it for small and home-businesses · 2018. 3. 23. · it for small and home-based businesses...

IT For Small And Home-Based Businesses

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Information Technology

For Small And Home-

Based Businesses

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Table of Contents

Disclosure .............................................................................................................5

Introduction: Why I.T.?..........................................................................................6

Chapter 1 – I.T. - A Primer....................................................................................8

A Short History of Information Technology........................................................9

The Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age......................................................9

The Hellenistic World...................................................................................11

Early Programmable Devices ......................................................................12

Communications and Information Storage...................................................14

Information Technology Since 1980 ............................................................16

Information Technology Today........................................................................17

Types of Information Tools and Media ............................................................19

Personal Computer......................................................................................19

Storage Media .............................................................................................21

Internet Options and Communication ..........................................................24

Chapter 2 – Getting Started ................................................................................26

Assessing Your I.T. Needs..............................................................................27

Desk and chair.............................................................................................27

Bookcase/Shelves .......................................................................................29

Table............................................................................................................29

Telephone (And Phone System)..................................................................30

Computer and Monitor .................................................................................32

Printer, Copier, FAX Machine ......................................................................34

Other I.T. Options............................................................................................35

All Those Bells And Whistles; Do You Really Need Them?.........................36

Getting It Cheap ..............................................................................................40

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Chapter 3: Getting Set Up...................................................................................43


Setting Up Your Workspace ............................................................................43

Organizing the Worktop ...............................................................................44

Peripherals and Office Supplies...................................................................45

About Wireless Technology .........................................................................46

Getting Online .................................................................................................48

Dial-Up.........................................................................................................49

Satellite........................................................................................................49

DSL..............................................................................................................50

T1 and T3 ....................................................................................................51

A Word Of Caution.......................................................................................51

Networking: The Intranet .................................................................................51

Sharing Printers and Programs....................................................................58

About Sharing Programs .............................................................................62

Protecting Yourself And Your Business...........................................................66

E-mail Issues ...............................................................................................68

Computer Care And Maintenance...................................................................71

Protecting The Hardware.............................................................................72

Software Maintenance .................................................................................74

Chapter 4 – Taking It On The Road....................................................................83

Staying Connected..........................................................................................83

The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) ..........................................................84

Accessing The Office Computer ..................................................................86

I.T. In The Great Outdoors ..............................................................................86

Notes ..................................................................................................................89

Appendix 1: Taking Advantage of Tax Savings ..................................................90

Appendix 2: An Short I.T. Glossary.....................................................................92

Appendix 3: Where To Keep Up With The Latest News ...................................103

Bibliography ......................................................................................................104

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Disclosure

Information technology changes on an almost daily basis.

While the information in this book is based on the most up-to-

date information available, the reader is advised that due to

the incredible speed of technological advance, some of this

information is likely to be outdated by the time it is published.

There will be some websites listed in the Appendix where

information on the latest advances in I.T. is published

regularly.

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Introduction: Why I.T.?

You may as well ask, “Why communicate and keep records?”

The fact is that information technology has existed since the

emergence of multi-cellular, complex life forms began to

develop complex brains. After all, although animals operate

on a level we may think of as “instinctive,” they still require

information to survive – where to find food, where to find a

mate or spawn, how to avoid predators, etc. This information

is stored and processed in even the most rudimentary brains.

Of course, the information needs of humans have grown a lot

more complicated since our early ancestors climbed down

from the trees and began to walk upright – and particularly

over the past ten thousand years. The problem is, the human

brain and its basic processes have changed very little over

that period of time.

Consider an average human living in Mohenjodaro (ancient

India) some 5,000 years ago. Their IT system consisted of

carving symbols on stone. The human brain was capable of

processing about 500 word-symbols per minute. Carving on

stone was a slow process, requiring perhaps as much as an

entire minute to carve one word-symbol.1

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Today, even a low-end desktop computer can process millions

of words per second – yet the human brain continues to


process about 500 words a minute. We are, at our present

stage of development, simply incapable of absorbing,

processing and storing all the information that we encounter

today. Yet we can take advantage of the processing power of

our electronic servants to do things faster and more

accurately than ever.

Modern information technology has also made

communications cheaper, faster and more efficient than ever.

Messages that not long ago might have taken an hour and

several dollars to deliver can be delivered in a fraction of a

second and cost next to nothing.

Despite the incredible (and increasing) speeds at which

information is processed, stored and transmitted - and

despite warnings you've doubtless received from media and

industry about keeping up with technology that changes on a

daily basis lest you be left behind - the truth is, you don't

need the "latest and greatest" technology for your business -

unless you're Pixar Studios, since 3-d graphics and animation

actually does require considerable processing power.

Otherwise, last year's equipment will very likely serve just

fine - and you'll be able to get it for next to nothing!

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So, if you're attempting to start a business on a shoestring,

and your I.T. budget is on the light side - no worries! Read

on, and find out how you can have a champagne-and-caviar

I.T. system on a beer-and-pretzels budget!


Chapter 1 – I.T. - A Primer

When people hear the words "Information Technology," the

first things that come to mind are computers and the

Internet. It may also bring up words like "network,"

"intranet," "server," "firewall," "security," as well as more

arcane expressions such as "router," "T-1," "Ethernet," or the

mysterious and exotic-sounding "VoIP" (pronounced "voyp").

In fact, information technology is all of these things, and

more. It's hardly new, however. Information technology is as

old as the brain itself, if you think of the brain as an

information processor. As far as I.T. being a science, even

that goes back as far as the earliest attempts to communicate

and store information.

And that is essentially what information technology is: the

communication and storage of information, along with the

ability to process and make use of the information stored. In

this chapter, we'll begin with a brief history of I.T., what it

comprises today, and the different major types of I.T.

systems available today.

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A Short History of Information Technology

As human societies have grown in size and complexity, so has

the need to collect, store and transmit information. While it

could be argued that brains represent a form of “bio-

information technology,” the Greek word “τεχνε” - from which

we get the word “technology” – really refers to scientific or

mechanical knowledge, particularly that which involves the

use of tools. Therefore, we’ll begin our journey with human’s

first attempts to record and transmit knowledge through

mechanical means.

The Neolithic Period and the Bronze Age

The pictures below represent some of the earliest examples of

what we

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Figure 1 – Prehistoric Paintings


might think of as “information technology.” Using a

combination of tools that included manganese “crayons” and

clay that was colored with various pigments, early humans

left these images on the walls of a cave near Lascaux, France

and on cliffs in the Algerian Sahara. These have been dated

as being approximately 18,000 and 8,000 years old

respectively. Unfortunately, there is no way to be certain

exactly what message was being communicated (a problem

our own descendants 15,000 years from now may very well

encounter!)

Since the images depict animals that were commonly hunted

at the time, and given the importance of game animals to a

hunting-gathering culture, it’s possible that such images were

attempts to present information about such game, or part of

a rite designed to ensure a successful hunt.

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The invention of writing systems – including pictograms such

as hieroglyphics, alphabetic writing and “syllabic” systems –

seems to have taken place almost at the same time as the

development of agriculture. Agriculture introduced such

formerly unknown concepts as land ownership, advanced

trade and the accumulation of wealth, which in turn led to

more complex societal structures. As you might expect, this

necessitated more detailed and efficient record-keeping.

Alphabetic writing has a substantial advantage over

pictograms (hieroglyphs), because a relatively limited number


of symbols (letters) can be used over and over in infinite

combination to communicate nearly anything. (As you will see

later, modern I.T. uses only two of these symbols!)

Preserving and storing such information posed certain

challenges; information either had to be inscribed on stone or

clay tablets (which were heavy) or animal skins, wax tablets

or papyrus (which weren’t durable).

The Hellenistic World

The Classical Greeks were the first people of record to

attempt to find scientific, rational explanations for natural

phenomena. Some of the earliest proto-computers known

were mechanical devices developed by the Greeks. One of

these was a form of abacus (which also developed and was

used in ancient China). The device facilitated and simplified

mathematical calculation.

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Figure 2 – a Greco-Roman Abacus


Another early computational device was the antikthera, or

“αντι κθερα”. Discovered a Greek sponge diver over a century

ago, it was only recently that this 2100-year-old device was

reconstructed and shown to be an early form of computer

designed to chart the movements of the sun, moon and five

planets known at the time.

Figure 3 – The “Antikthera”

Early Programmable Devices

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By the time the gradual break-up and fall of the Roman

Empire was complete in the year 476 C.E., scientific and

technological advances in the Western world had ground to a

halt. While much of the scientific knowledge of the Greeks

was preserved by Irish monks and Arab scholars, it wasn’t

until the fourteenth century that principles of engineering

were rediscovered and applied to information. The first of


these was of course the printing press. Although the concept

of movable type printing had been developed in China some

four hundred years earlier, it was Gutenberg’s device in 1447

that revolutionized communications, making it easier and

faster to record and disseminate information than ever

before. The first truly programmable device would not come

along for another 354 years, however.

The Jacquard Loom of 1801 was a product of the Industrial

Revolution. This invention used a series of specially punched

paper cards that functional as templates, allowing for the

automatic weaving of highly intricate patterns. Those punch

cards became very significant to computing in the 1950’s,

60’s and 70’s.

The next development was Charles Babbage’s “Analytical

Machine” – a fully-programmable computer that unfortunately

was never actually built. Babbage worked on designs from

1837 until his passing in 1871. This steam-powered

mechanism would have also utilized punch cards, with a

central processing unit (CPU) and a form of memory storage

in the form of a system of pegs inserted into rotating barrels.

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The Analytical Machine would have been capable of storing

1,000 numbers of up to fifty digits each, and perform six

different mathematical operations, including the calculation of

square roots. Babbage’s ideas were incorporated into early

electronic computing devices being developed in the late


1930’s and 1940’s, although not all of these were actually

programmable. The first truly programmable computers –

able to store and use information – did not come into

common use until the 1950’s, and yes – made use of punch

cards (those born before 1965 may remember playing with

them).

Communications and Information Storage

Other developments related to information technology

involved major advances in communication, such as the

telegraph – which was really an electronic improvement on

ancient methods such as drums and smoke signals, and later

semaphore communication. The first telegraph was actually

built in 1809, but the technology matured during the mid-

nineteenth century with the development of methods whereby

actual images could be transmitted electronically (1843).

