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Wednesday, 10 October 2012

7 Reasons Businesses Don’t Back Up Their Data

Posted on 15:09 by Unknown
Our computers are a bigger part of life than ever before. We shop, work and play using our computers. They've replaced stereos, encyclopedias, even the mailman. They've become journals, photo albums and canvases for our art.
But computers aren't perfect. Files become corrupt, viruses infect our systems and hard drives call it quits, taking our precious data with them. Lost data can cause a major crisis in a business or worse, lead to business failure. So why do so few of us practice data backup?

Reason #1: Costs too much
With a wide selection of options on the market, data backup has become increasingly affordable for protecting a company's files. More important, compared to the costs of data loss (expenses related to loss of productivity, decreased quality, disk recovery costs, lost intellectual property, etc.), backup solutions are one of the most cost-effective technologies an organization can make.

Reason #2: Takes too much time to manage
There are backup solutions that run automatically and continuously without requiring any intervention from the user. Good, high-performing backup software runs automatically in the background and continuously without slowing an organization down. Technologies of backup software, like data-deduplication (a method of reducing storage needs by eliminating redundant data) and incremental backups, reduce demand on CPU resources, network bandwidth, and storage costs.

Reason #3: Not going to happen to me
You've had your computer this long and haven't had problems so far so why worry about computer backup now? Data backup is about protecting your data's future, but with computers, it isn't if you will crash, it's when you will crash.

Data loss events happen more frequently than you might suspect.  This can be the result of human error (forgetting a laptop in a cab, accidentally deleting a file, saving over the wrong file), natural disasters, theft, viruses or hardware failure. Having automatic, continuous backup is like insurance you buy, hoping you'll never need it, but relieved to have when (not if) something unfortunate happens.
Reason #4: Forget to deploy it

Offsite backup is automatic and continuous. This enables businesses to focus on their business, not on remembering to back up their data. With offsite backup, daily email reports are sent verifying the success and size of your backup.
Reason #5: Too complicated

Like preparing for a natural disaster, most of us understand how important data backup is, but don't know where to start. Unlike the “old days,” when the process required tape and complicated schemes for backing up data, testing and verifying the backup archive, it is not so today. Offsite backup solutions can be setup quickly and then forgotten. Data can be restored with a call to the help desk.
Reason #6: If something happens, we'll just use a data recovery service

Data recovery services are useful only when there is a computer to recover. They are no use at all if the PC is lost or stolen. Also, these services are very expensive (costing in the thousands of dollars), with no guarantees that all, if any, of the data will be recovered. And how will the business limp along without the files in the weeks it could take to get them back? Why chance it?
Reason #7: We'll copy to an External Hard drive

Copying is not the same as a backup (it's much more cumbersome and is an inefficient use of storage). Also, if something happens to that drive, it's as if the files were never backed up at all. That's why there are offsite backup solutions that offer the ability to back up online for secure off-site protection.
Offsite backup is simple, secure, affordable and easy to deploy. It’s just a phone call to Northern Computer. We’ll install the software and schedule the backups. You’ll receive daily emails verifying the success of your backup. With all of the reasons for not having a backup plan in place covered and the understanding of the importance of backup, you can make the right decision to protect your company’s valuable data.


Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca
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Posted in Backup, Cloud, computer | No comments

7 Time-Saving Features of MFPs

Posted on 15:02 by Unknown
Printing, scanning, and copying is a given with today’s multifunction printers (MFPs). Today's MFPs perform better than ever, and offer some advanced features.  Vendors are adding new technology and new capabilities so quickly that some models are replaced in less than two years.
The next time you’re in the market for a new MFP, below are some time and money saving features that you may want to consider:

1.       Scan to mail – This feature allows you to scan directly to e-mail. E-mailing scanned documents straight from your printer is a big timesaver and paper saver. Without this feature, you’d need to scan a document to your PC and then send it as an attachment via e-mail from your PC. Since there’s nothing to print and nothing to fax, these features cut down on paper usage.

2.       Duplex printing capability – The ability for the MFP to print on both sides of a sheet of paper without manual intervention by the user.
 
3.       Duplex scanning – Just like duplex printing, this feature allows for automatic scanning of both sides of a document - no need to turn your originals manually - the MFP does the work for you! 

4.       PIN-based printing - You can print confidential documents using PIN printing. Print jobs are stored in memory on the MFP until you visit the device and enter your PIN number. 

5.       Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) – With this feature, you can input multiple sheets of paper into a document feeder instead of manually placing each piece of paper on the platen glass. 

6.       Document Finishing capabilities – Built in features such as stapling, hole punching and folding that save you from manually finishing the documents. 

7.       Direct USB printing – Just walk up, insert a flash drive, select a PDF or image file and start printing.

The automated features available in today’s MFPs can save time and money. At Northern Computer we can help you find the right printer for your needs and budget. Happy shopping!


Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca
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Posted in Printers | No comments

How to Google Effectively

Posted on 14:54 by Unknown
Do you find yourself wading through pages and pages of results when you do a Google search? There are a number of ways to make your search more efficient and find exactly what you’re looking for quickly.

1. Either/OR
Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator. For example - book OR video how to fix things

2. Quotes
Search for an exact phrase, using quotes. "BBQ chicken recipes" will only find results with that exact phrase. BBQ "chicken recipe" will find pages that contain the word BBQ and the exact phrase "chicken recipe".

3. Wildcard
The "*" symbol is a wildcard. This is useful if you're trying to find the lyrics to a song, but can't remember the exact lyrics. For example - can't * me love lyrics will return the Beatles song you're looking for.

4. Calculator
One of the handiest uses of Google, type in a quick calculation in the search box and get an answer. It's faster than calling up your computer's calculator in most cases. Use the +, -, *, / symbols and parentheses to do a simple equation. For example 8 * 7 – 5.

5. Site-specific
Searching within a site can often be helpful, but not all sites have search bars built in. Use the "site:" operator to search only within a certain website. For example site: cooks.com artichoke will search for the term artichoke only within the website.

6. Operators
You can also use other operators such as the "movie:" operator to search for a movie title along with either a postal code or city and province to get a list of movie theaters in the area and show times. The "music:" operator returns content related to music only. Use the "define:" operator to get a quick definition. [define: ultrabook] will give you a whole host of definitions from different sources, with links.

7. Vertical search
Instead of searching for a term across all pages on the web, search within a specialized field. Google has a number of specific searches, allowing you to search within images, maps, videos and more. Choose a field from the left side of the results page.
  • Web
  • Images
  • Maps
  • Videos
  • News
  • Books
  • Places
  • Blogs
  • Flights
  • Discussions
  • Applications
  • Patent
8. Unit converter
Use Google for a quick conversion, from yards to meters for example, or different currency: [5.83 kg in pounds]

9. File types
If you just want to search for .PDF files, or Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets, for example, use the "filetype:" operator. For example - computer backup filetype:pdf OR filetype:doc

10. Location of term
By default, Google searches for your term throughout a web page. But if you just want it to search certain locations, you can use operators such as "inurl:", "intitle:", "intext:", and "inanchor:" Those search for a term only within the URL, the title, the body text, and the anchor text (the text used to describe a link). For example inurl: fitness

Lastly if you forget any of these tips, you can always use the advanced search option on the bottom of your results page.


Northern Computer - Your Trusted Partner
#1 - 495 Banks Road Kelowna, BC V1X 6A2
Phone: 250.762.7753 Fax: 250.861.1861 Toll-Free: 1.877.257.2896
Email: sales@northerncomputer.ca or service@northerncomputer.ca
Web: http://www.northerncomputer.ca
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Posted in Internet | No comments
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