17 Useful Windows Phone Tools For Computer Technicians

Authors: Guest Writer

Guest Post by Ric Chapman.

I think I’m somewhat safe in saying that Windows Phone 7 arrived late to the game and is still very much the underdog in today’s smartphone market. But whilst Microsoft are busy playing catch up their hard work is slowly paying off as it starts to carve its place among the Android, iPhone and Blackberry competition. Its ease of use and excellent integration into the Microsoft ecosystem is what’s starting to make it popular among home, business and now the technical community alike.
Having said that there’s still a bumpy ride ahead, at the time of this writing there are only 45,000 apps in the market place compared to Apple’s 500,000! When the phone was released, Technician apps were practically non-existent. I know, I was there, eagerly looking for what I could use out in the field. I didn’t find much, and what I did find didn’t work.. at all. But thankfully today is a much different story and I bring you the apps that I’m using on an almost daily basis as a Computer Technician.

Lync 2010

Lync 2010 arrives on time as promised and is an excellent app for staying in touch with colleagues, clients and family whilst on the move. Although it integrates nicely with the OS it would have been nice to see something similar to the Messenger integration deployed with Mango, but I’m just nit-picking. It’s a great app and although the app is free, you do require access to a Lync server. Mine comes courtesy of Office365, it just works and works well.
Price: FREE – Lync server required
Link

My Home Server

I absolutely love this app and is a must for anyone who owns their own or installs and maintains home servers for their clients. You can connect to any Home Server whilst you’re on the move allowing you to check important notifications, disk space, access files and manage user accounts including user creation and password resets. If your clients are happy for you to have access you can monitor and provide basic support from wherever you are at a touch of a button.
Price: FREE
Link

My Business Server

Almost identical to the My Home Server app with a focus on Microsoft Small Business Server Essentials only, would have been nice to have seen this for the SBS Standard but perhaps something will arrive later down the line. The SBS Essentials edition is the server of choice for my small business clients and as a support app is indispensable. The Live Tile only adds to my excitement by providing an instant indication of available disk space and the number of important / critical alerts you have pending right on the phones home screen.
Price: FREE
Link

Sky Wallet

Sky Wallet is a powerful password management app and I would be lost without it especially as clients are increasingly becoming reliant on their support techs for remembering their account details. Where Sky Wallet shines is its integration with SkyDrive, your details are synced and encrypted on your SkyDrive storage. If you need to reset your phone, you needn’t worry about losing the data. Secondly there’s a desktop companion app which comes included with this app allowing you to access your passwords directly from your PC avoiding the need to move back and forth between your desktop and phone.
Price: £2.99 / $3.99
Trial Available: Yes
Link

Flashlight 7

The flashlight tool is a very easily overlooked app and I’ve simply lost count on how much I’ve used this, I often find myself under a dimly lit desk or a dark comms cupboard. As I’m always carrying my phone, it makes sense not to be carrying a torch. There is a large array of flashlight apps which offer a variety of features so do shop around.
Price: FREE
Link

Subnet Calculator

Any technician working with medium and larger businesses should already know how to do this sort of thing without a calculator. But who would want to? We all work to a schedule and unless you can do this sort of thing in your head in less than 10 seconds then you might as well reach for your pocket. There are plenty of calculators out there, this one works great and has the added bonus of being free.
Price: FREE
Link

Connect Anything

The title of the app can be a little misleading and is simply a reference tool. I specifically use it for the Ethernet Pinout information when making up my own network cables.
Price: FREE
Link

Remote Desktop

Whilst there are plenty of remote desktop tools out there this is by far my favourite, not the cheapest but the one I generally get the best performance from overall. Most of these apps come with free trials and I’d recommend you try them before making a final decision.
Price: £4.99 / $5.99
Link

Amazon Kindle

Being a Kindle fan I downloaded this app the moment it became available and whilst I do read for pleasure, a lot of my reading also involves tech or reference books. Whilst not strictly a technical tool it can be a great informational tool avoiding the need carry the large books that plague most students and technicians. A quick and easy EBook reader on the go.
Price: FREE
Link

Network Tools

0 0A small collection of network connectivity tools providing ping tests, tcp port connection tests, http and https connectivity tests as well as the ability to save a selection of URI’s for periodic checking, useful if you’re wanting to check the health of multiple web sites quickly. It’s absolutely free if you don’t mind the adverts which are not intrusive.
Price: FREE with ads or £2.29/$2.99 for the ad free version
Link

The SSH Client

1 1A very simple and free SSH client that works brilliantly, the paid version comes with telnet support and a ton of customisation and configuration settings.
Price: FREE or £2.49/$3.49 for the PRO version
Link

IP Camera Viewer

2 2I find these are quite popular tools among the tech community so I’ve included my favourite, originally acquired to keep an eye on my home office as I struggled to find anything that I was certain I had left on my desk. Turns out wife likes to clean my desk …. a lot. IP based cameras provide an excellent option for security and this app extends their use allowing you to keep an eye on things whilst on the move.
Price: FREE
Link

As mentioned previously, the Windows Phone integration with Bing and the Live services are what helps this phone stand out among its peers and may play a large part in its future success. The following items are not apps but integrated features within the OS that work exceptionally well and can prove invaluable whilst out in the field.