With the laying of the Transatlantic Cable in 1866,

communication that once took weeks or months could be

accomplished in minutes. Further advances included the

development of wireless communication in the 1890’s, and

the combination of this technology with the typewriter to

create the teletype machine in the early 20th century.

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Thomas Edison was the first to come up with a way to store

sound information with the invention of the phonograph in


1877, but it was really the development of audio magnetic

recording tape in 1926 by German inventor Fritz Pfleumer

that would become a method of storing information

electronically. Magnetic tape was initially used for recording

sound. The technology finally arrived in the U.S. after the

Second World War, and early computer engineers soon found

uses for it. Magnetic audio tape was used to store data by the

UNIVAC I computer of 1951.

Figure 4 – The UNIVAC I

What is interesting is how the information was stored – which

differs little from the basic way information is stored today. If

you were to listen to a magnetic tape on which computer data

was stored, you would hear a series of beeps of varying

lengths – but consisting of only two pitches. These are

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basically “ones” and “zeroes” – the building blocks of all

computer data.

Today, we are able to store, process and transmit more

information than ever before in history, using nothing more

than two symbols!

Information Technology Since 1980

The development during the 1970’s of integrated circuits and

the microprocessor were the advances that began the real

revolution in computing. Before the 1970’s, computers were

huge, extremely expensive, and relatively slow.

Integrated circuits and microprocessors made possible the

development of smaller, faster machines that were priced

within the reach of more people. “Personal computers” had

actually been around since the early 1950’s (computing

pioneer Edmund Berkeley published plans for a PC which he

called “Simon” in Radio Electronics magazine in 1950 and

’51). However, the Apple II, released in April of 1977 (price:

about $1300) was the first modern desktop computer

featuring an interactive, graphical interface made widely

available and affordable to the general public.1

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The other significant development came in the early 1990’s

when a system of little-known academic and military


networks dating from the late 1960’s and early 1980’s

suddenly exploded into popularity. The World Wide Web, or

Internet, has changed the way people access information,

communicate and even entertainment itself. Separate devices

such as telephones, televisions and cameras are now

becoming single devices that encompass all of these

functions. Meanwhile, the power and capability of computers

continues to go up while the cost of the technology continues

to drop. As you’ll learn later on, this has tremendous

implications for your small business.

Information Technology Today

The smallest, lowest-powered laptop computers available

today have millions of times more raw processing power and

storage than the room-sized UNIVAC I – and are light years

beyond large desktop computers of as little as ten years ago.

In addition to desktop and laptop computers, hand-held

devices such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) allow

people to take digital pictures and film clips, access their e-

mail and the World Wide Web, input text information and

even play video games! Not only do technology prices

continue to fall, the technology itself continues to shrink in

physical size as well.

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This is a good thing, because the processing and memory

demands of software programs – more properly known as


applications – continue to grow exponentially. A good

example of this would be a typical word processing program.

A version released in 1993 could run very well on as little as

256 kilobytes of RAM (Random Access Memory) with a low-

powered 16 mHz processor. Today’s version of that same

application requires over one hundred times the memory and

perhaps as much as two hundred times the processing power.

Even the operating system software – the set of applications

that make your computer operate in the first place (such as

Windows XP or Mac OS X) has increased its appetite for

memory. In the old days (early-to-mid 1990’s), operating

software might have used less than a megabyte of RAM.

Today, just the operating system (OS) can eat up to 250

megabytes – and that’s before you even start running any

applications!

In addition to the growing demands of applications, the

products of those applications – known as “files” – have

expanded in size as well. Word processing documents can get

extremely large when high-quality graphics are added, as well

– something to think about if your small business is involved

in publishing and/or graphic design.

Fortunately, the cost of both RAM and hard drives (where

information is stored) has come down in cost considerably in

recent years.

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Types of Information Tools and Media

This subject by itself could easily fill a book, since information

technology is so ubiquitous. Chances are, you and your

business will need more than one of these tools, but will

probably not need all of them.

Personal Computer

This is the heart of your small business I.T. system. You’ll find

a plethora of models and options to choose from. New, low-

end, entry-level machines today start at under $400, and

include a processor running at 1.8 gigaHertz (Ghz), 256 MB

(expandable up to 3 gigabyte [GB]) or RAM and an 80 GB

hard drive. On the upper end are the latest Apple machines

with 3 Ghz quadruple processors, 1 GB RAM (expandable to 8

GB), and a 250 GB hard drive. (Incidentally, if you’re not

familiar with terms such as “gigabyte,” gigahertz” etc., don’t

worry. These are defined in the glossary at the end of this

book.)

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The decision of whether to go with a PC (IBM-compatible) or a

Mac (Apple) is less of an issue that it was just a few years

ago. The newest Apple computers use the Intel chip used by

the most popular PCs. In addition, Apple computers can now

run Mac OS X side-by-side with Microsoft Windows. It’s really

a matter of cost – a new, top-of-the-line Apple runs about


$3200, is not easy to upgrade, and will probably be obsolete

within two years. On the other hand, if you’re doing high-end

video editing, high-resolution 3-d animation and special

effects, you won’t find a faster machine than an Apple.

PCs become obsolete almost as fast as their Apple

counterparts, but are much more easily upgraded. In fact, it’s

not difficult to build your own custom PC from easily-obtained

components. There are also several companies that will do

this for you (see Appendix).

Bottom line – for most businesses, a mid-range PC equipped

with a 2 Ghz processor, 2 GB of RAM and 160 GB hard drive

will do just fine, and can be obtained for under $1000

(including monitor).

Laptop computers will do everything that desktop computers

can, and have the added advantage of portability. There are

three distinct disadvantages to a laptop, however:

(1) A laptop tends to be substantially more expensive

than a comparable desktop model;

(2) The largest monitor size available on any laptop

today is about 17” (most computer monitors today are

19”);

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(3) Laptop computers are easily stolen, and are

popular with thieves.

Storage Media

Storage media is the most important element of your I.T.

system, for this is where all your vital information – text files,

spreadsheets, graphics, etc. – will reside. You’ll probably be

keeping some of it on your computer’s hard drive, but it’s a

very good idea to make sure that anything and everything

you work on is backed up in a second and preferably third

location.

Today, the best – and most widely used media – are

rewritable CDs and DVDs. The media itself is relatively

inexpensive, and most new computers are equipped with

either a CD or DVD writer. Even if your PC lacks this

accessory, external (plug-in) DVD writers can be obtained for

as little as $50 new. The media itself is also inexpensive.

Rewritable DVDs cost about $1.50 each in packs of 15, and

offer a whopping 4.7 gigabytes of data storage. Compare this

to the old 3.5” floppy disks commonly used ten years ago.

These generally cost about $1 each and only furnished about

1 megabyte of data storage – roughly .00025% of a $1.50

DVD-RW.

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That said, the 3.5” floppy is far from dead and gone. Many

people still use them, and there’s a lot of information on


them. Therefore, if your computer has no floppy disk drive,

you’ll want to get an external drive, which can be purchased

at any department or office supply store for about $30.

One other popular type of storage media from the past that’s

still fairly common is the zip disk. If you’ve never seen one of

these, they look like a 3.5” floppy on steroids, and are usually

gray. Depending on the type, they hold either 100 MB or 250

MB of data. Again, these drives are easy to find and are

available for under $100. (Note: make sure you purchase a

zip drive for the 250 MB disk. These will read 100 MB disks,

but the drives designed for the 100 MB disk will not read the

250 MB disks.)

Another option is to get a second, external hard drive

specifically for data storage. This is a slightly more expensive

option; a 250 GB external hard drive will run you about $150.

It also has the disadvantage of not being particularly

portable, although it is possible to pack one up in a briefcase

and take it with you if necessary.

When it comes to high-capacity data storage that is both

inexpensive and highly portable, you absolutely can’t beat a

jump drive. Also known as a “thumb drive,” these little

marvels hold up to a gigabyte of data, fit on your key ring,

around your neck or into your pocket, and go anywhere.

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Figure 5 – Jump Drive (aka “Thumb Drive”)

Although relatively expensive when they first came out, the

prices on jump drives have dropped dramatically, and a 1 GB

capacity model can be purchased new for under $50. They

will continue to become cheaper and cheaper over time.

One other option for data backup is the server. Technically, a

server can be any computer that is powered up full time, is at

the center of a network, and is used to deliver information to

any other computers that are hooked up to it.

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If you wind up having an internal network at your place of

business, chances are you’ll have a server – and dedicating a

part of that server’s hard drive to data backup is another

option. (There will be more on networking later on.)

Alternatively, if your business has a website that is hosted on

an outside server, the company that is hosting your website

may allow you to back up files to their server, or allow you

additional space for this purpose for an additional monthly


fee. Some web-based companies offer stand-alone data

backup services as well.

Internet Options and Communication

If you are a casual home-user of the Internet, or use it

strictly for e-mail and/or reading text articles, dial-up Internet

is fine. Otherwise, don’t bother – it will lead to endless

waiting and endless frustration. At a minimum, you’ll need

cable or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), with download speeds

of at least 250 KB/second (for comparison, dial-up is 56

KB/second). A T1 or T3 line will provide you with even faster

download speeds, but is substantially more expensive.

Depending on where you are located, you can get DSL or

cable Internet service for around $50 per month.

Unfortunately, your choices may be limited – particularly if

you are located in a rural area.

Wireless Internet is another option. Some progressive cities

such as Portland, Oregon and San Francisco, California have

wired their communities in such a way that makes high-speed

internet available to almost anyone with wireless technology.

Some other communities may offer this type of service for

around $55 per month as well, although dependability and

speed can vary.

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In any event, if this seems expensive, remember that it’s a

business expense that can be taken off your yearly tax

return. The cost of high-speed Internet service can be

partially offset by replacing your phone service with VoIP –

“Voice over Internet Protocol.” This essentially allows you to

make telephone calls to anyplace in the country (or the world,

depending on your plan) of any duration for a flat monthly

fee. VoIP varies a great deal in price, depending on who’s

furnishing the service. On the low end, some companies

charge as little as $17 per month, while others charge as

much as $35 – so again, it pays to comparison shop.

Figure 6 – The Well-Dressed Home Office

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Chapter 2 – Getting Started

There are those who say that in order to start a business, all

you really need is a table, a chair and a telephone, along with

some writing materials and a calculator. This may be true in

the very beginning – depending on what sort of business it is

and what it is you’re selling – but (hopefully!) your needs will

expand along with the business.

