Small Business I.T. Insider

There has been a lot of talk over the last few weeks about some big changes that are happening to the Internet: mainly, the transition to IPv6. Exactly what IPv6 means is still a mystery to most people. Luckily, we have a simple explanation that can help you to better grasp it.

What it is

IPv6 is the most recent version of Internet Protocol (IP), which is the method by which data is sent from a computer over the Internet. Until now, we have been using IPv4, which will soon be running out of addresses, which prompted the development of IPv6. 

The prior version of IP, IPv4, used 32-bit addresses, which allowed for a total of 4 billion unique addresses. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, making it possible to create many more unique addresses. 

How the transition may affect you

Most likely, some challenges will come about during the transition. Most problems you may run into will likely be related to the browser you’re using and/or the Web server of the site you wish to visit. Some potential problems include:

• If you’re using IPv6 and you attempt to access an IPv4 site, you may receive a “404” error.
• If you are on a network that only supports IPv4, you may not be able to access IPv6 sites – you can reconfigure your network in order to fix this.

Despite these potential hiccups, many people agree that you are unlikely to experience significant problems during the transition.

How to avoid IPv6-related problems

If you’re suffering from connectivity problems, there are a few sites you can go to that will help you determine whether or not they are related to IPv6. Try going to http://omgipv6day.com/ or http://test-ipv6.com/ which will both tell you what problems you may experience, if any, and what changes you need to make in order to fix them.

Although there is potential for some bumps in the road due to the move to IPv6, chances are, you won’t be affected much. For more information on IPv6, check out this article.

The tablet industry has seen a notable amount of growth after Apple introduced their signature iPad in 2010. Since then, the tablet market has diversified with various iPad alternatives provided by competitors such as Android, Microsoft and also Motorola. However, tablet computers may not be right for everyone. Despite its recent popularity, who’s to say that the iPad won’t go the way of the 8-track? Of course, the choice of whether or not a tablet is right for you is one that should be educated. Before you decide to purchase one of these expensive machines, or even if you are already an owner, consider these pros and cons.

Pros: 

• Tablets are extremely portable devices. Being able to remotely connect with your work is becoming a necessity as businesses becomes more integrated with cloud computing. As a rule of thumb, the more accessible you are, the better. 
• Tablets can be practical tools. Every day, developers release new and innovative business-related apps. If used correctly, a tablet will let you get more done. 
• Tablets express capability. In a business setting, having and using a tablet can communicate to your clients a feeling of professionalism. If you use your tablet to increase your work productivity, you will appear more capable. 

Cons: 

• Tablets aren’t absolutely essential. There are currently few functions a tablet can complete that a desktop or laptop cannot. Before you decide on a tablet, ask yourself if it is a needed business tool or a wanted luxury. 
• Tablets can be very distracting. Because tablets are crossover devices between business and consumer, they have the opportunity to become overpriced toys. Presently, there are far more leisure-related apps than there are work-related apps.  
• Tablets are still a young technology and are therefore costly. If you aren’t yet convinced a tablet is right for you, given their price, wait a few months to watch how the industry grows. Eventually, cheaper alternatives will be introduced as more well-known hardware, like the iPad, drop in price. 

Tablets are powerful tools that strike a balance between practicality and luxury. Considering the pros and cons will help you decide the value a tablet can offer. If you’d like to learn any more information, please take a look at this article.

The payment systems we use are not especially complicated, but what if they could be even more straightforward? NFC (Near Field Communication) technology is hoping to achieve that. NFC mobile chips hope to change our current payment systems by letting us transmit data from one device to another, at close range.

How will we use it?

NFC mobile chips will be incorporated into smartphones to make it easier than ever to pay for your groceries. Most of us have our phones with us at all times anyway, so using them to pay for everything seems like the next plausible step.

NFC mobile chips allow users to store their credit card information in their phones. Then, when they are at a store or retailer that is equipped with mobile payment technology, they can simply scan their phones at the register to pay for their purchases.

Google Wallet

Google Wallet is the first debut into mobile payment technology by a major player in the tech industry. It is available on the Android Nexus S and may soon work on other smartphones, thanks to an NFC-enabled sticker. A great deal of major retailers have already signed on to work with Google Wallet.

There have long been rumors of Apple building their own mobile payment system for the iPhone, and RIM will almost certainly be following suit. Since mobile payments are such a huge advancement, it’s unlikely that other smartphone makers will open their phones up to Google’s technology.

Other potential uses

NFC mobile chips will likely soon be doing much more than just helping you pay for your coffee. Some of those future uses include:

• Replace passports and boarding passes
• Products may contain RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags on them that you can scan in order to gather information.
• Pet tags may soon have RFID tags attached that you can scan if you find a lost puppy.
• Replace keys – no more clunky key chains!

NFC technology is one of the most significant advancements in payments we have seen in a long time.

For more information on NFC mobile chips and how they work, take a look at this article.

Although technology is present in all of our daily lives, a good deal of us are still unfamiliar with the terms associated with it.  Luckily, we’re here to clear up some of the confusion. Read on for an explanation of four common technology-related terms.

Cookies

Cookies are essentially what allow websites to recognize you when you revisit them. By allowing cookies, you are allowing your web browser to give the website details such as your username, password and preferences. They can save you a substantial amount of time by preventing you from reentering your information over and over again.

Although cookies are quite convenient, some view them as a privacy issue. They store your information and track your activity, which can make it easier for others to access your information. Most experts agree, however, that limiting the amount of cookies you use is sufficient for protecting your online identity.

URL

A URL, or uniform resource locator, is the web address for a certain site. It is what you type into the address bar at the top of your web browser which brings you to the website you wish to visit.

Cloud

Cloud is one of the tech terms that is most popular right now. Everybody is talking about the cloud. The cloud is the term for services that are based over the Internet and don’t require additional hardware or software, like Facebook or Google Apps.

Flash

Flash is an Adobe Systems-owned platform that allows for great web interactivity. Installing a Flash plug-in on your browser enables you to view animations, certain displays and videos. Although Flash has been the longtime standard, HTML5 is emerging as a valid competitor.

Although tech terms can get quite complex at times, knowing the basics can help you to better understand the technology we’re using every day.

For more tech terms and their definitions, check out this glossary.

While the majority of us have adopted social media as a standard form of communication, plenty of us still have no idea what certain terms mean. Fortunately, these terms are usually easy to understand once you’re given a push in the right direction. This guide should serve as a first step to understanding social media terms.

1. Tag

Tag is one of those words that can refer to several different things, depending on how it’s used. Often, a tag refers to the use of a keyword in a blog or other post. These keywords help ensure that search engines relate your post to the appropriate topics.

Tag might also be used in reference to tagging someone in, or linking someone to, photos. Facebook photo tagging now utilizes facial recognition software to help you tag friends in photos.

The most recent form of tagging actually refers to mentioning friends in your posts and status updates. Now, if you tag them in your updates, they will be informed of your post and it will show up on their wall for all of their other friends to see.

2. Troll

In this instance, a troll does not refer to a little toy with neon hair and a jewel for a belly button. A troll, in social media terms, is someone who uses social media as a way to upset people. They often make taunting or offensive posts in order to induce anger.

3. Friend

In social media terms, friend is actually an action that refers to adding someone to your social network. So, next time you hear someone discuss “friending” someone, all they’re saying is that they added someone as a friend.

4. Stream

Stream is another one of those double-meaning terms, depending on how it is used. Stream may refer either to someone’s Twitter or Facebook home page that contains updates and posts from everybody in their social network. It can also refer to receiving a constant stream of information, often in the form of a webcast.

5. At mention

An at mention, or @ mention, is when you reference someone on Twitter. It’s similar to Facebook tagging in that it will show up on the person’s Twitter stream if you mention them, and alert them to your post.

Although social media terms can easily become hazy, the purpose of this guide is to help clear them up. If you’d like an even more extensive guide to social media terms take a look at this article.

Employee burnout is something that many of us have seen in others or experienced ourselves. Repetitive tasks and overwhelming workloads can quickly get the best of us. Thankfully, there are plenty of simple ways to both combat and avoid employee burnout before anybody reaches his or her breaking point.

Avoiding burnout

• Have fun – Making room for fun can reduce some stress and help to keep employees inspired when they are on the brink of burnout.
• Switch it up – Let employees focus on new projects or teams when they’ve been concentrating on one thing for a long time, like Facebook is doing with Hackamonth.
• Encourage breaks – It’s wonderful to have employees that don’t want to quit working until they get things done. Sadly, those are the people that are bound to burn out fastest. If you have employees like this, encourage them to take walks or go on a coffee run – anything to keep them from going stir crazy.

When burnout simply can’t be avoided, these ideas can help limit its ripple effects.

How to deal with burnout

• Accept it – Burnout isn’t always preventable so it’s important to pay attention to the signs such as lethargy, decreased socializing or irritability.
• Communicate – Growing businesses often experience transformations that leave employees frustrated. Making sure your employees know that they can talk to you is a terrific way to stop burnout before it gets out of control.

While you may not always be able to prevent employee burnout, these ideas can help ensure that it doesn’t overwhelm anyone or negatively affect your business or employees.

For more burnout-fighting tips, take a look at this article.

Often, when we perform online searches we end up getting hundreds of thousands of results – many of them irrelevant. Fortunately, there are several simple steps you can take to help generate more accurate results.

Keep it simple

Use the fewest number of words or phrases you can. If you’re searching for Chinese takeout in your neighborhood, type in “Chinese food” as well as the name of your city or your zip code. That should garner appropriate results even if you aren’t sure precisely what you’re looking for.

Learn about Boolean

Whether you know it or not, you are most likely familiar with Boolean searches. This simply refers to using terms like “and,” “not” and “or” in your online searches. This is a good thing to do when you are more informed about what you’re searching for and know which terms you would like to include or exclude.

