How Often to Defrag.

By Jason Kato | July 15, 2007

QUESTION:
Why do you only defrag once a quater and not lets say once every few days ?

ANSWER:
Thanks for the good question JayCee. The short answer is, quarterly is a reasonable schedule to adopt for most cases.

While technically it is possible to defrag a computer EVERY day, the practical benefit of doing so is small for most users if this is done manually. (By manually, I refer to using some software tool, such as the built-in defrag utility within Windows which you run directly.)

The major parameters which determine an ideal defrag schedule are a function of:

1) The amount of hours per day a PC gets used;

2) How much disk writing activity; and

3) The amount of disk re-writing and deletion of files activity.

4) The amount of free disk space and size of swap file, and temp files.

For large hours (8+ a day), and high disk activity as above, Microsoft suggests you might consider a defrag perhaps monthly. Given most users will likely have lesser load on their PCs, the quarterly cycle may make the most sense.

If you prefer to defrag more often, consider the time it takes and the level of effort you must invest. It can take minutes to hours, and should not be running with any other applications active. (On older PCs, the time can be excessive with slower processors.)

Alternately, there are third-party software utilities which can be purchased and installed, and provide automation. These can be set to dynamically defrag your PC all the time as needed. If your PC’s disk activity is very high, this can be an attractive alternative to consider if the very best disk performance is required.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - LA’s Go To Computer Experts

Topics: Defragmentation and ScanDisk | No Comments »

SEO TOPICS: Keyword Research 101

By Jason Kato | June 15, 2007

Before you jump into SEO you need to take some time to research and analyze how you want to build the foundation of your website. You need to come up with, at the very least, a primary keyword phrase and a secondary keyword phrase which are actual phrases that you think people are going to type into search engines to find your business.

Let’s say that you’re a small flower company that is just starting. You think that “flower shop” and “buy flowers” are good possible keyword phrase candidates for your website. But wait, how do you know these keyword phrases are good ones for your site and how do you know which keyword phrases are more popular?

Well, lucky for you there is a great free keyword research tool that lists all of the queries that are done on Yahoo’s web search in any given month. The results are given as a list of keywords along with how many times people searched for that particular keyword or keyword phrase. The tool can be found at:

Inventory.Overture Keyword Research Tool

The website gets a lot of traffic so if it doesn’t work just keep retrying until you get in. Once you get in you will see a text box. Simply enter a keyword or a keyword phrase into the text box and wait for the results. Note: you may type in one keyword (flowers) or a keyword phrase (buy flowers online).

A simple search of the word “flower” produced these results:

2566148 flower

147781 flower delivery

144253 sympathy flower

128857 flower in san francisco

114556 flower shop

76885 wedding flower

55989 deliver flower

35284 wholesale flower

33610 floral arrangement

32764 flower picture

30762 flower gift

28440 buy flower online

23132 flower online

22953 funeral flower

20760 flower meaning

19788 flower girl

18245 flower garden

17400 lotus flower

13557 hawaii flower

13107 spring flower

11113 type of flower

10136 flower girl basket

9387 flower field

9382 cheap flower

9335 fresh flower

9107 flower name

8440 pink flower

8408 exotic flower

7834 flower vase

7815 buy flower

Now that you have done some research you are now ready to pick some keyword phrases. It seems as if the keyword “flower” is the best choice because it had over 2 ½ million searches in the month of January in Yahoo’s search engine alone, right? Wrong! I guarantee you that if you are a small company and try to get listed for a highly competitive keyword such as “flower” you will be found on the millionth page of a search query. The reason for this is because you would be competing with all of the big flower corporations that have huge websites and have been around for years. You need to find your niche and try to convert leads from a more realistic market.

Notice that at the end of the table is the keyword phrase “buy flower” which seems much more realistic for a small flower company that is just starting. If you wanted to make it even easier for searchers to find your website you could try the keyword phrase “Los Angeles Buy Flowers.” Where do you put your primary keyword phrase? Well that will be covered in the next article in more detail but generally your keywords should be found in your title tag, image tags, and main content areas.

