A Beginner’s Guide to Using Your iPad as a Business Productivity Tool
by Dave Caolo

Despite Apple’s legendary ease of use, the iPad presents many users with a challenge. Its unique design, operating system, and applications–among other things–can be confounding to the very business people who would find it beneficial.

The primary audience for this ebook is business people working in a corporate environment who have been issued an iPad by their employer and are looking to integrate the low-cost iPad into their workflow. Topics covered include syncing the iPad with Windows-based devices, working with spreadsheets, developing and presenting slideshows, app recommendations, and more.

I am always looking for ways to use my iPad for High Aspirations, Inc. work. It was bought for work after all. Although you cannot say that too loudly when my kids are around because they believe it’s meant for movies, Angry Birds, and Zombie Highway! It has come in handy already troubleshooting clients with mobile email access problems and I’ve used it to remotely connect to my desktop. See, it’s not just for chucking cute little birds around! I snagged this free Kindle eBook when I spotted it in the hopes that it can help me find even more ways to use my iPad and thought I’d share because I cannot be the only one battling their children for use of their cool toy!

No Kindle? No worries… Kindle books work on all sorts of devices. Get your free app here.

Speaking as someone who spent the last week trying to figure out what was wrong with my machine, replacing a failing hard drive, and now still knee deep in reinstalling everything, access to a full backup of your hard drive is priceless!

A Beginner’s Guide to Using Your iPhone as a Business Productivity Tool
by Dave Caolo

The quickest, easiest, and friendliest guide to using your iPhone 4 for business.

After spending hundreds of hours on dozens of computers, the iPhone 4 is the best computer I’ve ever owned. This tiny machine runs Apple’s powerful iOS and features a huge number of fantastic business apps. In this book, I describe the business deployment of the iPhone, how to complete common business tasks such as working with documents, presentations, and the calendar, how to use travel apps…and yes, of course, phone calls.

Lately, I seem to be helping clients out more and more with their mobile devices. Mostly setting up and troubleshooting their email accounts. My mobile device of choice is the iPad which at least gives me a clue as to how to help with the iPhone. I’m not an expert, far from it, so when I saw this free Kindle eBook I thought it might help someone get to know their phone better and what they can do with it.

No Kindle? No worries… Kindle books work on all sorts of devices. Get your free app here.

But, did you know that browsers also have limitations on the size of files we’re allowed to send? It’s true! When I found the following article on SendThisFile’s blog, I thought I’d share…

File Sharing 101: Sending files over 2 gigabytes
by Alex, July 19, 2011

As powerful as the internet has become, it still has some growing to do. Today’s web browsers are limiting the size of the files that we can send each other. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer version 8.0, the most popular web browser in use today by a wide margin, is limited to uploading files no larger than 2 gigabytes in size.

The result? You simply cannot send a file over 2 gigabytes on web-based file sharing sites without using a dedicated program outside of the web browser as a workaround. Unfortunately IE 8.0 isn’t the only browser with this limitation, all major web browsers including Google Chrome, FireFox, and Safari each have a simliar restriction.

Web Browser	Version	Upload limit
Internet Explorer	6, 7, 8	2 GB
FireFox	3.6.3	2 GB
Chrome	4.1.249.1064	2 GB
Safari	4.0.3	2 GB

SendThisFile has brought the power back to the browser with the release of it’s new beta, which allows in-browser file uploading (e.g., sending) of files larger than 2 gigabytes! No longer will users be forced to use FTP or other complicated methods of file sharing.

Using the power of Java, one of the most popular programming languages in use today (pre-installed on nearly all major operating systems), SendThisFile’s web development team has enabled large file sending without any special application software. A single installation of our configuration free java applet is all that you need do for the freedom to share files of any size with anyone, anywhere.

Try it today!

The original article can be found at the SendThisFile Blog. Thanks go to Walker Schwartz of SendThisFile for the permission to republish.

The new SendThisFile service is, at this time, available only to paid subscribers of their service. For those of our maintenance clients who don’t yet have a SendThisFile account, but want the service added to their web site, please let us know.

One of our biggest roadblocks when trying to help our clients with the occasional tech support problem is being able to see what exactly the problem they are having is. Now, with this handy little tool we are able to give our clients the power to request help from us either by giving us complete control of their computer or allowing us to view their screen while we walk them through to a resolution.

There is no setup required, no networking knowledge needed, and we cannot connect to you without your invitation. Best of all, CrossLoop is free to download and use.

If you need our help, please call or email us first to setup an appointment. Once we have confirmed your appointment, please visit http://www.crossloop.com/ipage.htm?id=download to download the application. Installation instructions can be found on that same page.

We hope you will take advantage of this tool by giving us the power to better help you.

Now, I’m going to assume that this fix will only be temporary until Google catches up and changes all the themes, but until then I’m going to take advantage of it and hopefully help someone else out there in the same boat. Apparently, they have not moved the tabs to the left on the UK version of the page so if you change your language settings you will get your old page back.

To do this click on “My Account” at the top right of your page, and then click iGoogle > settings, change your language setting (it’s the first option) from English (US) to English (UK) and voila your tabs are back where they should be!

I recently got a new pc. It’s a decently powered machine, came with Windows Vista but customized with a downgrade to Windows XP Pro, my operating system of choice. Well, I personally miss the days of a boot to a C:\ prompt, but that’s another tale… So, my new pc comes with a Windows Vista sticker on it so I’ve got my Windows Vista Product Key in case I ever want to install it (Ha!). However, there is no Windows XP Pro Product Key sticker to be seen on the machine, in the machine (like they’d put it there!), or on any of the paperwork (not that there is much of that), CDs, or CD envelopes. So, my quest for a Windows XP Pro Product Key begins. Why? Because I know that eventually I’m going to have to reinstall it, it’s a fact of life when you run a Windows machine. You either reformat and reinstall to blow out the cobwebs or your machine slowly screeches to a halt and you buy a new one. I prefer to get the most out of my machines, so a good reformat happens eventually.

I called support and asked my simple Windows XP Pro Product Key question. Yes, I feel this is a simple question. However, it apparently is a political hot bed of finger pointing and as usual the customer is the one who pays the price. Whatever! I’m told that I can’t help you find your Windows XP Pro Product Key, I can, however, tell you to go to Google and search for “how to find your Windows XP Pro Product Key within the registry.” Huh? Why can’t you tell me where to look? Because it’s against Microsoft rules, I am not allowed to tell you how to hack your registry. What? I’ve been in my registry five million times, I’m not doing anything illegal, it’s my product key, I own the software, I’m not trying to steal anything. Sorry, but I cannot tell you how to edit or view your registry. Whatever, thank you very much.

Inspiration… Belarc! Doesn’t Belarc tell me everything about my pc? I installed Belarc, I know I did, oh where is that wonderfully simple, delicious little program. Tada! Windows XP Pro Product Key!!! AHA, I am victorious. Bite me Microsoft! Bite me Tech Support! I HAVE THE POWER…

Oh, and I did search Google just for the heck of it and after a few looks I determined that after Win 98, Microsoft decided to encrypt the windows key within the registry so to get it now, you’d have to download some program. Ha, don’t need to deal with that when I have the mighty Belarc!