Whether you want to use the environmentalist argument, or just the one about clutter – the reasons for going paperless are many. For me, it has more to do with the overhead and annoyance of storing paper files. Moreover, if you’ve ever experience the joy of finding a receipt or some other item out of your filing cabinet, you’ll love what I’m going to show you today.

I am currently making a transition to a paperless office. My two big tools for doing it are:

• Evernote
• Fujitsu Scansnap s1300 Scanner

If you don’t use Evernote, I highly invite you to check it out. To call this a “notes application” wouldn’t do it justice. Evernote is basically a big digital brain, where you can drop everything from notes, documents, audio notes, photos – everything. All of it is then archived, searchable, tagged, etc. It is synced with Evernote’s servers, so you have cloud access as well as local access. If you have multiple computers, you keep it all synced easily. You can even access your data from a mobile phone or the web.

Evernote is free, and that includes up to 40MB of upload transfer to their servers per month. 40MB might not sound like a lot, but in practice, it lasts most people a month quite easily. If you do need more bandwidth, a premium account goes for $45/year. I went ahead and upgraded my account, because it makes for PDF searching (very handy in making that paperless office), higher bandwidth, as well as SSL secure transfer of your documents.

The ScanSnap s1300 scanner is a great little scanner by Fujitsu. It is small and compact and designed to be portable. In fact, you can even power this little sucker off of your USB port (although it will be slower if you do that). But, it is a pretty good quality, full duplex document scanner. I power mine off of AC power because it works faster that way.

Making The Scanner Talk To Evernote

As part of setting up the scanner on your computer, you’ll install their ScanSnap software. This software runs all the time and is activated whenever you open the lid on the scanner to scan a document. So, here’s what you need to do to get it working with Evernote:

1. Go into the ScanSnap preferences and, first, turn off the “Use Quick Menu” option.
2. Next, go to the “Application” tab. You’ll see an application dropdown. If Evernote is not listed there, simply press the “Add or Remove” button, go find the Evernote application on your hard drive and add it to the list. Then, you’ll have Evernote selected there.
3. Go to the “Save” tab and choose a location on your hard drive where you want raw PDF scans of your documents archived. What this does, then, is archives your documents in one place while ALSO putting them in Evernote.

What many people do is set all scans to save to an external hard drive, while also being sent to Evernote. It is complete redundancy.

The Gorgeous Part of Going Paperless

In and of itself, going digital versus going paper isn’t really a matter of time-saving when it comes to the act of filing something. It takes me about as long to file something away as it does to scan it and file it into Evernote.

The REAL convenience is in search. With Evernote and the s1300, all your PDFs are searchable. Not only that, but you can tag and describe any document however you wish. If I need to search for a particular receipt, I don’t have to wade through a pile of receipts and scan them all until I find it. Instead, I just plug a search term into Evernote and a PDF scan of my receipt pops right up. What could sometimes take up several minutes now takes a few seconds.

Making The Transition

It takes some changes to the way we do things to go paperless.

First thing I did was log into all of my bank accounts and switched to paperless statements. So, I will no longer get bank statements in the mail, but instead get PDF documents. All I have to do, then, is print the PDF document directly into Evernote (or just drag and drop it). See, Evernote sets itself up so that, instead of printing to a printer, you can print a PDF directly into Evernote. So, now I get my statements piped right into my Evernote archive without me having to print anything, scan anything, or deal with any paper.

When I get a receipt or some other thing that should be filed, I’ll now use the scanner to put it into Evernote. Then, I can either throw it away or shred it (if the information is sensitive).

Some many wonder about the legal part of this… For example, if the IRS bothers you, will documents stored digitally satisfy the requirements of documentation? Yes, it will and the IRS has actually confirmed that.

Obviously, there are some documents I wouldn’t throw away (passports, for example). Some things require original paperwork, so you’d need to hang onto that. Most things, however, won’t have that requirements and you can just scan it and shred it.

Lastly, if you have a bunch of paper files already, you’ll have to decide how to handle that as you make the transition. You can either just make a clean break and go paperless from this time forward, or you can go on a scanning spree and start converting your old files to digital.

Definitely look into this, however. I find that most people who look down on this idea are just clinging to their old ideas. People who’ve always dealt in paper have a hard time changing. But, give this a shot. The convenience is awesome.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Scanner + Evernote To Make The Paperless Office

[W]e are extremely excited today to let you know that Microsoft is making its Microsoft Security Essentials available to small businesses on up to 10 PCs for FREE, beginning in early October!  By providing Microsoft Security Essentials to small businesses free of charge, Microsoft extends its commitment to help these companies save money and grow their business by offering no-cost protection from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats.

