This is a brief introduction to the way you can manipulate Google Desktop Search to get different results.

There are three main ways you can manipulate the results of Google Desktop Search:

1. By using double quotes.
2. Specifying the file type.
3. Specifying the folder you wish to search under.

Using Double Quotes

• "phrase" - if you put your search phrase in double quotation marks then Google Desktop will return only exact matches.
  

Specifying the file type

• filetype: - this will let you specify the filetype of the of the results returned. For example, if you enter 'Peter filetype:doc', it will return only Microsoft Word files that contain the word Peter in them.
  

Specify the search folder

• under: - lets you specify the folders in which Google Desktop will search for example we could search just for documents under "c:\word\".
  

The TP-Link TL-WR702N 150Mbps Wireless N Nano Router is a truly unique product.  Sized at a little over 50mm x 50mm this router is much smaller than your typical router. It is designed for to give you a private wireless network when travelling.  Simply plug the router into the WAN port in your hotel room and create your own private WIFI network. 

This is not a super powerful router with speeds rated at 10/100 but it will be more than adequate to provide content to tablets, smart phones, iPhones, iPads etc. Given the small footprint I imagine this device would easily become overloaded with a few devices or a powerful computer so do not go overboard. Never the less the idea is a novel one and deserves some attention.

Cleverly TP-Link made the device such that it can be powered using either an external power adaptor or using a USB power connection. I have yet to try this but I imagine this would mean I could plug the router into my iPhone charger and simply replace the Apple cable with a standard USB cable. This would mean I would not need to carry a heavy power brick simply the router and a USB cable.

As a computer repairer the device will also come in handy when troubleshooting problems with wireless connections. I can simply plug this into an existing modem and determine if the problem is with the modem of with the wireless gateway. 

These routers have a retail price of $50 but I have already seen them as low as $19.95 in Sydney.

As a person who runs business, your schedule is already pushed to the max. You might not have time to dedicate to online marketing in a serious way. You need to make sure that any time you spend on online marketing gets a tangible payoff, otherwise your time would be better spent somewhere else.

Many business owners and managers accept that online marketing will help their business but they lack the skills to know how to go about internet marketing. Here are some tips to help you on your way to online marketing success.

Your Landing Page

As one might assume, the most important page of your website is your homepage. Your homepage is also called the landing page as this is the page that users land on when they first arrive at your site. The key purpose of the landing page is to sell your business and entice users to explore further into your site.

A key beginners mistake is to try and cram as much information on the landing page as possible. This is a bad idea because it can make your page look messy and unorganised. The overload of data can confuse or frustrate users and cause them to leave your site. The landing page should give the users the flavour of your site and contain as little content as possible without seeming sparse. You could put several articles that have a “Read more” section that draws the user further into your site.

Your navigation bar at the top of your website should have clear separate categories. For example, if you are a plumber you won’t want to have “Apartments” and “Houses” as two separate categories. You will want to have “Residential” as one category. Once the user reached residential, they can move further into the site to find the specific services for apartments or houses.

Website Content

It is important that the content on your site is original. Not only will users spot blatantly unoriginal content, but Google will punish you for copy and pasting content from other websites. Your content also needs to be relevant to your business. This is so users won’t be confused and also so you can focus on some keywords to help your rank in Google. Trying to cheat on good content will often be a waste of time, so if you don’t have anything original to say, it’s better not to say it at all

Social Media

Social media is growing as a tool for growing community awareness of your business. As with a website, you can’t just create a social media page for your business and expect people to subscribe to you. It’s not that easy. You will need to offer people an incentive to want to like your page, even if that incentive is just that you went to high school with them.

As with a website, you will need to maintain your social media page with fresh information. You could link new content from your webpage to your twitter or facebook pages. Also make sure you answer any enquires people have on your page.

Monitor Whether Your Efforts are Paying off.
There are various tools you can look into to monitor whether or not your online marketing campaign is working. There are sites such as Zopim.com or Google Analytics that you can use to monitor the traffic to your site. There are numerous tools such as TwentyFeet that inform you of your standing on Twitter and Facebook. Always remember to ask new customers where they heard about you. Keep in mind that more traffic to your site doesn’t necessarily translate to sales. It might be that your site ranks well in Google but customers are put off by your site or the services you offer on the site. If you are getting a lot of traffic and not much business, consider where your site might be going wrong and implement a new strategy. 

Windows
8 UI, Charms, and navigation
After
you have successfully logged into Windows 8, unlike previous versions of Windows
you do not go straight to the desktop. Instead you get taken to the new Windows
8 Start screen. In this screen there are numerous colored tiles that you click
on to take you to different areas of the operating system. If you want, you can
customise this interface with different colors and backgrounds. If you have
logged in with a Microsoft account, you have access your email (Outlook or
Hotmail) and contacts from the Start screen. Furthermore, you can also access
your facebook contacts from this screen provided that your Facebook account uses
your Microsoft email. Your default start screen settings also include weather
forecasts, stock market updates and news updates.

