Rebol Tech

From Scratch to Success: Finding a Hosting Environment that Complements your Creativity

Posted by dawn / June 17, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

You’re a creative professional, not a hard-core programmer. So, why are you spending your time on website maintenance and struggling to understand the technical, back-end, nitty gritty of your business site? Well, you shouldn’t have to. With the cloud, you can offload as much of the infrastructure and the software development responsibilities as you want, and free yourself to focus on what you’re really good at – art, design, and creation. And, you can do all of this at an affordable price.

Whether your site represents your small business or you’re part of a much larger enterprise or design firm, providers bridge the gap between consumer-friendly ease-of-use and high-end, bulletproof, enterprise-grade functionality. With Rackspace’s Cloud Sites, you can focus on your creativity and expanding your business while the Cloud hosts your website.

And the cloud offers huge benefits for graphic and web designers, said Rob Toledo of Vandelay Design in a recent blog post. In addition to file storage and file sharing, the cloud has made it much easier for designers to access files from anywhere on almost any device.

“This technology has made collaboration easier than ever, with the ability to instantly share and discuss ideas, mockups, and finalized designs quickly and easily with very little time spent arranging the logistics,” he said in his post.

This means you can work remotely from your client’s offices, from a coffee shop or a park – almost anywhere there’s an Internet connection. Rather than coordinating file deliveries back and forth via e-mail or FTP servers, not to mention removing the need for on-site, face-to-face meetings to discuss your work, you can put design iterations, ideas, mockups, and other graphics files into a shared cloud storage folder. With just a few clicks, your client, your boss, or your colleagues can easily access, edit, and critique the files at their convenience.

Toledo also notes that the cloud can provide greater security and reliability when working on files as well as transferring them to and from various devices or media. If you’ve ever lost a design, file, or concept because of hardware failure, or watched hours of work simply vanish because of a software freeze or operating system crash, then you’ll love working in the cloud. Many providers offer automatic save features and timestamps to prevent these kinds of catastrophes, he said.

What are you waiting for? Even the least tech-savvy design pro can benefit from using the cloud.

By Sharon Florentine

Sharon Florentine is a freelance writer who covers everything from data center technology to holistic veterinary care and occasionally blogs for Rackspace Hosting.

4 Top Security Apps For Your iPad

Posted by Rebol / June 10, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

IPad’s are stylish, user friendly and thanks to the constant iOS updates they are always at the forefront of technology for those that are on the go. The dangers with being on-the-go are that you could easily lose your iPad or get it stolen. A company will need to hold important information such as employee’s personal information or a client that you are constructing a deal with, basically information that is for your eyes only. If the worst happens; and you misplace your iPad or it gets stolen, there are a few apps will help ensure that your data stored on your iPad stays secure:

The Find My iPhone app will let you use another iOS device to find it and protect your client or employee data. Your device will be identified on a map; it will make a noise, display a message on the screen, then remotely lock your device or even erase all the data on it. These methods help prevent identity theft by erasing personal data. By enabling the Find My iPhone option in iCloud settings you may not be able to stop thieves stealing your iPad but you can protect your data from them.

If you run an office where you have people coming constantly in and out you may look into downloading an anti-theft application onto your iPad. Don’t wait to protect your iPad, Best Phone Security app ensures maximum security with a password lock and a loud security alarm to notify if it has been tampered with. This app will prove effective if in the instance of theft or burglary which can occur in offices at any time. Despite having anti-theft applications on your iPad like Best Phone Security, it is always essential to make sure that your iPad is kept in a safe place that is preferably a drawer that has a lock on it or place a physical lock for your iPad and attach it to your desk.

There are ways in which you can protect your iPad from within. Always make sure you have passwords on anything that contains personal content. SecureSafe is the leading and highly secure online storage place which keeps all your passwords and files safe. This is an ideal place to organise your passwords and PINs using the clear, easy to use interface. Using strong passwords is not always enough when you can’t remember what it is, luckily Apple has provided a great app with SecureSafe; it is easy to use, reliable and best of all free to download.

