I have run into this problem so many times in the past I eventually just wrote a tool for it. I think there might even be others out there, but they weren’t around when I needed them and so I’m releasing mine for free.

I hope it saves you as much time as it saved me.

BTW, when you initially double click on the EXE to run, it may take a number of seconds before it loads. This is because it is building the list of available network machines.

Remote RDP Enabler

Zachary M. Morvik

I performed the upgrade on a couple other Wordpress installations just to make sure it wouldn’t blow up the sites.  I’m happy to report that it didn’t.

So I’ve upgraded this site as well.  It went very smooth even though I have many plugins installed and activated.  I love the new features and interface.

Highly recommend the upgrade to anyone.

Zachary M. Morvik

Have you heard that the US is entering a recession? Silly question, right?

What analysts have also said is that while the US is in a recession, there are certain industries that will be, largely, unaffected. The computer service business is one such industry. Companies need computer services. Recession or not, computers will break. They will need repairs and they will need upgrades to some degree. Backups still need to happen, SPAM still needs to be taken care, etc.

One of the great things about the computer service business is that, fundamentally, businesses need computers. Companies can cut back on a number of things, but the needs of computers can’t be overlooked. This is reassuring to those in the computer service business, but remember that the customers are now a little more price aware. In most markets, computer services are very competitive. Have you looked in the yellow pages recently? Dozens of competitors would not be surprising.

Take comfort in knowing that this industry is poised to do well, but don’t think it will be a free ticket.

Zachary M. Morvik

This campaign is fantastic and long overdue.   The “U Comment, I Follow” is displayed to let everyone know that when you comment on this blog, the URL you leave with your comment will not be tagged with NoFollow.  This means that search engines WILL FOLLOW your link and you will have another inbound link.

It made a lot of sense to have the NoFollow tag, but now with SPAM control and comment moderation, there is no reason why you shouldn’t get a link back to your site when you comment on mine.

You are helping my blog by leaving a comment, the least I can do is give you a link.

Zachary M. Morvik

Are you a tech or are you a business person? Are you more interested in technology or in business? Do you enjoy the thought of making sales calls and meeting new people or is this the last thing in the world you would want to do?

These are a few simple questions to ask before you become an independent computer consultant or a business owner.

If you are more of a tech and don’t really like business and sales, thats fine. Get a tech gig somewhere and be happy. Don’t bother with the stresses of consulting and business ownership. You’ll be happier in the long run.

If, however, you aren’t afraid of sales calls and all the challenges that come with running a business or going it alone, then you’re in the right place and I’ll enjoy you’re company.

Welcome.

Zachary M. Morvik

Just a quick note to make sure everyone is aware of the Office patches coming out on Tuesday.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-mar.mspx

Zachary M. Morvik

Wanted to give a warning to all of my readers and a lesson on how *not* to do business. I used a web hosting company named Glob@t for some side project domains. The web hosting was just like one would expect and I did not have many downtime issues. That is where my compliments for them end.

Beyond the hosting, specifically billing, they are horrible. What vendor or company do you work with that automatically upgrades your account and charges you for it?

They would send an email stating that your account would be automatically upgraded in X number of days. You had to unsubscribe from this or you could expect to see the credit card charge. As if that wasn’t bad enough, if you did unsubscribe from this automatic upgrade, you can rest assured that you will receive the same email with the same intent a short time later (measured in months).

Then, go try to cancel your service. Good luck. It got bad enough that I called while my bank was on the phone because I was disputing the charge. This happened because I did opt out of their automatic upgrade and they did it anyway. Their customer service refused to talk to me unless my bank hung up. We refused so they hung up on us.

Obviously, my bank continued the dispute and my funds were returned. But, guess what happened 10 days later? They charged my account again. Eventually, after 45 minutes on hold, I did get through to the Glob@t cancellation line (you can’t cancel online, only via phone and only after you put up with their cancellation rep trying to get you to stay) and was able to cancel my line.

I don’t like to call out companies like this, but I feel it would be a disservice to not warn anyone who reads this about what you can expect from this hosting company. There are thousands of hosting companies out there. Find a different one.

Zachary M. Morvik

I tried to upgrade Thunderbird this morning and during the installation, I ran into an error with file mozMapi32.dll.

Strangely enough, this turned out that my Logitech Quickcam software had a lock on this file.  Just right click on the Quickcam icon in your system tray and exit the Quickcam software or terminate the process.  Installation of Thunderbird will proceed with no problem.

Zachary M. Morvik

I have updated the service monitor tool based on the feedback of a few customers. Customers thus far love the product and can’t believe they ran their servers without it.

Knowing when services are no longer available/responding is powerful knowledge. You’re customers will be impressed when you can call them and tell them that you are aware of a problem before they were even aware of it.

Zachary M. Morvik

How many times have you or one of your technicians spent three or more hours working on a spyware, virus, or quirky hardware problem? I’d guess the number is much higher than one. How about the number of times where more than one hour was spent? Probably still at least one right?

While it can be difficult to do, especially for technical staff, you and/or your staff need to recognize when a specific problem just isn’t worth the time. With new basic computers costing $500 or less, it is a disservice to your clients to bill them three hours fixing a 2+ year old machine… buy a new one.

Even just reloading a computer can cost more than it’s worth. Fixing extensive and advanced spyware and virus problems is crazy. It is definitely worth trying to fix the problem. Typically spyware and virus problems can be fixed pretty quickly. I’m talking about the issues that you have already spent an hour trying to resolve. There needs to be a cut-off point. A point at which you have the business sense to step back and realize that it just isn’t worth it.

It is in the clients’ best interest for you and your staff to be able to realize when it no longer makes sense to spend time on that particular issue. Workstations are cheap. Your time is not. If your customer does not understand this concept, explain it to them. They will appreciate that you are looking out for their best interest.

Zachary M. Morvik

Something I have noticed is that many computer consultants place a high value on time. Each minute of each day is either billable or it’s not.

That’s true and it’s also very false. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. You don’t get anymore and neither does anyone else. I personally don’t choose to look at each moment as either billable or not. For me, that would be an easy way to drive myself crazy.

It is important to set goals and strive to exceed them, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to figure out ways to keep squeezing more billable time out of the same 86,400 seconds. You will quickly become a slave to your business if you try this.

What has also been observed is how much time computer consultants and business owners will spend trying to save small amounts of money. Payroll and anti-spam companies come to mind.

I have seen very small businesses waste dozens of hours trying to choose a payroll company to run payroll for two employees. Dozens of hours. What are dozens of hours worth in a time is money type business? It’s hundreds of dollars or more. Would you spend hundreds of dollars of billable time so that you could save $10 per month on your payroll? Now that I point it out like this, you would probably say no. But, the next time you get caught up spending large amounts of time trying to save a small amount of money, take a step back and make sure its actually worth it.

Time is money and this is true to a certain extent, but there are plenty of ways to increase your revenue without becoming a slave to your business.

Time is precious and it is the one thing that is irreversible and you will never get back. You have a limited supply of time and it is the most expensive thing you can give up.

Choose wisely.

Zachary M. Morvik