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Newsle The Newsle web service is a great way to find out what your competitors are up to. This website pulls information from LinkedIn to determine what your competitors are doing. It archives any articles or pages that use your competitors’ names so you can always be sure what they’re doing, be it news or a site update. Newsle offers the ability to receive email notifications so you can always stay on top of your competitors. This provides a discreet way of knowing what your competitors are doing, so you can continuously take advantage of what they’re not doing. MSN Money Just like Newsle, MSN Money is a free app that you can use to keep track of your competitors’ activity. It comes with Windows 8, so you might even already have it on some of your workstations. It acts similarly to Newsle, pulling information from all over the Internet, including news sources, finance blogs, and major newspapers. MSN Money offers a comprehensive view of the stock market, news, and financial performance of industries, allowing you to compare and contrast your own performance with those of competitors. Glassdoor Glassdoor is known primarily as a tool to help job seekers find employment, but it also has plenty of services that are valuable for you as an employer. One of Glassdoor’s best features is its ability to display salaries and user reviews of companies. This helps you offer more incentives to your own employees to prevent your competitors from poaching your talent. Plus, if your team is confident you provide the best compensation around, they’ll be more likely to work harder. Feedly RSS Reader Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a way of taking multiple blog streams and putting them into one. This gives you the advantage of checking out all of your preferred blogs in just one place. With Feedly, you can read a summary of the blog post before reading the whole thing. This helps you judge what’s most worth your time before indulging in something that’s not important. By using Feedly, you can follow important news in your industry and local communities. CrunchBase With a free web application and mobile apps available, CrunchBase is an ideal research tool to follow companies, products, and services from all sorts of different backgrounds and areas. CrunchBase will also list products and contact information for any companies that pop up in the search feed. Google Alerts Google Alerts lets you set up an automatic detection system for when Google detects a new piece of content is published on a particular subject. You can set these up so that the second anything is published about either your company or a competitor, you can get email notifications, meaning you’re always watching… waiting… A little knowledge of your competition is invaluable in the long run. What are your thoughts and best practices concerning your competition? Let us know in the comments.

This model of IT support, the model that SRS Networks proudly adheres to, is designed to deliver substantial value for any organization looking to cut capital costs, and improve their IT security and the efficiency of their business. Once you couple the comprehensive IT management and support platform with the development and deployment of secure and dynamic computing resources, it becomes clear to business owners that we can present a wide variety of enterprise-level options for the modern small and medium-sized business. One way MSPs have diversified over the years is that they have begun to distribute cloud computing platforms, essentially handling all the virtual needs of businesses that are curious about what hosted computing solutions can do for them. In fact, a survey conducted by THINKstrategies and MSPAlliance found that over four out of five MSPs have seen their revenues grow thanks, in large part, to the growth in demand for secure utility computing platforms. To meet this demand, more MSPs have had to establish data centers or contract colocation centers, in which equipment, space, and bandwidth are available for rental. This allows businesses to get the customized and scalable cloud computing platform they need to properly host the computing and applications they utilize day-in and day-out. With forms of virtualized computing becoming wildly popular, many MSPs have begun to offer their own hosted platforms as well as solutions from third-party software vendors in an active attempt to meet the needs of every business in the market. Your average hosted solution removes the need for IT management, as the colocation service or the MSP that handles all the support and management of these platforms, absorbing this cost into the service fee we charge. This trend is projected to continue for the next several years, as new cloud-based capabilities improve frequently and exponentially. Whether it is the implementation and proactive IT support for a private cloud, or the virtualization of your company’s information to make it easier to utilize your available computing resources, MSPs like SRS Networks are in a position to assist any company. A study by MarketsandMarkets has predicted that total MSP business will jump nearly 100 percent annually to $255 billion by 2018. As many businesses have found out over the past few years, partnering with a managed service provider like SRS Networks will not only vastly reduce downtime, but also provide your organization with the solutions you are looking for to get the most out of every dollar that’s budgeted for technology. Call us today to find out how we can help your organization get to the next level.

