Computers have changed a lot since the early days, going from machines the size of buildings to devices not much bigger than a stack of paper. The next big step in this evolution is the tablet computer, and leading the charge is the Apple iPad. With a multitude of useful features including the ability to draft and present presentations, businesses have been adopting the iPad in larger numbers.

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.

One of the most useful business tools, no matter what industry you operate in, is the office suite. While there are a wide variety of choices available, the market is dominated by Microsoft Office. In the past year Microsoft has turned its eye from producing office software for the desktop to producing office solutions based around 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.

Everyone has the right to privacy and most are willing to go to great lengths to keep their information private. When it comes to the Internet however, many of us seem to be freer with our private details. Companies have been taking advantage of this and have been using the Internet to research applicants who apply for jobs. A few companies have gone a step too far, much to the indignation of job seekers.

News agencies have been carrying stories about companies that have been asking job applicants for their Facebook logins and passwords before or during an interview. This is a slightly unsettling trend when observed from the job interviewee viewpoint.

It’s become a common practice of employers to look at the social profiles of potential employees to get to know the job seeker on a more personal level. Users have responded by ensuring that their profiles are private, much to the chagrin of would-be snoopers. So what have companies done? Some have started asking potential employees for access to their social media usernames and passwords. This new practice has the masses wondering, “Is this legal and am I protected?”

Currently there are no laws (in the US) that state that it’s illegal for employers to ask employees, potential or otherwise, for their social network usernames and passwords. There are however lawmakers in California, Maryland and Illinois who have introduced legislation that will bar companies from asking for account information. But this is by no means law yet.

Facebook has weighed in on this as well, “This practice [asking for passwords] undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user’s friends. It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability.”

What Facebook means by this is that if a company does check into a potential employee, sees they are part of a protected group e.g., LGBT, and does not hire a person on those grounds the company could face claims of discrimination. Beyond that, Facebook also pointed out that giving out or soliciting passwords to your or another user’s account is a breach of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

According to most articles, this is a fiasco. But if you look at it from an HR point of view, you want to know that the person sitting across from you really is who they say they are. You are protecting your interests as much as the interviewee is protecting their privacy. Short of asking people for their passwords there are five legal actions you can take to find out more about an interviewee.

• Basic Internet search: Your results may return hits for other people with the same name. To get around this, narrow the search by adding an email address, phone number or address.
• Facebook: It’s perfectly fine to use Facebook to search for a job seeker’s profile and do a little social snooping. Don’t forget, there are other social media sites out there, LinkedIn is a particularly good source for discovering a person’s work history. A big boon of Linkedin is that users tend to be free with their work related information on this site.
• Conduct background checks: It’s a good idea to conduct checks, especially if you work with money or other high value items. If you don’t have time to conduct checks, there are companies that will conduct checks for you. It’s important to be aware of the law regarding background checks in your region.
• Ask for, and check references: Companies just don’t do this anymore. It only takes a few minutes to call or email each reference provided. If you call the referrers and ask the right questions, you could learn a lot more about the applicant this way.
• Prepare ahead of time: We are all busy, but it’s important that you look over a resume before the interview. Pay close attention to employment history and take note of gaps in employment or short stints (less than one year) at companies.

You will be able to find just as much information about a person by using legal means to research as compared with asking for their social media accounts. If you would like to learn more about Facebook or other social media sites let us know.

Technology has advanced at a rapid pace over the past 30 years, with many devices moving from physical systems to digital versions, including one of the most useful: the telephone. While the use of landlines is still prevalent among some businesses, many have started to turn to the digital version, Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.

VoIP has become the main backbone of voice communication for a growing majority of companies, offering numerous benefits including potentially large cost savings, and decreased maintenance costs. When it was first introduced, the technology needed to run a VoIP system was expensive, limiting it to MNCs and other large organizations. However, over the past few years, the technology has come down in price and is now available for next to nothing, allowing SMEs to make the switch to VoIP. If your company is thinking of ringing the changes, there are some necessary requirements you should meet before you migrate.

