Thor's Archive
When you buy the latest versions of Symantec's Norton products, you are asked to establish a Norton Account.
This account retains the credit card information you used when you purchased your Norton (assuming you purchased or renewed online).
As a "convenience" to you, Symantec will automatically renew your Norton subscription when it is expiring using the credit card on file. It will appear on your statement as "Norton *Annual Renewal".
But what if you did not want to renew, choose to buy an updated off-the-shelf version, or even switched to another security software provide
When Did I Agree to Auto-Renew?
When you purchased or renewed your Norton software online there was a small text notification at the bottom of the shopping cart page with a checkbox that you were required to check to complkete your purchase.
As in most cases, the devil is in the details, so if you checked without reading, you agreed and that is why your card got dinged for the renewal.
How Do Opt-Opt of Norton Auto Renewal?
The easiest way to prevent an unwanted auto-renewal is to simply opt-out. Symantec has made this inconvenient enough that many people may not do it, but it is not hard to do.
To opt-out, visit www.mynortonaccount.com and log in using the email address you used in your original purchase session and the password you were required to establish when you purchased.
Once logged in, click on the renewal center link at the top of the page and cancel the auto-renewals on the desired products.
What is the Easiest Way to Cancel a Billed Auto-Renewal?
Unfortunately, canceling is a lot more difficult than the automated renewal process. Thankfully, it can be done with the right information.
Here's what you will need:
- The first 6 digits of your credit card number used for the renewal (if you have multiple cards on your bank account, you MUST have the one you used to buy initially)
- The last 4 digits from the same card
- The name on the card
- The expiration date
- The email address associated with your Norton Account (your log-in name)
- Your order number (in the event you are trying to cancel an accidental purchase)
There are 3 ways to cancel your Norton Auto-Renewal after it has been billed to your bank account.
- Call the toll-free number on your Bank statement - 1-877-294-5265
- Use Symantec's online chat to cancel
- Fill out Symantec's cancellation form
Call me a pessimist, but I don't like to trust my refund to a fire and forget form.
I have tried the live chat option, but after a very long wait most of the associates did not know what they were doing and were unable to process my request.
After 5 hours of online chatting to get a $48.13 credit on my bank statement, I called the toll-free number.
The call made it to a live person in just a few minutes, and my refund was processed in 10 minutes.
Additionally, they removed the credit card information from my Norton Account all together so no other unintended renewals would happen in the future.
If you listen to my weekly radio show, have had your computer in to Schrock Innovations, or generally have not been living under a rock for the past ten years, you know that you need to have security software on your PC.
You probably know that you need anti-virus software and you might even know you need a firewall program.
However, Secunia.com reports that many security suites attempt to detect threats when they arrive at the PC rather than preventing those threats by closing the doors they come through.
Your Computer Can Catch H1N1 - Here's How
Most security software works in a similar way to your immune system. Your immune system sees a new intruder, fights it and defeats it. It then creates a set of detections based on that infection's signature. Your detections are supplemented by inoculations (definition updates) to teach your body how to fight intruders it has never seen before.
Now imagine that a new intruder comes along and smacks your immune system. Imagine this infection is H1N1. Your body has never seen it before. Your body will probably beat the infection, but there is a chance it could get through and cause all kinds of problems, even death.
To help reduce the risk of being exposed to the virus you are told to prevent infection by reducing the number of infection opportunities - wash your hands, cover your cough, etc..
When is the last time you reduced the risk of being infected by washing your computer's digital hands with some serious anti-exploit soap?
So Why Don't We Do That With Our Computers?
We are all told to get our Microsoft Updates and update our security software. While these sound practices help reduce some infection opportunities, Secunia.com reported recently that 28% of the applications on your computer are probably insecure.
That means that common programs that most of us use every day like Flash, Java, Skype, iTunes, and more may be out of date. Software programs are constantly under attack by an ever more sophisticated culture of digital thugs seeking to use your computer for their purposes.
Recently these thugs are finding it easier to attack your insecure programs to gain access rather than your more heavily fortified Windows Operating System.
If you keep all of your applications patched with their most recent security updates, you are in effect reducing the possibility that any viruses or malware infections will find a way into your computer - you are in effect washing your computer's hands with some really good anti-bacterial soap.
This doesn't take the place of good antivirus software, but it helps improve your overall security picture.
Think You Are Up To Date? Scan and See
I own and run a computer repair company. I read all of the boring stuff online about trends, infections, updates and the like. I would consider my computer to have one of the cleanest sets of hands around.
