Real-Time Translators

With the rise of international business along with the advancement of modern technologies, real-time translating services have been gaining in popularity. Real-time translators usually come in the form of applications for smart phones but are starting to become available for land-lines as well. They offer the user a selection of languages and as a voice conversation takes place, the application will translate what the user is saying in real time to which ever language is desired.

A French based company Alcatel-Lucent, will be releasing a translator for landline based phones called WeTalk. The service will be marketed predominantly toward businesses. It will offer translations of over twelve languages. They are currently working on technology that will be able to simultaneously translate multiple languages during multinational conference calls.

DTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile phone service provider just announced the release of their Mobile Translator service. DoCoMo’s app will be for Android based Smartphones and will use DoCoMo’s cloud for computing power. This enables the app to run on almost any Android capable phone. The translator will offer English, Mandarin, and Korean to start out with, adding seven additional languages next month. As each participant in the conversation speaks, the conversation is translated into both text and audio.The intent behind these inventions is to broaden the user’s ability to communicate. These applications are soon to make a very large impact on the way in which companies conduct international business.

Several firms within the U.S., including Apple and Google are working on their own versions of real-time translators. Here at TechFarmer, we are always keeping an eye out for the latest trending technologies. It will be interesting to test these products and see the accuracy of the translation.

Tablets on a Budget

The growing craze in today’s tech industry is mobile computing. Tablets and Smartphones have many of the same capabilities of traditional computers with the added convenience of being highly portable. When these “Tablets” first were released, they were pretty much limited to a high-end market due to their price. Despite being high in price and not having a very large application support structure, tablets still became widely used and desired.

In an attempt to reach out to more markets, a new trend of budget tablets has arisen. It was started in part by the release of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet. The Nexus 7 is similar in performance to competing full sized tablets, but it is smaller and a fraction of the price selling for around $250.00. Entering the budget Tablet market, Amazon has released a small tablet called the Kindle Fire HD selling for about $200.00. Apple has just entered this new market with the release of their iPad Mini. Although slightly more expensive than its competitors at around $330.00, it is still quite a bit more cost effective than its older siblings the full sized iPads.

Microsoft has recently joined Tablet market as well with the release of their Surface Tablet today. Microsoft's Surface sets itself apart from the rest of the crowd by supporting a full Operating System. Thanks to this improvement, the tablet can now be used for the same tasks as a laptop or desktop system. Word documents and spreadsheets among any other tasks that a traditional PC is needed for can now be done on this device. This new functionality comes at a price however, the base model RT starts at $499  roughly double that will have to be paid for the full sized Pro version. 

If you live a busy lifestyle, need a more versatile work station, or the idea of computing on the run appeals to you, then this is a great way to explore the world of tablet PC’s without spending a fortune, just remember that budget electronics are not always made to last a long time. At TechFarmer we have experience with all kinds of various tablets and are always keeping our eyes peeled for new technologies. Contact us if you are curious and want to know more about mobile computing.

Intrusion Detection Systems

One of the most important aspects of a successful business is the protection and integrity of its data. This could be anything including but not limited to patient records, blueprints, and customer's personal/financial information. This is what modern cybercriminals and hackers are after. If compromised, this information can cause serious problems for the company and its customers alike.

Never underestimate the importance of network security. There are many ways to secure a network from hacking and penetration attempts. The most common and often the first line of defense is the firewall. What happens if a hacker is able to bypass it? The network administrator will need to know in order to take the proper actions to seal off the company's data. This is where an Intrusion Detection System comes in.
 
Intrusion Detection Systems or IDS systems are developed to scan the network and identify possible malicious activity. They look for unauthorized access, policy violations, and attempted access to the network. The IDS system will then either trigger an alarm or log the event, notifying the administrator of the occurrence. Once the threat has been identified, the issue can then be researched, addressed and taken care of before any information has been disclosed.

In today’s technological age, and with the prevalence of cybercrime, network security has become just another part of responsibly running a successful business. TechFarmer has many different applications and methods in which to implement strong security measures for your business.

Caring for your Electronic Devices

Technology has become as much a part of our everyday lives as cars and transportation.  As we perform preventative maintenance on our cars such as regular oil changes, the same must be done for our computer equipment.

The majority of these devices aren’t cheap, so proper care is important in order to keep them around for a while and in good working condition.
Many devices have small internal surge protectors which make them not as effective as traditional ones that plug into the wall. Always use a surge protector with a desktop system. When working for long periods of time on the laptop at home or in the office use an external surge protector as well.

Only use recommended accessories. The use of a pen or stylus that wasn’t built specifically for a tablet could end up damaging it. The use of anything other than a special screen cleaning cloth could potentially scratch or damage the screen or monitor. While cleaning the screen with a damp screen cleaning cloth, make sure the device is unplugged.