Click, Drag, and Drop If you’re browsing Google Chrome and you see a word or words that you want to search for, all you have to do is highlight the text and then click, drag, and drop it into the search bar (the same bar where the URL is displayed). Upon doing this, Google will jump into action and automatically perform a search for you. It doesn’t get much easier than that. Click and Right-Click Then again, maybe it does. With the power of right-click, you can skip the pesky drag-and-drop thing altogether. All you have to do is highlight the text in Google Chrome that you would like Google to search for, right-click it, and then select Search Google for […]. Surely and suddenly, Chrome will open up a new tab displaying whatever it is you’re searching for. Have you tried out either one of these Google Search methods using Chrome before? If not, give it try by selecting any of the words on this page. For example, we think you’ll enjoy the search results after highlighting the phrase “SRS Networks California managed IT” (just do us a favor and don’t select our website if you see a little yellow box saying “Ad” next to our Google listing–the cost of those Google Adwords clicks add up fast.) Or Just Use Your Voice Of course, at the end of the day, it doesn’t get much easier than just performing a Google search with your voice. All you have to do is go to Google’s home page and (with your microphone activated) say “OK Google.” A red microphone icon will suddenly appear and Google will anxiously await your orders. Next, tell Google whatever it is you’re looking for and your wish is its command. Just remember to speak clearly and have all other background noises toned down, or else Google will pick up on these words too, and come up with some wild and wacky search results. There you have it. With these three Google Search methods in your arsenal, you’ll never again have to be bothered by all that pesky typing. Celebrate this achievement by kissing your bulky keyboard goodbye and tossing it in the trash… and then use one of these three Google Search methods to buy a new one, because you’re probably still going to need a keyboard for other things. For more technology-related productivity tips, subscribe to our blog and check back with SRS Networks’s website every week.

Samsung should’ve learned this hard lesson from T-Mobile after they suspended the sales of their ZTE Zmax phablet just last spring, but it wasn’t because there was anything wrong with it. In fact, it was working just fine. Instead, too many customers were trying to remove the phone’s non-removable battery. Tony from iFixit.com wholeheartedly recommends that all of his fellow ZTE ZMax users use a knife to pry off the cover, to which user Nokia Adeston gives a stern reply; essentially saying to Tony, “It’s because of idiots like you why T-Mobile discontinued the product.” Tony: It has no glue, I opened my ZTE Zmax using a knife and small screwdriver prying little by little. Nokia Adeston: You aren’t supposed to open the back of the ZTE ZMAX. They can be opened but it has a high risk of damaging the phone. T-Mobile and MetroPCS stopped selling these phones because people were either breaking their devices or hurting themselves trying to open and remove the battery. I wouldn’t recommend opening it unless it is professionally done. Poking a cell phone battery with a knife; hey, what’s the worse that can happen? That could have been you, Tony. Could. Have. Been. You. Now, we’re pretty sure that the packaging and literature that came with the ZTE ZMax made it abundantly clear that the battery is non-removable, and that the back of the phone isn’t supposed to be opened under any circumstance. Despite this precaution, Tony and a significant amount of other ZMax users thought they knew better and literally “hacked” at their phone with a blunt object. Perhaps they thought they could replace their dying battery. Maybe they were attempting a hard reset. Or better yet, maybe they were looking for the rumored prize inside, like with their favorite breakfast cereal. Whatever the reason, Samsung needs to figure it out and take extreme precautions in order to prevent people from destroying their Galaxy Note 5 because they’re used to swapping out batteries with previous models. Otherwise, all the smartphone tinkerers of the world will get a face full of pure battery fire and Samsung will have some major lawsuits on their hands, which they would inevitably lose because, you know, that’s what our society has come to. As California’s leading IT professionals, we’ve seen our share of technology blunders like this where users destroy perfectly good devices, simply because they didn’t know any better. Lucky for them, we’re here to fix it, no judgment attachments. To get your technology repaired and hear some whopping stories about our favorite IT service calls, give us a call today at (831) 758-3636.

If you’ve not yet heard of AR technology or experienced it, don’t worry, you will. Wikipedia defines AR technology as: A live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. One example of AR technology that you might be familiar with comes from sports broadcasts. When watching a football game on your television, you will notice lines and arrows on the field that are generated by a computer for the viewers at home. These lines aren’t actually on the field, which might come as a bit of a shocker for a viewer who doesn’t know about this trick. They will be quite puzzled as to where these lines are when they go to attend a live game. You can imagine just how far-reaching and fantastic the ramifications are for this technology. Due to our mobile devices primarily being used for entertainment purposes, it’s easy to let our imaginations run wild concerning all the different ways AR technology can be used to entertain us, and even market our businesses. For example, think for a moment how intense video gaming would be if we played, not in a computer-generated world on our televisions, but in the real world with elements from the game interacting with our physical surroundings which we would access via portable headset. To give you an idea of what we’re talking about, check out this trailer for Microsoft’s AR technology project, HoloLens: Pretty cool, right? Believe it or not, variations of AR technology can already be found on the consumer market, but it’s availability is still limited. However, for the purpose of this article, we want to think beyond entertainment. Instead, think for a moment about real-world applications of this technology when it comes to education. By downloading an AR technology-enabled app, users will be able to learn in a much more dynamic way than simply watching a video tutorial (which is the current preferred way to learn a new skill by many of today’s computer users). Consider this fascinating example; what if you need to make an engine repair on your car, but you’re in no way shape or form a mechanic? Theoretically, it will one day be possible to download an AR app designed for your vehicle’s make and model, and then simply point your mobile device at your car’s engine and follow directions. Thanks to the wonders of AR technology, arrows will appear on the screen directing you to which parts you’ll need to remove and install next. Technology like this will allow you to easily make needed repairs on your own, without having to spend years training as an auto mechanic. So far, the best delivery systems we’ve seen in AR tech involves special glasses, like Google Glass. Despite technology like Glass receiving a lot of attention, it fizzled after its premiere, due perhaps to its steep price tag and social stigma stemming from privacy concerns. As it stands, the most realistic way for AR technology to catch on is to make it available on a platform that’s already being widely used by consumers (instead of requiring consumers to shell out extra money for a standalone device). If technology like this were available on our smartphones, […]

