Are you ready for Website Marketing?

By Rick Jerothe

It is getting more and more difficult these days to ignore the allure of the internet. In both my business and personal life, access to the World Wide Web is not just a “nice to have” it has become a necessity. From helping my wife cheat on crossword puzzles to educating myself on certain topics, to buying products or services it is hard to think of life without it. If you are about to establish a web presence –or- you have a website running there is one important fact you need to consider. With millions of websites out there and more on the way, It is more critical than ever to consider how people will actually find your site and ultimately your information, product or service... (Read Full Article Here)

A customers view on how to increase website rankings

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Poor Mans PC Maintenance

So you read the last post but still don’t want to spend any money on a performance boosting software? If your still using XP (and I hope you are) Try this very simple (and free) maintenance routine.

Before you start any of your software applications (like Word or Excel) find your system TEMP file folder. Typically its C:\TEMP or may be C:\WINDOWS\TEMP. Using windows file manger look inside that directory and delete any files that are in there. Cleaning the temp file folder up from time to times can help stabilize your system and sometimes even increase it performance.

Why? This is a temporary file area - a scratch area if you will for application to drop temp files into while they re operating. Many programs are like many like are like kids that haven't cleaned up there rooms in awhile and need to be looked after from time to time to make sure all is well.

If you run a small business and don’t have time for any of this, check out JCS's Small Business Services and we can help to take care of this for you. Need more information on computer performance? Feel free to contact us at info@jcservicesllc.com

Don’t tune up that car - throw it out a buy new one!

To New PC or to Tune PC?

Let me ask a simple question. The last time your car started giving you a little troubles, did you throw it out and buy a new one? Although many of us would probably love to do that - its certainly the most practical approach to keeping up with our transportation needs.

As silly as that sounds, many people do exactly that when it comes to their Personal Computers. After a few years of operation the system inevitably becomes unbearably slow. Often times people don’t try and diagnose the problem, they simply get rid of it and start over.

Now that may work for some of you, but if your on a tight budget as many of us are these days, performance and optimization software programs may just be the trick your looking for in solving your computers sluggish response problems. After all, , wouldn't it be better to spend $20-$50 bucks on improving the performance of your system instead of dumping $500-$1000 in a new one?

One of the most common issues that both home users as well as small business users of computers are faced with is the dilemma of purchasing a new PC. 9 times out of 10 this desire is driven by the slow response time of their existing computer. The frustration builds and before you know it people are out on the market searching for anew faster system. While the assessment of a computer response problem may actually require show that it would be best to go with a new system the options of using a performance boosting software just may squeeze a few more years out of the one your currently using.

Problem Solved with a new operating system… Yeah Sure
Its interesting that today that even with the newer operating systems like Vista, system response time is still an issue. The claims of improved stability may be true in some causes - like in a lab under sterile conditions, but the reality is that sooner or later you will have some performance problems that your having today late on with the new system. So addressing how to manage this problem is inevitable. You just need to determine one whether you want to deal with it on the current system, or plan for it with the new system.

So what leads to slow system response problems?

1. For one, the additions of new software and related drivers often begin to compete for system resources. If you every look at the bottom right hand corner of your system tray and notices 10 or more icons sitting there - all of those programs are resident and looking for a slice of time and attention from your computer. Why the heck should the end user get in the way of their performance cycle - they have a lot to do!
2. The installation procedures on many software applications (especially older ones) do not follow a regimented procedures for installing itself (as well as the ability to uninstall it when needed. Temporary files, improper driver versions and unneeded program files end up being left on your system minimally taking up disk space, worst case taking up CPU cycles even though you don’t need them.
3. Software today has to be designed modularly. That means they use common drivers to instruct them on how to use your computers resources (like printer or monitor). In many cases poorly written software installation procedures will overwrite existing drivers before confirming they should have done that in the first place. After the install your new application may work, but it trashed others that were working fine before the install started

Before you buy:
Systems prices today are cheap (relatively speaking) and it may entice you on taking the simpler road and just buying a new system. But remember, its just like buying a car. The sticker price gets you hooked but by the time you add all the new bells and whistle, the system costs dramatically goes up.

Before you leap into buying a new system, why don’t you take a lower cost approach and see if optimizing (or re-optimizing) your system will help. Many times simply cleaning up the system, removing unneeded software drivers, correcting missing files and deleting old temp files can dramatically and significantly increase your PC speed. Its not a silver bullet in all cases, but may be just enough to put a little spark back into your systems response. Worse case here is that you speed 40 or 50 bucks on some software to see if it helps the problem. Look at it as part of the cost of buying the new system. If it doesn’t solve your older computer problems you can simply load the software on the new system. Trust me, you will run into similar performance problems down the road on the new system so it will be money well spent.

So what do you know about optimizing of speed boosting your system performance?

You really don’t have too. There are hundreds of tools out on the market today, many for a economical cost that help top assess your system, recommend corrections or actually make the corrections for you without your intervention.

Selecting a utility software.
Many have similar quality's and can effectively clean your system for you. When selecting a utility program, make sure the program does at least the following

• Reviews you system registry for problems
• Reviews system temp files and removes unnecessary files
• Reviews your internet cache for cookies, spam and malware

Which one is best?
Symantec Norton System Works has a good product suite of although may be a bit costly. It may also and cover items (like antivirus) that you already have. JC Services has had good success with a lower cost versions from UniBlue Systems called SpeedUpMyPC and Registry Booster.

If your like me you may need to hold back your compulsive nature back a little and take a lower cost approach in solving your computer needs. Need more information on computer performance? Feel free to contact us at info@jcservicesllc.com

Simple Protection Against Identity Theft

February, 2008 (from http://jerothe.blogspot.com). It’s hard not to see somewhere in the news today some article about identity theft. Stealing personal information has lead to crimes exceeding in the millions of dollars annually for home and small business alike. Often, financial loss is difficult to recoup even after months and sometimes years of legal action.


