I often hear that smAlbany aka Capital District aka Tech Valley is a good place to live. As a local resident I ask new residents why they moved here. Usually I am told: 1. We wanted to move away from New York City area (often due to the perception of the improved schools in the smAlbany area)
2. My spouse got a job on here 3. I wanted to be near my family
Everyone’s reasons are unique and personal, so I thought I’d share my reasons for relocating to smAlbany in 1977. These are not in any particular order, just in the order as I recalled them. 1. The lack of disco culture and music
2. The ready availability of good music locally (SPAC, The Palace, and various venues on campus, and off campus) 3. The commercialization of the fax machine made being in New York City unnecessary
4. The affordability of living in the Capital District — housing prices and other expenses had skyrocketed downstate and I was among a diaspora of college grads and others from NYC, Long Island and downstate areas who relocated here because of its greater affordability and value 5. Sky — you may not know it but Albany is one of the sunniest capital cities in the USA
6. Learning to drive allowed me to travel to NYC as needed
Our most recent blog post is a contribution from Liberteks’ Marketing Coordinator Dan Smith, please contact Dan with your questions or comments.– Larryz
Like with many things, the phrase “You get what you pay for” is true for computers. When talking with people looking to purchase a new system, I often find our products being compared with national brands. The typical scenario has me showing one of our Good level notebooks, which are around $500, to a potential customer when they say, “Well, I don’t know. Dell has a notebook on sale for $349.”
Today I wanted to write about how Dell (and other national brands, it’s just easy to pick on Dell) gets to that price point. The first way is simple; volume. The second method is easy to spot for a computer professional, but very tough for the average user. Old, outdated technology. Take these three examples of chipsets:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53GHz 1066MHz 6MBL2)
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40GHz 1066MHz 3MBL2)
If you aren’t a techie, does the above make any sense to you? Is a T series processor better than a P series? Is Dual Core better than Core 2 Duo? With proper marketing, technology that’s getting dusty on the back shelf can be turned around and sold as the Deal of the Century new notebook.
(As an aside, stop in and quiz Navada on chipsets and processor specs. If you can stump him, we’ll give you a prize.)
The first two methods (volume and old technology) are fairly obvious. But the next two are not as well-known and are a bit more underhanded. One is trial software, commonly referred to as crapware, or as Microsoft likes to call it, craplets. By getting paid to load tons of trial programs, ads and other junk onto a new system, Dell can price a system so that they are just barely breaking even on the hardware.
At the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show, Dell defended this practice, stating that it keeps costs down, and implying that systems might cost significantly more to the end user if these programs were not preinstalled. Sony, the industry’s biggest offender, typically pre-installs up to 24 programs onto a new system. These will have disastrous effects on the boot time, stability and overall performance not to mention the constant pop-ups trying to get you to purchase the software once the trial expires.
In January of 2007, Microsoft expressed concern about damage being done to Windows Vista’s reputation due to crapware bogging down new computers. (Due to its anti-trust lawsuit, Microsoft was unable to prevent companies from pre-installing software on new computers.)
Lastly, poor quality parts and cheap customer service. Bargain-bin computers are not designed to last very long, typically having a 2 year life expectancy. Should a part fail under warranty, often Dell will mail the customer the part and then walk them through replacing it over the phone.
We have heard stories of people getting mailed new hard drives, power supplies and ram and being asked to crack open their case and replace it themselves! If a person doesn’t know their way around a computer, they should never be asked to work on it themselves because too much additional damage can easily be done. Plus, after the first time you have to call Technical Support and wind up wasting half a day getting nowhere, that $100 savings or so won’t really seems worth it.
At Liberteks.com, we can match the price of a low-end national brand machine, but we make every effort to warn the customer that it should be considered a disposable tool rather than a technology investment. Once the warranty is up, expect failures and don’t plan on sinking the money into it to fix them. We prefer to sell computers that have a life expectancy of 3+ years and those can be had for almost any budget.
Another solution is to implement Liberteks.com’s Best Practices (to be further discussed in a future post) which cleans up a system and makes it faster than when originally purchased or as we like to say, “sets the system up to the way it should have been from the factory.” Stop in and talk with our staff so that your next computer purchase gives you the best bang for the buck and has a life expectancy that matches your expectations.
For further information on crapware, I invite you to check out these sites:
As we settle into 2010, my thoughts here in sunny Florida (high temperature 80 degrees today) return to smAlbany.
I wanted to reflect on a few pertinent smAlbany topics of interest — to tell you where we have been and where we’re going — and to share with you my personal opinion that the smAlbany “mantra” is increasingly begin used as a positive, rather than a negative modifier. (Which has always been my intention…)
First off, I’d like to recognize the creation of a smAlbany Young Professionals Group on Facebook. They have over 1,300 friends and they’re working on a number of social and charity projects. Definitely check them out and become a member.
There’s also the Stakeholders Foundation whose goals are to promote cities in the Capital District, through volunteerism and support local charitable organizations, among other goals. They recently hosted an event “Get on Board 2010” to encourage volunteerism, which is good for our communities.
