The Connection, Inc Blog

Your computer has a brain, of sorts, in its CPU… a tiny square that literally enables everything the device does, as it processes billions of instructions at a time. Of course, to support this on such a relatively tiny piece of hardware, most CPUs are packed with microscopic transistors—these transistors being small enough to fit hundreds on a single blood cell.

As you might imagine, this means things can go wrong pretty easily… and gone wrong, things have. Many newer computers are suffering from a bug that could cause permanent damage to the CPU… and if you don’t take steps fast, it could be too late.

With little fanfare, the AI Wars have begun. When we say “war” we mean just that: a battle for the survival of tools designed to improve human productivity. To start we should rewind a little. Most new software platforms (and many, many established ones) have started to use “artificial intelligence” to improve their products, or at least improve the prospect of selling them. In this week’s blog we will discuss the increased prevalence of “AI” and how some of the largest names in computing have gone all in on the technology.

How can you know when your organization should upgrade its technology infrastructure? The truth is that it’s not always immediately obvious when you should do so, as there are countless factors in play to consider at any given time. Today, we want to help your business determine when to bite the bullet and upgrade your technology.

The use of technology is one of the things that brings most people together. For the past couple of decades people have depended more and more on technology as a way to manage their lives, socialize, and get the goods and services they choose to purchase. This has led to the development of a lot of solid technology-related television shows. In this week’s blog, we thought we would take a look at three shows that cover multiple genres that are solid viewing for the technology enthusiast. 

Software makes business run: that is an undeniable statement. From the operations software that allows your business to manage and pay its people to the CRM that provides a pathway to communicate efficiently with customers, to all of the applications that it takes to conduct business in earnest, software plays a crucial role in your business’ success. 

Magnets are often portrayed as the bane of technology’s existence, especially in media where data must be scrubbed from devices through the use of a magnet. How true is this representation of the relationship between magnets and technology? We’ll examine this in today’s blog article.

It’s easy to open up far more tabs on your web browser than you need, especially when so many tools are cloud-based. If you find yourself in need of a quick way to close all other tabs besides a handful or so, we’ve got just the tip for you. You can close all open tabs to the right of your preferred window, or you can close all tabs outright.

Regularly, when a business is searching for ways to move their operations forward, there is a little hand wringing on how to do so. Every decision your business has to make comes with a price tag, and the more that you can do without spending a lot of money, the more value you are going to see. For this week’s blog, we thought we’d take a look at some actions you can take with your technology to ensure that your business is going in the right direction.

Computers allow businesses to do so much, but eventually a time comes to purchase new hardware. Thankfully, you can stave off this need pretty well by simply taking care of your existing technology. Here are some tips you can implement to make sure that your computer lasts as long as possible before it kicks the bucket.

Try as we might, we can’t prevent all computer issues from occurring—for instance, there’s not much that we can do if a stick of RAM dies, at least, not remotely. However, if you’re stuck with a broken computer and need to bring it in for repair work, there are a few things we recommend you do.

There is one key on the keyboard that might seem a little odd: PrtScn. It’s not immediately obvious what this key does or why you would want to use it, but we assure you that it is an extremely helpful keyboard shortcut once you understand how it works and why you might want to try it out. In reality, the PrtScn key (on some keyboards it might just be PrtSc) is important for taking screenshots on your Windows device.

Businesses go through a lot of technology, but how does your organization dispose of electronics that are no longer in use? Let’s discuss this incredibly important topic, as the improper disposal of devices could not only put your organization at risk, but also the environment.

Using microprocessor-based technology is now a way of life for a majority of people, and with that a massive demand is created for these components. Unfortunately, demand—as well as the COVID-19 pandemic—has caused difficulties for many organizations’ supply chains, including microprocessors. Today, we will go through the microchip shortage, how it affects consumers and when experts project that it will subside. 

Have you ever wondered how hackers manage to pull off incredible feats like bombarding networks and servers with so much traffic that they simply cannot function? None of this would be possible if not for botnets. But what is a botnet, and why is it important for your organization to understand? Let’s dive into the details.

