It’s been almost two years now since the Ontario Electronic Stewardship (OES) has implemented the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) program and we still get questions as to what it is, and what the extra fee’s are for. In short the OES WEEE Program is Ontario’s solution to allow for the effective diversion of electronic waste from landfills. Not only is this a benefit to the environment as the harmful chemicals/compounds used in electronics are no longer going to be leached into the environment, but it reduces the strain on our already limited precious resources by re-using as much of the original product as possible.

All of these benefits do come a cost though, in order to fund the WEEE Program OES has devised a table of fee’s for specific electronic devices/peripherals that must be collected on every electronic purchase that falls within the schedule of items. This small fee allows for the effective collection and recycling of our un-used electronics for free (I know technically it isn’t “free” since we are paying for the service, but you know what I mean!).

A summary of the most current fee schedule (effective from 01-April-2010 to 31-March-2011) is outlined below:

For more information please visit the OES website here.

One word…CCA.

OK technically it’s three words; Capital Cost Allowance, but that is beside the point. CCA’s have always been there, giving businesses the ability to write off a certain percentage of their assets due to depreciation. Now this makes sense as how like all things material, over time their value decreases, however up until now probably one of the most depreciable and biggest budget sinkholes of all businesses, the computer equipment, was only entitled to a measly 45% CCA rate. I say measly because the $1 500 computer you buy today will probably be worth less than $750 by the end of the year (if you could find someone to buy your used, coffee stained laptop that is).

So what does the 2009 Canadian Federal Budget have to do with any of this? Well starting January 27th, 2009 (the day the budget was released) until February 11th 2011, businesses are entitled to a 100% CCA rate! That’s right…100%! This means that all of the computer equipement that you buy within the next two years will be complete tax right-offs.

This also means however that you only have two years to bring your out-dated office up to speed before the tax-man tightens his grip….Time to get cracking…

Right now is probably one the highest points in wireless Internet technology. What I mean by this is virtually everybody has a Wi-Fi enabled device, and this means that virtually everybody is itching to use their new toy to its full potential. With your mobile cell phones, smart phones, laptops, PDA’s and even MP3 players there is a good chance that no matter who you talk to on the street, they will probably have some kind of wireless enabled device. So now we have a problem, there are so many who want to use their new devices to their full potential, but alas, outside of their homes there is nowhere else for them to go. This is where the wireless hotspot comes in, and also where you can drive customers to your establishment.

There are two general types of hotspots, the ones that you pay for, and the ones that are free. Now let’s be real, the only people who would want to pay for wireless are few and far between (I know I would never pay unless I absolutely had to). So this is why if you are thinking about deploying a wireless hotspot, it is be best to make it free for all to enjoy. Giving away wireless Internet for free may sound crazy, but think about the long term expense of roughly $45 a month for the connection to the Internet, not much considering the increase in customer base, and customer retention (you wouldn’t want to lose business to a competitor who decided to implement a wireless hotspot would you?).

Now you may be thinking that by allowing anyone to access the hotspot you are going to open up yourself to Internet abuse, this doesn’t have to be the case! Just because you are allowing anyone access doesn’t mean that you are going to let them do whatever they want, whenever they want. For example, the hotspot can be configured to only broadcast during your business hours, and the network range can be setup so that only those physically inside your location can view and access the hotspot. By limiting access to only those inside your business this greatly reduces the type of malicious use that you could be exposed to and also makes it easier for you and your staff to monitor who is using the wireless network.

Security and usability aside, think about the other possibilities of a free wireless hotspot. Let’s say you have your hotspot setup to allow anyone to access it, however before they can do anything on the network they need to register their information. Just imagine the marketing possibilities!

Wireless is here to stay and is only going to get bigger, so there is no better time than now to establish your own wireless haven and bask in the sea of customers that will come looking for their fix…

With the recent release of Microsoft Small Business Server 2008 (known as SBS 2008) there is no better time than the present to think about upgrading your old, slow, who-knows-when-it’s-going-break-down, company server.

Built on the already solid core of Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1, SBS 2008 could not have been released without a more rock-solid foundation. To make the package even more tantalizing, Microsoft has also including the new Exchange Server 2007 Standard Edition messaging and collaboration server which alone is the worth the upgrade to SBS 2008. In addition the following features are also pre-installed with Small Business Server 2008:

• Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
  • Read this past blog article on why you want this!
• Microsoft Forefront security for Microsoft Exchange
  • Antivirus and Antispam protection for incoming and outgoing e-mails
• Windows Server Update Services 3.0
  • Allows for the easy administration and deployment of software updates for all computers and servers on the corporate network

Just in case those features just aren’t enough and you’re finding yourself wanting more than there are two flavours of SBS to choose from, Standard, and Premium. The premium edition includes all of the above, plus the following:

• An additional copy of Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition to install on a separate server
  • This is a full retail edition!
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Businesses
  • Enterprise class database management in a small business package

On top of the included software packages, the new Windows SBS Console provides a single point of configuration and maintenance, which makes it much easier for your ‘IT guy (or gal)’ to perform common administrative tasks which saves everybody in the company time!