Many contribute this to the internet and computers and that certainly has exacerbated the situation. But sources of personal information are not always initially coming from a computer.


Did you know one of the most common ways to gain personal information from an individual or business is through the trash? Throwing any documentation, CD’s, Old Credit Cards, Bank Statements and the likes are an easy target for an entrepreneurial would-be thief. Remember, your office waste has a long way to go to make its final destination at the local municipal facility.


Don’t become an unsuspecting member of identity crime. One way to protect yourself is to invest in a low cost document shredder. These machines range for $30 to $200 depending on the features and can shred paper, credit cards and even CD or DVD’s.

Make it a point to change your personal and small business processes’ so that you shred all waste documentation that has personal or company information on it. At JC Services, LLC, we recommend to our Small Business Clients that they shred information that has a minimum of their business or personal addresses on it (especially, solicitations for bank credit cards). Although there are many aspects of information security that needs consideration for effective prevention of identity theft, this is a simple precaution that can save a lot of aggravation...


Learn more at JCS’s Small Business Technology Services (www.jcservicesllc.com)

Can you see the Vista / With Web Based Apps You Can?

Dealing with computer operations for nearly two decades I have to admit I have seen much advancement with Microsoft. I never forget the day when I gave some advice to my brother about a major release pending for MS-DOS (version 3.0 I believe) that was going to make the world a better place. He took note and invested in Microsoft. To this day I still kick myself for not following my own advice and he relishes in the pleasure of reminding me every chance he gets. It’s interesting to think back, but in those days, I don’t recall having to deal with the amount of patches that we are faced with today. Granted, the world has changed and hackers are more prevalent than they were back then. But even if you just consider just the main service pack releases that occur – not the ones that correct a new security holes, I’m talking about the good old operating bugs. In their rush to satisfy Wall Street, software makers have lost the process of beta testing and in my opinion release products prematurely. The purpose of a beta test was to shake out the problems before it was made generally available. Now it seems when a product is GA’ed we are all expected to be their beta testers and suffer while problems are corrected. I guess this saves money in the development lifecycle but it’s at the risk of the consumer.

You are really forced to consider long and hard if you should move to the new version of the OS or your favorite desktop app before the first service pack is released. In operations, most infrastructure folks use waiting for the first service pack before upgrades are done as a general rule and it is good practice. If you can wait before upgrading then wait. It will make you life easier. I think this is a good rule for the consumer as well. Don’t get caught up in the hype of how this new version is going to change the world. It didn’t solve world hunger back in the days of MS-DOS and it won’t today. Think back to what you know. If you had the experience of moving from Windows 95 to XP, the change to your productivity was incremental. Of course there were some technology advancements in the version upgrade, but you have to weigh the benefits versus the risks of all the other problems you will run into when considering a move.

I have always approached any software or hardware upgrade in the same manner. That is - what is the impact to the end user when performing this upgrade? Seems simple enough but people often forget exactly why they are upgrading in the first place and this often leads to unforseen trouble. What will the impact to the end user by performing this upgrade is a good general basic commandment that should helps you to stay in check with your objectives, whether you’re a consumer or an IT professional. In my situation, since I am the end user in the scenario, I knew why and was willing to take the leap of faith and break the commandment that was just discussed. Here’s just a small taste on the outcome of my decision to go with MS Vista and Office 2007 instead of staying with XP:

As far as Vista:

- Microsoft Mobile Manager (which replaces ActiveSync) / Motorola Q synching incompatibility. I have lost my ability to synch contacts, appointments on the phone. Interesting… What’s the purpose of having a smart phone when you can share information with it? More interesting is the Motorola Q uses MS Mobile 5.0 – One would think that OS software made from the same vendor would be able to talk to each other… So far, TechNet and hours of web research, discussions with Verizon and Microsoft and a lot of trial and error has been unable to solve the problem. I have read on some blogs that people have solved similar problems and others have not. This one hurt a lot and I have no solution as of yet.

- Adobe 7.0 incompatibility with Vista. Need to upgrade to version 8.0 at an unplanned additional cost to me.

- There is a bug with screen paging updates within Word 2007 that causes you to loose sight of the paragraph your working on. Page up and Page down doesn’t seem to work until you use the drag bar on the right to knock it back into reality. A minor glitch – but annoying, no update available as of yet.

- There have been numerous occasions where desktop freezes up and reports that its stopped working and asks do you want to restart. I guess this is progress from the infamous blue screen of death where it just locked up on you – but its still annoying nonetheless.

- I bought a new system in hopes of quicker response time. It seems that the resource intensive Vista sucked up that hope pretty quickly. I guess Microsoft knew that was going to be the case. They added a nifty counter that comes up next to your curser to let you know something is going on. This counter seems to pop up quite a bit and I find myself waiting almost as much as I did with my old system…

- Printing to HP all in one devices is not working properly. Now I will say that I have been extremely disappointed with HP’s all-in-one drivers and scanning application and have had many problems on XP with this with no correction found from HP. So I cant blame Vista for this other than the fact it hasn’t gotten better. The funny thing about this problem is my wife’s HP notebook doesn’t seem to have any problems with printing or scanning to the HP device. Nice job testing your product HP!

- Several blogs and tech notes on the web state incompatibilities with many preexisting business applications. You’ll find better research on the web about this than I can post here. Be careful and plan your upgrade, and do your diligence.

As far as Toshiba Portégé M400:

- The docking station needs work to be able to leverage the Tablet more constructively. I’m not sure it’s any better with the other vendors so do your homework. Toshiba also for some strange reason omitted a speaker output jack on the dock. Everything else gets plugged into the dock with the exception of this line which has to plug in the front of the notebook. Really weird…

- Speaking of sound, the M400 speaker system is pretty basic to say the least. I guess you can call it stereo… My crystal radio I built when I was a boy had about the same fidelity as this tablet does. I’m not one for needing amazing sound on my notebook – but generally decent sound would be good. Plan on using that stereo plug a lot and get yourself some speakers of your likely. Personally I am a huge fan of Creative’s equipment (http://www.creative.com) - they have some really great gear.

