Billions of dollars will be spent this holiday seasons, but do you realize that you, The Business Owner, could be losing many dollars during the season?
The first work day after the Thanksgiving holiday is one the busiest day for on-line shopping.
Why is this?
This is the day when those who [...]
Update:
I have just learned that Baltimore City has extended the deadline by two weeks before they will stop sending warnings.
Original Post:
Earlier this year the year the Maryland Legislature approved the use of Speed Camera within a mile radius of school zones and within highway work zone. The law [...]
At 2 AM on November 1, 2009 the United States will be returning to Standard Time. Please remember to set you clocks back one hour. The best time to do this is before you go to bed.
This is also a recommended time to check the smoke detectors in you home. [...]
Last week I was part of the team that put on a Trade Conference of East Coast Nortel Users. Anyone who has been following Nortel will no doubt be aware that the company is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the Enterprise Solutions (Telecom) portion of it has been auctioned off. [...]
Each of us have our own preference. For me I just took a week trip and the only things I took was a laptop and my cell phone. All I was really concerned with was checking for critical emails a couple of times a day.
So I’m wondering what do others [...]
Amazingly I find that many small businesses still do not have an online presence and some of those who do are using shared sites such as BraveNet and Google Pages.
Having your own Domain Name is best.
Unless you have an unusual business name it’s quite possible that you may not be [...]
Many of us want to have the newest of everything available. There’s nothing wrong with it as long as the technology budget is in place to handle it. But in these times many budgets are tight . Now is the time to realize just because something may be a few [...]
HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language.
It is used as the document format for web pages on the Internet defining page layout, fonts and graphical elements.
[...]LNP – Local Number Portability
This was defined in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as the “ability of users of telecommunications services to retain, at the same location, existing telecommunications numbers without impairment of quality, reliability, or convenience when switching from one telecommunications carrier to another.”
In short allowing one to [...]
Recently I was asked; “What is the correction format for the shorted term for ‘electronic mail’.
When asked I have to admit I didn’t know. I have seen it displayed as email, e-mail, E-Mail and E-mail, as well as others. Many times I myself have used eMail and at times E-mail.
I [...]
Instant Messaging is not new. In the early days of the Internet revolution it was used as a way for people all over the world to talk to one another with out having to use the telephone and the costs associated with those calls. It was free and easy.
But because [...]
It doesn’t matter whether you use Instant Messaging in your business or not, there should be a policy relating to its use. Without a policy, the employees don’t know the company’s feeling s about it, and will often make their own decisions on if and how it’s used. Having a [...]
There are plenty of ways to instantly get in touch with someone. You can use the telephone to call someone. You can send an email. But are you using Instant Messaging as part of your normal business practice.
Instant Messaging or IM has been popular for years with the younger generation. [...]
It’s a hectic run here, go there, do that, type world that many small businesses enjoy. I know we don’t enjoy it but it seems to be the way of life. Because of all our rushing to get work accomplished or be at our child’s events, sometimes it appears as [...]
ROBC – Regional Bell Operating Company. With the divesture of ATT in 1984, seven regional companies, also called “Baby Bells” were formed to supply local telephone service with ATT as the Long-Distance Carrier. These seven companies were; Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, NYNEX, Pacific Telesis (also known as Pacific Bell), Southwestern [...]
For most of us we will send one, or a hundred, emails a day. Following these tips may help eliminate some common mistakes. This has been posted before, but I’ve added some things since that original post.
Enter the addresses after the message is composed.
Many messages are sent before [...]
Loop Back
This is a method of performing transmission tests on a circuit, not requiring the assistance of personnel at the distant end. This happens when a signal in sent from a central communications device (usually at the carrier’s central office) and returned to it in a way to determine [...]
1) Create an Administrators and a Users account.
Use the user account for normal work and only use the Administrators account when required. Each of these accounts needs a password and that they should not be the same.
2) Remove any preinstalled trial software.
Many systems will come with trail versions [...]
Many times just knowing what the acronym means gives one an idea of its purpose and how it’s used. Here is a list of some telecommunications acronyms.
Telephony Acronyms:
ACD (Automatic Call Director)
CDR (Call Detail Recording)
CLID (Calling Line IDentifaction)
CSU/DSU (Channel Service Unit/Data Service Unit)
DNIS (Dialed Number Identification [...]
Over time it’s amazing to see how much technology equipment a business can purchase.
Do you know everything that you have?
Do you know how old it is?
Do you have a maintenance contract on something you took out of service months ago?
These are all valid question, and some [...]
Can you afford to lose your laptop?
A laptop can be easily replaced. But that’s only a small part of your business. For those who use their laptop as the primary business computer it is full of important data. Does it hold your idea that is just about ready to send [...]
DNIS – Dialed Number Identification Service
This telecommunications feature delivers the telephone number that the caller dialed to the answering point. It’s a common feature used with 800 numbers. It can work by passing touch-tones digits or data information to equipment on the receiving end and can display the called [...]
Many businesses cringe when they open the invoice for their wireless service. It sometimes seems as if controlling these costs are a never ending game. But there quick items to look at to help control those cost.
Are you paying replacement insurance?
If you are should you?
Replacement of a cellphone [...]
Cell phones are a valuable way of conducting business, but at the same time they have raised a lot of issues involving safety. Some states have passed laws prohibiting talking on a cell phone while driving without using a hands free device those include California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, [...]
It seems that when it comes to talking on their cellphone people think it’s their right to talk and use it wherever or whenever they want. But most times if you look around and think about where you are, whom you are with, or what is happening, you’d think twice [...]