With all of these included features, SBS 2008 enables businesses of all sizes the ability to efficiently upgrade their current client/server environment with a minimal of administrative effort and cost, and to finally have a solid reason to upgrade from that pile of dust of a server that is sitting in the corner.

A VPN is a virtual private network. What does that mean? Well basically it means you can create a private network (or tunnel) between two different points, virtually, that is without the need to run physical wires. Now you are probably still wondering what that means, well…

Imagine two different physical sites, for example a headquarters, and a branch office, both of these sites belong to the same company, and therefore utilize the same resources (e-mail, file sharing, document collaboration). However due to the fact that the two offices are in two physically separate locations there are only two main ways of connecting them in order to facilitate this sharing of resources. The first method, and most often the prohibitively expensive method is to put in place a direct communications link between the two offices (for example T1, or ISDN service, if you don’t know what these are then just know that they are very expensive). The second method to connect to the two offices would be to utilize a VPN over a regular Internet connection (like ADSL or Cable). This would provide a secure channel across the Internet directly to the other office location, without the need for a dedicated communications link. This not only means you save money over the long term, but if you need to modify the VPN between the offices it is just a matter of reconfiguring the link, and not having to phone up your ISP to make hardware configuration changes.

In addition to connecting multiple sites together a VPN can also be used to dynamically connect remote users to the corporate network, I say dynamically because the VPN connection (tunnel) would only be established when a user wants to connect to the office, and could be established anywhere where there is an Internet connection. This means that employees can work effortlessly from home (or anywhere else) and still have access to the same company resources as if they were physically connected in the office.

So now that you are familiar with the basic concepts of a VPN, why should you want one? One word, productivity, being able to work remotely is fast becoming the standard for any corporation simply because it is a guaranteed way to increase employee productivity. Being able to work from home is not only less stressful than being in the office, but it also allows for employees to finish up work without having to stay late at the office, because really, who likes to stay late at the office?

With all the hype around 64bit hardware and how it is going to change the world and make you 100% more efficient in everything you do, I get asked this question a lot: Why would I even consider a 32bit operating system? And rightly so, if you have hardware capable of supporting a 64bit operating system, why would you want to be running an archaic 32bit platform?

Here is the simple answer:

In a day-to-day business environment you do not need, nor do you want to deal with the hassle of a 64bit operating system.
Now before you start thinking how I must be out of my mind and that everyone should be running on 64bits of computing pleasure, allow me to elaborate. One of the biggest benefits of a 64bit architecture, and probably one of the only benefits most of us will experience, is the ability for the operating system to utilize more memory (RAM). For example, the most memory that Windows can efficiently use running on 32bit hardware is about 4 GB, meaning that even if a system has more memory the operating system simply won’t be able to use it. On the other hand 64bit based hardware has the effective capacity to utilize over 17 billion gigabytes of RAM (which is far more than anyone would ever need…for now at least).

This brings me to my first point, before telling yourself that you need a 64bit operating system, first ask yourself how much RAM do you actually have on your system, for the most of us who just do basic word processing and Internet surfing there is a good chance we do not have more than 4 GB of memory, nor would we need any more than 4 GB.

Just in case you are still feeling inclined to require a 64bit operating system (and I will get to those reasons in a bit) let me tell you the trouble I have had getting certain legacy software to function correctly. We all hate having to upgrade to a new operating system and then having some of our applications cease to function. There is usually hope though in fiddling with the various application compatibility features that allow our long loved applications to once again regain life. What if that wasn’t the case? What if no matter what compatibility features were enabled the software just would not work? Albeit Microsoft has done excellent work with their WOW64 (Windows on Windows) technology that allows most 32bit applications to run flawlessly, sometimes an old application just won’t run. The solution to this problem is quite simple; re-install a 32bit operating system, which is most likely what should’ve been installed in the first place.

So now you must be thinking “Why would they even have the option of 64bit?” Well there are reasons when you would want to make the jump, for example if you do heavy CAD (Computer Aided Design) or graphic /video work that would require more than 4 GB of RAM to run effectively then I would recommend installing a 64bit platform. Also we mustn’t forget the backend of things, the server that run’s most of our offices. By today’s standards 4 GB of memory is the bare minimum you would want on a server so a 64bit platform is required to ensure future expandability.

One day we will encounter this bare minimum requirement on our personal workstations and laptops, but for now just stick to 32bit to make everyone’s life a little easier…

Virtualization in the computer world is probably one of the most up and coming technologies currently available. In my opinion it is the future (and in the opinion of *many* others), not just because it allows for easier manageability of servers and more recently, workstations; but because it helps contribute to our ever valiant efforts at saving the environment.

For those of you who are unsure what I’m talking about, think of virtualization like this, the ability to consolidate hardware, the ability to improve reliability, the ability to reduce administrative overhead, and (this is a big and), the ability to lower operating costs.

Now that I have your attention, let me get you listening a little more intuitively, VMware (the leader in virtualization technology), has made available their introductory virtualization hosting software for FREE (yes free!). VMware Server as it’s called is designed to run on any x86 (or x64) based platform and enables us IT guys to play around with virtualization without breaking the bank. While it isn’t designed for production use, it is an excellent way to see how virtualizing (yes that isn’t a real word, but it’s fitting) your servers can help with all of those abilities that I mentioned above.

