I thought we might take a break from the heavy security news and discuss something to make our everyday work easier: basic computer usability.

Do you sometimes feel like you’re fighting with your computer to get things done? Your computer might not be set up optimally for you, like a car’s driver seat that is not in the right position. Fortunately, Windows has built-in tools you can use to make your computer easier to interact with. To start, let’s answer a basic question:

• What version of Windows are you running? – Answer this question, and it will help you access the rest of the information in this article. Go to the Start Menu ball or bar in the lower-left corner of your screen, right-click on Computer, and select Properties. The window that pops up will tell you what version of Windows you’re running–XP, Vista, or 7. If you don’t have a Start Menu ball or bar, and clicking in the lower left corner of your screen brings up a panel of squares, you’re running Windows 8.

Now that that housekeeping is out of the way, here are some tips for easier computer use:

• Screen Resolution – This computer setting affects how large icons, text, and buttons appear on your screen. Does your screen feel claustrophobic, with a very large task bar and icons, and it feels like you can’t fit everything you need to into the space you have? You might need to increase your screen resolution. Are you having trouble reading text, and your icons are tiny? You might want to try decreasing your screen resolution. How-To: Windows 7 and 8 | Windows XP
• Text Size – The size of text that is displayed on your screen can be adjusted independently of the screen resolution. If you use reading glasses for paper, you might like this option for your computer. You can increase your text size to 125% or even 150% of the standard. Sometimes things can get cramped with 150%, so try 125% first. How-To: Windows 7 | Windows 8 | Windows XP
• Mouse Adjustments – If your mouse is hard to handle, you can adjust its behavior in Windows. You can slow down how much the cursor (arrow) moves for every movement of the physical mouse, and you can adjust how fast you must move your finger to double-click. You can even make the cursor bigger on the screen, or a different color. How-To: Windows 7 | Windows 8 | Windows XP
• Control-Scroll – In a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox, you can resize text for easier reading. Hold down the control (Ctrl) key and simultaneously roll the mouse wheel.

And a bonus, if you feel daring…

• Just what is that file? – Windows gives you the option of displaying file extensions so that you know what kinds of files you have. File extensions are 3 or 4 letter suffixes that clearly denote what a file is. For example, Word documents (.doc), Acrobat documents (.pdf), and… watch out if you get these through email… executable program files (.exe) and zipped archives (.zip). With file extensions turned off, a mysterious file might be called “openme”, but with file extensions on, you would see that it’s actually called “openme.exe” In such a case, knowledge is golden! How-To: All Windows

These tips are just the “tip” of the iceberg of computer settings, but they can go a long way toward helping you feel more comfortable with your computer. There’s a lot of wiggle room here–find what feels comfortable to you and try it for a while. If you don’t like something, change it. You might find that you and your computer start getting along better.

If you are a business owner, aspiring entrepreneur, or want to start a business, then I want to introduce you to a summer reading book that has changed my perspective on running a business.  It is inexpensive and you can find it on Amazon or any good book store:

“The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber.

I have read and re-read this book while I revamped my company over the past year. To keep things brief, the crux of this book is quite simple but hard to see when you are in the day to day operations of a business. Sometimes you need to stop working IN your business and take some time to work ON your business.

For example, a person in my field who has always been good with technology may get an idea to start a business. That person may be an excellent tech, but as soon as they start dealing with taxes, business law, P&L statements, breakeven analysis, and vendor management, things can get complicated.  If you hire some employees, then you are a manager and no longer a tech. Suddenly, your business becomes this “thing” that starts to take over your life! Reality check… running a business is totally different than being a tech, or a pie baker, a mechanic, or an artist. The business needs to have policies, procedures, systems and a culture.  Your business should be built to run without you. Your employees need to follow the “system” and the “system” becomes your business.

It is my pleasure to work with many businesses and organizations on a daily basis.  Often we get into some detailed discussions about the three “P’s” as Marcus Lemonis states on his CNBC show “The Profit.”  His mantra is People, Process, Product.  While I deal primarily with technology solutions for business, we all have to keep our focus on the three P’s and think how we can use technology to improve each of them on a daily basis.  Good qualified and trained People, following a proven and repeatable Process to produce an excellent Product.

I’ll admit that I am a geek that loves to build and engineer systems. Any business out there is just a system when you break it down to individual parts. The Entrepreneurial Myth slapped me in the face the day I hired my first employee years ago. Reading the book made me think about what I’ve been doing since, and provided some insight into my processes and services. I hope it does the same for you.

Posted by Mike on April 21st, 2015

Internet and Broadband are near and dear to my heart. To me, this thing we call the “Internet” has to be one of the most impressive and important things that mankind has ever built.

In the mid 90’s when the Internet as we know it (the world wide web) was just starting out, I was involved in running an ISP (Internet Service Provider) that spanned from New York, to Delaware, and east to Atlantic City.  This was in the dial-up days, but back then many of us realized the potential of connecting the world to our desktops. I have been a part of this revolution since the early days so I know a thing or two.