Regular computer maintenance is part of maintaining healthy IT infrastructure, but one aspect that can often go by the wayside is keeping your computer physically clean. By this, we mean keeping it dust-free, clean and tidy. We’ve put together a shortlist of everyday actions that employees of any caliber can use to keep their workstations clean. This will help your organization take preventative measures over time and (hopefully) prolong the lifespan of your business’ technology.

With such a heavy focus on remote work over the past year or so, if you have tried to procure equipment or technology solutions during this period, you may have noticed that it is much harder than usual to do so. The global chip shortage has led to many challenges for organizations, chief among them getting the parts needed to put together critical technology solutions. This opens up a whole other set of issues, though, particularly in regards to disruption of the supply chain.

Windows has no shortage of capabilities to offer its users, with many of these tools coming with an associated Windows shortcut. Since keeping track of all of them can be a challenge, we wanted to assemble a list of most of them for you. This blog will serve as that list, so make sure you add it to your browser’s favorites for quick reference!

If you’ve ever used technology, the power button has had a pretty consistent appearance, and an even more consistent use. However, there’s a reason that the power symbol we’re so familiar with looks the way it does. Furthermore, there’s more that the power button can ultimately do.

Ever since Windows 10 debuted in July of 2015, it has slowly risen in its market share. This has continued throughout the tumultuous times that 2020 has provided, as the OS has now reached a market share of 72.2 percent as of October. Let’s go over why this matters, and why—if you haven’t done so yet—you need to add your organization’s PCs to that number.

You can tell when a workstation might need an upgrade if it’s slowing down, or if the machine is so absurdly slow that you can barely accomplish your daily tasks with it. One of the easiest ways you can improve the quality of your workstation is by increasing the amount of RAM.

RAM, or Random Access Memory, is one major factor that can contribute to how much you can do with your workstation or server at any given time. Here’s what you can do with various amounts of RAM commonly found in PCs.

1GB: Literally Nothing but the Basics
The minimum requirement for the 32-bit Windows 10 operating system is 1GB of RAM, though it’s obviously not recommended that you run it like this. 1GB is barely enough for basic functionality like web browsing, word processing, and checking your email, but you can’t expect it to run well. Also with only 1GB of RAM, you can forget about photo and video editing. 1GB isn’t even passable for a consumer PC. Most machines these days house somewhere between 4-8GB of RAM. In fact, most smartphones and tablets have more than 1GB.

2GB: Not Enough to Get Much Done
2GB is the minimum system requirement for the 64-bit version of Windows 10; as such, it’s still recommended that you run more RAM than this. 2GB is enough to get some work done, like running your productivity suite and having plenty of open browser tabs, but you’ll still be held back significantly in terms of running more powerful software solutions.

4GB: A Major Improvement
Here’s where you start to see some significant improvements in functionality. You’ll find that you can run more applications at the same time, allowing for greater productivity. Plus, your software will run much faster in general, cutting down on frustration and making it easier to get work done. 4GB is considered a benchmark for a low-end office PC.

Keep in mind that a 32-bit operating system on a 4GB machine will only be able to access about 3.2GB. When using a 64-bit operating system, you’ll have access to the whole 4GB (and higher). It’s also important to remember that the 32-bit version of Windows 10 has a 4GB RAM limit - the 64-bit versions require more RAM to run properly.

8GB: Now We’re Talking
If you’re going to be working with several editing softwares, like the Adobe Creative Cloud or light multimedia, you’ll want to up the ante to 8GB. Doing so allows you to further increase performance, and you’ll experience minimal frustration. Office workstations will sing (as long as their other components are up-to-speed), and 8GB of RAM is where you’ll typically want to start for light gaming.

16GB and Up: Is it Worth It?
Whether or not your system needs more than 8GB will really depend on what you plan to use it for. The only time that 16GB or more becomes worth your money is when you’re running several resource-heavy applications and/or virtual machines at the same time. If you need your workstation to be able to handle anything resource-intensive like this, you’ll want to invest in a machine that has at least 16GB of RAM. On top of that, video editing and other multimedia will be more effective with more RAM.

Be sure to discuss what you need with an internal IT department, or contact The Connection, Inc at (732) 291-5938, if you think you need an upgrade.

Disclaimer: For those who aren’t technologically savvy, RAM is a hardware component, not something that you can download off of the Internet to speed up your computer.