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The one thing that most Mac users are not aware of about Apple’s MobileMe (formerly .Mac services) is some of the capabilities to connect with others, such as using iChat to do Instant Messaging (IM), and audio and video chatting and recording. The technology was better than all others because it uses Apple’s technology. But as with anything, people are not aware of it’s capability and how it mostly works with Macs.
Apple has announced that it is improving things from MobileMe to iCloud. As Apple transitions from MobileMe to the iCloud you’ll see differences with your various Mac, iPhone, and iPad workflows as they are defined by Apple. There are NO indications about using iChat services in the iCloud, But in the mean time, you still have work to do and you can’t stop because of Apple’s changes, right?
So, what’s a Mac user to do when connecting with Windows users?
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Any startup entrepreneur runs across periods of time where they can get some things done while waiting or they’re on the road. Texting can take a lot of time and sometimes the “fat finger” issue with typing makes matters worse. My wife is a realtor and she’s on the road a lot and “has time” and would like to answer her email on the road, but can’t text or type. Well, here’s a way around that: iPhone Voice Memo.
Wherever you are “on the road” in your car, at your local car mechanic getting your car worked on, or picking up your kids from school or the daycare center, you can use the Voice Memo app to record your thoughts for later retrieval and sharing with your customers, vendors, family members, or other contacts.
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Apple has posted a way for businesses to buy multiple copies of software through the Mac App store, but you have to be big enough and have Dun & Bradstreet number before you can take advantage of it. Here are Apple’s requirements:
- A Dun & Bradstreet (D-U-N-S) number for your company
- Contact information for your company
- Business address (no Gmail or Yahoo email addresses) that reflects your D&B number
In addition to the above, the
Volume Purchase Program provides your business with an easy way to procure custom B2B apps built by third-party developers. Custom B2B apps are built to address a unique business need, and therefore are not available to the general public for purchase.
Startup entrepreneurs look for exposure for themselves, their product, and most of all their company. It’s a never ending part of marketing and you look for any and all chances to “meet and greet” with others that you can share a common connection with. A friend posted a link in the middle of June to an interview they did, a great interview, too, and I thought I’d make the same connection. I contacted the company with a one sentence comment (Hey, you interviewed my friend **** about her new book, would you do the same for me?) about the potential for an interview using their online contact form because in this internet age, a shorter introduction is better. It’s about respecting other people’s time.
BAM!
I got a quick reply just a few minutes later. Impressive to say the least, even in the instant internet age.
If they quickly replied, so should I. I started to reply to their email, “Thanks for such a quick reply. My book covers from a person’s ‘idea’ to ‘Grand Opening’ and how to use the Mac tools, including using it for social media ….” and then I was about to point out the connections I would make and how I might be a good fit for an interview, when ….
BAM!
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If you have an online business which hosts your eCommerce, or even backs up your data, such as Apple’s iCloud service due out later this fall, you just might get collateral damage if the government comes looking for illegal activity.
The same business disaster can occur if it is an act of God, such as a tornado, hurricane, or a flood. What most people may not realize is that there are two costs to these type of acts:
- The cost of disrupting your business, i.e. the loss of income
- The cost of replacing and restarting your business, i.e. the cost to replace what is lost and to get back up running again.
This comes in two forms of collateral damage.
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Categories: 4 Action Plans, 8 Operations, 9 Finance, Hardware, Life, Mac, Planning, software, Thoughts, Tips Tags: Backup, Collateral damage, Data center, Remote backup service, Servers
As a startup entrepreneur you can sit at home or be a mompreneur or dadpreneur if the case requires it, but how does one get the job done or keep their business running in a secure or private manner.
Conferencing. Webinars.
But it’s just not for home or virtual offices any more, it’s also for coworking (see my previous blog). Conferencing, whether video/audio/web, is becoming big business. Whereas communicating has gone from phones to email, we’ve also added IM (Instant Messaging) and social media and now conferencing to the mix.
Conferencing is just another step into breaking down the barriers to communicate. And for the startup entrepreneur it can have its place in many of the tools to communicate with both your customers, vendors, and colleagues, and on a less extent, families and friends living in other states or abroad.
Why have a online conference and what does it entail, what can you do?
- Time – the time needed to get together all at the same time, especially across time zones.
- Distance – the time it takes to get to the location can be time consuming, and everyone at the same time.
- Recorded/Not Recorded – recording the conference using a video camera and audio recorder takes multiple gadgets and inputs to complete the conference session.
- Audio/Video/White Board – recording the sessions notes is usually handled by a presentation software such as iWork Keynote or MS Office Powerpoint. However, if you write something down, you need to take those notes down for further distribution to attendees.
- Remote sharing or computer access – you can chat and record the conversation, but you can also share files or remotely control another computer.
How is it done?
- Yourself – with a MobileMe, Yahoo, ICQ, ooVoo, or other chat service account.
- Hosted Services by a business or your own company servers – Some of the hosted services below you can use for free, pay a fee for, or your can host your own by using Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard. Here is standard and HD quality for the video conferencing.
- Others – you need an audience of more than yourself.
- Hardware and software to communicate.
Here are a list of some of them. Some offer free services, others cost, do your due diligence to see if one is right for you.
- iChat (free on a Mac) + MobileMe – while MobileMe provides a number of online services, it’s chatting quality is great. But you need both Macs to have an account. Cost is $99 a year for each Mac.
- Skype.com – requires nothing more than loading the software and having an account. If you want to record it, you’ll need additional hardware or software.
- ViVu.tv – host video conferencing and webcasting.
- GoToMeeting.com – meetings, webinars, and training.
- WebEx.com – similar to the above.
- ooVoo.com – chat from mobile to mobile, mobile to computer, and Mac to PC, pay per use or by month, three way chatting is always free.
With all of the identity thefts that are going on, a startup entrepreneur using a Mac is no exception. Here are the three recent articles and links to information that will help keep your Mac free of it’s identity theft.
You can’t get any better than the NSA regarding hardening your Mac.
However, do not forget about the social aspects of security, having a good password that has a mixture of numbers and letters and do not use the same password for all of your accounts. These steps are the “soft” side of security, the social aspects, that can weaken all of the hard protection you do.
