Social media is one of the most important communication tools of the modern era. Companies use it to connect with customers and like minded individuals, all in the name of building trust in their brand and products. While almost every company has a social media presence, they have been slow to trust employees to use personal social media at work. On average, 31% of companies block employees from accessing their accounts.

There are four distinct advantages to allowing social media:

• Increased productivity. There have been a number of studies that have found that judicious use of social media in the workplace will actually increase productivity. A study conducted by the University of Melbourne found that employees with access to social media are 9% more productive than those without.
• Increased buy-in. Employees like to feel trusted and empowered. If they don’t you can expect to experience higher turnover and lower morale. A good way to gain trust is to allow employees to use social media in the workplace. If an employee feels like they are trusted, they’ll be more likely to stay with the company.
• Recruiting. Small businesses have started to use social media for recruitment, but limit efforts to one account. If you have 10 employees in your organization, each with a social media account with 100 friends, you have the potential to reach 1,000 people. This is achievable if employees are allowed to access social media at work and are encouraged to share posts.
• Identification of business opportunities. Through the use of social media, employees in charge of sales and business development can source new clients and build fruitful relationships.

There are many advantages to allowing access to social networks at the office. If you‘re hesitant to completely open the social media floodgates, try doing so in short periods, like the final three hours of the working day.

No matter what you decide, allowing access to social media is a good practice for your business. If you would like to learn more about social media and how you can leverage it in your business, we are happy to talk with you.

Want to know the temperature outside, or how to get to the nearest gas station? To answer these questions you probably use your smartphone. This suits the majority of us just fine, but there are times when it’s a hassle, during a meeting for example. Google has announced a project that aims to take your smartphone and put it in front of you, literally.

On April 4, 2012 Google revealed a project called Google Glass, their take on augmented reality glasses, through a video on YouTube. This announcement was made by a team that’s part of the Google[x] lab. Google[x] is an almost covert division, focused on developing technology for the future.

It looks like the glasses will take the main functions of your smartphone - Call, Social Media, Pictures, Day-Planner and GPS - and display them on a glass lens that covers your right eye. Think of a pair of glasses missing the left lens, and you’ll get the picture. This seems like something right out of sci-fi movies from the 80s, but numerous sources, including some from Google, have stated that the first version will be released sometime in the next couple of years.

Undoubtedly the glasses will run on a new version of Android, and from the video one can determine that they will use a hybrid of voice and vision to operate. Most of the functionality of your smartphone will be on the lens. Want to know what the weather will be like for the rest of the day? Look up and the lens will present with the temperature and forecast. The video also showed the wearer come across some graffiti he thought was cool, and with his voice he instructed the taking of a picture to be shared with his circles on Google+.

What does this mean for businesses? As the glasses are still in development it’s hard to say conclusively, but businesses who already have a Google + or Google Places profile will benefit as it appears both services are heavily integrated with the platform. The possibilities on how companies could use this technology are endless. We’ve all seen movies with characters using a similar technology and now Google is bringing it one step closer to reality.

If you’re as interested in Google Glass as we are, or have questions regarding Google’s other products please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll be more than happy to talk with you.

The iPhone has quickly become one of the most popular smartphones on the market. When Apple launches a new version, fans line up for blocks to get their hands on it. What makes it so desirable? Well it’s easy to use and has powerful apps that users have come to rely on. Some would say the iPhone has even gone so far as to replace desktop calendars for many people.

The three most popular calendar programs are Outlook Calendar, Google Calendar and iCal. Here are the steps you can take to sync your different calendars with the iPhone. These calendars will all be viewable using the Calendar App on your iPhone.

Sync with Outlook Microsoft Outlook is the most popular email program in use, making the accompanying calendar just as prevalent. To sync your Outlook calendar with your iPhone:

1. Open Outlook
   1. Click Tools and select Trust Centre.
   2. Click Add-ins, followed by Details.
   3. Select iTunes Add-in, followed by Manage.
   4. Select Com Add-ins, Go and finally iTunes sync add-in.
   5. Click Ok.
2. Plug your iPhone into your computer using the USB cable. iTunes should open automatically.
3. In iTunes, select your iPhone. It will be located in the left hand bar, under devices.
4. Navigate to the Info tab and check Sync calendars with.
5. Choose Outlook. You’ll be able to select which Outlook calendars you want to view using your iPhone.
6. Press Sync.

Sync with Google Calendar If you use Google Calendar, syncing with the iPhone takes a few more steps, but it’s still fairly straightforward.

