Please consult with your hardware consultant before implementing any of the suggestions here. These are opinions intended only for current Will Grow clients. Review our Terms and Conditions for your information.

Table of Contents

• Wireless Office Solutions
• Higher Speed Net Access
• Printer Issues
• Removable Storage Solutions
• Important Insurance Issue
• Utility Programs
• Keeping Hackers Out
• Why You Need a Hardware Consultant
• Alternative Source for Hardware
• Mail Order/Superstore Issues
• UPS/Battery Backups
• MS Office 2000 Issues
• MS Office 97 Issues

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Wireless Data Entry Solutions for Your Office!

Did you know that there are a variety of wireless solutions you can implement in your office today to allow the true mobile data entry you have always been looking for? Windows 2000 can be configured to work with a variety of wireless networking solutions that are tried and relatively bug-free. You do not have to suffer with a small PDA (Personal Data Assistant) screen anymore! If you are ready to make a change and upgrading your hardware is necessary, call us to see if you can use the 14" touch-screen technology with your software. We are planning to have a demonstration of this technology at the Winter FCA Seminar in Ft Lauderdale. Save your money until then and get what you've always wanted!

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Twice As Nice

By J.W. Dysart
(Entrepreneur) There are still a few people walking around who believe there are more important things in life than faster Internet access. As if. For the rest of us, there's FatPipe Internet Accelerator. A tiny program that installs in a snap, FatPipe can instantly quadruple the speed of your Internet connection by using two phone lines to connect two Internet accounts simultaneously. Presto-chango: A 56Kbps connection screams along at 112Kbps; ISDN links near warp speed at 256Kbps. Makes waiting seem so old millennium. FatPipe Internet Accelerator, home edition. Street price: $50

Requires: Windows 98/98/NT, 32MB RAM, 3MB hard-drive space, two analog or isdn modems, two internet accounts. From: Ragula Systems, Salt Lake City. (801)281-3434 www.fatpipeinc.com


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When looking for a new printer for your network, be sure to check for a multi-tray version of the printer you like. This gives you the capability of having both plain paper and insurance forms loaded all the time and available when you need them. A special network version of the printer is usually not needed, as Windows has all the capabilities needed for networking almost any printer. Just install the printer more than once, naming each for the type of printing you will be doing. (ie. HP Plain Paper & HP Forms) Then configure each to have the paper source as the tray where you have that paper loaded. If you do this first, before installing the printer on network workstations, then it will be configured correctly and reduce your headaches. An excellent printer is the HP4050T at around $1200, it gives you 17ppm and fast start times with reliability you just can't believe.

If you are not able to afford a new printer, there are still things you can do to increase your existing printer speed. Add more memory to a laser printer and you may not need a new printer. Many older laser printers use the same type memory that was used in PCs just a few years ago so you can even use the memory from an old PC. Check your owners manual and see if you can increase your memory and the required type and your speed of downloading a print job will increase.

If you are using a color printer, just turn the color off to increase your speed.


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Did you know there are alternatives to the monopoly of Iomega for low cost storage solutions? The first new storage player is Onstream. Their advertisements say drives start at $299 and media (the disks) cost about $1 per Gigabyte (1,000 Mb) and go up to 30Gb. I have not seen these yet nor have I seen a review of them. So buyer beware! The second new storage player is called ORB. Their ads say a drive costs $199 and media is $40 for 2.2Gb disks. This product has been reviewed and is said to be the fastest removable drive for accessing your data and at that price would be an excellent alternative for tape drives.

Personally I would rather pay anyone but Iomega for a storage solution, but the marketplace is what determines who lives and who dies in this industry. So take a good look at your new options and decide for yourself who to invest in.




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PLEASE NOTE! You may want to print a copy of this article for future reference!

SOURCE: Mealey Publications
Insurance Coverage Ordered for Lost Computer Data, Mealey's Reports

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., May 31 /PRNewswire/ -- An Arizona federal judge has held that a property insurance policy covering ``physical damage'' covers business losses from loss of computer data, access, use and functionality, according to Mealey Publications.

