Computers are complex machines. If you've ever looked inside one you know it's a confusing mess of wires and components. Like all machines, over time they will start to slow down and run slower than before. When this happens it can be troublesome for your productivity, and you may not be able to afford to purchase a new machine. Luckily, there are steps you can take to keep your machine running smoothly.

Below are four things you can do to keep your PC running smoothly.

1. Shutdown properly If you turn your computer off at the end of the day, or it freezes, it may be tempting to flick the off switch on the power bar, or press the power button until it turns off. This isn't ideal for your computer's health because when a computer is unexpectedly shut down, there could be damage to the operating system.

You may notice that when your computer crashes, it takes longer to reboot. This is because Windows is actually searching for, or trying to repair any damage that may have been done. There is a chance that powering down improperly could cause files to become corrupted which may make the system inoperable.

Therefore, you should follow proper shutdown procedures. If you need to shut down quickly, try pressing Control+Alt+Delete and selecting Shut Down from there.

2. Close unnecessary programs running in the background Some programs are written to be always running in the background. If you look in the bottom right of your screen, you should see programs running beside the clock. In truth, most of these likely don't need to be open. You should be able to right click on the icon and close them. This will save computing resources and make your computer run smoother.

A word of warning: It's best not to shut down the antivirus or security software as this will leave your computer open to attack. Also, don't shut down anything from NVIDIA or AMD as this is your video card software. Closing programs like this could cause your computer to crash.

3. Utilize Add/Remove on a regular basis Chances are high that you have installed a fairly high number of programs on your computer, some of which you may not use anymore. Those you don't use just take up valuable hard drive space, and should be removed on a regular basis. You can do this by:

1. Clicking on Start or the Windows Orb.
2. Selecting Settings followed by Control Panel.
3. Opening Add/Remove Programs.

It may take a few minutes to scan your system for programs, but a window will open with all the programs you have installed. Click on those you don't use anymore and remove them. We strongly recommend that you do not go into different files and delete programs, this could damage your system.

4. Use a malware scanner and antivirus program This may sound like a no-brainer, but it is still worth mentioning that having an antivirus program and malware scanner is a good idea. Many viruses and other malware often hijack system resources causing the computer to run slower, or crash. A regular scan can go a long way in minimizing this, which means your computer will likely run better for longer.

If you are looking for ways to keep your older systems running at their optimal levels, please contact us today to see how we can help you.

Email is among the most important tools at a manager’s disposal; it’s often the main form of communication with suppliers, employees, customers, etc. With the smartphone, you can now take your email with you and be in near constant contact. If you have an iPhone and use the Mail app, you may have noticed that email attachments are a bit different from other apps.

Below is a brief overview of how iPhone’s Mail app’s attachments work.

How to open an attachment
If you get an email with an attachment, open the message and scroll down to the bottom of the message. You will see the name of the attachment along with the file type and size. If you tap on it, your phone should open it in a new window. You can then zoom in/out and scroll around.

Some attachments can be downloaded by tapping and holding on the attachment. After about a second, a pop-up menu will show, and you should be able to select to save it. Instead of saving the attachment, you can also choose to open it using other apps.

Why won’t some attachments open?
There may be a time where you get an email with an attachment that can’t be opened. You will still be able to see it in the email, but you won’t be able to tap on it. This is because the Mail app doesn’t support all file and document types.

Don’t worry if you can’t open an attachment as chances are there’s an app in the App store that will open it. The easiest thing to do is look at the file type of the attachment, which is usually indicated by a three letter code at the end of the file name. For example, a Word document will be FILENAME.doc or FILENAME.docx. A quick Internet search for something like, ‘iPhone app that can open .ddd‘ will usually return results with an app that can open your file.

Once you download the app, try pressing and holding on the attachment in Mail and selecting Open in… from the pop-up menu. Look for the app you downloaded and tap on it.