There are books written about keyword research and companies that specialize in their keyword research products. Please, if you have any comments or questions feel free to post a comment to this post or email me.

Jason Kato
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
Array Systems - Web Design and SEO

Topics: SEO - Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »

Why are Computer Guys so Weird?

By Jason Kato | May 30, 2007

QUESTION:
Why are computer techs so weird?

ANSWER:
A client asked me this question recently which made me laugh. The following was how I tried to respond to her observation.

Sid: I can’t disagree with your observation but what do you mean by weird?

Client: Well most techs talk a different language that I don’t understand. When I try to ask a simple question it seems as though I can’t get a straight answer. Most of the time I don’t know what they’re doing and when I ask I often get a defensive answer or an answer that is over my head.

Sid: Yes, I agree. Many times technology people get used to talking in acronyms and buzz words to the point where it sounds like we’re speaking in another language. This is a downfall for many techs because they feel more comfortable speaking in technospeak and don’t pay attention that everyone else especially a client isn’t following along in the same conversation. The reason why techs don’t give a straight answer is because many times there isn’t one. A simple question like how long will it take to fix my computer cannot be answered most of the time. The blank look you see on the techs face is should I tell her a few minutes and miss the estimate or tell her worse case scenario a day or two. The typical answer to seemingly simple questions is a slow response which is usually …..um …..I don’t…..um…..really know…until…I…um….take a look at your.computer. This is usually delivered with a quisical look on their face or a look of contempt. I….um….guess……um……this…could be…interpreted as a personality flaw or…..ummm….WEIRD!

Sid Kato
President and CEO
Array Systems - LA’s Go To Computer Experts

Topics: Weird Computer Guys | No Comments »

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Topics: In the beginning there was light…

By Jason Kato | May 17, 2007

Once upon a time in a land far far away… okay…about a year ago, we spent a fortune creating a fabulous looking website for our company: Array Systems. At first it seemed like our investment would be well spent. I mean the site had awesome graphics, a clear marketing message, smooth colors and was very user friendly. Then, after a few sad months, we noticed that our website wasn’t generating any leads. How could this be? Our site seemed bound for an MVP (most valuable player) award. After countless cases of Kleenex tissue, we decided that a massive revamping of our website was necessary because a website that doesn’t generate leads is just another website on the web.

After some mild brainstorming, we came to the conclusion that people don’t use the Yellow Pages anymore to find businesses but instead people use search engines like Google and Yahoo to find what they are looking for. So our new goal at the time was to try and figure out how to establish a presence in the major search engines so that people can find our webpage by simply searching for terms on Google or Yahoo that we optimized for. For example, we run a computer network support business so we would want to be found under “computer network help” and not terms that don’t relate to us like “How to Make Cheesecake”. We later found out that trying to rank highly on search engines is anything but a simple task and is actually more of a science. Most people refer to this science as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

After 6 months of SEO design on our website and help from a resident SEO expert (Byron Yee), we went from zero to hero. When we first started the only way you could find us in Google was if you typed the search phrase “Array Systems”. This does us little good because the only people that know our company name are our clients. We want to be found under search phrases like “computer network support Los Angeles” or “IT outsourcing Orange County”. I am happy to report that we rank very high in Google now and are receiving leads almost daily. I will be updating this site regularly with more amazing SEO content so stay posted for some easy, and some not-so-easy, SEO tips that will surely make your website more productive. Got questions? Just simply reply to this post!

Jason Kato
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
Array Systems - Los Angeles Computer Networks

Topics: SEO - Search Engine Optimization | 1 Comment »

The Proactive Computing Model

By Jason Kato | May 14, 2007

QUESTION:
My IT guy is always busy and sometimes the computers go down. It seems like we have at least one emergency each week where someone can’t do something on the network. We’re now at the point where we’re reacting to problems and I don’t feel comfortable that our systems are stable or dependable.

ANSWER:
Moving to a proactive model rather than a reactive one requires a change in mindset. This change should be initiated from outside the IT organization. The reason why it must be initiated from outside the IT department is because of ownership.