Take a Risk with Gamification Gamification motivates people by drawing from a person’s desire for achievement and competition. Turing a goal into a game can be done with common tasks like employee training and even project completion. Gamification can also be used to get customers more engaged with your product or service. When customers engage your company as they would a competitive game, brand loyalty increases and you’re provided with valuable feedback that can be used to improve marketing efforts, productivity, and customer service. Acquire Motivation Using Gaming Tactics Gamification has broad (and board) applications. Businesses using gamification tactics aren’t necessarily dealing with customers playing cards and paying employees with Monopoly money, although, these strategies certainly qualify as legitimate gamification tactics. One successful example of gamification that you’re likely familiar with is reward points. Credit card companies reward consumers with points in order to motivate them to spend more money. These points can be redeemed for something a consumer cares about like airline miles and credit at their favorite retailer. Motivating with rewards is a powerful gamification tactic that drives sales. Guess Who? Assembling Your Gamification Team Implementing gamification for your business takes some “outside the box” thinking. Successful gamification tactics capitalize on a person’s drive for fun competition. Therefore, you don’t want the person in charge of gamifying a company task to be someone with a straight-laced and by-the-book personality. Instead, look for the guy or girl that has a knack for having fun and knows how to motivate others. You will also want to involve a staff member that has a proven creative side. With your gamification team in place, all you have to do is roll the dice with your team and watch company morale improve! Before you know it, everyone will get the same enjoyment out of your business as a friendly game of poker (when the cards are going your way, of course). The Game of Life and Technology In the same way that the most popular games of today are video games, there are great gamification solutions available for your company’s technology. Many of these gamification solutions can be installed on your company’s website. Gamification technology can also be utilized over your company’s network in order to track staff performance. This can turn the completion of projects into healthy competition. Gamification Helps Technology Users Get a Clue Gaming elements are showing up in more technologies. Software manufacturers are even making a game out of teaching users how to utilize their software. Adobe, for example, has an onboarding program for Photoshop called LevelUp that teaches users the basics of the software with assignments where badges and points are earned. Fun gaming techniques like this are making technology less intimidating for people that aren’t technologically inclined. Be UNO in Sales! What are some ways that your business and its technology can turn up the fun with gamification? Think about your favorite game. What makes it so engaging? How can you incorporate those elements into your business? Thanks to gamification, the next time someone asks you, “Do you think this is a game?” You can roll your twenty-sided dice and reply, “Why yes. Yes I do. Go fish.”

WIRED reporter Andy Greenburg experienced this terror first-hand, though he was expecting it to happen. In fact, he’s already had two run-ins with this type of hack. The first time was in 2013, when researchers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek accompanied Greenburg as he drove a Ford Escape. As he reports, “they sat in the backseat with their laptops, cackling as they disabled my brakes, honked the horn, jerked the seat belt, and commandeered the steering wheel.” This doesn’t sound like something you’d want to happen while driving on the highway; that much is for certain. Two years later, and this is precisely what happened the second time Greenburg met up with the researchers. Miller and Valasek instructed Greenburg to drive on the highway while they remotely hacked the vehicle. The only issue is that he didn’t know when the attack would strike. Still, they assured him that they wouldn’t try anything life-threatening, but when you’re faced with a vehicle that you have practically no control over, that’s a little hard to believe. The two succeeded, taking over the air conditioning, spamming the windshield wipers, and blaring Kanye West (the self-proclaimed “greatest living rock star in the world,” mind you) at maximum volume. They then mercilessly cut the transmission and brakes, which abruptly ended Greenburg’s ride down Interstate 64. Yes, that’s right. Hackers can remotely mess with your vehicles if they really want to. The code used by Miller and Valasek is designed to use the Jeep’s entertainment console as a jumping point, issuing commands to the dashboard functions, steering wheel, brakes, and even the transmission. Though the code is only in the possession of the researchers (for the time being), you can bet that hackers are always looking for ways to profit off of the misfortune of others, and it’s only a matter of time before they find a practical use for hacks just like this one, and much more. Following this troublesome vulnerability being exposed, there was a recall on the Jeep Cherokees affected by this code, though Chrysler wasn’t able to locate a definitive defect. Either way, such a drastic stunt only proves how technology is pushing toward greater communications without paying equal attention to security. In order to avoid the “crash and burn” aspect of The Internet of Things, it’s imperative that you take action now before it’s too late to do so. This means that, as a business owner, it’s up to you to take the proper precautions to shield your organization’s network from potentially malicious activity. Integrating powerful security solutions is one way you can make accessing your network easy for your employees, but difficult for any unauthorized devices. Give us a call at (831) 758-3636 to learn more about how you can take the first steps toward protecting your business from rogue devices.