How to add an attachment to emails
You can add an attachment to an email by pressing and holding on the body section of a new email. A pop-up menu should come up, if you scroll left you should see the Select/Paste option. Tapping on this will allow you to select either a photo, video or message which you can attach to the email. Unfortunately, there isn’t much else you can attach, so if you need to attach a document or other file type, you would be better off doing so on your computer.

If you would like to learn more about the iPhone and how it can help you, please contact us today.

You're walking down the street on the way to a restaurant for lunch. Coming towards you is the typical office worker, also out for a bite to eat. As you get closer, you see they are talking on their cell phone about the night they had last night. You can hear every word, with many details you'd rather not know. While the mobile has opened up our world, many have chosen to forsake common etiquette.

Here's six cell phone etiquette tips you should practice to ensure you show respect to your peers, and people around you while on your phone.

1. Watch what you snap - Almost every phone has a camera these days, and we can't help but take pictures of nearly everything. While it is convenient to take pictures with your phone, there are times when it's not a good idea, such as in a meeting, for example. In general, if you are supposed to be paying attention to something, don't take pictures.
2. Indoor voices - It's not uncommon to hear someone practically yelling into their phone on a busy street. This is often because they think that they can't be heard by the person on the other end. The vast majority of modern phones have powerful enough microphones and noise cancelling technology to enable users to talk with an indoor voice, even while out on the busy street. If the person you're talking to can't hear you, try cupping your other hand over your mouth and directing the sound towards the phone.
3. Darn you autocorrect! - Most phones use touchscreen keyboards as their input for text. This can be quite inaccurate, so OS developers created autocorrect, which usually picks the wrong word, leading to some potentially embarrassing situations. When typing on your phone, be sure to always read over what you have written before you hit send.
4. Resist the beep - One of the more annoying things about smartphones is that every time a notification sounds people rush to check it. This can be seen as rude, especially if when you are talking with a customer your phone goes off and you cut off from them to check it. It's a surefire way to lose the sale! When you're in meetings, or talking with customers/employees, ignore your phone until you are free to answer/check. If you are expecting an important call, excuse yourself before turning your attention to your phone..
5. Pick the right notifications - Your phone has numerous notification levels. You can set the phone to vibrate, ring, or for lights to flash, etc. If you are in a meeting, it's best to set your phone on silent, as even vibrate is enough to distract these days. Really, the only time your phone should be on ring is when you have it in your pocket, or are in a loud location and unlikely to hear it.
6. Turn it off every now and then - smartphones bring the ability to be always connected, which can be both good and bad. Sometimes being constantly connected leads to higher stress, and increased work hours at the expense of your personal life. You shouldn't be too afraid of spending a bit of time away from your phone every now and then. Just be sure to let people know that you won't be answering calls or texts.

Polite use of your smartphone will go a long way toward ensuring you are seen as a person that others want to do business with. What are your etiquette rules in regards to phone use? Let us know.

If you would like to learn more about how to leverage smartphones in your business, please contact us today.

One of the greatest things about smartphones are the apps. If you have an iPhone or an Android, or even a BlackBerry and Windows Phone, you likely have well over 30 apps installed. It seems like there is an app for everything these days, especially for Android users. Some of the best, for businesses, extend the functionality of the phone's basic function - making and receiving calls and texts.

If you are looking for an app to better manage your calls and texts, check out Sanity.

Sanity has a number of excellent features Android users, and people who get a lot of calls, will find useful. Some of these include:

• Record a call - If you are constantly using your phone for business, or talking with clients and would like a way to remember what was said, this app allows you to record phone calls. They will be stored as a format that can be read by computers and phones alike. Of course, you will want to let the caller know that the conversation is being recorded.
• Caller or SMS announcement - Sometimes you are in a place where you can't look at your screen to see who is calling before answering. This app has a feature that will speak the name of the caller, so you know who it is on the other end. This feature also works for text messages, and will say the name of the text sender.
• The ability to block calls and SMS - If you keep getting telemarketers calling you, or spam texts, you can create a blocked call and SMS list which the app will not allow through.
• Urgent call list - There are likely one or two people that you always answer the phone for, and if your phone is on silent, you could miss their call. With Sanity you can create an urgent call list that will ignore current phone settings and allow the phone to ring (only for people on the urgent call list).
• Automatic answer and loudspeaker - If you are driving, on a train, or in a situation where you can't otherwise answer your phone, Sanity can be set up to automatically answer your calls. You can also configure it to turn on loudspeaker automatically as well.