Another accessory that must be specific to the device is the power cord. Due to varying amounts of electricity do not use a cord from another device, even if it looks the same because it can damage internal components. The care of power cables is also important. Always place cords out of the way of heavily traveled areas or wheeled office chairs. It only takes a few times of getting stepped on or run over for cables to become damaged.

Heat is any electronic device's worst enemy. Keep the system as cool as possible and out of direct sunlight, even when the device is not powered on. Components in PCs such as the processor produce large amounts of heat and in order to keep them cool, fans and cooling systems are integrated. Unfortunately many of these fan systems will suck dust into the device. After a while, the components will get clogged with dust which will act as a thermal blanket making the device run hot. It may eventually fail; thus, in addition to heat and sunlight, keep the device as far away from dust as possible.

However, no matter how clean the environment is where the computer system resides, it will still manage to attract dust and must be cleaned. After turning off the device and discharging any static electricity by touching a metal section of the computer case remove the cover and use compressed air to regularly clear out the dust. Keyboards and laptops like compressed air too!

Contact TechFarmer for more tips on keeping your system running well and we will be happy to share our experiences and expertise.  

Data Centers

When businesses turn to offsite companies to handle the safe keeping of their data through the cloud, the companies that they are contracting operate out of data centers.

 

These Data Centers that specialize in storage are usually industrial sized operations. Maintaining the proper equipment to not only hold all of this data, but also to safeguard it can be a very complex and expensive task. State of the art severs and hardware must be used in order to hold the volume of data involved in this type of storage. Some businesses may want to use their own equipment, in which case they have the option to rent a space within a Data Center to utilize the optimum environment that these centers provide.

The rooms in which the equipment is used to hold this information must be carefully climate controlled. If the air is too moist, there is the chance of condensation building up on the machines. If the air is too dry, there is the risk of static electricity build up. To avoid this, the humidity must remain within 40 to 55%.  The temperature must be kept within 61-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Because computer components produce very high amount of heat, this can be a difficult task. The equipment used in these data centers must be constantly serviced and replaced while maintaining the integrity of the data. The storage and upkeep of this technology is a full time job!

In addition to perfect humidity and temperature, redundant power and ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a must. Imagine how devastating a power outage can be on a business and you will see the benefit of data centers. UPS's (Uninterrupted Power Supplies, also known as batteries) are used to distribute clean power to all equipment in the data center. These batteries also store power in case a brief power outage happens.  Most data centers will use power that comes from multiple power stations to avoid outages and as a third way to prevent power loss, most data centers have a generator. Furthermore, redundant ISPs in a data center are a must to have dependable access to data.

Not all data centers are created equal. TechFarmer can help you choose the best one for your business!

Cloud Storage

As businesses grow and expand, so does the technology and data that they use. Applications, software, and information used by businesses play a key role in their productivity and success. Much of this data is sensitive and its integrity is of the highest importance. Backing this information up and ensuring its safety is a key factor in keeping a company running at peak efficiency. Data must be protected from such threats as power outages, environmental issues like fire or water damage, and theft, as well as components inevitably failing.

There are many methods in which to do this. A growing trend amongst small and medium sized businesses is to utilize cloud storage to routinely back up their data.

The term cloud storage refers to using an offsite company to handle the safe storage of files and data through the internet. Through the use of the cloud, businesses can focus on doing what they do best and let the data center professionals deal with the task of keeping all of this information intact as well as all of the expenses involved.

As with many things, this may not be the perfect solution for all businesses. A thorough analysis of your particular business technology as well as data use is necessary. It is important to understand that even though your data is available in the cloud, if you have an internet or power outage locally, the data will not be accessible. In addition, the speed that your local ISP delivers will play a big role in data retrieval. There are always ways to resolve those issues and TechFarmer is happy to analyze your current environment as well as suggest the most fitting solution.

Practice Management Software

Among many businesses, especially in the medical field, the organization and handling of client and work related information has become a time intensive and highly complex task. Before the commercial use of computing, patient records, work orders, client information and other business essential documents were all recorded and cataloged by hand. This method was highly susceptible to human error and took many working hours to coordinate.

Thanks to modern technology, many of these tasks are now handled at almost instantaneous speeds by specially designed software. The medical field is one such example of an area in which these programs have become an industry standard.

Practice Management Software is a company wide application that handles a diverse variety of tasks. This software, if professionally implemented, can generate reports, schedule appointments, and update as well as store electronic patient records. PM systems can also do such tasks as coordinating bill payment through insurance providers. There are many more uses for this software, all of which take less time for staff to complete, allowing them more time to focus on the job at hand.

TechFarmer supports many medical companies with different and unique needs. Selecting the most effective Practice Management Software as well as its implementation and upkeep has been an area of expertise. Let us help you in selecting the best one for your business!