Softwords Blog

Disposing of Old Equipment

Keeping up with the Joneses, when it comes to computers, can be a complicated thing especially when your kids are asking to upgrade their computers because their friends have it. On the other hand, maybe you’re always looking for the newest, latest, and greatest when it comes to hardware.

You are not alone. Many people purchase and upgrade their computers only to have old computer equipment languishing in their offices and basements. Landfill sites are the premature destination for the computer wasteland when many of the parts can be recycled and certain metals extracted from the equipment. With spring in the air, maybe it’s time to do some spring-cleaning. One of the best ways to recycle your old computer is to donate it to your local education system. With under funded schools looking to make ends meet, what better way to help the future of tomorrow by giving them your used equipment. Many Windows software products run in a legacy type manner where current software programs are very similar to their previous versions. From a hardware perspective, the components of the architecture are similar. All have motherboards, expansion slots, processors, memory, hard drives, and fans. High schools and colleges might be able to use your hardware to teach technical aspects of the Information Technology sector. If you decide to go this route, be sure to remove all business and personal related matter. Remember, your office is working under the rules of the Privacy Act so please remove or delete everything first. In addition, if you are giving away your home computer, make sure it doesn’t contain personal and financial information on you or your loved ones. You don’t want that falling into the wrong hands especially to young, inquisitive, mischievous minds. For those of you who are more advanced, formatting the hard drive and then reloading accompanying software might be a better idea. Be sure to give them all operating, program disks and documentation in case they have to uninstall and re-install operating systems, drivers, or software.

If your equipment is of a vintage state, (where it can only be used as a doorstop), some municipalities have a recycling depot program where they have a depot for old electronic equipment. Even if you are dumping your equipment, be sure to format or uninstall all personal information. Please check with your local municipality for available recycling programs. Many monitors and television sets contain lead, which are harmful to the environment, so it’s best to dispose of it this way. Some of the larger business retailers also have programs to recycle old telephones and ink cartridges. If you really want to recycle, in the past Hewlett Packard has occasional programs where they will recycle old printers, whether manufactured by them or not, at a cost, if you ship it to them.

Recycling your old equipment is good for young minds and the environment. It will also help you clean up your office or basement.

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.

Advantages Of Using Adobe Acrobat PDF Files

Adobe PDF documents can be shared, viewed, and printed by anyone, on any system, using free Adobe Reader® software — regardless of the operating system, original application, or fonts. Adobe Reader® software can be installed on every network computer or system for free and people and you can download it for free from the Internet. PDF files are an advantage to your A&L Document Console system because it allows you to share documents easily with anyone with no added expenses.

Benefits listed are as follows:

• Documents always look exactly the same

• Documents can be distributed worldwide for almost zero cost and then be digitally printed.

• Documents can be magnified by up to 1600%, without diminishing the quality.

• The documents can be navigated by keyword search, table of contents or hyperlinks.

• The format is ideal for presentations, since PDF documents always look exactly the same on all platforms.

• The file format is very compact, so files can be sent quickly to recipients.

• Ideal for archiving, since the look and feel of documents is retained and the document size is compact

• The file format is essential for business documents like agreements and forms that must retain their exact appearance for legal reasons.

Sharing across Platforms

A PDF File is a document format that represents a document in a manner independent of the hardware, operating system and application software used to create the document. It was designed to enable documents to be transferred and shared across computer platforms. A PDF document created in one platform such as Windows can be read in another platform such as Macintosh or Unix. All these advantages translate into faster, cheaper and less complex documents, improving workflow throughout the your office or business.

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Why Update? Why Not!

Technological changes in the medical industry are simply a part of life. Sometimes it’s due to security concerns and other times it’s to upgrade on the current situation. But security consists of many things. When an employee leaves the company, are locks and security codes changed? User names and passwords? These issues must be acted on and dealt with immediately and has nothing to do with the existing hardware or software. The hardware and software would work just fine if no changes had occurred with the employment status. If a disgruntled employee leaves, are they taking personal or valuable information with them that should be left in the office? With the advent of PIPEDA, otherwise known as the Privacy Act, greater care must be taken to secure information from leaking into the public domain.

