Charlotte Networks

Charlotte Networks - Are Paper Documents Killing Small Business Collaboration?

Are Paper Documents Killing Small Business Collaboration? Today's smartphones, tablets, 2-in-1s and ever-slimmer notebook PCs make it easier than ever for businesses to adopt digital workflows. Yet, businesses still cling to paper.

Read more at smallbusinesscomputing.com

Charlotte Networks - What’s In A Name

What’s In A Name What's In A Name
- By Greg Crumpton

Not many people who operate at a high level think the word "vendor" is very appealing. In fact many find it to be borderline offensive.
What Is The Alternative?
Partner, yes, but it too has become jaded. Resource, ally, co-customer, you name it, the moniker has been adopted by many sales folks who are trying to differentiate themselves.
Can You Really Blame Them?
I am not sure what to call the position that true professionals strive for. I do know that it's important. It's important to me when I'm getting ready to buy. Another thing I know is that the kind folks who have allowed me to serve them like it when I help them solve the non-routine problems. You know that feeling when you get it.

The word I really want to use here is friend. My fingers actually cramped up just then trying to type it because I know in my 50-year-old brain that corporate america is not keen on a purchasing agent buying things, items, ideas, etc. from a friend.

Even if you are friends, the arms-length requirement to keep everyone from suspecting any wrong-doing has to be very, very clear. That's a shame, but the path is littered with poor decisions involving friends in business.
There Is A Balance Between Vendor And Friend.
Many call it a "trusted advisor" or some similar name. The point is, it has to be done intentionally, with the key word being intent. That means serving with good-will, a "definite chief aim" or purpose and an over-arching desire to deliver the unexpected. It also means communicating like Churchill, having the tenacity of Patton and the exhibiting the character of Honest Abe Lincoln.

In the end it really doesn't matter what's on your business card. Market leader, VP or custodian. What does matter is that you deliver, or as Seth Godin would say- ship, your work, regardless of what people label you as.

Original Article can be found here.



Greg Crumpton founded AirTight in 1999. Greg has over 33 years of experience in full service mechanical and mission critical environments with a heavy emphasis on service, maintenance and repair. Greg specializes in mission critical cooling and electrical infrastructures, as well as the comfort cooling surrounding them. Greg owned and operated AirTight until 2014 when he decided to merge it into Service Logic's existing Charlotte business, FaciliTech, to provide great service capabilities for their customers. Greg continues to be highly involved with the combined organization, ensuring clients have a great experience.

Charlotte Networks - Introducing Microsoft’s Windows 10

Introducing Microsoft’s Windows 10 Microsoft gave the world an in-depth look at its upcoming Windows 10 operating system today, and it appears that the highly anticipated OS will be just the thing to wash the awful taste of Windows 8 out of our collective consciousness.
At its presentation, Microsoft showed off a variety of new features for Windows 10, including a brand-new Web browser, simplified navigation, and a desktop version of the company’s Cortana virtual assistant.





A free upgrade to Windows 10
The biggest news out of the event is that Microsoft will offer Windows 10 as a free full-fledged upgrade to those running Windows 7 and Windows 8. That puts Microsoft on the same level as Apple, which has been offering free operating-system upgrades for some time now.



During its transition from Windows 7 to Windows 8, Microsoft charged existing customers $120 to step up to the new operating system. That’s a lot of money, especially for an operating system as divisive as Windows 8.
Of course, there’s one caveat to the Windows 10 deal, and that is that you’ll have to upgrade within one year of the operating system’s release. Anyone who hasn’t upgraded by that point will likely have to fork over a hefty chunk of change.




Say ‘Hello’ to Cortana
Like Apple’s Siri and Google’s Google Voice, Microsoft’s Windows Phone comes with a virtual voice assistant of its own called Cortana. Named after a character from Microsoft’s Halo video game franchise, Cortana lets you schedule appointments, open apps, search the Web, and more, all by using your voice.

And now Cortana’s coming to Windows 10.


Cortana sits in the bottom-left corner of the desktop, right next to the Start button, and lets you search both the Web and your own device using your voice. The included Notepad feature also lets you create a custom profile complete with your personal interests, such as sports and news.
So if your favorite team scores a touchdown, Cortana will provide you with a score update. Or, if you don’t care about sports, you can tell her not to.
So long, Internet Explorer
For years now, the standard operating procedure for purchasing a new Windows PC has been to immediately replace Microsoft’s Internet Explorer with either Google’s Chrome or Mozilla’s Firefox.
It seems like Microsoft finally took the hint, because with Windows 10, it will be introducing a new Web browser code-named Spartan.

Like Chrome and Firefox, Spartan has a simpler design than Internet Explorer. The new browser is also expected to run more smoothly than IE, and give you the ability to instantly annotate Web pages using either a stylus or your finger, via a touchscreen or a regular old keyboard and mouse.
Spartan will also include Cortana integration, which means that when you search for things via the browser’s search bar, Cortana will give you responses that match your interests, in addition to standard search results. Cortana will also be able to cull information from specific websites and give you what she believes is the most pertinent data.


So if you’re browsing a restaurant’s website, Cortana will be able to give you directions, as well as help you reserve a table.
Microsoft didn’t mention what would happen with Internet Explorer, but ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reported that Microsoft will include IE with Windows 10 in order to support legacy websites. Still, it’s clear that Spartan is Microsoft’s browser of the future.

Improved gaming
If you’re a gamer, you’ll be happy to know that Windows 10 is being made to improve your overall game-playing experience. In addition to running the latest version of DirectX, DirectX 12, which should increase gaming performance, Windows 10 will include cross-platform support with Xbox One games.


That means if your friends have an Xbox One game, and you have the PC version, you’ll be able to play online with (or against) each other. That’s a huge advance, because until now, console gamers have only been able to play with other console gamers, while PC gamers have been limited to their PC brethren. This bridges that gap.
So far, Microsoft has only announced that its upcoming Fable Legends will support cross-platform gaming, but we’re hoping that the feature eventually becomes a widely accepted part of Windows 10.


Beyond cross-platform support, Windows 10 will also let you stream games from your PC to any other Windows 10 device, as long as you are on the same local network. So you’ll be able to play games installed on your Xbox One on your Surface Pro 3.


When you can get it
Microsoft was rather tightlipped about when the final version of Windows 10 will be available for download, saying only that the operating system will come to market later this fall.
If you can’t wait to try out the latest features of Windows 10, though, you can sign up for Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program, which gives you access to unfinished preview versions of Windows 10. Just make sure you don’t install any of the Windows 10 previews on your main PC, as it will be unstable and could result in all of your data being destroyed.






Read More: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/everything-you-really-need-to-know-about-108771050839.html