Simple Automation Productivity is the primary goal of just about any office, and Google Home can help reach this goal through some basic automation. The device itself actually serves several purposes in your office, but only through integrations with other devices and services does it reach its true potential. A big example of this is your office thermostat or light switch. These devices can adjust your office?s environment when they receive a command from your Google devices. This provides a lot of control over your office?s environment that you might not have otherwise because you lost the remote control to your air conditioning unit, or you have to get up and turn the light off manually. Instead, you just say, ?Hey Google, turn off the lights in the conference room,? or ?Hey Google, set temperature to 73 degrees.? This allows you to continue being productive seamlessly without interrupting your workday. More Advanced Automation One example of a web service that integrates very well with Google Home devices is If This Then That, commonly referred to as IFTTT. This can automate your organization?s functions to a certain degree. Through IFTTT, you can connect your Google Home device (or whichever device you?re using) and customize the trigger for which command you want to use. These triggers will be activated by your voice, but there are some variations that you can try. Once you have assigned your commands, click Create Trigger, then click through ?that.? You can also search through any available channels that you can trigger with your Google Assistant, select the desired one, and fill in the necessary configurations. Once you?ve finished this process, your device will be all set for automation. Activating More Commands Your Google Home devices can also do a lot of other commands that you might find useful in the business setting–particularly those that require multiple devices to be effective. One example is if your office is large and you can?t get ahold of someone through messaging or a phone call. You can use your Google Home device to work like an intercom to page the employee. This function uses the ?broadcast? feature of Google Home to replay whatever message you want to any Home devices connected to the account. A Google Home device can follow commands from more than just yourself, though. In fact, multiple users can be connected to it, totaling up to six accounts with potential connectivity. The device can even customize potential answers based on who?s accessing the device. If you allow visitors in your office, they can also take advantage of Google Home via Guest mode. They can connect to the device without connecting to the Wi-Fi. You can thus keep your wireless credentials to yourself without handing them out to any stranger visiting your office. Do you have an interesting way that you take advantage of Google Home? If so, let us know in the comments.
Why Cost-Per-Page is So Important It is pretty common knowledge in the business world that, in order for a printer to properly print, it needs to have ink with which to print. This ink comes in the form of ink cartridges, which need to be replaced once the ink within them has been spent. These cartridges are, unfortunately, anything but cheap – and you usually have to purchase multiple to get the full benefits of a multicolor printer. This is part of the reason that it is important for you to know your printer?s average cost-per-page (CPP), or at least have a figure that is reasonably close. If your business relies heavily on paper documents in its daily processes, these costs can be considerable. How to Calculate the Average Cost-Per-Page Despite different ink cartridges being made for a variety of different printers, the calculation to determine your CPP is relatively simple. All you have to do is divide the price of the cartridge by the cartridge yield rating, or how many pages the cartridge should be expected to print. This number can be found on the cartridge?s packaging. So, if you spent $25 on a cartridge of black ink with a yield of 525 pages, your formula would look like this… 25/525 = 0.048 …giving you a cost of about 5 cents per page. Calculating CCP in More Complicated Printers The fact that not all ink cartridges are the same can add a step or two to this calculation. Since many modern printers now rely on different cartridge configurations, like an individual cartridge for each color (black, cyan, yellow, and magenta) or two cartridges that cover them all (black, and cyan, yellow, magenta). Regardless, your calculation will be more or less the same, with minor adjustments to account for how the colors are clustered or divided. Basically, when adding color into the equation, find the CPP of each color and combine your totals – including black. It is important to remember that when printing something in color, you?re apt to use just as much, if not more, black ink as well. Furthermore, it is important to consider that ink cartridge manufacturers will often base their yield rating on standardized business documents, with a certain percentage of the document being covered in ink. Therefore, printing something that doesn?t fit into these constraints will throw off the yield, which can happen based on what kind of document you are printing, and even what kind of paper you?re using. Controlling Your Prints Calculating your investment into each print can also provide you with some invaluable insight into the goings-on at your office. Mostly, it may show you that you are spending far more than you should be on printed materials. White Mountain IT Services can help with that. We can help you implement the solutions that will allow you to cap each user?s printer use, streamlining and optimizing your ability to use it and remain fiscally responsible. Alternatively, we can also offer collaboration solutions that can help reduce your reliance on physical documents entirely. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more!
On Thursday, May 3, it came to light that there was an internal log upon which an undisclosed number of account passwords were recorded without any protection. As a result, this unknown amount of passwords can no longer be considered secure, even though there is no apparent evidence that any data breach has occurred. Twitter uses a process called hashing to protect their passwords, as many companies do. However, a bug created a log of passwords before they were hashed, leaving them fully legible. This bug has since been resolved. In response to this situation, Twitter is being proactive and recommending that all of its users change their passwords, just in case. To do so, log in to your account in your browser, access Settings and privacy, and from there, Password. It is also a good idea to enable two-factor authentication by accessing Settings and privacy, clicking into Account. Once there, click on the ?Set up login verification? button and follow the instructions. You will find yourself on a Login verification screen, where you can activate the means to generate another authentication code. While disaster seems to be averted this time, you should not hesitate to change your password as soon as possible, and makes sure that all of your online accounts have strong passwords in place. For more information about keeping your identity safe online, call the IT professionals at White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.