With the computer, the public domain can be a two way street which can also be accessed through your computer if you have access to the Internet. As most of you know, “www”, stands for “World Wide Web”. You can surf the web and look for just about any information you wish. However, an astute computer “intruder” can send out signals, similar to sonar, and if they get signals back, that’s a hint that somebody out there may not be properly protected. This “intruder” may then try a number of ways to force their way into your computer and see what’s available. That’s why there are a number of companies that produce security software and peripheral hardware to prevent it. Anti-virus “Suite” programs may now include firewalls and other protectants like spam filters, incoming/outgoing e-mail scans, and script blocking. As technology forges ahead, everyone will get caught up in it’s crest and be forced to move along especially if one of the leaders like Microsoft moves forward. Working in conjunction with other leaders in the software and hardware industries, companies are constantly looking to improve their products. Security with Microsoft is no different.

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.

Using Photo Printers for office work?

So you are running a busy office and you need to print all sorts of things. You saw a printer on sale for a great price and can’t pass up on a deal for your office printing?

When buying a printer, it's important to know exactly what you want it to do. Many offices opt to buy a lost-cost ink-jet printer, because it’s on sale and it can do a lot of fancy things. However, do you really need all of those options? Some printers may cost little in the short-term, however in the long-term end up costing you an “arm and a leg”. Keep in mind that the makers of ink-jet or photo printers don't make a large amount of money from printers anymore. It's all about the ink. You will repeatedly shell out roughly $30-50 each for those black and colour ink jet cartridges that your printer needs; and if you print a lot, the costs mount quickly.

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.

Wireless Networks

Using DVD Technology for your Backup

Ever had your system crash on you with the blue screen of death or one morning you turn on your computer and all the data has been erased? How about a virus that compromised your system in the middle of the day? Believe me, you do not want to be in that situation ever and what’s worse is you have absolutely no data to restore from. This article will attempt to outline the technology of DVDs and how you can use it to backup your valuable data.

DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disc and it is a high capacity disc for video, multimedia, games, audio applications and now data storage. As you probably already know, data is useless if it cannot be retrieved and restored easily. Most backups are confined to the spanning of data across sets of discs due to storage restrictions. What if one of those discs that belong to the backup set got damaged? How about backing up your data on to a single DVD and forget spanning across several discs? Now, you probably understand DVDs as a movie disc that you can rent at the local video store but have you ever thought about backing up your data onto these DVD discs? Well, there are six recordable versions of DVD-ROM devices and it’s important to know what the differences are and what each of the different formats is used for. The table below will give you an idea of what they are and specify their functionality and storage capacities.

Similar to CD-R, DVD–R and DVD+R can record data only once. Like CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW and DVD+RW can be recorded many times. The advantage of using a DVD as supposed to a CD is it can store a lot more data. The storage capacity of a CD-R and CD-RW is 700 Megabytes whereas DVD-R and DVD-RW holds 4.7 Gigabytes of data, that is almost 7X the difference between the two medias. When compared to a DVD-RAM, that difference is doubled to 14X that of a normal CD-R or CD-RW. This is kind of the same battle between Betamax and VHS back in the day when users were experiencing a dilemma with the technology being implemented. The important thing to note when purchasing DVD media is to ensure that the DVD rewritable drive and DVD software support the format being used. Some DVD burners will allow you to only playback on their own proprietary DVD media. If you attempt to try and playback on another DVD burner, it will give you an incompatibility error. It is important before you purchase your DVD burner to ensure that you do not purchase a proprietary DVD playback media.

DVD-RAM is the recommended method of choice for backing up data for storage purposes simply because it can be double-sided and has the capacity to store as much as 9.8 GB. There are several companies that manufacture these DVD-RAM devices. Heavy weight companies like Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi and Compaq are all currently manufacturing and selling DVD-RAM drives. However, DVD-R and DVD+R burners are also readily available to accomplish the same task at half the data storage capacity. The difference between DVD-RAM and DVD-RW media is that DVD-RAM uses random access storage similar to a floppy disk whereas DVD-RW uses limited sequential access storage. The main advantage of random access storage is that it lasts a lot longer than it’s sequential counterpart making it perfectly suited for use and re-use by consumers.

