Meet Our Newest Addition!

We would like to take a minute to introduce you to the newest addition to the ThinkTech Team, Jessica Bettencourt.

Jessica has taken the role of Team Leader of Customer Service and Administration at ThinkTech. With a background in marketing she has already proven to be a valuable member of the team, producing our monthly newsletter as well as managing our blog and Twitter sites.

If you have any questions for Jessica you can call her at 508-992-2541 or email her at jessica@thinktechonline.com, she’d be happy to help!

Who Else Wants New Computers This Year?

When your computers (or other network equipment) start acting slow, when your software company suddenly forces you into an upgrade because they will no longer support the version of software you have, or when you need to add a computer or server for a new employee or new project, you basically have only a few options available to you.

1) Swallow hard, dig into your cash reserves, and plunk down thousands of dollars in new computer and network equipment.

2) Lease the equipment at an astronomical rip-off rate.

3) Suck it up and live with the lack of productivity and daily frustration of incompatible or slow machines.

Thankfully, a fourth, more agreeable option is now available: our Total Care Plan. By incorporating your hardware and software costs into your IT support agreement, you can get new equipment whenever you need it without having to drain your cash flow or put you into a restrictive lease. You get the support and service you need PLUS any new computers, servers, software and other network equipment rolled into one easy monthly investment. It’s sort of like renting your equipment, only it comes with all the support and service too. In addition to freeing up your cash, this new program also provides these benefits:

* You don’t have to keep track of which computers are getting old

* You don’t have to front thousands of dollars to revamp your network

* If something breaks, ThinkTech has to take care of it

* You don’t have to track any warranties

* There may be tax advantages since capital expenses now become operational expenses

* No big surprise hardware or software bills

* Your computers all stay pretty much the same age and performance

* No waiting on parts to be replaced – a free loaner service is included

Want To Find Out If Our Total Care Plan Will Work For Your Business?

FREE 27-Point Network Analysis (A $540 Value) will examine your entire network, review your backup technology, and document the software and hardware you use to determine a game plan for your specific situation. We’ll even tell you how to get the new equipment you need without breaking the bank.

(508) 992-2541

Great Technology Gift Ideas Under $100

iPod Remote Control

From up to 30 feet away this device will allow you to forward or advance songs, adjust the volume, and even pause your music. Simply plug the transmitter into your iPOD, place it down and attached the water-resistant remote control to your arm.

One drawback: You can't scroll through your music collection. You can, however, advance or rewind playlists or albums.

Pre-Paid Cell Phones are another great gift idea that can help your loved ones stay in touch. No new concepts here, but these phones are easy to purchase and provide one-size-fits all experience to its users.

Digital Cameras. Even with the ability to take pictures with cell phones, digital cameras are still a big hit around the holidays. With features like a real view finder (so you can power off the LCD screen and save battery life) this gift gives you hours of family picture fun.

i-Fish. Similar to last year’s i-Dog, this plastic robotic-fish-turned-iPod-speaker has a bunch of entertaining tricks, like reacting to sound or music, and “swimming” all over your desk.

Is The Blackberry Better Than The iPhone?

     The iPhone is easier to set-up, navigate and use than the BlackBerry, yet many entrepreneurs are still choosing the BlackBerry for their business. There are two main reasons why...

Reason #1. Business Functionality

    Both the iPhone and the BlackBerry work with Microsoft Exchange; but the BlackBerry does a better job and is easier to use.

     For example, if someone e-mails you a calendar invite on the iPhone, you can’t accept it and have it automatically scheduled into your calendar. And if someone sends you a .zip file, you can only open it if you have a BlackBerry.

     Further, the iPhone doesn’t allow you to save files, so you can only work on them over a remote web connection. But note this: In order for the BlackBerry to have these features and to synchronize properly with your contacts, calendar, and e-mail, you need to have BlackBerry Enterprise Server installed on your network (a $500 software addition).

Reason #2: Security

    The BlackBerry actually secures the data while it is transferring to and from your phone, and secures the data via encryption on your phone itself. If your phone is stolen, you can actually wipe the information off the phone remotely by using your Exchange server. The iPhone is still working on other security measures, such as an application that can remotely find the location of your phone and erase its information.

