Comments on: Software for Small Business/Non-Profits http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html Bringing the Internet into Focus! Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:35:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: LGR http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-569 LGR Sat, 15 Mar 2008 15:25:29 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-569 That looks interesting, except there is no prices listed, they offer a free demo, but they really say nothing about how it works. I could not even find a software requirements list. Does it run on Windows? Macs? Linux? The site seems to be pushing Value Added Resellers. Great, no prices for them either. The service might be great for small businesses, but there is not enough information on the website to tell. For the size of a lot of the businesses I deal with, and I suspect the people that read my blog, this is overkill. When I say small business I mean small. Under 10 people. But I am not done my coffee yet this morning so maybe I am just cranky. That looks interesting, except there is no prices listed, they offer a free demo, but they really say nothing about how it works. I could not even find a software requirements list. Does it run on Windows? Macs? Linux? The site seems to be pushing Value Added Resellers. Great, no prices for them either. The service might be great for small businesses, but there is not enough information on the website to tell. For the size of a lot of the businesses I deal with, and I suspect the people that read my blog, this is overkill. When I say small business I mean small. Under 10 people. But I am not done my coffee yet this morning so maybe I am just cranky.

]]> By: James http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-562 James Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:26:09 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-562 HI<br /> For a more robust online-back-up service with bare-metal restores you might want to look at <a href="http://www.storageguardian.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.storageguardian.com</a>. <br /> JJ HI
For a more robust online-back-up service with bare-metal restores you might want to look at http://www.storageguardian.com.

JJ

]]> By: LGR http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-568 LGR Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:05:46 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-568 While I personally use Ubuntu Linux for my desktop, it is not possible for many small businesses to use Linux or BSD etc. Often the specialized software that they need has only been developed for Windows. True Wine can sometimes run that software it is much easier to keep them on Windows. Unfortunately that is just a reality for some businesses. Heck, even businesses and non-profits that do use Macs often have to have one PC in the place to keep their books. While I personally use Ubuntu Linux for my desktop, it is not possible for many small businesses to use Linux or BSD etc. Often the specialized software that they need has only been developed for Windows. True Wine can sometimes run that software it is much easier to keep them on Windows. Unfortunately that is just a reality for some businesses. Heck, even businesses and non-profits that do use Macs often have to have one PC in the place to keep their books.

]]> By: LGR http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-567 LGR Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:32:15 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-567 Refurbished PC's! That is a great idea. I have used refurbished PC's as file servers for small businesses, and a local school gets refurbished Macs for their computer labs. Refurbished PC’s! That is a great idea. I have used refurbished PC’s as file servers for small businesses, and a local school gets refurbished Macs for their computer labs.

]]> By: Computer Repair http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-566 Computer Repair Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:01:23 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-566 These are some very good suggestions. Defiantly get an online office backup, don't rely on tapes or cds. Also, look for refurbished pcs and spend an extra $30 to put more ram in them. These can be had for as little as $150. These are some very good suggestions. Defiantly get an online office backup, don’t rely on tapes or cds. Also, look for refurbished pcs and spend an extra $30 to put more ram in them. These can be had for as little as $150.

]]> By: LGR http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-565 LGR Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:39:05 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-565 I have never used Draw! I know it is there, but have never had a reason to I guess. You are right for a small business that needs to do some basic drawing it would work great. I have never used Draw! I know it is there, but have never had a reason to I guess. You are right for a small business that needs to do some basic drawing it would work great.

]]> By: Solveig Haugland http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-563 Solveig Haugland Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:53:11 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-563 OpenOffice.org has a lot of features that would be very useful for small businesses, including the PDF generator that lets you set passwords, make forms and hyperlinks, etc. Plus you of course have Draw, a nice substitute for Canvas or Illustrator, with connector lines similar to those in Visio. OpenOffice.org has a lot of features that would be very useful for small businesses, including the PDF generator that lets you set passwords, make forms and hyperlinks, etc. Plus you of course have Draw, a nice substitute for Canvas or Illustrator, with connector lines similar to those in Visio.

