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Directive has been serving the Oneonta area since 1993, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

4 New Features of Microsoft Excel 2013

b2ap3_thumbnail_excel.jpgDoes it feel like your new Windows 8 OS is missing something? It might be because Microsoft Office 365 is not out yet; it is scheduled to be released Q1 of 2013. The updated Office applications have been overhauled to flow with Windows 8, and we want highlight five of these new features found specifically in Excel 2013.

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Tip: Good Filenames Will Save You Time

b2ap3_thumbnail_filenames10.jpgWhat feelings are conjured up by the phrase, "file not found?" If you are unable to locate an important file on your PC, you are going to have a bad time. Insult is added to injury when you cannot find a file that you created because you do not remember what you named it.

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Managed IT Service Prevents Costly Repairs

b2ap3_thumbnail_repairs.jpgDo you have a plan in place for when your technology breaks or crashes? As wonderful as computers are, the hardware wears down, and software can become buggy and crash. Having a go-to plan in place for IT hiccups, will save you time and frustration from having to react to a problem and scramble to find a fix.

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Tip of the Week: View Text in Windows Clearly

b2ap3_thumbnail_focustext10.jpgSpending hours every day staring at a computer monitor can cause strain to your eyeballs. Computer vision syndrome (CVS) affects 50 to 90 percent of computer workers physically with headaches, eye twitching, and physical fatigue. CVS can decrease productivity and even increase work errors. To help alleviate eye strain, Windows has an easy-to-use feature called ClearType.

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iTwin: A Hardware Solution for File Sharing

b2ap3_thumbnail_itwin10.jpgWith computing becoming increasing mobile, software companies have begun to roll out all kinds of file sharing options. There have been many of these file sharing options made available to consumers and companies alike, with most adhering to the freemium business model. Google (Drive), Apple (iCloud), and Microsoft (SkyDrive), and countless others have released file sharing and collaboration software via the cloud and while these services are great if you want to share small files like documents or playlists, when you need to share large files or a large quantity of files, these solutions quickly become expensive.

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Stolen Device Damage Control

b2ap3_thumbnail_laptopstealer.jpgThe smartphone ownership rate for American adults increased to 46% in 2012, this according to a study by Pew Research. This study does not include other mobile devices like tablets, laptops, and notebooks, but the use of these devices is also growing, with worldwide sales for just smartphones and tablets projected to hit 1.2 billion in 2013.  

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Weekly Tip: Email Attachment Shortcut for Outlook

b2ap3_thumbnail_emailattachmentred15.jpgChecking and replying to emails can be a drain of precious time in your day. For this week’s tip, we have a shortcut to share with you that will quickly attach a file to Microsoft Outlook; saving you the time of searching your documents in order to locate a certain file.

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What’s New with Microsoft PowerPoint 2013

b2ap3_thumbnail_ppt20132.jpgRiding the hype wave from the launch of Windows 8 is the newest version of Microsoft Office. Scheduled for release during Q1 of 2013, Office 365 has significant upgrades and new features in line with the revamp of Windows 8. We will showcase a few of these improvements by looking at 5 new features for PowerPoint 2013.

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4 Tips to Shop Securely Online

b2ap3_thumbnail_addtocart10.jpgThe 2012 holiday online shopping season is shaping up to be the biggest yet. Harris Interactive conducted a survey regarding this holiday season, and found that 51% of Americans plan on shopping online this year. Everybody has different reasons to shop online, 71% of respondents thought they could find better deals, and 31% want to simply avoid the crowds.

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Managing Employee Stress and Fatigue

b2ap3_thumbnail_stressrock.jpgStudies have shown that fatigue-related productivity losses and workplace accidents can be extremely detrimental to a company's production, and ultimately, its bottom line. In fact, a 2010 study done by internationally-renowned fatigue management expert Dr. Mark Rosekind and his colleagues found that fatigue-related losses at four U.S. corporations they surveyed totaled about $2,000 per employee annually. There are some options open to an employer to make certain that he or she gets the highest level of productivity from his or her employees.

