By Elaine Mah
It’s almost time for Old Man Winter to make his way across Canada. For some of us, it means rain and single digit temperatures; for others, it means a full-blown blizzard and snow-covered sidewalks. You’re prepared no matter where you live because you go through this every year. With your jacket, your parka, your umbrella or your snowshoes, the winter months will mean just another trip to the office.
But what about your computer?
It’s easy to forget your #1 work tool. During “normal” weather, you probably shuttle your faithful laptop to the office and back in a basic computer bag or backpack. But what do you do when the day’s forecast high never gets above 0C, or the world looks like the inside of a shaken snow globe?
Here are six ways to keep your laptop safe from the elements as you make your way through winter:
1. Check the weather, adjust accordingly
Weather reports usually give you a good idea of what to expect on a given day. If the forecast calls for snow or extreme rain, don’t haul your laptop to work in a cloth handbag or carry it into your building completely unprotected.
2. If you’re in the market for a new laptop bag, get an insulated one
Anyone who’s gone shopping for an actual carrying case or bag for their laptop knows there are lots of options and some of them are not cheap! If you live in an area where it rains a lot, remember to buy a bag that is waterproof. Also, look for a temperature rating on the tag. Any bag you buy should offer general insulation information along the lines of “good for outdoor temperatures of X degrees.”
3. Don’t get creative with warmth
Avoid using items such as hand warmers or pocket warmers in your bag, as these can generate too much heat or direct it in only one place, resulting in melted internal components. Also, don’t try to design your own warming device – especially when using a company machine as the test subject.
4. Don’t leave your PC in your car (or any place else really cold) overnight
Night time cold is one of your laptop’s worst enemies, as it can cause parts such as monitors to actually freeze (and possibly crack). It can also damage the unit’s battery and reduce its lifespan, and possibly ruin your hard-drive along with any data it contains.
At the very least, your ice-cold machine will be subject to condensation once you bring it back into the warmth. This moisture poses a serious danger to the internal processors and components. Think what happens when you’re cellular phone comes into contact with water – the same thing can happen to your laptop with just small amounts of condensation inside the case or around the drive. Remember what your grade school science teacher said: water and electricity don’t mix!
5. Carefully thaw out a cold machine
As a rule, standard hard-disk drives are designed to function best at a temperature of 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. If your laptop was left outside, or if you’ve been in an extremely cold climate for more than half an hour, then wait at least 20 to 30 minutes before opening the unit or turning it on. A laptop that’s been out in the elements for a lengthy period of time should be slowly brought up to room temperature.
If you see moisture appearing on the exterior of your system, then carefully soak it up with a dry cloth towel. Do not try to “speed up” thawing by using hairdryers, microwaves, or other forms of artificial warming, as these can damage components or cause potential cracking due to rapid expansion.
6. Don’t panic if you laptop is actually frozen (solid)
Okay – you left your laptop in the car trunk or out on the porch on a snowy winter night and it froze solid. The good news is you can probably revive it. The bad news is the computer might have sustained some permanent damage. Above all, do not attempt to open the laptop. If the wires connecting the screen to the board are frozen, they could snap when you lift up the screen. You’ll need to warm the laptop very slowly before you can even open it.
Take it out of the freezing environment and let it thaw in a slightly warmer place, like an unheated garage. After that, move it to the next warmest place you can think of, such as an unheated room in your house. This process could take a couple of days (think of when you defrost meat from the freezer). But thaw out your laptop very carefully and you do have a chance of getting it to work normally again, aside from a few dead pixels in your LCD screen.
Elaine Mah joined Intel Canada in 2005 as Canadian Business Marketing Manager. She is responsible for Intel’s brand management, product positioning, product launch management and marketing research, as well as sales and integrated marketing communications, advertising and promotional campaigns designed to reach Canadian business customers. Prior to assuming this position, Elaine was Vice President at Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG, where she was responsible for planning and strategy on accounts including Direct Energy, Volvo, and Yahoo!, along with new business development. A marketing professional for over 20 years, Elaine received her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Alberta.
By Bonnie Sokoloff
In the course of doing daily business, think about how much of our interaction involves, even depends upon, communication in one form or another. Yet many of us don’t even think about the ‘messages we send’ in the messages we are sending.
How we communicate is as important as the information we are communicating, and it’s not a cliché to say that doing it wrong could be a deal breaker.