Foundation A solid foundation for VoIP is key, as without a good foundation you’ll find that network speed and call quality are poor during heavy use. Most SMEs aim for a VoIP system that can handle around 10 employees on the phone at any given time. Before you start the integration, you should track your current call volume by keeping a note of the number of calls in and out, while paying close attention to call volume during peak hours and days.

You should also investigate the speed and stability of your current Internet connection. While a fast DSL or cable connection is good for browsing, it may not be robust enough to handle VoIP communications, which need a connection that is both quick and stable. Look at your downstream (traffic into your network) and upstream (traffic out of your network) connection speed during a time when the network is experiencing heavy data use. Anything over 1.5 Mbps in both directions should be enough to handle the majority of VoIP systems. Most Internet service providers offer a connection speed well above that, but it’s important to check it out first.

Framing When you have a solid foundation that will support your needs, the next step is building the frame for VoIP. You should determine exactly what’s required from your new system. Some good questions to ask include: Am I going to need to make international calls? How many VoIP connections am I going to need? Am I going to want to make video calls? What’s my budget?

Once you’ve determined your needs you can move on to picking equipment. If you’re a business that typically sticks to local, and some long distance calls, you shouldn’t require much in the way of equipment. The vast majority of companies use a device called a media gateway that allows normal phones to interface with an Internet connection - essentially turning a regular phone into a VoIP phone. If you’re a business that would like to take advantage of the more advanced features of VoIP, like portability, you’ll need more state-of-the-art equipment.

The final issue you need to address is security. On its own, VoIP is not the most secure of connections, as it’s open to all the same types of security breaches that computers and networks can fall prey to. To combat this, many good VoIP service providers will have security measures in place to protect VoIP calls on their network. On your end, it also helps to keep your Internet security up-to-date and conduct regular system scans.

Once you’ve addressed the internal requirements it’s time to start looking for a VoIP service provider. Take your time, shop around, ask competitors and other businesses what service they use. One question to ask a prospective provider is if they will be able to migrate your current number onto their system? While most can switch over your existing numbers, it can take a while, depending on your location and local legislation. So be sure to check if the provider can migrate your numbers and how long it will take.

From there, you should be ready to switch over to VoIP. If you’re still unsure of the process, there are consultants available who can help with the preparation, selection and integration. Good luck, and if you need more information about VoIP, we are here to help you.

One issue that’s gaining steam, especially with SMEs, is business continuity planning. Many companies are starting to develop plans so that they can continue to operate through both problems large and small. If you’re one such company, and are stuck at the point where you need to choose between software and templates, we have some advice for you.

The decision between templates and software can be a tough one to make, as whichever one you choose, you’ll be using and relying on for a long time. To help you we’ve covered some pros and cons on both choices:

Using Software If you choose to go with a software program, you will be walked through the whole process allowing you to develop a useable plan. Another benefit of using software is that you’ll be able to develop reports if needs be.

The drawbacks of using software include cost, inflexibility and learning time. For the most part, business continuity planning software is not cheap, and at times can be inflexible due to limits within the program. If you have a niche need, the software may not cover it. In addition, as with mastering any program, the learning curve can be quite steep.

In general, using software would be advantageous for companies that have a bigger budget for the development of a continuity plan. Software is also a good bet if you don’t have staff who are experts in continuity planning, or if you operate in an industry where a continuity plan is necessary, e.g., companies working with healthcare insurance, or manufacturing companies that have introduced ISO 9000.

Using Templates If you feel that your company is not ready for software you can use templates to help you develop your plan. These solutions are mostly written plans that you adapt to meet your business needs. They’re useful if you’re just starting to do continuity planning, as they provide a normally solid foundation, and are generally a lot cheaper than software.

A limitation to using templates is that they can be a little too basic at times, and may not meet your needs. Granted, most plans will follow a basic structure and your developer will need to adapt some steps for your relevant region and industry.

As each industry is different, it’s hard to make a recommendation on what type of planning style companies should take. We recommend you take your time, do your due diligence and weigh out what’s best for your business. No matter which method you choose to go ahead with, ensure that it’s easy to implement, and that you’ll be able to teach your staff how to run the plan.