- I love the Tablet hand writing feature with MS OneNote. With the faster processor and 2 Gigs of memory – it rocks. No screen jitter or slow response whatsoever, even with a full complement of other resources running. If you were not considering a tablet PC (versus a notebook) you may want to reconsider. If for personal use I find it useful for colleting thoughts and maintaining lists.

- The battery life is pretty good all things considered. Do yourself a favor though and buy and extra one as a part of your initial purchase. I through in two extra power supplies for convenience sake. Once stays in the briefcase at all times so I never forget it when I’m late for the airport.

Web Based Hosting / ASP Models
During my decision process to move to Vista, one factor that greatly helped to ease the incompatibilities and glitches that are inherent with a newly released OS was the use of web based applications. As a small business owner and a consultant, I made a conscious decision to move some of my administrative tasks off of the desktop and into an Application Service Provider (ASP) model as much as possible. What this means is that as long as my browser is working okay you can access critical business applications (such as Quickbooks for bookkeeping and product called Xpresssoft for Time and Attendance). Should I have purchased the stand alone versions of these software packages, I am certain my experience with upgrading to Vista would have been much more difficult. This is a good direction for any size business to consider. Hosting services have become quite practical these days. They save a lot of headaches anywhere from lessoning the impact on the desktop, to staffing issues to disaster recovery by paying someone else to worry about. And its not just for businesses either. From a consumer’s prospective there are a number of on line services for storage, bookkeeping, phone services, backup and the likes that can offload the software that you need to reload. Consider the point that the more you embrace a hosting service, the easier your next computer upgrade will be. You won’t be able to get rid of everything off of your desktop (as this is dictated by your available bandwidth), however, if you set that as your strategy and work towards it, you may be better off in the long run, both financially and technically.

I’ll be happy to share other points about the Tablet or any other points discussed in these posts for that matter. Please feel free to drop a comment in the blog or drop me a note. Good luck!

Microsoft OneNote - Is it the death of the pen and yellow notepad?

Although like most things that come from Microsoft, there always seems to be room for improvement, I needed to comment on Microsoft OneNote. Although OneNote has been around for a few years now, the advancements in tablet computing hardware has really started to take shape. The marriage of an adequately powered tablet PC and Microsoft OneNote brings people closer to achieving what I set out to do many years ago, that is, scraping my pen and yellow notepads. You can’t appreciate a tablets capability until you experience the interface that a product like OneNote brings to the table for you.

Personally, I am still learning all its capabilities, however, my initial findings is that it now is practical to take phone notes, meeting notes and similar information that you normally write down on a piece of paper, right on the tablet. The general human interface issues that were inherent with tablet computing in previous years really have been minimized by Microsoft’s OneNote. I would expect that as more technologists experience this product, the adoption of the tablet environment will begin to integrate better for people and add yet another common human interface right next to the keyboard and mouse. That is, of course as long as the hardware manufacturers continue to refine the ergonomic technicalities of integrating tablet based computing into the mainstream of personal computing. For now, OneNote makes sense and if you haven’t investigated it’s impact to your personal or business computing environments, it may be worth some of your time to take a look.

The consumer’s personal computer upgrade

It never ceases to amaze me on the challenges of replacing ones personal computer. Assessing this over my 20+ years in the technology business, the process has not gotten any better at all, especially for the consumer. Now be prepared… I’m about to date myself. Thinking back a bit to the effort and complexity of upgrading my first 286 to a 386 – that was an absolute cakewalk compared to what we go through today (alright, my first major PC upgrade was an 8088 to 286… I just couldn’t break down and admit it).

It’s pretty obvious that on the business end of things, IMAC (Inventory, Moves, Add, a Changes) has evolved into a billion dollar industry. With products like MOM, SUS, SMS plus a few other acronyms that I spare the details on, the business computing upgrades, although it has it challenges, there are rich tools to assist in the process. But for the consumer, this process of replacing one computer remains somewhat daunting. Sure migration tools come with your system, but they make quite a few assumptions that if not considered could leave a consumer with quite a few problems to deal with if they aren’t careful. One of the biggest problems that the migration tools don’t mange for you very well is when you have chosen (more like been forced) to move to the next operating system level. The whole game changes then and if you think you’re going to be able to just click a few buttons to accomplish the task – think again…. One thing that has always bother me about software movers is that they don’t account for one o the reasons your probably upgrading in the first place. That’s, your current is slow probably do to a configuration issue or incompatibility with the current software loaded. Why would I use a tool to automatically port that stuff over to my new system and take the chance of my old computer ghosts following me into my new system?

Getting comfortable with a new PC isn’t an easy task. This is especially true if you’re making a major OS jump like moving to Vista. What remains a constant is that you will be left with the basic process of reinstalling all of your software and device drivers. It’s a mundane necessary evil that part of the new technology process. If you want to make a bundle of money in this industry, here’s an area prime for some help.. Anyhow, in my situation, I fully expected for this lengthy process and planned for it by putting literally one full day aside to complete the transition to a new PC. Although I basically accomplished the task of getting the “personal” back into my computer, it took week’s afterword to get back up to what I consider to be a reasonable productivity level. My recommendation for the consumer that isn’t the most tech savvy individual on the planet? Spend the extra bucks for a tech support group like FireDog or Geek Squad at Circuit City or BestBuy to handle the conversion for you. Trust me, it wont be without its problems, but at least you have some recourse when the bugs start coming out later on…

Regardless of what type of computer you buy, Notebook, desktop, or tablet PC, when considering the purchase of a new system, make sure you set aside enough time to get the new computer up and running. As I stated - it took a full day of fiddling with it for me. I’m sure the supertechies out there can do it faster. Regardless don’t plan on taking the new system straight to an important presentation with a client. Rest assured you will experience Murphy’s Law if you take that route.