Follow these basic rules to maximize the effectiveness (and minimize the offensiveness) of your business communications:
1. Respect your audience’s time. That’s really the fundamental principle of communication in a business context. Assume that everyone is as busy as you are and if you want to capture their attention, you will need to make sure you address that. If a major explanation is not required, don’t schedule a meeting just to review information you plan to provide in hard copy format. Just send the presentation with a request for feedback. If you are sending an email that has already been replied to and forwarded a few times, don’t just hit the forward button again—take the time to summarize the information and put it in a fresh email.
Speaking of email… the rules around communicating via email can provide enough content for several articles, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll just concentrate on a few key points.
2. Get to the point. By the time they finish reading the subject line, your recipients should have a good idea of what the message within the email is about. Lead off with the most important information so if they aren’t able to read the entire email right away, they will know whether or not they need to revisit it later.
3. Know when to pick up the phone. Email is great for quick and easy messages, but when things get complicated, especially if trouble is brewing, you need to abandon the computer and make a call instead. There are too many variables, such as tone, that can easily be misinterpreted via email. You can prevent the situation from escalating and work toward an effective resolution by initiating a phone conversation at the right time.
4. The “Reply to All” button is not a toy. It is a tempting option, but before you press that button, pause to consider if everyone who received the initial email really needs to hear everyone’s take on the issue. If you are at all in doubt, don’t do it. If the original sender thinks others need to see the replies, allow them to do the forwarding.
You may have read the above tips and found yourself thinking: “Duh. This is just common sense.” And you are right. But in the midst of our busy days, common sense sometimes falls by the wayside. The main thing you need to take away is, no matter how busy you are, take the time to think about the whats, hows and whos of your business communications.
BONNIE SOKOLOFF currently works as an Internal Communications Specialist for Staples Canada. She has over 15 years of experience with copywriting, editing and print production.
By Lucas Roberts
More questions to consider before you purchase a Mac:
4. Are you a speed demon? Do you need the fastest? The latest and greatest? Unless you are a multimedia professional or a power user, you will likely not be able to tell the difference between most current Macs (even comparing a base model to top of the line). I usually say: “It’s like the difference between a Porsche and a Lamborghini – they will both get you to the market, but one will be a bit faster.” If you are a speed demon, consider getting higher-end models or the Mac Pro tower. If you have a few seconds to spare every day, the base or mid-range model is fine.
5. How long do you want it to last? I’ve seen Macs last one year before full “write off” failure and I’ve seen them last 8+. The Mac that was the top of the line when you bought it will be considered faster for longer, near the tail end of its life. However, this is an interesting question because it assumes that the Mac will live beyond its three year AppleCare warranty (and yes, always buy AppleCare – Macs are just electronic devices too, and they can fail). I always recommend selling the Mac at around the two-year mark. This gets you the highest resale value and still provides one year of AppleCare warranty for the new buyer. Then, you can buy a brand new one!
6. A speed guide based on how you would use your Mac: Do you use your Mac mostly for email, word processing, Web browsing, with light music/video/picture activity? Any Mac will be great for you, including the base model of any machine. None of that takes much in the way of processor power, and you won’t need a lot of storage. Consider, however, that once you get a Mac, you may grow into doing more with multimedia – the Mac makes it easy and fun, and the iTunes store is very addictive. Just ask my credit card.
Do you do all that but with heavier music/video/picture activity? Any Mac with a large (and ideally, upgradeable) hard drive will be perfect. Music, video and pictures (all multimedia content) use a large amount of hard drive space, so you’ll want lots of space and the option to add more. On all Macs but the ‘Air,’ you can replace the internal hard drive with a much larger one later, and it won’t break the bank. The average 500GB hard drive is around $100, and labor is usually only an hour or two at around $85/hour, unless a custom software setup is needed.
Do you use any pro applications, like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, or do you play any high-resolution games? I would always recommend the higher speed models, but you can usually get away with even the base model for these – they just won’t last as long in the professional world (see #5 above), and they won’t feel as peppy when working hard. If it’s for a teenager, they will likely whine if they need to play World of Warcraft on a lower-end machine. I was that teenager, long ago.
Do you push your machine to the limits? Do you use all the keyboard commands, and love a high-resolution screen? Aim for the top of the line MacBook Pro or iMac in that case. They’re deluxe and speedy little devils.