I decided to run a free scan from Secunia.com to see how many of my computer's programs are not up to date with the most recent security patches. I was stunned:
Run the scan yourself and see how your computer does!
This month you could win a $1,500 Schrock Innovations 2009 Holiday Special PC with Solid State Hard Drive Technology just for watching the morning News!
Here is the spot that is running on Channel 10/11 to promote the contest:
I had some conversations with a client recently about their websites. This is a multi-million dollar company that operates over 12 websites that are used mainly to promote their other products and services.
Each of their websites was attracting less than 15,000 unique visitors and each visitor was consuming about 2.25 pages of content per visit. They were not making any money on the websites and that's why they wanted to talk to me.
Defining Success:
They thought their web statistics were great, and they thought they just needed to find the right mix of technique and opportunity to cash in on their traffic.
I was in the uncomfortable position of telling him that the stats were not that great - a good start - but definitely not capable of generating the six-figure return they were seeking.
How would You Define Success With Your Website?
That got me thinking about how success is really a relative term. It means something different to every person based on their expectations and who they are comparing themselves against.
Some webmasters would be perfectly happy with a couple hundred dollars of income every month, while others would be looking for thousands.
What is your dream website income and how close are you to achieving it?
Developing a Plan and Executing
Obviously for my client we needed to bring more traffic to his websites before he would have any hope of generating the kind of money he confided to be "success."
It always comes back to content. Sometimes you can beg, borrow, or even steal it - but it always boils down to you making some of your own.
Do you generate enough content to make your dreams of website success a reality?
Last Halloween I posted an quickie video that made the argument that Barack Obama is the famed Great Pumpkin. I am not a spiteful man, but I have to point out that I told you so!
Sorry to all of you who hate political stuff :-)
Alpha Antivirus is the latest fake-alert virus that is afflicting computer users on the Internet.
This variant popped up in late September, but is gaining traction as injected websites begin drifting to the top of search engine results.
How Do You Get Infected?
These fake alert infections typically come into your computer through internet web searches on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
The makers of these fake-alert infections create thousands of websites with valuable content on subjects they can easily rank in the top 10 results of popular web searches.
After these sites climb to an appropriate level, click-jacking code is inserted that will infect unprotected computers as soon as they visit the page - without warning.
Typically the only symptom of impending infection is a pop-up that warns you that your computer is infected (when it is in fact not).
How Do Keep My Computer Safe?
The best way to keep your computer safe is to have good virus protection software installed on your computer.
While technicians disagree to a degree on which program is the best to use, my opinion (based on HUNDREDS of infected PCs that Schrock Innovations has repaired) is that free antivirus like AVG is a problem waiting to happen.
I recommend Symantec's Norton 360 software. It offers some of the best protection on the market while also featuring the most user-friendly interface.
Those who are have had bad experiences with Norton in th past because it slowed dow their computers should note that the newer versions are MUCH lighter than the older versions (although any antivirus software will slow down your computer).
I was just informed the Schrock Innovations won #1 Independent Computer Repair Company in the Three Eagles Communications Best of Lincoln contest for the 8th year in a row!
Other winners were Best Buy and Quick Tek. This award comes on the heels of Schrock winning the Nebraska Retail Federation's 2009 Customer Service Business of the Year.
This year the voting for Best of Lincoln was spread over all of Three Eagles local stations. The station group owns most of the top-rated radio stations in the city. Voters were told to go to the website of the station they were listening to to vote in over 60 different business categories.
Listeners had to vote for a super-majority of the business categories for their vote to count.
Thank you to all of the listeners and customers that took the time to vote for Schrock Innovations. Schrock takes its service lvels very seriously, and awards like these let us know we are on the right track.
Schrock Innovations opened its Omaha Service Center in 2003. Due in large part to its local Omaha radio show, the service center was an overnight success.
Unfortunately, the station we were on flipped formats and we were not able to find another Omaha AM station that could match the success we initially had.
As many of our Omaha customers know, we regouped by concentrating all of our technical operations in Lincoln while focusing all of our web development services in Omaha. This allowed us to maintain a token presence in Omaha and honor the warranties we had issued and service the customers who placed their trust in us.
In early 2009, we moved into our new $825,000 Service Center in Lincoln and found that the simple change in visibility DOUBLED our sales and profitability overnight. That Service Center is now bringing in over 62 new customers each and every month.
Omaha's Time Has Come
With all of our efforts going toward staffing, equipping, and launching our new Lincoln location, Omaha went without significant attention for over 12 months.
