AP Training

In an effort to provide more value to our partners, we are offering a new service called AP Training.  Each month Anchor Point will host an hour long training from 8AM-9AM on a Friday in our conference room.  These trainings will be offered to current partners only.  The goal of our time together is to provide further education and enhance the use of these common technologies.  The upcoming sessions will focus on these topics:

• iPhone Tips and Tricks
• Windows 7 Customizations
• Basic Excel Tips
• Outlook Tips and Tricks

Our first AP Training session will be held here at the Anchor Point office on April 29^th from 8AM – 9AM.  The topic will be iPhone Tips and Tricks.  We estimate that our conference room can hold 20-25 people and ask for those interested in attending this class to email training@ap-its.com for a spot.

If you have training topics you’d like us to consider, please let us know.

Personal Finance Technologies

Our own, Jennifer Shinn helps to keep our client’s technology working, but she also has a passion for helping people with their personal finances.

It would be nearly impossible to manage your personal finances without using technology these days. Almost every bank or financial institution has web access for account information as well as online banking. There are also some personal finance tools on the market for both desktop and mobile applications.

Quicken has long been the personal finance tool of choice for many users.  It is a desktop application (Windows and Mac). It’s probably the most robust of the tools I’ll mention. If you want to import data into QuickBooks, merge data with a small business, or do any other advanced accounting, this is probably a good option for you, however this can be a disadvantage for many users who need a much simpler method of managing money.

Mint.com has recently become a very popular web-based tool. So popular, it was acquired by Intuit, the same makers of Quicken. With Mint.com, you can connect your financial institutions (both banks and credit cards) and track all spending through those institutions. Not only can you access your account from any computer, they also have apps for the iPhone and Android phones. The biggest advantage of Mint.com … it’s free! One disadvantage of Mint.com is the ability to manage cash transactions easily.

When I help people figure out their finances, we use a web application called Mvelopes.com. It’s my personal favorite (and one that I’ll shamelessly endorse!) Like Mint.com, Mvelopes is also a web-based tool for easy mobile access, but the main difference between Mvelopes and the two Intuit products is the approach to finances … Mvelopes is a proactive approach, utilizing the traditional envelope money management system.

If you would like to read more on personal finances, check out my blog at www.normalisbroke.com (you can find a free two week trial of Mvelopes, if you’re interested).

iPad 2

If you purchased an iPad prior to the iPad 2 release on March 2nd, would you be crying today? Perhaps.

There are several things that haven’t changed on the iPad 2 such as the display size (still 9.7 inches with 1024×768 pixel resolution).  The storage options are also the same between the two editions with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.  Wifi and Bluetooth are also still included but there are some significant differences.

Color is one.  iPad 2 comes in black or white bezel.  The processor was improved from a 1Ghz Apple A4 to 1Ghz dual-core Apple A5 however tests have shown a minimal actual speed improvement between the devices.  Perhaps only a true geek would notice this upgrade.  In terms of its actual size, the new model is 33% thinner and includes cameras on the front (for VGA webcam use) and the back (for recording video and pics).  A new magnetic cover system turns it on and off when opening and closing the cover which is pretty darn cool.  The cost is another draw as the new model costs the same as the older model did so maybe that settles it; if you recently purchased the first edition iPad at its full price, you should cry.

A 16G iPad 2 with Wifi costs $499.

4 Questions with IT Manager, Kevin Grose!

1. Where were you born? Fairfield, CA, but I grew up in nearby Vacaville; which is Spanish for Cowtown. Ironically, I didn’t see a lot of cows growing up. I’m assuming that this was some weird Greenland/Iceland marketing scheme to entice either bulls or Cowboys toward our humble village.
2. Musical Instruments? I have a few guitars and a mandolin. My wife didn’t want any more guitars in the house, so I recently acquired a banjitar. It’s a cross between a guitar and a banjo, so that doesn’t really count.
3. Favorite Movie(s)? I was a kid in the 70s, so I have to say the original Star Wars Trilogy.  Indiana Jones sent me to college to study history, but my first love is laughter.  Fletch, Caddyshack, Animal House, Tommy Boy…….
4. Which bands would play at Grose-a-palooza? U2, all day long. “Warm-up acts” would include Radiohead, The Police, The National, Van Morrison, Wilco, and REM. If I could pull from the Great Beyond, I’d have Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Buckley play. I wouldn’t invite The Beatles; all those screaming girls would just kill the vibe.

