Chris Pirillo » IT

Tech Support With My Dad

Chris — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:46:31 +0000

Tech Support With My Dad is a post from Chris Pirillo

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My Dad is at home in Iowa, and needed help with some software updates. The easiest way for me to do that is to use remote software of some type. GoToAssist Express happens to be a partner of ours – and with good reason: I love the product. To me, it stands heads above others of its type for one main reason… the diagnostics and reports. I can see what’s installed, what’s running, and more as soon as I connect remotely to another machine. I don’t have to go to the hassle of asking the other person to “right click this” or “check on that” for me. It’s just there.

All I had to do was send my Dad a link for him to click. It asked him if he wanted to allow my connection to his desktop. Once he did, I had Dad’s desktop right on my screen. I can easily change the scale of how I view what’s on his screen. It won’t change anything on his end. It only changes my view.

Dad needed me to help him find and install a Microsoft Compatibility Pack, which is something that’s easy and fast for me to do. Since it’s something Dad has never done before, it was just simpler for me to connect to him via GoToAssist and do it for him, rather than to attempt to explain to him what he needs, why, where to get it, and how to install it.

Once we got that done, Dad had me check all of his installed software to make sure that everything was up-to-date. Did you see how insanely easy it was for me to control his screen, and take care of the problems and issues for him?

You can take care of your customers just as quickly using GoToAssist Express. You can even connect to them and fix things right from your home or office! Cut out the travel time and expense, and become an even better technician.

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Are These Good Reasons to Embrace Technology?

Chris — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:36:01 +0000

Are These Good Reasons to Embrace Technology? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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It took me more than three years to convince my parents to give up dial up, and move to a better connection. I blame myself, for not giving them enough reasons to embrace technology. Here is an excellent list sent in by a community member, with five of the reasons you should embrace the newest technology.

Efficiency With the development of technology, the speed at which we can achieve our goals is greatly increased. Processing data and transferring information has never been faster, and we are able to access information much quicker and with greater ease. Data storage and retrieval has developed so much that it’s almost hard to believe that we were once carrying 1.44Mb floppies. Those floppies held very little data in comparison to todays’ hundreds of gigabytes of storage capacity on backup drives and servers. Also, the physical size of these storage devices has reduced as well. Can you imagine 500GB of 1.44Mb floppies?
Connectivity Connecting with people all over the world is by far more achievable with the development of the humble telephone, fax, cellphone and the Internet. Apps such as Email, VoIP, and Instant Messaging have made things so much easier. Snail mail used to take as many as 3-4 days even in your own state or city. It now usually take 1-2 days, and and a parcel can be sent to another country in as little as 5-8 business days (less if you chose more expensive courier services etc.). Email is almost instantaneous. VoIP is becoming a very popular way of keeping in touch with people all over the world and is extremely cost effective. If you are already paying for Internet service, then you basically have a communications network at your disposal for free. There are plenty of ways to connect through many different VoIP companies/networks. Technology in general has become more affordable for the average user.
Productivity With the amount of technology on the market – both in hardware and software – the productivity rate has increased tremendously. Desktop PCs have become more powerful and more affordable to the average user, allowing more people to be connected to others. Portable computers and Internet available almost anywhere at any time for those that need it enables work to be done “on the road” so to speak. Applications and tools from word processing to music and film editing have become far more sophisticated… yet more user-friendly. This allows more people access to a multitude of ways to get things done. Mobile devices like cellphones and PDA’s allow for more mobility to the user. The term “technology” does not only refer to computers and Email. With the development of the computer, other technologies such as cars, ships , buildings and manufacturing/ production have increased dramatically. For example, in Beijing a container is loaded from a truck to a ship every 30 seconds. This would never have been possible 30 years ago.
Comfortability The developments in technology in the home and at work have made our lives much more comfortable, and enable us to have things from light and heat… to watching the latest movies or shopping from home. Traveling has become more efficient and more pleasurable as airliners have in-flight entertainment. If we dont like what they’re showing, we can always plug ourselves into our mp3 player or other mobile device. The next development in airline travel is the exploration of Wi-Fi in-flight for users to access the Internet.
Gadgets are cool!!! There are literally thousands of gadgets and devices that we dont really need. Us gadget lovers want to buy all of them. Well… a lot of them. We don’t crave them because we really need them, we want them just because they are cool to play with.

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Technology Business in Guatemala

Chris — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:16:02 +0000

Technology Business in Guatemala is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Kinglacho is a regular community member of ours, who happens to live in Guatemala. He is currently studying Systems Engineering, but knows that jobs in his field are rare where he lives. Kingalacho is curious as to what it takes to start a successful online business, such as mine.

Since I’m from Guatemala, a Third-World country, I’m aware that there are pretty much no interesting opportunities down here in the industry. It’s tormenting me, and I wanted to know if you could give me some ideas for a Web-based way of making some money. I’d like to combine this with my studies, and possibly make some money while still studying. Perhaps building a website or a web community, or maybe blogging very often like you do… I seriously don’t know. I’ve had some ideas, but I really do not know what to do in order to find a way to fulfill my need to work freely, doing what I like, which is working on computers and being online. I was hoping that you could perhaps put me on the right path. I appreciate your advice, since I’ve been able to see how much recognition you have on the Web, and I know that you do have many contacts. I feel that if there is someone to turn to for advice, it’s you. So, I’ll be waiting for your reply, and I want to thank you in advance, because I really, really would love to hear what you’ve got to say… Thank you.

Even being in a Third-World country, you have an amazing opportunity ahead of you. I wouldn’t be suprised to find that there are grants available either from your local government or on the International level that could help you realize your dreams. If you know what it is you want to do, there are so many ways out there to help you get started. What is the Internet doing to enable Commerce across the borders? If you put up a website, I should be able to visit. Maybe you have a marketable service that you are extremely good at… such as Web Design, or System Administration.

One thing I remember about being in Guatemala on my honeymoon is all the crafts and artwork for sale. To help enable those who don’t know anything about Technology… I think there is a gigantic opportunity for you. You could help them (and yourself) by getting them onto eBay or another auction site. You could start your own site, having a podcast where you feature a local artisan. You could have a site where you sell artwork and crafts on a commission basis. Just in that one area alone, there are many opportunities and ideas.

You obviously have the skills, access and ideas to make yourself a success. You just need to go for it. If it doesn’t work at first… you can always tweak it, scrap it and start over… anything! The possibilities are absolutely endless. Good luck to you!

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

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VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.