1) Have one.
It’s been said here as well as many other places, every business should have some type of Web presence. For some they may not want or need a full featured site but just a listing with the basic Who you are, What items or services you provide, [...]
MPOP – Minimum Point of Presence.
I’ve also seen it listed as Minimum Point of Penetration. This is the point where a telecommunication provider will deliver their service. In most residential services this point is outside of the house at a NID (Network Interface Device)., Many times in Multi-family complexes [...]
A few years ago the question was, “Do I need a website?” While there was a time it was considered an added feature, in today’s business climate, it should be considered a necessity.
The question today should be; ‘Do they know my website’s out there?’
Anyone who goes under the impression, “build [...]
The process of combining a number of individual channels into a common stream for transmission.
[...]This is not a trick question advertising a special TV show, but the simple fact that June 12, 2009 is the date that over the air television will stop broadcasting the analog TV signals, that have been in use since the beginning of television, and start broadcasting completely in digital.
There [...]
Technology is ever changing. It may not be as bad as it was in the late 90’s when you would purchase one of the first off the assembly line only to find that it already was obsolete. Even with the slow down it’s still nearly impossible to keep pace with [...]
Reports are showing that as more families are replacing their old tube TVs with flat screens, more children are being injured by having them fall on them. Flat screens TVs and monitors are also releasing tube devices in the offices
Flat screen TVs are lighter than tube TVs of the same [...]
This one isn’t easy. A lot of it may depend on the reason it is being used. In many cases it stands for Telephone Number. If working with a multiplex it could mean Time slot Number. If using a Nortel PBX it stands for Terminal Number. It could also be [...]
Whether Social Networking is part of your Business Plan or not, there’s a good chance that it is being used in your office.
Facebook is growing. However, it no longer is the haven for college students and teens. Reports show that a majority of the new accounts being established on Facebook [...]
I once heard a story about a young girl being asked what her plans were for her future. She answered, “I’m just waiting to see what happens.”
Is it wise to wait to see what happens?
Not everyone can be that person who walks into a store to get a cup [...]
Removable USB drives makes it easy to move data from one PC to another and to keep backups at another location. But because of their size they are also easy to misplace and lost.
If it happens to have all of your private data on it, all of a sudden [...]
At one time it was simple to communication with another business associate. To have a conversation with them, you called their office telephone number and talked over the phone. If a written proposal was needed, you sent it through the mail.
As technology changed, some of these changed as well. To [...]
For many their business life blood is based on their contacts telephone numbers and email addresses.
Where do you have those numbers stored?
Is it on your cell phone/PDA/Blackberry?
If that’s the only place you have them it’s time to back-up and place them in alternative locations.
Portable devices whether it’s [...]
Talking on the cell phone at inappropriate places.
People when they are having a conversation on the phone sometimes forget where they are or who may be around. The guy next to you in the grocery line, or sitting in front of you in a theater doesn’t want to hear [...]
When thinking about what is Spam, I am reminded of the phrase, “I’m not sure how to define pornography, but I know it when I see it.” In many ways spam is the same way.
One way to describe Spam is that it is any unwanted and unsolicited message. The most [...]
TEM. what is it?
TEM is one of those acronyms that it depends on which field you are in to what it means. It could stand for Transmission Electron Microscopy. But it’s one of the many buzzwords in some businesses and it stands for Telecom Expense Management.
TEM vendor’s claims are [...]
Once again, as it does every year just like Christmas and Tax day, Daylight Saving Time begins. For those who don’t know the rhyme we spring ahead, in other words set the clock forward one hour, in the spring and fall backward, set the clock time back one hour, in [...]
One of the biggest changes of technology over the past 25 years is now we have instant communications. 30 years ago instant communications was through the telephone. It may not have mattered where one was, a phone could easily be found. Payphones were everywhere.
If you needed to ask a [...]
Telecommunications is full of acronyms. If you don’t know what they mean not only will you be lost, you may end up making a decision based on a misunderstanding. Some acronyms just knowing what letters means explain the meaning others may need some additional explanation.
Here are some common ones as [...]
Disclaimer: This is a Commentary/Promotion and not a Review
Last year I published a post discussing the Kindle, Amazon’s reading device. They will be releasing version 2 on February 24, 2009.
This updated Kindle will have a longer battery life than the original as well as being lighter and thinner. From Amazon’s [...]
Recently I was invited to a 9th grade class to talk on ways to help the environment. I developed this 10 Ways list together a few years as ways to conserve energy in the office. I handed it out to each of the students and the teacher planning to gloss [...]
SMB
For the purpose of this site SMB is a Small or Mid-sized Business. The U.S. Small Business Administration defines a small business as a business with less than 500 employees, the U.K. and the European Union under 50 employees and Australia under 20. It’s even harder to define where [...]
Recently I was asked; “What is the correction format for the shorted term for ‘electronic mail’.
When asked I have to admit I didn’t know. I have seen it displayed as email, e-mail, E-Mail and E-mail, as well as others. Many times I myself have used eMail and at times E-mail.
I [...]
Just in case you have a customer contact you saying that on Sunday morning they did a search, looking for your website and as a result Google informed them that “This site may harm your computer”, let them know that your site is fine. It was Google which had a [...]
It doesn’t matter the size of a business, if a disaster happens it’s going to hurt. Having a plan may help alleviate the pain.
The IT and Telecom (or as I like to refer to them telephony) infrastructures are a couple of the major items to consider in disaster recovery. If [...]