For example, if your business involves doing research for

second and third parties, local libraries, universities and

colleges and state and county government offices are great

places to access, and may be necessary.

However, as more and more information is posted online,

you’ll find it possible to save a great deal in travel costs by

accessing the information on the Web, or at least confirming

that the information you’re seeking is there and the trip is

justified. (You could call on the phone and ask, but anymore,

chances are you’ll spend considerable amounts of time

wading through menus and trying to get to the person with

whom you need to speak.)

Basically, information technology is about two things: (A)

saving time and (B) providing secure access to data.

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Assessing Your I.T. Needs

There are certain needs common to every business,

regardless of what product or service it’s offering. At a

minimum, every office will need:

• A desk and a comfortable chair

• At least one good-sized bookcase or shelving unit

• A table

• A telephone

• A computer and good monitor

• A printer, copier and FAX machine

Let’s look at these one by one:

Desk and chair

This is where you’re going to be spending a great deal of

time, and if you don’t choose wisely, you’ll find yourself

getting aches and pains in places you didn’t know existed.

While it may not seem to have much to do with your I.T.

equipment needs, it has everything to do with your long-term

chiropractic health – and without that, the best I.T. and

electronic equipment in the world won’t help you.

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On the next page, you’ll see three set-ups. Can you tell which

one is ergonomically correct?


Figure 7 – Ergonomics

If you chose the middle picture, give yourself an “A.” You’ll

notice his thighs are nearly straight out in front of him, his

wrists are at a slightly raised angle, and there is support both

for his wrists and the lumbar region of his back. Also, his

head is at the optimum level for viewing his monitor. In the

pictures on the left and right, the monitor height forces him to

bend his head and/or neck – which he’ll be feeling in a few

hours.

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You can get away with buying many things for your office

second-hand and “on the cheap” – but do not skimp on the

desk and chair setup. Go to a store that specializes in office


furniture and try several until you find something that works

for you – and use the picture in the middle as a guide.

Bookcase/Shelves

You can probably get away with starting out small, here – but

chances are good that your storage needs will expand

substantially over the years. It may be tempting to go with a

lighter model simply for ease of movement. If your business

is a success however, those shelves will soon be groaning

under the weight of reference books, ledgers, and more.

If portability is an issue, there are models available with

casters – or you can add some prior to filling the shelves. Just

make sure that the shelves and the casters are of sufficient

capacity; plan on about 100 lbs. per shelf.

A word about office supplies (including writing and computer

supplies): shelves can be a great storage place for these as

well. Just make sure they’re organized into small boxes, and

store these items on the top shelves (since they’re lighter in

weight).

Table

A table – aside from your desk – is an infinitely useful place

for holding brainstorming sessions (by yourself or with

others), meeting with clients, having a “working lunch,” or

doing any work involving pen (or pencil) and paper away from

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the computer (which is probably taking up most of your desk

space in any event).

One caveat: there’s a real danger that a table will turn into a

“catch-all” for books, important papers, and more. Resist this

temptation by making sure that (A) your desk has sufficient

drawer space, (B) you have a decent file cabinet, and (C) you

have enough shelf space (and you’ve made a habit of using

it).

Telephone (And Phone System)

This is something to think about. If you plan on being able to

talk on the phone while having your hands free, you’ll need

either (A) a headset or (B) a speaker phone, or (C) both.

Having both affords you a bit of flexibility, as you can conduct

both a private conversation and a conference with yourself,

the person on the other end and whoever is in the office with

you.

Other elements of this system include answering machine,

message forwarding and paging. There are numerous ways to

set this up.

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The easiest and most economical is to simply have an

answering machine (and be sure to get one that allows the

caller to leave a message longer than 30 seconds – or you’ll

have a lot of abbreviated and unfinished messages), then


provide a cell number in the outgoing greeting. That way, if

it’s important enough, your clients and/or customers can

always reach you, and you can avoid the expense of a

paging/messaging service.

If you plan on taking cell phone calls while on the road, a

“hands-free” set-up is absolutely necessary. Many auto

accidents are caused by people attempting to talk on a cell

phone while driving, and many states are beginning to crack

down on the practice, issuing stiff fines.

Such “hands-free” set-ups are available at many electronic

and even automotive stores. Top-of-the-line set ups will run

no more than $150, and there are many (of varying quality)

that cost less than that.

Another thing to think about is whether or not you want a

second phone line. If you have teenagers, this is practically a

necessity. There are now numerous companies on-line who

can provide your business with a toll-free phone number.

Typically, you’ll be charged a monthly fee ranging from $9.95

to over $80 depending on what features you choose, plus a

per-minute charge that can vary between .02¢ and .08¢.

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Many companies offer a set amount of “free” minutes (that is,

minutes included with the monthly charge) before you wind

up paying for additional minutes. As with every other service

and tool, it pays to shop around.


Computer and Monitor

Here is the heart and soul of your operation. You’ll spend a

great deal of time with this machine – which will probably be

obsolete within two years. For this reason, it really doesn’t

make sense to spend a lot of money on this year’s latest and

greatest model. Last year’s top model will work just fine, and

you’ll save a LOT of money by going that direction. During the

summer of 2006, this writer purchased a one-year old Dell

Dimension with an Intel Pentium 4 processor running at 3.2

GHz, complete with Ethernet, 3 GB of RAM, advanced ATI

video card and a 160 GB hard drive from a private party for

$750, including a 17” monitor and keyboard. This is about

half of what it cost new. It is suitable for high-end 3-D

graphics and rendering, runs graphic-intensive 3d games at a

good resolution, and allows for satisfactory mid-range video

editing (the book you are reading was written and published

on this same machine). Chances are, a computer similar to

this one will serve about 95% of the small businesses out

there quite well for several years.

32

There are of course risks to purchasing a used computer. You

have no idea if it has been protected by a firewall (more on

this later), what viruses may be lurking, and you have no way

of knowing how well it has been maintained. 98% of all

computer problems are software-related, but if you don’t


know what you’re doing, you’ll experience a great deal of

frustration and downtime. If you’re going to purchase a

second-hand computer, make sure you have some computer

knowledge, or bring a friend with you who does. The best

cure for most all computer problems is prevention of course,

so later on, we’ll be discussing the care and feeding of your

computer.

If you are determined to have a brand new computer

however, it’s best to have it custom configured for your

needs. This writer recommends UNION BUILT PC

(http://www.unionbuiltpc.com/umc.php#).

33

This U.S. – based company uses unionized, U.S. American

labor to assemble their products. Their machines are priced

very competitively with those of the major manufacturers who

use off-shore factories in Asia. You can purchase a new

computer with an Intel Pentium 4 3 Ghz processor, 512 MB of

DDR RAM, 80 GB hard drive, 52X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive

with Windows XP Pro operating system installed for $1018,

and includes an optical mouse, enhanced keyboard and stereo

speakers. That is nearly $70 less than the lowest-priced,

overseas-manufactured name brand, which does not include

mouse, keyboard nor speakers. Union Built PC offers a one-

year warranty on its computers, and has additional products

and business-related services available. The base price of

their machines starts at $825, and a “wizard” is available on

http://www.unionbuiltpc.com/umc.php


their website that enables you to add upgrades and see the

price difference in real time.

About monitors: today’s standard is the 19”, flat screen LCD.

Anything smaller will cause eyestrain if used continually.

Unfortunately, the prices on LCD screens go up dramatically

with every inch. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that like all technology, monitor prices have

been dropping a great deal. We are now seeing 22” LCD

monitors on auction websites for less than $350, and 19”

monitors for a little over half that. Our advice is that you

select the largest monitor you can afford – your eyes will

thank you for it.

Printer, Copier, FAX Machine

Today, you can get one machine that performs all of these

functions. Sometimes called an “all-in-one,” a printer-copier-

FAX can run about $150 new. If you decide to purchase a

used one, you may find a perfectly functional device for as

little as $20 (more on this, later).

34

It should be pointed out that the copier function of these low-

priced all-in-one machines is intended for light duty. If you

are planning on making a large number of copies on a regular

basis, you’ll be better off with something larger and more


durable. PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com) and

Consumer Reports (http://www.consumerreports.org)

generally have good, reliable independent reviews of the

various brands and machines available that will help you

make an informed choice.

Other I.T. Options

As mentioned earlier, laptops have the advantage of

portability. However, unless you’re planning to be on the road

or out in the field a great deal of the time, it’s probably not

the best choice.

If you need to gather, store and even transmit information in

the field, a Personal Digital Assistant – more popularly known

as a “PDA” – is an extremely economical choice. Due to their

size, they are limited as to what they are able to do, but for

the price (ranging from as little as $25 to $150), it’s an

excellent extension of your PC (though not a substitute), and

can be used to transfer information back to your main

machine at the home office. PDAs will be discussed in more

detail in a later section.

35

When it comes to staying in touch, the answering machine

and cell phone solution is definitely the easiest. The drawback

of using a cell phone is that it is not always an economical

solution. However, there are hundreds of companies offering

http://www.pcmag.com/

http://www.consumerreports.org/


literally thousands of different plans at prices ranging from

$30 all the way to $250 per month. Many plans include free

minutes; many do not. “Roaming” charges – the price you are

charged for air time outside your service area – can really add

up as well. Unlike a “land line,” cell phone users are charged

each time they talk, whether the call is incoming or outgoing.

Only due diligence and some thorough comparison shopping

will determine which cell phone plan will best serve your

business’ needs.

An answering service, while expensive (plans start out around

$40 per month), can be a great investment in customer and

client relations. Having to speak with machines and

mechanical voices while wading through menus has

increasingly become a “turn-off” for many people. At least

two marketing studies have shown than 30-35% more

customer/clients will leave a message for a live person than

they will on a machine or voice mail.3

All Those Bells And Whistles; Do You Really Need

Them?

36

As far as hardware is concerned: again, this depends a great

deal on the nature of the business. If you’re doing high-end

video editing or graphics-intensive desktop publishing, you’ll

definitely want to get the best video card you can afford. A


video card is like a co-processor for your computer’s main

processor unit, and handles most of the mathematical

calculations required to display images. The three most

popular brands – ATI Radeon, GeForce and Nvidia – offer

hundreds of different choices, ranging in price from as little as

$30 to as much as $750. The price goes up with the amount

of video memory installed on the card. More video memory

(RAM) equals better quality video.