Identifying your computing environment

If you’re considering adding to your technology inventory, or retiring a well deserved work horse (See The Vistas of expansion in a Personal Computing Environment) its best to step back and take a look at how things are working today. I my conversations with folks over the years, I get the sense that the majority of us buy personal computing equipment almost as an impulse buy. Let’s get the cheapest or the fastest or the latest fad device into our hands. In most cases the best approach is to do a little diligence and assess the entire situation including the hardware options (See Guidelines for selecting the right Tablet PC ).

Since a personal computing environment varies from individual to individual, let me set the stage about my objectives. Since I have a small network in my home office, I have found that by default I have started to move (not purposely mind you, more like natural selection) to a utility based environment, that is each computer I own has begun to take form as a primary tool and less of a general purpose tool. My music and entertainment stays on one system (two if you count my Tivo) and my business needs on another and my home based apps (like Quicken) on a third; with all of them connected to a small NAS device. Over the years this has evolved to a fairly comfortable layout. It’s like a comfortable pair of shoes that you have owned, you put them on in the morning and forget the fact that they are there… And like shoes when it’s time to replace them, it takes awhile to get things back to the way they were.

It’s almost comical to admit that I too have a bit of resistance to change in me - something I often comment about as unfavorable trait in other individuals. I guess, the older we get the more we resist change. This isn’t due to being stubborn and I certainly can claim to be a technologist while showing technophobic tendencies. No - this is more of experience talking. I unfortunately know that the claims of the golden egg that the technology companies like Microsoft or HP declare often aren’t delivered as they would like you to believe they will be.

Guidelines for selecting the right Tablet PC

When picking a tablet computer (regardless of the manufacturer), user reviews commonly agreed that the more memory and CPU power you can give a tablet PC, the better off you will be. The theory of this is that the digitizing capabilities of the tablet has a tendency to be a bit of a resource hog and if you intend to have a positive experience your electronic pen, give it enough horsepower to breathe right or you won’t be satisfied with the results. I think this is single best advice one should take heed on when it comes to purchasing a tablet. There is more hardware specific advice coming, but let know forgot so of the other items that need consideration such as the Ergonomic Challenges of Tablet Computing (See The Personal Integration Factor).

Because of the horsepower requirements I was having a difficult time sourcing my new equipment from one of the on-line resellers. There are good ones out there (such as http://www.pcconnection.com) that stock a preconfigured systems and if you can find one that fits in one of their inventories - good for you. Because I my requirement for high processor speed and memory, it was difficult to find a model on the shelf that was within my budget. Sure, if money wasn’t an issue, most resellers stock the fully loaded Cadillac’s of most of the major brands. But some of them required a second mortgage on your home in order to get into one. After researching the more reputable resellers, I unfortunately decided to purchase the notebook from Toshiba Direct (http://www.toshibadirect.com). I say unfortunately because of the delivery experience I went through with Toshiba was less than stellar (If you are interested in what exactly occurred, drop me a note and I’ll expand on the events – it was actually an amazing first for knucklehead company policies). Nevertheless, Toshiba’s site let me customize my system with higher processor and more memory at a price that worked. About two weeks later, my notebook arrived straight from Shanghai China and I began the daunting process of the consumers personal computer upgrade (See The consumer’s personal computer upgrade Also see Can you see the Vista / With Web Based Apps You Can?).

The Personal Integration Factor

With the development of products like Microsoft OneNote, as well as considering Moore’s law, I would fully expect the Notebook and Tablet markets to converge; surely within our lifetime, if not sooner. As a matter of fact I think it’s safe to say we are fairly close to that convergence at least in the portable computing side of things. However, there are some ergonomic challenges that portable computing environments bring to the consumer that manufacturers often underestimate especially with Tablet PC’s.

The evolution of tablet computing has had its technological challenges over the years (See The Evolution of Tablet Computing ). As advances in technologies such as enhances LCD and battery chemistry have helped to overcome some of these earlier challenges, the key to continued success and healthier adoption of tablet environments into mainstream computing lies in how manufacturer’s design products to help us to integrate the technology into our current life. I call this the “personal integration factor” which I explain in more detail lower in this post.

As I researched the options available in the tablet arena today, manufacturers still seem to present the tablet based computing as an “either / or” scenario. That is, either you’re going to use your tablet in hand writing mode –OR- you’re going to use it in keyboard mode. At first this seems to be a fairly brainless statement. I mean after all – isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with a tablet PC? Either you write on it or you use the keyboard… But wouldn’t it make better sense to embrace the fact that our mainstream human interface (i.e. the good old keyboard) is an integral part to our computing environment? I mean you can’t just put it away for awhile and still be productive – can you? The comfort and productivity level individuals have with the keyboard is just as important as the pen is to paper so limiting our interface to using just one or just the other with a fairly cumbersome way to switch between the two doesn’t seem to make much sense. Here’s a case and point.

If you haven’t followed the previous posts on this blog I had the opportunity to get closer to one of my long objectives of going completely paperless. I finally purchased a Tablet based computer. This in its self was quite an experience (See The Vistas of expansion in a Personal Computing Environment). After what I thought was a fair amount of diligence of combing over product specifications and user reviews I decided to go with a Toshiba Portégé M400. In my opinion, the M400 seemed to be the best mix of functionality versus cost that I could find on the market today (See Guidelines for selecting the right Tablet PC ).

On a side note, I was seriously eyeing up the Toshiba’s new LED version of their notebook (See Toshiba Portégé R500). I am a huge fan on LED technology and was excited to see Toshiba’s entry into the market with this product. You want to talk about something that is dramatically changing our computing environment let’s talk about LEDs! (I will add a draft hyperlink here for now since I really want to cover this topic later on - so I’ll save my further comments for another post).

