The Launch Pad has discovered rare footage of the first recorded IT professional at work. Take a journey back to when IT helpdesk support’s first question was not “Have to tried to reboot?” but rather was “Have you tried turning the page?”  Let The Launch Pad help your organization umm …. open the book!

 

 The First IT Professional: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nikon has just released an updated version of their CoolPix S1100pj camera with a built in projector and the new version is an improvement over the old in almost every way. The new version is smaller, less expensive and is a handy tool for the business person looking  to make presentations on the fly.

The camera features have been improved with a pixel-count of 14MP, an ISO rating 6400, and a 5x zoom, but what’s really great about the S1100pj is the projector feature.  Simply hook the camera up to your Mac or PC and project your PowerPoint presentation with it’s 14-lumen projector.  The brightness of the projector is 40% higher than it’s predecessor, so that it’s possible to use the projector even in lit spaces.  Of course the projection surface has some limitations with a maximum image size of 47 inches at a distance of 4 meters but for presentations to a small group of people, the projector works surprisingly well.   With a battery capacity of one hour, you may want to bring along the camera’s AC adapter as a back up power solution.

Available in September, the price for this new S1100pj is $350.00.  For more information on solutions for your business, contact Megan Meisner, mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813-920-0788 x210.

The Launch Pad, President and CEO, Ilene Rosoff has been honored for the second year on the MSPmentor 250 report, a list of the world’s top managed services executives, entrepreneurs and experts, community leaders and coaches.  Ilene has been recognized for her outstanding leadership as CEO of one of the leading small business IT services companies in the country.

“The Launch Pad’s success is not only marked by our recognition and growth in the industry, but also by the growth and success of our clients. Our primary goal as a technology services company is to help small and medium-sized businesses incorporate the technology tools and expertise that was once only available to enterprise-sized organizations, “ says Ilene Rosoff. “It is that competitive advantage that helps our clients to be successful and us to build long-term strategic partnerships.”

The third-annual MSPmentor 250 report is based on a global survey of MSPmentor readers, conducted from May through July 23, 2010. The resulting report represents MSP experts in North America, Europe, Australia and emerging managed service markets across the globe. “MSPmentor congratulates Ilene Rosoff and all of the experts identifies within the MSPmentor 250 report,” said Amy Katz, CEO of Nine Lives Media Inc. “We hope the MSPmentor 250 serves as a global Rolodex that allows MSP industry leaders to quickly network within one another.”

The complete report is available now at: http://www.MSPmentor.net/top-250-people

To learn more, view our press release.

Implementing a few smart paper saving techniques is a relatively painless yet effective way to go green and save green.  This post details a number of key printer settings designed to conserve paper for printed documents.  Stepped instructions are provided for making these settings the default for your new documents and resource conserving ways.

Margins
Margins are set to 0.5” on all sides, to maximize available print space.

Using headers and footers: If you plan to use a header or footer for your document, you should adjust the top or bottom margin or change the header or footer distance from edge setting in the Page Layout dialog box.

To use these margins for all documents: Open a new document (which will be based upon your Normal template), and set your margins and header/footer distance as desired. Click the Page Layout tab, click the Dialog Box Launcher below the Page Setup group, and then, in the Page Setup dialog box, click the Default button.

Styles
The Traditional style set has been selected for this document, with some modifications to eliminate excess white space. There is no Widow/Orphan control set for paragraph formatting, paragraph spacing before heading styles has been decreased, and the Office theme fonts have been selected.

Line Spacing:
If you wish to adjust the spacing above headings and between paragraphs, modify the corresponding Heading and Normal styles.

Character Spacing:
If you wish to compress the spacing between characters to fit more characters per line, Word provides a kerning feature. On the Home tab, in the Font group, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher. In the Format Font dialog, on the Character Spacing tab, select the Kerning for fonts check box and set the value you want.

To use these styles for all documents:
Make any additional style changes to suit your needs. When you are happy with your settings for fonts and line spacing, on the Home tab, click Change Styles, point to Style Set, and then click Save as Quick Style Set. Type a name for this style set, then click Save. You can now apply this style set in new documents by selecting it from the Style Set list.

Save More Paper When Prinitng

Automatic Paper-Saving Adjustments:
When printing, have Word reduce the number of pages in your document by using the Shrink One Page option available in Print Preview.

Printing Multiple Pages per Sheet:
Print multiple sheets per page using the Zoom option,  Page per sheet, in the Print dialog box. Many printers also offer this type of option in the printer Properties dialog box, and you may get faster output by making this choice with the printer rather than through Word. (Use the setting in Word or your printer only, not both.)

Duplex Printing:
If your printer supports this option, consider using duplex (or two-sided) printing.

Columns:
For documents with a large number of short lines, consider using table columns to place multiple columns of data across the page.

Distribute Electronically:
Consider saving your document to XPS or PDF format and distributing electronically (via e-mail, shared server, or web site) for online viewing rather than printing.

For more information on Green IT strategies view our Easy-to-GreenIT™ page or download our webinar, “Simple Green Technology for Small Business.”   

Megan Meisner, Easy-to-Green Program Services Director:  mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813-920-0788 x210.

The days of balancing on a chair with an arm stretched out over your head trying to get internet connectivity might be over. The Huawei MiFi offers the ability for multiple users or multiple devices to connect to mobile broadband on a portable Wi-Fi unit.  This sleek device is battery-powered and shares a 3G data connection over Wi-Fi. Now business executives working away from the office can experience on-the-go wireless internet anywhere at anytime.

The Huawei E583C, small enough to fit in your pocket or briefcase,  will support up to five devices over Wi-Fi, plus one additional via a direct USB port.  It also has a microSD-card slot for storing and streaming data. The E853C comes with a 1-inch OLED screen providing operator-network details, signal strength, Wi-Fi connection status, and battery level at a glance.

The product supports Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, with a promise of hitting upwards of 5.76Mbps (up) and 7.2Mbps (down). The Huawei E583C will debut in Hong Kong later this month for $1,380 (or approximately $177 U.S.).

For more information on Mobile Solutions for your business, contact Megan Meisner, mmeisner@launchpadonline.com or 813-920-0788 x210.