Office networking tips

Local Area Networking or LAN is implemented in most businesses in order for internet connection, files, folders, printer and other devices could be shared. Before a business is even set-up and started, LAN should be properly implemented.

Avoiding clutter

One thing that you should make sure when you are implementing LAN is to avoid clutters. Plan everything before starting in your project. You should know where to place the computers, the router and every other gadget so that you should be able to gauge the wires that you need. Clutters will make LAN problems difficult to diagnose and fix.

Wired or wireless

There are companies that opted to go wireless. WLAN however is an option if the speed you want and could get is limited. Through WLAN, you can usually have up to 10mpbs in speed in file sharing within the local network. LAN however, could get you up to 100mpbs of connection.

Installing a firewall

Firewall is very important since it will provide protection for your computers against small attacks. There are additional security measures that you should also do but it is highly recommended to make it local or per gadget. A firewall will provide you the security you need but you might also consider a more powerful firewall.

The best router

The gadget that will suggest the speed and reliability of the network is the router. Always get something that should be able to handle the number of gadgets that will connect to the network. As much as possible; purchase a router with a printer port for easy sharing.

Must Have USB Powered Devices

There are hundreds of USB gadgets that could be used for fun and productivity. But only a handful is actually useful in the office. Here are the following devices that you should consider in your office for improved productivity.

USB Storage Device or Thumb Drive – if you still don’t have one, better get one fast. You can store your office files and even applications so that you don’t have to drag your laptop on the road. Just insert the Thumb Drive and transform another PC into your PC.

USB Hub – not only USB geeks should have this but practically everyone. As most of the small gadgets could be charged and powered through the USB, an extra slot for the USB could be very helpful.

Fly Fusion Pentop Computer – developed by toymaker LeapFrog, this USB pen will record everything you write and upload them in your computer. Most perceive this as a kid’s toy but if you are in places without a computer, this gadget could save your thoughts which could be read later.

Wireless USB Remote – don’t get stuck in front of your laptop during office presentation. The wireless USB remote let’s you control media player applications in your laptop and your PowerPoint presentation.

Wireless Keyboard and Mouse – don’t get stuck with too many wires in your cubicle. The wireless keyboard and mouse lets you operate to as far as 1 meter away from your computer or laptop. Although you will still end up in front of your computer, you will significantly reduce wire clutters

Tips in selecting a photocopier

The right photocopier is always a must for every office. As businesses have to be consistently budget conscious, only the right photocopier should be purchased to cater to the need of the office without overspending.

Knowing the Need

Before considering the brand and type, it is always important to know the office requirements from their photocopier. There are photocopiers who can print up to 100 copies per minute while there are photocopiers that are only intended for black and white printing. Add-ons or special features such as color printing, speed of printing and even networking capabilities have to be evaluated as these features would fetch considerable price increase.

Types of Photocopiers

There are practically three types of photocopiers: the portable, desktop and floor standing. The smallest of the three is the portable photocopier which is perfect for companies or small businesses that is expecting to reprint less than 1000 pages per month. The desktop photocopier is a relatively larger photocopier which usually has advanced image editing features. The floor standing is the most expensive type of photocopier. This type of photocopier could send and receive fax, print, edit images and has networking capability for multiple users.

Overhead Costs

Aside from the purchasing price of the photocopier, the overhead cost of the photocopier should also be calculated. Some photocopiers will require less ink while others will require a brand new cartridge of ink every time the ink is replaced. Durability should also be considered as repairs for this type of office electronic equipment could be very pricey.

Surviving office demands on the road

Office workers are not just confined in their cubicles all day. There are times where work demands for employees to be outside the office. So they bring the usual things - laptops, mobile phones, GPS for travelling. Although these are very essential, they could cause more trouble that good.