Many CEO’s think that if it’s an IT issue then it’s those guys issue to solve and the problem is thrown over the wall and ownership of the issue is transferred. Most CEO’s don’t want ownership of IT issues because they’re intimidated by the issue because of a lack of understanding of technology. This creates a reactive mode because when a new issue arises, the IT guys are not in a position to adequately assess the appropriate priority.

Once the incoming flow of work is managed then the IT guys can concentrate on the highest priorities first and allows for a more efficient flow. With the extra time savings, the planning of issues and projects can be implemented which is all part of the proactive model.

Thanks for the inquiry!

Sid Kato
President and CEO
Array Systems - The Best Los Angeles Computer Network Maintenance Firm

Topics: Proactive Computing | No Comments »

Which Version of Vista is Right for You?

By Jason Kato | May 11, 2007

From a pragmatic standpoint, Microsoft Windows Vista versions generally align with functional user intentions, from entry-level PC users to multi-site corporations, with variations in between. Array Systems’ views of the differences are as follows:

> Larger organizations would likely adopt Vista Enterprise for the standardized features, licensing and uniformity afforded. Since Enterprise requires qualifications to adopt, this edition is not a consideration for retail implementation otherwise. However, on mobile devices, the features of Vista Ultimate might also be attractive for special user needs in certain situations. IT organizations in corporations would have the greatest influence on adoption policies and upgrade paths.

> Entry-level PC users, on the opposite end of the business spectrum might select Vista Home Basic, an alternative for customers looking to adopt the new features of a Vista platform, and require basic support for Internet access. Also, Microsoft supports the option of in-place upgrading from XP Home, so this can be an attractive option for existing entry-level users who might do a home upgrade themselves.

> Advanced PC users, or those needing to maximize the features of the former XP Home and XP Media Center editions might select Vista Home Premium. Most of the media capture, editing, and producing features are present, which makes this edition appealing to a wider audience of home PC users. Upgrade options can be performed directly on XP Home and XP Media Center versions without loss of data, further increasing its attractiveness.

> Small-medium sized businesses are the intended users for Vista Business. Lighter on consumer (Home) features, heavier on corporation features, this edition is ideal to operate a business or organization. Microsoft-supported, in-place upgrade choices are from XP Home, Professional, or Tablet PC technically, although pragmatically, performance may be a consideration for older hardware typical of established businesses.

> Power users, or mobile (notebook/tablet) users, might adopt Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. Microsoft features these three editions as “best choice for laptops”. As mentioned prior, matching the feature set and intended roles of the system/user will help determine which edition best suits the need.

Beyond this brief introduction, there are considerations when selecting an edition of Windows Vista for replacement purchases, upgrades, or additional growth. For example, some upgrade or replacement paths may introduce issues of compatibility with existing hardware or software, and perhaps suggest applications you already purchased may also need to be updated. In any case, planning, research and analysis should be part of the selection and decision-making process.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - Software Engineers

Topics: Windows Vista | No Comments »

Small Business Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

By Jason Kato | May 9, 2007

You manage a small business and have a collection of computers that operate your company, complete with Internet connections and email. As the key person in charge, you know it’s important to have Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity plans in place and could use some hints on the subject.

First, be aware the topic of disaster recovery and business continuity is both deep and wide. There are highly specialized, certified individuals (and organizations) dedicated to the definition, practices, precision, and ranking of top-tier disaster recovery / business continuity environments. The associated resources, procedures, time and effort are vast, necessary, and expected for such solutions. Conversely, small business stakeholders often desire a lighter-weight approach, which, for our discussion, presumes you already understand the concept of a disaster, the need to recover from one, and how you’d get back to continued normal operations: the business continuity part.

The following tips and information contain key elements from the “pros”, moderated by the capability and constraints common to your mini-corporation. For simplicity, you might consider disaster recovery and business continuity as a joint single plan with two parts.