Today, many businesses rely on broadband to provide the services and products they produce. Insurance, trucking logistics, financial services, banking, schools, medical and a host of other businesses require dependable, affordable and fast connections.

So it saddens me when I look at the state of broadband in my home of West Virginia.  This became particularly clear when a friend sent a link to an article in the Charleston Gazette for Sunday April 19th by Eric Eyre about Frontier actually tearing down the fiber cable of a competitor who won a contract from Nicholas County Schools. Now, according to the article, Frontier has been providing telecommunication services to the county schools for years. Lumos requested to use Frontier’s poles in 2011 and paid $103,000 to have Frontier prepare the poles–but Frontier never did the work.

After 3-4 years passed, Lumos hired a private contractor to install the fiber cable. That’s when Frontier sent out a crew, not to prepare the poles but to tear down the competitor’s fiber and threaten legal action if they tried to re-install it. Frontier stated that the cable was unsafe. According to Lumos, they will be unable to provide services to the schools without that fiber.

Now, I am only getting this information from one source. However, it falls into the same old pattern of conduct by Frontier. CityNet, another competitor that wants to bring affordable broadband to our state had to take Frontier to court alleging they reneged on an agreement to rent some of Frontier’s un-used or “dark” fiber to bring services to the businesses and citizens.

Frontier is under federal investigation over the misappropriation of millions of stimulus dollars that were intended to build a “middle mile” fiber network in West Virginia. I was present at a meeting where we were shown how this money was spent. Instead of long stretches of fiber connecting cities and towns, the map looked like a bunch of tiny short pieces of fiber that only enhanced Frontier’s network. No competitor in their right mind could use it, only Frontier. And with no competition, Frontier can charge what they want, and their prices are high for what you get–if you get it at all.

This past legislative session I was excited to learn that the Senate was considering a state run middle mile fiber network that would be open to all competition. Frontier poured everything they had into stopping it and were able to kill the bill in committee.  Frontier’s position was that they had plenty of fiber already in the state and it would be a waste of taxpayer money. Frontier is so deep into the pockets of our lawmakers they usually get what they want.

Now on a personal note, I live out in the country and the only provider for phone and Internet is Frontier unless you can get cell service. Last summer, a contractor had accidently hit the phone line with a backhoe and due to the long run between poles, the cable dropped in the farm field. It ran across my neighbor’s driveway and tore apart some of the connections. My neighbor had to prop up the cable with a 2×6 tied to his fence post in order to get in and out of his driveway, the cable swings across his yard before hitting the ground. Numerous calls to Frontier resulted in nothing. EIGHT MONTHS LATER it has not been fixed. Now if Frontier cited “public safety” as an excuse to rip down a competitor’s phone lines, then what do you call leaving their cable on the ground for eight months?

I applaud Frontier’s civic involvement and personally know and like many of the people working for them. However, the senior management is playing this state like a fiddle and laughing at our ignorance and head in the sand mentality. I can’t blame them, they are here to make a profit but how often will the citizens of this state have to bend over and take it? You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out what is going on.

Posted by Mike on March 27th, 2015

For many years we have been running our business accepting only cash or checks for our services.  A couple of months ago we decided (once again) to begin accepting credit card payments for our clients and walk-in customers.

This decision was hard to make because we had avoided payment fees operating the way we did. But… since I use my personal cards for nearly everything and carry very little cash, I figured our clients may feel the same. My first attempt at credit card processing was when I first started the business. I signed with my local bank’s merchant account (mistake). The fees were killing me and I could not wait for the contract to run out.

So, we had to research payment processors and brush up on PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards and compliance. There are a lot of changes on the near horizon for any company that accepts credit cards. In a nutshell, the card companies are growing tired of absorbing the cost of stolen, hacked, and mis-used cards and they are going to start holding the merchants financially responsible if they have not beefed up their security. You don’t have to look hard to find examples like Target, Home Depot, Michael’s and a slew of other security breaches.

You may have heard about the new EMV (Europay Mastercard and Visa) or “Chip” embedded cards and may already have one. Estimates are that over 120 million of us have already have them. Just look for a little micro chip on your card. For those who accept credit cards, this may mean adding new in-store technology and internal systems along with complying to new liability regulations.  For consumers it will mean activating new cards.

The first generation of these cards will still have the mag stripe on them for legacy systems. Other payment methods include ApplePay, however this may take some time since it only works with an iPhone 6.  Look for other payment types fighting for market share as the whole industry gets a shake-up in the coming year or two.

As a business owner, you will need to review your PCI compliance and make sure you are certified for the PCI 3.0 standards. As we went through the new standards I was astonished at the level of complexity they are asking for.  Personally, I don’t see how PCI expects everyone to be fully compliant any time soon. It is coming at us like a freight train and and business owners need to become aware. One thing you can be sure of is the credit card companies will start shifting responsibility for data security directly on the merchant. If your systems are compromised and you have not documented your PCI compliance and policies it can and will be costly.

Now, understand that PCI compliance is not a mandate from the Feds. PCI standards come from the credit card companies themselves. Believe me, they have the lawyers and cash to protect their interests.

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