Unfortunately CCTV is necessary in this day and age. For offices that already have CCTV installed, employers are able to download Viewtron (Mobile DVR Viewer for CCTV Surveillance) onto their iPad’s and from their own desk they are able to view their security cameras live from over the internet. Security cameras are not just used as an investigation tool but they also act as a deterrent for any potential criminals as it is obvious that they are being watched. By installing Viewtron onto your iPad, you would be able to catch bad behaviour in the act or review a crime so you have the full story.

By installing these apps onto your iPad you will make it instantly more secure, and by having CCTV in your office it will make you, your employees and your customers feel safe and therefore create a nicer business environment. Feeling safe at work is important; as well as protecting your digital documents and important files, you must ensure that your premises are safe and secure.

Click the link to find out more about security services for your office premises: http://www.idealcleaning.co.uk/security.php

5 Pieces Of Technology Every Business Needs

Posted by Rebol / June 07, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

When starting a new business you will need some essential office equipment. Start up costs can be expensive so ideally you want to be able to maximize on efficiency and productivity.

Multi talented and multifunctional

The multifunction printer will forever be your office best friend; it prints, it scans and it faxes. Would you ever need anything more? As well as being multi talented, the multifunction printer can lower costs, increase your productivity and they are helpful to the environment. The multifunction printer doesn’t have to be expensive; there are a wide range of models available to suit whatever your budget is. Here is some further reading on multifunctional printers: http://www.dnslimited.co.uk/products/multifunction-printers.

Don’t need it? Shred it

If you are not careful important documents can make their way into the wrong hands. More businesses are using paper shredders as security devices, for example: to shred an old employee’s personal information would help prevent against identity theft. Depending on your need for a shredder; whether it is for personal use, a small or large office or even for commercial uses will determine what type of shredder you will want to select. Shredders are time effective by being able to shred more than one sheet at a time. The paper shredder will cut the paper into such small pieces that it would be near impossible to piece it back together.

Make it last forever

Important documents can be preserved by using Laminating Machines. You would no longer need to worry about spilling your morning coffee over important documents because your paper would be safely sealed by two thin layers of plastic that are melted together to create a permanent seal. Most employees have ID Badges and Business Cards; these are perfect to be laminated to make them long lasting. Lamination creates a finish which adds an extra something to your prints and making them more aesthetically pleasing will give you that extra edge over your competition.

Label it

Making labels is fun. It may seem like the piece of equipment which seems slightly unnecessary, but regardless it is extremely helpful. Believe it or not label makers have more uses than labelling ones stationary so nobody steals it. An organised office is essential for day to day operations within the business to run smoothly. Labelling folders, ring binders, name tags, numbers on phone extensions – all of these are little things that really do make a difference if you are looking for something and you need it instantly. Once you invest in a label maker, it’s guaranteed that you wouldn’t be without it.

Call me

The primary means of communication you will have with your customers is probably over the phone. Depending on the size of your company will determine the type of telephone system that you will have installed. For a small company a basic one or two line service will fill your needs. For bigger companies it is probably an idea to splash out and invest in a business class telephone system that will give you the additional phone lines that you need. So you don’t miss important phone calls it is important to have an answering machine or voicemail service. Business occurs 24 hours a day regardless of whether the office is open or not, if you need to be contacted out of hours you could consider contracting an answering service, giving your customers opportunity to talk to a real person, not a machine.

So there it is, 5 pieces of technology that every business needs. If you are a small start up company and you invest in this technology you will save start up time and be instantly efficient. If you are a larger company and you are not technologically up to date you will see a vast improvement in productivity instantly.

The real cost of email

Posted by dawn / June 06, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

It’s tempting to view business email it as a cheap, free or easy way to stay connected with co-workers and clients throughout the day. Unfortunately, this is about as expansive as many people get about email in the workplace. It’s free and it doesn’t really cost the company anything, right? Well, not exactly. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article by Atlantic Media CTO Tom Cochran, email pollution is bogging down the workflow of many organizations and causing more budgetary strain than you can see on the surface. Email isn’t free at all.