The interesting thing about this app is that almost every feature has advanced options that allow you to really tailor your phone's calling and SMS features. There are a nearly endless amount of ways you can use the app, and employees or business owners who use Android devices will definitely benefit from it, if they want more control over their calls and texts.

The best thing is, the app is free, although if you like it, you can chose to donate to the developer. If you're interested in learning more about Sanity, you can download it from the Google Play store here, or you can get in touch with us. We would be happy to discuss how Android devices can make your day easier.

The Microsoft Surface RT released back at the end of October last year, garnered some fairly negative reviews, creating a slight worry that the more powerful version, Windows Surface Pro, would also be a machine to pass over. Now the Windows Surface Pro has been released many business owners are wondering if it will meet their needs.

Here's a brief overview of the main technical specifications of the Windows Surface Pro that small to medium business owners most often ask about.

Physical size The physical size of the Pro is 10.81 x 6.81 inches. By comparison, the iPad is 9.50 x 7.31 inches. The thickness of the machine is just .53 inches, and it weighs 2 lbs. On size alone, this makes the Pro a highly portable device, though it is a bit too big to comfortably hold in one hand.

Processor, memory and battery The Pro has a third generation Intel i5 processor with 4GB of RAM which is more than enough to run nearly every program currently available for Windows. This means that you should be able to access and run all of your work based programs. The battery life on the other hand is around 4 to 5 hours, which falls fall short of other tablets, and even some laptops.

Storage space The Pro comes with two different storage options: 64GB and 128GB. On paper, this sounds like a solid amount of storage space. These numbers don't take into account the size of the OS however - which will take up 41GB. With the OS installed the 64GB version will have 23GB of free storage, while the 128GB version will have 83GB free.

While this is a bit of a let-down, the Pro does have a USB port which means you can attach an external hard-drive for extra space. Beyond that, there is also a MicroSD port which will allow you to extend storage space even further.

Display One of the main reasons users pick tablets is because of the display. The Pro doesn't disappoint, offering a 10.6-Inch HD display with 1920 x 1080 pixels. This means the display is a widescreen, and will likely be better sitting on a desk. From reviews that we've seen, the display quality rivals that of the iPads.

This high resolution also means that all of your windows programs will be sharp, and you will be able to view them just fine.

Software The Pro runs a full version of Windows 8, which means that any software that desktops and laptops can run, it can also run. This is the main feature that sets the Pro apart from other tablets. You don't have to buy mobile versions of your favorite software, just install it on the machine and away you go.

Cost The cost of the Pro starts at USD$899, this is for the 64GB model, without the Touch Pad cover. For businesses to get the most out of this tablet, you'll need to spring for the cover which costs another USD$119, putting the price up to USD$1,018.

This seemingly high price will have many small business owners cringing. The thing is, the Surface Pro is more of a laptop with a touch screen than it is a tablet. Looking at it another way: It's the most powerful tablet on the market, and gives many laptops and desktops a run for their money.

Should you run buy one? To be honest: If you're looking for an ultraportable device to replace an existing one and that can run all of your business software, then yes, you should consider the Surface Pro. But, if you're looking for a tablet to accompany an already inplace system, then it's better to look at something a bit cheaper.

If you are interested in learning more about the Surface Pro, please let us know, we'd be happy to sit down with you.

Microsoft Windows is the most popular OS among business users. This has been an undisputed fact for more than a decade. While the Windows platform is solid, it's not perfect. This is the nature of the beast and to IT professionals, these imperfections are called bugs or glitches. To the layman, they are viewed as a pain. One potential annoyance is your recycle bin disappearing, making it nearly impossible to delete things.