The same can be said for audio cards. If you business

involves processing any sort of sound files, you’ll want the

best one you can afford. Fortunately, audio cards are less

expensive than video cards.

Speaking of RAM – that is, the main memory used by your

computer’s Central Processing Unit (CPU) – more is better. No

matter what you use your computer for, more memory will

allow your computer to run faster, with more applications

open at the same time. Main memory is called either SD RAM

or DD RAM, and like your processor comes in various speeds.

37

RAM modules typically must be installed in pairs, and are

purchased as such – so if your computer has 512 MB of RAM

already installed and you want to upgrade to a total of 1 GB,

you’ll need to buy two 256 MB RAM modules. All of this will

depend on the number of slots your computer’s motherboard

contains. Most today have at least four, and will accept up to

4 GB of RAM (that’s two pairs of 1 GB memory modules).


Unfortunately, the operating system used on most business

computers today – Windows XP – addresses no more than 3

GB. The upcoming Windows Vista OS may solve this issue,

however.

In any event, RAM today is fairly inexpensive, especially

compared to prices in the early and mid 1990’s. In 1992, you

might have paid $400 per megabyte and considered it a heck

of a deal. Today, RAM prices have dropped to around $100

per gigabyte – a mere 0.4% of what it was fifteen years ago.

Regardless of what software you’re running, always install as

much RAM as you can afford. When shopping for RAM, also

make sure it is compatible with your particular system, and

that all your modules are rated at the same clock speed.

Most of the “extras” that constitute the “bells and whistles” on

a computer system consist of software that you really don’t

need. They take up room on your hard drive, and may

provide some limited functional or entertainment purpose, but

if they’re applications you don’t use very often, its best to get

rid of them. If you don’t know which programs are merely

“taking up space,” there is an easy way to find out.

38


Figure 8 – Add Or Remove Programs In Windows XP

In order to bring up the screen shown above, you would click

on “start” in the lower left-hand corner, then “Control Panel”

and “Add Or Remove Programs.” As you can see, highlighting

the name of a program will tell you when the program was

last used, and whether it’s used rarely, occasionally, or

frequently. You then have the option of removing it by

clicking on the “Change/Remove” button.

39

Uninstalling an application in Mac OS X is as simple as

dragging it to the “Trash.” Although this will leave behind

some of the application’s related files in the cache and the

System, these will not interfere with your computer’s

operation in any way due to the OS X Unix-based


architecture. You have the option of removing them manually,

if you like.

Getting It Cheap

Earlier, we mentioned that the best way to go is with last

year’s equipment. The best places to obtain this equipment at

a low price are (A) newspaper classified ads, (B) online want

ads and (C) Internet auction sites.

When dealing with potential sellers found on Internet want

ads, it’s best to deal with someone local with whom you can

meet face-to-face. If you know little or nothing about

computers, take someone along who does and who can look

at the system and run some diagnostic routines. Otherwise,

you’re better off buying a new system.

Reputable online auctions are another way to go. Sites such

as Ebay and Ubid have procedures in place that protect both

parties in a transaction. If you are buying a used system, it’s

important to look at the seller’s feedback rating. If an Ebay

seller has a feedback score of 100 or more and it’s 99.5%

positive, chances are good that you’ll get your money’s worth

and that the seller will stand behind his or her product. In

addition, if you use Pay-Pal, you are protected for purchases

up to $10,000 – although there is a lengthy procedure

involved, and getting your money back may take some time.

40


When it comes to peripherals such as printers, these are

showing up increasingly on the shelves of second-hand stores

such as Goodwill and Value Village. Reputable second-hand

stores will allow you to test the item before you buy it, and if

it doesn’t work when you get it home, they’ll allow you to

return it in exchange for an in-store credit.

We encourage the purchase of second-hand computer

equipment for two reasons: (A) electronic waste – much of

which is highly toxic – has become a major environmental

problem.

The purchase of used equipment reduces consumption of

resources and keeps this waste out of the landfills. (B) Buying

equipment second hand keeps money in the local community

(or at least the country), and – in the case of many second-

hand stores – contributes to charitable causes. Likewise,

when you purchase a custom system from Union Built PCs,

you are keeping money in the U.S. economy and supporting

domestic industry. Supporting your community and nation is

always an excellent investment in your own business that will

pay big dividends in the future.

41

If you have obsolete electronic equipment and aren’t sure

what to do with it, point your browser toward

http://www.FreeGeek.org. Free Geek is a non-profit

organization devoted to the reduction, reuse and recycling of

electronic waste. Based out of Portland, Oregon, they run

http://www.freegeek.org/


centers in Olympia, Washington, Missoula, Montana and

Columbus, Ohio as well and will have valuable information on

how to make the best use of obsolete equipment for which

you no longer have a use.

Figure 9 – It’s The Right Thing To Do

42


Chapter 3: Getting Set Up

There is no one office arrangement that will work for

everyone in every situation, obviously. There are a few

general rules however. When these are followed, your

workflow will go more smoothly, and you business life will be

much easier. In this chapter, we’ll go over some

arrangements and set-ups that should increase efficiency

while keeping stress levels at a minimum.

Setting Up Your Workspace

How you set up your workspace is going to depend a great

deal upon the size and shape of your workspace. Ideally, you

want to minimize unnecessary movement while keeping the

space easy to navigate and free of obstacles. Organization is

also important, because you don’t want to have to hunt for

some important file when you need it. (This, by the way is

important not only in your actual office space, but on your

hard drive as well.)

43

If yours is a home office and that particular room serves

another purpose as well (say, as a guest room or family

room), it will be a challenge to keep your work (i.e., papers)

from taking over the space completely. Designer Fay Sweet

recommends strongly that you (A) keep up on paperwork,


and (B) keeping any archived papers boxed up and stored in

another part of the house4. In any event, you will find it a

challenge keeping your home life separate from your work

life. At the very least, if a home office must share a space

with some other activity or purpose, attempt to locate the

workspace in an area where it can be shut away while not in

use (such as a closet), or if this is not feasible, use folding

screens.

Organizing the Worktop

Furniture choices were discussed in an earlier section. The

most important selections here will be the chair and the desk

upon which your computer monitor will rest. In Home.work,

Fay Sweet makes some recommendations for the home office

that could very well apply to the office of any small business:

• Make sure the monitor is at least an arm’s length –

about 2 feet – from your face and positioned directly in

front of you.

44

• While people disagree as to the proper angle of the

monitor, most experts agree that a monitor should be

no higher than eye level, and preferable below. Most

flat-screen LCD monitors have stands that cause the

screen itself to tilt away, so the top of the monitor is

farther from your eyes than the bottom.


• The keyboard should be directly in front of you, and in

such a position that allows your forearms to be bent

upwards slightly. A soft wrist support is no bad thing,

either (refer to Figure 3).

Peripherals and Office Supplies

Peripherals are such things as your printer, extra drives, and

speakers – anything that is attached to your computer. Where

these will be placed depends a great deal on how often you

need to access or use them. If you’re not printing, faxing

and/or copying documents more than two or three times a

day, it might not be a bad idea to locate your printer in

another part of the room. That way, you’ll be forced to get up

out of your seat and stretch periodically, yet it won’t interfere

with your work flow. Otherwise, equipment such as printers,

scanners should be within easy reach, preferably on an

auxiliary table or stand set up perpendicularly to your chair –

and ideally, next to your dominant hand.

45

Your telephone on the other hand should be located right next

to your monitor within reach of your non-dominant hand – if

you mainly receive incoming calls. On the other hand, if you

plan on spending a lot of time making outgoing calls, this is

where it really pays to have your computer keyboard on a

retractable drawer that can be moved under the monitor


when not in use. You’ll want a telephone chord that’s a bit

longer, allowing you to move it around a bit as needed. This

all may seem obvious, but it’s amazing how many people

don’t think about it until it becomes an annoyance.

No matter how high-tech you office becomes, there are some

things – such as staplers, paper clips, pens and pencils,

paper, tape, “post-it” notes – that will always be part of

running a business. The best place for these are on a hanging

shelf above the monitor where they are within easy reach, yet

out of the way.

About Wireless Technology

By now, there are few among us who haven’t heard of (A) the

horrors of tangled masses (messes?) of chords, sitting like a

great Gordian Knot underneath desks, making it nearly

impossible to change peripherals or track down trouble when

it occurs. No matter how neatly one attempts to arrange

these cords, they inevitably turn into a writhing pile of snakes

from Indiana Jones’ darkest nightmares.

46

Wireless technology is nothing new, and actually dates back

to the 1890’s, when Guglielmo Marconi developed the first

successful wireless telegraph. The idea of using radio

frequencies eventually led to the broadcast of music and news

over commercial sets, the “walkie-talkie” of World War II, and


eventually cellular phones. In the last several years, this

technology has been used in WANs (“Wide Area Networks”)

and LANs (“Local Area Networks”) in order to transmit a wide

range a data.

In addition to wireless Internet, there are wireless keyboards,

printers, and mice. It’s possible to set up a wireless network

in your own home without too much trouble, and in fact – if

you live in an older existing home in which the wiring is

already installed – wireless may be your only practical choice,

should you want to network all the computers in your home.

The advantages of a wireless network include convenience

and mobility; if you have a laptop equipped with a wireless

card for example, you can pretty much work anyplace you

like. It also allows you to expand your network quite easily

without having to run additional cables all over the place.

Wireless technology does cost a bit more; you’ll have to

update your cable or Ethernet modem to a wireless one, and

install special cards in all your computers. Many say this extra

cost is offset by the additional productivity that seems to

occur as the result of not having to deal with extra chords.

47

There are however distinct disadvantages of a wireless

network. Like all devices that rely on radio frequency

transmission, wireless networks are subject to interference. If

you have ever attempted to listen to a radio program while


someone is running electric trains or using power tools

nearby, you know what this is about. Additionally, there are

security issues.

Wireless networks tend to use more power than their wired

counterparts, and this extra power makes it easier for

unwanted third parties to intercept data. There are encryption

technologies available especially for wireless networks, but

many of these seem to have weaknesses that are easily

exploited by determined hackers – some of whom make a

career out of identifying and hacking into wireless networks.

Some additional information on wireless security is available

in an online article located at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_security.

Getting Online

Naturally, you’ll want your business to have Internet access

as soon as possible – for ready access to vital information, for

networking, for promotion and communication and more.