This is great news for small businesses as now MSE is the only major player which has a free version of their product available for commercial use (to my knowledge).

While there is nothing really stopping you from installing it on as many machines as you want, it is especially important for commercial users to stay within the bounds of software licenses because the penalties can be hefty if violations are found. Making the switch from your existing anti-virus package to MSE could save several hundred per year. Every little bit helps.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Microsoft Security Essentials Is Now Free For Small Business Use

My personal favorite as far as US currency is concerned is the 1966 C-Note, as in the 100-dollar bill:

Compare to what we have now:

The old ’66 C-Note to my eyes has a much more distinctive look to it and as far as I’m concerned looks more valuable than the current note.

Something that completely blew me away when I saw it is an artist’s rendition of what future US currency could look like.

The images below are from this gallery where you can see higher-resolution versions.

For the example here I’ve chosen the ten-dollar bill (the gallery contains the 1 and 5-dollar denominations as well).

Front:

Back:

I’ve seen a few renditions of what US currency could look like in the future, but this one absolutely blows me away for two reasons.

First, this is the only artist’s rendition of US currency I’ve seen where the number denomination is very pronounced but does not look tacky. This is a very distinctive note, decidedly American, very modern/futuristic, very cool all around. I would love to have these in my wallet.

Second, I really like the idea of the back of the note being vertical in nature. Why? Because most of us count notes in the hand with them oriented vertically. The back of the note situated as it is makes it easier to handle for everyone.

What do you think? Would US cash look better this way?

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

A Potential Future US Currency Design

Well, he made some waves this week by publicly declaring he would no longer publish books in print format. In his upcoming interview with MediaBistro, he says:

I’ve decided not to publish any more books in the traditional way. 12 for 12 and I’m done. I like the people, but I can’t abide the long wait, the filters, the big push at launch, the nudging to get people to go to a store they don’t usually visit to buy something they don’t usually buy, to get them to pay for an idea in a form that’s hard to spread … I really don’t think the process is worth the effort that it now takes to make it work. I can reach 10 or 50 times as many people electronically. No, it’s not ‘better’, but it’s different. So while I’m not sure what format my writing will take, I’m not planning on it being the 1907 version of hardcover publishing any longer.

This sparked another debate about the future of the dead tree model of publishing. We now live in an age of the Kindle and the Ipad. Buy a book online (which is a lot cheaper than the print version, usually) and have it instantly downloaded to your device. That rocks.

However, many just can’t stomach it. They prefer print books. The feeling of the book in the hands. The ability to highlight it up. The ability to lend it to your friends. The feeling of seeing a big bunch of books on your bookshelf.

While there are still many people out there who prefer a physical book, the truth is that the industry is going to move toward digital whether we like it or not.

Just look at what happened with video stores. Companies like Netflix have completely demolished the old model of the video rental store. My old video store near my house just went out of business recently, and you’re seeing it happen everywhere. How can these old-school companies compete with unlimited, digital delivery? Netflix, for $9/month, gives you unlimited DVD rental (1 disc at a time) and unlimited streaming to any supporting device. That same $9 would get you maybe 2 movies at the video place, which you’d have to return in a couple days or else face fines. Ugh.

I think digital is much better when it comes to books. Here’s why:

• I no longer have to figure out what to do with the book after I’ve read it. Old books are a HUGE source of taken up space and usually just end up cluttering up closets and attics.
• In the space of one book, I can store literally hundreds or thousands of them.
• It saves trees.
• I’ve got a dictionary built right in, making it super easy to look up a word while reading.
• I can easily make notes to myself while reading, then view all my notes at once after I’m done with the book.
• I can highlight stuff in the book, and access it all in one place when I’m done. Makes for an easy way to review all your most important parts of the book.
• I can pipe my notes/highlights into another format, such as Evernote.
• I can see what parts of the book OTHER people view as most important.
• I don’t have to go to a bookstore if I don’t feel like it.
• I don’t have to pay $30 for a pile of paper. I can usually get the same book for a third that price.