That is all about to change now.
Yesterday was the last day that our present Omaha location was open for business. We have closed the Omaha location at 3032 N. 93rd and transferred all web development services to competent staff in Lincoln.
We are still honoring our warranties and serving our Omaha customers - we are just bringing our service to them rather than making them come in to us.
New Service Center in the Works
I can't say too much about it at the moment, but I can tell all of our Omaha customers that a new Service Center is in the works. This location will operate similarly to our famed Lincoln location with one notable exception.
This location will be geared toward mobile repair services rather than in-shop repair.
Our new location is tentatively set to open for business in the late first quarter of 2010.
Award Winning Service COntinues in Omaha
If you are a Schrock Omaha customer, you can still call our local Omaha phone number, 934-9423, and we will schedule an appointment that works with your schedule to come to your home or business to repair your PC or to take it back to our Lincoln Service Center for repair.
New York Times best selling author Chet Holmes is renowned for his business growth strategies. He's perfected them over the past two decades, working with over 60 of the Fortune 500 and countless small to mid-sized companies and is now helping businesses of every kind and size implement these strategies to achieve breakthrough growth for themselves.
In his New York Times Best Seller, the Ultimate Sales Machine, he shared some of these strategies.
I am pleased to announce that the Computer Repair Business Weekly podcast has scheduled Chet Holmes to talk to our subscribers about the importance of a revenue model in your PC repair business. Chet will also talk about some of the methods he uses to transform average companies to award-winning powerhouse organizations.
The Computer Repair Business Weekly podcast will be featured on the topITshop.com website and will begin posting in December of 2009. Chet is a VERY busy man and is in high demand as a speaker and as a consultant. We are fortunate he found the time to spend with us and I can promise you this is a podcast you will not want to miss.
Follow topITshop on Twitter to receive a notification as soon as the podcast goes live!
This week Schrock Innovations started a new series of commercials running on three different radio stations in Lincoln (KFOR, KZKX, and KIBZ) that talk about the features of the 2009 Holiday Special and the benefits of choosing a Modular PC.
Chris Goforth and I met up to make the spots and to be honest I was just not in rah-rah marketing mode that day. I knew what I wanted to talk about, but did not have a script or even a bulleted list for that matter.
Chris and I were talking about what we wanted to do and I suggested that rather than the traditional commercial that we style the commercials in the same tone that we do our weekly radio show. Chris agreed so he hit record and we went to work.
I have to honestly say that these commercials were the easiest, least forced, and most informative spots I have ever done for any product. A couple days later Chris and I ran into each other at the studio and he even commented that when he hears the spots its like he has been teleported into our show for that minute.
Take a listen to these two spots and tell me what you think of them.
Spot 1 - The Features of the 2009 Holiday Special PC
Spot 2 - The Benefits of Choosing a Modular PC
We have a third spot that will begin running on Monday, that talks about Schrock's award winning service. I am not allowed to talk about that just yet, so subscribe to my RSS feed to hear all about it in your email Monday morning!
Schrock Innovations is sponsoring this year's Lincoln America Recycles Day Celebration by donating a new $1,300 Modular Computer to one lucky winner.
There are some really great prizes, and you can enter as a business or as an individual.
Here is the release that was sent yesterday:
PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES DEPARTMENT
Recycling Office, 2400 Theresa Street, Lincoln, NE 68521, 441-7043, fax 441-8735
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12, 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Hanlon, Recycling Coordinator, 441-7043
CITY ENCOURAGES PUBLIC TO PARTICIPATE IN AMERICA RECYCLES DAY EVENTS
The City Recycling Office encourages the public to participate in America Recycles Day November 15, an effort to encourage recycling and the purchasing of recycled products. Residents have the opportunity to make a pledge to improve their recycling efforts and to participate in several special events.
“America Recycles Day is an opportunity for people to shape part of the environmental impact they have on our community and the world,” said City Recycling Coordinator Gene Hanlon. “By making a pledge, residents have an opportunity to make a commitment to increase their recycling efforts and help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.”
Those who fill out a pledge form are entered into a drawing to win prizes, including
- computer system valued at $1,300, donated by Schrock Innovations;
- a six-year curbside recycling subscription, donated by the Lincoln Journal Star, Midwest Refuge, Recycling Enterprises and Star City Recycling;
- $100 gift cards donated by Russ’s Market and Wal-Mart;
- free Panera Bread for one year.
