Excel Tip:
Excel on the Road
reprinted with permission from the HP Small Business Center

We all know Excel is a powerful application. But what about Excel Mobile? Does Excel's functionality translate to the spreadsheet's mobile version for use on your smartphone?

The answer is yes and no. Excel Mobile can only offer a subset of Excel's features. This is, however, enough for viewing and editing spreadsheets so that you can stay productive on the road, even with a non-touch screen phone.

Not to be overlooked is also the fact that, in its portable form, Excel takes on versatile new roles. It's not just a spreadsheet application any more, it's also a sophisticated calculator, an electronic to-do list, a portable data manager - you get the idea.

Here we share some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Excel Mobile for Windows Mobile 6 Standard. After finding your way around Excel Mobile, you may just discover that it's indispensable.

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Greetings,

Welcome to the July edition of our Making Business Smarter E-Newsletter!

Has the summer really started? Rain, rain, go away! We'll all look forward to a dryer and warmer July and August.

Despite the inclement weather, some significant new technology opportunities (and pitfalls) have recently emerged. One of the most significant is Microsoft's introduction of Windows 7. Vista seems to be one of the "Edsels" (if you are too young to relate to this reference, check it out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edsel) of desktop operating systems. As technology professionals, we appreciated the great strides that Vista has made in desktop security, consistent user interface and easy network connectivity. However, we, like most of our friends and clients, have struggled with the software compatibility issues that Vista's improved security has produced. Several of our engineers have been running Windows 7 since its first beta version release.

Here are a few of their observations:

Untethered fun in the sun. . .
Jason Appel
Security Practice Manager
SAGE Computer Associates

With summer here, the dream of working while sitting on the beach comes to the fore. While I doubt many of us will be that lucky, the technology to enable this has been with us for some time and most of us use it every day: WiFi. Let us examine WiFi from a security perspective.

Many coffee shops, cafés, airports, and hotels offer WiFi hotspots for their patrons. Many homes and businesses have these networks up and running for their families, employees and guests.

WiFi (or Wireless Fidelity) is any of the widely deployed wireless networking protocols that operate in the frequencies unregulated by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), specifically 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz. These protocols are technically referred to as the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11x specification, with the "x" being the version. The versions are lettered: "b", "a", "g", and now "n" (in order of release) and specify the maximum connectivity speed, signaling rules and frequencies used.

So just what are the security implications of these WiFi networks?

Rid Your Business of Software Piracy: 7 Tips
by Monte Enbysk
reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

Pirates still roam freely in the ocean of software out there, but if your business is among the pirates, it could end up costing you literally and figuratively.

You may very well be a smart, community-minded business owner. But if your company is using pirated software - and you condone it, you aren't aware of it or you don't really give a rip - you're not a responsible business owner. And you are taking unnecessary risks.

No, you're not alone. In the United States, about one-fourth of the software programs used today by businesses are illegal copies, according to the statistics from the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an active industry group. For U.S. small businesses, those with 100 or fewer employees, the piracy rate is even higher: about 40%. While those numbers are bad enough, the piracy problem worldwide is worse - although software piracy worldwide has decreased since 1994, some $13.08 billion was still lost in 2002 due to pirated software.

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7 Ways Technology Saves Money
reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center
By Jeff Wuorio

Every small business owner knows that new technology can be pricey.

But technology can also pay in the form of significant savings-particularly over the long haul.

Savings from technology isn't just a matter of plugging in a new gizmo and watching the cash roll in. You have to evaluate your priorities and choose the right technology that meets your operating and budgetary requirements.

With that approach in mind, here are seven ways that technology can save your small business money: