OC 3 C OMPUT E R S www.oc3computers.com
"Frankfort's first monthly informative Information Technology magazine" May 2011
A OC3 LLC. publication.
IN S ID E : How to buy computers for your business. National wireless connections, what is it and when can I get it? Is the IPAD open for business?
Active duty military familes get free tech support.
FREE
A little about OC3 : OC3 was formed under a General Partnership in 2005 and now has an entity in not only Kentucky, but Michigan and New Hampshire as well. OC3 llc. holds many Microsoft and Cisco certifications along with their many years of experience. We are located in the prestigious McClure building on West Main street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The magazine is always available in our lobby.
The McClure building on West main St. Frankfort, KY
Our contributors: Robert Greenly is the CEO of OC3 LLC and the lead writer for OC3 Computers magazine, He is also a graduate of the US Army Computer Science School in FT. Gordon, Georgia. After graduating with honors he served in Hawaii and N. Carolina. He was deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom to maintain communication between US forces and their allies.
Front cover created by Justin Greenly. Justin Greenly is an independent graphic artist contracted by OC3 LLC.
If you would like to advertise in the next issue please call our media department at (502) 871-4481 (option 5) or e-mail our media department at media_department@oc3computers.com.
What's inside this issue:
How to buy computers for your business...............................................1 National wireless connections, what is it and when can I get it...............................................................2 Is the IPAD open for business................................................................3 Free tech support for families of active duty personnel twice a month.4
How to Buy computers for your business. With all the diverse technology out there today it is tough to know what you need in a computer. You may think you need the fastest, biggest, most expensive thing on the market today to succeed, but you really don’t. Do some research first before heading down to the computer store. Analyze your realistic work load for the next 3 years. Remember, as long as you keep your computer well organized and have regular maintenance done, it will do everything you ask of it. A computer’s life span is dependant on the expandability and the flexibility of hardware upgrades. The software you load today will not be the software you run in 3-5 years. As your business expands and grows, software upgrades and newer versions will be coming to market faster than the computers themselves. As time goes by new versions require bigger, faster processors and a lot more memory to run. Research the requirements of the software you will use in your company first before you even look at buying a new computer. Measure the size of the processor requirements of it and then multiply them by two. An example would be Microsoft Office 2010; the system Requirements are: Computer and processor: 500 MHz or faster processor Memory: 256 MB RAM; 512 MB recommended for graphics features, Outlook Instant Search, and certain advanced functionality. This won’t be the only piece of software you purchase and you need to keep that in mind, though this will give you a good number to look for when buying a new computer.
What do I look at when buying a new computer? Well, after you have found one that you like, go to an online store such as newegg.com or tigerdirect.com. Search for the make and model of that computer and then look at the specifications of it. Things you want to look at are; Memory, Hard drive size, Processing speed, Wireless card, and maximum memory supported. When looking at processing speed it is measured in Gigahertz or (GHz). 3-4GHz is the standard today for a computer under $1000.00. Memory should be at a minimum of 3-4 Gigabytes or (GB). Then we come to Hard drives, hard drives should be a minimum of 250 Gigabytes or (GB). If you need anything more than these numbers than you are most likely a graphic artist, CAD designer of some type of audio/video editor. In that case I would suggest purchasing a separate external hard drive because the processing power and memory is still good for you. I left out the wireless card on purpose. That is something you really want to take a deep look at. Around 8 years ago wireless cards hit the public with force, and they started to be scaled by speed and distance by having letters posted after them with the letters of the alphabet. They started with A and are now at N. Most cards today will have B, G, or N somewhere on the box or within the specs, some may even have all three. You want to purchase a computer with a wireless card that has the most current measurement and all previous ones. This is important because most wireless cards are built into the Motherboard of the computer and for you to upgrade you will have to spend even more money purchasing a separate card. Not to mention some wireless networks haven’t been replaced in years and are still running on the earliest version or it. Desktops, laptops, and Netbooks have all come way down in price since the beginning and most are very affordable now. The question is what will you NEED to do your company’s work realistically? If you do your research you will get the most bang for your buck!
