A month in the life...

April 2008 Update

Managing Subscriptions and Spam

More and more websites and companies are asking for personal information during their online subscription/registration process. For this reason, many people use 'throw-away' email addresses (yahoo, hotmail, etc) when filling in such forms so that their main email address isn't the target of unsolicited spam.

If you don't already have a 'throw-away'email address, consider creating one today!

March 2008 Update

Internet Research

Many more people are using the Internet to research their hobbies, determine the availability of rare collectibles and find distant relations than ever before.

However, just as there are a million ways to use the Internet for research, there are just as many ways to get off track. I encourage you to approach an Internet search with clear objectives and avoid the temptation to follow every lead...afterall, your time is precious and the Internet is limitless!!!

February 2008 Update

Portable Computing

Whether you use text messaging on your cellphone, carry a Blackberry, or simply check your email on somebody else's computer, you are starting to see the benefits of portable computing...and the future will bring many more ways to keep organized and save time.

I'm currently testing a billing program on my Palm Pilot that creates timesheets and invoices I can email to my clients immediately after an appointment, an amazing time saver for someone who hates bookkeeping!!

Be sure and ask me about the other neat things I'm testing the next time you see me.

January 2008 Update

Online Ordering with Local Delivery!

Considering the price of gas and increasing traffic, ordering online locally and having packages delivered is becoming more popular.
Business Depot offers free delivery on orders over $50.00 and book stores, florists and drycleaners offer pick up and delivery services too.
The next time you are at your favorite store, find out if they offer online ordering or delivery or a combination of the two!
An Example: I bought two bookshelves at Business Depot (in person) and then asked to have them shipped to me no charge. They arrived in 48 hrs and I didn't have to lug them out of the store.

December 2007 Update

Personal Documents: What is Everyone Else Doing?

This is the time of year for lists and resolutions! Many clients are using spreadsheets to keep track of assets, manage lists and create budgets.
Others are copying interesting articles from the Internet, removing all the advertising, and then setting up the page with double spaced type and larger fonts for easier reading.
Still others are printing photo albums (and even Christmas cards) to share with family over the holidays.

November 2007 Update

Backups

The past few weeks have been filled with horror stories of sporadic lost of functionality and glitchy data synchronization between PDA's, desktop machines and network servers.

I wish software was foolproof but the secret to all successful data migrations and software installations is: DO YOUR BACKUPS BEFOREHAND!!!

Sometimes uninstalling software and restoring a system to its last known 'good setting' is the fastest way to start fixing a problem (or abandoning a problem!!) so do yourself a favor and start doing regular backups.

Typical Recent Projects: Fall 2007


October 2007 Update

Laptops, wireless networks and high speed Internet

Many of my clients are now working from home and trying to share printers and Internet connections on two different networks. Add to the mix the kids with their laptops, webcams and iPods, and connectivity can get pretty chaotic.

As I sort through network problems, I'm always surprised at how many times I hear 'something weird' just 'happened' (according to the parents), only to find out that unauthorized software or devices have been added to a network thereby disrupting the network connections and possibly corrupting drivers.

I'm beginning to think that networking printers at home is more aggravation than it is worth and, once the problem starts, you might as well just go and get an $80.00 printer and save yourself tons of hassle!!

September 2007

Old Ottawa South Art and Music Festival

Festival Site

Being called in at the last minute to revamp a web site is something I have done several times. This particular project required the immediate creation of an 'easy to update' website incorporating the existing logos and two years of archival material along with the current exhibitors and sponsors.
Once the basics were in place, I created two cool slideshows using freely available software.
This whole project shows you don't have to spend tons of money to get neat results.
Top

Another Artistic Promotion

New to Ottawa, this guitar playing artist needed a special event to help promote his work and build his 'name recognition' in the Ottawa area. Eric's website
We gathered email addresses from visitors to his Glebe Art in the Park booth and then invited all these people to an open mike/art exhibition at the Georgetown Pub a few weeks later. I created posters for the event and invited media via email. The event was covered as part of the A-Channel TV news and was mentioned in the Ottawa Citizen as well.
All in all, a successful promotion.

Gibson Home Office Help....because the future keeps happening....remember?

           

Contact

Gibson Home Office Help
20 Benlea Drive
Nepean ON K2G 4A8
613.327.9596 (North America)
gibson.office (Skype)
gibson(at)wandagibson.com