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Newsletter Number Twenty Nine - November 2009

In this Newsletter... Windows 7, Another "Tax", Home Phone or No Home phone and more...

You're getting this Newsletter because you are a client, friend, prospect or just because you enjoy the content and want to be kept in touch, with some of the trends affecting Small Businesses and Information Technology.

Firstly, my apologies for the lack of my newsletter over the last number of months. It's been a combination of managing the business in turbulent times and at the same time making sure my clients are satisfied when they need assistance with the IT systems and services. The good news is that we're here for you when you need us and that this edition of the newsletter will be worth reading

Windows 7 is here! You have heard about the new release of Windows 7 which was made available on Thursday the 22nd October 2009, to much fanfare and very good commentary.

For an overview from PC Mag.com on YouTube click this link.

Personally, I was using the "Release Candidate" of the operating system since July and was very happy with its performance. As I am a Microsoft MAP, I was able to install the Distribution copy on one of my Test Systems and have found it to be really solid and without anything untoward happening. So much so that I installed it on my "Production" computer this past (Halloween) weekend. I was previously running Vista Business 64 bit on the system and attempted to install the new Operating System using the upgrade option. My two attempts were unsuccessfull, so I set about doing a complete "fresh & clean" installation of Windows 7 Professional. The new installation went smoothly and after a few hours all my applications are installed and everything is working well.

To date, I have delivered one desktop system with Windows 7 and the transition went quite smoothly for my client, a legal practice in Richmond Hill. We did encounter a small issue in that after a couple of days of use, the client experienced the dreaded Blue Screen Stop Error (BSOD). Hmmm, I thought, can't be the operating system or software as it worked well for the first few days. The issue pointed to hardware and I suspected that we may have a memory (module) problem. The memory was replaced and all is well again. We did require some support for the reinstallation of a couple of his applications and one of the vendors said they did not support Windows 7! Go figure? Suffice it to say that we did get the applications working notwithstanding their comment! The impression we got was that they just wanted to get us off the phone.

We also upgraded (reinstalled another of my client's systems from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. He had been experiencing numerous system crashes and we were both at the point of scrapping the laptop. I suggested that we give it a try by installing Windows 7 and if it worked for him, we would have saved him a new laptop, frustration and over time some money as the result of downtime.

Again we attempted an upgrade, and again, without success. In consultation with the client, we did a fresh installation but preserved his data from the previous Vista installation. This process again took some time and of course the import and integration of the old data was required as well as the reinstallation of his applications.

Conclusion: This is a well worthwhile upgrade (or reinstallation) if you are experiencing ongoing issues with Vista. Be aware that as we found with Vista, some peripherals may not work because there are no currently available drivers. I got frustrated with HP (again) as I have a LaserJet 3600dn printer which worked fine with Vista. HP have yet to release a compatible driver.

To overcome this issue, I searched the web and found a posting that said someone had used a Windows XP driver successfully. I did do that same thing and the printer is working fine. You may need to find a "close" driver and test if the Windows 7 driver is currently unavailable.

At this time, I have everything (peripherals and software applications) working well.

My recommendation: Go for it.

Another Tax?. I think this one slipped in just under the radar. Effective 1st April 2009 (yeh, another April Fool's joke) the Ontario Government introduced the legislation that was enacted on 8th July 2008, entitled the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment diversion program. I call it the EEE (Electronic Equipment Eco) Tax. In a nutshell, most electronic equipment costs more. Some examples are Desktop Computers = $13.44, Monitors (LCD Displays) = $12.03, Mouse & Keyboards = .64, HArd Disk Drives = .32.

There is also an Eco fee on motor oil, tires and "other stuff" - keep an eye open to see how you're paying more!

For details on costs associated, see the following web site

was on the Microsoft updates "push" on Wednesday, the 29th April. There are a few other updates that are required and recommended - please get them. These updates increase the overall security of your systems.

- Microsoft also offered the optional update of Windows Live Essentials, including an interface to Office - Office Live Essentials. In certain instances, the is a dialog box that comes up when you open an Office Suite component (like Word, Outlook, etc), that, although it has a check mark against the "Don't show again" message, it keeps opening up! I researched and located a fix to the registry that I can assist you with, if you encounter the problem! You will need to email me to get the required fix.

Home Phone or no Home Phone? Seen the recent Fido TV ads about saying goodbye to your home phone service?

We made the decision earlier this year to relinquish our Rogers Home Phone service. We did not have any complaints about the service but felt that as both Barb and I both had cellular phones and that they worked well at home, we would cancel the home phone service and save ourselves about $45.00 per month.

We had to make a small investment in getting out Burglar Alarm dialer service replaced as we would no longer have the "wireline" service. Our alarm company was able to provide us with a cellular dialer, so this hurdle was overcome.

The next challenge was to try and find a way of connecting our cell phones to the existing phone wiring and so avoid having to carry the cell phones "on our person" when were home. I searched the Internet and did find a Bluetooth Gateway that would allow the cell phone to connect to a regular analogue phone. We would integrate this into our existing phone wiring (somehow). I ordered it and tried it but it proved to be poor in reception. The supplier was obliging in allowing me to return it.

Through some networking contacts I spoke to Chris Allsop of All Aboard Telecom. He was able to supply me with an X-Link Bluetooth Gateway. This was a much better solution to the original gateway in as much as it worked well and also allowed up to three Bluetooth devices to be connected simultaneously. Both our cell phones were now connected to the Gateway. I then connected the gateway to the existing phone wiring in our house.

The next step was to find a Two-Line Cordless Phone System with a good base station (that was like a regular telephone) and operated using DECT 6.0 technology. DECT 6 works outside of the 2.4GHz & 5.8GHz frequency band that tends to interfere with WiFi networks.

Now what about Long-Distance? We had local calls covered with our cellular phone plans and do use a long-distance service. We had heard about MagicJack and this was our opportunity to investigate further.

We purchased the MagicJack on-line for $40.00US plus an additional 5 Year Subscription for $60.00US. This "gadget" in plugged into my computer, into a USB Port and then from the telephone jack on the MagicJack, it connected to the cordless phone desk-set - into Line 1. The X-Link Gateway is connected to Line 2.

We're now able to make calls across North America without any additional costs for the next five years. I also purchased two more MagicJacks and sent then to my brothers in Cape Town, South Africa. These enables us to speak to them without additional cost.

This technology now allows us to pick up an incoming call to either of our cell phones from anywhere in the house using one of the cordless phones and to make calls from either line using the cell phone or the MagicJack.

First year of using the technology will be a break-even for us with all the savings coming in the second and subsequent years.

Once again, I appreciate your perspective on the content of my newsletter, both good and bad. I look forward to hearing from you. Just click this feedback link and let me have your comments.

PS: Feel free to forward this Newsletter to any peers, friends and associates you think would benefit from its content. They will thank you, and so will I!

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