2014 Technology Resolutions
The end of a calendar year gives us a time to reflect on past goals and to make new resolutions. It is a great time to think about the things that are important in life. While family, health, financial security and some slivers of joy should always be at the top of your list of resolutions, it is important to recognize that our lifestyles are powered by technology. Making a resolution to take charge of your technology will help you achieve your other goals as well.
With that in mind, Tripepi Smith would like to offer up a few ideas for your consideration.
Replace Your Windows XP Computer
You likely have a few ancient computers at home or around the office. Windows XP was released October 25, 2001 and was sold on the market several years thereafter. So if you have a computer running Windows XP it could be as old 12 years (or more if you upgraded the OS on a Windows 95 machine). Microsoft is ending any sort of support and software patching on Windows XP starting in April 2014. That means it’s time to replace that old computer. Updating will not only make you more productive, it will also mitigate security risks.
Implement a Regular Backup System
People accumulate huge amounts of data in the course of their everyday lives. Between our computers, smart phones, tablets, digital cameras, multiple email accounts and various video devices, there is an incredible amount of data to preserve. Fortunately, digital storage is very affordable. You can pickup external hard drives at Costco for a reasonable price. You can also take the next step and get the data out of your house by using various online backup solutions like Carbonite or Crashplan to upload your files to the cloud. Remote backup has the advantage of preserving your files in the event of fire or theft. Choose a method and use it regularly to protect the data you rely on.
Take a Technology Class
Both Microsoft and Apple offer classes inside their retail stores covering an array of technologies. Additionally, the local community college is certain to offer some evening classes on the basics of the Internet, HTML code, MS Office or social media. The pace of change in our economy requires persistent learning, so make it a point to take the time to beef up your technology skills in 2014.
Drop the POP Email
10+ years ago if you ran Outlook or Outlook Express and you were a small company with an email server using a custom domain name, you likely were using Post Office Protocol (POP3) email. This connection method is “old school” and has the distinct disadvantage of not syncing your deletes, reads, replies and forwards across all your email access methods. In a world where you had one computer and used Outlook, that may have made sense, but now you have two computers, a smart phone, a tablet and occasionally access your email through a browser at a cyber café. Hence, cross device syncing is more important than ever.
If you are still using POP, move to a new email service provider that offers IMAP integration or ActiveSync. The two best alternatives are Gmail (Google) and Outlook.com (Microsoft). With both of these solutions you can create a custom domain name (sally@customdomain.com), plus you can get full online integration with your calendar and contacts, too. On a related note, if you are still using an email ending in aol.com, it’s time to upgrade.
Reboot Your Passwords
Set a new goal to make life a little more complicated – with your passwords. Good passwords contain at least 9 numbers, letters, and/or a special character. You can use a favorite line from a song combined with a couple numbers and you are off to the races. Or try a favorite phrase with the number 3 swapped in for “e.” Real pros make life even more complicated by varying each password on each site. This is a great idea because it means that one hacked website will not expose the password you use on other sites. Of course, this can make things a lot more complicated, so a great way to manage all those passwords is a tool like lastpass (www.lastpass.com). This tool will consolidate lots of different complicated passwords behind a single account, and then insert your password in the various sites you visit.
Happy 2014!
Setting a New Year’s resolution on the technology front is an important part of making 2014 even more productive and successful. It will certainly make your online life more secure.