The learning curve can be quite difficult and even getting used to doing simple
things like turning off the PC can take a while.

The first thing you will need to know about is the Charms (named after the charms on
a charm bracelet). The Charms are accessed by holding your mouse on the top
right or bottom right corners of the screen. There are several keyboard
shortcuts you can use to access the different Charms as well. The Search charm
allows you to search your computer or app for a file or setting. The great thing
about the updated search function is that the Search is context aware which
means it will display different results according to what apps you are currently
using. The Share charm allows you to send information from one app to another
with formatting. The Devices charm allows you to access any Devices currently
connected to the computer such as a printer. The Settings charm allows you to
access the Windows settings as well as settings for individual apps. If you are
in an app, using the Setting charm will take you to the Settings for that app.
It can be confusing as first having some settings located in the app and some in
the Settings Charm but the user gets used to it quickly. The last charm is the
Start Charm which features the new Windows logo. The Start charm takes you back
to the start screen that you enter when you first arrive in Windows.


Another new tool for quick navigation is the Switcher. The Switcher essentially acts
much like Alt-Tab does to switch between applications. However, as not all your
applications are located on your desktop in Windows 8, the Switcher allows you
to quickly switch from, say, your Desktop to the Mail App and then to Sky Drive
and back to Desktop. Alt-Tab will just switch between applications open on your
Desktop.

Our next blog will talk about the new kinds of Windows 8 apps and the radical gamble
Microsoft has taken.

Today we are going to be talking about the newest operating system from Microsoft:
Windows 8. This will be the first in a series of articles on Windows 8.


What is Windows 8?

Windows 8 is an operating system which means it is the main link between the user and the
physical components of the computer. If your current computer runs Windows you
will probably be using Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. Windows 8 has
just been released in the last few months by Microsoft.

Windows 8 is the most radical change to Windows since the turn of the century.
Microsoft has taken a risk in designing a touch friendly operating system. This
was in response to challenges to Microsoft from Google and Apple mobile options
stealing sales from Microsofts home computing base. Microsoft has acted quickly
to try to capitalise on the burgeoning touch screen market by releasing an
operating system designed to be used on a touch screen. However, Windows 8 is
still fully functional with the traditional keyboard and mouse setup.


Purchasing

There are numerous ways to obtain Windows 8. If you buy a new laptop or PC, it will
often be installed. Be careful as a lot of new machines are still being released
with Windows 7 installed. If you have an older machine that you want to upgrade
to Windows 8, buying an upgrade package is a lot cheaper than buying the
non-upgrade version. If you have a fresh PC that you have built you will need to install Windows 8 from scratch. That is, install the OEM version, not the upgrade.

Installing

The setup process for Windows 8 is similar to Windows 7 but
there are some new features. With Windows 8 it is obvious that Microsoft wants
people to be using their cloud products and these are pushed on you from the
setup process.

Microsoft encourages users to create a cloud based Microsoft account that syncs your
settings, history and appearance whenever you sign into a Windows 8 computer
with that account. This can be useful because no matter what physical computer
you are on, you can always feel a little bit at home when you are signed into
your account. You also can use this account to use other Microsoft services in
the same way you might use an Apple ID to purchase things from the App Store.
You can create create a traditional local account if you like instead of a
Microsoft account.


As you are creating your account a tutorial video plays that helps user learn
how to use the operating system. This video will loop if it finishes before your
account creation finishes so you have ample time to watch it over. This video
will be your first introduction to Windows 8 and it helps prepare you for the
use of the new and completely redesigned user interface.

In our next article, we will cover the new Windows 8 User Interface and how to use
Windows 8 to its full potential.

Web bugs are objects that are hidden behind websites to track you and your information.  Web bugs stay invisible so they can track any visitor to the website. They stay invisible so you cannot block them or get suspicious and leave the website.  Web bugs can be composed of scrips, images and other web-based objects. They don’t have borders and are generally transparent.

 The small size of web bugs means you probably won’t notice the small size of transfers. There are lots of sneaky ways web bugs can take your data through cookies, header information and Internet Protocol addresses.  Some bugs only track your current page but there are more sophisticated ones that can track your internet history.

 The reason web bugs were created was to gain information about internet activities for advertising and marketing. The fact that web bugs are hidden could be claimed to help internet users through not having intrusive popups.  At least web bugs can make sure you get advertisements that are relevant to your interests.