1. On your iPhone select Settings followed by Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
2. Press Add Account.
3. Select Microsoft Exchange. Note: Devices running iOS 4.0 can sync with more than one Exchange account. If you’re using a version that’s earlier than 4.0 you’ll only be able to sync with one Exchange account.
4. In the Email and Username fields, enter your full email address e.g., name@gmail.com. If you use a @googlemail.com account you’ll most likely get an Unable to Verify Certificate error message. If you do, press Cancel when the error message is displayed.
5. In the Password field enter the password you use to log into your Gmail account.
6. When you have entered the information, press Next in the top right of your screen.
7. In the Server field enter “m.google.com” (without the quotations).
8. Tap Next.
9. Select Calendar if you only want to sync with your calendar. If your company uses Google Calendar to setup meetings, you’ll also need to turn on Mail.

The calendar should sync automatically and show up on your iPhone within a few minutes.

Sync with iCal If you use iCal you can sync with your iPhone by:

1. Plugging your iPhone into the computer using the USB cable. iTunes should open automatically.
2. Select your iPhone. It will be located in the left hand bar, under devices.
3. Click the Info tab, followed by Sync iCal Calendars. You’ll be able to choose what calendars you would like your iPhone to sync with.
4. Press Sync.

No matter which calendar app you use, you can view it on your iPhone. There’s no need to carry around a day planner or appointment book with you anymore, just carry your phone. If you would like to know more about how to capitalize on the features of the iPhone we’re only a call away.

If you mention “OS X” and “virus” in the same sentence, you’ll get some weird looks from Mac users. Traditionally viruses and trojans on OS X were near non-existent, but there’s a Mac specific trojan, codenamed Flashback, that has affected more than 600,000 computers. This is big news as it shows that machines running OS X may not be as secure as first thought.

Many Mac owners are unsure of what exactly the Flashback trojan is, what it does and how to ensure they’re not infected. We’re here to help clarify the situation.

What is a Trojan and What Does Flashback Do? In general terms, a trojan is a piece of malicious software that infects a computer and gives control of part, or the whole computer to hackers. The Flashback trojan takes advantage of an OS X Java vulnerability and infects computers by tricking them into downloading a fake Java update.

When the program is installed, Flashback will download and install the main trojan code without the need for permission from the administrator. From there it proceeds to hijack your browser, redirect search queries to websites developed by hackers, and then take advantage of pay-per-click advertising.

Why Should I be Worried? While this version hijacks your browser, there are far more sinister things it could do. As this trojan acts as a downloader, there’s nothing stopping the developers from updating the malware to steal passwords, banking information and other confidential information.

How do I Ensure My Mac is Clean? Apple has released an update for machines running OS X 10.6 and later. The first step you should take is to update your computer to patch the vulnerability. To update your Mac:

1. Press the Apple logo, located in the top right hand of your screen.
2. Select Software Update...
3. Press Install and Restart.

While the patch will prevent Flashback from working, it won’t delete the program if you’ve been infected. The Internet security company F-Secure has developed a script that scans your computer and removes Flashback if found. Once you have downloaded the script, open and run it. The script will search your computer and place the infected files in an encrypted ZIP folder labeled Flashback_quarantine.zip.

Flashback has infected a higher number of Macs than any other trojan to date and goes to show that Macs also have security flaws. This also serves as a reminder that you should have a virus scanner and security program running on your Mac. If you have any questions regarding the security of your Mac or other devices, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here to help keep your machines secure.

It used to be that your work and personal time had clearly defined separation. You spent the day at work focused on your job and at the end of the day you’d turn your brain off, go home, cook dinner and relax. As a collective whole we seem to have lost our ability to focus. We spend most of our days worrying about the work that needs to be done.

It’s time to reclaim our focus at work and here are seven tips to help you do so.

1. Practice productivity wind-sprints. While at work, we’re normally doing work while browsing Facebook or chatting. This can be harmful for productivity and shifts your focus from important work related activities. Interval training is a great way to increase your focus. Get a timer, set it for ten minutes, and focus solely on your work. When the timer goes off take a two minute break.

2. Defensive scheduling. Our days are filled with commitments and we struggle to keep up with our projects or find time to work uninterrupted. Schedule a meeting with yourself at a convenient time. Treat this meeting like a real meeting, no interruptions. This is your time to focus on important tasks or projects.

3. Socialize with your tablet. Separate work from social activities with a tablet. We’re often just hitting our stride with work when BING, we get a chat message. What do we do? Immediately reply to the message. When we do that we lose our focus and struggle to regain it. Why not use use your tablet for all social activities and work computer strictly for work? Combined with tip one, this could really help you focus.

4. Realize your unconscious focus. The vast majority of managers often aren’t sure what the top issue in their mind is. It comes with multitasking, we’re always making less important ideas critical, and this takes our focus off the most important issues. To realign your focus take some time, let your mind wander, and make note of the ideas you keep returning to. These are your most critical issues.

5. Focus on most important tasks first. When you get into the office in the morning switch off your phone and email alerts. Focus on your most important priorities, this will give you time to get your most important work out of the way, before you shift your focus onto other less important projects.