Books might not be dead yet. But, give it another 5 years. I think you’re going to see traditional bookstores following their video counterparts into the dustbin of history. Today, we stream movies rather than buy them. We download music albums rather than buy CDs. The book will follow suit. Eventually. It is all but inevitable.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Books Aren’t Dead, But They Will Be

Most tech companies do not change their logos often because it costs serious dollars to rebrand the entire product line. When they do change, it usually signifies a fundamental shift in the company’s overall vision, so to speak.

Apple

In their entire history since 1976, Apple has had three logos with the first being something so un-Apple it’s amazing it even existed.

Yes, this is an actual Apple logo. It was used for a very short period of time in ’76 and has such an old-timey look to it that you’d think it came out of the early 1900s.

This is the Apple logo people remember seeing for the first time. In fact there’s a quite a few Apple fans that say the company should go back to this logo.

Apple ditched the rainbow for a more monotone look and has carried it to this day.

Adobe

Adobe’s original logo was very techy in its look.

Adobe’s second logo is still immediately recognized by many to this day, and they still use it.

Adobe has also been known to use a typeface-only logo periodically:

…but this isn’t as recognizable as "The Big A".

Microsoft

Redmond got their disco funkalicious booty-shakin’ action goin’ on with this first logo in 1975:

In that same year they switched to something a tad less garish:

And then finally in 1994 they switched to this:

If you’re wondering what the deal is with the cut-out "O", this is a throwback to the original company name which was "Micro-Soft". The cut is meant to represent the dash.

Xerox

The Xerox company is very, very old, as in starting in 1906 as The Haloid Photographic Company old. The company to date has had several well-known logos. I won’t show them all, but here are a few of the better-known ones.

Above is the logo used from 1961 all the way to 2003. Personally, I feel this was the best logo they ever had because of the elongated "tails" on both X’s and the R. Very distinctive, very classy.

Above is the "Digital X" Xerox logo introduced in 1994. It’s a genius concept because the company can be recognized by a single letter, and the pixelated effect on the top right truly gives it distinction.

Above is what Xerox dumped the ’61 logo for in 2004; it only lasted a few years.

Above is the current logo introduced in 2008. It’s a radical redesign. Gone are the capital letters, and along with it came the introduction of the "X beach ball".

IBM

IBM gets the name "Big Blue" from the logo that they still use to this day, which you’ll see in a moment. The color blue is also a recurrent theme in many of the things IBM does. It can even be argued that IBM themselves defined the color blue to mean "business", but that’s up for debate.

International Business Machines given their tenure hasn’t changed logos very often, and that’s for the best because none of use would expect IBM to be any other way.

Here are some of the better-known logos:

The above logo, used from 1924-1946, was meant to signify a global presence, hence the globe-like shape.

This next logo was more or less the foundation of what IBM currently uses. The very-bold and very-stark letters are meant to signify a solid grounded presence – and it sure does.

Above is the logo IBM has used since 1972. It’s a symbol known the world over, and while I’m sure there have been many within the corporation who have tried to change it to something else, no one has ever succeeded in doing so – and that’s a good thing because absolutely nobody wants this logo to change.

IBM’s logo to this day commands such a powerful presence that whenever you see it, you pay extra attention.

What’s your favorite logo from all of the above?

Do you like the 70s logo or modern? Colored or black-and-white? Business or laid-back?

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Tech Company Logos Past and Present

Something to bear in mind is that advertising on the internet now has evolved quite a bit. In the past, ads were quite literally just thrown out on the internet in one-for-all style. There was no demographic targeting of any kind and it was next to impossible to specifically target regions, never mind getting local.

Today’s internet advertising is more focused, more intelligent and ultimately makes it better for businesspeople to use internet as a sound advertising medium.

How sound, you may ask? WSJ predicts it will out-do print in a few short years – and bear in mind WSJ is a print publication.

What does this mean to you, and why should you care?

I’m going to take a raw guess here and say you would rather be in business for yourself rather than working for someone else. I’m going to take another raw guess and say the reason you’re not in biz for yourself is because the advertising costs are simply too high.

Remember when placing ads in your local circular used to be cheap and moreover effective? I’m sure you do. It’s used to be that $30 used to go a long way in a local circular. Today for the same "mileage", so to speak, you’d have to spend $100 or more. On top of that, these days when you look in those local circulars all you see prominently are auto dealers, law firms and well-established companies. In other words, people with a lot more money than you have.