On the other hand, there is no consent from users to give their information which has caused concerns from privacy advocated.  Web bugs are often used for illegitimate purposes. For example, there is not limit on how many web bugs can be on one site. You never know who is going to buy your details on the black market.  Spam mailers often use bugs to check if you are getting the mail the send. This way they can test whether their emails are getting through the software your email host has to block spam mail.  Bugs can also increase users’ risks of getting malware on their computer as the bugs can let malware know where your weaknesses are.

When a website says they won’t share your information, they are legally in the right if a web bug distributes your information. This is because web bugs steal your information from your web browser, not the web sites.

The first thing you should do to protect yourself is to turn off third party cookies in your web browser. This should half your risk from web bugs.  You could even just turn off all cookies unless you accept them. You should also regularly clear out your internet history, cookies and cache. Make sure you don’t open emails in your junk folder unless you know exactly what they are. The email provider you use is also important. Some email providers have more protection than others.

You can also get some free add ons for your web browser to protect your browser from web bugs.

 I don’t think anyone wants a bunch of random people tracking our internet use. We all want our privacy so make sure you keep yourself protected. 

Using cloud computer enables you to provide your computing needs through the internet. It allows you to have quick and simple access to your programs and services. Cloud computing could be useful to your business.

If you are a small business, you can use cloud computing to save money and thus be able to invest more money into your core business services. It is easy for businesses to transfer to using cloud computing and thus has been popular among businesses.

The transition to cloud computing is simple as you do not need to make a large investment to gain the services you need. Cloud computing has minimal start up fees and you generally just play charges for use. Seeing as there is minimal investment involved, there is nothing to lose by trying out cloud computing for your business.

Cloud computing has also destroyed the idea of having one location where your business operates out of. This expense can be eliminated with cloud computer with your employees working on files from around the world. As long as you have an internet connection, you can be using cloud computing.

Any cloud computing service provider will normally also provide an option for cloud backup, which as discussed in previous blogs, is an incredibly safe and useful way to back up your data.

One of the best features of cloud computing is that everyone with permission to view files in your organisation can see the files as soon as they are saved. With you all working off the same server, this eliminates large wait times in order to email everyone the files. Often you might email someone a file and they will then email it back to you and then you will need to make sure you are working on the most up to date version of the file. If you are all working off the same file on your server, then anyone can make any changes to any file from anywhere and it will automatically be updated.

Cloud computing is going to be a must have tool in your belt when it comes to running business in the 21st century. 

As anyone who runs a business will be aware, your computer equipment is an important part of your operation in this modern age. The future of your business may rely on your computer systems running well. It is important for most companies that they can get 24/7 IT support.

Small businesses are often in need of IT support outside of business hours. Larger businesses often have an in house tech support department but this department might not be active out of business hours. If your department cannot be reached, it is important that you have a backup option to provide you with tech support outside of business hours.

Here are some examples of problems that could occur:

·         A power out at your local exchange means you lose access to the internet.

·         Your equipment is damaged by flames

·         Your security system malfunctions and won’t let your employees leave the building

·         If your business is online, many people may be purchasing items from your website late at night.

·         A virus enters your computer system late at night. If this isn’t dealt with ASAP it could have had a whole day to entrench itself in the system

You can choose to either have external monitoring by an IT professional or just the phone number of a company you can call when things fall apart. If you choose to get external monitoring, your IT service provider will be able to let you know as soon as a problem occurs. It is important that you plan ahead so you know what services you will need. A lot of businesses may try to cut costs with their IT support but this may come back to bite you when your system fails with computer usage and safety. Furthermore, 24/7 support can be useful as IT service during business hours can sometimes be disruptive. New companies can also benefit from 24 hour support to help with teething problems as they start up. 

One of the things you will need to be aware of as your business grows is the changing nature of your IT needs. You will need to design an IT plan that is suitable for your needs as your business grows. Today we are going to be talking about how you quickly create a plan for your present future IT needs.

1.     What are your current and future aims for your business? Deciding on the path that your business will take will help you know what IT services you will need. This way there will be a link between the design of your business and the technology you have. If you don’t have goals in your business, it will be hard to plan what future IT services you will need.

2.     What are the possibilities of where your business will go? Although you will have a plan for your business, you will need to be aware of the possibilities of where this plan might lead you. You will need to know which areas are important to your business so you can identify which areas need to be upgraded. You need to make sure that your technology will keep up with the potential growth of your business.  

3.     All of your employees and investors need to know what your IT strategy is. You won’t want to leave anyone out of the loop and everyone should be working together to implement any strategy you have. A step based guide can be helpful to keep everyone on the same page.

4.     Do an analysis of the impact of your new IP strategy. It is important that you plan for the impact your new plan will have on your business. As the plan is implemented you should keep track whether the results are in line with your proposed plan. You should keep track of what areas of your new plan are working well and what areas are under-performing.

Hopefully your new IT plan will help you grow your business further.