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A Lap is No Place for a Laptop

b2ap3_thumbnail_girlonlaptoponlap.jpgLaptops are like the Grape-Nuts cereal of computers. Just as a Grape-Nut is neither a grape nor a nut, so it is with laptops, they are not designed to operate sitting on top of a lap! Of course, using a laptop on your lap is not going to immediately ruin your computer, but habitual lap usage can shorten the life of your machine.

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Tips to Effectively On Board New Employees

a1sx2_Thumbnail1_hiredhandshake.jpgEvery business is striving to grow, but with growth comes new challenges like hiring new staff. If you have a growing business model, then you likely achieved this by adopting smooth procedures. The same principle applies to growing your staff; and with solid on boarding procedures in place, you can get more performance out of your staff.

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Desktop + Tablet = Sony Vaio Tap 20

b2ap3_thumbnail_tap20-10.jpgThe recent tile interface overhaul of Windows 8 is groundbreaking enough to spawn entirely new computer designs and devices. The Windows 8 interface makes a desktop PC feel more like a mobile tablet, therefore Sony took the next step and combined a tablet and a desktop with the Vaio Tap 20.

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Weekly Tip: Quickly Close All Windows Programs

b2ap3_thumbnail_sdwctrlaltdel10.jpgHow many different programs do you have open in Windows right now? Three? Five? More than ten? The more programs you have open at once, the longer it takes to close everything down. And what if you find yourself in a storm and need to shut down everything before a power outage strikes?

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Adobe Reader X: The Best PDF Reader for Mobile Platforms

b2ap3_thumbnail_adobereadermobile15.jpgOver the past two decades, the Portable Document Format (PDF), developed by Adobe Systems, has become the industry standard for clean and secure documents. There are many PDF-viewing applications available across the various app markets. However, you can't go wrong with Adobe's sleek-looking and versatile PDF reader, Adobe Reader X.

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Is Your Network Monster-Proof?

a1sx2_Thumbnail1_fuzzmonster.jpgAre you ready for Halloween? Beyond having a cute costume picked out; we want to know if you are prepared for a disaster brought on by ghosts, ghouls, goblins, or ogres. Battling the dark legions can escalate quickly into a full-blown crisis, and as your IT Company, we view it as our duty to help you prepare for the worst.

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Weekly Tip: Take Screenshots to Communicate Support Issues

b2ap3_thumbnail_takeascreenshot.jpg

Have you ever been working on your computer when suddenly a wild error appears? If you need to better explain your problem to tech support, snapping a quick screenshot can be super effective.

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Windows 7, Your Days are Numbered

windows7deadlineThe week before the launch of Microsoft's Windows 8, Reuters reported that many businesses view the launch as a non-event. Corporations are generally slow to adopt new systems, taking 12-18 months to first test a new platform before implementing it. Many businesses do not see any additional business functionality with Windows 8, and write it off as a consumer product.

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The 3 Flavors of Windows 8

a1sx2_Original1_windows8icecream.jpgOctober 26th is the launch of Microsoft's new OS, Windows 8, and the world seems disoriented at the dramatic overhaul of a traditionally predictable product. To make things a bit more confusing, there are actually 3 different versions of Windows 8 being released. You should know the differences between each one before purchasing your next Windows operating system.

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Calculate Your Downtime

a1sx2_Original1_coinclock.jpgDoes it sometimes feel that business is going well, yet your bottom line is taking a hit? If time is money, then downtime is anti-money, and downtime may be your biggest budget buster. To help you determine exactly how much your IT downtime is costing you, we have two mathematical formulas you can apply to your business.

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Our business began its journey with the purchase of a personal computer back in 1992. This purchase ignited a passion with Chris Chase, our CEO, and there was no stopping its momentum. Less than one year later, he had his first IT support client (and...

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