Here, you have many different options as well, at a range of

costs and speeds. The general rule of thumb is that higher

transmission speeds mean higher subscription fees. Again

however, these higher fees may be offset by the greater

revenue generated by a higher rate of productivity.

48

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_security


Dial-Up

This is really unacceptable for anyone but the most casual

occasional surfer, or someone who uses the Web primarily for

e-mail communication. It is the least expensive way to access

the World Wide Web, with some companies offering access for

as little as $5 per month. Others charge as much as $25 per

month; the average monthly subscription fee for dial-up

Internet access runs approximately $12.95.

The only advantages here are wide availability and the low

cost. The major disadvantages are speed and the fact that

your phone is tied up whenever you are online. The maximum

speed for downloads and uploads is 56 kilobytes per second.

Some companies offer additional software they claim can

speed this up by as much as 400%, however this does not

help when it comes to downloading graphics - and attempting

to download or watch streaming video or most audio over a

dial-up connection is an exercise in futility, regardless. In

addition, Internet connections over a dial-up service are

frequently subject to interruption.

Satellite

49

Although satellite Internet access offers download speeds of

up to 1.5 megabytes per second (about 25 times faster than


dialup) and allows you to be online and on the phone at the

same time, it is less dependable than dial-up as far as

interruptions and dropped connections are concerned. Costs

for satellite Internet run between $55 and $70 per month.

DSL

The “Digital Subscriber Line” was discussed earlier. This is a

mid-range option and typically costs between $50 and $150

per month – although we’ve heard of one company offering

DSL for as little as $25 per month. Download speeds range

from 144 kilobytes to 1.5 megabytes per second, and upload

speeds are comparable, though generally a bit slower. A DSL

connection is made through your computer’s Ethernet port. If

you’ve never seen one, an Ethernet cable resembles an

overgrown phone cable.

The main advantages of DSL are that it has a high degree of

dependability and it does not interfere with telephone

communication in any way. In fact, DSL allows you to have

VoIP telephone service, which can offset some of the extra

cost of DSL. The disadvantage is that if you live in a rural

area, any kind of high-speed Internet access may simply be

unavailable, since the major corporations who control high-

speed Internet find that serving small communities doesn’t

generate enough profit to make any investment worthwhile.

50


If you are a cable TV subscriber, your cable company may

offer special rates on DSL through your existing cable.

Contact your cable provider for more information.

T1 and T3

This is the “Rolls Royce” of Internet access; a T3 connection

offers rock-solid reliability and blistering download/upload

speeds of 45 megabytes per second. This speed and reliability

comes at a price: such Internet service starts at around $350

per month, and can go as high as $1200. Unless yours is a

very large corporate business with sizable headquarters and

25 or more employees who are regularly online, you really

don’t need this one. T1 service is more affordable (and

slower), but for most businesses, the same performance can

be achieved with DSL or cable.

A Word Of Caution

Before going online, it’s necessary to set up protection

against malicious hackers, viruses, spyware, cyber attacks

and an entire host of enemies who are gunning for your data.

There are numerous options available here as well, which are

discussed in more detail at the end of this chapter.

Networking: The Intranet

51

If your small business is just you, and yours is the only

computer being used, you may skip this section. On the other


hand, if you have more than one computer in the office or

home and would like to be able to share files, programs and

peripherals, read on.

Figure 10 – A Typical Small/Home-Based Business

Network

52

Networking for a small and/or home-based business is not

complicated, and requires little in the way of elaborate

equipment beyond what you probably already have. A

network is really nothing more than two or more computers


connected in some way that allows them to share

information. Figure 10 on the previous page depicts a simple

network typical of that found in many home-based and small

businesses. In the old days, networking required special

hardware. Today, all that is required is a router and cables

(unless you’re going the wireless route – in which case you

will need special hardware – refer to the previous section). In

addition, most modern operating software – such as Windows

XP – has built-in networking capability.

Essentially, all that is required (other than the modem for

Internet access) is the router, which is installed between the

modem and the networked computers. From the router,

Ethernet cables connect the individual computers together

and to the World Wide Web. (You’ll notice that the computer

actually hooked up to the printer is labeled “server,” while the

others are labeled “client.” We’ll get into that in just a

moment.)

We are assuming for the moment that your computers, like

most built in the last three to four years, already has a

network adapter. (You should ascertain this when purchasing

computer equipment.) If not, you’ll need to install one – your

local computer store or consultant can help you with this, but

if you’re comfortable opening up your system yourself,

installing these adapters is easy.

53


If you’re not sure as to whether or not your computer has a

network adapter, go to the “start” menu in the lower left-

hand corner of your Windows desktop, click “Control Panel,

then choose “Network and Internet Connections” as shown in

Figure 11, below.

Figure 11 – Windows Control Panel

Clicking on that icon will bring up the following window.

Choose “Network Connections as shown.

54


Figure 12 – Windows XP Networking Control Panel

This will bring up the Window XP Network Connections

window. If it appears as shown below, your computer is ready

for networking. If it’s blank, you’ll need to install an adapter.

55


Figure 13 – Network Connections Window

Assuming your computers are set up for networking, the first

step is to make sure the cable that runs out of your model is

connected to your computer’s networking adapter. The

networking jack looks just like the Ethernet modem jack, but

is identified by a symbol similar to that in Figure 14, below.

Figure 14 – The Network Adapter Input Identification

Symbol

56

Before doing anything, make sure your modem, router, all

computers and any peripherals are powered off. Otherwise,

serious damage to your equipment could occur.


Step 1 is to connect the modem to the router. Your router will

have several ports; the correct one for the modem connection

is labeled Internet, WAN or WLAN.

Step 2 is to plug each computer into the remaining ports of

the router (typically identified by number) using additional

cables.

If the networked computers are in different rooms and you

don’t want to go with wireless, you have a couple of different

options. The easiest – if not the neatest – is to simply get

chords of sufficient length and run them from the router to

whichever room the computer is located. Ethernet cables are

available in lengths of up to 50 feet, which is sufficient for

most homes.

57

If you don’t want cables running along the floors of your

home or place of business, you might consider trying a

network extension kit. This device plugs into the electrical

outlet in the wall and allows you to plug an Ethernet cable

into them. (Note: these will not work with an extension chord

or power strip.) Essentially, you will need one of these

devices for each room in which you have a computer. One

end of the cable goes into the appropriate router port with the

other plugging into the port on the device. In the room where

the networked computer is located, you’ll run a second


Ethernet cable from the device to the networking jack in the

computer.

Figure 15 – Network Extender Kit

Sharing Printers and Programs

Now that all your business computers have access to the

Internet, you’ll want to give them all access to the “server” –

in other words, the business’ main computer, which is

probably yours.

58

In the context of a small or home-based business network,

the “server” is the computer that contains the programs and

is attached to the peripherals that are to be shared. As such,

it should be the most powerful computer on the network. You


may wish to add a second or external hard drive with

partitions for each employee for file storage and backup.

Windows XP makes this process exceptionally easy through

the use of a wizard. In case you haven’t encountered this

term before, a “wizard” is simply a feature of many software

applications that use a series of dialogue boxes that pose

“yes/no” questions, which you answer by clicking on the

appropriate button or filling in information. Based on your

answers, the wizard creates the document or completes the

task for you.

The first step is to call up the Windows control panel as shown

in Figure 17a. This time however, you’ll click on the icon

labeled “Network Setup Wizard” (it looks like a while house

with a red roof with a pipe sticking out the bottom connecting

to what looks like a water main). This brings up the Network

Setup Wizard as shown in Figure 16a on the following page.

As you go through the wizard, the only other vital piece of

information you’ll need (assuming you have everything

hooked up and ready to go) is for the dialogue in which you

are asked about a connection method (Figure 16b). Since all

the computers on your network connect to the Internet via

the router, you’ll want to select the middle option as shown.

59


Figure 16a – The Windows XP Network Setup Wizard

Figure 16b – Connection Method

60

You’ll then be asked to name the various computers on the

network as well as the network (workgroup) itself. Finally,


you’ll be asked whether or not you want to turn on file and

printer sharing. Make sure the top button is selected, then

click on “Next.” The next dialogue will ask you to confirm the

information you’ve entered so far. If correct, click the “Next”

button again. At this point, you’ll probably want to go have a

cup of coffee; the process will take about five minutes or so.

If all the computers on your network are also running

Windows XP, you can select the bottom option. Otherwise,

you’ll have to run the wizard on the other computer(s) on the

network. In either case, you’ll need to restart your computer

in order to activate the network and make your printer

available to other users.

Figure 17c – File And Printer Sharing

61


Figure 17d – Finishing Up

Once you’ve restarted your computer and completed the

process, a “SharedDocs” folder in “My Network Places” under

the Windows menu should be visible on each networked

machine.

About Sharing Programs

62

Legally, if you have multiple users of a given software

application, you must either purchase a separate copy of the

application for each user, or – if all clients on a network are

using a single copy of the application that is stored on the

server – you must purchase a site license. These are typically

sold in groups of five, ten, twenty, fifty and one-hundred, and

allow multiple users to utilize a single copy of a given

application program.


Here too are ways to save substantial amounts of money.

One of the obvious ways would be to require other users to

access the application on your machine. This may be

practicable with an application that is used on an occasional

basis, there are some applications that are simply necessary

to the day-to-day operation of the business. Two of the most

common software applications used by 90% of all business

are Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop.

MS Office consists of a suite of software tools that include an

extensive word-processing application, a spreadsheet

program and a tool for creating graphic presentations. New,

MS Office has a price tag that ranges from $400 for the

standard version to $680 for the deluxe version. If you own

an earlier version, you can purchase the newest version as an

upgrade for around $250. An older version (2004) will run

about the same price, if you don’t own it already.

Adobe Photoshop is a massive, highly complex image editing

application that is considered the industry standard. It is

indispensable for any business that does any sort of graphic

design and publishing. The new version is priced at $570,

while older versions go for around $250.

63

If your business is a non-profit organization or related to

education, you may qualify for “academic pricing.” This is a

steep discount (sometimes as much as 65%) off the full price


made available to teachers, students, school administrators

and other education employees. To be eligible, you must

typically submit a copy of your school’s ID, a teaching

certificate or a pay stub from the school district at which you

are employed. The only real difference between an “academic

version” and the “full version” of a software application is that

the “academic version” does not usually include the

documentation in printed form (it is however available online

as a “.pdf” document).

