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XFER Blog

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.

Clean Up Your Computer with These Digital Clutter Practices

Clean Up Your Computer with These Digital Clutter Practices

Computers are supposed to make life easier, and in a lot of ways, they do. However, using a computer can get complicated at times, especially when you are working with tons of files, applications, and resources on a daily basis. This can lead to a ton of digital clutter, which can be counterproductive and time-wasting. Let’s learn about how you can reduce digital clutter on your work PC.

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Tip of the Week: The Letters of the Alphabet, in Windows Shortcuts

Tip of the Week: The Letters of the Alphabet, in Windows Shortcuts

The Windows operating system comes with more than its fair share of capabilities, many of which are accessible through the appropriate keyboard shortcut. Because remembering so many would be a challenge for some (and impossible for most) we’ve put together a list of those associated with the letters found on the keyboard, with a few extras tacked on for good measure. Make sure to take note of any you may find the most useful.

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Solid State Is the Way to Go

Solid State Is the Way to Go

Whenever you ponder the purchase of a new computer, one important specification that you likely consider is its data storage. This was especially the case when you considered a new machine for family use—there are a lot of documents and photos to store, and any kids you have will want to fill it with games and other apps. Nowadays, it’s a little different. Rather than focusing on storage, you’ll want to focus on the computer’s speed. Let’s get into it a little further.

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What to Look for When Purchasing Workstations

What to Look for When Purchasing Workstations

The technology your business uses is extremely important. One of the most important pieces of technology that you will routinely get is the workstation. Since it is the hub of productivity, there are certain variables that you need to consider when purchasing new workstations. This month, we will go through this process.

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Tip of the Week: How to Work Best While Working Remotely

Tip of the Week: How to Work Best While Working Remotely

While remote work has been more widely implemented than ever as of late, many people still find themselves struggling to remain productive throughout their workday. We wanted to share a few tips to help them really make the most of working from home.

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Tip of the Week: Reviewing Some Remote Work Best Practices

Tip of the Week: Reviewing Some Remote Work Best Practices

Despite many having to work from home for some time now, a lot of these people still haven’t quite gotten the hang of remote productivity or have developed some less-than-productive habits. This week, we’re providing these people with a few remedial tips to make their efforts while working from home as effective as possible.

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Is there a Difference Between Restarting and Just Turning It Off?

Is there a Difference Between Restarting and Just Turning It Off?

In a word, yes. Sure, there’s the obvious difference in that one leaves you with a computer that is turned off while the other results in it being turned on again, but there are other important differences that are present behind the scenes. Let’s go over a few of these differences, and how they impact when you should restart your computer versus when you should shut down completely.

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Warning Signs that Your Computer Needs Replacing

Warning Signs that Your Computer Needs Replacing

Are the computers in your office beginning to show their age? Do you even know how old they are? For the sake of your productivity, it may be time to replace them for a newer model. We’ll go over some warning signs that your computers may be nearing their retirement age.

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Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part V

Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part V

By now it should be clear that the same computer might not work for two different businesses’ needs. In previous articles we discussed how to select the right CPU, RAM, storage, and display for your desktop. This final post will be dedicated to some of the topics that couldn’t fit into previous parts.

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Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part IV

Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part IV

Without a monitor for your new desktop, it won’t be much to look at. While you’re recovering from that pun, let’s discuss some of the major considerations you might have for purchasing a display for your new device.

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Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part II

Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part II

In this second part of our desktop buying guide, we’ll be discussing RAM, or random access memory. Many users find this difficult to understand, but we’ll do our best to make sure it’s explained as adequately as possible so you have all the answers you need when you build your new computer.

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Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part I

Getting a New Computer? We Can Help, Part I

Are you in the market for a new desktop computer for your business (or your home office)? We’ve put together a five-part guide to help make sense of the components that go into a desktop computer to give you a better idea about what you may need in a new desktop. We start our guide by breaking down CPUs, and what is right for your needs. 

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Tip of the Week: 5 Windows Tricks

Tip of the Week: 5 Windows Tricks

The Windows 10 operating system is the most common operating system for business use, which is what makes it surprising that so few know how to adjust its appearance to suit their preferences. For this week’s tip, we’ll go over a few ways to adjust what you’re seeing and/or looking at for maximum productivity.

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Tip of the Week: 5 Tricks to Using Windows

Tip of the Week: 5 Tricks to Using Windows

There’s a lot more to the Windows operating system than first meets the eye, especially where handy shortcuts are concerned. Today, we’ll cover five of the shortcuts baked into Windows that may be beneficial to your productivity.

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Tip of the Week: Your Guide to Using Multiple Displays

Tip of the Week: Your Guide to Using Multiple Displays

Depending on the task you’re trying to work on, it can sometimes seem like there just isn’t enough space on your computer monitor. One of the best solutions is to add another monitor. However, this sometimes requires more that just plugging another display into your system. For this week’s tip, we’ll review the steps to connecting multiple displays to your workstation.

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Tip of the Week: Cover Your Assets By Properly Disposing of Your Old Computers

Tip of the Week: Cover Your Assets By Properly Disposing of Your Old Computers

It can be difficult to think about replacing expensive hardware like desktops and servers without breaking your budget, much less having to deal with your old data. Thankfully, there are certain steps that you can take to make the transition to a new PC or server much easier, and it all starts with properly getting rid of your old technology.

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3 Billion Users May Have Good Reason to Avoid Upgrading Their Old PCs

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Any user of technology knows the frustration of periodically replacing it with better and more recent technology. In fact, the latest gadgets seem to be outdated just months after they’re released. Many people believe that this unprecedented growth in the technology industry could lead to a decrease in PC sales, but it also means that devices are growing more reliable.

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Tip of the Week: Should You Leave Your PC On, or Power it Down?

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At the end of the workday, you’ve got an important decision to make: power down your desktop or log off? Each option has its own set of pros and cons, but are you confident that you’re making the right decision? Here’s how to find out for sure.

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Tip of the Week: Every PC User Should Know NOT to Do These 3 Things

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Knowing how to properly use your PC is key to its longevity. Therefore, you should never take for granted basic PC best practices. Here are three basic PC best practices that are easy to overlook.

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Be Sure to Take These 4 Actions Before Leaving Your Desk Unattended

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We’ve published several blog articles about enterprise security technologies, but it’s equally important to focus on the other side of the security equation and make sure people know how to properly log off, lock, and walk away from their workspace. To that end, even something as seemingly-mundane as forgetting to lock your computer can leave your network vulnerable, big-time.

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