If you feel really lost or are not sure what to do, talking to professional consultants could go a long way in helping you develop a plan. If you’d like to learn more about business continuity planning please contact us - we are happy to help.

Over the past 10 years, Apple has become one of the biggest companies in the world, and as such many businesses have started to use Mac OS X - much to the chagrin of PC users. But it doesn’t have to be so bad: there are some very useful features of Mac OS X that can help improve productivity and make your job easier. These include keyboard shortcuts.

When you first switch to OS X it can take a while to figure out the shortcuts, or to even find out if there is a shortcut for what you need, not to mention the confusing symbols used to indicate key strokes. Here’s a list of the most common shortcuts.

Symbols If you’ve looked online for shortcuts, you have undoubtedly seen a number of potentially confusing symbols before the letter or number - these are actually keys to press. The most commonly used symbols are:

• ⌘ Command. It’s found beside the spacebar on most Mac keyboards. If you’re using a keyboard that isn’t supplied by Apple, the Windows button should also work.
• ∧ Control.
• ⌥ Option. On Windows based keyboards, Alt will do the same thing.
• ⇧ Shift.
• FN Function. It’s found under F13 on most desktop keyboards, or in the bottom left of most laptop keyboards.

Finder Shortcuts The Finder is Mac OS X’s file system. It includes your desktop and all the folders on it. If you’re unsure whether you’re on the Finder or not, look at the top left of your screen beside the Apple icon. It will say Finder if you’re on it.

• ⌘+A Selects all files. To deselect simply left-click on empty space that’s not highlighted. To deselect one item simply hold ⌘ and click on the folder/file you don’t want to be selected.
• ⌘+I Retrieves information on a folder or file including name, size, creation date, etc.
• ⇧+⌘+N Creates a new folder in the window currently open. If you’re on the desktop, a new file will be created there.
• ⇧+⌘+Q Logs out. If you want to log out without waiting press ⌥+⇧+⌘+Q.
• ⌘+Delete If you press this after you’ve selected something, your selection will be moved to the trash. To empty the trash hit ⇧+⌘+Delete.
• ⇧+⌘+A Opens the Applications folder

Shortcuts for Applications and General These shortcuts will work in most applications, and will generally work on all other non-applications, including the Finder.

• ⌘+C Copies your selection.
• ⌘+Z Cuts your selection.
• ⌘+V Pastes what you’ve just copied or cut.
• ⌘+Z Undoes your last action.
• ⌘+H Hides the program you currently have open. The program won’t close, it’ll just be hidden, and can be opened again by clicking on its icon in the dock.
• ⌘+M Minimizes the window currently open.
• ⌘+TAB You will cycle to the other applications you have open. If you hold down ⌘, while pressing TAB, you’ll see the icons for open programs.
• ⇧+⌘+4 Selects a screenshot. When you press these keys, you’ll be able to drag and select a screenshot. You’ll hear a camera lens click when you let go indicating the picture has been taken, and the file will be on your desktop.
• ⇧+⌘+3 Takes a screenshot of the whole screen.
• ⌘+S Saves the document you have open.
• ⌘+F Searches within the window currently open.
• ⌥+⌘+ESCAPE Force quit. This is the same thing as Control + Alt + Delete on Windows.

These are the most useful keyboard shortcuts, but there are many more out there. If you would like to know more shortcuts, or more about the Mac OS X, please let us know - we’re happy to help.

Maps have been integrated with great success into many businesses as a way to provide directions to customers. But what happens when a customer is looking at a map, and would like to know more about the businesses in the area? Before, they would have to close the map, open a new window and search. Now, there’s a new solution.

CityMaps is a novel new online map. At first look it appears similar to any other online map: streets, check; transport routes, check; geographic features, check. So, what sets it apart? Well, when you zoom in on a neighbourhood you don’t get a fancy street view, or outlines of buildings, you get a map populated with businesses.

What is CityMaps? Think of those city maps that we’ve all used while on vacation, the ones with restaurants, shops and tourist attractions, and that’s the basic idea of CityMaps. When you zoom in on an area, you will see icons and logos of businesses. Click on one and a popup window will open with the business name, contact information, pictures, related tweets, reviews, and more.

