whoever wishes to contribute, does, and then the completed Mad Lib is emailed to the company

Positive Effects of a Healthy Company Culture: Part 1

Strategy and finances are not the only facets of a successful company, but they are usually what companies concentrate on. It may not seem obvious, but company culture plays a very important role too. It can affect your branding, marketing, and day-to-day operations, and how the public views your company. For example when we think of brands like Apple, Google, and Starbucks, not only do their logos and products come to mind, but a multitude of positive qualities: warmth, efficiency, fun, excellence, etc. These attributes are thanks in part to each company’s positive business culture.

Why Culture is so Important

Giving your employees a sense of ownership over their jobs ensures that they feel empowered, and empowerment encourages innovative thinking. This all begins with a healthy workplace culture. If people feel invisible or stifled in their work place, they'll do the minimum required of them. It’s human nature to want to feel like we are part of something and that we have some control over our lives. Don’t forget that your brand is made up of the individuals in your company. So nurturing a positive company culture is not just the responsibility of the HR department, but of everyone, from the CEO to the janitor.

A healthy culture has several benefits. Take a look at a few and the reasons why they can have such a significant effect.

  • Focus – Keeping employees aimed at the same goal helps a company run with efficiency. Getting people to care about the goal comes with having a healthy focus. If your employees feel like they are a significant part of accomplishing that goal they'll be more likely to push themselves. When individuals feel like they have no influence on the main goal, they loose focus, and can become cynical.
  • Cohesion – For a team to have cohesion they must have strong communication. Companies with a healthy culture find that the communication of both success and failure happens more often and more quickly.
  • Motivation – A enthusiastic workforce gets things done. That may seem apparent, but companies that don't pay attention to the health of their culture could be struggling with regards to efficiency. Being motivated to work hard is a trait that ought to be present in every person in the company if the culture is healthy.

Measuring the Cultural Health of Your Company

Cultural health should be assessed regularly. So how do you evaluate the cultural health of a company? First, look at how people are supervised, are they just given a task with no input or do they have some control over their work? Are repetitive tasks distributed so everyone has the opportunity to be challenged? While some people may never be happy, if you find the overwhelming consensus to be negative it may be time to look at making a few changes in how the business is run to improve the culture and the overall health of the company. Visit again soon to learn some helpful tips on creating a positive work environment.

Simplify Online Invoicing with These Services

You launched your own catering business because you love to cook. You went into the bakery business to sell cookies and cupcakes. You didn't open your own landscaping company because you love paperwork. Yet to be a successful small business owner, you can't neglect the financial side of your business, and this means that you have to make sure that you correctly invoice your clients. Neglecting to invoice your clients can leave you with a significant cash flow problem, one that, if left unchecked, could put you out of business.

Invoicing help online

Fortunately, there are plenty of online invoicing services designed to make life less complicated for the small business owner. By utilizing one of these services, you can quickly -- and depending on your clients, automatically -- distribute your invoices each month. It's one less job for you to handle. Here is a glance at some of the better online invoicing services:

A free but powerful invoicing service


Sometimes the word “free” is synonymous with “not very good.” Happily, that isn't the case with the free system, BillingBoss. Ideal for most small businesses that want to automatically invoice customers monthly and periodic once-off invoicing, BillingBoss packs a huge punch without cost!

A power tool

AcceptPay from American Express is unquestionably for the power user. For only $30 a month, users of AcceptPay can connect with QuickBooks, collect online payments from clients, and set up a wide array of customizable automatic invoices. It seems a pretty small price to pay for such a robust tool.

Invoicing for the tech-savvy

If you are tech-savvy and understand how to use open source software, BambooInvoice is a great option. This free service is extremely customizable and lives on your in-house servers as opposed to in the cloud.  This makes it easy for you to make the program fit your company’s exact needs.

The best news for business owners is that these services are only a small sample of the many online invoicing services available, most of them free or low-cost. Those business owners who want to quickly gain control over their invoicing process should check them out.

Microsoft: real-time threat feed

If the rumors are true, Microsoft is stepping up significantly to join the fight against cyber crime. Apparently, Microsoft is developing a real-time feed that documents current cyber threats and provides necessary steps to safeguard against them.

Microsoft presently has a process in place to take down dangerous botnets. Microsoft “swallows” the botnets and allows them to infect accounts that are highly controlled by Microsoft’s team. After the botnets infect the accounts, Microsoft learns the way they work and eliminates them as a threat.

This collected information is now given to ISPs, private and government organizations, & CERTs. While real-time data may not lessen the number of attacks by destructive code, the impact of sharing this data will in all probability be quite remarkable. IT security companies will be able to respond more speedily to these threats and thus be able to reduce the level of damage they can cause.

Another great result a real-time threat feed could have is an increase in overall information sharing between IT security companies. For too long IT companies have been unwilling to share threat information for the fear that it could fuel more attacks. Most experts say this an unsupported fear.  The cyber criminal “community” has already been sharing and gaining knowledge from each other.  It is only logical therefore that IT security professional share as much information as possible to fight the seemingly endless barrage of new cyber threats.