The problem of email pollution

On the surface it doesn’t feel like much of a problem. It actually just seems like a tool of the trade, an unavoidable part of belonging to a larger organization. While there is some truth to this — yes, you do actually have to send and receive emails — it’s only part of the story. In Tom Cochrane’s article, he unpacks some of the clutter we all face and how it’s adversely affecting organizations on both the micro and macro levels. Cochrane surveyed a group of C-level executives about their email habits. Based on reading, typing and organizational habits, he determined that email clutter was costing companies upwards of millions of dollars because of inefficiencies.

Solving the email clutter problem with technology

If you’ve found yourself in the position of having to expend a significant amount of time and resources to manage your email presence, it’s time to look at how you manage email. Here are three ways to help simplify your email platform and make your in-house communication more efficient.

Simplify email hosting. Plain and simple, you may just be spending far too much on email hosting that you don’t need. It would be hard to tell you exactly how to solve this problem without talking through your exact email hosting situation. However, you may want to look through your email usage data to see where you are. Look at the bandwidth, storage and overall computing power you’re using with your host and see if you can’t scale back or move to cloud email hosting.
Use collaboration tools. In many cases, employees and work colleagues are using email for collaboration, which is among the most inefficient ways to collaborate in real time. It leaves you with no way to track version histories, and it often bogs down company servers, especially if you’re collaborating on large projects. Consider something like Google Drive, which allows for seamless, real-time collaboration.
Utilize instant messaging and social networks. One big way to eliminate email clutter is by not using it so much. One way to do this is through social networking and instant messaging. It allows you to relay quick and easy messages to your colleagues without bogging down an email server with unnecessary email communication.

Simple email leads to streamlined workflow

Arguably, email is the best business communication platform ever invented, but if we’re honest, it has gotten out of hand in the workplace. Email communication is supposed to make work easier, not take up several hours of your day. Simplifying your email system will go a long way to boost efficiency in your company across the board.

Money Saving Technology For Around The Home

Posted by Rebol / May 28, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

When people think for saving money, often it can spring to mind visions of going without and aking cutbacks to the things you love. This doesn’t have to be the case at all, and with proper execution of money-saving tech around your home, you will rake in the pounds without having to notice any real change to your lifestyle.

5 Games To Look Out For In 2013

Posted by Rebol / May 03, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

As technology addicts, we love a bit of gaming and there’s some great games due for release this year so we’ve put together our take on what games are worth buying this year.

This isn’t an exhaustive list but will provide you with some great titles to get your hands on.

Why Openstack for businesses?

Posted by Rebol / May 01, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

Despite the love/hate relationship the IT crowd has with OpenStack, it’s undeniable that the enterprise world sees something valuable in the open cloud. Forbes talked about PayPal’s recent shift from traditional VMware-powered servers to open source server management on the OpenStack platform. Not only that but eCommerce giant, eBay is rumored to be considering moving thousands of their own servers to the OpenStack platform.

The 5 Top Facebook Home Alternatives for Android

Posted by Rebol / April 17, 2013 / Posted in Technology / Comments Off

The release of the new Facebook Home mobile app has been hailed by many as a massive improvement of the social networking experience on Android. However, just as many users aren’t sold on its benefits. If you’re not impressed with Facebook Home and would prefer another solution, here are 5 excellent tools to access Facebook from your Android.

The visual rise of social media

Posted by Rebol / April 17, 2013 / Posted in Marketing / Comments Off

In today’s social media marketing landscape, content is surely king, but there’s a new hierarchy edging into place where visual content undoubtedly ranks above written content. As the old adage states, a picture is worth a thousand words, or, in social media, a thousand new followers!

Social media research has made it clear: savvy marketers do best when they combine well designed images with engaging written text.

What is Google Adwords?

Posted by Rebol / April 15, 2013 / Posted in Marketing / No Comments

Online advertisements has grown leaps and bounce and there has are many companies which are providing online advertisement solutions in the form of ads. One of the mostly used advertisement solution for online marketing is Google Adwords. Google adwords is an advertisement solution which shows your ads to the target customers with the use of Google network and its partner website.