Category: Technology
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Electric power conditioners for small rural businesses
About a decade ago I began using power conditioner devices at my rural home and business location. These devices are also called “voltage regulators” or “surge protector s”or “battery backups”. I am aware that there are functional and physical differences in these categories of devices but for purposes of this discussion I am lumping them…
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PDF document handling in 2018
The Internal Revenue Service, state revenue departments and many other branches of government and industry rely heavily on the Portable Document File (PDF) format handling electronic documents. It follows then, that a tax professional needs to be up-to-date in handling PDFs with maximum security and efficiency. According to Wikipedia, the Portable Document Format (PDF) is a…
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Online support groups; the concept revisited
My business was boosted incredibly by online support groups for decades. In fact, I can easily say that my past businesses like Medsave (sold in 2008) and OnlineAdviser / OnlineNavigator (no longer active), would not have been successful on building to tens of thousands of users in the 1990s and early 2000s without this online peer…
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An experiment in password security
Back in 2012 I published a few educational articles reviewing and promoting the use of password management software. The message in short: we should all be using separate, randomly generated passwords for each our online accounts that are not written or recorded in non-secure online locations and are changed periodically. One of these articles is still…
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One door closes, another opens
“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us”. – Alexander Graham Bell A poorly matched tax engagement ended early yesterday on the same day as I brought in a record amount of new business. I hardly have time…
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The sad state of my small business telephone system
I’m reviewing and looking for suggestions on the best setup for a small business phone system. The stature of the telephone as a business tool has fallen dramatically in status and usefulness in my business career. I remember being one of the early adapters of cellular technology in the late 1980s and early 1990s that…
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Why I switched from Google for Work to Microsoft Office 365 Premier for Business
Editorial note: After publication I was corrected and learned that Google can be used offline. The editorial is incorrect in that regard. About a month ago I dumped my Google for Work account and decided to upgrade my Microsoft from a personal account to a business account. Here are some reasons why I turned away from Google…