Welcome to the N-Tech Solutions Customer Newsletter for November 2008!
by Nathan Woodcock
As part of our commitment to providing an IT service that is professional, straight-talking and enjoyable we publish this newsletter every month or so to keep in touch, have some fun and maybe even point out a few handy computer related things. If you'd prefer not to receive this email simply click the unsubscribe link at the bottom on this newsletter. Welcome to summer! It’s hot and glorious and you have to be happy about living on the Sunshine Coast at this time of year. Ok so I might be in an especially good mood having been married last month and spending a week in Fiji, but living here I’m never depressed coming back from any holiday. I hope my periodic absence and difficulty being contacted during October didn’t inconvenience anyone too much. Whilst we did have staff on-hand to handle any urgent onsite work it’s not the same as having the person who knows your IT setup intimately.
Job Database & Ticketing System.
by Nathan Woodcock
One of the things we’ve found challenging as the amount of jobs we’re doing has grown is effective tracking of all the jobs performed for you, the client. This includes the original request of the job, the booking of the job, the work performed to resolve the issue, and the accurate billing for the job. When it’s just one person doing all the jobs you can manage a lot of this informally, but if you take on someone else, or even intend to, having an organised system to handle the workflow is essential.
This is why we’ve invested in a Job Management System built specifically for the IT service industry. Not only can we now easily track all the work performed for a client, who did what and when, we can pull up this information in seconds. For a one-off fee we can even give you, the client, web-based access to the system so you can look back over the history of jobs we’ve done for you. So when we invoice you for your next job, in addition to an invoice you’ll also receive a worksheet which lists all the work performed, by whom and when. Every worksheet and invoice has a Ticket Number which you or we can use to look up any job instantly.
Due to the immense amount of work it would involve we haven’t entered all the details for every job we’ve done up to this point but from now on all jobs are logged and managed within the system meaning that no matter how large we grow, every tech has full access to the entire history of client work. We may be small, but we’re thinking big.
Fake Anti-Virus Software...
by Nathan Woodcock
Here’s a solution for the many of you who have been hit with the malware program that goes by various names like Winantivirus 2008, Winantivirus 2009, Winantimalware 2009 etc. This software pretends to be an anti-virus and anti-malware program but in fact is a malicious program itself. It tells you about non-existent viruses and threats on your PC and encourages you to buy it. DO NOT BUY IT. The program needs to be removed immediately. The best and simplest tool I’ve found to do that is the impressive Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php). Simply download, install it and run it and it will remove it for you (along with a bunch of other nasties if you have them). Offline Backup...
by Nathan Woodcock
Did you know we offer an online backup service for our clients? This enables critical business data to be uploaded to our secure server automatically, ensuring that even in the worst possible scenario such as fire or theft on your premises you are still able to retrieve your data. There are some limitations on the amount of data that can be transferred – typically you would be looking at under 1GB total data to be backed up periodically. It’s perfect for resorts wanting to backup their Puma, Ezyrez, Hirum software and businesses wanting a secure offsite backup of their Quickbooks or MYOB data, or other industry applications. Talk to us about your specific needs. This Months Specials!
by Nathan Woodcock Asus Eeepc Mini-Notebook $599
One only! This tiny smart notebook weighs only 1kg and has a solid state hard drive (no moving parts!) for increased speed and reliability. With an 8.9” widescreen, Bluetooth, XP Home, 1GB RAM and a long lasting 6 cell battery it will cope with all your mobile office needs and is small enough to slip into a handbag! Ask us about cheap external DVDRW options.
Specs:
INTEL ATOM 1.6 GHZ CPU
12GB SSD DRIVE
1024M DDR2 RAM
8.9" Widescreen
Wireless, Bluetooth, 10/100 network
Built in Webcam
XP Home
Black
 Samsung CLP-300N Colour Network Laser Printer $199
One only! A networked colour laser for under $200, and it’s a Samsung so it’s rugged and reliable. Up to 17PPM black and 5PPM colour. Perfect for the home office. First to email gets it. 
HP/Compaq C792VU Laptop - $650
One only! Featuring an Intel Celeron 2.13Ghz processor, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, 15.4" widescreen display, DVDRW, wireless, Vista Home Basic and a free Targus notebook Bag. 
| Credit Card Payment Accepted:
Did you know you can now pay us by credit card and Paypal? We accept Mastercard and VISA via Paypal, although there is a 2.5% transaction fee attached to CC payments. If you wish to pay your bill via credit card let us know and we will email you a link that enables you to pay quickly and securely, without even signing up for a Paypal account. If you have a Paypal account and wish to use that, our account is
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Please ensure you include the invoice number as reference.
Managed IT / Computer Monitoring
Our Managed IT service looks after your servers (and workstations if required) with 24x7 monitoring and alerts for the cheapest rate in town.
Vista - Now or Never, or just Never?
The next version of Windows, Windows 7, is due around 2010 which is really little more than a year away. For those of you who haven’t updated to Vista, you really need to ask yourself is there any point in doing so before Windows 7 is released. Although Vista proved that early adoption can be a painful process... IT Snippets... "They say one of a baby's first non-verbal forms communication is pointing. These days Clicking must be somewhere just after that."
"When I was a teenager, Mum said I'd go blind if I didn't quit doing *that*. Maybe she was right — since the invention of internet porn, computer monitors keep getting bigger and bigger!" — Bill Ervin.
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication." — Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"I see no progress in this industry. These clocks are no faster than the ones they made a hundred years ago." — Henry Ford, while visiting a museum.
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