A Little Background For those of you who have spent your lives living on Dagoba and haven?t seen the original Star Wars movie, subsequently titled, A New Hope, the story follows a young pilot named Luke Skywalker, whose guardians are murdered by soldiers of the Imperial Army, who were looking for two droids Luke?s Uncle Owen purchased. With the help of an old hermit, Obi Wan ?Old Ben? Kenobi, Luke sets out to join the rebellion led by Luke?s sister Leia (although they don?t know they are related). The Empire has developed a new type of battlestation called the Death Star, which is a moon-sized behemoth equipped with a Superlaser, which was soon used to obliterate first Jedha City (Rogue One) and eventually, Leia?s (adopted) home planet of Alderaan. Knowing that having a weapon with that kind of destructive power would be the end of the rebellion that was underway by a pro-democratic coalition called the Alliance to Restore the Republic (or Rebel Alliance). The plot of A New Hope centers around the rebellion attempt to neutralize the Imperial?s Death Star. Security A team consisting of former smuggler Han Solo, the Wookie Chewbacca, serial-whiner Luke Skywalker, Jedi Obi Wan Kenobi, and two droids C-3PO and R2-D2 set out to save Princess Leia Organa from a cell on the Death Star. Today, we?ll take a look at how the Empire’s security procedures made it possible for the rebellion to get Leia out of there, while simultaneously destroying the battlestation and throwing the Empire into chaos. Unprotected Endpoints Star Wars – Obi Wan Kenobi was a wanted man by the Empire after he defeated Anakin in a duel on Mustafar (Revenge of the Sith), so even though it was decades later, he would have to be careful. When he?s stopped by Imperial Stormtroopers, he was able to use the Jedi Mind Trick to spoof their thoughts and get past the checkpoint. Real World – Having a thoroughly controlled authentication protocol is an important part of keeping your data and infrastructure secure. Passwords, biometrics, and other forms of authentication have to both work for the users, while also being complex enough to keep unwanted parties out. A Complete Lack of Segmentation and Lack of System Encryption Star Wars – Once the team gets to the Death Star, they gain access to a control room where the droids begin to access the Death Star?s system. As soon as he?s hooked up, R2-D2 has complete access to the whole entire network without any form of authentication or protection. Real World – Having some segmentation to your network allows you to pick and choose who can access certain information and who can?t. No matter who can access information, your network data needs to be encrypted to ensure that just anyone can?t access all the sensitive information on it. Ignoring CISO at Great Peril Star Wars – The Admiralty of the Imperial Army did not want to hear that there was a possibility that the rebels had found, and could execute sabotage, on a vulnerability. So much so that Grand Moff Tarkin scoffed when he was approached about the potential vulnerability to the battle station. Nothing was done with that information and it resulted in the first Imperial Death Star being destroyed, and the death of all […]
Examining the Chromebook Putting it simply, Chromebooks are limited laptop devices that do considerably less than their utility-packed cousins, but what they do, they do well. Comparing Chromebooks to the Conventional Laptop While they visually appear to be essentially the same, there are a few key differences between a Chromebook and your typical laptop that set them apart. These differences are important to take note of, as they will have an influence over the functionality of each device. You will want to make sure that you select a device that can serve your needs. So, without further ado, let?s review the differences between these two options to establish what circumstances each is better suited for. Operating System and Software Options While most conventional laptops will generally come with the Windows operating system or macOS installed (or in some cases, Linux), Chromebooks come exclusively with Chrome OS installed. Really, this only makes sense, given their name. This is a particularly important consideration to make, depending on your usage needs. If your responsibilities require you to access and leverage solutions that are not supported by Chrome OS, then your best bet is going to be to select an option that comes with an operating system that supports third-party apps. However, if you are looking to make a low financial investment in order to purchase what is essentially access to your Google applications – most notably, Google Drive – a Chromebook should fit the bill quite nicely. Storage Space Laptop computers can come with a variety of storage space, which will influence things like price and ultimately, utility. This storage space is usually in the form of an SSD, as a laptop can especially benefit from its relative stability when compared to an HDD. Alternatively, a Chromebook often has no storage-specific hard drive to speak of, beyond a small SSD to hold the operating system. Otherwise, your saved files are all kept in the cloud. This approach essentially eliminates the need for onboard storage space, with the added benefit of streamlining the device?s boot time. Comparative Prices Naturally, this factor is always a concern – you?ll not only want to fulfill your computing needs, but you will want to avoid breaking the bank beyond repair as you do so. As a general rule, Chromebooks run for a lower price than a comparable laptop, although you should also be able to find a basic laptop for less than a high-end Chromebook may set you back. Making Your Choice Again, your particular needs will strongly dictate whether it makes more sense to invest in a laptop or a Chromebook. If you need additional help balancing your technology needs, reach out to the professionals at White Mountain IT Services for more assistance by calling (603) 889-0800.
