Category Archives: Uncategorized

Avatars in the cloud

This blog now supports gravatars in comments. An avatar is a small picture or image used to identify comments posted on line. A gravatar is a Globally Recognized Avatar, which eliminates the need to upload images to multiple forums. You upload and edit an image at the gravatar home page and associate it with your [...]
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When add-ons subtract

If you’re relying on browser-based applications, you’d better have excellent browser performance. One obvious factor affecting the performance of your browser is the speed of your Internet connection. Another fairly obvious factor is the speed of your computer, including RAM, processor, and disk behavior. But don’t forget the impact of adjustments you’ve made to the [...]
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The future of remote monitoring and management

I spent the past two days in Nashville at the Autotask user conference. There was a panel session this morning featuring reps from most of the leading remote monitoring and management solution companies, including Kaseya, n-Able, Dell (fka Silverback), ITControl Suite, and Level Platforms. These folks owe their existence, for the most part, to the [...]
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EPIC complains to FTC about Google

Following the recent privacy gaffe at Google, the Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. Some of the language in the complaint seems a bit hyperbolic, and the request that Google be compelled to contribute $5 million to support electronic privacy research seems a bit self-serving. Obviously, though, a [...]
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Cloud computing featured in Boston Globe

Another introductory article on the front page of the business section in today’s Boston Globe. It focuses on Massachusetts-based companies and the future of the cloud in large enterprise computing. The author’s conclusion: It seems small and midsize businesses will be the first to integrate cloud-based services, while bigger companies will take longer to figure [...]
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Peachtree in the cloud

A client of mine uses Peachtree Complete Accounting. They needed a solution for the following set of circumstances: The bulk of their accounting and bookkeeping work is done by an independent accountant, who generally works from home. Historically, the accountant would come into the client’s office on weekends to work on the computer that had [...]
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SmallBusinessComputing.com defines cloud computing

Good intro article by Laurie McCabe posted today at SmallBusinessComputing.com. If you’ve read all the posts at Stop Buying Servers, there may not be much new here. But it’s good to see the coverage continuing. The more people using the cloud, the better the services there will be.
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Taking the Google with the bug

I’ve never said, nor will I ever say, that the cloud is not without fault. ChannelWeb reports that Google Docs had a security glitch over the weekend. As I noted after the recent Google Apps outage, though, one advantage of using a well-established cloud service is that any problems are going to be handled by [...]
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It happens to the best of us

As if I didn’t need a lesson on why cloud computing has its advantages … I spent the last two nights in New York. This morning, I picked up my computer in my hotel room to check my e-mail. (It had been turned on and connected to the Internet all night, but let’s save the [...]
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New blog look

Stop Buying Servers has been upgraded to Thematic 0.9. The change wasn’t made entirely in the cloud. I had to use my desktop computer to download a zip file from ThemeShaper before uploading it to my blog host. Note to self: be on the lookout for a service that will allow you to access a [...]
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