In any case, I settled with the Portégé M400 and was fairly pleased with myself on the diligence I thought I performed while making my selection. However, there was one thing that I overlooked when choosing and relates back to the term I used earlier called the personal integration factor. What I mean by that is; how will you integrate a new technology into your day to day computing activities so that you become more productive? After all isn’t that why we buy all of these gadgets? Well maybe some of them we buy because they are just plain fun… However, when you’re making an investment on something you are going to live with for many years, you need to think through how you will use it. This should be just as important as how much memory and hard drive space your considering. In my case, I was certainly infatuated with the possibility of retiring my pen and yellow note pad (see Section 3 - Microsoft OneNote - Is it the death of the pen and yellow notepad?). Because of this I underestimated one of the most important accessories that should come with the new tablet PC, that is, the docking station. This may actually be a common oversight for people considering tablets. After all, what the heck do I care about docking for – I’m going to be writing everything digitally from now on! This is why the personal integration factor needs to be considered.

As I transitioned to the new tablet PC from my trusty (but very aged) ThinkPad configuration, I began to realize that I was thinking linearly (just like manufacturer’s were) on how to use it; either in tablet mode or keyboard mode. Perhaps their advertising banter caught the best of me. The reality is when working, the simultaneous use of the tablet along with the keyboard and external monitor is very important. By having the configuration setup in such a manner that you can be using the keyboard, pick up the digital pen and quickly jot some notes down on the tablet and then immediately swing back over to your keyboard is really the key of expanding ones productivity using a tablet PC. Using both human interfaces simultaneously expands on the way one leverages a computing environment while maintaining a comfortable and established process pen and paper as well as the keyboard. For example, typically while on a conference call, I will take hard copy notes on the conversations key points and actions required using pen and paper while using the PC to immediately research information pertaining to the topic at hand as well perhaps attending a Web based presentation. So I just assumed that upgrading to a tablet PC would provide similar functionality in the manner in which I am used to. Although it does to certain extent, here lies one of the limitations you need to consider when purchasing a tablet PC. Many of the docking stations on the market today do not accommodate one’s ability to achieve what was just outlined. They do what every good docking station does. That’s is, they link you quickly to your externally attached devices, but their orientation does not allow you use the pen and tablet without converting (flipping the monitor). What’s worse is the configurations of most docking station certainly do not make it practical to write on the tablet. That is unless you’re a teacher and you are proficient at writing freehand on a chalk board.

The interesting part here is that this is not a huge technology barrier to overcome for the manufacturers. Unfortunately, tablet PC’s aside for one minute, my experiences is that they (the manufacturers) have consistently done a poor job engineering the docking station often making them more complicated and less practical to use. This problem seems to be exaggerated in the tablet PC arena and is certainly true with my new Toshiba Portégé. In fact, some of posts I have read specifically regarding Toshiba claim that the M200 (Toshiba’s earlier tablet model) docking station design was great and actually addressed some concerns raised in this post. For some reason Toshiba redesigned the new dock and took out some of the features that made it work well for a tablet. Interesting progress… I guess the accountants won that battle over the engineers for sure.

As for the manufacturer’s, I would hope that we see some strong improvements in area of tablet computing especially in the docking systems. The personal integration factor would seem to be a major key on how people will adopt tablet computing into their existing environments.

As to the consumer considering a jump into the tablet market; take some advice from one who loves electronic gadgets. Although it may be easier said than done, try to curb your enthusiasm about getting into a new technology and really think about how you will use the product in your day to day computing activities. The lesson learned is that it is okay to be patient on emerging technology if it’s not going to help your productivity level. As chess players already know, thinking a few steps ahead can make all the difference. And if you have ironed out your personal integration factor, consider the importance of the docking station and finally, load up on processor power and memory (See Guidelines for selecting the right Tablet PC). You’ll be happy that you did.

The Evolution of Tablet Computing

For well over 5 years (probably closer to 10 but I hate admitting that) I have watched the PC Tablet market take shape. The early advantages of the technology in industries like healthcare and pharmaceutical industries (to mention a few) were incredible. However, the technology limitations of battery life, weight and clumsy human interfaces often kept all from admiring the Vista. Even with these limitations, I couldn’t help but to admire the potential. For many years I struggled with my data collection process and note taking procedures. Taking hard copy notes in a meeting has always bothered me since I ultimately wanted to save this information and have it electronically available to me for reference. At first I would grab the yellow pad and have them transcribed. This was way to time and effort consuming and it lost a lot of the content since the right side of my brain is heavier I would loose much of my content since I often draw pictures and schematics during a meeting. Then came the first Palm device. With it’s pen based human interface – this was surely my savoir to my note taking dilemma. After several attempts in meetings to produce valid note taking data, the Palm settled into technology stack as a really good day timer. I even gave Mimeo a shot. Remember these devices? I think they are still available but they would hook up to a whiteboards and allow you to capture the contents of a board and download them to the PC. Again the human interface as well as the entire process of preparing to use the device really slowed it down and took the awe away.

But over the many years of trial and error, the tablet PC kept evolving and getting better and the early adopters of the technology (like Pharmaceutical sales reps) really help to take it to the next level.

One observation and credit that I would like to point out over this journey goes to IBM. I have brought a lot of product from IBM (as well as the others) over the years. My approach with product selection has been to stick with the economies of scale and only deviate from your standards for absolute necessity. While in Pharma the need for a notebook device was imminent and at that time Fujitsu was leading the pack in this territory. All of the manufactures were working on some type of tablet device. That is with the exception of IBM. With the potential of the tablet market exploding, I never understood why IBM held back and did not develop the technology right away. As hide sight would have it I think I now have a better understanding of IBM’s planning and why they held back on the technology. The overall marketplace needed to mature a bit - why get into it now – let the others make the mistakes and learn from them. The risk of not entering the market early on was huge, but I really think the payoff worked since products like Microsoft OneNote (See Microsoft OneNote - Is it the death of the pen and yellow notepad? ) have really helped bridge the gap on the Tablet PC’s value proposition.

