Starting a Small Business

Information Technology (I.T.) in Business

On the whole, I.T. has got a lot better over the years. Nowadays, it is pretty cheap and there's also a lot of free (but not necessarily Open Source) software that keeps costs down too.

Firstly, the PC. Thankfully, Microsoft has at last made an operating system (Windows 7) that isn't a complete pile of useless junk. Their previous attempts I think were so appalling that they could easily screw-up your whole business.

I've had about 5 Microsoft XP computers and they have all ended up being used as door-stops or stuffed up into the loft, never to be seen again. The reason is fairly simple, if you're not a computer boffin, then soon enough your PC begins to slow down and then almost stop. However, it never quite dies....it reminds me of one of those damned wasps you get towards the end of summer; once it has been hit by a rolled-up newspaper, it somehow isn't quite dead, it lies on its back and makes an uncomfortable buzzing sound.....for days!

I'm hoping that Windows 7 lives up to its very favourable reviews so far and so behave in a more professional way. The boot-up time is much quicker than XP and Vista (which is useful for impatient folk like myself).

If you are getting a new PC, then make sure it has at least 3GB of RAM. This should make it reasonable in its operational speed (even after a year or two of usage). The alternatives are of-course Apple computers.

These tend to be more expensive than PCs but are reputedly much less troublesome.
For the really brave, you could enter the world of getting a LINUX based PC. The most common “disto” (version) of Linux for novices is Ubuntu. I love the idea of linux (for a novice individual) but as yet, I remain to be entirely convinced of its ease of use and compatibility with peripherals.

If you are looking for a laptop PC, then I would suggest that you take heed of a reliablity survey (reported in Micro-Mart Jan 2010) that the most reliable brands are Acer and Toshiba. The least reliable include HP (this is a surprise to many due to the very high standards set by their printers).

You may be disappointed to learn that a lot of old software does not really run properly on the new Windows 7. However, there is an amazing wealth of Free software that can be downloaded entirely legally, to help you run your business.

Firstly, Open Office (just Google these names to find the right websites). Open Office is a perfectly good suite of applications including Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Database and Presentation software (similar to Powerpoint). The best thing about Open Office is that it is compatible with the industry standard Microsoft Office; so you will be able to open up and read and/or edit documents emailed to you in these formats.

If you are needing to do some relatively simple graphics manipulation (e.g. Optimizing a photograph for web use, then there is a fantastic Free software called “Paint.net”. This is a joy to use and is surprisingly powerful. There is a Free (fully fledged) graphics program called Gimp but quite frankly I found it impossible to use. I got so frustrated with it that I ended up hating it.

In the last year or two, there have become a number of Online applications available. Google is the main mover and shaker in this new arena of “cloud” computing. These can be very useful, especially if, like me, there are other people in your business who need access to these documents. Google applications are all free to use and well worth looking at.

If you need to upload things to a website then a free piece of software called FileZilla is excellent and easy to use. It is made by Mozilla the maker of the Firefox browser.

Talking of Internet Browsers, I have found it increadibly useful to have several browsers on my PC. I use all of them including Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, Safari and a version of Internet Explorer called Avant. I have found in the last few years that Microsoft's own browser, Internet Explorer is totally cluttered with stuff that I cannot seem to get rid of. As usual Google comes into the marketplace with a totally uncluttered browser (allowing you to see more of the actual website etc).

Having several browsers is also useful so that you can see on the windows “task-bar” which websites you have open. Most of the browsers now have “tabs” which also can allow you to flip between websites and suchlike. I would recommend that you try running several browsers simultaneously. Some things just “work” better on particular browsers. Google of course make their own apps run better on Chrome than the other browsers.