The pledge drive runs through Sunday, November 8. Prizes will be awarded at noon Saturday, November 14 at EcoStores Nebraska, 530 W. “P” St. Pledge boxes are located at Russ’s Markets, Lincoln City Libraries and select recyclers. Pledge forms and more information about America Recycles Day also are available online at lincoln.ne.gov (keyword: ARD).
Several other recycling-related events will take place in Lincoln next month:
- A free tire collection will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8 at N.W. 38th Street and West Webster Road. The collection is sponsored by the Emerald Sanitary Improvement District and funded by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.
- EcoStores Nebraska will host a usable latex paint exchange from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, November 14. Usable paint is free, and $2 is charged for disposal of unusable paint.
- Paper shredding and electronic equipment recycling events are also being planned. Locations, times and fees will be announced at a later date.
In the past, phishing scams were almost always something people using Hotmail, Gmail, or Yahoo mail had to be concerned about. But now a new twist to an old email scam has small business users calling their IT people almost daily.
Emails like this one are being sent out on a mass basis to people who are not using any of the mass-email services:
Dear user of the schrockinnovations.com mailing service!
We are informing you that because of the security upgrade of the mailing service your mailbox (tschrock@schrockinnovations.com) settings were changed. In order to apply the new set of settings click on the following link:
http://schrockinnovations.com/owa/service_directory/settings.php?email=tschrock@schrockinnovations.com&from=schrockinnovations.com&fromname=tschrockBest regards, schrockinnovations.com Technical Support.
If you look at the HTML code behind the "confirmation" link you will find that it is actually taking you to http://schrockinnovations.com.it1ttil.com instead of http://www.schrockinnovations.com
If you follow their link, you will see a page that looks like this:
The phishers want you to download an executable file that will probably infect your computer with a virus.
Our web staff has been taking questions from our customers as well as other confused email users who don't have an IT person who would have sent them this kind of an email.
If you get one of these, just mark it as spam. Whatever you do, don't download the .exe file!
Yesterday I attended the Nebraska Retail Federation's annual awards banquet and accepted the 2009 Customer Service Business of the Year on behalf of Schrock Innovations.
I am no stranger to political and business gatherings, but those in attendance at the NRF ceremony were not from the circle I normally meet up with at events.
At our table we were joined by several higher-ups from JC Penny. Other sponsors of the event included Pamida, Walgreens, Target, and a few other big-name retailers.
We were among 30+ nominees for the award and some had traveled in from as far away as Kearney.
As each of the nominees was introduced we were asked to briefly talk about our company to the audience.
Its All About the Service
When it was my turn on the stage I asked the audience to raise their hand if they had ever had a computer problem. Everyone raised a hand. Then I asked people who had someone to help them with their computer problems to put their hands down. About 40% did, leaving a majority of people in the room with nowhere to turn for PC help.
I explained the Schrock Innovations was founded 10 years ago o help people with their computer problems - even if we were not being paid to help. I explained that the Schrock approach was about building trust and relationships.
Schrockies in the House?
At the end of my presentation I asked if there were anyt Schrock customers in the audience. 6 people raised their hands (not bad considering there was no one from Omaha and 1/2 of the crowd was out of our Lincoln service area).
I asked them in front of the crowd if they fel;t special after they worked with Schrock Innovations. They said that they did.
Thank You NRF
This award means a lot to Schrock Innovations and its employees. On the eve of launching the biggest sales event of the year, our Holiday Sale, this award reminds everyone of the reason we are in business. It's not to sell hardware or software - we are in business to provide service. Everything else will take care of its self if we take care of our customers.
Schrock Innovations is holding a Windows 7 launch party this Saturday, October 17 in our Lincoln Service Center form 10-noon.
Stop by the Service Center to enjoy a dessert bar (dessert in the morning - AWESOME!), take a peek at our 2009 Holiday Special PC, and test drive Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7, almost a week before your friends can.
I know there the Texas Tech game is that Saturday, so if you need a few extra reasons to make the trip Saturday morning here they are:
FREE DOOR PRIZES
Just stop by the launch party and sign in to win. We will be giving away more than $700 in prizes to people just for attending the party. You could win:
- An MSI Netbook Computer ($400 retail value)
- 320 GB External Backup Hard Drive ($120 retail value)
- One of 2 $50 Schrock Innovations Gift Cards
- A FREE Copy of Windows 7 Home Premium (available after October 22nd)
- A 2 GB USB Flash Drive
TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS
We will be showing off some of the fancy new technology behind this year's Holiday Special PC that you will only find at Schrock Innovations.