The ruling came as Senior Judge Alfredo C. Marquez of the U.S. District in Arizona granted summary judgment in part for computer distributor Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM - news) and denied summary judgment to American Guarantee & Liability Insurance Co., which filed the declaratory judgment action. Complete coverage of the ruling will appear in this month's Mealey's Cyber Tech Litigation Report and Mealey's Emerging Insurance Disputes.

AGLIC filed the action on April 15, 1999, after Ingram sought coverage under a property damage policy from business and service interruptions resulting from a power outage at the company's Arizona facility in 1998.

The outage shut down Ingram's computer systems and although service was restored within a half hour, three mainframe computers remained inoperable because programming in formation was lost. Connections between the Ingram Data Center and six locations in the U.S. and Europe were not restored for eight hours after the power loss.

Ingram contended that ``physical damage'' should include loss of use and function, and Judge Marquez agreed.

``At a time when computer technology dominates our professional as well as personal lives, the Court must side with Ingram's broader definition of ''physical damage.`` The court finds that ''physical damage`` is not restricted to the physical destruction or harm of computer circuitry but includes loss of access, loss of use and functionality,'' the judge said in last month's decision.

``Lawmakers around the country have determined that when a computer's data is unavailable, there is damage; when a computer's services are interrupted, there is damage; and when a computer's software or network is altered, there is damage. Restricting the Policy's language to that proposed by American would be archaic.''

Full coverage of this ruling will be featured in the June issue of Mealey's Cyber Tech Litigation Report. For a free sample of the report, call 1-800-MEALEYS, 610-768-7800 or news@mealeys.com

In addition to Cyber Tech and insurance coverage issues, Mealey's publishes litigation newsletters on asbestos; lead paint exposure, Year 2000 (Y2K); drugs and medical devices, Rezulin and diabetes drugs; environmental insurance coverage; disability; bad faith; breast implants; Superfund; toxic torts; Fen-Phen and diet drugs; tobacco; insurance fraud, insurance insolvency; latex, patents and intellectual property; managed care; expert admissibility (Daubert) and international arbitration.
SOURCE: Mealey Publications

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When you are in the computer store looking at software and see those "Utility Programs" that are designed to make your life easier, don't be tempted! In my opinion, the only utility program you should use is Norton Utilities and the virus scan program of your choice. Even then DO NOT load the other features of Norton, like CrashGuard or any other companies equivalent. Windows has those faults and warnings in there for a reason, blocking them will only cause you grief in the long term. Update your virus software files AT LEAST weekly and check your configuration. If the scan software is set to auto-scan program files only, it is doing no good at all. It needs to be set to auto-scan all files at all times (open, close, create, or download). The only exception to this rule is when you are using a voice recognition program. If you are using Dragon or a similar product, you must disable your virus auto-scan, otherwise you will experience problems.

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If you are using a cable modem or DSL modem you MUST have a firewall or other protection program. Without it you are wide open to any hacker on the Internet anywhere in the world. The following is just a sample of the attacks I have had in one morning. These are all probes by hackers from various locations trying to find access into my computer. If you were attached to your broadband network on 2/23/2000, you were probed too and just didn't know it.

2000-02-23 02:42:53	TCP port probe	210.250.26.101
2000-02-23 03:45:13	TCP port probe	160.94.138.158	x138-158.reshalls.umn.edu
2000-02-23 05:00:49	TCP port probe	209.112.166.142	pdevine.alaska.net
2000-02-23 06:34:15	TCP port probe	216.249.65.126	hsa126.pool001.at101.earthlink.net
2000-02-23 09:20:10	TCP port probe	193.81.171.170	dialup170.ap01-salzb.at.eu.net
2000-02-23 10:33:24	TCP port probe	210.189.15.156	ng2-156.biwa.ne.jp
2000-02-23 10:44:12	TCP port probe	194.212.122.74	amik.amsoft.cz
2000-02-23 10:54:13	TCP port probe	168.70.125.143
2000-02-23 12:48:22	SubSeven port probe	63.208.30.226	dialup-63.208.30.226.Tampa1.Level3.net
2000-02-23 13:51:07	TCP port probe	212.88.38.70

There is a tool to deny access to these types of threats to your system. Click on the link below for more information.

