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About 63 results
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IT consultants bear client education burden
It's not your fault when an older application isn't compatible with a newer OS, but clients may not see it that way. The key is to educate clients about how to minimize such issues...
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Twitter demonstrates troubleshooting capacity in tech crisis
Erik Eckel recounts how his IT consultancy used Twitter with great success during a recent tech crises, thanks to the real-time assistance and collaboration with other consultants.
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Configure and connect to VPN services in Lion Server
Erik Eckel details the steps to configuring VPN connectivity and connecting via a configuration profile or by manually entering VPN settings in Mac Lion Server.
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Two New Year's resolutions for IT consultancies
Year-end is a natural time to review professional progress and make improvement plans. Is your consultancy proving successful, and if so, how are you defining that success?
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How to configure static IPs in Lion
Erik Eckel shows you how to set up static IP addresses on Mac Lion for both Wi-Fi and Ethernet connections.
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Adopt this flowchart to simplify triage
This IT Consultant Client Triage Decision Tree will help you get through customers' panicky calls when emergencies arise.
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Same conversation, different client
Don't be blase when dealing with clients' major system upgrades. It may be just another day on the job for you, but for the client it's personal.
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Three commandments when clients change accounts
Grace pays when you're dealing with service provider changes. IT consultancy owner Erik Eckel details three ways to ease these transitions.
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Lock it up: Consultants must manage clients' domains
Erik Eckel reviews how IT consultancies can recommend and justify maintaining domain registration for clients.
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Ensure consultancy engineers know how to wire networks
Engineers at IT consultancies should know how to wire networks because they'll be better prepared to troubleshoot the myriad network failures they'll encounter on the job.
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Tips on delivering bad news to clients
IT consultants can take some lessons from physicians when it comes to informing clients about crises. Erik Eckel shares a six step process for delivering catastrophic news to clien...
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Treat telecom providers' support staff with respect
IT consultants may need to sweet-talk DSL, cable Internet, and T1 providers' support staff in order to get a solution for their clients. Read these tips on communicating with telec...
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Use Mac's Network Utility to troubleshoot networks
Erik Eckel argues for the ease of using Mac's Network Utility over the command line when it comes time to troubleshoot networking issues. Here, he goes over the eight operations it...
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Minimize errors during client moves by planning ahead
With proper planning, you can ensure client office relocations proceed smoothly. Follow these steps to minimize confusion, errors, and omissions.
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Help clients track their domain expiration dates
One of the biggest favors you can extend clients is to ensure their domain registration remains current. Here's how to prevent clients' domain registrations from falling through th...
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How to configure a Mac VLAN
Erik Eckel explains the basics of how to set up and configure VLANs on Mac OS X networks. Apple has included support for the IEEE 802.1Q standard within Mac OS.
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Mac OS X Mobile Access Server FAQs
Erik Eckel answers the most common questions about Mac's Mobile Access Server as an alternative for network administrators considering remote access solutions.
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Review: SonicWALL TZ 100 router
The SonicWALL TZ 100 router boasts widespread encryption, VPN and security compatibility, also offers optional Unified Threat Management services.
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Spotlight: SonicWALL TZ 100 router
SonicWALL's TZ 100 is a small business workhorse firewall. The devices boast significant security, VPN and encryption technologies to provide a secure and reliable solution for con...
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Spotlight: Colasoft Capsa Network Analyzer
Colasoft's Capsa Network Analyzer simplifies real-time network analysis. In addition to packet decoding, the approachable packet capturing, monitoring and analysis tool helps netwo...
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Cracking Open A Linksys Desktop Switch
Never underestimate a simple 5- or 8-port network switch. Small businesses depend upon these simple desktop switches for LAN connectivity, e-mail, Internet access, supplier and cli...
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Cracking Open a Netgear DS104 Hub
Yes, many technicians use the words hub and switch interchangeably, but the two are certainly different. Erik Eckel goes old school in cracking open a Netgear DS104 hub.
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Cracking Open the Linksys SR224G Rackmount Switch
When a client's Linksys SR224G 1U Rackmount Switch failed, small business consultant Erik Eckel used the opportunity to crack the unit open. Here's what he found inside.
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Leverage SonicWALL Wizards to configure firewall settings
The Windows Small Business Server platform may be most responsible for introducing and familiarizing administrators with standardized configuration wizards. SonicWALL routers and f...
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Cracking Open a Linksys wireless USB adapter
One of the most popular tools used to connect desktops to WLANs is Linksys' Wireless USB Adapter. TechRepublic takes a look inside to see just how this popular adapter is put toget...
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SolutionBase: Making sense of SonicWALL's product line
With nearly one-million SonicWALL security appliances distributed worldwide, it's important that IT professionals understand the fundamentals of working with the SonicWALL OS. In t...
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How do I... Configure and use LogMeIn Pro remote access software?
Remote access may well be the greatest innovation in computing since the mouse. Unfortunately, the remote access configuration process is daunting. Everything from antivirus progra...
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10 signs that you aren't cut out to be an IT consultant
10 signs that you aren't cut out to be an IT consultant
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Cracking open a KVM switch
Keyboard-Video-Monitor switches enable many technology professionals to share a single keyboard, mouse and monitor among multiple computers. Learn how one popular Belkin model is p...
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Cracking Open the Ultra 7-Port Buddy Hub
The Ultra 7-Port Buddy Hub makes quick work of adding additional USB port capacity and also enables sharing of USB-connected peripherals between two PCs. Take a peek inside the dev...