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Is Microsoft getting back into the Anti-Virus business? Free?

It appears our friends in Redmond are coming back into the Anti-Virus market with a free offering: Free Microsoft anti-virus coming soon. Is this a good thing? I’m sure Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, CA, etc. are wondering the same.

Protecting your computer involves more than just a single anti-virus agent. Full system protection involves messaging, spyware, and malware protection and more, across a wide array of devices. This is where many other vendors have invested a great deal of time and money. SonicWall, WatchGuard and others also have hardware / firewall solutions with integrated system protection. Even Microsoft knows this and has a high end solution, Forefront.

Does Microsoft have a plan? an alternate agenda? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Tell us what you think. Leave a comment here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – June 12, 2009

Twitter Tips: URL Shorteners Do More Than Save Space

“Several free services will shorten URLs for sharing on Twitter, but they’re not all created equal. Here’s how to not only save space, but also use analytics features to understand what content matters most to your followers.”

Make sure your message is delivered the way you want it to be. Learn more here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – June 8, 2009

MIT: “Cloud Computing to Reshape IT”

Here’s another view of this up and coming technology:

“A panel of experts at MIT Sloan CIO Symposium this week said that more companies would look to cloud computing in the near future because of its potential cost savings and its ability to deliver flexible computing.”

Read the full article here.

Are you using cloud computing? Are you considering cloud computing? Tell us what you think. Leave a comment here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – June 8, 2009

If you Google, will you Bing?

Most people will agree that Google is the gold standard in search engines on the Internet, and the others, like Yahoo, Live. Ask, etc are a distant second. If you are Microsoft, does that stop you from trying?

Say hello to bing.com, the successor to Microsoft’s live.com search engine. Being dubbed as not just a search engine, but a “decision engine”, Bing claims to be “a search engine that finds and organizes the answers you need so you can make faster, more informed decisions.”

Will Microsoft be successful this time? Give it a try and leave your comments and feedback here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – June 4, 2009

Windows 7 is Coming

Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 will be available well ahead of the holiday season, October 22, 2009 to be precise; PC manufacturers should expect it in the second half of July.

Having worked with the RC (Release Candidate) of Windows 7 I can say that it has some nice improvements, in performance, ergonomics and features. Will this be enough to repair the damage caused by Vista, I do not know. While there is an XP mode within Windows 7 which allow you to run programs in a dedicated XP windows/environment within Windows 7, I fear that Microsoft does not seem to be offering an upgrade path directly from XP to Windows 7, even if you have hardware that is capable of running it. You must either start with a fresh Windows 7 install (on a new or existing PC) and move your files over, or upgrade to Vista first. This can be a costly effort, in both time and equipment.

Microsoft has also announced that as of April 14 Windows XP transition out of mainstream support and will enter “extended support phase”, where security fixes (only) will be available free until April 8, 2014. After that, you are on your own, unless you pay for support.

Should you care that Windows 7 is coming – YES!
Jefric Consulting can help you plan.
Tell us what you think about this, leave a comment here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – June 4, 2009

June Small Business Technology News from Jefric Consulting

June 2009 – Technology is an essential tool for your Small Business and staying current is extremely difficult. Let us help you. Read this month’s newsletter here.

All newsletters can be found here.
Visit the Jefric Consulting website here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – June 2, 2009

LinkedIn – Where did it come from?

LinkedIn has helped define social networking for the business community. With more than 40 million subscribers they help people find, connect with and leverage business contacts, past, present and future, help people leverage these relationships to research and offer useful information to others and grow their business. People are only now beginning to scratch the surface and understand the true potential of this powerful tool that is taking the Internet world of business by storm.

Did you ever wonder who started linked in? what they were thinking? what they had in mind?
Then this video interview is for you.

Have a look at this interview with LinkedIn’s co-founder Reid Hoffman to learn more and hear his thoughts on how you can use this tool for your benefit. Click here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – May 31, 2009

Language Translation meets Gmail

What would you say if you could compose an email in one language and have it automatically translated into one of 40 others for you automatically? Our friends at Google Labs are working on just that very idea.

As the business world becomes more and more global, this piece of technology can only help.
Read more here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – May 28, 2009

Cloud Security: Danger (and Opportunity) Ahead

Computer Security is essential for all computer users. It is more than just viruses and malware, but includes data security and preventing information theft. Cloud computing is no exception, where security should be considered early on in the adoption. Read more here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – May 26, 2009

Pricing the cloud an ongoing challenge

Comparative shopping is smart business, and easier to do when you are comparing like/commoditized products. Unfortunately technology doesn’t always make it easy, especially those that are relatively new. It is important to understand what you are getting, what you are NOT getting, and all of the differences, no matter how subtle, you might come across. To learn how this related to cloud computing, click here.

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By AlanBuckwalter – May 26, 2009