The online and remote data backup market has really exploded with solutions and options lately. With so many choices, it can be overwhelming to evaluate them all. Questions abound… "Will this company be around later when I need my data?" or "Will my data be safe?" "When I really need it, how long will it take to get up and running?"

Another popular backup option that has been around much longer: use a local, on-site solution. Switching out backup tapes anyone? (You know who you are.) Backup software running on your PC or server makes an image of the data on your drives, or copies files once (making a full backup) then later only copies changed files (or, “incremental” changes in data made daily).

What's the best choice? What are the pros and cons of each?

Mobile Smartphone apps are certainly a growth market at present. Google’s “Android” operating system and Apple’s iPhones are duking it out for top market share in the world. They both use the quantity and quality of apps as a key marketing tool.

More close to home, recently both SLOCAMA (San Luis Obispo Creative and Marketing Alliance) and SOFTEC ( Central Coast Software and Technology Association) hosted guest speaker Professor Randy Scovill of Cuesta College. Scovill teaches Cuesta students how to create mobile apps, and Cuesta College was indeed one of the first colleges in the USA to have its own app.

Apps are relatively fast, easy and inexpensive to create, if you think through what you want before creating it. Of course, this applies to all custom software.

With Valentine’s day just around the corner, it’s probably a good idea to focus on building a relationship with the partner you spend more than half your waking hours with – your computer.

Human relationships parallel our relationships with computers in more ways than you would think. Some people think that the computer should obey them. They buy a computer, then sit and stare at it, waiting for the computer to grant every wish. Does this work with your mate? It won’t for your computer, either. 

Your computer is much like any other new technology. If you buy a PlayStation, you’ll probably want to read the manual to know how to use it. But how many people read the computer manual? NO ONE! Why? Because it’s long and boring.

Are you a business owner struggling to navigate the world of Social Media? There's a blog for that. 

Hathway, a local creative digital agency, offers online business strategies and tips on its blog at www.wearehathway.com. Some of the recent blog articles include information about Facebook:

• How To Combine Facebook Pages
  Do you need to change the name of your Facebook fan page, or combine two fan pages together? We found a new workaround thanks to the handy feature on Facebook that lets you merge a fan page with a place page.
• 3 New Features That are Affecting the Way we Use Facebook
  Facebook is constantly evolving – new apps, new platforms, and new pages seem to have a never-ending multiplication rate. It can be difficult to wade through all the muck to find what is actually pertinent for business development.
• How To Be The Most Interesting Person Online
  Any writing class you will ever take will always remind you to write for your audience. This goes beyond essays and term papers, it applies to blogs, website content, even status updates and text messages...

When should you upgrade your computers? Should you go with the latest and greatest, or stick with tried and true? As with all business decisions, it comes down to a question of cost versus benefit. But quantifying the costs and benefits of hardware can be difficult. Here are some factors to consider when you are debating whether or not to upgrade. 

Upgrading — the Hidden Costs

The price tag of your new system isn't the only cost. There is also the time, energy, and money to migrate your information to your new equipment and set everything up. And are you prepared if something should go wrong during the migration? Can you put a price tag on all your company's data? Make sure there is a backup copy of your data before you begin transferring anything over. 

If you are thinking of upgrading just so you can have the latest gear loaded with all the bells and whistles, stop. Unless you have a solid business case for upgrading, your money will be better spent elsewhere.

Strap on your safety belts. There is more malicious software than ever before circulating on the Internet: Trojan horses, spyware, and more, collectively known as “malware.” Want a healthy, fast computer? Here is a list of best practices to help you use the Internet safely.
 
Spyware and Trojan horses are tricky. In much the same way the Greeks used the original Trojan horse to capture the city of Troy, a modern Trojan horse program is designed to trick you into thinking the software is legitimate or necessary for your computer to run. Since clicking on it will technically approve the program to run or be installed, many types of Trojan horses can circumvent antivirus or antispyware protection on your computer.

How does this software get on my computer? 
Most malware – including Trojan Horses – cannot install itself on your computer automatically. It needs user input in order to circumvent typical automated protection. To do this, malware often tries to trick you with a seemingly important message telling you that action needs to be taken on your computer. 

A Introductory Guide: How small businesses can use social media to their advantage

(This is the first article of a two-part series by Judith Cohen, founder and president of FreshBuzz Media)

For the busy Business owner, social media can be boggling. There are hundreds of social media platforms online, and it’s easy to spend dozens of hours visiting them, creating and updating profiles. And if done right, social media can be an incredibly effective and productive marketing tool for engaging existing customers and creating new ones.

Here are just a few ways busy business owners can use social media effectively and efficiently.

The Joomla! CMS is a powerful, user-friendly platform, ideal for growing and maintaining a small business online.

Are you a small business owner avoiding developing a web presence, or are struggling with your current web presence? The transition from analog to digital management of your business can be difficult and expensive, but it does not have to be. Using a Content Management System (CMS) will allow your business to grow and is easy on both you and your budget.

A CMS is exactly what it sounds like. It gives you independent management of your site and its content. There are numerous CMS platforms available, but the premier platform is the Joomla! CMS. This incredibly user-friendly platform enables you to update content as quickly and easily as sending an email, saving you loads of time and cutting your IT costs.

1. Turn Off Desktop Alerts.
   How to do it: On the Tools menu, click Options. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options, and then click Advanced E-mail Options.
2. Set Rules.
   How to do it: To create a Rule from a message, right-click the message that you want to base the rule on, and then click "Create Rule". Rules can also be accessed from the "Tools" Menu.
3. Use AutoCorrect to automatically fill in frequently typed information. This is the same feature that automatically corrects "thier" to "their". You can set it to fill in entire sections of text including graphics.
   How to do it: Select the text you want to use. Go to Tools —> Options —> Mail Format Tab —> Editor Options —> Proofing—> Auto Correct Options.
4. Quickly Create a New Task or Appointment.
   How to do it: Simply drag the email into Tasks or Calendar on the bottom left side of the screen.
5. Customize Your Views. This is great for changing your email or task view.
   How to do it: View —> Current View —> Custom or (Customize Current View)