Array Systems business continuity plan includes:

·Categorization. Where possible, the plan should be condensed enough to be complete, yet flexible enough to cover the range of disasters out there. Of course, the loss of a printer is not as great as the loss of payroll, and neither is as painful as a destructive earthquake. Conduct a serious discussion to determine what may, should and must be in the plan. Understand what defines “it will never happen”, total “overkill”, and any points between these two for your organization.

·Backups. These include a method of backup storage for key data files, software, documents, and other items you will need to recover from a disaster. Second-copy paper, optical, magnetic, electronic, online, etc. mechanisms can be part of this activity. Obviously, some form of testing/validating the retrieval and usefulness of your backup processes and procedures are implied.

·Technology. Sometimes, a simple solution can resolve critical problems. For example, an office of writers simply switched from desktops to laptops to prevent the loss of work when experiencing intermittent power problems.

·Communication. By this, we mean having a way to identify a disaster has occurred, a reliable method to alert internal stakeholders, external customers, and key responders, and finally, a reverse method to announce appropriate feedback to affected parties. The plan may include special messaging, phone calls, email, or other techniques depending on the level and content required.

·Physical. Companies tied to physical components (warehouses, manufacturing, internal processing, etc.) will need added planning beyond restoring computer systems and IT services. For these more physical aspects (power, air conditioning, building security, fire/earthquake, etc.), business continuity may have a priority over absolute disaster recovery procedures. Perhaps a secondary location can be part of such a plan, and also part of the technology method.

Experts agree that inadequate planning, testing and senior-level support are the top mistakes companies make with regard to disaster recovery / business continuity execution. An even greater concern is not fully addressing the subject at all. If so, how do I start?

Perhaps the place to start is with an analysis of your business operation and review of your current disaster recovery / business continuity plan. Consider the listed suggestions, and don’t forget possible training, documentation, and updates as your organization grows. Or, seek the help you may require; sometimes another set of eyes makes all the difference.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - IT Consulting

Topics: Disaster Recovery | No Comments »

Users are a Vital Part of Computer Security

By Jason Kato | May 4, 2007

There are behavioral (human factors) components that should be part of the security review, which do not involve hardware or software. For example, antivirus experts have noted that perhaps 35-40% of virus definition/signatures are unavailable on average, due to delays in developing remedies or in detecting new malware exploits. Therefore, the habits and interaction patterns of users become a vital part of a security protection strategy, which might include:

Email.
Don’t open attachments, or click on hyperlinks unless you are sure of the content. This is similar for web links embedded in email messages, and is independent of whether full-client applications or web-based browsers are used. Consider when to use email, or revise company policy to standardize its use.

Web browsing.
Stay away from unknown websites. Websites are now the most common source of PC infection. (Even the official NFL SuperBowl website got infected most recently). Spear phishing is particularly harmful in that it targets truly authentic looking, legitimate websites, using well written grammar and customer data, to lure the user viewing the website into infection.

Passwords.
Maintain established complexity and change frequencies suitable for your environment. Like keys to locks, passwords are the primary mechanisms for controlling access to networked computers.

Remote access.
Consider the method and management of outside access to company infrastructure. Who is permitted, how, and using what devices may be a part of the design.

Data management.
Similar to remote access, consider the data involved. Allow only authenticated access to critical information, and actively manage where and how information is used if on portable devices or outside systems. Is internal business data stored permanently on portable devices? Are portable devices/laptops protected?

Security issues related to Windows fall under many names (beyond malware), which specifically equate to hardware, software, network and user components too numerous (and specialized) to adequately address in this article. Terms such as IDS (intrusion detection), port attacks, Phishing/Spear phishing, Root kits, Social Engineering, Spam, Spyware, Trojans, Virus, etc. are but a brief sample list of keywords found on popular web searches. Each has deeper meaning and implications that can fill entire articles in themselves.

