Geek Speak

Ya’ just never know when and where you’ll bump into a new geek toy! I unexpectedly learned of one the most cool tools in a longtime from an Alaskan group on Facebook (I grew up in Anchorage). An early childhood friend replied into my unrelated post and that led to a circuitous route to web-based text messaging for Android-based phones. The story gets better in that folks I have now told of this “best kept secret”

by: Julia Sowells

In today's world, where internet security is a matter of great concern, one needs to know about terms like Proxies, VPNs and TOR, which are all great tools that help guard one's privacy online and also help ensure better security. The basic thing that these tools provide is anonymity to the user. Though it's one common thing that these three tools provide, there are differences. Let's examine different aspects pertaining to Proxies, VPNs and Tor:

Let’s face it. Many members of the SMB Nation community are happily situated at the Microsoft Action Pack (MAPS) membership-level inside the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN). Fair enough. But did you know that, with the recent June 30/July 1 renewal date, MAPS has a hidden jewel just waiting for your consumption. It’s related to the five (5) Internal Use Rights (IUR) for Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement Plan Enterprise Edition. This is real value and I’m going to share with you my journey, up-to-the-minute as of this writing.

By now I'm assuming we all have a fundamental understanding of what Bitcoin is: digital money regulated and distributed with encryption techniques, stored on a ledger independent of a centralised bank.

Something like that. Maybe go here for a better explanation.

With Windows 7 approaching the end of support deadline, it’s time to get cracking on upgrading your organization to Windows 10. Use this planner to help ensure a successful migration.

By Jonathan Hassell

All good things must come to an end, and the reign of Windows 7 as an actively supported, good-enough operating system is no exception.

Here's how to back up your files with Windows 10's built-in feature, File History.

By Ian Paul

Windows 10’s File History is an easy way to get started with backing up your personal files since it comes built-in to your system.

File History takes snapshots of your files as you go and stores them on an external hard drive either connected over USB or your home network.

A year ago I made a big deal about retiring my Nokia 1020 Windows-based phone. It was beyond end of life. I wrote about my experience HERE. Fast forward the movie and today I’m excitedly entrenched in the Android-based Moto Z Play phone that allows the use of “mods” or modules you can snap on the back to increase functionality. I have the backup battery, projector, sound and now the Hasselblad True Zoom camera mod. Here is my first look at using my phone as a bona fide camera.

The emerging cannabis industry is surprisingly technologically sophisticated. Take what I call the last mile: point of sale (POS).

I recently interviewed John Yang at California-based Treez, a POS solution focused on the cannabis industry. In fact, the free ranging conversation went so long, over two interviews, that I’ve decided to do a two-part blog series. In this first blog, I paint the picture (including taxation) and introduce Treez. In the second installment we’ll get down to the keystroke level.

Long-time friend Karl Palachuk has released a super secret tip to improve performace. Read on: 

"This might be too technical for some, but for the geeks in the crowd, here's an easy way to disable the Chrome Software Reporter Tool.

From time to time, your CPU usage may go off the charts and a quick glance shows that it's the Software Reporter Tool using 25% or more CPU.

1) In Task Manager, sort by CPU and you'll see Software Reporter Tool at the top

Flying just under the radar – Office Depot has brought to market a basic security solution, Recon Sentinel, to homes, home offices and small businesses. I’ve had the opportunity to review it and have a few “first look” observations.

1-2-3

It’s no secret I consider my

Everything changes so rapidly! We have evolved from the dial-up connection to superfast 24/7 available internet connection. We are globally connected with others, work from home, have friends on the different continents and travel super fast from one destination to another.

One fine day three years ago I was strolling the Olympic College campus in Bremerton Washington awaiting a fund raiser. I was talking to former Lenovo executive Chris Frey about its just completed acquisition of IBM’s server hardware business. Call me silly but I openly questioned the wisdom of investing backwards into a legacy technology business model. Fast forward the movie to today and I have an interesting update from the recently completed Lenovo Accelerate 2018 conference in Las Vegas.