Privacy Controversy One of the biggest problems that most users have with Windows 10 is how the default settings are set to provide certain information to Cortana and Microsoft, in exchange for enhanced services and features. Granted, if you’re using the free versions of Gmail, Google Drive, or even Google Chrome, your information is already being collected by Google, so you’re no stranger to having your information collected as it is. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you want to expose this info to Microsoft. For reference, by default, it collects: Search queries submitted to Bing A voice command to Cortana Private communications including email content Information from a document uploaded to OneDrive Requests to Microsoft for support Error reports Information gathered from cookies Data collected from third parties Nothing too serious or out of the ordinary, but if you’re concerned that Microsoft knows too much about you already, you’ll want to adjust your settings at the cost of missing out on some of the new custom features. No Media Center and DVD Player We realize that there aren’t a lot of people out there who are still using Windows Media Center when there are several other apps out there available that perform the same function, but the avid few who are proponents of this piece of software will be disappointed to find out that Windows 10 did away with WMC. Additionally, Windows 10 also lacks preinstalled software for playing DVDs, which is strange considering how simple it is to use just about anything else to do so. The solution for this is to install a free media player like VLC Media Player. VLC handles DVDs as well as virtually all types of media files whether it’s audio or video. There are, of course, a plethora of paid DVD/Blu-Ray player apps on the market, but when all you want to do is watch your extended copy of Mad Max, it’s not required that you purchase new software. Lack of Universal Applications Another fault that plagues Windows 10 is the same that hurt Windows 8 and 8.1. While there is indeed an app store, the amount of universal apps is somewhat… lackluster. While Microsoft might make it seem like there’s a significant variety of applications available, there really isn’t that much available in terms of sheer utility. It’s mostly just silly games and other unnecessary features that offer nothing for the workplace. Still, some of the important ones are available, like the Microsoft Office suite. The only solution for this is to wait it out. Just like the early days of iOS and Android, who both took a few years to grow their library of apps, Windows is going to experience the same. The good news? With so many users adopting and running Windows 10, app developers have an incentive to get their products in the hands of Windows 10 users. We feel it won’t be long before the Windows 10 Store is on par with Google’s and Apple’s. Forced Updates One aspect of Windows 10 that is proving to be a difficult and somewhat frustrating feature for some users is the inclusion of automatic, forced updates into the patching system. This means that all PCs running Windows 10 that aren’t tied to an upgrade server will always get […]

2. Ensure Backup Procedures Are Checked Regularly – Many times business owners think that they have a backup system in place only to find out after it’s too late that it hasn’t been working properly. It may seem like your files are being backed up daily, however, the backup could have become corrupt or it is not backing up huge chunks of critical data. Check your backup procedures regularly to ensure they are working properly in order to be sure that ALL of your data can be recovered. In the age of BYOD (Bring-Your-Own-Devices) it is also important to frequently backup data on your employee’s personal laptops, iPads or Blackberrys, so make sure you have a procedure in place to check those backups as well. 3. Make Sure Updated Virus Protection and Firewalls Are Always Enabled – Far too many companies either have no virus protection, expired virus software licenses, or disabled virus programs that aren’t running at all. This makes their business technology vulnerable to virus attacks from emails, spam, data downloads, and unreputable websites. Further, because of inadequate firewall protection about 40% of small to medium businesses will have their network accessed by a hacker. Chances are, when these businesses are attacked they will be entirely unaware it is happening. In order to protect your valuable data and assets, ensure your virus protection is adequate, up-to-date and functioning properly and that your firewall is intact. Finally, don’t forget to update security patches and change passwords when an employee leaves in order to deter hacking attempts. 4. Monitor Server Drives – Dangerously full server drives can bring their own set of problems – ranging from program and server crashes to sluggish email delivery. Proactive monitoring and maintenance of your server can spare your business a lot of problems down the road. 5. Regularly Check Critical Built-In Logs – Very few problems with technology emerge suddenly. These problems typically progress over time and evolve into more serious problems. Frequently review your critical built-in log files to help identify the problem before it has gotten out of control and wreaks havoc on your business infrastructure.