Do you stop at nothing to get the highest possible output and upgradeability in all capacities, or does your business depend on very high output and amazing horsepower? Mac Pro it is. Note, however, that to actually leverage a Mac Pro’s power, you will need to be very fast with your hands, skilled with application switching and multi-tasking, and very familiar with pro applications. Or, you might just be really impressed by its monolithic aluminum appearance.
Long story short:
For most business professionals in the working world, I would recommend either the base model MacBook Pro 13″ or the base model MacBook Pro 15″, with a large 24″ third-party screen (like Samsung or LG) and an external keyboard and Magic Mouse.
For home users, the white MacBook or base model MacBook Pro 13″ is great, unless you want a larger screen. For home users wanting a Desktop machine, even the base model iMac is fine, again unless you want a large screen.
If you need a machine just for travel, then the MacBook Air is a great machine. I would not recommend anyone use this as their primary and only machine, though, unless you get the top-of-the-line unit with 4GB RAM and the upgraded solid-state hard drive. Even then, it’s a pricy toy that will grow outdated pretty fast. The processor is slow (compared to current standards), out of the box. If you have it as a secondary laptop, just for traveling or going to business meetings, it’s awesome and very sexy.
Enjoy your new Mac… And the “new-Mac-smell” that comes with it.
Lucas Roberts, President and CEO, Macinhome Consulting Inc. Lucas started his career in Macintosh sales and troubleshooting in 2000, through his 3-year employment with Mac Station, an Apple Authorized retailer in the greater Vancouver area. He loved being a trusted resource for his customers, and his sales grew through word of mouth. He continued his IT education with Hostway Corporation, providing phone and email technical support for Web and email hosting, domain name registration and all associated Internet technologies. While working at Hostway, Lucas built Macinhome during evenings and weekends, helping clients at all hours of the day. During his five-year term at Hostway, Lucas was quickly promoted to Senior Technical Support Supervisor in Hostway’s Vancouver office. In late 2007, when asked to relocate to manage Hostway’s head office in Chicago, he respectfully declined, leaving the company on good terms to build on Macinhome’s growing success. Now, he finds ways to help the Macinhome team provide the most patient and high-quality service possible, to their clients. Lucas also writes on his personal blog about how people relate with technology, “people + technology,” at: http://lucasroberts.com/ and spends his days trying to figure out how best to fix the world, one Mac at a time.
By Lucas Roberts
If you’re looking for a Mac computer, there are so many options! Used Macs, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac Pro, Mac Mini… and there are usually a few versions of each.
The iPad is not a computer… It’s a glorified and “more usable” iPod Touch. It relies fairly heavily on having a Mac as a parent for syncing and backup. You can download some content onto the iPad directly, but to store and manage it all you will need a Mac.
Used machines are always a risk and rarely worth it, unless you get a great deal on a Mac that still has an AppleCare warranty on it. Warranty is everything – you don’t want to get caught with a “no exchanges, no refunds” purchase that dies in two weeks. A four-year-old MacBook can sell for about $650. If you buy a brand new one, it will come with the warranty and will be about $1050. Not a huge difference.
How does each machine stack up against an equivalent PC? In my experience, and without getting into a ton of specifics and data (or an argument with a feisty PC-user—lol), a Mac of equivalent and even lower speed RAM/graphics will feel faster and stay peppy for longer, even years longer. The Mac system software is well optimized and based on Linux, so it’s stable and virus-free. I find the Windows operating system to feel clunky and sluggish unless powered by fast gear and even then, it doesn’t take long before it feels a bit goopy. Yes… Goopy. You know, like when you click on something and have to wait a bit for it to respond. Drives me mad. Anyway, I digress.
In terms of which new Mac to choose, this is how I’d break it down, based on my experience. Questions to spur your thoughts:
1. Portable or Desktop? Do you want to be able to take it with you, wherever you go? I know I sure do. Important note: Any portable Mac can also become a Desktop Mac if you also have a large monitor and laptop stand, with an external keyboard and mouse. However, any Desktop will only ever be a Desktop. You can’t take an iMac on the bus (without looking a little bit odd). You can get a great 24″ screen for around $350, and a keyboard/mouse/stand setup for around $200.