The Vistas of expansion in a Personal Computing Environment

As a technologist, I have come to realize over the years that upgrading one’s personal computing environment is a bitter sweet process. Having to recently go through a replacement of my notebook computer, I couldn’t help but to provide some highlights of the event. With the thousands of computers sold on the market today, I am certainly not a pioneer here, but there are a few observations that I thought were worth posting on the blog that centers around the infamous computer upgrade.

In keeping with the theme of the blog, I’m not going to compare Product A to Product B (although I will comment on a few disappointing challenges and lack of features that I ran across). What I will do is discuss the sociological aspect of the event. I know, this sounds deep but it's really not. So - follow the links below to get the story. The sections can stand on their own if you want to go to a specific point, but I would recommend reviewing all of them since it tells the whole story.

Since all of us must go through this seemingly undesirable process at one point in our lives, I thought it was a worthy blog topic. Actually, according to my estimates the average person has to deal with this undesirable process at least 11 times in their lifetime. That is of course if you don’t count any of the upgrades for your wife, kids or other relatives that were smart enough to pawn it off on you.

For me, buying new technology is like being a kid again. It starts by imagining how wonderful it will be to finally got your first bike and be able to race around with the rest of your friends only; to find that you need to build your skill level a bit before you can keep up with them . As with anything, you need to stop and think - is owning the new toy (or in my case latest technology gadget) as good as the anticipation of owning it). Will I gain the productivity advancements that they claim comes with the purchase? I can’t help but to think about this especially when it comes to Microsoft Vista.

I’ll admit that the marketing campaigns that must have cost the Microsoft millions to produce probably had an effect on me. If they didn’t I most likely would have stayed with XP a bit longer before I made the jump. However, being the technologist that I am, my curiously got the best of me.

Making that decision, I was well aware of what I would be up against. After all, I have already been through 50% of my life expectancy of upgrades. I was ready for the excitement of getting a fresh new technology and all the rewards that are claimed to come with it. On the other side, having to give up a comfort level that was established over much time with my current system (even though it did have its problems) was concerning. Although, I’m not one to coin corny phrases, this is an obvious lead into one; there are always two sides of the coin. In this case the reality of upgrading one’s personal computing environment especially with a new operating system often dulls the anticipation a bit.

Outline
Taking the jump into new computing territory takes a little planning. Other than the obvious configuration bits and bytes that you need to decide on (See Guidelines for selecting the right Tablet PC); one other consideration that is often overlooked is evaluating your current personal computing environment. That is, understanding what you clearly are trying to achieve by buying a new computer or moving to a newer technology like Vista (See Identifying your commuting environment). In my case, it started out simple. My laptop was about 5 years old and was starting to run into more and more configuration problems that was effecting my work. Since I was staying with a portable, my choice was a Toshiba tablet based system using Windows Vista and Office 2007 (See Can you see the Vista?). For some strange reason I have been curiously patient in buying a tablet PC. This was odd since for many years now I have felt very strongly about the major benefits that tablet based systems can bring. The Tablet PC’s evolution has been slow, but significant developments have helped to bring its computing capabilities more mainstream (See The evolution of tablet computing). With this, it seemed to be the right time for my needs to make the move. More importantly, this supported one of my personal goals that I have had for quite some time of trying to achieve a paperless environment. I’m not sure if I am entirely there yet, but I am certainly closer than I have ever been (See Microsoft OneNote - Is it the death of the pen and yellow notepad?). Tablet computing still has it challenges today and the manufacturers may need to rethink the way they are delivering these systems to the market. More importantly, they need to take a closer look at how people can effectively use them, something I call "the personal integration factor" (See The Personal Integration Factor).

Where have all the people gone? The evolution of Applicant Tracking

Monster.COM or is it Monster.BOMB:
If your fortunate enough to be employed these days, you’re probably busy trying to keep up with the demands of a fast paced career as well as balancing your family life. For that matter, I guess it's doubtful that you actually had the time to search the dregs of the internet to find this Blog in the first place. None-the-less, if you have gotten this far, stop for a minute and consider how many Americans are on the hunt for a new job or career today. According to Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Dec-04 report, approximately 8 Million people are looking for work today.

What’s interesting to me is not so much the statistic of jobless Americans as it is the evolution of the career search process that they are all going through. If your unfamiliar with it, from the candidate's perspective, it is a daunting process that I feel has gotten worse due to the improper application of technology. Let’s shed some light on this issue. My hope is that by chance one Human Resource executive stumbles across this post and considers a fundamental change in their career placement procedures.

The Evolution of Recruiting
Over the years, there has been many instances where it was time for me to consider different employment. During these times, I can’t help but remember my father’s advice when it came time for me to move on. “Find a recruiter that you pay and let them work for you”. Okay… At face value, sounds like good advice. But, try and find an executive search firm that works solely on a retainer basis. Yes, they are out there, but the fact of the matter is any recruiting firm albeit executive or not is better compensated by a corporation than an individual. The ones that are working on retainer are far and few and very selective (That is, unless your salary has surpassed six digits and if that’s true and you’re reading this Blog, please see my resume – I can be available for the right price). Money and joking aside, the evolution of recruiting has gone through extensive changes over the past 10 to 15 years. From a candidate’s perspective, the personal touch is completely gone. Working through the normal channels (i.e. internet job sites) is like fishing in a small pond. Throw the bait in and see what happens… Something might take the bait but you rarely reel in a keeper. Furthermore the technology of job seeking has dramatically changed. With the introduction of these on-line systems, it certainly helped to fuel a multi-billion dollar industry out of “finding a job”