OC3COMPUTERS A Frankfort computer magazine Issue #3, Page 1
National wireless connections, what is it and when can I get it? President Obama has declared that by the year 2020 every American will have access to the internet via WI-FI. At the 5 year mark there will be a major push to the states. How are they doing this you ask? The US Government will be selling bandwidth to the major network carriers such as Verizon and AT&T. When it comes down to it will you trust your company to use a connection to the internet that doesn’t use a cable running to the telephone poll outside your office? What about speed, security, cost? Will it be comparable to your hard line connection to the Internet? With your current internal WI-FI setup you can see your network and everyone else’s right? With a national wireless connection to your internet service provider you would not see any connection name when you search for a network outside on the street. This reduces the threat of somebody sitting outside and stealing your bandwidth and or possibly connecting you’re your network through that entry point. You still have to secure your own internal network though. That is your responsibility; it won’t be the internet service provider’s. The switch over to WI-FI connections really won’t be that difficult. The ISP would replace your current MODEM with a newer one. The powers that be haven’t stated how fast this connection will be, but we know scientifically it can only go so fast before the signal cooks the neighbor’s dog. In the end It will have to be fast, very fast if they want to make any money off it.
OC3COMPUTERS A Frankfort computer magazine Issue #3, Page 2
Is the IPAD open for business? Thinking of using your Apple IPAD for your daily business tasks? I wouldn’t do it yet. Yes, it has a million downloadable applications but you’re going to pay for it in eye exams if you try and type on a regular basis. IPAD has yet to release a way to mirror its screen to an external monitor. Apple’s IPAD can push video or pictures and sometimes different “apps” to a VGA capable monitor but it can not duplicate the IPAD desktop. The IPAD wasn’t designed for that. It is of this author’s opinion Apple’s IPAD was designed for people who only check e-mail and do not have to write reports, create spreadsheets (with or without formulas), or anything of business nature. You can however surf the internet, check sports scores, read the current news, check your e-mail, watch movies or TV and of course knock down buildings with birds. It is a fun accessory to your arsenal of tools that keep your business running but I wouldn’t get rid of the laptop just yet. If Apple has the reputation of being the “fun babysitter”, then Microsoft would have to be considered the “Parents who go to work and bring in the money to pay for that babysitter”.
OC3COMPUTERS A Frankfort computer magazine Issue #3, Page 3
Active duty families get free tech support. Imagine your loved one has just deployed to some area around the world or to another state. With this age of communication you’re not worried. You can communicate over the internet via E-mail, Instant messaging, Skype, Yahoo, or some other communication program that is hosted on the internet right? But wait, computers don't fix themselves and do breakdown aside from what that stores and manufactures may say or promise. They will have problems at some point and stop working or will slow down affecting your precious time with your deployed loved one. This is big problem for families of deployed military. A broken computer is not an option to them. Time is precious and tech support is just so expensive that they are almost afraid to do anything for fear it might get a virus or crash on them. That fear is over now; they can start using the computer again. A new computer company based out of Frankfort Kentucky now offers free tech support to all deployed active duty families. Who is this computer repair company you ask, it's OC3 of course. They understand communication is vital when it comes to your loved ones when they are deployed around the world. OC3 offers to troubleshoot, and get your computer back on track FREE! If they do need a replacement part or some new type of software, they will hunt it down for the lowest price with speed and accuracy and let you know where and how much it will cost. Once the family member has purchased the hardware or software from the store or via the web OC3 will either comeback or connect remotely to install it for free. Yes, there is a catch, for hardware installation families can't live more than 30 minutes from Frankfort, KY and they only offer this service the first and third Saturday each month by appointment only. To help out families that live further away OC3 offers to use their remote tools to help install the software you want, or troubleshoot problems over the internet.
You will need a broadband internet connection for this service though. With support from the community they do plan to expand to other towns so that they can physically come to the home. Their goal is to help out every deployed service member's family for free.
OC3COMPUTERS A Frankfort computer magazine Issue #3, Page 4
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