Achieving the Paperless Office - Available Technology Inc.

Achieving the Paperless Office

Why go paperless?
• Reduce Clutter
• Save on Storage Costs
• Find Documents Quickly
• Backups!
• Access documents from anywhere

Secret Weapon? OCR! (Optical Character Recognition) Does exactly what the name suggests. Scans documents and indexes every word so documents can be located quickly and easily

Get Started!
1. Reduce Incoming Paper
a. Unsubscribe from mailing lists and trade publications. Get online versions of magazines and newspapers
b. If you don’t read it, cancel it!
c. Check the little box that allows vendors to send you “electronic statements”

2. Reduce Outgoing Paper
a. Don’t print it if you don’t absolutely have to
b. Utilize email, “Drop Box” (www.dropbox.com), and internet faxing (www.metrofax.com)

3. Reorganize the paper you already have



Tools You will Need . . .
• Unwavering Patience and Stony Determination

• A Scanner – Fujitsu Scansnap or Xerox Documaster (http://scanners.fcpa.fujitsu.com/scansnap11/index.html)
(http://www.xeroxscanners.com/en/us/)

• OCR Software – Adobe Acrobat or ReadIris Pro
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro.html
http://www.irislink.com/Readiris


The Result:
1. Spend less time organizing and less $$ on paper

2. Save some trees

3. Have your files always with you

4. Instantly Search all your Documents

5. Less Clutter = More 

64 bit computing vs. 32 bit

Most computers these days come with a 64 bit operating system installed. But sometimes, 64 bit isn't the best option. Many times we are asked about the between these 2 platforms.

64 bit computing has been around for a long time. AMD was the first to introduce a 64 bit processor, but it wasn't widely accepted until Intel implemented the technology in some of its newer processors.

In order for 64 bit to be an advantage for the user,you need an operating system that supported the technology and applications that are written to use the new code. Before Windows® Vista and OS X 10.6, that was hard to come by. You've probably seen that Windows® 7 comes in 32 and 64-bit version and wondered what the difference is. Even now, I'm still surprised at how long it's taken to convert everyone over.

Without getting too technical or doing any math, I'll explain the difference and why you should go with it.


The Difference:
In computing architecture, 32-bit and 64-bit refer to the size of data in terms of integers and memory addresses. CPUs and memory simply support 64-bit long values. It's easy to think about it in terms of literal addresses, too. Say you have a phone book, we'll call it a the 32-bit phone book, and the integers are the contact information for people. The 32-bit phone book can list a total of 4 gigabytes (GB) of memory, or over 4 billion integers. So this "32-bit phone book" can hold the names and contact information of all the people on the planet living today. Contrast that with the range of 64-bit addressing, which is over 18 quintillion integers and more memory that you get get right now, and you can say that the "64-bit phone book" would be able to store the names and contact information for all the people that ever were or will be on the planet.

For your computer, this gives you support for more system memory, and that means better multitasking and generally improved performance across the board.


How to get it:
It's quite easy to get a 64-bit system these days. Most every modern computer, application, and operating system is designed around the 64-bit architecture. Due to both availability and price, your average desktop computer system supports between 8 GB and 16 GB memory maximum, with high-performance motherboards, systems, and servers supporting much higher total, but still nowhere near the theoretical limit of the 64-bit range. That's just fine because buying anything near a petabyte (PB) of memory in this day and age would be a poor decision.

There's still plenty of headroom in the 64-bit architecture to last for many years to come, even considering how fast technology advances.


Just go with it:
The obvious benefit to having more memory in your system is that it lets you hold more data in a place that the CPU can access quickly. Your RAM is a much faster resource than the virtual memory that your hard drive uses, in part because of the way the data is stored, on chips, and because of the speed of the interfaces. You may notice when your system is low on available RAM, it begins to chug and hang; that's your hard drive trying to keep up with the speedy demands of the CPU.