The Stakeholders also were the organization that last year hosted a local presentation by author and urban planner Richard Florida. His book “Who’s Your City?” is essential reading for the redevelopment and revitalization of our local urban areas in smAlbany.
Moving from urban development to cyberspace, the blog, “All Over Albany” is notable for its take on the Capital District, and I’m very impressed with their work. AOA have the right combination of good, interesting local news and some sizzle.
For the discerning smAlbany reader, I would recommend to bookmark http://www.larryzimbler.com and www.allaroundalbany.com on your Favorites list. That way we’ll always be on your screen for immediate access. To do this simply go to my blog site and click “Bookmarks” on you toolbar, then choose the “Menu” option. You’ll have it right there, when you need it.
At Liberteks.com we’re preparing, among other things, for the 5th Annual smAlbany Small Business Day. Last year we had 300 participants and we want to this year’s event bigger and better than ever. We know that small business will be engine that drives the economy locally and nationally – and that’s another reason for the small in smAlbany.
In my next post, I will discuss the suggestions you’ve provided on smAlbany. I look forward to your comments, please take the opportunity to voice your opinion.
Liberteks.com, Inc. Receives 2009 Best of Business Award
Small Business Commerce Association’s Award Honors the Achievement
SAN FRANSICO — Liberteks.com, Inc. has been selected for the 2009 Best of Business Award in the Computers category by the Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA) in the Computers category.
The SBCA 2009 Award Program recognizes the top 5 percent of small businesses throughout the country. Using consumer feedback, the SBCA identifies companies that it believes have demonstrated what makes small businesses a vital part of the American economy.
The selection committee chooses the award winners from nominees based on information taken from monthly surveys administered by the SBCA, a review of consumer rankings, and other consumer reports. Award winners are a valuable asset to their community and exemplify what makes small businesses great.
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About Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA):
Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA) is a San Francisco based organization. The SBCA is a private sector entity that aims to provide tactical guidance with many day to day issues that small business owners face. In addition to our main goal of providing a central repository of small business operational advice; we use consumer feedback to identify companies that exemplify what makes small business a vital part of the American economy.
About Liberteks.com:
Since 1991, Liberteks.com has committed itself to excellence in consultative selling and service to small businesses and personal computer client. Liberteks.com provides timely and critical information along with expert assistance in the ever-changing computer marketplace.
As we end 2009, I thought I would pass on to you some wisdom I enjoyed from the book “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The book was published in 1997, which seems like such a long time ago, and you may remember the buzz when the book first appeared. While the ideas are basic — we all learned them as children — they are frequently difficult to put into practice as adults. For me, they are brilliant principles for both our business and personal relationships. I like the simplicity of the agreements, because you only have to focus on the four simple premises.
And best of all, Don Miguel Ruiz is a shaman from Mexico, so he really knows his stuff!
I was watching the “Jersey Shore” on MTV last night, when my thoughts turned to reports by the Cato Institute, Free Enterprise Nation, and others, which found that federal worker wages were 50 percent greater than the average private employee.
When wages and benefits are combined, federal employees receive twice the amount of compensation than private sector employees.
There’s a fundamental disconnect there, in my opinion. You have to wonder who’s serving who. Private business is the engine that drives the economy and pays the taxes, and the economy is still struggling in many aspects.
As a small business owner and a taxpayer, I have often wondered how much government spending is really necessary and how long can we continue to fund government at the rate that we do. Now we’re at the point where the private sector is struggling to compete with the compensation provided by the public sector.
With deficits mounting at every level of government, you have to ask how much longer this excessive rate of government spending can go on.
While it would be easy to say that we could eliminate all government services – and pay no taxes — there are necessary government functions. The question is how many programs and agencies do we really need, and what should be adequate compensation. I’ll leave those decisions to the experts and the voters (and to you my readers), but it seems to me something’s got to give.
In business, when times are tight you have to reduce expenses and payroll. It’s difficult, but it is necessary when revenue is on the decline. That’s the business cycle. This reality often does not always affect the public sector however, and we witness negotiated employees raises year in and year out regardless of the overall economy.
Government, however, can act immune from these economic realities if it is allowed to borrow money recklessly and without oversight by the voters.
In my opinion it’s the syndrome of “other people’s money,” where it’s easy to spend lavishly when you don’t have a stake in the consequences. All too often that is case with public funds. I further believe that the downsizing principles that businesses have been applying since about the late ’70s need to be applied to government, and other sectors such as health care and education. In this way every dollar is accounted for and spent efficiently, and we begin to restructure government. We can’t continue the way we’re now going.
I recently had a phone interview with a technology reporter from Arizona on Win 7. I told her that based on our experience at Liberteks.com to date, Win 7 was largely success in terms of migrating and upgrading XP and Vista to run in Win 7.
But I could tell that she wanted more, that she was looking for something negative, or something that wasn’t working well. Now don’t get me wrong, she’s a top writer and editor with over 20 years in the technology industry. But her desire for news was understandable – she’s writing for software developers nationally and internationally who are looking for the latest cutting-edge information on the product.