Let’s hope that security professionals soon realize that sharing information is more valuable than secrecy. And let’s hope that Microsoft’s move is a first step in this change of attitude.

Cloud Security: Part 2

Many small business owners have employed the cloud during these challenging economic times. Business owners can conserve money by utilizing programs within the cloud, from Photoshop alternatives to project-management tools. Nevertheless, the cloud can be a bit questionable when it comes to security. Documents stored in the cloud can be jeopardized or damaged.

Password issues

The greatest security issue that company owners face with regards to cloud computing happens to also be the biggest security issue that users also face when it comes to computing: passwords which are either too simple to guess or shared too freely.

Business owners should be careful to choose passwords to their cloud projects which are difficult for others to guess. The best option is for owners to include a blend of letters and numbers in their passwords. Owners should also be cautious about sharing their passwords with too many people. The more people who have access to passwords, the more vulnerable important data and documents are.

Hacker alert


Hackers, malware, and spyware remain serious issues for cloud environments, just as they are problems that business owners face when logging onto their personal computers each day. The thing that makes this particularly scary is that individual business owners have little control over how secure cloud services are. The big names -- companies like Microsoft and Google -- must supply their own security for the material that business owners store in the cloud.


Common sense protection

Protecting yourself from theft in the cloud can be as simple as applying some common sense practices.

First, owners should consider what kind of information they are storing in the cloud. The most sensitive data, data that could damage a business if it is lost or stolen, may not be ideal for cloud storage. Instead, this data might be better preserved on a business owner's individual computing system and dependably backed up.


Secondly, before giving every employee free access to cloud-stored data, think carefully about which employees actually needs access to that information. People are often careful about protecting their laptops and desktop computers from prying eyes; this attitude should be applied to the cloud as well.

Cloud Security: Part 1

There a variety of benefits to cloud computing. Backing up important data makes it readily available to everyone in your company and frees up space on your servers. You probably have many concerns about cloud security and might be wondering if cloud security will protect your client’s data and adhere to HIPAA, PCI or Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

Do cloud storage solutions adhere to these regulations? Are they required to? If they haven’t spelled it out in their privacy policies, it is safest to assume they are not compliant. We will explore this more below.

Compliance

Cloud security has become an important issue recently, as more and more companies turn to online storage solutions, looking for greater simplicity, scalability and affordability. Yet the price in both money and reputation for improper handling of customer data can be very high indeed. If your business should comply to key regulations associated with patient privacy (HIPAA), credit card security (PCI) or the finance-sector strictures of Sarbanes-Oxley, it can be hard to find out if a service complies with these important restrictions.

Who is responsible

Cloud security is vital when handling your sensitive data, but whose responsibility is it? Should you assume that if it is not spelled out in the privacy policy, that a service provider doesn't abide by these regulations? Even though this is clearly the safest option, it may leave you unable to use cloud computing at all. Many services do not provide detailed information in their privacy rules, possibly to lower their liability. The hope is that with time cloud storage and sharing will become better self-regulated and companies will opt to disclose their individual practices to the businesses they serve. While such self-regulation is not required right now, many businesses believe it is their duty to display clear warnings, explaining what they don't provide or guarantee.

Currently there's no law in place that requires a company to divulge these details. Cloud computing services can save your organization money while improving efficiency, but they could also risk noncompliance with privacy laws. This leaves the risk on your shoulders and it is up to you to weigh the benefits and threats for yourself. The topic of cloud security is likely to be one of much debate in coming years. At the moment, the right road to travel is the the one that best meets your company's particular needs.

Online Tools to Help You Manage Projects

As a small business owner, you may have worried about all of the what-ifs that could come into play if a disaster were to happen. Exactly what does it mean when we talk about a disaster? It could mean a natural disaster destroying all of your data, a simple download of a virus that corrupts your systems, or an employee innocently deleting something they shouldn’t have. Whatever happens it can be hard and time consuming to recuperate from. Develop a disaster recovery plan to ensure that if the time ever comes, there is a plan in place so that you can get back on your feet as quickly as possible.

Decide What’s Important

The first step is knowing what you have and what’s essential. Take an inventory of all the data that is critical for your company to run. This will lead you to the data that ought to be backed up. Utilizing an online provider or the cloud to store all of your data is one method to ensure data recovery if your hard drive crashes and burns.

Make a Plan


Your next step is to contemplate what steps you need to take if something happens. Start with the worst possible scenario and make a plan for that. What technology do you require if everything is destroyed, what data, and what systems need to be back up ASAP? Write down all of these in order of importance.

Know Your Workflows

I’m sure you have the big picture of your company processes, but what about all the day-to-day processes that you don’t have memorized? Ask your employees to document their workflows and the specific tasks they preform. This way, if something does happen, anyone can pick up where they left off and nothing gets looked over.

Decide Who is in Charge

Many people panic when disaster strikes. To make sure the panic doesn’t make things worse, put someone that has helped you build the plan in charge of carrying out your data recovery plan. This way you are available to reassure everyone and manage the company and you can be the strong leader your employees need in time of crisis.

People often think disasters can’t happen to them, but we never know what could happen in the future! So it’s important to have a plan in place just in case. This will help put you and your employees at ease.