HJDS Computer Services Computer Systems Support and Installation.

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.”

Posted under Twitter post

Not sure how to create a pivot-table in Excel? You don’t know how to put together a PowerPoint presentation? Sparky! This is where a file sharing program would come in handy. And you laughed at those of us who bothered to show up to Information Systems class. Youd think file sharing would be rather self-explanatory. You have files ” you want to share them. Simple enough, to be sure, but the file sharing world is rife with scoundrels. Be sure you take precautions and install credible software from credible vendors.

Now, the majority of contemporary file sharing networks are modeled on peer-to-peer networks. What if youre peerless, you say? You cad. Shape up ” and pay attention. A file sharing network will allow multiple people to access the same file. So, if your department has one monthly report, everyone on the team can access and modify the document.

With a good peer-to-peer network, or P2P as we hipster like to call it, you arent required to load one file in order to access another. None of his quid pro quo business around here. That is not to say anyone can access anyones files. Your peers may only allow certain files, folders, or drives to be accessed. You wouldnt want anyone to be able to go poking around in your financial statements or folder full of love letters to Ozzy Osborn now would you? Your MP3s are an entirely different matter ” I always thought you had great taste in music.

Another perk of the file sharing phenomenon is the access. Approved peers can access a file from any computer anywhere in the world. Is your boss in Frankfurt? Did he forget his report? No worries, move the file to a shared drive or folder and he can access it instantly ” is the speed of light instantaneous? Well, its fast enough. And if he or she ask you to modify the report, you simply open it, clean up your messy handiwork, save it, and give him the heads up.

Make sure, when you have the IT guy install your file sharing software, that the program has some kind of search capability. Picture a hellish scenario where youre not sure where your boss left the report. Now, picture having to search through each folder and drive on the network. Now, picture yourself at the unemployment office. Always make sure you have access to a search function. Indeed, some file sharing programs dont and they should be avoided like the plague. So, stay frosty and start sharing wisely.

Posted under Software

I think Michael Jackson put it best when he said, Dont stop until you get enough. Were all in such a hurry, trying to get enough, trying to get more and more and more. The typewriter too slow for you, Mr. Fast Pants? Use a PC. The PC too cumbersome? Use a laptop. The laptop too bulky? Use a smart phone, already! The drive to move and the need to communicate seem to be the two constants in this, our Modern Era, our Brave New World ” our Eden.

For yesterday’s traveling salesman, a leather briefcase was enough to force his way into your home. Today, were all plugged into the mainframe. We all need to access our email, our bookmarks, our Twitter accounts. For this, a desktop would indeed be just fine, if you worked out of an office. For you wonder kids, you whizzes of the New Dawn, this simply wont do. The slick salesman of today needs a laptop to pull up his PowerPoint presentation and flash demos of the new cyclone-powered robot vacuum.

The laptop bandwagon is now a baggage train. You can hop from one car to the next. Dont care for IBM? Rest easy, my son ” you have Dell, Lenovo, Compaq, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard and Apple ready to go. Dont like the silver cover? You are a finicky lout! Get the red one, or the black one or the yellow one for crying out loud. Now, you can even slap on some new laptop skins and presto: a racing flame laptop. Evel Knievel would be proud.

The accoutrements of today’s laptop computers are so numerous, so targeted, it would be a waste of time delineating them. Extended batteries, flash drives, wireless Internet connections, CD and DVD players and burners and built-in toenail clippers. Bill Gatess, Michael Dells, and Steve Jobss imagination knows no bounds. Hate squinting at a 12 monitor? Come, come, now man ” get yourself a 17 monster and let the whole caf enjoy your vacation slideshow set to Twisted Sisters Were Not Gonna Take It.

Some would say you should stay plugged in for as long as you can. After all, the information matrix never sleeps. Bring your laptop to dinner. Impress your date with all the tricks youve learned. Embrace this break-neck pace and let your laptop take you to the highest peaks of digital reality. Just make sure you dont stop until you get enough.

Posted under Hardware

These days, many workplaces couldn’t function properly without the help of support workers fixing both computers and networks, while advising users on a day to day basis. The desire for such skilled and qualified members of the workforce is constantly growing, as everywhere we work becomes more and more technologically advanced.

Making the most fitting career option is very difficult – so which sectors are important to investigate and what questions do we need to ask?