Need Help Setting Up Your BlackBerry or iPhone?
Call Us: 508-992-2541

How To Keep Your E-mail Off The “Naughty” List

Someone’s making a list and checking it twice; but it isn’t Santa. Due to rising e-mail abuse and spam, hundreds of servers at various companies now monitor e-mail accounts to make sure those accounts are not sending out mass e-mails. If that e-mail account is assumed to be sending spam it is put on the “blacklist”. Once on the blacklist, your e-mail account is virtually SHUT DOWN because your e-mail is blocked by hundreds or thousands of servers and your message can’t be delivered. Big companies who give out e-mail addresses like AOL, Google, and Comcast, for example, will cut off e-mail service to anyone who sends an e-mail to a large number of people at once. Because of this, even if you or your employees innocently send a message to 100 of your clients, you could be without e-mail for days or weeks. So, how do you avoid this costly & frustrating downtime to happen to you? Read these tips to find out:

Protect Your Server. Spammers LOVE to find e-mail servers that don’t have a proper firewall , anti-virus, and intrusion protection. They get a high from hacking in to these servers and then using them to send out thousands of e-mails. Plus, with no protection in place, tracking and catching these spammers is nearly impossible. The right protection will also prevent malware from being installed on your server, which can automatically send spam without human interaction.

Don’t Allow Employees To Forward Messages. Unless it is for work-only related purposes, make a policy that no one is to forward messages like jokes, photos or videos outside the company. If just 4 of your employees send out this kind of an e-mail to 30 of their contacts, that’s well over 100 people receiving junk mail on the same day from the same e-mail server. This puts you at high risk of being blacklisted.

Have Your Clients and Prospects “Opt-In”. Sometimes companies end up on the blacklist because someone on your list complained and reported your message as spam. If you have your clients and prospects agree via an opt-in form that they want to receive communication from you and confirm their permission, then you’ll have better protection against that. Also make sure you keep good records of these opt-ins. That way, even if you do get blacklisted, you should be back up and running fairly quickly.

Make Sure Your E-mail Is Set-Up Properly. In addition to protecting yourself from hackers and invasions with software and firewalls, you also need to be sure that your e-mail is configured correctly and is set-up to block outside relays. If you’ve got the wrong settings in your e-mail account, you could wind up blacklisted, without any e-mail for days or weeks,

Keep Your E-mail List Up-To-Date. If someone asks to be removed from your list and you continue to send messages to him, the changes of him reporting your company as a spammer is pretty high. Avoid this by using in-house lists (instead of purchasing one) and contacting your list to verify the information.

For Help With Keeping Your E-mail Up & Running And Off The Blacklist, Contact Us By December 31st For A FREE Blacklist Avoidance Assessment (A $295 Value!)

(508) 992-2541

Top Cell Phone Holiday Blunders To Avoid

Let’s face it. Just because you can be accessible 24/7 via your cell phone doesn’t mean you SHOULD be. In fact, according to a recent study conducted by Intel, getting constantly distracted by your e-mail or cell phone calls, especially during the holidays, is a big social “No-No.”

Nearly 70% of the people surveyed in that study reported that checking e-mails or text messages on your phone while at a social gathering is unacceptable. And for those of who you think you can slyly check your mobile phone e-mail at the table without anyone noticing, the study found that 53% of people will not only notice, but will be offended.

So what if you just can’t resist the impulse to check your Blackberry or iPod while holding that glass of egg nog? What is the “polite” way to do so?

Go to the bathroom.

70% of those surveyed said it was perfectly okay to bring your mobile phone in the bathroom to check it. Just don’t forget to put down your egg-nog first.

URGENT: “I Have A Perfectly Legal Way For You To Save A Bundle Of Money On Taxes, Computer Hardware, And Support, But You Have To Act FAST…”

Please forgive the headline if it seems a bit “sensational,” but I really needed a way to get your attention about a perfectly legal way to save a LOT of money on taxes, computer hardware and support that is quickly going to pass you by if you don’t act soon.

Let me explain…

Thanks to a tax deduction titled a “Section 179 Election,” you can buy up to $125,000 in new office and computer equipment, and expense—or write off—that entire amount on your 2009 tax return. However, the election has to be made in the year of purchase, which means you cannot buy a computer this year (2009) and then try to expense it next year (2010).

If you want to see how much small businesses love the Section 179 deduction, take a little peek inside any office furniture or equipment store between Christmas and New Year's Day. Chances are you'll see lots of buyers racking up some year-end deductions!

But That’s Not The Only Way You’ll Save Money… Manufacturers and Vendors Are ALSO Giving Year-End Discounts, Rebates and Incentives…

Most IT vendors and manufacturers offer really incredible rebates and discounts on equipment towards the end of the year in a last ditch effort to improve annual sales. After all, they gotta look good to their investors!

So if you are going to need a network upgrade in the near future, you can not only get better deals on software and equipment, but you can also get the tax savings making this a double dip on saving money.

But Here’s How I’m Going To “Sweeten The Pot” And Help You Save Even MORE Money

In the spirit of saving you money, I’ve decided to “sweeten the pot” and make the following offer to anyone who hires us to upgrade their network before December 31, 2009:

1. We will give away 30 DAYS of our Network Headache Eliminator – up to a $1,000 value – absolutely FREE to any new client who upgrades their network with us. All computer networks need regular ongoing maintenance to keep them running problem free, and with our Network Headache Eliminator, you’ll not only enjoy faster and more reliable service from your computer network, but you’ll gain incredible peace of mind knowing that your network and the data it holds is safe from loss, corruption, downtime, viruses, hackers, spyware, and a host of other problems.