Awareness, understanding, acceptance, and change start the steps toward action in the highly interconnected world of present day secured computing. The fluid, interactive nature of the Internet will require a progressive response to maintain a trouble-free web experience.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - IT Consultants in LA

Topics: Computer Security | No Comments »

Windows Security Spotlight

By Jason Kato | May 1, 2007

Recent newsmaker stories regarding Microsoft Windows security highlighted the recurring theme that there are “care and feeding” issues related to using computers in the dynamic, connected world of the Internet. Just days ago this month, computer users of home PCs, businesses, and mobile laptop users were affected. In this case, the issue was an animated cursor (typically, an “.ANI” file) exploit, which abused a Windows feature, and therefore created the issue.

The impact potential was high; if attacked, most recent versions of Windows (2000, XP, 2003, Vista) permitted the bug to engage “Remote Code Installation and Execution” without the user’s knowledge. Under the right conditions, simply viewing a baited web page could set into motion the steps to infect the host PC with progressively damaging malfunctioning software (malware). The malware could take many forms, in a stealth-like fashion, with users unable to detect anything unusual, which makes this particular infection damaging to Internet coupled PCs. At worst, potentially your PC could automatically join a network of remotely controlled “zombie” computers, ready to perform additional malicious tasks to the connected world under remote direction. PCs left powered on for long periods unattended or in “screen saver” mode could do lots of downstream damage, switching to a more subdued, “light-impact” mode when the unsuspecting user returned to the PC.

This particular exploit was notable, in that a variant was apparently identified and patched in 2005, with a second form of the exploit surfacing in December 2006. Further, the typical practice of using firewalls, anti-spyware, and anti-virus applications would not have prevented infection, leaving many users with a false sense of security, so to speak. Reportedly, the exploit could happen whether you used Firefox or something other than Internet Explorer 7 under Windows Vista (in protected mode) to browse the web (though Vista was not totally immune).

The good news- there have been several patch updates from Microsoft to correct this condition on the windows update website. This real-life technology drama may illuminate a thought in your own situation. Is now maybe a good time to review my own procedure for ensuring a secured and sound computing environment in my company? Could be; Array Systems suggests the following basic operational components be included in a security review:

Anti-Virus.
Make sure you have recent versions and current definition (signature) updates. There are license fees/renewals with most products, which should be maintained or checked.

Anti-Spyware.
Similar to Anti-Virus in function- ensure updates and versions are current for this tool to be effective. This can be part of a suite of defense products, all with the intent of providing added protection.

Microsoft Update.
A free Microsoft web service that provides direct and concise access to software updates for Microsoft products (Windows, Office, etc.) You can set manual or automated updates, but you should understand the ramifications of each method.

Firewall.
Hardware firewall devices are preferred, as some software based firewall/Internet security products can be ineffective for certain environments.

Gateway/Content Filter.
Hardware and software based devices which can provide active protection between internal users and the Internet, and also manage wireless, PDA/mobile users, remote access, etc.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - Los Angeles IT Consultant

Topics: Computer Security | No Comments »

Windows Vista Editions: 32-bit vs 64-bit

By Jason Kato | April 30, 2007

One of the most mysterious aspects of the new Microsoft Windows Vista operating system is the choice between a 32-bit and a 64-bit version. To make things more confusing, Microsoft includes both Vista versions with their retail editions, yet makes you choose which one you want. The short answer is that end-users, small – medium sized businesses, and most corporations should choose the 32-bit version for now because this is the version that HP, IBM, and Dell are using.

64-bit History
Intel, IBM, Sun Microsystems and AMD are all major computer chip developers and 64-bit technology is nothing new to them. Apart from the fact that the 64-bit chip has “more bits” than the 32-bit chip, the 64-bit chip also has a greater amount of memory, file, disk, and database address space. With 32-bit hardware, you have up to 4GB (gigabytes) of address space compared to 144GB, 262GB, or 256TB (terabytes) of potential address space in 64-bit hardware. Obviously 256TB is beyond current hardware technology: however, it does set the stage for 64-bit processing being the future’s long-term platform.