Determining the Complete Package:
If you recall days of high school or college, I'm sure one of your Business Ethics teachers (or any educator for that matter) explained the importance of proper communication and building relationships. Perhaps I'm making that fatal mistake of assuming here, but I think it would be safe to say that most of you know what I'm talking about. Heck, its common sense. Even with all of the technology that we have available to us today, the simple act of direct verbal communication is still the most powerful job landing tool we have. One’s ability to verbally communicate, inclusive of their mannerisms and visual queues, are as equally as critical as what their paperwork and credentials say about them. I often think of how many times I have had a potential job candidate in front of me. After carefully scrutinizing their resume, they made it in for the face to face and two scenarios typically played out. On one hand, the candidate completely understated their capability or potential and in fact had qualities that were much better than expected. Then on the other had we had individuals that completely failed the seven second rule (I will explain the seven second rule in a later blog but for now read on). In general, it was amazing on how many times the complete package didn’t add up to paperwork. To gain an effective employee you can’t just simply go by what the paperwork says about them. Now I’m not suggesting that this is the way most companies hire today. What I am suggesting is that the current screening process’s, (inclusive of the technologies being used) are not effectively lining up qualified candidates to the perspective jobs. It’s a dilemma that has many sides to the equation and no easy solution.

The Applicant Tracking Technology:
By now I’m sure we are all aware of internet based career/job posting sites that are available on-line. At the top, with the grand daddy of them all being http://www.monster.com/, this service literally paved the way to evolving the applicant tracking process into the industry that it is. Today, there are literally hundreds of sites that allow companies to publish job openings and candidates to research those openings. I guess you can say advancements have been made with the technologies used to manage the applicant tracking. Systems such as BrassRing and EmployEase certainly have advanced the applicant tracking process that Human Resource departments are faced with today, or have they? I would challenge to say that simply processing the volume of applicants that they are faced with is not enough if they are to recruit (and retain) quality employee’s. Note that I said quality and not qualified. There is a distinct difference here and hence the deficiencies of current applicant tracking systems. That is, the systems are designed to provide qualified individuals through complicated algorithms, but do nothing to isolate the quality individuals that may be buried in their database. I believe that these types of Human Resource systems are hindering a company’s ability to find that quality candidate and that this has far reaching implications than the industry has considered.

The Root Cause:
Lets approach this issue from a root cause analysis process. That is, to solve complex problems, you typically need to start by asking yourself these very basic questions:

Question: What is the goal we are trying to achieve?

One would speculate that the industry (yes the infamous “they”) answered this in its most simplistic form:

Answer: To find candidates for available jobs.

In general, I think the industry has been answering this question the wrong way thereby solving the wrong problem in the first place. If you back into the problem from the answer above, it is easy to see how we got to where we are today. But, what if we were to answer the question in this fashion:

Answer: To allow requesting department heads to communicate with quality candidates.

I would challenge to say the technology and workflow that support this methodology would no doubt ably be far less complicated to operate. Yet the outcome achieved would most likely result in solving the problem that the initial answer was trying to work out.

The Evolution of the Information Quagmire:
Putting the concerns of quality candidate tracking aside for a minute, consider how we got to were we are today. How is all of this information being managed? If you step back a look at this for a moment, it almost comical how this has evolved.

H/R and recruiting departments alike are still faced with the daunting task of managing tremendous volume. In some cases, the availability of these on-line systems has force fed literally thousands of perspective resumes to be submitted to companies. To ease the pressure, many of them have either built or bought their own applicant tracking systems. However, what they didn’t seem to consider is that if not properly thought out, most new systems often generate added layers of intricacy to the problem. Read on…

To make it even more complex, hundreds of web crawler based scripts run each night while we are tucked in bed duplicating potential job descriptions from one rival site to another. Remember that volume problem we had? Yep – it just got exponentially worse…

So... great! Now they have a wonderful new container to hold all of this information in, but the issue of volume still hasn’t been addressed. This is where things actually become worse. Because the volume of candidate information (resumes) that was submitted through the various venues is still overwhelming to manage, most (H/R Dept's) implement a procedure to purge potential (but slightly outdated) candidate information on a regular basis from their databases. Depending on the size of the organization, this process could happen as frequently as once a week. Knowing how often folks brush up on their corporate policy & procedure manuals, it is safe to say the requesting manager is unaware that his/her potential connection with quality candidate has been severed. At this point, the only way to make a connection with perspective candidate is for that candidate to resubmit their resume over again.

What a mess… The job sites (like Monster) may have spawned a new industry and initially started what was believed to be an innovative communications system. In actuality it has evolved into an unmanageable workflow process for all sides of the equation (H/R, Recruiter and Candidate).

The One Way Exchange, The candidates perspective:
Now that I have put this in perspective, lets get back to the potential job candidate. If you haven’t been through the job search lately, the folks that are going through it now are in an exhausting cycle of a one way exchange of information. At first glance, this statement may not make much sense. This is understandable, but humor me for a minute, read on and let me clarify. Assuming that what I have analyzed is even somewhat correct (and I think it’s fairly close) the ability for a candidate to keep up with all of this “enhanced job search capability” and properly mange their job placement through these on-line systems is nearly impossible. From the candidate’s perspective, information is submitted to the requesting company almost immediately after it’s posted; that’s the good side of it. The bad side is, that depending on the H/R process (not so much what system they use), little or no feedback is given to the candidate as to the status of their pending inquiry. And no, the system generated message that “we have received your resume” does not count. Remember the previous paragraph where I was talking about direct communications? Yep – this is where our H/R processes start deviating from that fundamental quality. During which the candidate is left with little or no information as to the status of their inquiry and, in many cases, no contact within the company to find out the status. Who exactly are these wonderful procedures and systems helping?

The Human Resource Department Perspective:
Unfortunately this is a problem that may not be evident to the company. From the Human Resource department’s perspective, they are happy because they believe they have a system in place that is managing the enormous amounts of information that was bringing them to their knees not too long ago. From a requesting manager’s perspective, he/she is happy because they can go into their H/R database system while having their coffee in the morning and search for the perfect employee for which they are looking for. The candidate is seemly happy because as of today he/she has just posted the 59th job application. This sense of accomplishment is satisfying, but short lived. I would challenge that this system is broken and I’m not sure anyone is doing anything about it. All of this simply amounts to qualified candidates dropping through the cracks because connection between candidate and requesting manger is potentially broken. Perhaps its time to get back to basics.