2. We’ll allow you to continue the Network Headache Eliminator at a special discounted rate that will easily save you THOUSANDS in IT support. After the 30 days are up, you can continue to receive regular maintenance, critical updates and security patches, fast, remote support, and 24-7 watch over your network and data at a special discounted rate. Of course, you are under no obligation to continue this maintenance, but I’m certain you are going to want to continue after you see how we keep things running.

3. We’ll send you a FREE copy of the book, “Keep Your Hard-Earned Money; Tax Savings For The Self-Employed” as a gift. This is a great book for any entrepreneur to read on how to keep Uncle Sam’s hands out of your pockets.

After all, no one wants to hand over a penny more to the government than is absolutely necessary, and no one wants to pay MORE for services and products than they have to. We all work way too hard for that!

That’s why I’m making this offer to you. As a fellow entrepreneur, I understand that it’s critical to keep every penny of profit that you can.

This Is Absolutely The BEST Way To Save A Lot Of Money On IT Services And Support For 2010; But You Better Act NOW Because This Is Going To Go FAST…

All you have to do is contact us by phone  so we can schedule a time to discuss exactly what type of upgrades and support you will need for 2010. Remember, we don’t have to do the actual installation in December, but you must spend the money before December 31st or the IRS won’t give you the deduction!

CALL US TODAY!

(508) 992-2541

Special Alert For Business Owners: Backing Up Your Server Alone May Still Lead To Data Loss

Most business owners know that it is important for their servers to be backed up. But what about your computer? Though it’s true that your data is likely stored on your server and backed up by the network, your computer itself (your icons, the background you have, the programs that are installed, and music or pictures you may have saved locally) is NOT being backed up.

If your computer were to crash, get a virus, or simply die, all of that information could be lost. Your company data would be on your server, but you would have no way to access it from your computer. You would have to recreate that computer by re-loading all the software and settings. And if you’ve ever had this happen to you, you know that it can take a significant amount of time to do. Plus, the computer is never quite the same again.

So how do you solve this problem? Simple. You use an imaging software on your computer. Imaging software takes a “picture” or “snapshot” of your computer so it records it exactly as it is with all the software and settings you have on it. This way, if the computer crashes, there is no need to re-load software and reconfigure the computer. Simple restore the image from before the crash and your computer can be back to its old self again. This is a huge time saver and is especially useful if you have any important company software loaded on your computer but no longer have the disk for.

Protect Your PC’s Settings!

Call us today to get more information on our imaging solutions and see for yourself how simple it can be to save your computer’s information.

(508) 992-2541

How Manufacturers Have Increased Productivity 5.5% Despite The Recession

History tells us that productivity declines during a recession; apparently, manufacturers didn’t get that memo.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, manufacturer productivity rose by 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2009. Why? Computers, of course.

Economist, Brian Bethune, of IHS Global Insight, says information technology helped manufacturers discover drops in customer demand early. This helped many companies to avoid over-production and cash flow issues. Also, using computerized point of sale records, web surfing habits, social networking sites and on-line purchases helped them understand which products at what quantity to manufacture, where to invest their marketing dollars and what retail outlets to focus on.

The lesson? Make sure you’re using technology to stay ahead of the curve and as a strategy to “recession-proof” your business.

3 Time-Saving Reasons To Use Windows 7

Just recently, Microsoft released their new operating system, Windows 7, and many business owners want to know if they should upgrade. To help determine why you might upgrade, here are three reasons Windows 7 can add a little productivity to your day.


Reason #1– Viewing Two Documents Is a Snap

If you’ve ever tried to set up two windows on your screen so you could easily view them both at the same time (working on one and referencing the other or comparing two sheets), then this feature could easily save you 10 minutes a week. Instead of having to drag each window around, manipulate the size and shape of the window, and line up the other document to match, the “snap” feature allows you to split the screen exactly in the middle and display two documents at once with just one click.



Reason #2– It Just Runs Faster

Compared to its more resource-intense predecessor, Vista, Windows 7 is fairly light in terms of what it needs to run. As you click through things on a computer with Windows 7, you’ll notice that it responds quickly and opens programs up more rapidly. It also starts up faster, saving you lots of productivity time.



Reason #3–You Can Give It A Good “Shake”

Another time-saving feature included with Windows 7 is the “shake.” It’s the ability to completely clear your screen of all the programs and clutter you may have collected by simply vigorously shaking your mouse.



Find Out If Windows 7 is Right For You…

FREE Windows 7 Compatibility Audit ($197 Value)

Call 508-992-2541 or e-mail

support@thinktechonline.com