- Take a peek at the latest hard drive technology, solid state. These hard drives have no moving parts, making them the most reliable storage device you can get in a computer today.
- Watch us beam video wirelessly to a TV on the other side of the Service Center using Windows 7's new media sharing functions
- Watch one of our technicians produce a movie and beam it to a television without any DVDs at all in less than a minute!
I hope to see you there!
Christine Campbell DDS wanted to create a website that communicated her practices' commitment to dental health while at the same time differentiate it from their competition.
She knew what colors she wanted and some site styles she like but needed help to make her vision a reality. She contacted Schrock Innovations to bridge the divide.
Schrock worked with her step by step to turn her ideas into a design she liked. Once the design was created the Schrock Innovations team went to work creating a flash intro page that matched her design. Brad then worked with Christine's office personal to assist them with the creation of the page content.
Their unique content helped the website stand out amongst its competitors in search engine rankings.
Christine now has a site that is expandable and ready to change with the needs of her patents and practice.
I received a note today that Schrock Innovations was nominated for the 2009 Nebraska Retailer of the Year Award presented by the Nebraska Retail Federation.
Being nominated alone is a significant honor considering that previous recipients have included Bob and Vicki Rokeby, Gary Michaels, Merle Honerman, Robert Allen, Dick Campbell, and Rose Blumkin.
We will be attending the awards banquet to honor whichever business wins the award this Friday.
As part of the nomination process, the Federation asked that each nominee send in some information about their respective business. Here is what we sent them for consideration:
To Whom it May Concern:
When Schrock Innovations was founded ten years ago, the retail technology world was a different place.
Dell was just figuring out how to mass-manufacture PCs, Hewlett Packard was the only game in town for printers, and local OEM providers made their profits by selling hardware.
Schrock Innovations sought to differentiate itself by emphasizing service instead of specific products.
In fact, the first concept we introduce to new employees at Schrock is that we don’t sell computers. We don’t sell hardware. We sell the service that makes those computers and devices work for our customers.
The world has changed in the last 10 years – Now it is considered acceptable to outsource your technical support to India or to expect your customers to mail back defective products at their expense rather than exchanging them with a retailer.
At the same time we are all facing one of the most hostile economic environments in recent memory.
Schrock Innovations tightened its belt just like everyone else has been forced to do. Those cuts required our staff to work a little smarter and be a little more efficient.
But Schrock has never forgotten that its competitive advantage – its secret to business success – is our dedication to making our customer feel good about doing business with us.
The commitment to our customers’ experiences has been the consistent factor that has carried us through good times and bad over the last decade. It was the motivation behind opening a new $825,000 retail facility in Lincoln this year, and the key to a double-digit increase in sales and profitability YTD.
It is easy to get caught up in the numbers – the deposits, payments, taxes, and quarterly growth rates. It is more difficult to come into to the Service Center every day and look beyond the work in front of us to see the faces of the real people we are serving.
The satisfaction of these real people is what we live and die by at Schrock Innovations. As long as our customers are happy, everything else comes out in the wash.
Thank you for taking the time to consider Schrock Innovations for this award. We are humbled by our nomination and honored to be in the company of the great retailers of the state of Nebraska.
Sincerely,
Thor Schrock
CEO
Schrock Innovations, Inc.
Excitement is building for the launch of our 2009 Holiday Special computer featuring Windows 7 and a solid state hard drive.
With the launch party coming up on Saturday the 17th in our Lincoln Service Center, our commercials promoting the new system started running this week on TV and radio.
The official specifications will be released soon on the Schrock Innovations website, but until then watch this commercial to get a sneak peek at the most advanced computer available in Nebraska this Holiday Season!
ShowTek Events in Denver, Colorado wanted their website revamped so it would stand out against the competition.
Rob from ShowTek reached out to Schrock Innovations to build a site that would maximize its SEO benefits, and plays a song of the day. Rob wanted multiple video & images, simple navigation, vibrant colors, while at the same time have the website run completely from his own server in an easily updateable framework.
Brad went over each specific detail Rob wanted and then create a site design that would house the ShowTek Events vision of the new site. He created a unique design using a one button menu bar. Combining this with a BACK and HOME button, the site is very simple to navigate and makes it easy to find each product.
The desire to avoid third-party services and the ability to have a song of the day was solved by Schrock building a custom Flash player for their content. The Flash player also allowed the vision for a video gallery to play on the same page when you click a thumbnail.
