COSIMS Blog

You most likely couldn't do your job without your computer and mobile devices. Everyday you use them to work on files, connect with people, and access resources. Keeping them running smoothly is important to working effectively.

So how do you start?



At work your computer and devices are part of a larger network. Keeping them running means you have to work closely with your corporate IT department. Working with them will save you time, save your company money, and help keep the network secure. This article includes tips and best practices for working with your corporate IT department to keep your computer and devices up-to-date and functioning properly.
Who owns the computer?

You use a computer at work, you may take it home, and you might even have a picture of your kids on the computer desktop. The computer, though, isn't yours. It's important to realize that your company owns that computer. They have the right to install patches and updates on a regular basis. By doing so, they can make sure your computer and the network run as smoothly as possible.

"It's common for IT departments to get complaints about patches being put on computers," said Jim DuBois, a general manager for IT at Microsoft. "But it is the best way for companies to make sure the network and computers remain secure."

To further protect their computers, many companies even prevent users from making changes to the settings or software installed on the computer.
Best practices for maintaining your computer

Use these best practices to help maintain and protect the computer you use at work. You should contact your IT department to determine their specific policies.

1.

Install all updates required by your IT department. Not installing updates as required by your IT department can expose your company to viruses and other security risks. Some companies even prevent computers from accessing the network if patches aren't installed after a set date. Also, find out whether the IT department wants you to install updates on Microsoft Update. If they do, make it a habit of checking Microsoft Update regularly. You'll save yourself the hassle of the IT department forcing you to install updates when it's not convenient for you.
2.

Install only licensed programs. Make sure that you or your company have a license for any software you install on your work computer. Your company can get sued for having software without a license installed on its computers. For example, installing a program your friend bought could present some problems. Software that you've bought a license for is probably fine, but double-check the license to make sure. Sometimes, software bought for home use can not be installed at work as well.
3.

Don't install different versions of software. Even if you prefer the version of software you use at home rather than work, don't install it on your work computer. You could have incompatibility problems with the software your co-workers are using and with your specific line of business applications. Your IT department may also not be able to make any required updates or provide technical support.
4.

Let IT know when hardware isn't working. Fixing a broken computer yourself could just cause more problems. Your fixes, for example, could make the computer incompatible with the corporate network. Most IT departments have a helpdesk or technical assistance program designed for this type of work. The IT department may have already seen the same problem and have a known fix. Helping your IT department track common computer problems can also help them decide which brand and make of computer to order in the future.
5.

Let IT know when you need something. Giving the IT department reasonable requests and adequate time for planning can help them respond to your needs. Otherwise, you may end up with computer software or hardware you didn't want, which can hinder how effective you are at work.
6.

Don't download programs from Internet sites you don't trust. By downloading programs that may not be secure, you put all the computers on the network at risk.
7.

Be aware of suspicious e-mails. A virus introduced though e-mail may be disguised as a downloadable file. If an e-mail you receive is from someone you don't know, contains strange text, or otherwise looks suspicious, contact your IT department. If you open it, you could potentially cause problems for you and you co-workers. If it does contain a virus, the IT department can ask other employees in the organization to look for similar e-mails.
8.

Use online support resources. Many IT departments have created online internal help sites that could provide an answer to your computer problem. Each day, Help desks typically receive many questions that are already answered at these sites. For help effectively using Microsoft products, you can also use the following resources:
Microsoft Office Online Assistance Center
Microsoft Knowledge Base
Windows Vista Solution Center

Buying pocket PCs and Smartphones to use at work:

If you work on the road, your company may provide you with a Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Smartphone or Pocket PC to stay in touch with the office. If you buy your own, though, check with the IT department to see whether they have a list of recommended devices. There are many options for devices and data and voice plans. Your IT department may have brands, models, and plans that they already support. Buying those will make it easier to connect to the network and get support if you need it.