Essentially, it’s a tool to help you plan your next adventure in the city. If you’re out with your friends and looking for a place to go for dinner, you can search for nearby restaurants, look at reviews and deals, and finally: make a reservation, all from the app.

How will this help my business? With social integration, a business like yours can post a special offer on one of the many deal websites, and it will show up in CityMaps as an unobtrusive blinking green dollar sign. If someone tweets about your business, the tweet will show up on the map as well.

This program is a great example of good integration across social media and business. If a review is posted online, it’ll show up on the map. This can also be beneficial to your business as you will get near real-time feedback. CityMaps also encourages businesses to develop and maintain an Internet presence, while giving them a practically free way to literally put their name on the map.

Currently, the map is only available for New York, San Francisco and Austin. There’ll be more cities soon, but it’ll be a few years before every city in the US is on the map. So keep your eye on this program if you’re not in the three cities, as you’ll soon be able to take advantage of it.

If you would like to learn more about CityMaps, or other Web trends, please let us know, we are happy to help.

There has been a growing trend of smartphone makers introducing phones that use the Windows Phone OS. While the system’s not the most dominant, there’s potential for growth. There’s also a growing demand for business apps for the Windows Phone, but it can be tough to decide which ones are the best. Don’t worry, we are here to help you.

Business apps come in many different forms, some make it easier to communicate, while others help keep track of your calendar. Here are six business apps that are available now for your Windows Phone.

CamCard CamCard records business cards and creates a virtual Rolodex on your phone. Take a picture of a card, and the information will be put into your address book or stored in the app along with a picture of the card. You can also share contact information and introduce people via their cards. In addition, you can select a card and call or email that person, and look up their business’s location on your device’s map.

Live Calendar Live Calendar is a calendar app that allows you to put a tile on your home screen that syncs with your calendar. If you have appointments saved in your agenda, the app will also show what items you have scheduled.

Lync 2010 For users of Microsoft Office 365, you can now download the Lync app and access Lync from your phone. Almost all of the features of Lync on the computer are available in the mobile app, including Group Chat and Video Messaging.

Adobe Reader You can now read PDFs on your Windows Phone with the official app released by Adobe. Useful if you have lots of PDFs and want to use the program originally meant to reading and developing them.

Microsoft SkyDrive SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service. With the mobile app you can view and manage your stored files, or upload documents and pictures from your phone. If you have work documents stored on SkyDrive, you’ll be able to access them on the go, from your Windows Phone.

Evernote The popular note app that goes beyond notes and lets you record conversations, add pictures, and sync with the cloud to have your notes accessible from anywhere, on most devices including your computer. If you’re a user who likes to take notes, or always comes up with great ideas while away from the computer, this is a great app to keep track of your thoughts.

There are many other useful apps on the Windows Phone marketplace, and as more users adopt Windows Phones the marketplace will grow to offer even more apps. If you would like to learn more about the various Windows Phone apps or other Microsoft products please contact us.

In many businesses, including yours, a good presentation can be the difference between success and failure. The majority of your employees have a degree of competence and comfort while creating presentations. The key questions are: do they reach the target audience, and are they effective? Unfortunately, the majority of the time the answer is no.

It’s important that you, that as a manager, you ensure that your employees are creating PowerPoint presentations that are effective. Here are a few tips you can give to your employees to help them improve their presentations.

Simplify and minimize The best presentations are simple and minimal, often shifting focus from the presentation to the presenter. Minimal presentations follow the 6-6-6 rule. There should be no more than: 6 bullet points per slide, 6 words per bullet and 6 slides full of words in a row. Being visual creatures, you should encourage your employees to create slides with engaging and related visuals. A caveat: be sure that you have the rights to use the images.

A great rule taught in business schools across the country is: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Refrain from using confusing words, jargon, uncommon acronyms and irrelevant information. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Following these rules will help engage the audience and hold their attention for a longer period of time.