Internet eyeballs are growing in number. More people are getting connected every day, and using internet as a primary advertising medium truly does work. I’m not going to say it works for all businesses, because it doesn’t. However, if you’re starting or restarting a business, you should seriously consider internet ads.

Two places where you can shop around just to see what options you have:

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Online Ads To Exceed In Ad Revenue Over Print? Yes.

A snazzy new white uniform, complete with laser rifle:

Kid sizes also available:

Other membership perks include:

- Killing rebels

- Serving the Empire

- Opening and closing blast doors

- Spacious accommodations on the Death Star

- Free wi-fi from AT&T

- …and much more.

Watch our demo video of this program, and you’ll see that Dark Side membership is for you!

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

PCMech Introduces New Dark Side Membership Program

VPNs are a common subject these days and they are being used both by home users and companies. From a company point of view, when we think of a Virtual Private Network we think of an intelligent tunnel that encrypts data at the IP level and send the information from one network to another over a public TCP/IP network.

Like any other service, VPN technology has been developed based on customers’ needs. Companies crave for network security and remote access and that’s why VPNs were implemented. But more then network security other advantages of VPN usage are cost saving and scalability.

• Remote access. Remote access is an important reason why companies are using VPNs. This is a great advantage for everyone who needs to access data or to share files remotely while they are traveling or while they are out of the office.
• Enhanced security. Referring to remote access, people might ask if this is not dangerous or sensitive for the network. If users can access the network remotely than the network might become an interest point for hackers and malware. Well, that’s not really true because VPN provides advanced data encryption. All the information sent from and to another source is secured and encrypted. Only the sender and the receiver know how to decrypt and read the information.
• Cost saving. If a large corporation, with offices all over the world, implements a VPN service, this could save their cost from 30% to 80%. Once the VPN is created, the maintenance costs are also very low and the service providers will take care of the network setups and functionality.
• Network scalability. Common networks require leased lines in order to connect to different location. This happens when the company has more offices. If there are new offices added there will be a request for increased leased lines, in order to create a dedicated line between these locations. But a VPN service accepts simultaneous sessions and more users can be added without making important changes to the system at no cost.

What is important to remember is that when a company implements VPN service, there must be done a detailed analysis and see which type of VPN better suits the company and which is the best provider that can offer you the service.

Elisabeta Ghidiu is an Internet marketer and advocate blogger, writing about productivity and technology on Cyclope-Series – Let’s talk about productivity – a manager-oriented blog.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

How Can VPNs Secure Companies?

If you only have a one or two VMs you use and use them sparingly, this is probably not for you. On the other hand if you are like me and do a lot of work using VMs then this is a great tool.

Virtual Server is supported on XP and higher and any existing VMs you have created using Virtual PC will work.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Is A Free Download

First, we have the “Good News” series (view it here), which features a young girl narrating her supposed artwork (created using Windows, no less) using “happy words” she has found regarding Windows 7. In short, Microsoft chooses the “cute” avenue to show off their press. But it doesn’t display any of the new features of Windows 7, and completely distracts you from the positive reviews on Windows 7. Moreover, it’s completely not believable. How many kids are creating artwork centered around editorial reviews?

Next, we have the “Windows 7 Was My Idea” (view). Microsoft is a little warmer. At least they’re focusing more on their intended audience, and hinting at the new features of the OS. Yet, overall, these commercials are vague, and you aren’t convinved that these people love or even use Windows 7. Further, who cares whose idea it was, does it do what we need? Yes, I understand they’re trying to say that it’s now meeting the user’s needs. Yet, they miss their mark. Emphasizing cool yet fringe features of the OS like Snap also doesn’t make me want to run out and upgrade.

Finally, we have the newest and best of the bunch, “7 Second Demo” (view). Microsoft is actually putting Windows 7 front and center, by showing several of the new features. This is where they need to go if they’re going to try to undo the damage Vista has caused. Yet these commercials are very quick. You need to see several of them for any lasting impression. So, I have a feeling we will be deluged with these over the next month.

It amazes me how Microsoft continues to get it wrong. Even “PC” people (of which I am one) have to admit that Apple has them beat hands down when it comes to advertising. In fact, there’s already a gang of anti-7 commercials from Mac that are way more convincing than any of the Microsoft commercials. Take “Broken Promises,” for example. Microsoft is going to have to do better than this if they want to make the Vista hangover disappear.

David Kennedy is a software developer and serves as IT administrator for a small business.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

What is Microsoft Thinking With The Windows 7 Commercials?