As you can see from this image I shot of the sky above the Anchor Point office, things can get pretty beautiful here in paradise. On the other hand, we know how quickly things can turn nasty. We’ve seen enough fire and flood to realize the wisdom of disaster preparedness. Beyond the copious amounts of brownie points we’ll get from our client, Red Cross SB County Chapter, the reason for this piece is to make sure you are aware of our Backup/Disaster Recovery (BDR) Service. About 20 of our clients are already benefiting from this service. Here’s a quick break down of the features:

• No start-up costs.
• Server data backed up every 15 minutes.
• Overnight off-site backup to the internet.
• When a server fails, the BDR device can become a virtual stand-in.
• If servers and BDR are destroyed, we can virtualize stand-in servers in the cloud.
• No. More. Tapes.

Did I just blow your mind with all the awesomeness? Contact me if you want to hear more about Anchor Point’s BDR service.

Chris Mundell
805-679-7581

Virtualize!!

A conversation between IT Manager, Kevin Grose, and IT Director, Jim Eddy, was (maybe) overheard at the Anchor Point headquarters.

(Warning: This might get nerdy.)

Jim: Hi Kevin! I was just reading up on this new Virtual Server craze.

Kevin: There’s a craze?

Jim: OK, no, but lots of people are using them, for obvious reasons.

Kevin: Are you referring to the hardware cost savings?

Jim: You bet! And the time savings on the installation of each server in the virtual environment, not to mention the redundancy and mobility you get by having servers be virtual.  Also, by virtualizing, you are going green by getting more energy efficient.

Kevin: And, green is good!

Jim: Yes, Kevin, green is good.

Kevin: I was able to consolidate 5 physical servers on to one physical host for one of our non-profit clients. It seems like the days of buying multiple physical servers is going the way of the Dodo.

Jim: What?

Kevin: It’s a phrase; “to go the way of the dodo” means to become extinct or obsolete. The dodo bird has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century.

Jim: How on earth do you know that?

Kevin: History Major.

Jim: How’d that work out for ya?

Kevin: Shut up.

Let us know if you want to learn more without all the eavesdropping. So. Rude.

Tools for Non-Profits

Rich Dixon came to us with a RICH background in education and the non-profit world.  (Please don’t hate me for that “RICH background” line.)

During my nineteen years of leadership in non-profit and educational institutions I’ve developed a resourceful attitude toward IT services. I remain passionate about finding solutions that allow organizations to achieve their mission while being easy to implement and light on the budget.  Below, I’ve provided a list of three resources that can help promote communication, fund-raising, and internal efficiency.

First up, is Dropbox. While well known, this free (up to 2 GB) cloud-based service does more than simply allow a single user to have access to their files from computers at home, the office, a mobile phone, and a tablet such as the iPad. Dropbox allows for easy sharing of files with employees, collaborating organizations, and others while allowing other files to remain private. Items in a shared folder can easily be shared via an email attachment or as a link placed in an email. This degree of flexibility allows for sharing information to prospective donors, updating a collaborative presentation in one easy-to-access location and quick backup of files off-site for disaster preparedness purposes. With an easy to implement application, web interface and mobile device app, Dropbox makes personal storage, backup, and file sharing easy and affordable.

While there are many note taking applications, Evernote stands above others for ease of use combined with its unique capabilities. Evernote, another cloud-based service, allows users to capture typed notes, photos, and audio recordings. These files can be accessed through a free application available for mobile devices, tablets, and desktop/laptops (60 MB per month of new files added to existing creations). Evernote’s most impressive feature is its ability to retrieve notes by scanning all aspects of a note to locate text, including inside of images. This means a photo taken of a concept sketched on paper can be retrieved without having to save the note with a special title or set of keywords. I have found this to be especially helpful during whiteboard sessions or when capturing a thought while transitioning between meetings. I can then quickly email the notes to other team members.

Google Alerts allows for tracking of keywords with a daily digest of the results available. Anytime a new mention of the keyword(s) appears on the web (including in social networking sites such as Twitter) the results are summarized and a link provided to the source. This is particularly helpful in following what information is being posted about your organization or related keywords.

4 Questions with IT Manager, Troy Felix!

1. Where were you born? Atascadero, CA – it means ‘mud pit or bog’ or something like that in Spanish, but it’s not really a muddy place.  Lots of rolling hills with oak trees.  I spent a lot of time outdoors growing up which sometimes surprises me that I ended up enjoying a career in IT.

2. What is your ideal day? Well, there are so many potential perfect days…but I would say it would have to involve a mix of these elements:  a good cup of coffee, seeing my one year old son wake up and smile at me, then helping him with the walking (he’s so close!), playing some soccer with my team, then capping it off with a BBQ with my wife, friends and of course some good wine and beer.

3. Favorite Movie? Impossible question to answer, but these few come to mind: The Sound of Music, Predator, Rudy, The Usual Suspects, Field of Dreams.

4. Which bands would play at Troy-a-palooza? Metallica would start the show off right with guns blazing, then George Strait would come in change things up with some twang, then we’d get our blues fix with Stevie Ray Vaughan lighting up his strings, and then the Beach Boys would close the epic evening down with their good vibrations.