Copyrighted To MICROSOFT

Have you ever wondered if you could save or store contact information on all the friends you have on Facebook?  Think about all the people from your past you’ve reconnected with, or if you have a Fan or Business page, all the contacts and networking you have with that group of folks. What if your account was suddenly disabled and you were cut off from your friends/contacts? This has happened to quite a few people, including Guy Kawasaki. It seems that if you ‘network’ too much, you could be disabled with no warnings.

Evidently, Facebook has a way to monitor activity in people’s accounts and if it looks too ‘spammy’, you’ll get whacked.
Facebook has two apps that can be used to make a backup of all your friends. One is called Friend CSV.(My Personal Fav......)
I used this program and it downloaded it and emailed a .csv file to me. I figured it was a good thing to do and probably good to run every few months to keep it updated. I’ll also run the program for my clients who are on Facebook.
You will notice that there is no checkbox for email or phone numbers. This is a source of consternation and concern for many Facebook users. There are ‘underground’ apps out there that you can install and run to capture the missing data, but from what I’m reading, you do so at your own risk. Take a look at this blog post from January, 2009  by Eric Eldon where he talks about blogger, Robert Scobler’s account being disabled  The program in question is My FB Contacts 1.0 I’ve been reading stories about how some people are hesitating to use it, thinking they could get kicked off abruptly.

The other app from Facebook, is called Fonebook. I’m not even linking to it as the feedback was abysmal for this app.
Evidently, Robert Scobler didn’t hold any hard feelings after his account was disabled (I believe it was reinstated), as you can read his article from a couple of weeks ago where he spent some time with Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg at the recent World Economic Forum. He spoke to him about his feelings on Facebook’s policies. So we’ll see where that goes.

Happy Facebooking!

A new process for creating ultrathin, ultrasmall inorganic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and assembling them into large arrays offers new classes of lighting and display systems with interesting properties, such as see-through construction and mechanical flexibility, that would be impossible to achieve with existing technologies.


Applications for the arrays, which can be printed onto flat or flexible substrates ranging from glass to plastic and rubber, include general illumination, high-resolution home theater displays, wearable health monitors, and biomedical imaging devices.


“Our goal is to marry some of the advantages of inorganic LED technology with the scalability, ease of processing and resolution of organic LEDs,” said John Rogers, the Flory-Founder Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois.

Rogers and collaborators at the U. of I., Northwestern University, the Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore, and Tsinghua University in Beijing describe their work in the Aug. 21 issue of the journal Science.

Compared to organic LEDs, inorganic LEDs are brighter, more robust and longer-lived. Organic LEDs, however, are attractive because they can be formed on flexible substrates, in dense, interconnected arrays. The researchers’ new technology combines features of both.

“By printing large arrays of ultrathin, ultrasmall inorganic LEDs and interconnecting them using thin-film processing, we can create general lighting and high-resolution display systems that otherwise could not be built with the conventional ways that inorganic LEDs are made, manipulated and assembled,” Rogers said.

To overcome requirements on device size and thickness associated with conventional wafer dicing, packaging and wire bonding methods, the researchers developed epitaxial growth techniques for creating LEDs with sizes up to 100 times smaller than usual. They also developed printing processes for assembling these devices into arrays on stiff, flexible and stretchable substrates.

As part of the growth process, a sacrificial layer of material is embedded beneath the LEDs. When fabrication is complete, a wet chemical etchent removes this layer, leaving the LEDs undercut from the wafer, but still tethered at anchor points.

To create an array, a rubber stamp contacts the wafer surface at selected points, lifts off the LEDs at those points, and transfers them to the desired substrate.

“The stamping process provides a much faster alternative to the standard robotic ‘pick and place’ process that manipulates inorganic LEDs one at a time,” Rogers said. “The new approach can lift large numbers of small, thin LEDs from the wafer in one step, and then print them onto a substrate in another step.”

By shifting position and repeating the stamping process, LEDs can be transferred to other locations on the same substrate. In this fashion, large light panels and displays can be crafted from small LEDs made in dense arrays on a single, comparatively small wafer. And, because the LEDs can be placed far apart and still provide sufficient light output, the panels and displays can be nearly transparent. The thin device geometries allow the use of thin-film processing methods, rather than wire bonding, for interconnects.