In one circumstance, I was able to provide the case of a realtor client of mine who had an application (Top Producer), which the manufacturer claimed would only work in XP. We were able to get it to run in Win 7 using the “Compatibility Mode” function.
This created great business value for the client, who didn’t have to purchase a software upgrade and perhaps more importantly, all of her data and settings were restored exactly where she left off.
When the reporter asked if at some point old software needed to be ported to Win7 – if updated software needed to be purchased—I told her no, an upgrade would not appear to be necessary if the program was working adequately for the user.
And that was my eureka moment: Software updates were part of the old paradigm. In today’s desktop the operating system can run both the old and new apps. The desktop user interface manages the back end application.
In other words, if you want the new features and functionality of the latest update, you can go out buy the newest version, but if your software application is working well for you, you can continue to use it in the Win 7 environment. So you can have your cake and eat it with Win 7. Give me a few months and we’ll continue to monitor it, but the ability to run all of your old programs smoothly in a Win 7 environment is a major accomplishment. I’ll continue to keep you updated…
I recently attended a workshop on blogging and social media networking, where I learned that I need to continue to work to develop original, dynamic content, that keeps my audience interested and engaged, in order to create a true on-line dialogue.
One of the routine tasks to be performed is the updating and maintenance of email reader lists, where individuals are added to and deleted from the list as per their request.
I recently had the occasion where an email recipient requested to be deleted from the list, a request to which we complied. His email read as follows:
Turns out I did not recognize him at a business mixer sometime back, hence his desire to be removed from the list for a blog that was providing him — I thought — with a wealth of interesting info on smAlbany, technology and small business, etc.
I found this situation to be unfortunate (in a number of ways), but what can you do…
Rather than trying to be ”memorable” on account of his personality, work accomplishments or standing in the community, he was looking for “professional recognition” from me in our encounter. Because he did not receive this recognition, he wanted to be removed from the list.
This incident reminded me of an event that occurred to me in my early 20’s, when I was just out of college. I was at a technology trade show in Las Vegas and in a conversation with one of my colleagues who was a few years more senior in the business than me. In the middle of our discussion he walked away from me in mid-sentence, and I had no idea where he was off to. Turns out he went off to talk with a good looking woman from one of the other venders at the show. I was quite offended.
When he got back he was unapologetic, despite the offense I took. He told me: “Don’t take it so personally.” When you have an opportunity, you take it, he said.
I learned a lot from this incident, and have carried this concept with me in my business networking. When you have less than five years in a professional capacity, it’s understandable (but not always attractive) to seek “professional recognition” from others, but for people who’ve been in business for years, I suggest that instead you work to be memorable, and when something comes up, no matter what, “Don’t take it so personally.”
I know, everyone’s talking about the great recession, Nostradamus and 2012.
But how about your business?
If you want to continue a successful business you need to control the systems that allow for business growth. Only with growth on some measured basis can it determined if you are moving toward your goals or falling behind.
Especially now that we are in recession it may feel odd if there are no simple controls on your business, i.e. simple controls that make it easier for money to flow in, versus flowing out, etc.
If we look at the business world there are few models of continued growth over a 25 year period. In fact one of the few pure forms of current growth is the geometric growth axiom displayed by Moore’s Law.
Moore’s Law asserts that computer transistor and integrated circuit capacity can be doubled approximately every two years. If we extrapolate this productivity gain into our technology applications and business productivity, we can conclude that we have the capacity to double our technology application and business productivity every two years.
In fact you can put away Nostradamus for a moment and stop counting to 2012 because Moore’s law has shaped your world far more significantly than either of these two totems of popular prophesy.
As you bask in the simplicity and reliable delivery of quality goods and services at increasing lower prices you are experiencing the transformational power of Moore’s Law.
But how are you applying these advances from Moore’s Law to your IT solutions? Are your IT applications (hardware, software, network, telecommunications) light, basic, dependable and strategically configured for growth?
Every business should take advantage of productivity gains available through technology… Liberteks.com can provide your productivity solutions!
Thanks for sharing your smAlbany experience on Arlo Guthrie. While I am not a hippy, nor was I ever a hippy, I too am a big fan of Arlo Guthrie.
In fact Arlo just recently appeared at the Egg. The Times Union said it was a good show.
Ray Davies of the Kinks also appeared at the Egg last Monday (11/23). What a great performer, and what a great venue the Egg is. Clearly one of the best places to see a show — anywhere. Nobody has an Egg! Remember, Rockefeller built the South Mall/Empire State Plaza and Lincoln Center to outdo his father’s construction at Rockefeller Center. I think he did a good job.
Btw, Davies only performed 8 US shows in these cities: LA, San Francisco, Boston, NYC, Montclair, NJ, Philadelphia and Albany. … Pretty good company for smalbany.
The last week or so also witnessed Metallica, Matisyahu, Phish, Meat Puppets and Ani DeFranco, etc. etc. So as you can see, the music scene is large in smalbany.
And it would behoove me to repeat Arlo’s admonishment in “Alice’s Restaurant” which we should use for our smalbany efforts: “it only takes 50 people to start a movement…”
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