If you don’t qualify for an academic discount and purchasing

even older version is beyond your current means, you should

definitely know about Open Office and GIMP.

These programs are free-ware versions of Microsoft Office and

Adobe Photoshop respectively. Open Office (available at

http://www.openoffice.org) has virtually all of the

functionality of MS Office, can be used to edit MS Office

documents and will save documents in MS Office-compatible

formats, allowing for easy exchange. It lacks a grammar

check feature, and some users have complained of some

incompatibility issues when it comes to bulleted and

numbered lists. Open Office is also reported to use more

memory and run more slowly than MS Office. These are minor

drawbacks however, considering the price ($0!), and

development is ongoing.

64

http://www.openoffice.org/


GIMP, or the General Image Manipulation Program, is a

“raster graphics editor” – in other words, it allows the user to

edit photos and even create images, then save them in the

most common graphic file formats (.jpg, .gif, .png and .tif).

Like Photoshop, the user can remove cosmetic imperfections

from photo images, draw with various sizes and types of

virtual “brushes,” change image colors, add text, composite

images with the use of paths, layers and channels as well as

add effects.

On the down side, GIMP lacks support for many “plug-ins”

that Photoshop users depend on. The magnetic lasso tool is

not as precise, and the free application lacks the undo history

“snapshots” that persist between sessions in Photoshop.

Nonetheless, if you can live with these limitations, GIMP is an

excellent alternative to Photoshop.

Both GIMP and Open Office are available for Windows, Mac

OS (“Classic” and X) and Linux.

Beyond these two, the kind of specialty software your

business may require will depend on the product or service

you are offering. Again, an online search will assist you in

determining and locating specific applications you may need.

65

Comparison shopping is a good idea, since software package

prices can vary widely between the various resellers. Also,

don’t hesitate to use an older (up to two years) version –


most applications have “backward compatibility,” meaning

that you’ll be able to read and edit a document created by a

newer version of an application using an older version.

Protecting Yourself And Your Business

You’re probably aware issues such as computer viruses, cyber

attacks, spyware, adware and more. Do not access the

Internet before you have a firewall and virus protection in

place.

Windows XP has its own integrated firewall, but many I.T.

professionals have doubts about effectiveness. In a recent

article for Tech Republic, Mike Mullins points out that while

Windows XP does an adequate job of monitoring incoming

information, but is less effective when a program on your

computer attempts to initiate an outgoing connection to any

Internet address. In fact, by the time Windows alerts you, the

connection has already occurred. According to Mullins:

“…a firewall mechanism that only works one way is a

security feature

— not a firewall. Thanks to viruses, worms, Trojans,

and a host of

other malware and spyware that arrive on your

computer daily, you

66


need to be able to control communications from both

directions.”

The bottom line: while Windows security is better than

nothing at all, you’ll definitely need a “real” firewall that

requires minimal monitoring from you. The Firewall Guide

(http://www.firewallguide.com) has some good information

on the various firewalls, virus protection, and other security

tools that are available for free as well as purchase. In

addition, you’ll learn about email clients and browsers that

can be used as an alternative to those integrated into the

Windows OS.

One free utility that is practically indispensable is Ad-Aware

SE. This is not an anti-virus program, but one that allows you

to monitor the ad-ware and spy-ware that is frequently

deposited on your hard drive by commercial web sites. These

are used to track surfers’ Internet usage. Unchecked, these

little bits of code accumulate on the hard drive and can

eventually wreak havoc to the point where the computer

won’t even boot up. Ad-Aware is simple to use and is

available free at

http://www.adawareresource.com/co/adawareresource/?sid=

M2AG0002cGS.

67

Before installing and activating any third-party firewall and

virus protection, you’ll want to be sure to de-activate the

Windows security system, as having more than one firewall

http://www.firewallguide.com/

http://www.adawareresource.com/co/adawareresource/?sid=M2AG0002cGS

http://www.adawareresource.com/co/adawareresource/?sid=M2AG0002cGS


running at the same time can cause major conflicts that can

harm your system. Simply go to your control panels, select

the Windows Firewall icon as shown below, and follow the

instructions for de-activating the application.

Figure 17 – Windows Firewall

E-mail Issues

68

Simply having a firewall and virus protection does not mean

you can simply relax and depend on it to do everything.

Granted, these protections will do about 98% of the work for

you, but you’ll still need to do a bit of monitoring – especially

when it comes to e-mail. Many malicious programs arrive as

e-mail attachments, and many businesses simply no longer

accept attachments from unfamiliar addresses. The safest


course of action: if you receive an e-mail from an

unrecognized address and it has any sort of attachment –

delete it.

The other problem frequently encountered by individuals as

well as businesses is unsolicited commercial e-mail, popularly

known as “spam.” Most e-mail programs have a “bulk mail”

folder to which you can direct all e-mails from specified

addresses and domains. Often however, you are limited to a

certain number of these. Alternatively, some e-mail programs

allow you to direct all e-mail to the “bulk mail” folder except

that from addresses and domains you specify.

The best cure for spam is really prevention. If your business

has a website (and it should), avoid putting your e-mail

address on the site as a link or hyper-text. The reason is that

small programs, sometimes known as webcrawlers or bots,

are constantly monitoring the Web and harvesting e-mail

addresses from html code.

Obviously, you need an e-mail contact to enable your clients

and customers to reach you. There are two solutions here:

the expensive and complicated way is to have visitors to your

website use a form – similar to that shown in Figure 19 – that

hides your e-mail.

69


Figure 18 – A Typical Web Form

Setting up this type of form takes some knowledge of HTML,

although a program like Macromedia’s Dreamweaver can

facilitate the process. Otherwise, there are two other methods

commonly used:

(4) Display your email as hypertext, but do it in one

of the following ways:

- yourname at domain.com : here you

eliminate the “@” sign, which is one of the

signals that bots and webcrawlers look for

- “yourname,” followed by the “@” sign,

followed by “domain.com”: the e-mail

address is broken up and thus “invisible”

to webcrawlers and bots

70

(B) Create a graphic file in Photoshop or GIMP

using the text tool.


Figure 19 – E-mail Address As Graphic File

Since the e-mail above is essentially a “picture” (if it weren’t,

you would be able to click on it and bring up an e-mail client),

bots and webcrawlers – which search actual code - would be

unable to “read it.”

Computer Care And Maintenance

Computer repair can add to your I.T. costs tremendously.

Fortunately, 95% of all computer problems are software-

related, and here again, a small amount of prevention now

will spare you having to shell out for a lot of cure later.

The cardinal rule of computer care – as well as any

peripherals you may have – is this:

“Don’t just plug it into the wall!”

71

The circuits, wiring and other electronic components are

extremely delicate and can be affected by power spikes,

surges, brownouts, and more. At the very least, you need to

plug everything into a surge strip. A good surge strip will cut


off power when surges and spikes are detected, protecting

the delicate internal components from being “fried.”

For around $50, you can get a device that combines the

function of a surge suppressor with a battery that will supply

a limited amount of emergency power to your computer long

enough for you to back up any data and shut it down

properly. If you live in an area that is prone to brownouts and

blackouts, you may want to consider this solution.

Protecting The Hardware

One thing will shorten the life of your computer hardware

very quickly, and that is excess heat. A cooler running

computer is a longer-lasting one, and fortunately, this is very

simple issue to take care of.

First of all, make certain the case cooling fan in the back is

operating (you should feel a nice breeze when you stick your

hand back there. Also, be sure and allow at least 4 inches of

clearance back there – plenty of air circulation is key to long

service life. It’s also a good idea to clean the fan blades

periodically, both on the case fan and the CPU cooling fan.

72

At least once a year – twice if you’re located in a dusty old

building – you should open up the case and use a can of


compressed air (available at most electronics stores) to blow

out all the dust that tends to accumulate in there. Dust acts

as an insulator and can cause the hardware to run hotter than

it would normally. Blow dust out of your keyboards as well, as

accumulation can cause the keys to become sticky.

Note: do not use one of those “mini-vacs” to remove dust and

vacuum the inside, as these give off electromagnetic energy

that can harm your computer’s components. For this reason,

you’ll also want to avoid using a television, radio, or any sort

of appliances or power tools near your computer (and vice-

versa). These may not actually damage your computer

directly, but they can interfere with its performance.

Today’s flat-screen monitors need less care than the old kind

that used picture tubes, but you should wipe the screen

gently with a soft damp cloth once a month or so and blow

dust away from the ventilation openings in the back every so

often.

73

The old-style mechanical type of mouse – with the ball –

requires frequent cleaning. The advantage of the old-style

mouse is that it’s very inexpensive. Nonetheless, you’ll be

disassembling and cleaning it at least once a month, as well

as replacing your mouse pad twice a year. You’ll need to

remove the ring by unscrewing it (see Figure 21, below). The

ball will come out. Wipe it off with a


Figure 20 – Cleaning Your Mouse

dry, soft cloth. You’ll also see some rollers inside; prior to

replacing the mouse ball, clean these thoroughly using a

cotton swab and rubbing alcohol.

An optical mouse – which uses an infrared light – requires

almost no maintenance, and works on any surface with a

discernible pattern (it won’t work on a solid colored surface).

For prices ranging from $10 - $25, they’re a marvelous

improvement over the old ball-type.

Software Maintenance

Many software maintenance tasks can be automated,

depending on the utility program you are using. Daily

software tasks include:

1) Scanning your hard disk file systems for errors

2) Scanning for viruses

3) Backing up data

74


Items 2 and 3 have already been discussed in previous

sections. Normally, you’ll need to do these manually, but a

utility from Norton or Symantec can be programmed to back

up your data every day to a location of your choice. As far as

viruses go, a good security application such as Zone Alarm

does automatic virus scans several times per week; there is

nothing you normally need to do.

Over time, small errors tend to creep into the code which

contains your data. This can be caused by bugs in software or

drivers, power failures, and even human error. Rarely is it

indicative of hardware problems, provided that the

maintenance outlined in the previous section is performed as

needed. 99.9 percent of the time, these errors aren’t a

problem – as long as they’re caught early on.

