Knowing When to Replace Your Business Technology Hardware

While it’s not uncommon to have a vehicle for 10 years or a washing machine for 15 years, the same cannot be said for technology and electronics. Your business computers are no different.

I had a company contact me a while back to help them with the main computer in the office. This particular computer was used to create medical animations for large companies and doctors offices. This computer was their powerhouse – and it was 10 years old.

None of the hardware or software was under warranty or even supported by any vendors. Ten years is a long time to wait to upgrade your computer. In some situations, like this customer, we were able to retrieve the data, but they were stuck without a crucial component of their business; the computer, and looking at spending thousands of dollars to reinvest in a new computer and software licensing.

You do not have to replace your computer every year, or even every 18 months as some “experts” might suggest. If you follow these guidelines, you should be in the clear.  Read more...

If you are not actively looking for wholesale computer hardware as part of your notebook shopping process, you are making an almost fatal mistake that will cost you money that you could easily save for future use.

A visitor once asked me via email how she could track down laptop computer sales and if there was a time saving way to go on about this.

After a few thoughts, I simply put myself in her shoes and what you are going to read below is what I would do if I wanted information on wholesale computer hardware.

First of all, you need to know that at any given time, there is some sort of wholesales on laptops going on. The reason behind them is to get shoppers to buy now instead of later (which usually is never).

With that most sales you’ll hear about are nothing but marketing ploys that retailers use to get your money before their competitor does with promises of lower prices.

My favorite time to hunt down wholesale computer hardware is during special times of the year. For instance: back to school, holidays such as Christmas and the ultimate of all, when new laptop models are made available on the market.

Computer hardware is a physical part of a computer that executes within the hardware. It is unlike computer software or data that can be frequently changed, modified or erased on a computer. Computer hardware is not frequently changed and so is stored in hardware devices such as read only memory (ROM) where it is not readily changed.

Most computer hardware is embedded and so is not visible to normal users. Below are the different types of hardware’s found in a computer.

Ø Motherboard: It is the central or primary circuit board making up a complex electronic system such as a computer. A motherboard is also known as a main board, logic board or system board.
Ø Central processing Unit: A CPU is the main component of a digital computer that interprets instructions and process data in computer programs.
Ø Random Access Memory: A RAM allows the stored data to be accessed in any order. RAM is considered as the main memory of the computer where the working area is used for displaying and manipulating data.
Ø Basic Input Output System: BIOS prepares the software programs to load, execute and control the computer.
Ø Power Supply: Power Supply supplies electrical energy to an output load or group of loads.
Ø Video Display Controller: It converts the logical representation of visual information into a signal that can be used as input for a display medium.
Ø Computer Bus: It is used to transfer data or power between computer components inside a computer or between computers.
Ø CD-ROM drive: It contains data accessible by a computer
Ø Floppy disk: It is a data storage device
Ø Zip Drive: It is a medium capacity removable disk storage system.
Ø Hard Disk: It is a non-volatile data storage system that stores data on a magnetic surface layered unto hard disk platters.  Read more...

When you use your computer, you are communicating on an IP network that is sending and receiving all Internet traffic. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) uses this same network to send its packets of voice data when you make a call from your computer to either another computer or a landline. The excitement over VoIP services is that you can use the Internet that you are already paying for to make free phone calls! Obviously, you need more than your computer to make these calls – VoIP hardware.

In order to use VoIP phone services you need to subscribe to a plan from a provider of VoIP hardware. What you pay depends on your choice of hardware:
* Computer-to-computer
* Computer-to-phone
* SIP-to-SIP (Session Internet Protocol)
This may sound confusing but once you understand the service you will find the choice relatively easy to make and your only decision will be the provider you offers you the best benefits for the least amount of money.

Computer-to-computer VoIP service is free. This is the most common form of VoIP and the one most of the public is most familiar. A provider of this service, Skype, both the caller and receiver need to be using their services. With a set of speakers, sound card, and a microphone (or USB phone) you can call anyone worldwide who is also using Skype; for free.  Read more...

Computers often break down at the worst of all times. These problems can be averted, or at least minimized with preventive maintenance. Several methods of keeping computer hardware in good working order deal with the external components of the computer, such as the keyboard and monitor. For example, it is important to keep the processor away from excess heat and moisture. There are also computer hardware preventive maintenance software programs that can help with the upkeep of other internal aspects of a computer.  

While it is rare to find a CMMS that works on all of a computer’s hardware, many different programs can be utilized simultaneously. Some computers have periodic automatic updates available that can be downloaded and used to improve the computer’s performance. Other software programs, known as disk defragmenters, manage hard drive space so that software programs take less time to access. Programs known as hardware diagnostic utilities can check the computer’s hardware components and alert the user about any potential failures. Since some new hardware will not always work on all computers and could cause existing hardware to malfunction, it is important to have a CMMS program to ensure that the new hardware is compatible with existing hardware.    Read more...