6. Disconnect. Many of us don’t take time to give our brains a rest, we’re always thinking and possibly worrying about work. It’s beneficial to your mental and physical health if you take time each day to disconnect from the office. Temporarily sever all ties with the office and focus on something you enjoy doing. Remember, this is your time don’t think of work, focus on the activity.

7. Can’t focus? Consider if what you’re doing is right for you. If you find that you really can’t focus, even with the previous techniques, it might be time to consider that what you’re doing is actually something you don’t care about or enjoy. If this is true for you, then it’s time to start looking for a change.

With these tips you should see an increase in your focus and productivity. If you would like to know more about how to improve your productivity please contact us, we can help.

Tablet computers are arguably some of the most useful devices that have been developed in the past ten years. While there are a ton of tablets on the market, there’s one that’s king: the iPad. The iPad has many different features that appeal to nearly every user, including companies who have taken to using the iPad for presentations.

If you’re on the road and give lots of presentations, the iPad can be the perfect tool as it allows you to leave the laptop at home, or in the hotel room. Here are three programs that are great for creating and giving presentations on the iPad, and what you need to give presentations on big-screens such as projectors and TVs.

Keynote Keynote is Apple’s presentation software. With this app, users can create some really professional looking presentations with ease. The one downside to Keynote is that it has trouble interacting with presentations created using Microsoft PowerPoint. Some fonts, clipart and animations used by PowerPoint and not Apple, will simply not copy over.

SlideShark SlideShark is perfect for users who aren’t comfortable with Keynote or are more comfortable with Microsoft PowerPoint. It works by uploading your presentations using SlideShark, converting them into a format the iPad can read and syncing them with the iPad. This is a great app for users of PCs.

Power Presenter This app is for presenters who want to give presentations on a projector, as its main purpose is to make it easier for the iPad and projectors to sync with one another. After you’ve finished your presentation, save it as a PDF and hook up your iPad to the projector you’ll be using. The app will simultaneously show the presentation on the screen and your iPad. This app is good if you don’t have the time to set up the projector whenever you give a presentation.

What You Need to Give Presentations When you switch over to using the iPad for presentations, you’ll need two adapters that allow you to hook the iPad up to the various different visual outputs e.g., TV screens and projector units.

The first adapter is a VGA adapter which will allow you to connect your iPad to the majority of projectors. When you give a presentation using a projector, plug the VGA cable into your iPad and the projector, and you should be ready to give your presentation.

The second adapter is for TVs and projectors that use HDMI outputs. Apple calls this adapter a “Digital AV Adapter” and it can be found on the Apple Store. When you plug in the adapter, your display should show up on both the screen and your iPad.

If you have any questions about using your iPad to give presentations or other uses for your Apple products, please contact us. We’re more than happy to sit down and discuss solutions with you.

Microsoft is one of the largest software companies in the world, offering a product catalogue that has something for everyone. With products like the Microsoft Office suite, Microsoft all but dominates the desktop office business. The next step for Microsoft has been to move their business services to the cloud.

Microsoft’s cloud based office suite for businesses is called Microsoft Office 365. Office 365 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote - and Microsoft Server products e.g., Lync 2010 and SharePoint Server. All programs are accessed via a Web browser, offering users the ability to access the programs from the office, home or anywhere in between.

On March 14, 2012 Microsoft held a press conference announcing that the price of Office 365 subscriptions will be reduced by up to 20%. This decrease will apply to all new and renewing direct customers.

The price cut is a great advantage to many potential customers as it makes Office 365 more competitive with other cloud based office solutions such as Google Apps. This is also beneficial as many businesses already use the desktop versions of Microsoft Office. If they switch to Office 365, employees will be comfortable with the cloud version, as the software is exactly the same as the desktop version.

It’s the perfect time to look into Office 365 and see what it can bring to your organization. If you’d like to learn more about Microsoft Office 365 or other products from Microsoft, we are your go-to experts and will be more than happy to help.

If you ask business owners and managers about one piece of software they can’t live without, most will reply with the office suite. Who could live without the ability to create documents, presentations and spreadsheets? Among the numerous suites available, Google Docs offers some great features including a versatile spreadsheet program. Do you use Google Docs Spreadsheet in your office?

Spreadsheet is simple and straightforward, but sometimes it appears to be a little too plain. There are however a large amount of incredibly useful features hidden away. Here are a few:

=GoogleFinance: This function provides you with practical options including the ability to convert currency and track stocks. The standard formula is =GoogleFinance(“Symbol”, “Attribute”) Where Symbol is the stock symbol and Attribute is what you would like to follow e.g., price.