Imaging consolidating 10 servers down to 1, or being able to host full development environments, complete with workstations, on a single server. VMware makes it possible through their extensive line of virtualization products.

VMware server products are valuable tools for organization of all sizes. It may seem like virtualization is designed strictly for enterprise sized organization with 100’s of servers, maybe when it was first introduced, but not anymore. With server applications becoming more and more resource intensive, no longer is it feasible to host domain services, e-mail service, web services, and database services on the same server. But, if it isn’t feasible to host all of those items on the same server, is it really feasible to purchase a second server, third, or fourth server to host those applications? The answer is…not really. While yes you do want to segregate your production services and servers to avoid one application bringing down your entire infrastructure. By having a dedicated server for each application not only are you wasting resources on purchasing and maintaining the physical machines, but the actual resources of the servers are being wasted.

Try this little test, go to one of your servers and start Performance Monitor (Start à Run à ‘perfmon’) and now let it run all day, now check back to view the average processes usage. I checked my domain controller and the average processes usage was less than 7%! What does that mean? Well, quite simply that 93% of my server’s processes power is being wasted! Now imagine if I implemented a server that enabled Virtualization, with one server using less than 10% of the resources, I could technically have 10 servers in one!

The possibilities of virtualization are endless, take a look at our server virtualization page for more details, or contact us for more advanced information. Check back soon for more articles on virtualization, that is, only if you are interested in saving money

I am always amazed when I talk to clients who have on-site IT services and they have no idea what Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is about, as a matter of fact I have yet to come across a client who even knows what WSS is!

Microsoft began including SharePoint with the R2 release of Windows Server 2003, then still in its infancy at version 2.0, this is the same version that is also currently included with all editions of Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003. Now you would expect that most businesses that are currently running SBS 2003 would be familiar with the “companyweb” portal (a WSS 2.0 portal) that is installed by default (go to http://companyweb within your SBS domain if you don’t believe me), but unfortunately this is not the case. Remember, WSS 2.0 is included with Server 2003 R2, and SBS 2003, so there should be no excuse for it not to be installed!

With the recent release of WSS 3.0 with Service Pack 1 (06-March-2008) a simple 100 MB download can now provide even the smallest of businesses with an enterprise level web portal. Some of the features of Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 are as follows:

• Document Sharing
  • Document libraries enable users to work together on documents
  • Never have multiple versions of the same document again!
• Never have multiple versions of the same document again!
  • Implement a discussion board and link sharing to fuel communication among employees
  • Create surveys to see what works in your organization and to help improve processes
• Wiki Articles
  • Allows information to be shared easily and affectively
  • Group editing model encourages everyone to participate
  • Easily create a companywide knowledge base
• Group Calendars and Tasks
  • Create a group calendar to effectively portray schedules and deadlines
  • Create and delegate tasks in order to keep users on track

What all of this means to you is that by implementing Windows SharePoint Service 3.0 you enable your team to collaborate, communicate, and most importantly be productive; all with software that is downloaded for free!

Visit our contact page to get more information on how you can begin using SharePoint; you probably already have it installed!

I don’t know about you, but for me being connected is one of the most important aspects of working in any business, no matter how big, or how small. Unfortunately this constant state of connectivity comes with a hefty price tag. Not only is there the actual mobile device (which *MUST* be upgraded constantly), but then there is the monthly data service, and finally the software that connects everything together.

Luckily for us BlackBerry users there is some relief from these every increasing costs. In order to connect your BlackBerry with your current e-mail infrastructure BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), or BlackBerry Professional Software needs to be running. While this used to mean yet another software license to purchase, for small business users this is no longer the case.

With the release of BlackBerry Professional Software Express Edition small business users are able to run the popular BES software…for FREE. That’s right, no hidden charges, no gimmicks, just a free download. This allows a small business to see the benefits of using a managed BlackBerry environment, without the high initial cost. This is actually how I was able to get my BlackBerry connected without worry of any unwanted costs, once I realized the software was a necessity in my business, I then took the necessary steps to get everyone with a BlackBerry connected.

The functionality of BlackBerry Professional Software Express is identical to that of the standard version of BlackBerry Professional Software (MSRP of $499 USD), below are a list of features offered:

• End-to-end Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or Triple Data Encryption Standard (Triple DES) encryption
• Industry-recognized security certifications
• Local encryption of all data
• IT Policy’s which enable device lockdown
• Wipe handheld data from stolen devices remotely
• Define and apply security policies wirelessly
• Wirelessly synchronize your BlackBerry, no more cables!
  • Sync Calendar, Tasks, Notes, and E-Mails, with Microsoft Exchange

My team would not be able to function now without the instant access to e-mail that we have gotten used to. No more waiting around for BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS, the default service for all BlackBerry’s) to download e-mails (checks for new e-mails approx every 15 minutes). Everything is on-demand and instantaneous, just the way I like it.

If you would like your business to be connected with BlackBerry Professional Software be sure to visit our contact page to get more information!