To do this manually in Windows XP, go to the “Start” menu,

select “My

75

Figure 21 – My Computer


Computer,” then click on the “C” Drive icon as shown in

Figure 22, using the right mouse button. This will bring up a

menu; select “Properties” at the bottom, then choose the

“tools” tab (see Figure 23, below). Clicking the “Check Now”

button

Figure 22 – Disk Tools in Windows XP

will commence the process.

At least once per week:

1) Defragment your hard drive

2) Scan for hard disk read errors

76


Picture your hard drive as an old-fashioned LP record player.

The “record” is the disk itself, to which data is written and

read. The “tone arm” is what actually reads and writes the

data. When you open a file, the “tone arm” reads the data on

your hard drive and loads it into your computer’s RAM.

Whenever you save the data, this tone arm writes the data

wherever it can find space – not necessarily in contiguous

areas on the disk. Over time, these files literally become

“fragmented” – in other words, the data comprising a file will

be written in more than one place on the hard drive. This

means your “tone arm” – technically known as the “head” has

to jump all over the surface of the “record” – which is called

the “platter.”

Defragmenting the hard drive consolidates this data, meaning

the head won’t have to jump around quite as much – and this

will mean less wear and tear on the mechanism.

Defragmenting is done in the same way as error-checking

(see Figure 23, above). If you have a very large hard drive,

this can take several hours – so plan on running the

defragmentation process overnight or on the weekend.

77

In order to scan for hard disk read errors, you’ll need a disk

utility such as Norton Disk Doctor. This essentially looks for

physical damage on the platter by performing a “surface

scan” or “surface test.” This can reveal potential problems

with particular areas of your hard drive, and even keep it


from spreading to other areas. In any event, this process can

take a good bit of time, so it is recommended that it be done

at a time when you are not using the computer.

Once a month:

1) Clean the mouse (unless you have an optical mouse)

2) Free up hard drive space by discarding unnecessary

files

3) Update virus definitions

Cleaning of your mouse was covered in an earlier section.

As far as freeing up hard drive space, you’ll find it amazing

just how much “cyber-junk” can accumulate over the course

of a few weeks. Even if you uninstall unused applications and

drag files to the “Recycle Bin,” many times there will be

remnant files left behind. Some of these are completely

invisible. Your Internet browser cache can wind up holding

several hundred megabytes of temporary files picked up

during browsing sessions. By going to the Windows XP

Control Panels and switching to “Category View,” you’ll see

this window:

78


Figure 22 – Windows XP Control Panels Category View

Click on “Performance and Maintenance,” then “Free up space

on your hard drive.” Doing this will activate an application,

which after a few minutes will present you with the window in

Figure 24 on the next page.

79

Figure 23 – Windows XP Disk Cleanup


By highlighting the various choices, you’ll be able to learn

more about them. Check the box(es) of those files you wish

to delete. (If in doubt – don’t. Consult an expert.) Selecting

the “More Options” tab offers more detailed choices; Windows

can show you which OS components and applications that

have not been recently used.

Because new viruses are created every day and spy-ware and

ad-ware technology is in a constant state of flux, these

definitions need regular updating. Ad-Aware SE automatically

asks you if you would like to check for new definitions every

two to three weeks when you launch the program. High-end

virus protection software such as Zone Alarm and Black Ice

Defender usually does this automatically as well. Otherwise,

you’ll need to go to the website of whichever company

created your chose firewall/security/anti-virus application,

where virus definitions are updated on a regular basis.

Every three months:

1) Test power protection devices

2) Check fan and ventilation

3) Clean Disk and CD/DVD Drives

80

The second task has been discussed earlier. If you have an

uninterruptible power supply and/or a surge protector, test


these to make sure they are still operating, and replace if

necessary.

CD/DVD, floppy and zip drives are exposed to air and dust

(unlike your hard drive), so dirt can accumulate. There are

special “cleaning disks” for all of these. There are also special,

high-priced “cleaning fluids” as well, but none of these are

any better than plain rubbing alcohol (at 80¢ per pint).

While important yearly tasks have already been covered,

there are a couple of advanced precautions you may wish to

take. One of these is to record your computer’s BIOS settings.

“CMOS Memory” is where your computer’s BIOS settings are

stored. The BIOS– Basic Input Output System – controls all

of your computer’s basic functions (anything it can do without

accessing instructions from a third-party application).

Normally, this information is persevered by a battery, so even

if you computer loses all power, the BIOS settings remain.

81

Although it’s rare, this battery can fail. If your motherboard is

getting old, this too can cause BIOS settings to be lost. In any

event, it’s a good idea to have these settings recorded

somewhere, and the best way to do this is with a good old

fashioned pen and a piece of paper. Go through all the BIOS

setup screens and record the settings you see there. This is

only necessary when setting up your new PC, if you’ve


purchased a second-hand one, or switched out a

motherboard.

The other task is to update your emergency boot disk – which

you may need in case of operating system corruption or hard

drive failure. An emergency boot disk contains your

computer’s operating software and will allow it to boot up

without a hard drive. This gives you a chance to recover data

from a damaged hard drive. An emergency boot disk should

be updated whenever you make a major change to your

computer’s system – such as upgrading or changing the

operating software.

Two hours per month spent on maintenance may seem like a

hassle, but you’ll spend a lot more than attempting to restore

lost data.

82

Figure 24 – Don’t Let This Happen To You


Chapter 4 – Taking It On The

Road

Eventually – and depending on the nature of your business -

the time will probably come when you’ll need to leave the

office and go out “into the field.” It’s no bad thing to stay

connected while you’re away from the office. In this chapter,

we’ll discuss some of the options you have in this regard, as

well as the use of I.T. in an outdoor environment.

Staying Connected

Regardless of what equipment you’re using, the first thing

you’ll need in Internet access. If your equipment is set up for

wireless and you’re in a “wired” city that has numerous “hot

spots” (locations where one can access wireless Internet),

you’ll have few problems in this regard. In addition,

numerous libraries are now featuring wireless access.

83

The other alternative is to visit an “Internet Café.” Numerous

coffee houses (typically in a university or college district) offer

Internet access for a nominal hourly fee (you may need to

bring your own Ethernet cable). If you’re on an extended

business trip, many mid- and upper-range motels offer high-

speed internet in their rooms at no extra charge as well as do

airports.


Of course, staying connected while on the road requires a

laptop, or at the very least, a PDA. The pros and cons of the

laptop were covered in Chapter Two, however if you do a

great deal of traveling or field work, you’ll be hard-pressed to

get along without one – and make sure you have a wireless

networking card installed.

The Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)

The modern PDA (referred to in an earlier section) is the

latest in a series of attempts by the computer industry to

create a pocket-sized or handheld device with the

functionality of a laptop or desktop computer. Today’s PDAs

allow you to send and receive e-mail, enter data and do word

processing, record image and even video, create and use

spreadsheets, browse the Web, and even play video games

(including multi-player online role-playing games). In

essence, it can do most of what a laptop computer can do. In

addition, many newer PDAs can access the Global Positioning

System (in case you’re ever lost) and have cell phone

capabilities as well.

84

One enters data and interacts with a PDA using a touch

screen, and – for those of us with sausage-fingers – a stylus

(see Figure 26). Some even have letter/word/number

recognition that – in theory – allows you to actually write in


data by hand. Unfortunately, this particular technology has

not fully matured, and works about half of the time – which is

why you’re far better off using the virtual keyboard.

Figure 26 – A Personal Digital Assistant

PDAs also have memory cards, allowing you to store

additional data, although many of them have ports that allow

you to use a jump drive (see Figure 6) via a USB port.

85

Wireless access is achieved through the use of Wi-Fi or

Bluetooth technology. While both share the same radio

frequencies, Wi-Fi actually provides a stronger connection, a

greater range and more secure connections. Like an Ethernet

network, you’ll need to some configuring to set up file sharing

and transmit files. Bluetooth is used in many cell phones. It

requires less bandwidth than Wi-Fi, and actually makes

networking and file sharing easier when multiple devices are

in close proximity.


As to the best PDA for you, it is recommended that you

consult the reviews on Consumer Reports

(http://www.consumerreports.org) or Consumer Search

(http://www.consumerseach.com) prior to purchasing. Like

most computer equipment, PDAs vary wide in terms of cost,

function, reliability and price.

Accessing The Office Computer

There’ll be times you’ll need to access data sitting on your

hard drive back at the office. By now, you’ve probably heard

of numerous services that will assist you in accessing your

home or office computer remotely for a fee (of around $20

per month) as well as software applications that will do the

same thing (priced between $50 and $90). The fact is, this

functionality has long been available for free to those who

understand how to use it. Zolved (http://www.zolved.com) is

an online community and referral website for computer

technicians. Currently, they offer free remote access; visit

their website to learn more. (Note: at this time, their service

is compatible only with Windows-based machines.)

I.T. In The Great Outdoors

86

It is possible that your business interests may take you into

outdoors environments that could range from a local

http://www.consumerreports.org/

http://www.consumerseach.com/

http://www.zolved.com/


construction site to a place far from civilization (and Internet

access). If this is your case, you absolutely cannot do without

a PDA. The drawbacks to a laptop:

- They are delicate machines. Stumble, fall, drop one on

the rocks or the ground, or get it wet and chances are

it’s end of your machine – and any data on it.

- Batteries go only 4 to 6 hours between charges. There

are, however adapters that will allow you to plug a

laptop into the lighter socket of your vehicle.

- You’ll find that even the lightest-weight laptop can get

extremely heavy after carrying it a few miles –

especially if you’re carrying it correctly inside a heavy-

duty case.

A PDA fits readily into your pocket or backpack, and even in a

protective heavy-duty carrying case, weighs very little and

takes up almost no room. Even a top-of-the-line PDA at $300

represents a far smaller investment than a laptop – and a

PDA battery can go for 24 to 48 hours between charges. Add

a 1 GB jump drive, and a good PDA becomes the ideal I.T.

solution for anyone whose business takes them into the bush,

the outback or the wilderness.

87


Figure 26 – Taking I.T. Into The Outback

88


Notes

1. Albert Craig, et. al. The Heritage Of World Civilizations.

2. http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml

3. http://working.canada.com

4. Sweet, Fay. Home.Work.

89

http://www.blinkenlights.com/pc.shtml

http://working.canada.com/


Appendix 1: Taking Advantage of

Tax Savings

Most people understand that the purchase of computer and

office equipment is a business expense that can be deducted

from one’s tax bill. You have two different options here:

(1) Treat the purchase as an expense for the year in

which you placed it in service;

(2) Take depreciation over a five-year period.