Battery life - Because you're unplugged most of the time

Employees should remember that they are only as good as their gadgets. If their gadgets are not running, then they might not be able to update sales numbers in real time, talk to their boss or supervisor and help their officemates while on the road. Every employee should aim for a device that will last for more than three hours. Laptops should have 6-cell batteries which ensures constant use of laptops for at least six hours. Mobile phones usually won't have any problem but if you are constantly using the Bluetooth and Wifi capabilities of your phone, you might only have a device that will last for three to four hours.

Security is always the first order of business

Doing your work in Starbucks, in a client's office or in other areas with free wifi would seem nice and refreshing but you may be exposing the company secrets. There are hackers who pose as providers of free wifi but they will use that service to access your laptop. Before you access their free wifi, disable the sharing options in your shared folders. That way, your folders will not be accessed by anyone.

Being on the road will be very confusing that you may leave behind your important gadgets and documents. Before you hit the road, write everything that you have brought and double check the list.

The good, the bad and the ugly in online office applications

The Good

Virtually Free
Online office applications from Google and Zoho are virtually free for basic tasks in office productivity. Applications installed in local computers come with a licensing fee and would place a dent in terms of office budgeting especially for small companies.

Real Time Collaboration

Developing programs and writing/editing documents is now faster as collaboration in real time. Users can work on documents at the same time and see the updates in real time. Everyone who has permission to make some changes on the application can do it anytime, anywhere.

No Lost Files

You can virtually burn down your building and expect all your files to be protected. Since all your files are now online, you don’t need to worry about a broken (or burned) laptop.

The Bad

Lay-Out Problems

The online applications may not be compatible with the applications in the local computer. The downloaded file may not be same when read in the local computer.

Lesser Features

Developers of online applications have to sacrifice a little bit in efficiency to improve speed of their online application. Certain tools could be lacking and may not provide the needed output of the user.

The Ugly

Relying on Internet Connectivity

All work could be done only when there’s a strong internet connection. Anything below DSL speed would not work for online office applications. It would be worst if there’s no internet connection since no work could be done.

Security Problems

Since these are free applications, users can’t demand security and functionality. When one computer in your workgroup has been attacked by spyware or virus, everyone else could be infected in no time.

Internet Media Tablet of the day

For those who are always in search of entertainment the good news is that they have now Internet, TV and media in their palms. Internet Media Tablet will be their entertainment daily tablet and there are already 3 of them: ARCHOS 5, ARCHOS 7, ARCHOS 5g.

The sizes of these tablets may be reduced, but the producer does not compromise when it comes to quality. For example on ARCHOS 5 people can surf the web as if they are using their PCs – reading and sending emails and attachments or surfing various web pages due to its Adobe Flash 9 video support.

The tablet has a very high capacity internal hard drive from 60 to 250 GB. This enables you to download your favourite music and videos from a selection of partners in the Media Club. You can also play your favourite movies in HD or DVD format.

What ARCHOS 7 has different is a bigger hard drive - from 160 GB to 320 GB, in rest the web surfing is as smooth as with the previous tablet and the TV experience on the go is just as wonderful – in the office or everywhere.

Computers get greener and “Wyser”

In this polluted and eco-suffering world, obsessed by slimming and slenderness, there are also thin computers offered by Wyse which run from a single central server and consume less energy. Thin computers use servers running a choice of UNIX/Linux, HTML applications, Microsoft Windows Terminal Services, Citrix Applications Delivery, or VMware VDI .

They also replace PCV with a Thin or Zero Client, doing an easier job for the IT because they can manage user desktops by moving their complexity to the data center.

A thin computer works just like a PC (to the person who uses it). All the familiar softwares and user interface are there, but data, operating system, and applications all reside back on the server. And they cost less to own and operate.


What is appealing is that thin computers consume about 90 percent less energy than a PC. The producer guarantees that its computers will last for 7 (I would say – apocalyptic) years.


The facts about using thin computers are:
For 1,000 normal PCs there are 70.51 kilowatts consumed per hour and 146, 660 Kw consumed per year; costing $13.111 per year.For 1,000 thin computers there are 7.14 kw consumed per hour; 14,851 kw per year and $1,327 energy cost per year.