Office Hub

The Office hub provides excellent mobile office apps including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the ever popular OneNote. I live in OneNote and much prefer this to carrying around a notebook and pencil, an excellent note taking app regardless of your situation.

Maps

Finding new addresses is always a daunting task but Bing Maps makes the whole process a lot easier, I did have concerns about how it would stand up against Google Maps on other smartphones but I needn’t have worried. If you have a phone holder in the car it even serves well as (very temporary) sat-nav replacement provided that there is decent data coverage of course. Mileage is presented to the user but is not recorded so I use OneNote to take down mileage and the phones multi-tasking features make it easy to flick between the two apps.

Office 365

Microsofts cloud based service Office 365 was made for Windows Phone, whether you need an Exchange based email service, SharePoint file access then you simply cannot go wrong. Email access is powerful and SharePoint makes easy work of file collaboration with colleagues and clients. Office 365 is beyond the scope of this article but I do urge you to check it out.

SkyDrive

Cloud based file access with SkyDrive is simple and easy and was a missing key feature in the original release. I now store all my client notes and access them from the cloud whilst onsite where necessary using the free SkyDrive service.

Bing – Local Scout

Nowhere near home or the office? Need that coffee to see you through the next appointment? Then the local scout integrated with the Bing Search app is what you need. Food/Drink located and mapped in a couple of moments … a true techy life saver.

45,000 apps compared to 500,000 is quite a small number and Microsoft has some way to go before it’s covering all our technical needs. There’s no news on an official DropBox app (although there are plenty of alternative third party DropBox apps available) and presently there’s no word on how Skype will integrate with the phone. But I sense these things and other much needed apps are not too far away. 45,000 whilst comparatively small is still too large for one tech to cover so if there’s anything I’ve missed that you feel deserves a mention then please comment and let us know.

Guest Post by Ric Chapman: Ric has been in the IT support business for 12 years driven by his love of tech and passion to help others. Ric carries several certifications from both Microsoft and CompTIA and worked in a myriad of support environments, that experience he now puts into developing his own IT consultancy business.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. 17 Useful Windows Phone Tools For Computer Technicians

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Episode 55 – The Computer Business Kit

Today we will talk with an IT professional who created computer business forms, legal documents and marketing templates for his own business and created a kit so you can use them in yours.

TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10
Intro 1:20
Billboard :51

News and Comment segment 2:13
Microsoft announced that it plans to release Windows 8 Beta to the public in February 2012.

MakeUseOf.com is offering a free Guide called How To Build Your Own Hackintosh.

MIPS Technologies announced the release of the world’s first $99 tablet based on Android TM 4.0 .

A security bug on Facebook allowed users of the popular social media site to view personal private photos last month owned by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Commercial Break 1:23
The Force Field Web Portal TheForceField.Net

Intro to Topic 2:10
Today we’re going to talk with Bryce Whitty, owner of Technibble and creator of The Computer Business Kit. We will learn about the latest version of his kit and catch up with the latest on his popular business web site for computer techs.

Interview with Bryce Whitty 23:01

Wrap up and Close :46

Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!

©2011 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

 

Episode 55 – The Computer Business Kit

Today we will talk with an IT professional who created computer business forms, legal documents and marketing templates for his own business and created a kit so you can use them in yours.

TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10
Intro 1:20
Billboard :51

News and Comment segment 2:13
Microsoft announced that it plans to release Windows 8 Beta to the public in February 2012.

MakeUseOf.com is offering a free Guide called How To Build Your Own Hackintosh.

MIPS Technologies announced the release of the world’s first $99 tablet based on Android TM 4.0 .

A security bug on Facebook allowed users of the popular social media site to view personal private photos last month owned by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Commercial Break 1:23
The Force Field Web Portal TheForceField.Net

Intro to Topic 2:10
Today we’re going to talk with Bryce Whitty, owner of Technibble and creator of The Computer Business Kit. We will learn about the latest version of his kit and catch up with the latest on his popular business web site for computer techs.

Interview with Bryce Whitty 23:01

Wrap up and Close :46

Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!

©2011 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

3 Ways for Computer Technicians to take Advantage of the Mass Adoption of Tablets

Authors: Bryce Whitty

The computer market is constantly changing and one of the big changes in recent times was the introduction of cheap netbooks like the Asus EEEPC. Now we are seeing the mass adoption of tablets like the Apple iPad and in both cases, some computer technicians have expressed fear that this will reduce the amount of desktops and laptops we have to repair.

It is quite possible that they will change the computer repair scene but I don’t see it as a problem, I see it as an opportunity. Most industries are constantly evolving and the repair work we do needs to be slightly altered to keep up.

In this article, I’ll show you three ways to take advantage of mass adoption of tablets.

 

Setup & Syncronization

We all know that tablets can be used for watching movies and playing some games, but the real power comes from when they are hooked up to other devices and services. It could be connected to the internet so clients can download their emails, stay current with the news, watch their stocks and know what the weather is going to be today.

