Tips To Reduce Desktop Clutter

Clutter can build up on your desk quickly. It can get in the way of your work if you must move papers in order to reach your mouse. What about under your desk? Do your feet get twisted in a mess of cords? If this sounds like you, below are a few tips to help your get your wires and work under control.


  1. Tackle the wires – You can organize your wires a couple easy ways. One is very inexpensive, just use binder clips and clip the wires together. Another, more costly option, is to buy a wireless charging pad, often called a powermat. These devices let you charge your wireless mouse, keyboard, and devices just by putting them on it. This way you can get rid of all of the cords you need for either charging devices or connecting them to your computer.
  2. Reduce desktop clutter – Often, our desks can become cluttered with papers. The most effective way to reduce this is to use less paper. We rely so much on digital communication it is an easy switch to use programs like Evernote to store your notes. Also, try not to print documents, just store articles and reports in folders on your computer. If you must print things out, file them away once you are done reading them. This will keep you well organized and reduce clutter.
  3. Throw things away – This may sound simple, but it’s amazing how often we will write ourselves a note on a sticky note and not throw it away when we no longer need it. Additionally, after a meeting, we may not need to keep a printout, yet we do. These notes and papers can accumulate. Practice throwing away the things you no longer need or have a digital copy of.

Need a New Laptop: Important Features

What really matters when you're buying a new laptop? New York Times writer Sam Grobart suggests that it's not processor speed or a laptop's graphics card that counts. Instead, typical laptop buyers – those who want to search the Internet, watch movies, send e-mail messages, and write reports on their machines – look at more down-to-earth measures of a laptop's worth. Specifically, Grobart advises that consumers look at such mundane factors as a laptop's weight, screen size, and memory.


Weight matters


Why is the weight of a laptop so essential? Once you think about it, it is obvious. Laptops are supposed to be portable, which is the reason for them. If your laptop weights more then six pounds it’s going to stress your back when you are carrying it around. Luckily, there are a many laptops that weight much less then that.


Screen size


For people that will be watching a lot of videos or movies, a good screen size to shoot for is one that measures 13 inches diagonally. This is the perfect size to watch movies and it is small enough to carry around in most bags.


Memory


One important feature to look out for is how much RAM a laptop has. Most individuals are going to need laptops that have at least 4 gigabytes of RAM. If you opt for anything less, your computer will be too slow and may create lag when you are streaming movies. One helpful tip that Grobart gives is that when you are using your laptop, either keep it plugged in or keep your power cord on hand. This way you don’t have to worry about the battery.

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Electronic Health Records: Are Doctors and Hospitals Going Digital

Everything is going digital nowadays, even medical records. Last time that you were at the doctor did they take out an envelope to access your health records? Or did your doctor pull it up on some type of computer?


Electronic health records


This is due to the recent adoption of EHR software, or electronic heath records. The application of EHR software by medial professionals has grown in recent years. The percentage of office-based physicians with access to EHR software stood at 57 percent in 201. This is an rise from the 50.7 percent of office-based physicians who used EHR software in 2010.


Electronic records good news for patients


This is a good thing. If health records are kept electronically, they are less likely to be lost. On top of that, medical professionals can access your medial history instantly. This can shorten the time that patients have to wait to see the doctor.


Federal government encouragement


The move toward digital record keeping is being encouraged by the government as well. They are also encouraging physicians to file prescriptions electronically. This may seem like a good move as the pharmacists are not as likely to make mistakes and patients are less likely to loose their prescriptions.

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You Don't Need To Spend A Fortune On Live Chat

If you want a simple way for customers to get a hold of you, live chat may be worth looking into. With it, your clients can go directly to your website and chat directly with an individual to get their questions answered. This can be very convenient for them.


Anyone home?


Ivana Taylor recently wrote an article for the American Express OPEN Forum pertaining to live chat. She believes that live chat can make your organization more available to consumers, which could be the difference between someone going with your company or a competitor. When a customer has the option of talking with someone right away, it can instill confidence in them about your company.