If you claim the expense in the first year, the equipment must

be used for business purposes no less than 50% of the time.

There may be other requirements that must be met before

the equipment is allowed to be “expensed” as well. According

to the IRS:

“…the total cost of qualifying property you can

deduct after you apply the dollar limit is limited to the

taxable income from the active conduct of any trade or

business during the year. Any cost not deductible in one

year under Section 179 because of the business

income limit can be carried to the next year.”

90


Depreciation allows you to recover the cost of your equipment

over five years based on its decrease in value. Obviously in

order to qualify for such a deduction, the equipment must

have a useful service life of more than one year.

Computer software purchased specifically for the business can

actually be depreciated under certain circumstances. If it is:

- readily available for purchase by the general public

- subject to a nonexclusive license

- has not been substantially modified

it qualifies for depreciation under Section 179.

More information is available in IRS Publication 946, “How To

Depreciate Property, available at

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p946/index.html, and

Publication 535, “Business Expenses,” which can be

downloaded at

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p535/index.html.

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a

licensed accountant or attorney; always consult with a tax

professional on these issues when you have questions.

91

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p946/index.html

http://www.irs.gov/publications/p535/index.html


Appendix 2: An Short I.T.

Glossary

Access - The point at which a user gains access to a network,

whether it is a

local one or the World Wide Web

Address - The location of a website on the Internet or the

destination of an

e-mail message. See also: URL

Application - Also known as a “program” or “software,” this is a set of

instructions

that tell the computer what to do in order to accomplish a

given

task.

Archive - A fancy way of saying “data backup” to an offline storage

medium such as a CD, DVD or floppy disk

Backup - See archive.

Bandwidth - Technically, this is the difference between the top and

bottom

frequencies of a given frequency band. If you have a

website from

92

which people download data, the amount of data transfer

will be


limited by the amount of bandwidth available. See also bit

rate.

Baud rate - The rate of speed at which data moves over a

connection. A typical

dial-up connection runs between 300 and 1200 baud.

BETA test - The point at which a new software application is “field-

tested” by

actual users prior to actual sale to the public.

Binary - A numbering system consisting of ones and zeroes that

is the

basis of all cyber communication

Bit - The smallest unit of information, consisting of a “1” or a

“0,” or

a pulse that is either present or absent.

Bit Map - A matrix of dots that create an image.

Boot up - To start up a computer. Technically, this means loading

the initial

software instructions into the computer’s memory that

allows it to

accomplish given tasks.

93

Broadband - A connection with a bandwidth of 20 kHz or more,

allowing for


higher data transmission speeds.

Bug - A consistent software error. Caused by a misplaced

piece of code.

Software publishers are usually aware of these and can

provide

“work-arounds” while attempting to correct it for the next

version.

BBS - An electronic “bulletin board,” typically an online

message

center where users can post text.

Bus - A channel whereby data is transferred between a

computer

and a peripheral (i.e., a printer, a disk drive, or other).

Byte - a group of eight bits (ones or zeroes); for example,

11010001.

A thousand of these make up a kilobyte (kb), one million

bytes

equal a megabyte, and one billion equal a gigabyte.

Eventually,

terabytes (one trillion bytes) and petabytes (one

quadrillion bytes)

will be common measurements.

94

Cache - A software “buffer” in which a large amount of memory is

reserved


for data so it can be accessed quickly.

CAD - “Computer Aided Design;” the use of specialized

software and

peripherals for architecture, machine design, etc.

CAI - “Computer Aided Instruction;” interactive applications

used for educational purposes that often give students

feedback in real-time.

Client - Computers on a network that access data, applications

and the Internet through a main computer which is called

a “server.”

Cursor - The little arrow you see on the screen, or a vertical line

indicating where data may be inserted. See mouse.

CPU - “Central Processing Unit;” the processor of your

computer that interprets code and processes data,

allowing the computer to carry out instructions.

Database - Data stored in an organized and searchable fashion

Dedicated - Refers to a line separate from electric power or telephone

lines

that serve to provide Internet access only.

95

Diagnostic - Detecting and pinning down the cause of a malfunction;

see


also troubleshoot.

Disk - Magnetic recording medium that stores all types of

information in

digital, binary form. Can refer to floppies, hard drives,

CDs or

DVDs.

DNS - “Domain Name System.” The system whereby I.P.

(Internet

Protocol) addresses, normally consisting of numbers and

dots,

can actually have names, i.e. “mydomain.com.”

Download - The movement of data from one location to another;

generally, when you as the user choose to receive data

from an outside source, i.e., the Internet.

Downtime - Periods during which equipment is non-functional

DSL - “Digital Subscriber Line.” A dedicated, high-speed

Internet

access line.

E-mail - “Electronic mail;” a protocol for sending text messages to

an Internet address.

96

Emulator - A special type of software used to function like an

operating system on a computer for which that operating


system is not designed. A good example is “Virtual

Windows,” which allowed Apple machines to use the MS

Windows operating system and run Windows software.

Encryption - A method of converting data into a secret code during

transmission, then de-coding it once received.

Ergonomics - The science of equipment design which takes into

consideration the health and comfort of human users.

Error - A periodic malfunction, caused by numerous factors.

Ethernet - A local area network design, generally allowing for higher

speeds.

FAX - Refers both to the means, the mechanism and the act of

transmitting an image electronically.

Fiber-optic - a high-speed method of transmitting data by means of

light over glass fibers.

File - Refers to a document created by a software application.

Firmware - Computer code that is “hardwired” into the equipment

and cannot be changed, modified or deleted (unlike

software code).

97

Footprint - The amount of floor or desk space occupied by a piece of

equipment.


Gigabyte - see byte.

GIF - “Graphics Interchange Format.” See Graphics.

Glitch - A hardware error or malfunction. (See bug for software

error).

GUI - “Graphical User Interface.” This is how you, as the user,

interact with the software. This consists of the images,

clickable buttons, text fields, menu commands and other

elements that you actually see on the screen when

working with an application.

Graphics - Computer data organized in such a way as to permit the

display of, and interaction with picture images as

opposed to text. Text can be saved as graphics, but in

this case – as when text is used in creating a graphic

image – the computer will no longer “see” it as text, but

as a picture of text. See OCS.

Hardware – Refers to actual computer machinery, i.e., the CPU,

motherboard, memory chips, hard drive, peripherals, etc.

Hertz (hZ) - A unit of frequency indicating cycles-per-second.

98


Infrared - A frequency range just above radio range and just below

that of visible light. Used by wireless electronic devices.

Interface - The hardware/software link between two electronic

devices; also a connection between two different systems

that allows them to communicate. An example is MIDI –

“Musical Instrument Digital Interface” – that allows

musical notes to be “read” by a computer as well as

between different types of instruments.

Internet - A vast worldwide network of computer systems linked

together using a certain set of protocols and standards.

IT - “Information Technology” – what this whole book has

been about!

Jack - The receptacle that receives an input cable.

JPEG - “Joint Photographic Experts Group.” Also identified as

“.jpg” and “.jpe.” A popular, cross-platform graphics file

format. See graphics.

Justify - In word processing, the left- or right-hand alignment of

text.

Kilobyte - From the Greek word ��, meaning “thousand.” Often

abbreviated “k” or “kb.” See byte.

99


LAN - “Local Area Network.” The network you set up in your

own home or office.

Megabyte - From the Greek word ��, meaning “large.” Often

abbreviated as “mb.” See byte.

MPEG - “Motion Picture Experts Group.” Also abbreviated “.mpg,”

this is a way of compressing video files for display on and

transport over the World Wide Web.

Modem - Abbreviation of “MOdulator-DEModulator.” This device

turns data from the Internet into information that your

browser is able to display on the screen.

Monitor - The actual screen you are looking at which displays data.

Mouse - A oval device used to move the cursor on the screen

(see cursor) as well as input, manipulate and interact with

data.

Network - Two or more computers connected to each other and/or

to the World Wide Web.

OCS - “Optical Character Recognition.” The ability of a

computer to recognize hand-written or pre-printed letters,

numbers and characters and convert them into the

appropriate digital equivalents.

100


OS - “Operating System;” the software that actually runs the

computer itself. Examples are Windows NT, Windows

XP, Mac OS X, and Linux.

Pixel - Abbreviation of “Picture Element.” A dot on the monitor

screen which is part of a larger image.

Program - The act of writing instructions in a code or language a

computer can understand. See also application.

Queue - A waiting line; in the case of a shared printer, orders from

various users – or numerous print orders from a single

user – will be placed in a queue.

RAM - Random Access Memory; temporary memory used by

software applications to store information while they are

actually running.

ROM - Read Only Memory; instructions that are hardwired into

the computer, or contained on certain interactive CDs.

ROM cannot be deleted, changed or reprogrammed by

the user.

Scrolling - The vertical movement of data as displayed on the

screen.

101

Server - Any computer that is on full-time, providing data storage,

programs and Internet access to the other computers on

a local network. See client and LAN.


Software - A set of coded instructions that allow the computer to

perform specific tasks given it by a user.

Terminal - Can refer to any computer that grants online or network

access.

Traffic - The amount of data flow at any given time.

USB - Universal Service Bus. USB ports allow newer computers

and drives and a wide range of devices to be connected

while on and running. These include virtually everything

from jump drives to monitors and printers.

VoIP - “Voice over Internet Provider.” Telephone service

provided over Internet lines.

WAN - “Wide Area Network.” Refers to the network outside of a

local one (LAN).

WWW - “World Wide Web.” A global network of computers and

servers linked together via the Internet.

102


Appendix 3: Where To Keep Up

With The Latest News

Since Information Technology changes on a literal day-to-day

basis, the reader might consider visiting the following

websites for the latest news. (Note: some of these require a

subscription fee.)

http://www.newscientisttech.com/home.ns

http://www.techjunkeez.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.html

103

http://www.newscientisttech.com/home.ns

http://www.techjunkeez.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.html


Bibliography

Lowe, Doug. Networking For Dummies, 7th Ed. (New York:

Hungry Minds, 2004).

Gaventa, Sarah. Home Office. (New York: DK Publishing,

1998).

Sweet, Fay. Home.Work. (London: Conan-Octopus, Ltd.

2000).

104


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it for small and home-businesses · 2018. 3. 23. · it for small and home-based businesses...

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