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XFER Blog

XFER has been serving the Livonia area since 1994, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.
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XFER Blog

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Technology, Security, Best Practices, IT Blog, Cloud, How To, Business, Alerts, Off Topic/Fun, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized, Tip of the Week
Mike

3 Reasons Why Text Messaging Makes a Poor Business Tool

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Do you have what it takes to win the annual National Texting Championship? 17-year-old Austin Wierschke has the texting speed, dexterity, and accuracy to be crowned the most recent texting champion, an accomplishment accredited to sending 500 texts a day for training! This is a major achievement for young Alex, but does it translate to a hirable skill?

Tags:
Business Computing Text Messaging Smartphones
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Mike

Make Gmail More Efficient With This Trick

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One of the biggest time wasters we all face is sorting through our email inbox. This is a tedious task made worse because you have to sort through emails from the same sources every day, like newsletters and social media updates. Here's a tip to help you better organize your incoming Gmail messages.

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Google Email Workplace Tips
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Mike

Don't Make These eBay Mistakes

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Since 1995, eBay has become an online giant, and an obvious choice in the ecommerce industry. Buyers and sellers have taken to this online platform as a convenient solution to acquire things they want, and sell things they don't.

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User Tips Best Practices eBay
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Mike

Don't Trust AnyBYODy

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The latest news in office technology movements is the shift toward BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environments; in which employees are bringing their own mobile devices to work. All the cool kids are doing it, but should you? Before you follow the trend and allow your employees to bring their devices to work, you should consider these risks.

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Bring Your Own Device Mobile Device Management Security
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Mike

The Booming Industry of Cellular Radio Telephones

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As commonplace as cellphones are today, it's hard to imagine that there was a time in the 1980's when this technology was first introduced and the benefits had to be explained. Here's an old cellphone commercial from Motorola about "the booming industry of cellular radio telephones." Times sure have changed!

 

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Communication Smartphones History
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Mike

IBM CEO Shares 3 Benefits of Successful Data Management

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As your company grows and enters into more competitive markets, your ability to access reliable and accurate data is of the utmost importance. Ginni Rometty; CEO, president, and chair of IBM, shared her insight on data management in her speech on October 2nd at the IBM InterConnect 2013 event. Here are three benefits of successful data management according to Rometty.

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IBM Data Business Management
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Mike

The Horrifying Reality of Nomophobia

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What are you terrified of? Spiders? Heights? Deep water? Financial problems? Shockingly, the greatest anxiety among humans is public speaking, even ranking above the fear of death! But, for some people, these things would be readily faced in lieu of their greatest fear; being cell phone-less! Oh, the horror!

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Smartphones Mobile Devices Humor
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Mike

How to Protect Your Cloud Hosted Data from Security Breaches

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Recently, Adobe sent out e-mails and letters to users notifying everyone of a security breach. "The attackers may have obtained access to your Adobe ID and encrypted password." The obvious question here is, "How do I protect myself and my business from such attacks?" The unfortunate answer is you can't, but you can marginalize the impact by taking some common sense measures.

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Privacy Security Hosted Solutions
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Mike

Apple’s New OS X is Free for All!

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Overshadowed by the new iPad Air and iPad Mini announcement, on October 22nd Apple launched its new Operating System OS X Mavericks. This new OS is sleek, efficient, and free. Wait, a free Apple product? Really? Yes really. Is this too good to be true? Let's take a look at this new OS and find out.

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Software Apple Operating System
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Mike

Microsoft Gets Down to Business with Windows 8.1

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One year ago, Microsoft took a big gamble when they released Windows 8 with a new user interface that strayed from their successful twenty year-old template. Throughout the year, Microsoft has been listening to user feedback and they have recently addressed the biggest issues with Windows 8.1, the first major upgrade to Microsoft's newest OS.

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Upgrade Windows 8 Microsoft
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Mike

7 Tech Assets You Need to Succeed

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As a small business, your goal should not only be to survive, but to thrive. Many times, small businesses try to cut costs by not purchasing essential equipment and services. Unfortunately, because of its cost, technology ends up on the backburner of the priority list. Don't cut corners. Here are seven tech assets you need to invest in.

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Managed Service Provider Technology Tech Support
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Mike

4 Characteristics of a Fake Facebook Friend

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With all the personal information users entrust to Facebook, it's no surprise that scammers are also on Facebook, often posing as friends. When using Facebook, you will need to be aware of this scam in order to keep your personal information safe. Here are four characteristics of a fake Facebook profile that you should consider before confirming a friendship.

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Social Networking Facebook User Tips
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Mike

3 Easy Tips to Improve Your PC’s Boot Up Time

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Improving your computer's startup time is a great way to get more productivity out of your work day. Studies have shown that people are most productive during the early hours of the day; therefore, you don't want to waste your best hours waiting for a PC to load. Here are three easy tips you can do to improve your PC's boot up time.

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Best Practice Quick Tips Computer
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Mike

#WhatYouShouldKnowAboutHashtags

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You've seen them around everywhere. Every time you watch TV, look at a poster, listen to the news, or have a conversation with a teenager, you'll be exposed to the term "hashtag". What are hashtags exactly? What do they do? Why should you care about them? How can they help your business? #readmoretofindout

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Social Networking Communication Best Practice
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Mike

Disconnect from the Web and Experience Life

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Mobile devices give you the ability to always be connected with the virtual world. It may seem like this is great for productivity because you feel like more work is getting done; but could it be that constant connectivity is wearing us down? In light of the stresses caused from being connected, it's good to unplug and recharge your brain.

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Social Miscellaneous
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Mike

What’s Up with Google Glass?

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Every once in a while, a radical piece of technology is introduced to the market that has the potential to change everything. Over the last half century alone, digital music, cell phones, GPS technology, PCs, and much more hit the market and changed the way technology is incorporated into our daily lives and workplaces. Is Google Glass the next revolutionary gadget?

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Google Gadgets Technology
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Mike

Windows XP is a Liability for Your Business

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If you are still running your business or home PC on Windows XP, then it's vital that you upgrade to a newer OS. Yes, your decade-old Windows XP system may be working just fine, and therefore, you may not feel the urgency to upgrade, but you will feel the heat next year when Microsoft stops supporting its popular operating system.

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Workplace Tips Microsoft Windows
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Mike

How Good is Your Technologese?

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Have you ever talked with an IT technician about how technology works, and one minute into their explanation you zone out and can't understand a word they're saying? They're speaking English, you recognize the words, yet you can't make sense of anything. In situations like this, you need an interpreter that speaks technologese, we can help.

Tags:
Customer Relationship Management Managed Service Provider Vendor Management
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Mike

3 Differences between Real Clouds and Cloud Computing

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Have you ever wondered how cloud computing got its name? Despite popular opinion, cloud computing has nothing to do with the clouds in the sky. Instead, information is transferred to and from data centers, which are shaped nothing like clouds. Yet, there are similarities between the two clouds. We will compare them side-by-side to help you better understand cloud computing.

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Business Computing Cloud Technology
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Mike

Fixing a Computer’s Bing Bong Noise

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With traditional IT support, there's room for humorous-yet-frustrating mistakes stemming from miscommunication. Having a user with limited knowledge about computers describe their problem to an IT technician with limited patience is a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, new IT support tools make communication between users and IT support much easier.

Tags:
IT Consultant Computer Repair Managed Service Provider
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