I was quite familiar with the warning message in Windows XP, telling me I was out of free memory. While it's generally seen as the sweet spot amount of RAM to have, having more than 4 GB of memory in a 64-bit operating system can make it easier to manage large multimedia files like high definition videos and is essential for high-resolution 3D gaming. Audio and video recording also become more stable because the RAM provides an ample buffer while the hard drive busily spins away recording your data.

Plus, you can do fun things like open every Tech Tip article in your web browser at the same time!

If you have any questions or comments don't hesitate to drop us a line in our comments section!

What to do with Facebook . . and whether or not you should. Available Technology inc.

What to do with Facebook . . and whether or not you should.

Ahhh . . . my soapbox. Beautifully constructed, worn smooth with careful but enthusiastic use, and smelling of Lemon Pledge and determination. When the topic is of curious interest to me, and I feel like I have something to say, I am very comfortable up on it. Not that anyone is listening, mind you, but we all want to speak out once in a while and throw our two cents in, throw our hat in the ring, and give others a piece of our mind.

I realize that seems to be a lot of cliche's, but isn't that usually what you hear when there's a soapbox around?

I believe that the whole social media phenomenon began to take off when people started working from home rather than commuting into the office. The thought of the freedom of working from home was intoxicating, and with the internet there to keep us as connected to the office as we wanted to be, why not give it a shot? Casual Fridays became "work at home" Fridays. Some people gave up their bus tickets and subway tokens altogether.

What happened is this: after the first week or so, the elation of sitting at the computer in your PJ's and working with General Hospital playing over your shoulder - that feeling of freedom - began to fade, and something else crept in to fill the void. Social beings that we are, being free from the office, the boss, that weird guy in the corner cubicle (you know who you are) began to feel . . . well . . .lonely. After all, no one really envied our status as "remote worker" and all we really achieved was to make ourselves out of sight . . . and out of mind.

Leave it to Americans to find a way to use technology to "reconnect" us to each other without actually needing to speak to or see one another. So, lo and behold, the intellectual powers breathed MySpace into being. Then Facebook, then Twitter, and a hundred others.

Social Media gives us the illusion of being attached to other humans. Don't get me wrong. I like "FarmTown" as much as the next automaton droid does. But if we aren't careful, we can allow the Social Media phenomenon to narrow all of our human interactions into shallow, meaningless exchanges consisting of 140 characters or less.

Kimberly Turner wrote an awesome blog on this subject. 7 Ways Social Media is Ruining your Life. Read it HERE.

Don't think I'm right? have I gone too far? Next time you're out, see how many people sitting across the table from each other are both looking at their phones instead of their friends.

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Ok, now that I have bashed Social Media, let's learn how to use it!
Facebook is the largest online social networking site and currently has over 69 million users. I talk big, but I actually love Facebook. It is lots of fun, and can be a great source of promotion for yourself, your event or your business. And it is highly addictive!


Get an Account
First, go to Facebook.com and sign up. It's free and just requires one minute to setup.

The first thing that you'd want to do after setting up your Facebook profile is to set the privacy settings (under "settings" in the upper right hand corner). This will control who can "see you" and the things you post. You may want to broadcast your activities to the whole world or you may want to let "only friends" see them. Many of the fields are highly customizable, so you can actually drill down specific people who "cannot" see you.

Update Your Status
This is what Facebook is all about! At the top of your Facebook page, write what you are doing right now. You may want to type "I'm setting up my new Facebook page" or something obvious like that. You may also want to type a quote or a poem or something that you want to share. People might "get it" and they might not. Maybe only your closest friends will understand the inside joke. That's what makes it fun!

Find Some Friends

Prepare to meet some folks you haven't seen in a while, or meet some new people - whatever strikes your fancy. With almost 70 million users, chances are your high school friends, church friends, college buddies, guys from the gym, your kids' gymnastics teacher and your garbage man are on facebook. Head up to the Search box at the top right of your page or click on the "Friends" tab and start searching. Search by name, town, college, common interest, or just browse people in your city.