You can also use this function for currency rates and conversions. If you want to know what the current exchange rate is between the Canadian Dollar and the US Dollar put: =GoogleFinance(“CADUSD”) to get the current exchange rate. Like stocks, this will be updated whenever the exchange rate changes. For a full list of =GoogleFinance functions check out this page.

Translate a cell: From time to time you may get a spreadsheet that contains more than one language. Usually you would have to send it back to the author for translation, which could take more time than anticipated. Did you know that you can get Google to translate a cell from one language to another? In an empty cell enter: =GoogleTranslate(CELL, “Source Language”, “ Target Language”) Where: CELL is the cell you want to translate; Source Language is the language the cell is currently in; Target language is the language you’d like to translate into. For the languages you have to use the two letter ISO 639-2 language codes.

Split a Cell: If you want to create a table that has the days of the week in columns you can easily do so. In the first cell enter: =Split(“Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday”, “ “) Spreadsheet will automatically put the days into separate columns. To spread data out in a row enter: =transpose(Split(“Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday”, “ “)). Be sure to have spaces between the data you want in different cells, and a space between the quotation marks at the end of the function.

Concatenate: This function acts as the opposite of =Split. If you have data in a number of cells you want to bring together e.g., data in cells A2, A5, A6, B7, enter =concatenate(A2, A5, A6, B7) The data will be put into one cell.

There are many more handy functions out there that will make your life easier and take some of the work out of spreadsheet creation. If you have any questions regarding Spreadsheet, Google Docs or other Google Apps please let us know, we are happy to help.

Android tablets are quickly becoming the go-to tablet for companies and manufacturers. The openness of the OS and the ability to personalize it has major appeal. If you have an Android tablet, or have been reading about them you have probably come across the term “root”. If you’re not quite sure what this means for you and your tablet, we’re here to help.

Before you root your tablet it’s beneficial to know the pros and cons associated with it.

What is Rooting? When you buy an Android tablet, it will have limitations placed on the OS by the maker of the tablet to prevent inexperienced users from inadvertently ruining their device. What rooting does is give users access to the basic or “root” level of the tablet, in other words it removes all restrictions placed on the OS. If you’ve heard the term “jailbreaking” for Apple’s products, rooting is akin to that.

Benefits to Rooting There are a number of upsides to rooting your Android tablet. Some of the most positive features are:

• Access to More Applications. If you root your tablet, you’ll have access to a wide variety of apps not available to unrooted tablets. If you go to the Google Play store, and type in Root you’ll see a list of apps that are only available to rooted tablets. Some of the most useful include ones that allow you to do a full backup of your system or change your layout.
• Improved Performance. When you root your tablet, you’ll be able to control its performance. This includes being able to make it open and close apps faster or decrease processor speed which will increase battery life.
• Latest Version of OS. Companies that create tablets and devices that use the Android OS are notorious for taking a long time to update the OS. Case in point: Google released Android 4.0 in December 2011 and some devices still haven’t been upgraded. If you root your tablet, you’ll be able to update your device to the newest version of the Android OS by using a ROM - the most basic level of software that allows your Android device to operate. ROMs are akin to drivers used by computers.

Drawbacks to Rooting There are some drawbacks to rooting that you should be aware of. The first issue is that if you do root your tablet, the warranty will be voided. If the manufacturer finds that you’ve rooted your device, they could refuse to fix it, forcing you to go to less than reputable dealers.

The second problem is that if rooting is carried out incorrectly you run the risk of “bricking” or “bootlooping” your device. Bricking is when your tablet’s software glitches causing the tablet to stop working, making it about as useful as a brick. Bootlooping is similar to bricking, however your phone will boot up, turn off, boot up and turn off in an endless cycle.

The final downside to rooting is security. There has been an increasing number of malware apps designed specifically for Android devices. If you have a rooted tablet and download apps not from Google Play, there’s a higher chance that the app you download will be infected.

Should I Root? With both powerful benefits and potentially nasty problems, the question is, “Should you root your tablet?” The answer is a bit ambiguous in that it really depends on what type of user you are. Advanced users who want to micromanage their device will be able to do just that if they root, while users who are happy with their tablet will not see much of a difference.

If you do choose to root your tablet, search the Internet for guides on how to root your device and carefully follow the instructions. Should you like to learn more about rooting, or Android tablets please drop us a line, we’re more than happy to hear from you.

A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, where he usually exchanged a little friendly banter with the owner, a skilled but not especially wealthy mechanic.

“So tell me,” says the mechanic, “I’ve been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me..”

“Yes?..” says the surgeon.

“Well look at this,” says the mechanic, as he worked on a big complicated engine, “I check how it’s running, open it up, fix the valves, and put it all back together so it works good as new.. We basically do the same job don’t we? And yet you are paid ten times what I am – how do you explain that?”

The surgeon thought for a moment, and smiling gently, replied,”Try it with the engine running..”

Source: www.businessballs.com