The concept of Boolean searches also applies when you use simple pluses and minuses in your queries. This is a faster way to accomplish the goal of Boolean searches. If you want a certain term included in results type a “ ” before the term in your search. If you want to guarantee something doesn’t show up in your results, simple precede it with a “-“ in your search.

Be precise

Preciseness can quickly eliminate a great deal of the irrelevant and confusing search results. If the search terms you use are too broad, you are often left with thousands of results that have nothing to do with what you’re looking for.

Quotation marks are generally very useful when performing an online search. Most search engines recognize it as meaning “search for this exact phrase.” So, when you know the business or idea you’re searching for, it may be best to search for it in quotes.

All of these tips are unbelievably simple and extremely useful. Taking these into account when you’re searching online can greatly improve your search results.

If you’d like more advice on performing better online searches, check out this article.

No matter where you work or what you do, you know how easy it is to get off task every once in a while. Although there is no way to completely eliminate distractions, there are several small things you can do to increase productivity overall.

Keep a clean office

Clutter often leads to distraction. Keeping your office organized and encouraging your employees to do the same can help people to be more focused. Eliminating those unwanted distractions by cleaning up every once in a while can make a significant difference in employee productivity.

Increase the temperature

A few degrees can make a substantial difference in productivity. In fact, in one study, increasing the temperature from 68 to 77 degrees decreased typos by 44% and improved typing output by 150% – those figures are nothing to sneeze at. Although your heating bill will increase, it might be worth the expense.

Lighten up

Another study showed that a brighter, better-lit office can help employees stay on task. Employees who worked in offices with windows spent 15% more time concentrated on their work than those in windowless offices.

Because this easy fix can make such a big difference it makes sense to open blinds and move as many employees as possible into windowed spaces. Not only does this increase productivity, it can also save you money by lighting up the office without using electricity.

These office adjustments are all quite simple and can make quite a substantial difference when it comes to employee productivity. There is really no reason not to try them out, as they each require minimal effort on your part.

For a few more simple tips on boosting productivity, take a look at this article.

With Mother’s Day approaching, you might be rushing to find a gift for the mom in your life. Luckily for you, we have a few great tech-inspired gift ideas that are sure to please. Read on for some fantastic ideas.

Digital picture frame

What mom doesn’t love looking at pictures and reliving family memories? Now, your mom can relive a new memory whenever she would like. With digital picture frames, your mom can simply load all of her pictures onto the frame and select a new picture anytime, or set the frame to automatically switch the picture at timed intervals.

Tech time

Many of our moms love technology but are entirely clueless when it comes to using it. If that’s the case in your family, a coupon for some tech TLC may be the perfect gift. You can repair or set up gadgets for your mom, or show her how to use them so she becomes more tech-confident.

Digital magazine or Netflix subscription

Does your mom have a TV show or magazine that she can’t get enough of? If so, a digital magazine or Netflix subscription might be perfect. Digital magazines provide her with all of the articles without all of the clutter.

A Netflix subscription gives your mom the chance to catch up on all of her favorite TV shows and watch the movie her friends have been referring to for months. Both of these gifts are bound to be huge hits.

Tablet

A tablet, such as the iPad or Xoom, is ideal for Mom because of its portability and ease of use. Once your mom becomes accustomed to it, she should have no problem enjoying all of the games and apps it has to offer.

If a tablet is a little out of your price range, consider getting your mom a Nook Color. It offers the same portability of a tablet and still offers many games and applications. You can also buy that magazine subscription before you gift it – a little extra gift.

Quality time

Many moms think that they don’t get to see their kids enough. If this is the case in your family, try giving your mom a coupon for video chat sessions with you and your family. This will surely be a standout gift.

We all know our moms will appreciate whatever present we get for them. These gifts, however, will show you care and you put thought into it. Try surprising your mom this year with a great gift that she can actually use.

If you’d like more gift ideas, take a look at this article.

Prezi is a name you might have heard a few times if you’re into presentations. It’s an online presentation tool that’s different than most and, because of this, has a lot of admirers. What, precisely, makes Prezi so amazing?

Flash-based

Since Prezi is flash-based, your presentation doesn’t have to be completely linear, like most presentations. Instead, you can create a visual map containing anything from words to links.

You can easily zoom in and out of the images and words as you travel from point-to-point. This feature eliminates the need for identical slides and backtracking when you need to reference a past slide.

Intuitive

Prezi presentations are created differently than most, which can make it tough to get used to at first. Once you have become comfortable with the program, however, it is like second nature. You can create presentations like you would a thought map, which is ideal for those non-linear thinkers.

If you’re having difficulty adjusting to the Prezi process, you can find several tutorials on the Prezi website.

Although Prezi is web-based, you can download your presentation after it has been created so that you do not need an Internet connection in order to present. Prezi is available in a free version, but can also be purchased for extra storage and improved privacy.

Everyone may not be looking to move away from the linear model of PowerPoint and tools like it. If you are, however, Prezi is a great alternative.