Be consistent “Consistency is key” - a saying often used but rarely followed in the creation of PowerPoint presentations. You should ensure that grammar and spelling are all consistent, and errors are minimal, if existent at all. Have another employee or manager review it for errors and inconsistencies.

For the slides, use the same background and font throughout. The easiest way to ensure this is by using a template. A word of warning: don’t use templates that are heavily animated because they can cause significant distractions, and don’t choose backgrounds that are similar in color to your font. The best slides have a light color for a background with a darker font for your text.

Summarize The goal of most presentations is to build interest and inform or update the audience. In fact, the majority of audiences just want a short summary so they can develop their own questions to ask after the presentation, or at a later meeting.

When creating the presentation, be sure to keep the audience in mind. If a presentation is being made to IT managers, chances are it does not need to have advanced financial spreadsheets. If you are presenting on a topic that has lots of graphs, extra information, or appendices, put the most important information in the presentation and the rest in a handout. This will keep the audience’s attention on the presenter, not the slides.

Practice, preview, review Practice makes perfect. In an ideal world there would be hours and hours to practice and tweak a presentation. Normally, that’s not true. Schedule at least a comparable amount of time the day before a presentation for a dry run. Always review the presentation with your team and ask them for feedback. This will help encourage employees to keep improving and developing themselves.

For more tips and tricks on giving presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint and other Microsoft products, please contact us.

Computers are used on a daily basis by the vast majority of those in business. As we tend to spend such a long time behind a monitor, one of things we like is the ability to customize our systems, add our personal stamp when we can. Software developers have been more than happy to oblige users, and have started to offer customization options for even the most utilitarian of programs such as Microsoft Office 365. Are you ready to get personal?

Microsoft Office 365 is first and foremost a suite of familiar office software for businesses to use in their day-to-day operations. But just because this software is instantly recognizable as a Microsoft product, it doesn’t mean that you can’t make some small changes to personalize your computing workspace. Here are a few ways you can do just that:

Set Your Profile Picture You can set a profile picture which will show up on any window or application that has the ability to show your image - e.g., Microsoft Lync. To set your picture:

1. Log into Office 365 and go to the Home page.
2. Click the My Profile header. It’s located in the top right hand side of the screen, underneath your name.
3. Click Change Photo.
4. Choose your photo by selecting Browse. It’s recommended that your picture be under 100kb in size, you’ll get an error message telling you if it is any larger. When you have selected your picture, press Save.

Add a Signature to Your Emails Many business emails include a signature at the bottom, a way to make each email seem a little more personal, or provide more information including contact details and a potential message about an upcoming promotion. To set your signature:

1. Navigate to the Outlook page, click on Options. It’s located in the top right hand side of the screen, underneath your name.
2. Click See all options from the drop-down menu that opens.
3. Select My Account, followed by Settings which is located in the left hand menu.
4. Under the Mail Tab, you will have an option to edit your signature. If you want Outlook to automatically place your signature on every outgoing email, click the radio button below the signature that says Automatically include my signature on messages I send.

If you don’t choose to have Outlook automatically add your signature, you can add the signature in your email by selecting the Messages Tab in each new email, and clicking the little arrow below Signature. A list of created signatures will be shown, select the one you wish to use.

Add Your Picture or Logo to Your SharePoint Site If your company uses SharePoint, you can add a logo or picture to enhance what is a relatively plain environment.

1. First, you need to create an image. You can use almost any picture, just ensure you can legally use it. Get creative, this is your space!
2. When you have the image you want to use, open SharePoint, click Site Actions and select More Options.
3. Select Picture Library, and in the window that opens, select a name for a new library, and press Create.
4. Your new Library should be on the left side of the screen. Click to open it and select Upload.
5. When your picture shows up in the library, select it twice, so it’s in its own window. Copy the web address from the top of the page.
6. Under Site Actions select Site Settings followed by Look and Feel.
7. Beside Logo URL and description paste the URL you just copied. Click Ok and your image will show up on your SharePoint site.

With a few steps you can make Office 365 a little more personal. Just be sure that you can legally use the images you select. If you would like to learn more about Microsoft Office 365 or any other Microsoft products, give us a call.