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Why do I need a local hardware consultant? Can't I just order what I want on-line and have them help me by phone to set everything up?

Yes and no. I have had the experience of having a doctor call a major mail order hardware supplier and order a high-end server (Power-Edge costing around $6000) and a few workstations. When the hardware was delivered there were no patch cords to connect the machines, no hub to connect the machines and not all of the software was properly loaded or configured on the server. After two weeks of daily, hours long conversations with their support staff, it was determined that the network card in the server was not working properly and had to be replaced. How much was the office managers time and frustration worth? Ask her, she'll tell you she was ready to quit at the end of that time. Not to mention that she was behind on her billing by that same two weeks. Just because they sell you a computer, doesn't mean it will work properly without what we call "tuning". When you have to re-load Windows NT on your server six or seven times in a couple of weeks and still have nothing working the right way, we'll see what your frustration level is. Usually, the "free"support is not going to help you set up your network. That is a task that only the $100 per call support line will help you with. Don't work harder when you can work smarter and have a professional come in and set things up in a few minutes and then be available when anything goes wrong.

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To assist you in your quest for large manufacturer/name brand hardware at a reasonable price Will Grow is trying to get a major national supplier to produce a custom healthcare configuration with just what you need, everything you need and nothing else. We hope to have this done by Sept 1st. There will be a banner put on this website for your use in getting to the specific site you'll need. If we have enough quanity of orders, they are willing to dedicate a special 800 number for you support needs that will be staffed by people with answers to your problems that will understand your need to get your system back up and running as soon as possible. Just another way we are helping you work smarter, not harder.


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Can't I just go down to my local computer super store and buy whatever I need?

Yes you can, but read this first before you do. I recently recommended a USA wide computer super store to two clients to purchase hardware from. I was retained by the clients to place orders and specify the needed hardware. I placed the order for the first customer, and the printer that was specified on the quote when I spoke with them was changed to a 30% higher priced one when the doctor called in to give them his credit card. I called and verified the order status before shipment and caught the "honest mistake" so the doctor didn't have to ship back the incorrect printer.

The second client went to the same place to get hardware and I placed an order that was to be paid on a lease company purchase order. Most every equipment manufacturer in the world will accept any major lease company purchase order the same as cash. This company, made the doctor and the lease company both qualify for credit with them after the purchase order was sent. This would be like you getting a home loan and going to your closing and having the mortgage company run a final credit check on you and your bank before they would do business with you. Then, when all paperwork was completed, the computer store called me and told me they would not accept the purchase order since the order was under $10K, they didn't take on new lease companies for that small of an amount. I said forget it, we'll use a credit card instead. The sales person then called the doctor and lied to him and told him he was rejected by the original lease company and he would have to use their lease company if he wanted to do a lease (at 2X the rate). We went to a local supplier and are very happy with a lower priced, locally supported product. Be very careful when you are dealing with a store that is staffed by sales people that are purely profit and volume driven!

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Did you know you need a battery back-up or UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) on every computer in your office? If there is a momentary sag in the voltage supplied to your computer or a brief spike at the moment your hard drive is being written to, your hard drive can crash. In my office I use an active filtering surge suppressor and a UPS on every computer. Don't forget to also put one on your network hub and your phone system if you have one.

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CAUTION!! If you are installing Microsoft Office 2000 on your Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT computer, DO NOT allow it to do a typical install. Choose custom install and DO NOT select the Win 2000 tools to be installed. We have offices that experienced network crashes with that being the only thing that was changed.

There is already a Service Pack update for Office 2000. If you are using it, you probably need it. If you've already installed the first Service Pack, there is already another one released to fix the problems caused by the first one.

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If you are using Microsoft Office 97 on a network, there are two Service Packs released for it that will solve your unexplained network drive and printer errors. Remember that many programs work perfectly until installed on a network, then strange things start happening. If this has happened to you, check the Microsoft Knowledge Database for articles dealing with your problem.

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