2. Big screen or small screen? Do you deal with large documents, PDFs, or photos, and want to see a lot on the screen at once? Or do you have some trouble with eyesight? If so, you’ll want a bigger screen. If you like smaller, more convenient, more portable equipment, I recommend a 13″ or 15″ screen. Your back will thank you if you have to carry it around all day. However; I would always caution people considering the 17″ laptop – that is a beast of a machine to carry around. Only consider it if you really need a large portable screen for displaying high-quality images to clients in meetings, and you can’t just use an external monitor wherever you work most. Note that you can also special-order beautiful high-resolution screens for your laptop if you buy from the Apple store online.
3. Is professional image an issue for you? If so, you will want to consider an aluminum laptop instead of the white MacBook. What will people in the stylish fair trade and organic-only coffee shop think of you if you have a shiny white plastic computer? If image is not an issue (or you find the MacBook adorable) then a MacBook is a great machine.
Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Tune in Monday for Part Two of “Shopping for a Mac?”
Lucas Roberts, President and CEO, Macinhome Consulting Inc. Lucas started his career in Macintosh sales and troubleshooting in 2000, through his 3-year employment with Mac Station, an Apple Authorized retailer in the greater Vancouver area. He loved being a trusted resource for his customers, and his sales grew through word of mouth. He continued his IT education with Hostway Corporation, providing phone and email technical support for Web and email hosting, domain name registration and all associated Internet technologies. While working at Hostway, Lucas built Macinhome during evenings and weekends, helping clients at all hours of the day. During his five-year term at Hostway, Lucas was quickly promoted to Senior Technical Support Supervisor in Hostway’s Vancouver office. In late 2007, when asked to relocate to manage Hostway’s head office in Chicago, he respectfully declined, leaving the company on good terms to build on Macinhome’s growing success. Now, he finds ways to help the Macinhome team provide the most patient and high-quality service possible, to their clients. Lucas also writes on his personal blog about how people relate with technology, “people + technology,” at: http://lucasroberts.com/ and spends his days trying to figure out how best to fix the world, one Mac at a time.
REWORK, by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Most business books give you the same old advice: Write a business plan, study the competition, seek investors, yadda yadda. If you’re looking for a book like that, put this one back on the shelf.
Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you’ll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don’t need outside investors, and why you’re better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need to staff up. You don’t need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don’t even need an office. Those are all just excuses.
What you really need to do is stop talking and start working. This book shows you the way. You’ll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.
With its straightforward language and easy-is-better approach, Rework is the perfect playbook for anyone who’s ever dreamed of doing it on their own. Hardcore entrepreneurs, small-business owners, people stuck in day jobs they hate, victims of “downsizing,” and artists who don’t want to starve anymore will all find valuable guidance in these pages.
Jason Fried is the co-founder and president of 37signals, the Chicago-based web-application company. He has co-authored all of 37signals’ books, including “Rework,” as well as the ‘minimalist manifesto,’ “Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application.” He also helps maintain the company’s popular blog, Signal vs. Noise, and is regularly invited to speak around the world about entrepreneurship, design, management and software.
![clip_image002[9]](http://blogstaples.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/clip_image0029.gif "clip_image002[9]")
David Heinemeier Hansson is the creator of Ruby on , the open-source web framework optimized for programmer happiness and sustainable productivity. He is also a partner at 37signals, a NYT best-selling author, a public speaker, a hobbyist photographer, and a gentleman racer. In 2005, he won Best Hacker of the Year 2005 at OSCON from Google and O’Reilly for his work on Rails. He’s co-author of Getting Real (over 40,000 copies sold) and Agile Web Development with Rails (over 100,000 copies sold). He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark.
By Rick Sloboda
Q&A with Rick Sloboda, Senior Web Copywriter for Webcopyplus
Businesses large and small are tapping into the ever-expanding web, which can cost-effectively market products and services 365, 24/7. With more than 75% of North Americans using the Internet and online spending increasing annually, getting your business online just makes sense. To help explain how to grow a business on the web, Rick Sloboda, Senior Website Copywriter, at Webcopyplus.com, a Vancouver-based web copywriting firm that helps businesses increase website traffic and conversions with search engine optimized web content, offers the answers. Rick speaks at web content conferences, and Webcopyplus conducts online studies with various organizations, including Yale University.
So a business wants to improve its performance online. Where do you suggest it starts?