In addition to solid-state lighting, instrument panels and display systems, flexible and even stretchable sheets of printed LEDs can be achieved, with potential use in the health-care industry.

“Wrapping a stretchable sheet of tiny LEDs around the human body offers interesting opportunities in biomedicine and biotechnology,” Rogers said, “including applications in health monitoring, diagnostics and imaging.”

The work relied critically on broad, collaborative efforts at the U. of I. In addition to Rogers, the efforts included electrical and computer engineering professors Xiuling Li, an expert in epitaxial growth, and Kent Choquette, a leader in semiconductor optoelectronics. Mechanical science and engineering professor Placid Ferreira developed the printing-based manufacturing tools.
Theoretical collaborators at Northwestern University, led by professor Younggang Huang, and at Tsinghua University, under the guidance of Younggang’s father, professor Keh-chih Hwang, supported the project through calculations of mechanical strains in the flexible and stretchable systems. Researchers at the Institute for High Performance Computing in Singapore provided finite-element studies of the same systems.

“This sort of broadly interdisciplinary, integrated effort was essential for a successful outcome,” Rogers said. “It would be extremely difficult to replicate this type of project at any place other than at the U. of I.”

Rogers is affiliated with the Beckman Institute, the department of mechanical science and engineering, the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, and the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory.

Ford Motor Co., the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Department of Energy funded the work.

I used Microsoft Internet Explorer all day long, every day. I had arranged all the settings how I liked them, and I don't like change. I'm the kind of girl who just wants technology to work when I need it; I'm not into installing all the latest gadgets and upgrades so I can one-up my friends. So when I heard there was a new version of Internet Explorer, my first reaction was, "I don't need that."

1. Find what you need more quickly with tabbed browsing:

When you've buried something in a file cabinet, tabbed files are a life saver. A quick glance at each tab lets you know what lies beneath it so you don't have to open every file. When I'm doing research online, I'm insane with how many Web windows I have open. Nothing is more irritating than having a half dozen windows open and not knowing which one has the information I need. I waste a lot of time opening and closing windows.


Tabbed browsing lets you manage multiple Web sites within one browser window.
Two sub-features in tabbed browsing are worth mentioning. The first is Quick Tabs, which gives you a thumbnail view of up to 20 open tabs at a single glance. If your comprehension is better with visuals, this is the tab feature you'll like best.
Quick Tabs let you view thumbnails of up to 20 open tabs at once.
Internet Explorer 7 eliminates this problem with a feature called Tabbed Browsing. It enables people like me to manage multiple Web sites from within one browsing window. Just like opening a paper file drawer to see a row of titled files, now I just glance at the tabs across the top of my Internet Explorer 7 window to see the window I need, and I select it.

Two sub-features in tabbed browsing are worth mentioning. The first is Quick Tabs, which gives you a thumbnail view of up to 20 open tabs at a single glance. If your comprehension is better with visuals, this is the tab feature you'll like best.
The second is Tab Groups, which lets you organize multiple tabs into a single group and then save that group as a Favorite. This is basically an updated twist to the standard Favorites menu. Let's say you have saved all of your vendor Web sites into a vendor Tab Group in your Favorites menu. In the new Favorites Center (an addition to the old Favorites menu), a single click opens all of the sites in the Tab group.

2. Eliminate printing mishaps with advanced printing features:

Remember the last time you tried to print a Web site page? Remember how annoying it was to see that half the information was cut off on the right or left margin?

That problem is gone with Internet Explorer 7. The default shrinks a Web page's text just enough to ensure that the entire page prints properly. Plus, from within Print Preview, you can now adjust Web page margins, change the page layout, remove headers and footers, and increase or decrease the print space as desired.

Sure, this one saves me time. But it saves me money, too; no more wasted paper!

You can adjust margins, change the page layout, and more in Internet Explorer 7 Print Preview.

