Call us!
508.393.3090
603.601.0653

Swiftec's Bits & Bytes

Volume 2, Issue 8, August 2006

Dell Reseller

We can help with:

 Purchasing Assistance

 Backup / Recovery

 Training

 Computer Maintenance

 Security

 Wireless Internet

 Web Hosting

 Web Design

Thought of the day

If knowledge is knowing how much we don't know, then each day we get smarter because we know less?

New Offices!

Our new address is:
292 Main St, Unit #G
Northborough, MA 01532

Coming Soon

Our partners will occasionally share tidbits which are a benefit to all.

In our September issue look for information about why and how you should protect your company name and logo!

Tax Free Weekend coming THIS WEEKEND ONLY !

For the third year in a row Massachusetts has authorized a tax free weekend! 

On Saturday August 12th and Sunday August 13th there will be NO SALES TAX CHARGED on new computers purchased. As an Authorized Dell Reseller, we can customize your machine just the way you need it!

You must call IMMEDIATELY to take advantage of this benefit and so we can discuss which computer best fits your needs.

Remember this event only happens once a year and is limited to items purchased this weekend.

Protect your equipment #1 ! Battery Backup

True story - Recently during a thunder and lightning storm a customer heard a very loud CRACK ( ok - so what would you call the sound of lightning striking in the field next to you?) The lightning stuck very close, but did not hit the building. The client lost power for 15 minutes, then everything came back on... well almost everything.  Their phone system, DSL, firewall, and server did not.

In the basement some of their equipment was protected by a UPS (battery backup & surge protector). We tried to turn on the UPS, but no lights functioned.  The UPS was nresponsive. It appeared to be no good. We installed a new UPS, plugged all the equipment in and tuned on the server, routers and phone equipment. Everything came back to life. We all breathed a hugh sigh of relief.

The reason for this story is that a $70 UPS saved $10,000+ of equipment, as well as days of work rebuilding the server as well as the lag time and cost of replacing all of their equipment.

So, please ask yourself - do you have a UPS on your critical machines?  Can you afford not to? If you need help determining UPS sizes for your equipment, just let us know and we can help you.

Protect your equipment #2 ! Weather Alert

It is official, we are in a HEAT WAVE!  We see drinks of all sizes on client's desk, and fans trying to move air (whether warm or cold).  This situation creates TWO hazards for the computers:

1. Computers are not water resistant (actually they absorb the water and go sizzle, fizz, and caput)
2. The same way you can overheat, so can you computer (don't forget about computers or servers in closets or basements.)

Computers (like people) do well in 70 degree weather and low humidity (point of reference: a data center is usually 68 degrees and VERY dry).  Once the temperature in your room passes 80 degrees, the temperature inside of your computer goes from 140 to 150 to170 degrees at which point it may shut itself off (which is a good thing- if it has this feature).  If the computer does not shut itself off voluntarily, then it may do so involuntarily (which is a bad thing). The extreme heat (150+) will damage the internal components of the computer and at some point it will give up and shut itself off permanently (i.e. hard drive or component failure). This would be the equivalent of a computer heart attack. If your computer has a donor card, then we may be able to salvage some of your data off of the hard drive. Sometimes, it is the hard drive that melts and your data would be in its final resting place. You really want to avoid this at all costs.

In short - treat your computer well, and it will server you for a long time. Think of the computer as a pet and keep it out of the severe heat.  If the air conditioner goes off at night in your office, consider shutting your systems down to keep them cooler.

If you would like us to evaluate your computer environment, please let us know.

Protect your equipment #3 ! Backup, Backup, Backup

This is the #1 priority in protecting your equipment - protecting your CRITICAL data from loss.  We have implemented backup solutions for numerous clients to protect their data (business and personal). We implement solutions which perform routine unattended and automated backups - so we set it up and you leave it! 

Talk to us about which solution will work best in your situation and protect you against whichever safety concerns you have.

Tired of SPAM?

For the remainder of the summer we are offering a special of 20% off the setup fee for our external spam filter.

The response to this offering has been unbelievable!  Some clients have seen the amount of mail they receive return to normalcy by cutting out 150 spam emails a day!  This software sends to you a daily email (see below) of what was blocked and YOU get to choose what to allow and what to discard.

If you want to CAN YOUR SPAM, please give us a call or contact us at helpdesk@swiftecit.com for more information.

We have moved!

	Our new offices are located at: 292 Main St, Unit G1 Northborough, MA 01532 508.393.3090 phone 508.630.1235 fax

This winter look for in-house training programs (Outlook, Word, Excel, Frontpage, etc)