Intel’s 64-bit processors were jointly developed with Hewlett-Packard in a project known as the “Itanium Architecture” or IA-64. The goal was to develop a new breed of CPUs and depart from the limitations of 32-bit architectures of the early “286, 386, 486, and early-Pentium” processors. To align with the early Intel IA-64 Itanium, Microsoft released a special version of Windows XP identified as the “XP-64 Edition” along with a “Server 2000 Edition” which supported the IA-64 hardware. Neither was widely adopted mostly due to problems with software drivers and the high cost of memory at that time.

Microsoft’s first attempt to mitigate the gap between 32 and 64-bit hardware was to create a “software emulator” which would allow the 32-bit code to operate on an IA-64 CPU. The results were not so good and caused things to run very slow which further reduced the interest in the IA-64 Itanium processor for desktop computers and servers. Microsoft would later rewrite the code so that the Windows operating system would run in either 32-bit or 64-bit code simultaneously, and natively, without any software emulation. The result was increased performance, regardless of which code base was hosted, and later cleared the way for Microsoft to launch Windows Vista in 32/64 bit editions.

64-bit Driver Support
Perhaps the most painful part of adopting 64-bit technology lies in the software supporting the peripheral devices of the computer, commonly referred to as “drivers”. Makers of computer motherboards of late have integrated many sub-components into their products, which have complicated Vista / 64 driver availability and support, often resulting in long delays between “beta” releases. Even discrete components (control chipsets, printers, video boards, sound cards, scanners, cameras, and nearly all wireless and PDA devices) have also suffered as a result of scarce 64-bit drivers in the consumer market, as these products are many in model, and change rapidly each week.

Unlike applications, 32-bit and 64-bit drivers are not interchangeable, nor can they run on the same computing environment simultaneously. So to adopt Windows Vista 64, you’d have to make sure you have all the required drivers lined up prior to the installation. For most consumer and small business situations, it’s simply too early to realistically have a rich set of 64-bit Windows Vista drivers to apply. This is also why upgrading to 64-bit Vista is particularly difficult and demands a great deal of research and patience to achieve 100% functionality.

64-bit Applications
By some accounts this is a chicken-and-egg situation. For the most part, x86 applications (32-bit) are the mainstream. For the mainstream to adopt 64-bit applications there must be a compelling reason to do so. Conversely, unless price-friendly 64-bit equipment is widely purchased by the mainstream, why would developers create 64-bit applications?
Truthfully, 32-bit hardware, with an upper limit of 4GB of memory was seldom reached by anything other than network servers and virtually never seen by PC users. So, prior to today, most 64-bit applications belong to high-end software or that of network servers. In fact, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will require x64 hardware essentially mandating a 64-bit processing environment.

What is changing however is the user-base and pricing wars of PCs. As newer PCs contain the 64-bit single and dual-core processors, end-users can adopt a 64-bit equipment option. Price competition will soon press the 32-bit only systems out of the marketplace so it seems as if everyone will be forced to convert right? Well maybe. Among the first applications to take advantage of the 64-bit technology for the mainstream will be the gaming and multimedia sectors of the computing world.

Bottom of the Line
Mainstream users are best served with the 32-bit applications of Windows Vista and will experience the greatest compatibility with peripherals, applications, and improved features. The use of 64-bit implementations of Vista should be based on need. If you have a special application or operational requirement today that mandates this extended version of Vista, proceed ahead; just be sure to research and resolve potential conflicts and remedies first. Windows Vista 64 will gather increased momentum and acceptance; however the practical return on investment may be years away. As with any new product offering, the key will be testing the Vista environment with current application prior to making an upgrade decision.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - Computer Network Management

Topics: Windows Vista | 1 Comment »

Disaster Recovery

By Jason Kato | April 25, 2007

QUESTION:
I’m not sure how long it would take for our computer systems to recover from a disaster. I’m always hearing about Disaster Recovery but I’m not sure what would be necessary to protect my business in case we had a disaster. Can you shed some light on Disaster Recovery for my computer systems?