Live chat apps


Taylor recommends four live chat tools for business owners. These tools all have two things in common: They're effective and they're economical, making them ideal for cash-strapped small businesses. Olark's live chat tool is a simple app that will give your customers the chance to directly connect with your enterprise. It's easy to install and maintain. It doesn't, though, include a lot of extras. That might be acceptable for many small businesses, but for those that need a bit more power, Taylor recommends LiveChat.com, SnapEngage, and LivePerson. These chat tools allow business owners to use chat on mobile device and see what pages customers were investigating when they clicked on chat.


The trend


The reason this trend seems to be growing is that is can give a company an edge over a competitor. Additionally, it can instill confidence in the consumer and help build a long lasting relationship.

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Apple And The Coming Of Holograms

Technology evolves quickly and as it has evolved, technology comes into our lives changing the way we operate day to day. A lot of technology that we take for granted today seems like something out of a science fiction movie not long ago. So what is the next giant leap in technology? A writer for Bloomberg Businessweek, Ben Kunz, thinks it’s likely to be holograms.


Apple and holograms


Kunz believes that our Apple devices will quickly display interactive holograms, similar to what Robert Downey Jr.’s character was able to utilize in the movie The Avengers. This prediction is not based solely on the conjecture of one man. It is based on some recent Apple patents and acquisitions. Along with the extreme competition in the tablet industry must not be over looked. Apple needs to take a daring step soon to stay ahead of its competitors. Will that step be holograms?


Apple's plans


How it may work: With forward-facing cameras that track the location of the viewers’ eyes and a screen that projects beams of light at different angles a hologram might be created. This hologram would also be very realistic due to the different angles created by the various beams of light. The viewer could look at it from every direction and it would retain its visual integrity.


The future of 3D?


What’s the greatest issue with 3D holograms? 3D technology has so far failed to grab the imagination of consumers. Kunz writes that the sale of 3D TV sets have been sluggish. Even games like Nintendo's 3DS handheld system, which do not require players to put on 3D glasses, have seen lukewarm sales. So why would Apple invest heavily in the technology to make holograms? Apple seems to have a history of taking failed ideas and making them become successful. This goes all the way back to the times when Apple took the idea for the mouse from Xerox, made it more effective, and saw sales soar. Apple also debuted its iPhone and iPad devices long after Microsoft first tried to introduce a pen-based tablet PC that never quite caught on. Also, Apple's 3D holograms will be different. They'll be a great deal more realistic, and they won't call for users to wear 3D glasses to view them. So what’s the message here? Get ready for holograms. Once Apple's programmers get moving on a technology, they rarely misfire.

Tips To Make The Transition To Windows 8 Easier

The Windows 8 operating system has had a lot of positive reviews. It has a large amount of features that were not present in previous versions. So if you are ready to upgrade, there are several steps you should take to make sure it goes smoothly. An article recently written by Smallbiz Technology goes into lots of detail, but we have chosen a few of the most important and shared them below.


Do the Research


Before upgrading to Windows 8, ensure your computer can effectively run the new operating system. Machines need 1GB of RAM, 16GB of hard-drive space, and a 1GHz processor to run Windows 8. If you're already running Windows 7 on your computer, don't fret. Microsoft lists the same specs for both operating systems.


Backups


Having secure backups of your most important data is a good idea for many reasons. You never know what could happen. It is particularly important to back-up your data before trying to upgrade your systems. You can transfer your data to an external hard drive or you can use a secure cloud service that many MSPs (Managed Services Provider) offer. Using a secure cloud can be less costly and more secure as you can lose or damage an external hard drive. But no matter what path you take, this is one of the most important steps to make sure you do not lose all of your data if something goes wrong during the upgrading process.


Setup utility


Microsoft offers a setup utility that searches your computer to tell you whether or not it will support Windows 8. If the computers are using XP, this can be particularly important as Microsoft will stop providing support for XP in 2014. If you are moving to Windows 8 you are going to need to reinstall your software and drivers. Hopefully you have kept all of the installation disks. This may seem like an overwhelming task, but the added features of Windows 8 could improve your efficiency enough to make it worth it. Just be sure that you follow the steps above before trying the upgrade yourself.

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