Free online backup of data using Dropbox

I've mentioned many times to customers, associates, friends and family... you need to backup your data. No matter how sophisticated or amateur you computer kung-fu, you must backup your data.

Dropbox is FREE and automated. Two words that any computer/network administrator loves to hear.

Check it out - https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTczODQ2Njk

VirtualBox tweaks after Windows 7 upgrade

After performing an upgrade to Windows 7 this weekend, I noticed a couple of issues on my new Windows 7 (64bit) install.

I found that the Virtualbox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter issue (as described here http://johnsonyip.com/wordpress/2010/02/02/fix-virtualbox-host-only-ethernet-adapter-error-in-device-manager-for-windows-in-4-steps/) was exhibited. Thanks for the fellow blogger for the resolution.

Also, I found that the service for the Sun, VirtualBox Bridged Networking Driver was removed during the upgrade. I was able to reinstall the service/driver by adding it to the NIC properties (Choose Install, Service, Sun, VirtualBox Bridged Networking Driver, then browse to your Program Files, Sun, VirtualBox, drivers folders and find the file it is looking for.

Following the installation of the VirtualBox Bridged Networking Driver, I was able to set my VM back to bridged for the machine's network adapter settings.

OSX 10.6.3 Software Update on Dell XPS M1530

For all those developers and testers out there, I would like to report that I have successfully installed the Apple OSX 10.6.3 Software Update on a Dell XPS M1530 laptop.

The installation was smooth and simple.

Android thoughts

I am often asked about mobile phones. I am currently using a Droid on Verizon. I have to say that I've found the Android OS to be very powerful, easy to use, and packed full of features. Hardly anything was left out (except for maybe the ability to create a wifi hotspot).

In regard to the Droid, I do have a few complaints:
- the battery dies quickly so you need to watch the open programs/services to maximize life
- the phone is heavier than most
- no universal multi-touch (like the pinch zoom on the iphone)

Overall, I think that the Android OS for phones is quite amazing. Blackberry and Windows Mobile are going to be have to really step it up to compete. And Apple will continue to have success with the iphone for the die hards, but they have also isolated themselves (maybe by design).

Sonicwall & Outlook POP

We rarely use POP email accounts, but a customer of DELTYME does. A recent support ticket came in stating that they could not receive all of their emails. Outlook would fail part way through the receive process on a few computers.

After some discovery, I found that the Sonicwall Email Filtering, Rapid Email Attachment filter checkbox was the cause of the issue.

Keywords: Outlook, email, cannot receive, receive hang, pop, sonicwall

CRM for small businesses

I often find myself at customer sites meeting with managers and/or owners discussing how to improve their business by using IT more effectively. One area that is often overlooked in the SMB market is Customer Relationship Managemet (CRM). Most small businesses care for and service their customers with a great deal of personal attention, but without a CRM system.

Due to this method of account management, some problems/issues can arise. Here are a few:
- There is no detailed account history, except for what the account manager has documented.
- When an employee leaves, there is no real way to pick up where they left off
- Reporting of KPI's (key performance indicators) is nearly impossible
- A sales pipeline is difficult to collect
- There is no centralized system for working as a team

The extent of what a CRM system should do must be decided by the business owners/managers. They should really understand why CRM is important, not just for giving better service to your customers, but also to the bottom line.

In the SMB market, there are several popular CRM systems. Some are hosted and can offer enterprise level reliability at a reasonable cost. Here are a few that I'd had a chance to use:
- Salesforce
- SugarCRM
- vTiger
- ACT!
- Microsoft CRM
- Microsoft Business Contact Manager

Learn more about CRM!

Send email to myself with Gmail and Outlook

If you want to send email to yourself / myself with Gmail and Outlook, you may need to review your settings in Gmail.

I found that if you do not have all of your sending aliases under Accounts and Import that the Label on the email will be Sent Mail, not Inbox as desired.

Be sure that all of "Send email as" settings include all of the email addresses (aliases) that you will receive email with as well. When Gmail sends and receives the email that you sent to yourself... if the email address in question isn't listed in the "Send email as" settings, the email will only show up in the All Mail and Sent Mail.

But when you have the email address specified in "Send email as" (even if you don't make it your default), Gmail will change the label to be Inbox.

Hence, you can successfully send email to yourself / myself with Gmail and Outlook.