To keep the updating easy, we built his site was built using PHP, CSS and JavaScript. Upon completion Brad met with Rob for a brief introduction on how to update the website and manage its content.
Now ShowTek Events has a site fitting their vision which is simple to navigate and update
This afternoon I was on KFOR's Lincoln Live afternoon show with Dale Johnson and Officer Russ talking about preventing digital identity theft.
The interview was about 30 minutes, and there were some great pointers for keeping your pocketbook safe while you are on the Internet.
Working in the Service Center at Schrock Innovations we have at least one person every day on our bench who is infected with a program that attempts to steal their financial information simply by asking for it.
What Did You Cover in the Interview?
We touched on a number of topics during the interview, but these were some of the major points:
- How to cyber-crooks get your credit card number? You might be surprised how many people give it up freely!
- What can the police really do to help you once you have become an identity theft victim?
- What is the one piece of software you NEED on your computer that stops financial fraud in its tracks?
- What are some basic safe practices that can protect your children on Twitter and Facebook?
Listen to the Interview
If you missed Lincoln Live this afternoon, you can listen to the complete audio here.
Big Dog Wraps & Graphics came to Schrock Innovations looking for a website to sell their unique graphics and provide their customers with the ability to upload their own designs.
More importantly, Big Dog wanted a site that would stand out from the competition and show off their products. After some preliminary design meetings, Schrock presented a proposal that featured dynamic image rollovers inside a Goth/Skater styling using a dark gray & burgundy color layout.
Brad in our development center worked closely with Jana of Big Dog Wraps & Graphics to create the style and coloring scheme they were looking for.
To improve the site's scalability, we created a flexible CSS design to work with the multiple page layouts. A main menu was created alone with a side menu to showcase products, make navigation easy and help customers she how easy it is to have unique graphics printed and applied to their vehicles.
Once the styling was done we designed and coded their online shopping cart. The shopping cart was designed to make purchases simple for the customers and to be easily implemented on the back-end.
The September 26, 2009 episode of Compute This is now available online! Click here to listen to the show.
On this program Thor talked about the prototype 2009 Holiday Special computer and made one available to Chris to try out after the show.
In related news, Thor also announced that Schrock Innovations would be holding a Windows 7 launch party on October 17th at Schrock Innovations on 27th and Pine Lake Road at 10:00. You can try out the 2009 Holiday Special and get a sneak peak at Windows 7 before anyone else in town gets to see it!
The guys also took a number of calls during the show and covered a variety of topis. Some of the questions included:
- What kind of specifications should you look for in a good gaming computer?
- Should I use Norton's Identity Protection or Internet Explorer's ID Protection?
- Which is better in a camcorder? Mini-DV, VCD, or Hard Drive Based?
Tune into Compute This live every Saturday from 10-11 AM CST on KFOR 1240 and call in with your question or comment at 489-1240.
Steve from Podnutz and I recorded the second installment of Computer Repair Business Weekly this afternoon for the upcoming topITshop.com website.
This episode focused on the nuts and bolts of starting a computer repair business.
Many techs who decide to start their own computer repair service center assume that all that is needed to start an IT company is to know how to fix things properly.
This podcast is intended to give the listener a crash course on the boring managerial business garbage that must be done to avoid silly (and expensive) problems.
What Did You Cover in the Podcast
We touched on a lot of different topis in the minute show, but here are some of the highlights. If you have questions about these topics, this podcast is definitely for you:
- Accounting Setup - Cash or Accrual - Which is better? Bookkeeper or Accountant?
- Banking Setup - How many accounts do you need and what kind of fees should you expect?
- Basic Marketing Setup - Your name, your cards, and your URL - Get it right the first time
- Legal Setup - Sole Proprietorship, LLC, or Corporation - Which is right for you?
- Government Compliance - Get the permits you need, pick the right lawyer
When will the Podcast Be Available
We will be releasing the podcasts once each week once the topITshop.com site is up and running. We expect to have the site up by December.
If you want to keep up on the latest topITshop developments, follow topITshop on Twitter.
Last year Kim and I put our house on the market, and although we had a lot of interested people look at it no one could get financed in the middle of the credit crunch.
We plan on attempting to sell the house again next Spring, so the name of the game right now is to make the improvements that will help us sell the house quickly at a fair market price.
Our Realtor told us that one of the biggest concerns about the house was that the roof was at the end of its lifespan. We had a cedar shake roof that was designed to last 30 years. It was put on in 1982, so it really was about time to have some work done.