Before you start buying DVD burners, consider how much data you really have to backup. If you have data in the range of over a Gigabyte, I would strongly recommend using DVD technology. Also, keep in mind that DVD technology is fairly new and like all new technology will end up costing more. The price of a CD-RW burner can range anywhere from $100 to $200 depending on the speed and the brand name you buy. Comparatively, DVD burners fall typically in the range of $500 – $600. As you can see, the price difference is staggering and something that you might want to carefully consider when deciding on what your backup solutions will be. Keep in mind that DVD technology is fairly new and not quite to operating speeds as some of its competitive counterpart. CD-RW burners typically operate at a maximum writing speed of 52X whereas the highest writing speed DVD burner only operates at a top speed of 4X. What that means is that if you wish to burn a 4.7 GB DVD-R disc, it will take you typically 15 minutes at top speed.

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.

Networking at the office and home

The definition of networking is defined in the Gage Canadian dictionary in computer technology as, “A system of communication links interconnecting a set of computers and peripheral devices.” Another definition in the same dictionary is, “meet with friends or colleagues to exchange ideas or further one’s own interests.” The second definition is also applicable to the people behind the computers. The common denominator here is the linking and sharing of information. The use of computers to make our lives easier has been well documented, although I’m sure there are people who disagree with this statement. Storage of information, sharing them simultaneously, and never misfiling is the exact reason why large corporations do this, including MOHLTC moving towards OFHN.

This technology is also becoming quite common in smaller offices and homes. There are many reasons for the proliferation and mass acceptance of networks. Its ease of implementation and acceptance of technology are major reasons why it’s been pre-wired in many new offices and homes and if it’s not pre-wired, wireless technology is now widely available. Price also falls into the category of ‘ease’ and is part of the equation. Network cards, are commonly part of the package when purchasing computers, as opposed to being options as in years past. Routers, Hubs and Switches, used to link more than two computers together are also reasonably priced, allowing offices and homes to share computers, peripherals, programs files and Internet access.

Network protocols linked to network cards, mapped to proper locations are necessary to start the networking process. Setting it up properly and getting the right equipment for your needs are all part of the preparation. Is it that easy? The answer is yes, but there are many things to consider like:

- Should I go High-end/Low-end?
- Who is going to set up my network?
- Who will setup my security?
- Why do I need a hub/router?
- What do I look for when buying?

Answer those questions and you may have others. Do I go wireless? It’s very new and high tech but here is a list of things to consider regarding Wireless Networks

- A larger threat of network security breaches
- The technology's low cost of entry makes it very appealing
- Inexpensive equipment also makes it easier for hackers to launch an assault
- Many WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) kits come already configured either with no passwords, or default accounts that are widely known in hacking circles
- Other exploits that might endanger WLAN environments include jamming, which overwhelms the frequencies with illegitimate traffic
- Client-to-client attacks that circumvent the access point; and encryption attacks that exploit well known limitations in the Wired Equivalent Privacy encryption system

Security should be a concern for both office and home. Personal information from your home or trade secrets from the office can be vulnerable in wireless environments. Without security measures, there is little to stop an internal or external attack if setup by a naive PC user. This may provide a useful entry point to the network, which is behind the firewall and other perimeter security. An attacker abusing these wireless access points wouldn't necessarily stand out. Who would question a man in a suit using a PDA in the office lobby, or on the street outside? Rather than glancing through his/her schedule, he/she could be running one of several security and hacking tools that have now been ported to handheld devices to enable them to intercept and monitor wireless traffic. Understanding how they work and using this information to thwart their success is a beneficial stepping-stone to any secure and safe wireless solution.

Networking can be very complex but dealing with professionals will get you pointed in the right direction with safe and secure information flow. The end result may make your life in the office and/or home much more profitable and efficient. But as Bill Gates once said, “Security is a journey, not a destination.”

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.

Computer Technology 101

As we all know, technology never stops. Anyone who’s ever shopped for a computer has gone through this. What devices, specifications, programs, do you want on your computer? How much do you want to spend? How fast should it be? If you wait six months from now, that same computer will come do wn in price, but there will be one that’s faster with more memory and hard drive space for the same price you were willing to spend. When do you buy? How long will it be before your new computer becomes ‘outdated?’

“Outdated,” is a relative term. If you use your computer with your programs and you don’t constantly add new programs to your computer, you will never need anything more. It’s only when you start getting new versions of some programs or adding new programs that your hardware requirements might have to increase. And then, your computer may become “Outdated.”