You will be amazed by who you find, and once you add a few friends, you'll be shocked by who finds you! People I would probably never have seen again since high school are now on my friend list. Once you have a healthy friend list, you will be able to see all of their status updates and "their wall" on your news feed. When you logon to your page, the newsfeed appears on the main page, so you can keep up with every friend in your list. Friends can also see all of your status updates and items you post as well. That's how facebook helps you stay in touch!

I should also mention that not only can you add friends, but you can also remove them if you need to. In fact, you can selectively block certain posts from certain users so they do not appear on your Status Updates list or on your wall. This is handy for those who reconnect with an old girlfriend or boyfriend and discover that they aren't really "over you" yet. The internet breeds stalkers. it's nice to know you can turn them off.

Write on Some Walls
Once you have friends on your list, you can send messages back and forth by writing on your friend's "wall." The wall is just a place where anyone who is a friend can write a message, or comment on something you have written. Once a comment is made, any of your friends can comment on your post. Once a friend comments, all of their friends will be able to see their post, and so on and so on.


Become a Fan
One of the terrific aspects of Facebook is the ability to become a "fan" of various things (such as the iPhone, In-and-Out Burgers, your favorite celebrities or even your hometown). Simply perform a search for your interest (upper right hand corner) and if they have set up a Facebook page you can become a fan, or you can also click on the "groups" tab in the results page for common interest groups that you'd may want to join. I just joined the Skateboarding group and a group for ex-skateboarding professionals. This activity is called "friending" or "fanning." If you like, you can create your own group, like the "I love Krispy Kreme" group so others can join in and share in your love of doughnuts.

If you own a business, set up a Facebook page for your business so people on Facebook can become fans of yours. Go to the Pages center to set one up for your business. Click HERE to go there now. just like Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search marketing, you can create ads that promote your business (for a fee) to Facebook members all over the country.

Play a Game

We all like to play games, and Facebook 'gaming' is certainly not lacking in any respect. To "find" the games simply put in a search for what game you are looking for and then click on the applications tab. Here you have a vast selection from classic casino such as blackjack, poker, etc., to role playing games such as Mafia Wars, simulators, and loads of other games (such as Bejeweled Blitz, Guess the Sketch, Lexulous, etc.)

Most people I know rack up a lot of time playing one or many of Facebook's free and very addictive games. Try FarmTown, Mafia Wars and Yoville.Other Stuff to Do on Facebook

One of the most popular features of facebook are quizzes, passing on notes and using the photo album tool built into Facebook. The quizzes range from the silly to the interesting and you can even create your own quizzes as well.

Notes are interesting in that no one seems to start them, but they seem to get passed on ad infinitum. Basically a note is just that, a note that you can "tag" to other friends to read. Many times the notes are personal questionnaires that people can erase your answers, and input theirs to keep passing the note along. A warning with notes however is that you may get more information on your "friends" then you ever wanted to know.

The photo area is a terrific area to visit just simply for the fact that you can easily and quickly share photos with family and friends online. Lots of pages do this, but with Facebook your friends see them instantly.

Facebook recently began allowing users to have a personalized URL (web address) for their Facebook accounts. Simply go to http://www.facebook.com/username to get this done. then give out your web address to all of your friends to get connected with them more easily.

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If you are not plugged in to one of the many Social Media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Blogspot, Flicker, Digg, Scribd or Twitter, you probably should be. It's not for everyone, especially if you already have antisocial tendencies. I actually know someone who never leaves their house. Maybe once or twice a week to go to Wal-Mart.

Don't fall into that trap. It's easy to communicate through chat and status updates because it doesn't require us to move out of our comfort zone, or to care about what we look like to our fellow humans.

But remember, just because you can order groceries over the internet doesn't mean that you should. Stay connected. Please? I would love to know what you decide, but if you choose to drop by and tell me in person, be sure to text first.

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