Here's how you can restore your recycle bin if it goes MIA.

Windows 8, 7 and Vista

1. Right-click on any blank space on your desktop.
2. Select Personalize.
3. Choose Change Desktop Icons from the left side of the window. It's usually located just under Tasks.
4. Click the box next to Recycle Bin.
5. Click Apply.

The window that opens up also displays common desktop icons, and clicking the box beside these will put an icon on your desktop. You can also change an icon by selecting it from the box and clicking Change Icon. Pressing Restore Default will return the icons to their default picture.

Windows XP For Windows XP users, the manual process is a lot more intensive. To make it easier, Microsoft developed a Fixit tool, that when clicked on will restore the recycle bin. You can find the tool here. All you have to do is click the button with the mechanic holding a wrench, saying Fix It. An app will download and run, and you should soon see your recycle bin reappear.

While you may feel a little silly, deleting the tool that allows you to delete, mistakes are often easily made. What you need to know is how to fix them. If you would like to learn more Windows tips, please contact us.

Windows 8 has been out for almost two months. Retail sales and reviews both look pretty good. While it will be some time before companies will be using Windows 8 as their main operating system, there will come a time when they do. Early adopters are already upgrading and finding a wealth of new features. One of such feature is Windows 8's specific keyboard shortcuts.

Below are six of the more common Windows 8 specific keyboard shortcuts. Note: WIN is the Windows key (key with the windows logo).

1. WIN: Pressing the windows key once will switch from the desktop to the last opened application. If you are looking at an application e.g., Office, and press the WIN key, you'll be taken to the desktop.
2. WIN + C: Will bring up the Charms bar.
3. WIN + I: Will bring up the Settings Charm. This will work from the desktop in some applications. In other applications this keystroke may not work, or may open something else.
4. WIN + F: Pressing these keys will open the file search window. From there you can enter the name of the file/folder you are looking for. Note, this will only work from the desktop, and not in applications.
5. WIN + E: Open your computer's main drive. This is commonly called My Computer but may be different depending on what your computer's drive has been labeled.
6. WIN + Print Screen: Pressing these keys simultaneously will take and save a screenshot. You will notice the screen dims for a second, this is to confirm the picture has been taken and saved as an image file. By default the screenshot will be placed into the Pictures folder of the Library.

These are just six of the many keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8 that make the OS easier to use. If you would like to learn more about Windows 8 and how it can fit into your company give us a shout, we can help.

Tablets are gaining traction in businesses, many are starting to integrate them in some function. One of the more popular tablets is Apple's iPad. One of the reasons people love it so much is largely because of the sheer amount of apps. Some of these help users increase their productivity, something that many businesses can benefit from.

Here's some useful apps for the iPad that can help boost your productivity.

Document compatibility It's highly likely that your office uses a document production program that isn't made by Apple - Microsoft Office. Using another program to create documents and then spending time formatting on your work computer isn't a great productivity booster, but there are options.

If you do use Microsoft Office the iPad kind of supports Office documents through Apple's iWork. iWork does support Office files, however formatting and other things like fonts normally won't transfer over. This can be counter-productive.

While there will be a version of Microsoft Office heading to the iPad sometime in early 2013 (no set date yet), you're likely better off purchasing an app like Documents to Go which allows users to open, edit and create Office documents.

If you aren't doing serious work on the iPad and just need it for mobile document production, you can skip paying for an app and instead sign up for an outlook.com or Office 365 account. Doing so will give you access to cloud based versions of Word, PowerPoint, OneNote and Excel.

Not a Microsoft fan? There's also Google Drive. It's not 100% compatible with Microsoft Office  though as many functions and formatting won't transfer over properly. However, with solid word, spreadsheet and presentation programs it's a great option for Google users.