This article is not meant to answer these questions, but to show you the next stage of technology and how quickly it’s moving. I’m sure we all know of people that are into gadgets. The line of toys we are referring to today are extensions of PDA’s (otherwise known as Personal Device Assistants). Today, the subject is pen-based computing.

The first company out of the gate seems to be IBM with their product ‘ThinkPad Transnote.’ IBM has described it as “the revolutionary portfolio notebook.” Similar in size to a conventional portfolio, it opens up pretty much like a leather-bound portfolio. The one side has the screen while the other side is a tablet that is used for writing. IBM describes it as a ‘digital notepad,’ that allows you to take notes, create sketches and fill out forms.

As you write, using IBM pens and pads, the information is written on the pad like a conventional ink pen on paper. What actually is happening is the reading of that information on a digital format thus allowing you to save it in JPEG, TIFF, or PDF file format thus saving exactly what you have written or drawn. How many physicians out there write quicker than they type?

Also, have you ever needed to draw a sketch or diagram on a sheet of paper that’s been inserted to the patients file? To draw or sketch something is not possible with a keyboard and that’s where the IBM ThinkPad Transnote comes in.

If your office is thinking about electronic record keeping, this device in conjunction with the A&L Document Console would fit the bill. The A&L Document Console allows you to scan existing paper documents, type new documents, and import text or image documents to patients files. However you choose to document your files, there are new ways of creating and storing them.

Due to its slim, compact design, it has some nice features such as a pivoting “FlipTouch” TFT touch screen. You can use your fingers instead of a mouse! Its current configuration is a Pentium 3, 600MHZ computer. It comes with 64MB of RAM memory (expandable to 320MB) and a 10GB hard drive. It’s capacities are about even compared to other notebooks and laptops. But because of its physically small stature, it does not have a 3.5” floppy nor a CD-ROM.

The idea behind these devices and its portable nature is to take it with you where you. Ideally this is used in a networking situation where you can ‘dock’ your computer and transfer the information to a network drive. Thus to transfer information, including software applications, you may have to load them through a shared CD-ROM or floppy drives. Of course, you can purchase external drives and connect them as needed. It would be no different from the first generation notebook and laptops. Those would have also required an external CD-ROM to load programs.

If you want to be the first one on your block to have one, there it is. However, Microsoft has licensed some OEM manufacturers to produce a similar product that is about the size of a clipboard. We’ll all wait anxiously for the next “toy” to appear on the scene.

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.

A look into the future of Quamtum Computers

By: Michael Yuan

Having trouble keeping up with today’s fast pace technology? Well be prepared to be blown away, the new wave of computers are just around the corner. These new generation machines surpass the computers of today. What are these amazing machines? Quantum Computers.

To picture what a quantum computer might look like, you have to disregard any knowledge of conventional computers as they exist today. A Quantum computer is basically a specific number of atoms, which (after placed under a magnetic field) have the ability to switch their charges. The switching of charges can also be compared to the way a computer would look at binary code. Binary code also deals with ON and OFF switches (usually referred to as 1’s and 0’s). By piecing together strings of these 1’s and 0’s, the computer can develop commands. With a Quantum computer, these are all done with quantum particles such as electrons and atomic nuclei. Qubits (or quantum bits) are the individual units that make up a quantum computer. The major advantages to quantum computers are that they can be in a state of superposition, which means that an atom or nucleus can be both 1 and 0 at the same time. Computers today can only process an On (1) or Off (0) switch, but by being able to do both at the same time this increases the speed that the computer can process data.

Technology that would exponentially surpass that of what exists today definitely has a number of uses. Throughout time technological advances have made people work more efficiently. For example in a typical clinic 5 years ago a person would find papers everywhere. Today technology enables us to store and retrieve those same papers all within a computer (with software such as A&L Document Console). Looking into the future, the possibilities are endless. With a quantum computer being able to calculate exponentially faster than the computers of today this will save the user even more time. Within the next 5 to 10 years the way that records are kept will be changed to an even greater extent.

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Note: All issues from the year 2000 are provided in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To view these files, you need to have Adobe Acrobat® Reader installed on your computer. You can download this free software from the Adobe Web site.