A ridiculously large number of organisations only look at the plaque to hang on your wall, and completely miss the reasons for getting there – getting yourself a new job or career. Your focus should start with the end goal – don’t get hung-up on the training vehicle. It’s a sad testimony to the sales skills of many companies, but the majority of trainees begin programs that seem spectacular in the marketing materials, but which deliver a career which doesn’t satisfy. Try talking to typical college students for a real eye-opener. It’s a good idea to understand the expectations of your industry. Which particular accreditations you’ll be required to have and how you’ll go about getting some commercial experience. It’s definitely worth spending time thinking about how far you think you’ll want to progress your career as it will often present a very specific set of exams. Always seek guidance and advice from a skilled advisor, even if you have to pay – it’s much safer and cheaper to find out at the start whether your choices are appropriate, instead of discovering following two years of study that you aren’t going to enjoy the job you’ve chosen and have to return to the start of another program.

Be careful that the exams you’re studying for are recognised by industry and are up-to-date. ‘In-house’ certificates are not normally useful in gaining employment. From an employer’s viewpoint, only the big-boys such as Microsoft, Adobe, CompTIA or Cisco (for example) provide enough commercial weight. Anything less just doesn’t cut the mustard.

Traditional teaching in classrooms, involving piles of reference textbooks, is usually pretty hard going. If this describes you, dig around for more practical courses which have a majority of interactive, multimedia parts. Where possible, if we can get all of our senses involved in our learning, then the results are usually dramatically better. Locate a program where you’ll receive a selection of DVD-ROM’s – you’ll learn by watching video tutorials and demonstrations, and be able to practice your skills in interactive lab’s. All companies must be pushed to demo some samples of the type of training materials they provide. Make sure you encounter videos of instructor-led classes and many interactive sections. You’ll find that many companies will only provide online training only; while you can get away with this much of the time, consider how you’ll deal with it if your access to the internet is broken or you get intermittent problems and speed issues. It’s much safer to rely on physical CD or DVD discs that don’t suffer from these broadband issues.

Proper support should never be taken lightly – locate a good company that includes 24×7 access, as anything else will annoy you and definitely hold up your pace and restrict your intake. Try and find training where you can access help at any time of day or night (irrespective of whether it’s the wee hours on Sunday morning!) Ensure you get access directly to professional tutors and not access to a call-in service which takes messages – so you’re waiting for tutors to call you back when it’s convenient for them. World-class organisations offer an internet-based 24×7 facility utilising a variety of support centres across the globe. You will have a simple interface that seamlessly selects the best facility available at any time of day or night: Support when you need it. If you accept anything less than support round-the-clock, you’ll regret it very quickly. You may not need it during the night, but what about weekends, early mornings or even late evenings at some point?

Consider the points below very carefully if you think the sales ploy of examination guarantees seems like a good idea: Everyone knows they’re ultimately paying for it – it’s not so hard to see that it’s already been included in the overall figure from the course provider. Certainly, it’s not a freebie – don’t think these companies are so generous with their money! Students who go in for their examinations when it’s appropriate, paying for them just before taking them are in a much stronger position to qualify at the first attempt. They are thoughtful of what they’ve paid and prepare more appropriately to be ready for the task. Don’t you think it’s more sensible to go for the best offer when you’re ready, not to pay any mark-up to a training course provider, and to take it closer to home – instead of the remote centre that’s convenient only to the trainer? A surprising number of questionable training companies secure a great deal of profit through charging for exams at the start of the course then cashing in if they’re not all taken. The majority of companies will require you to sit pre-tests and with-hold subsequent exam entries from you until you have proved to them you have a good chance of passing – making an ‘exam guarantee’ just about worthless. Exams taken at local centres are approximately 112 pounds in Great Britain. Why spend so much more on ‘Exam Guarantee’ costs (often covertly rolled into the cost of the course) – when good quality study materials, the proper support and commitment, effort and practice with quality exam preparation systems are the factors that really get you through.

We’re regularly asked to explain why academic qualifications are being overtaken by more commercially accredited qualifications? As we require increasingly more effective technological know-how, industry has moved to the specialised core-skills learning only available through the vendors themselves – for example companies like CISCO, Adobe, Microsoft and CompTIA. This frequently provides reductions in both cost and time. Of course, a reasonable amount of relevant additional information must be learned, but essential specialised knowledge in the areas needed gives a commercially educated student a distinct advantage. It’s rather like the advert: ‘It does what it says on the tin’. The company just needs to know what they need doing and then match up the appropriate exam numbers as a requirement. They’ll know then that all applicants can do what they need.

Being at the forefront of the cutting-edge of new technology is about as exciting as it can get. You become one of a team of people defining the world to come. There are people who believe that the technological advancement we’ve had over recent years is cooling down. There is no truth in this at all. Terrific advances are ahead of us, and most especially the internet will be the biggest thing to affect the way we live. Should receiving a good salary be up there on your wish list, you will be happy to know that the average salary of the majority of IT staff is considerably better than salaries in most other jobs or industries. The requirement for well trained and qualified IT technicians is assured for many years to come, because of the constant increase in the technology industry and the massive shortage still in existence.

Posted under Uncategorized