ANSWER:
This will be a brief description on Disaster Recovery because there have been volumes of books written on the subject. The first step is Backup. Ensure that your backup (either tape or disk) is being done correctly and that the process is verified periodically (once per quarter) to ensure that the Backup and subsequent Recovery Process is working. The next step is Offsite Storage. Make sure that a copy of your Backup is stored offsite in another location, consistently. The third step depends upon your Business Recovery Plan.

A Disaster Recovery Plan should be a subsection of your overall Business Recovery plan. If your Business Recovery Plan requires no down time then you’ll need to create another location that can immediately be activated in case of an emergency. This isn’t realistic for most small businesses but you’ll still need to decide how long you can afford to be down.

If the requirement is hours to a few days then you may still need to have access to another site to recover your systems from your backups in offsite storage to another probably rented location. If your Business Recovery requirement is a week or longer then you can expedite the new servers and computers through almost any vendor.

Thanks for the wonderful question!

Sid Kato
President and CEO
Array Systems - LA’s Go To Computer Experts

Topics: Disaster Recovery | No Comments »

Internet Service Problems

By Jason Kato | April 19, 2007

QUESTION: Dealing with technology is getting more and more frustrating everyday. The other day I couldn’t access the Internet so I called my Internet Service Provider. They said the line looked fine and the problem was probably on the network. I called my IT vendor and they said the network was fine and to try calling the phone company since they own the router. I called the phone company and after sitting on hold for an hour the Internet came back up. I feel like I get no service and everyone consistently points fingers at each other. Is there a better way?

ANSWER: As technology becomes increasingly more complex for small businesses there are more and more components that we have to understand. Going back ten years, we could talk to the one vendor that handled everything because our technology needs were a phone and a fax machine.

Today, each component is a different technology company and our requirements are much more complex: email, internet access, phone systems and computer networks. The solution here is one of ownership from your IT providers. Make sure your IT providers understands that your expectation is that they are responsible for all your IT needs not just the ones they’ve installed.

This is a very simple conversation and shouldn’t require much more work but will make your life much easier.

Make the call,

Sid Kato
President and CEO
Array Systems - Los Angeles: Outsource Your Networks

Topics: Internet Service Problems | No Comments »

Windows Vista Versions

By Jason Kato | April 11, 2007

By now, you’ve seen or heard of Microsoft’s newest operating system for desktops and notebooks: Windows Vista. Prior to the holiday season, PC makers introduced Vista by providing upgrade vouchers for new PC purchases. And in February, Microsoft announced some 20 million copies were sold to consumers worldwide. So yes, it is out, but did you know there is more than one Vista to choose from?

Windows Vista can be thought of as a family of operating systems for PCs which share the same primary name. Recall that with Windows XP, there was a version named “XP Home”, “XP Media Edition”, and also “XP Professional” (or XP Pro for short). After more than 5 years of refinement, Vista adopts a similar naming approach, which we’ll introduce briefly in this article.

For the US market, Windows Vista arrives in 4 consumer/retail editions, and a single corporate edition. They are:

Windows Vista – Home Basic.
Considered the entry-level option, this can be thought of as a marketing equivalent to the former XP Home product. Basic is fully Vista software, with Internet Explorer 7, Windows Mail (formerly Outlook Express), and Media Player 11 enhancements. You can produce CDs (not DVDs), and run most software that is Vista compatible. This version also includes added security in the form of Parental Controls.

Windows Vista – Home Premium.
Incorporates all of Home Basic components and adds support for Tablet PCs, DVD authoring tools, and features similar to XP’s Media Center Edition. An enhanced graphical interface option (Aero) is also included for PCs with compatible video hardware.

Windows Vista - Business.
Workplace oriented, Vista Business supports connection to company domains, more Tablet PC integration, multiple physical CPU systems, and corporate-level system management options (such as remote desktop, image backups, file encryption, volume shadow, user profiles, etc.) and the Aero interface. Does not contain features of Home Premium, due to the business-focus, however this can be positioned similarly to the former XP Professional edition.