]]> By: devaughn http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-business-non-profits.html#comment-564 devaughn Thu, 06 Mar 2008 10:03:26 +0000 http://www.lgr.ca/blog/2008/03/software-for-small-businessnon-profits.html#comment-564 true...XP is one of the better OS's that microsoft has put out in the past few years..infact since 98 in my opinion. But can't you really go wrong with open source? For a more advanced user id suggest using Linux Slackware, or if you are in for extream security, OpenBSD -stable. Now before you start off on me, *nix isnt for everyone, i may know that best of all from personal experiances in the past. Gentoo or Ubuntu are great for beginners...more so than Mandrake (Mandriva). n Common...software wise, 3/4 of the applications out there for windows were derived from Opensourse code to begin with. "Well, how can i go about using my favorite windows application?" easy.. Windows Emulator (WINE) easy to install and to use as well. Security wise..well personally id say installing some form of *nix is the first step, the second is getting you're hands on a copy of TripWire. Whats tripwire you might ask. well its a form of an Intrusion Detection System. it monitors you're file system and notifies you of any changes to the data on your hard disk while at your machine or away from it via email (need to have sendmail enabled though). As for a firewall, you have alot of options out there, one of my personal favorites that ive been using for a long time now is firestarter with the GUI front end..cause lets face it folks sometimes you just get sick of cmd line at times. Another plus to this is that you can configure you're own policies for you're firewall aswell. Or if you wish to use the base install that comes with most linux distrobutions you can use IPtables which you can also create your own policies for but can be at times a bit of a pain which is where KMyFirewall comes into play, its a great policy editor for IPtables. Now you ask yourself, "I have a fairly secure based operating system, i have a decent IDS, and a policy customized firewall. How do i know my system is actually secure?" Well you have some options here, NMap (maybe THE best port scanner in existance) and Nessus (a powerful exploit engine/scanner) together you can scan youreself for open ports and compare the services running which were provided to you by the NMap scan against the Nessus scanner and attempt to exploit you're self. Then patch if needed or update to the latest version of said software. As for you're basic everyday application needs you do have alot more options than you think, as i had said before if you wish to continue using windows applications you always can resort to using WINE, now if you're like me n like to run with the little guy, i like using StarOffice which is an equally powerful Office suite, as for graphic applications i love using GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) which i consider myself is equal to using Photoshop (im going to catch alot of flack for saying that..but what ever). Browser and mail wise, i still enjoy using Opera for its features, speed dialer especially. Also for the .torrent file extension support. Lets face it...why run an external application when you can get the same results in an all-in-one browser which is so robust like Opera. As for you're email needs, you're set right from the get-go with Kmail, the client has full support for all of you're email needs. Now the question of Instant Messaging comes to mind, "MSN, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, etc... are all windows based applications, what am i to do about this?" Well if you really wanna be a resource hog you can run WINE and run all of the seperate applications through the emulator or... you can run one of the many multi-protocal clients out there, one to mention in particular is Gaim which i really do suggest that you check out, im not sure if there is a windows variant of this, if so id suggest using that over anything else which above all others, has secure messaging using its own 128 bit key. As for you're basic encryption needs there is always GnuPGP, the *nix variant of windows' PGP. As for music/video there are alot of great players to pick from, most important, XMMS (Winamp variant) and Xine which for me personally has been a very reliable media player especially when it comes to streaming music. Another thing that i have noticed alot lately is *nix machines being used as POS in alot of stores which is great to see now with the prices in windows vista ever so greater than XP and the lack of support for software on its previous versions. Plus...Its Free, which is a great cost cutting sound for new and small business's and non-profit groups. Lets not forget to mention file sharing in wide area networks...with the added security of the SSH2 protocal, which needs to be deemed the new standard for remote access for control on other machines and its stability and security in regards to new advances in FTPd software. =] hope you enjoy - devaughn true…XP is one of the better OS’s that microsoft has put out in the past few years..infact since 98 in my opinion. But can’t you really go wrong with open source? For a more advanced user id suggest using Linux Slackware, or if you are in for extream security, OpenBSD -stable. Now before you start off on me, *nix isnt for everyone, i may know that best of all from personal experiances in the past. Gentoo or Ubuntu are great for beginners…more so than Mandrake (Mandriva). n Common…software wise, 3/4 of the applications out there for windows were derived from Opensourse code to begin with. “Well, how can i go about using my favorite windows application?” easy.. Windows Emulator (WINE) easy to install and to use as well. Security wise..well personally id say installing some form of *nix is the first step, the second is getting you’re hands on a copy of TripWire. Whats tripwire you might ask. well its a form of an Intrusion Detection System. it monitors you’re file system and notifies you of any changes to the data on your hard disk while at your machine or away from it via email (need to have sendmail enabled though). As for a firewall, you have alot of options out there, one of my personal favorites that ive been using for a long time now is firestarter with the GUI front end..cause lets face it folks sometimes you just get sick of cmd line at times. Another plus to this is that you can configure you’re own policies for you’re firewall aswell. Or if you wish to use the base install that comes with most linux distrobutions you can use IPtables which you can also create your own policies for but can be at times a bit of a pain which is where KMyFirewall comes into play, its a great policy editor for IPtables. Now you ask yourself, “I have a fairly secure based operating system, i have a decent IDS, and a policy customized firewall. How do i know my system is actually secure?” Well you have some options here, NMap (maybe THE best port scanner in existance) and Nessus (a powerful exploit engine/scanner) together you can scan youreself for open ports and compare the services running which were provided to you by the NMap scan against the Nessus scanner and attempt to exploit you’re self. Then patch if needed or update to the latest version of said software. As for you’re basic everyday application needs you do have alot more options than you think, as i had said before if you wish to continue using windows applications you always can resort to using WINE, now if you’re like me n like to run with the little guy, i like using StarOffice which is an equally powerful Office suite, as for graphic applications i love using GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program) which i consider myself is equal to using Photoshop (im going to catch alot of flack for saying that..but what ever). Browser and mail wise, i still enjoy using Opera for its features, speed dialer especially. Also for the .torrent file extension support. Lets face it…why run an external application when you can get the same results in an all-in-one browser which is so robust like Opera. As for you’re email needs, you’re set right from the get-go with Kmail, the client has full support for all of you’re email needs. Now the question of Instant Messaging comes to mind, “MSN, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, etc… are all windows based applications, what am i to do about this?” Well if you really wanna be a resource hog you can run WINE and run all of the seperate applications through the emulator or… you can run one of the many multi-protocal clients out there, one to mention in particular is Gaim which i really do suggest that you check out, im not sure if there is a windows variant of this, if so id suggest using that over anything else which above all others, has secure messaging using its own 128 bit key. As for you’re basic encryption needs there is always GnuPGP, the *nix variant of windows’ PGP. As for music/video there are alot of great players to pick from, most important, XMMS (Winamp variant) and Xine which for me personally has been a very reliable media player especially when it comes to streaming music. Another thing that i have noticed alot lately is *nix machines being used as POS in alot of stores which is great to see now with the prices in windows vista ever so greater than XP and the lack of support for software on its previous versions. Plus…Its Free, which is a great cost cutting sound for new and small business’s and non-profit groups. Lets not forget to mention file sharing in wide area networks…with the added security of the SSH2 protocal, which needs to be deemed the new standard for remote access for control on other machines and its stability and security in regards to new advances in FTPd software. =]

hope you enjoy

- devaughn

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