Kim and I interviewed 6 roofing companies before we finally settled on Hustad Roofing. Kim liked the owner because she had that woman gut feeling that she could trust the owner. I like them because they came in with the best reputation AND the lowest bid.
They showed up at 9:00 in the morning and 7 men amazed my 3-year old son by climbing on the roof and peeling off wood shingles like they were a fruit roll-up wrapper.
The whole removal process took less than a couple hours, and the new roof was on by the end of the day.
Hustad had laid tarps on the ground to catch the nails, shingles and paper that was being torn off for a quick, easy and complete clean up.
Overall I was very impressed with the job they did, and the pictures speak for themselves.
William Safire's recent death has stirred an interest in the speeches he wrote over his many years in public service.
However it is rare to read the draft of a speech that was never delivered - let alone a speech that was to be delivered in the event of an unspeakable tragedy that could have actually happened.
Below is a transcript of the William Safire speech written for President Richard Nixon to deliver to the nation in the event the Apollo 11 astronauts became stranded on the moon.
To: H. R. Halderman
From: Bill Safire
July 18, 1969IN THE EVENT OF MOON DISASTER:
Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.
They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.
In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.
In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in their constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.
Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.
For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.
PRIOR TO THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT
The President should telephone each of the widows-to-be.
AFTER THE PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT, AT THE POINT WHEN NASA ENDS COMMUNICATIONS WITH THESE MEN:
A clergyman should adopt the same procedure as a burial at sea, commending their souls to the "deepest of the deep," concluding with the Lord's Prayer.
Thank God that speech was never needed.
An affiliate network called the Partnetka is working hard in Russia to bring malware to your beloved Mac at a bounty of $.43 per infection.
Affiliate networks are nothing new on the web - in fact they are much more common than you might imagine. The basic concept is that webmasters run websites that people go to. They use their websites to promote products and services and gt a piece of the action when people buy.
It turns out that according to ZDnet that this network was offering a $.43 payment for every Mac that could be infected and handed over.
Most Mac infections come in the form of DNS changing Trojans that are downloaded in relation to porn videos.
Affiliate networks are pay-for-performance deals. This means that someone out there somewhere intends to make more than $.43 on every Mac they can infect. The days of the Mac being an invincible platform are clearly numbered.
Schrock Innovations recently wrapped up a new fishing report application for the Nebraska Game and Parks website.
This application will give Nebraska fishers a whole new way to brag about their catches while helping others find the best fishing in the state.
What Does the New Application Do?
This new application allows fishers to upload a picture of their catch, the location where it was caught, and details about the type of gear that you used and your fishing technique.
Best of all, it gives the individual fisher the ability to rate their fishing experience overall.
The idea behind the application is to help raise awareness that Nebraska has some of the best fishing in the Midwest by SHOWING the proof and telling others where to go on their next weekend outing.
This is the kind of content that separates Nebraska's Game and Parks website from those maintained by other states.
When Can I Upload My Pictures?
Expect the new application to go live in the coming months, so dig up all of your miracle catches and get ready to share your fish stories with the rest of Nebraska!
This week Steve from Podnutz and I recorded the first episode of Computer Repair Business Weekly. The podcast will be featured on the topITshop.com website and is designed to help current and aspiring independent computer repair shop owners keep their heads above water and MAKE MONEY.
The podcast will be released in weekly installments on topITshop.com as well as through iTunes when the website goes live in December 2009.
Steve recently sold his own computer repair company and I have owned and operated Schrock Innovations for over 10 years. The two of us have different perspectives and experiences to draw from and together on the podcast we offer some pretty unique conversation.
What Did You Talk About?
For example, in this episode we talked about why it is important to think about what kind of business owner you want to be before you open your doors to the world.
There are two kinds of business owners - Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs.
Small business owners enjoy a less expensive start up and easier management, but typically their operations grind to a halt if they don't show up to work.
Entrepreneurial operations are more expensive and complex to start up, but if the owner executes properly they can run on their own as a systematized operation. This allows the entrepreneur to make his or her exit at some point and move on to a new venture while their old one continues to bring in money.
Where can I Listen?
The podcasts will not be released until the topITshop website goes live in December. If you follow topITshop.com on Twitter, you will know exactly when we launch and we will tweet when the podcast is released.
If you follow my Tweets you might know about a project I am working on called topITship.com.
Schrock Innovations does a great job breaking technology down for our customers and clients into understandable and practical servings. One of the reasons Schrock has been so successful is that its somewhat rare to find a tech company that can do that.
What is topITshop.com?