3. Search the Web directly from the Internet Explorer 7 toolbar:

In Internet Explorer 7, if you look for the little Windows flag icon in the upper-right corner that sometimes waves endlessly as Internet Explorer 6 works away, you won’t find it. That's because it's been removed to make room for the Instant Search Box. This handy new feature saves time, trust me. It enables you to choose a search provider from a drop-down list (MSN is the default search engine) and lets you add new providers to the list.

The new Toolbar Search Box makes searching the Web faster and easier.

No more opening new windows or sites when one search engine doesn't return a satisfactory search. Instead, you just select another provider from the menu and Internet Explorer 7 remembers the search term and transfers it to the new search engine you've chosen.

4. Save time with improved RSS feed support:

If you like to surf the Web for news or other changing information, this next Internet Explorer 7 enhancement can also save you a lot of time. Chances are that you've seen the little buttons such as "Get your RSS feed now!" on your favorite news or sports Web site. If you don't use one of these feeds yet, you probably will at some point because it's becoming popular.

RSS feeds enable you to have personalized news, sports or shopping links, headlines, and summaries delivered directly to your desktop. You can subscribe to as many feeds as you want, and then read them at your leisure all in one place without visiting individual Web sites.


Earlier versions of Internet Explorer didn't make it easy to use RSS feeds, but Internet Explorer 7 improvements let even mere mortals like me read the RSS feed directly in the browser. Instead of surfing individual Web sites for information, just scan the feed for stories that interest you.
When you're on a site in Internet Explorer 7, if the RSS Feed icon is illuminated, it means the site offers a feed. Click the icon, and you can subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the Add/Subscribe button .

RSS feeds are integrated into Internet Explorer 7.
Come back to the page later by opening your Favorites Center. Now you can read news when it arrives and click headline links to get the complete Web page.

Have a quick view of all of your RSS feeds.

Personally, I can see using RSS feeds now a lot more as I get used to them and as more Web sites offer them. It's going to be a good way for those sites to push their information out to the masses, so don't say I didn't warn you that these feeds will become more and more prevalent. And, hey, if it saves me time, I'm all for it.

Note to tech support If you're part of the technical team supporting a business, the Windows RSS Platform is included as part of Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista and Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP. Once a feed is subscribed to in one application, that subscription and associated content is made available for applications across the operating system.

5. Stop being bait with the new Phishing Filter:

One of the latest buzzwords on the Internet is "phishing." Anyone who has e-mail and uses the Internet is a potential victim, so listen up. Phishing occurs when an e-mail is sent falsely claiming to be an established, legitimate enterprise. You've probably gotten one of those e-mail messages already: It directs you to visit a Web site, often has an official logo, and asks you to update credit and other personal information.

The motive behind it? To trick you into visiting a bogus Web site that you think is authentic and scam you into releasing personal information to be stolen and used for illegitimate purposes. The sender is sending bait to thousands, hoping a few fish take it. Hence, the term "phishing," a variation on the leisure sport.

In Internet Explorer 7, a new Phishing Filter consolidates the latest industry information about fraudulent Web sites several times an hour and warns you when you attempt to visit a potentially untrustworthy site. A security status bar at the top of the Internet Explorer window pops up in yellow to notify you of potential problems, and in red if the Web site is a confirmed phishing destination. If the threat level is red, you are automatically navigated away from that site.

Phishing Filter helps limit security problems.

This is primarily a good thing for individuals but businesses benefit as well: Employees are less likely to accidentally share business financial information with nefarious sources in the course of their job. With so many of us doing business online these days, it's a good bet that businesses are at high risk for phishing attacks. Busy employees could easily see one of these e-mail messages as a quick request from a vendor, for example, and poof! There goes your business information. If you upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 for no other reason, let this be the one.



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Author Bio: S.E. Slack

S.E. Slack is a lifestyle and technology writer with more than 10 books to her credit. She co-authored Breakthrough Windows Vista and Office 2007 Solutions to help you easily use Windows Vista and Office 2007.