Windows Vista enterprise.
Corporate focused, this edition is only available to corporations and authorized institutions through Microsoft via non-retail licensing programs. Functionally very similar to Vista Business, this edition adds drive encryption (Windows Bit-Locker), the option of using alternate languages, and license structure permitting multiple concurrent copies of Vista to operate using Virtual PC 2007. UNIX-based application support is provided via a UNIX emulation module subsystem.

Windows Vista Ultimate.
Considered the top-shelf edition, Ultimate includes most of the features of all other Vista editions. Corporate supported, yet consumer (Media Center) enhanced, this edition can be thought of as the advanced/power-user edition, particularly on notebook/mobile systems which operate under multiple functional roles (though Microsoft positions this product as a consumer/retail edition). In addition, there are optional services and products (Ultimate Extras) available for this edition from a growing list of producers.

Separately from these 5 US 32-bit editions, Microsoft (worldwide) offers special editions to Europe and Asia with various component mixes, and a special pre-installed version known as Vista Starter Edition, again with varied feature sets. Also, there are 64-bit versions of Vista, though this is covered in a different topic.

Steve Goto
Project Manager and Systems Engineer
Array Systems - Computer Harware Engineers

Topics: Windows Vista | No Comments »

Computer Network Upgrading Strategy

By Jason Kato | April 7, 2007

QUESTION: We have a bunch of computers and a few servers. We upgrade the computers when they start to become obsolete and get very slow. We upgrade our servers when there is a problem or we buy new programs that don’t run on the servers any longer. Is there a better way to maintain our computers and servers?

ANSWER: In today’s world, technology changes so fast and new versions of both hardware and software are released each year. Because of this, you should step back and create a plan which is independent of technological changes. I use a capital expenditure plan because it takes the upgrades out of the latest and greatest mentality and makes the decision a financial plan where I believe it should be.

Similar to capital equipment for a manufacturing company, you should plan the expectancy of your computer systems and adhere to this plan as closely as possible. The first step is to inventory your current assets to determine the age of your current infrastructure. Typically I recommend a three, four or five year plan and project the impact financially to the company. If this approach is acceptable then I start to slowly phase out the hardware/software according to the plan. This usually takes two years to fully implement and you’ll find that some of the nagging problems of systems crashing and people complaining about wanting a new PC will begin to subside.

Great Question!

Sid Kato
President and CEO
Array Systems - Computer Network Services in Los Angeles

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New Stuff to Microsoft Office 2007

By Jason Kato | April 6, 2007

We are pleased to report that the new Microsoft Office Suite 2007 is loaded with new features and is much more user friendly. The new Office Suite makes it almost effortless for users to create more professional-looking documents in a shorter amount of time.

The most apparent change is that Microsoft has done away with its old familiar menus and toolbars and has created a new graphical user interface: “The Ribbon.” The Ribbon is a special strip of space, located across the top of the window, that is populated with icons and tabs that are conveniently grouped by function. Microsoft wants “The Ribbon” to be a single place where all functionalities are easily discoverable and reachable. Sid Kato, president of Array Systems, states “The Ribbon has revealed features that I didn’t even know existed.” Adding clip-art to a word document is now made effortless by simply clicking on the “insert” tab and selecting the clip art icon. The Ribbon is also dynamic in nature: when placing a picture in a word document, there is no need to click on the “view” and “toolbar” menus to find out which small icon to use, the Ribbon automatically provides a list of suitable tools for the task.

The Ribbon isn’t the only improvement to the new Microsoft Office Suite. There’s a plethora of new themes and templates to help liven things up for those who are bored with the same redundant power point themes. Office 2007 also stores documents in a new format that is more compact and safe for others to download.

There’s also a new way of adding artistic flares to graphic images by way of “SmartArt.” “SmartArt” allows users to easily insert graphics that can be easily shifted and edited. One function of SmartArt is that if the text doesn’t fit into the graphic, it automatically shrinks the size of the font so that it does.

Don’t be stuck in your old ways, be more efficient with new technology,

Jason Kato
Search Engine Optimization and Marketing
Array Systems - Los Angeles Computer Networks

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