Notes Because of the iPad's size, it's a perfect tool to take notes on. There are literally hundreds of different note apps available for the iPad, some are great, others lack functionality. One of the most consistent is Evernote. Evernote is available for nearly every system, so a note made on your iPad can be accessed on your computer, iPhone, Android Device or even BlackBerry.

Evernote really excels when you need to take simple notes. There's also a number of excellent  add-on apps like Penultimate - which allows you to take handwritten notes - which make it a nearly all-in-one solution. The best part is: The basic app is free.

Sharing files When you are mobile with the iPad, you will no doubt need to share files with users. There are many different ways you can do this. The easiest way is to use an app like Dropbox or SugarSync which allows you to upload files and share them when needed. While you can upload most programs or files, you won't be able to edit some of these.

How most of these work is that you put a copy of the app on your hard drive which is essentially a folder. When you put files/folders into this folder, they will be uploaded to the cloud and allow you to access the files/folders from any device you have installed the app on.

There are many other apps available that can help boost your productivity. Have you found some that you can't live without? Let us know.

The Microsoft Surface is a tablet designed, developed and sold by Microsoft. When it was announced back in June, Microsoft introduced two different tablets, the Surface and the Surface Pro. Both systems run on Windows 8, the Surface on RT and the Pro on Windows 8. Pundits were largely taken off guard and eager to get their hands on it. At the end of October, Microsoft released the Surface.

The release of the Surface Windows RT version - the Pro version is slated to be released in January 2013 - has seen largely mixed reviews, leaving business users much to think about. To help, here's a list of four pros and cons of the Surface (note, these only reflect the released RT version).

Pros The keyboard-case Because of a larger surface area, more glass and generally more to break, users want to keep their tablets safe from daily use. The easiest way to do so is with a case. Microsoft decided that a case wasn't good enough, so they put a keyboard on it. There are two different cases available, one with a soft keyboard and the other with a hard plastic keyboard.

These keyboards are essentially a laptop keyboard, complete with a trackpad and 'mouse buttons' that allow users to right and left-click. From usage reports, they provide good tactile feedback, so you will know you are typing, and generally work well once you get used to them. The cool thing is, both keyboards don't add a lot of dimension to the case and they snap in place with magnets. Kudos to Microsoft for developing such a cool system that enables users to almost replace the laptop.

Essential apps The Surface comes with Microsoft Office 2013 already installed, the first device to do so, meaning all of your Microsoft capabilities are available from the get-go. As this is a Microsoft product, you'll be able to access the cloud versions of Microsoft's programs pretty much from your first sign in.

Windows 8 RT Windows 8 is a drastic change from previous versions of Windows. The best thing about it, is the new User Interface is designed with touchscreen users in mind. When you use it on a tablet, it feels intuitive and unlike any other OS out there.

The display There's a lot of numbers associated with the display of the Surface. With a resolution of 1366x768, and a 10.6 inch display, this tablet is bigger than the iPad, but with a lower resolution. While the resolution is lower, it actually looks quite good and most users probably won't notice much of a difference when comparing it to displays of similar devices.

For the resolution enthusiasts, you'll know that 1366X768 is an aspect ratio of 16:9. This means the display is meant to be viewed in landscape mode. In other words, you will be able to see more, much like watching a movie in Widescreen.

Cons Windows 8 RT Microsoft and other tablet manufacturers have confused users. The main thing you need to know about the Surface is that it uses the RT version of Windows 8. This version was developed for devices using ARM processors and while it looks exactly the same as every other version of Windows 8, there is one major issue: RT doesn't support programs written for Legacy Windows systems (Windows 7 or older). That's right, pretty much every program written since the dawn of the OS won't work on Windows 8 RT devices unless the developer creates a Windows 8 RT version.

This one feature alone is enough to essentially cripple the Surface in terms of business use, especially if you still rely on older software or computers. If you operate completely in the cloud, this is less of an issue (not a problem actually).

