BusinessPro

When it comes to the cords that empower today’s technology, small business owners, home office workers and even corporate network engineers all suffer the same dilemma. Without a way to organize, house and label wires, the desk, baseboards and nooks behind the monitor or PC tower can become a cacophony of cluttered cables.

Wires are essential to connect computers, printers, scanners, home theater equipment and even telephone systems. Yet, even in the age of Wi-Fi, where laptops and other devices are connected without physical cables, the role wires play – and the chaos they can yield, is pervasive.Read more

In years past, the only way architect Martin L. Marquez could show clients how a building design was coming along was to overnight the design, e-mail a multi-megabyte file, or fly to their offices to walk them through the layout.

Now, they log on and collaborate together in real time. Using a service called Glance, Marquez can show clients the largest CAD, or computer-assisted design, files as if they were sitting beside him.

"The obvious advantage is striking a deal in minutes, as opposed to weeks of shipping documents back and forth," said Marquez, CEO of UrbanWorks Inc., a Miami Springs, Fla., architectural firm. "I can share my desktop with people anywhere on the Internet and with them sharing in the design process, it can cut approval time from two to three weeks to two to three hours. That's a no-brainer."

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Hank Vogel learned several lessons after Hurricane Wilma.

Two weeks without electricity persuaded him to install a permanent generator for his business. And the mere thought of losing computer data made him realize that his current backup solution -- copying computer files daily from one PC hard drive to another, and every week copying to removable tapes -- was time-consuming and insufficient in the event of a real catastrophe.

"It takes more than 30 minutes a day and an hour a week for the tape backup. That's just too long," said Vogel, president and owner of State-Line Firestopping, a Pompano Beach, FL building fireproofing company. Read more

When an intern with Hollywood, Fla.-based P.R. firm Alan T. Brown Associates couldn’t find Microsoft Office on her PC, she rallied the troops. Together, the coworkers scanned Windows Explorer (the application that shows the computer’s contents), checked the cables networking the computers, and rebooted the system.

“Every trick that we know didn't work,” said a company exec. Half an hour later, they called in tech support, who discovered that an employee had downloaded a virus. An hour – and $125 – later, the problem was cured.

While the virus snafu was avoidable, how Brown’s employees handled the issue was textbook self-help. They started with the simplest cures: Checking cables, searching directories and eventually rebooting, or restarting, the system or modem. From lost files and software to application or screens that freeze, simple fixes can solve many PC woes.Read more

Can your computer network or online banking password be found in the dictionary?

If someone knew your mother's maiden name, pet's name or your Social Security number, or even a common term from your industry, would your work or personal computer be compromised?

Most computer users create simple passwords and stick with them. If the news Web site or banking login site requires six characters, they'll use their name, maybe with a string of numerals at the end. They'll then write the "code" down on a piece of paper taped to the wall or stashed in their wallet. Read more

Noise canceling headphones and ear buds aren't just for the busy exec or college student flying high on a jet airliner. There's noise in the home office as well. The PC hums. The fan that cools the PC hums. The A/C, fans, refrigerator create a steady stream of background noise that - while not 'distracting' – it's certainly, well, noisy. It wasn't until I tried out a pair of Solitude headphones and the Solitude Acoustic Isolation System that I truly realized what distracting hums pervade the home-based workspace.

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Lou Bender is an untethered executive. When he's working from his home office, Bender's IBM ThinkPad connects to the Internet via a wireless network. When he's in the office, he can access the company network using the same laptop, which allows Bender to download files from the corporate server, receive e-mail or surf the Internet from anywhere within the building.Read more

The polar opposite to the thrill of creating some great digital content – whether it’s in written, graphical or even spreadsheet or database form – is losing it to a power loss. Power losses come in a variety of forms. They can be blackouts that last anywhere from several seconds to hours or even days on end. Brownouts are power losses that last less than a second – just long enough to cause the computer to lose random access memory (RAM) that stores files in use. They can even be caused by a child, pet or a foot that strays too far beneath the desk, dislodging the PC power cord from the electrical outlet.Read more

Christine de la Huerta was being watched.
She didn’t know it at the time. But the Coral Gables, Fla., executive’s computer was rife with applications that were tracking her Web travels. Everything from sites visited to downloads to e-mail and chat activity were being logged.Read more

Welcome to a brave new year in a brave new world. Whether it’s becoming technology-friendly or more personally engaged, home officers -- both entrepreneurs and teleworkers -- are finding more rewards in the connected workplace. But it’s not enough to sit home in the cocoon and play the recluse - no matter how "productive" you can be. You have to get out and meet people. Read more