Great! So if you are still with me, you have just spent the better part of your leisure time, (hopefully not company time), reading these observations and, by now, are hoping for a solution in the near future. I’ll do my best for you, but let's agree that at least you’ll get a conclusion that will provide some minor course corrections that all sides of the issue (the Recruiter, the H/R Contact and the Candidate) can consider. Hopefully, these will be course corrections that can start to make a difference in the applicant tracking arena:

For The Recruiter:

• Regardless of where your bread is buttered, remember one simple thing. The candidates that you are processing today could very well be the managers you will be filling positions for tomorrow. Believe me, being on both sides of the fence, I have certainly made my personal notes about what recruiters I will and will not use in the future for filling positions within my organization. Take the time out of your busy schedules (and I realize time is money) to follow-up with candidates even if it’s simply to say hello. You may actually find that over time your track record of successful placements will actually go up if you spend equal time with the candidates as you would with the company.
• Take a minute to understand the deficiencies these on-line systems have. Increase your value by educating your Human Resource contacts and better ways to manage the work flow. This will help to build a solid relation with your client, not just one based on how many candidates you can process.
• On that note you probably know better than anyone quantity does not mean quality here. Make sure that your screening processes involve face time or at least adequate phone interviews. This may sound elementary, but you would be surprised on how many entry level recruiters I have dealt with that haven’t even done this basic step prior to contacting the requesting manager with a “hot lead”.

For the Human Resource Representative:

• Don’t hide behind the technology. The database alone is not the answer. If you want quality and qualified employee’s your going to need to allow your H/R staff to devote some time to good old fashion verbal communications during the screening process. Simply reading resumes that have surfaced by these applicant tracking systems are not enough.
• Choose your applicant tracking system wisely. Simply processing volume is not enough. Seek out help for your IT area and consider implementing systems that have embraced more formal Knowledge Management practices. You may just find that your department workflow will increase dramatically if you invest properly up front.
• The system alone won't do it. Recruiters are a necessary evil (no offence intended to the beloved head hunters out there). If your recruiting function is outsourced, build your relationship with a reputable firm that augments your staff function. Again I know this is elementary. But now take it to the next level and incorporate procedures where they (the recruiter's) are directly involved and are part of the process. You will both be happy since this step may help to eliminate redundant work on both sides.

And last but not least, For the Candidate:

• The Monsters, CareerBuilders, Dice’s and Worktree’s are all good tools, but they can not be the “be all to end all”. Be careful… It is very easy to get sucked into spending enormous amounts of time looking for work on theses systems. I know this is old news but 80% of the people I know who have been out of work, have found alternatives either by reinventing themselves (i.e. starting up their own business’s or consulting) or have found employment through their contacts. Take the time to setup a procedure to go through all of your professional (and as equally important your personal) contacts on a regular basis no matter how off base you may think they are. You may be pleasantly surprised at the potential opportunities or additional contacts that may surface.
• Know your playing field. Be aware of the limitations discussed above as well as having a basic understanding of the procedures H/R and/or the recruiter has to follow. How? If you're employed now, ask around or discuss with an H/R contact as to how the company handles the process. If your not employed, get your intelligence for a peer that is currently employed
• Setup a Career Search Objective Plan. Consider it a strategic plan that you will follow in the days to come as you search for work. It should be a high level guideline to keep you focused and motivated during your search process. I have one and can share it with you, but try this on your own first. It’s actually a good soul searching exercise that makes you think about your personal career objectives.
  

So lets wrap up here…. In comparison to a more mature system (lets say a financial systems –or- to be P.C. – ERP System), Applicant Tracking systems are in their infantile stages. Unlike ERP, they haven’t had enough time to work out the kinks yet. As some of the deficiencies are refined they will only get better over time. The trick is to realize they aren’t a silver bullet, just another tool. Knowing the strengths and weakness of the system you're using so you can get value from them in the current state they are in.

Good luck to you and I welcome additional dialog on this topic!

Blogging, The days of BBS's return...

From BBS's to Blogs:
Interesting... After researching Blogs prior to starting this one, I found it fascinating that as with many things (such as fashion) we have once again come full circle. I'm sure others have taken note on this as well, but Blogs have an amazing similarity to the Bulletin Board Systems of days ago. Remember PCBoard and FidoNet? Ahh the good old days - when I used to run the SailBoard BBS where people actually built useful programs (without malicious content) that where openly shared. Open messaging was the only way to communicate and content driven by themes were all the rage. Twenty years ago (and I'm sorry to date myself), the BBS's and the internet were barely know to most retailers and its usage was raw yet still powerful. Powerful I say because of the sharing.

So where has the sharing gone:
Although today it is certainly great to click on your favorite retailer and order things, the internet of today seems to be missing something that made the previous days of BBS's fun and exciting (and useful). By placing our information systems under lock and key, it is as if we have taken several steps backwards. It is certainly understandable in this day and age where virus's are released at an alarming rate, but nonetheless its unfortunate. If the folks that spend their idle time creating malicious code would focus on productive work, perhaps we can once again get back to the days of sharing information.

Lets get the Blog out:
In any case, I'm glad to see another tool for information sharing begin to take shape again. It is long overdue.... Now I realize that Blogging has been around for sometime; I guess I'm not as an earlier adopter of things as I claim to be. Be that as it may, as a novice Blogger I welcome it and hope it becomes more common place.

Step back for a minute and from a cloud layer look at this simple tool and consider the ramifications... If properly managed, this information tool could be very powerful one for not only individuals, but for company's to take advantage of as well. Consider this yet another form within the chain of Knowledge Management and lets hope other technology leaders grasp the concept and consider it's implications. The more we provide access to information, the better off all of us will be.