The idea behind topITshop is to serve the other side of the equation - other IT shops.
The website will feature video reviews that you can't find anywhere else (not even cNet), informative articles about how to conduct business more efficiently, as well as marketing advice and proven-effective techniques for building a sustainable business.
Every year thousands of IT professionals ditch their employers to venture out on their own, and unfortunately most of them will fail. They typically fail because the owner is a technician, not a businessman.
When the new venture is created, the entrepreneur fails to realize that the skill set required to be a good technician is completely different than the skill set needed to build an effective revenue model and execute it.
topITshop.com is designed to help tech entrepreneurs and their employees bend the learning curve, survive the initial volatile start-up years, and prosper in an ethical way.
When Will it Launch?
We have the website designed, and have released it to our coders this week. I am anticipating a November / December launch, but there are a lot of loose ends that need to be wrapped up before that can happen.
You can keep up on the latest topITshop.com news by following the project's Twitter updates.
Some of the content for the website includes:
- A Weekly Podcast Called "Computer Repair Business Weekly"
- Video Reviews of Components you will actually order (not cool stuff you can't sell)
- Marketing Advice Articles
- Guest Contributors
- ID10T Stories (shop owners you know that we all have these)
- Tips on Refining Your Business Practices
Want to Be a Part?
If you are involved in the IT industry and believe you have content that would be valuable to others in the industry, we might be interested in talking with you.
If you are interested in becoming a contributor, email me your information, a description of what you believe you have to contribute, and what you want in return for your contribution.
This website is based on predictable, accurate, high-quality content, so make sure you bring your A-game!
After a bit of a posting drought, we have started posting our Compute This shows again on the Schrock Innovations website for those who couldn't listen live, or live outside of the local market.
I have heard rumors that KFOR may be posting our shows as podcasts as well. I will look into it, and get you a link so you can subscribe through iTunes is you would rather do that than download the .mp3 files individually.
September 12, 2009 Show:
Click Here to listen to the September 12, 2009 show.
During this show we launched a new sale called the Great XP Escape Sale.
There was an early Husker game this week, so the call volume was a little light, but we did have a few callers and they asked questions like:
- Should I buy a laptop or a desktop computer?
- Why does my music sound different when I burn it to disc?
September 19th 2009 Show
Click here to listen to the September 19th show.
During this show we wrapped up the Great XP Escape sale, talked about which browsers are the most energy efficient, and took a few calls as well.
Our callers asked questions like:
- My DVD drive disappeared from My Computer. How can I get it back?
- How can I fix a broken VGA cable?
- Why did my auto-fill stop working in the Yahoo Toolbar?
Compute This airs every Saturday morning on KFOR 1240 in Lincoln, NE from 10-11 AM CST. You can listen live on the KFOR website and call in toll-free with your questions at 800-825-5865.
With excitement building for the upcoming release of Microsoft's latest operating System, Windows 7, a couple of familiar guests might be missing from the launch parties.
Microsoft has removed Outlook Express (Windows Mail in Vista) and Windows Movie Maker from Windows 7 deciding instead to promote their Windows Live products.
Windows Live Mail
The basic concept behind Windows Live Mail is that you can run it from your mobile device, your computer in offline mode, or live on the internet.
Rather than clicking on the "Send/Receive" button you instead click a "Sync" button. The idea here is that you can use your phone or computer in offline mode, and as soon as they go online they will "sync" with the online system to keep everything in one place that is shared with all of your devices.
Here's a video that shows you how the process works from start to finish:
Windows Live Moviemaker
Windows Movie Maker has been included free of charge with Windows since Windows XP was released.
On the Windows Live blog, the lead designer on the Movie Maker project explained that the company's research showed that most PC users employed Movie Maker to create small videos, video slide shows, or combinations of both with some titles and transitions.
Knowing that users were not using Movie Maker to create feature length films, Microsoft focused on making an application that can do what its user want quickly and easily.
For example, the "Auto Movie" feature allows you to select a group of pictures and an audio sound track and then let the computer do the hard work of organizing the images so they start and stop with the sound track.
Here's a video that explains the most hyped features of Movie Maker:
Why Do I Have to Download It?
Windows 7 will not come with Movie Maker of Windows Live Mail (or even Windows Messenger) installed by default. Users have to make the decision to download the components from the Windows Live website or through the Microsoft Update (Windows Update) feature.
This solves a lot of anti-competitive issues not only in the US, but in Europe as well, while still allowing Microsoft to give its own products a slight advantage over their competitors in the marketplace.