October 29, 2009 -- When I started working as a programmer -- I won't tell you how long ago (hint dinosaurs roamed the world) -- The Computer was in a big, glass-enclosed, air-conditioned room that you had to get buzzed into.  Data were prepared on punched cards and output was returned in the form of stacks of printed computer paper. It was a big deal when I got a typewriter-style terminal with a roll of paper to show my typed input and the computer's responses. Now, everyone expects to have a direct pipe from their personal computer into the servers in their offices and, of course, to the Internet.  Smart phones have made it possible to get email and web access and to run applications from anywhere. Indeed, these remarkable developments create interesting opportunities for businesses and nonprofits to become more efficient and effective.

October 22, 2009 -- Today, I was asked by a employee at a client to install some games from a disk she had purchased.  It looked pretty harmless and this is someone I knew to be a hard worker, so I agreed to do it. I installed the software and, immediately, our A/V software picked up and deleted some spyware.  Oh dear.  I stopped the install. I asked the client how much she had paid for the software.  "$5.99," she said.  Well, as far as I was concerned, that explained it.

October 15, 2009 – What really jazzes me as an IT consultant is my ability to help companies and non-profit organizations work better.  Sometimes my potential clients have ideas about what needs improving, but frequently,habitual ways of thinking hide obvious (to me) and not-so-obvious improvements.  I want to share four ideas about how changes in your use of your IT technology can make your business of nonprofit more productive and efficient.

October 8, 2009 -- I'm active in two Sierra Club groups here in New York, the New York City Inner City Outings and the Sierra Club New York City Group.  The New York City Group has decided to jump into the social media ring to extend our reach to Sierra Club members in New York as well as to nonmembers who are interested in environmental issues. Somehow, I ended up, at least for now, at the head of the column on this effort. 

Well, long ago, my father taught me that when you start something you should have at least a tentative plan. I have been thinking about social networking for a while and, recently, with more intensity.  What I have learned applies both to my immediate efforts for this nonprofit, but also to the small businesses and other nonprofits that are my clients.  I thought I would share my thoughts as I have worked through our process.

October 3, 2009 -- Last week, I wrote about the Internet as the new Main Street.  For the business owner or manager or for the nonprofit Executive Director or senior staff member, it's important to know how you look on this new terrain to your clients and customers and to other stakeholders.  So, as an example, I reported on the results when I googled my own company, gwntec, Inc. I found that not only did my company's web sites show up, but so did my personal accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This week, I thought I would report on what I found when I googled my name, Gary Nickerson.

September 24, 2009 -- Have you noticed that it's turning into a very different world for small businesses and nonprofits? If you don't have one yet, I'm sure many people are telling you that you absoljutely have to have a website.   And, now they are also asking you what you're doing on FaceBook or Twitter.  If you haven't thought about this, you should:  What do you look like on the World Wide Web, the new main street?  This is important because if portential customers, clients, or supporters (in the case of nonprofits) are thinking about you, they are likely to look for you on the web.  So, I thought I would look up my company.  Here's what I found.

September 17, 2009 -- So, you are thinking about buying new computers for at least some of your staff. Or, perhaps, your IT department (or consultant) is suggesting you upgrade your Windows 2000 Server to the latest version of Windows Server and, of course, buy new hardware.  Should you do it? The short (and easy) answer is, do it if the costs of upgrading are less than the costs of not upgading.  However, while the costs of upgrading are usually obvious, to costs of not upgrading may be less.so.  Money is always tight for small businesses and nonprofits, but it is particularly so now, so asking the right questions is important.

September 14, 2009 -- When I worked as IT Director for a foundation, I made a practice of installing each major server application on its own server. So, there was a server for email, another one for anti-spam software, another for our accounting applications, and so on.  All together, we had 9 servers. Some were heavy duty, but most were pretty lightweight.  The important thing was that if a program hung or failed, one server would go down , but the other servers and the applications they supported would continue running. Even a moderate-sized foundation -- we supported 75 people -- could afford that.  But, it's hard for a small business or nonprofit to justify the expense of a number of servers.  Server virtualization has changed that: Even small organisations can have the advantages that come with multiple servers without buying multiple server boxes.