I recently had a phone interview with a technology reporter from Arizona on Win 7. I told her that based on our experience at Liberteks.com to date, Win 7 was largely success in terms of migrating and upgrading XP and Vista to run in Win 7.

But I could tell that she wanted more, that she was looking for something negative, or something that wasn’t working well. Now don’t get me wrong, she’s a top writer and editor with over 20 years in the technology industry. But her desire for news was understandable – she’s writing for software developers nationally and internationally who are looking for the latest cutting-edge information on the product.

In one circumstance,  I was able to provide the case of a realtor client of mine who had an application (Top Producer), which the manufacturer claimed would only work in XP. We were able to get it to run in Win 7 using the “Compatibility Mode” function.

This created great business value for the client, who didn’t have to purchase a software upgrade and perhaps more importantly, all of her data and settings were restored exactly where she left off.

When the reporter asked if at some point old software needed to be ported to Win7 – if updated software needed to be purchased—I told her no, an upgrade would  not appear to be necessary if the program was working adequately for the user.

And that was my eureka moment:  Software updates were part of the old paradigm. In today’s desktop the operating system can run both the old and new apps. The desktop user interface manages the back end application.

In other words, if you want the new features and functionality of the latest update, you can go out buy the newest version, but if your software application is working well for you, you can continue to use it in the Win 7 environment.

So you can have your cake and eat it with Win 7. Give me a few months and we’ll continue to monitor it, but the ability to run all of your old programs smoothly in a Win 7 environment is a major accomplishment. I’ll continue to keep you updated…

I know, everyone’s talking about the great recession, Nostradamus and 2012.

But how about your business?

If you want to continue a successful business you need to control the systems that allow for business growth. Only with growth on some measured basis can it determined if you are moving toward your goals or falling behind.

Especially now that we are in recession it may feel odd if there are no simple controls on your business, i.e. simple controls that make it easier for money to flow in, versus flowing out, etc.

If we look at the business world there are few models of continued growth over a 25 year period. In fact one of the few pure forms of current growth is the geometric growth axiom displayed by Moore’s Law.

No it’s not Rodger Moore, or Mary Tyler Moore or even St. Thomas More, rather it comes from Intel cofounder Gordon E. Moore who originally posited the concept in 1965.

Moore’s Law asserts that computer transistor and integrated circuit capacity can be doubled approximately every two years.  If we extrapolate this productivity gain into our technology applications and business productivity, we can conclude that we have the capacity to double our technology application and business productivity every two years.

In fact you can put away Nostradamus for a moment and stop counting to 2012 because Moore’s law has shaped your world far more significantly than either of these two totems of popular prophesy.

As you bask in the simplicity and reliable delivery of quality goods and services at increasing lower prices you are experiencing the transformational power of Moore’s Law.

But how are you applying these advances from Moore’s Law to your IT solutions? Are your IT applications (hardware, software, network, telecommunications) light, basic, dependable and strategically configured for growth?

Every business should take advantage of productivity gains available through technology… Liberteks.com can provide your productivity solutions!

Next post: Business Cycle meets Moore’s Law.

Simple is good. Simple is fast and easy. And when it comes to your computer, you should always keep it as simple as you can.

Everyone thinks computers are complicated, but I believe the best way to manage a computer network is by keeping it simple, so that you never have to think about the technology. (Do you ever worry about how the electricity in your house works when you turn on the light?)

Einstein said “Keep it simple, but no simpler,” and that’s what our technicians do at Liberteks.com. We take a complex assortment of operating systems, applications, networks and files and make it simple, fast and easy to use — you dont’t need to think or worry about the computer.

Too often, computer users have added applications that muck up and slow down the computer’s performance. You know, those old photo display programs (Picasa, etc.) or trial software that are still on your hard drive taking up space, constantly bugging you to purchase them as well as interfering with other programs and slowing down your system.

I don’t mean to be crude, but it’s like trying to put 10 pounds of ass into 5 pounds of pants…

Today those functions are often available on you operating system or on preinstalled software programs.

In the same way, there had been the trend to develop custom programs for a business’ specific operating. I would argue that this is costly and unnecessary in the majority of circumstances.

And that’s where Liberteks.com “Best Practices” and “Managed Care” programs come in. We clean up your system, remove old programs and files and reconfigure you system to run more efficiently. I’ve been told by my customers that their computers operate even faster after an upgrade than they did when they were first purchased.

On the business end, most small businesses would find it more efficient and cost effective to use pre-developed software and incorporate it into their system. Most programs can be customized to meet your exact specifications, and provide all of the functionality you seek.

The benefits of this approach are numerous. Your network runs smoother and more efficiently by uploading the specific programs you need. Upgrade and repair/reprogramming costs are significantly reduced.