What is an IP phone exactly?

IP phones are very common nowadays in office environments. What are they really though?

An IP phone merely uses voice over IP technology identical to the very well-known Skype software. The technology enables the end user to forward calls over the internet rather than the usual public switched telephone network (PSTN). The phone devices implement protocoles like Session Initiation and Skinny Client for which further information are either completely useless for the end user or too complicated to understand, so I will move on.

So, lets just say very simply that IP phones are phone devices – and not telephones – with additional features facilitated by installed software. Those extra features may very well include from the standard caller id recognition, call history similar mobile phone's, corporate directories for quick access to numbers and numerous other application depending from the model and your companies agreement.

Although you might end up using all the additional gizmos on your phone very rarely, the conference and multiparty call options regularly prove handy while holding and transferring the odd sales call to your “beloved” colleague has been considerably simplified.

The principal motivation for every sizeable company to adopt an IP phone system is, of course, the usual suspect cost. It is simple really. As your voice is transmitted over IP, the charge associated with implementing the technology is directly related with the prearranged and fixed cost for internet bandwidth.

So, all you cold callers out there, don’t believe the billing your manager flashes every week next to your spins number. He is so full of rubbish!

Space saver, mind blower, Virtual Keyboard

Just imagine an empty desk with a screen, a wireless mouse and pretty lights projected onto your desk. That is what your desk will look like if you have the Zippo sized Virtual Laser Keyboard, a device that projects a keyboard onto any flat surface and uses optical movement recognition technology to pick out what letters you are typing.

If you are constantly using you iPhone or Blackberry on the go, if your desk space is limited, or if you just like as few things as is possible on your desk, then this little gadget will work ideally for you. I purchased one as a gift for a friend last year, mostly for the novelty value, but checked with him recently and found out that he still uses it regularly with his Tablet PC. Apparently, apart from impressing everyone in the office with the pretty lights it works without a hitch.

But what attracts me the most, as I write this on a keyboard used by other people, is the cleanliness factor. Who knows what people touch before they check their emails on your laptop really quickly, and who wants to imagine for that matter. For all you clean freaks out there, this is one way to clean your keyboard without risk of short circuiting everything.

Plug it in, start using it, change your settings and parameters to suit your typing style and you’re off!

A relaxed way to work out in the office

Your one hour lunch break, if you are lucky enough to take a full hour for your lunch break, is not always enough for you to snack and do a little working out. And if you are one of us, working in an office all day, mouse in hand, you will be needing some relief for your aching wrist or cramping hand.

This is where the Powerball comes in. Powerball suppliers call the device a “a dynamic hand powered gyroscope”, in plain English a ball inside a ball that spins really fast if you twist your wrist. You hold the ball and rotate your wrist to increase the speed at which the internal ball spins. Within a few seconds this simple movement starts to exert a surprising amount of force on your entire arm, giving you a full arm workout. No need to change into shorts and rush off to the gym. When your wrist starts tingling after sending off emails all day just lean back for a minute or two and give the Powerball a go.

Furthermore, it improves your grip, helping in a whole range of sports and outdoor activities, from rock climbing to badminton and has been recommended by chiropractors as a good tool for the rehabilitation of various arm injuries that can be suffered in the office, such as carpal tunnel.

Apparently, these little gadgets cause quite the competition around the office during breaks, as they record the highest rpms (up to 15000!) and display them as a kind of high score. Just a little pointer: You might want to let the boss win.

Features

• Generates 40 lbs of force
• Built in speedometer
• Six program functions
• Internal window displays and records your achieved RPM
• Auto power shut-off
• Batteries included*
• Achieves speeds of up to 15,000 RPM
• Glows neon blue when spinning
• Great for sports training
• Improve your grip for when you're next hanging from a cliff edge in cool shades with a smug smile on your face. Or of course for tennis, golf, squash, archery, fencing, etc
• Size: 7.5cm x 6.5cm

*Requires x 2 Watch style Batteries in the speedometer