The price The Surface doesn't come cheap. The base 32GB model costs USD$499, the same as the base iPad. Want that fancy keyboard cover? Add in another USD$120 for the soft cover (unless you get the 32GB version with it, then it's USD$599 for the tablet and cover). Want the harder, more keyboard-like cover? Add in USD$130. At these prices, many small businesses will find it hard to justify the purchase.

Lack of other apps Outside of the Microsoft related apps, the number of apps available is rather paltry. While this may seem like a major con, remember: This is a new platform, think back to Android, or even iTunes, when it first launched; slim pickings. This will likely change, with many of the 'essential' apps being made available on the Windows Store in the near future, if they aren't already.

The design The general design of the tablet is a thing users will either love or hate. Because of the resolution and aspect ratio, this tablet is meant to be held in landscape mode. Hold it as you would a smartphone and it looks really squished. Just looking at the tablet, you can see it's meant to live on a desktop. There have been complaints that using the Surface and keyboard on your lap is nearly impossible. This could be a problem if you need to do work without a flat surface.

Now, we aren't saying the Surface is a bad product, it could be a great replacement for casual users looking to get rid of their laptop. For businesses however, it's better to wait until the Pro version comes out, as from what can be found on the Internet, it sounds like the Pro could very well be a laptop killer. If you'd like to learn more about the Surface, or how tablets can be used in your business, please give us a call.

Windows 8 is out, and with it comes a prettied up User Interface (UI) that is geared towards tablet and touchscreen device users. One thing that is de rigueur for all operating systems is the ability to customize it to meet your needs and preferences. As Windows 8 is a bit of a departure from previous versions, it may take awhile to figure out all of the customization options.

Ok, so you've bought and installed Windows 8, booted it up for the first time and it just doesn't reflect who you are. No worries, you can change that. Below are five ways you can customize Windows 8.

Customize lock screen Going with a more mobile theme, Windows 8 brings the ability to customize your lock screen, much like you can do with your smartphone. If you want to change the background image:

1. Select the Settings charm from the main Windows 8 screen. You can also hit Windows key + i and select PC Settings.
2. Click on Personalize to show the Personalize options on the right.
3. Select Lock Screen.
4. Select the picture you would like, or click Browse and navigate to the folder with the image you would like to use.

From this screen, you can also set which apps will show notifications on the lock screen. Pressing the + below Lock screen apps will allow you to set which apps display info. You can also set an app to show more detailed information by pressing on the relevant option below the Lock screen apps section.

Change tile size and uninstall or unpin programs Did you know you can change the size of the tiles on the new start screen? To change the size of a tile, simply right click on it and the tile options will be shown. If the app is small, you can select Larger to make it so and vice versa.

When you right-click you will also notice other options. Unpin means the tile won't be shown on the start screen, but it won't be uninstalled. If you want to get rid of the program, you can do so by selecting Uninstall when you right-click. You can also turn off Live updates if that's your thing, or if you have a slower Internet connection.

Rearrange tiles If you want to move a tile, but not uninstall, unpin or change its status, hover your mouse over the tile, hold down the left mouse button and drag the tile to where you would like it to be. If you have lots of tiles, you press Ctrl + mouse wheel to shrink or enlarge the start screen.

Desktop background If you're a fan of the older Windows 7 layout, and would like to customize your background, you can do so by:

1. Clicking on the Desktop tile on the new layout, it's located on the bottom left of the screen. This will change to the more familiar Windows 7 layout.
2. Right-clicking anywhere there is empty space on the desktop.
3. Selecting Personalize.
4. Clicking on Desktop Background and selecting the image you would like to use. If you want to pick your own image, you can click Browse and navigate to the folder the image is in.

Pin to taskbar In desktop mode, the taskbar (located along the bottom of the screen) is where all open programs are shown. If you use a program a lot, you can pin it to the taskbar by opening the program, right-clicking on the icon on the taskbar and selecting Pin this program to the taskbar.

There are a million and one ways you can customize Windows 8, many of the options can be found under Settings - PC Settings. If you're looking at all the different options and feel like Dorothy after landing in Oz, it's best to contact us, we can help explain the different options for you.