How to get the most value from your SMB office equipment: Tips and advice.
If a device is electronic and lives at least part of the time in an office, I can call it office equipment. Wired or wireless doesn’t matter, and we’ll even include software. I can’t really pretend operating systems and applications are physical equipment, but I do acknowledge that without software the office equipment becomes nothing more than expensive humming dust magnets.
Desktop Computers
I don’t remember ever testing a desktop computer for Network World, because our sister magazine PC World does that so often. Individual desktop computers get mentioned now and then, but usually in the pretext of a review of another product. I’m not against playing with a fancy new desktop computer for a year or two, but nobody will send me one for free.
For an experiment, I blogged all about building my own PC late in 2004. This computer remains my main system, although since it’s 18 months old I’m beginning to itch for a new system. Most businesses retire cell phones and PDAs like Pocket PCs, Palm devices, and BlackBerries at 18 months, but use desktop PCs for three years. I will probably wait until the end of this year and build another PC with Microsoft Vista compatible hardware to take advantage of the new operating system when it appears for consumers in 2007.
That said, most small business technology problems begin or end at desktop computers. They have become downright cheap, with mass marketers like Fry’s and Wal-Mart advertising usable systems for less than $200 on a regular basis. Even name brand vendors fight on the low end, as you know seeing all the Dell and HP advertisements for $399 desktops.
Of course, Computers and Water Don’t Mix . And low prices for complete (albeit not particularly powerful) PCs doesn’t eliminate the desire for something more manageable as Thinner PC Talk Increases . Google, always good for a conjecture-filled story, can’t seem to decide if it wants to challenge Microsoft directly or not, but that time is coming.
When desktop computers and other equipment outlive their usefulness, they must go somewhere. Everything Old is New Again details some of your options for recycling or reusing equipment.
Operating Systems and Applications
While Google proclaims they have no plans to confront Microsoft, one day recently I declared Google Rumors Verified . Why? Because they bought Writely , a decent online word processor that’s perfect for use by a Thinner PC.
When talking office software, 95 of 100 people mean Office software from Microsoft, sitting on top of a Microsoft operating system. As the world leader, Microsoft occupies the center of the bulls-eye for both operating systems and office (or Office) applications. In fact, it’s Microsoft vs. The World on a regular basis.
The world may be gaining a bit on the OS and Office front, but there are areas where Microsoft does not dominate. 85 percent of the accounting software purchased at retail is from Intuit in the form of either Quicken or QuickBooks (according to Intuit at least). Microsoft doesn’t win many battles on the small business accounting front, but they do have a few options when you realize you are Outgrowing QuickBooks and Peachtree .
Other Hardware
Remember the dreams of a paperless office? How quaint. Read about two good HP printers in Getting a Printer for the Holidays . I was impressed enough to buy an HP 2610 multi-function printer for my own office after reviewing these two printers. If you haven’t checked the prices of a piece of office equipment that can print (color and black and white options at every price level), scan, copy, and fax, you’ll be amazed at the price drops for reliable machines from a variety of vendors.
We were all promised personal videoconferencing by now, and yet we still don’t have it. We’re getting closer, but I reported that the Ojo Videophone Looks Great, but Issues Remain . This situation will change dramatically by next year, I promise. Internet Telephony provides the critical transport piece denied us by the traditional telephone companies with broadband connections, and Web cams integrated with computer-based IM and Voice networks such as Google Talk, Yahoo, AIM, and MSN leverage those connections for almost usable personal videoconferencing. Keith Shaw shows how well one specialty PC-based video tool does in his Cool Tool video of Video Blogging with Vlog It .