It starts by looking at the business’s objectives and goals, the intended audience and the action you want the visitor to take. Once there’s an understanding of where the business is and where it needs to go, we can then look at aligning online strategies, resources and technologies. Business can tap into a many of opportunities, from social media like Facebook and Twitter, to blogs to press releases and email campaigns, to paid marketing and search engine optimization. Search engines can be a business’ best friend, as search websites can drive more than 80% of all new traffic to websites.
Which search engines should you target?
Google owns more than 70% of the search market, so if you’re doing well on Google, your business is likely doing very well. Yahoo still has a following, and MSN’s Bing is also gaining ground. Those are the top three search engines our website copywriters pay close attention to, since that’s where consumers and businesses tend to look for products and services.
How do you optimize your website so you appear in search results?
Two key elements are keywords and links. Selecting the right words to target on your website helps search engine robots — programs that search and index websites — determine what your website is about and where you should rank. Links are also critical. When other reputable sites in your industry link to you, it builds credibility with search engines. It’s like a democratic vote in cyberspace. So it’s definitely worthwhile to get vendors, suppliers and partners to link to your website.
Can you simply exchange links with others to mutually benefit?
Yes, but that’s an old and overused SEO tactic called reciprocal linking. Google and friends will actually discount the value of reciprocal links. One-way links carry more clout. It’s likely worth mentioning that some SEO types are trying to beat the system by carrying out three-way linking strategies, which would have business A link to business B, business B link to business C, and business C link to business A. But the search engines catch up to these types of search engine manipulations as well.
And these SEO tricks are frowned upon by the likes of Google, right?
Yes, when you get overly aggressive or break the rules, it’s commonly called Black Hat SEO, and it can get you penalized or knocked off a search engine’s index altogether. For instance, we recently brought on a new client who unknowingly had white text placed on white background. It’s called hidden text, a Black Hat SEO tactic that used to work a decade ago, but not today. In fact, it can really hurt your business.
How do you determine the best keywords to target?
We used to hold focus groups, but they weren’t overly effective because what people say and do can be very different. Fortunately, you can gather hard data from various software, like a program called Web CEO. Our website copywriters and SEO specialists now have the luxury of analyzing and cross referencing actual data that reveals keyword popularity, competition and trends, which often produce surprising results for organizations. For example, a national airline’s executives were using the term “reduced fares.” We were able to reveal that term was searched fewer than 10 times a day — and that’s globally. Meanwhile, “cheap flights” was searched by consumers more than 10,000 times a day. This type of insight can make a big difference to a company’s bottom line, regardless of the industry.
And once you know what keywords to target, what do you do?
Simply put, repeat them often in your web content. For optimal results, our website copywriters strive for keyword density of at least 3%, meaning three out of every 100 words on your website are your targeted keywords. There’s a free online tool website owners and writers can take advantage of at www.webcopyplus.com/tools, which helps achieve the ideal keyword ratio.
Is it true fresh content helps achieve and maintain higher search engine rankings?
Yes, fresh content helps. That’s what makes blogs such a wonderful marketing tool. You can incorporate blogging software like WordPress to your website, and post a few items a month. You’re providing search engines additional content to index, and giving visitors a reason to keep coming back.
When a business achieves desired search engine rankings, what are the perks?
Greater, cost-effective reach and presence, increased leads and sales, and possibly some PR. A Vancouver HR client with dozens of write-ups in high-profile publications like Canadian Business, The Globe and Mail, and National Post, recently told us 100% of their PR opportunities came through reporters Googling terms like HR consulting Vancouver and HR experts Vancouver. Google can really be a goldmine.
Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Tune in tomorrow for Part Two: Turning Online Visitors into Customers.
Rick Sloboda is a Senior Web Copywriter at Webcopyplus, which helps designers and businesses boost online traffic, leads and sales with optimized web content. Clients range from independent retailers to some of the world’s largest service providers, including AT&T (formerly Cingular), Quest Diagnostics and Scotia Bank. Rick advocates clear, concise and objective website content that promotes readability and usability, and conducts web content studies with organizations in Europe and the U.S., including Yale University. He speaks frequently at web-related forums and seminars, including Small Business BC, Content Convergence & Integration, SUCCESS and HRMA. Rick also serves as a consultant to various organizations, such as the Web Development Advisory Committee at Vancouver, B.C.’s Langara College.