You would think that if a client was this well connected that they would probably know how to set all of this up themselves, but with the simplicity of the Apple iPad, there is a huge generation of people entering the digital realm that previously wouldnt go anywhere near it. As intuitive as these modern devices are, they still need someone to enter their POP and SMTP settings, they still need to hook it up to their wireless (if they have one at all) and still need to setup an account with the App store.

A good example of this is one of my clients who has an iMac, iPhone, iPad and she would be an intermediate user who knows how to use most of the functions. When I was called out there was a few problems she wanted me to look at but one of them was that she wanted her emails to appear on all three devices because with the current setup, if the iMac opened it first it would not appear on the other two devices.

All I had to do was turn on the “leave a copy on server for X days” option in her iMacs email application. It is simple work for you and I, but there are so many people who dont know there is even an option like this. Apple claims that the devices “just work” and stand alone they are pretty good, but they dont always play nice with other software which means there is plenty of work in this area.

Education

As intuitive as tablet operating systems are, plenty of people still dont know how to use the device. They are well aware of what it is capable of thanks to the commercials but have no idea how to actually do it. In my personal experience with iPad clients, most people wanted to be able to check their email, check the weather and maybe play some music.

I would show them how to download an application if their device needed it to use those features (after setting up their app store accounts), showed them that there is now an icon on the home screen, press this and then that. I billed many hours this way and the clients loved me for it because their children and grandchildren would either go through it all too quickly for them to learn or get frustrated trying to teach them.

Hardware Repairs

Last but not least, tablets are portable and they will get damaged so there is an opportunity in repairing them. There are many resources out there to learn how to repair tablets but one of the best I have found is the iFixit.com tablet section. They have instructions for repairing Apple iPads, Nooks, Dell Tablets, HP Tablets, Motorola Tablets, RIM Tablets, Amazon Kindle Fires and the original Amazon Kindle. They do have a parts link on the right hand side where you purchase parts, but eBay has far better prices.

Of course, you shouldn’t learn the basics on your clients expensive devices. Instead, buy some broken devices and spare parts on eBay for dirt cheap, fix them and learn along the way. You can even sell the fixed device afterwards and make money from your education.

I don’t see the mass adoption of tablets as a threat to our industry, just an opportunity. They dont replace Desktops and Laptops, but work along side them and actually pulls people further into our world with a heavier reliance on technology.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. 3 Ways for Computer Technicians to take Advantage of the Mass Adoption of Tablets

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Global Gateway Exchange (GGETechs)

Global Gateway Exchange is the access point for field service technicians who service Velocity The Greatest Phone Company Ever, Inc. (Note: this claim is not an endorsement, it is actually part of the company name). Velocity fields service calls to technicians through GGETechs. The company boasts over 800 service technicians nation wide.

 

Contact:

GGETechs

7130 Spring Meadows West Dr.
Holland, Ohio 43528

Phone: 1-888-443-4375
Fax: 1-866-683-5624

Web site: https://ggetechs.com
Technician sign up form is on the home page.

Inside an Apple Technicians Toolkit

Authors: Bryce Whitty

Guest Post by Marco Rodi: Marco Rodi owns an IT Engineering university degree. He has his own computer repair business (OrdiRodi) that mainly does Apple Support.
There are a few articles here on Technibble about what is in a PC technicians toolkit. However, when you are an Apple Tech your bag is not quite the same. Whenever a client calls me for an emergency, these are the tools I always carry in my Apple technician toolkit, no matter what the problem is.

Lion/Snow Leopard Boot USB

Usually, when your client’s computer won’t boot into the OS the CD drive won’t work. Either a CD will be stuck inside and you can’t eject it, or you can’t insert a new CD as the system won’t recognize it. This is why I always bring a Bootable USB drive with either Snow Leopard of Lion on it. When you insert it in your client’s computer, you can hold the “Option” key (ALT key if you are using a non-Apple keyboard) while you boot the Mac and select your USB drive. To create this USB Key, you need your original Lion installation file or your Snow Leopard CD and use the Disk Utility application on your Mac. (http://www.cultofmac.com/105527/how-to-make-a-bootable-install-disk-of-mac-os-x-lion/)

Snow Leopard CD

I always bring the Snow Leopard CD. Sometimes you won’t need a USB drive as CD Drive will work just fine. If you install this version on your client’s Mac, you do not need a serial number.

Dust Blower

No matter what I do on my client’s computers, I always use the Dust Blower at the end of the job. It adds a professional touch to it and usually the client has never removed the dust. Here in Montreal, I always buy the DustOff Original Duster. You can buy a 10 pack of those for just $12.99.

Knopixx CD

Incredible tool that lets you boot in a complete Unix environment directly on the CD. You can access the hard drive and backup files. This is really helpful if the OS does not boot and you want to backup your client’s files. You simply need to insert this CD and an external drive to backup everything. (http://www.knoppix.net/)

Universal Drive Adapter

This will let you repair your client hard drive directly from your computer. You remove the hard drive from your client’s computer, plug it into this device, and access it via usb from your machine. This tool is good to repair disk permissions, backup files and to completely clear a hard drive. It works perfectly on both Mac and Pc. You can buy this one here: http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Universal-Drive-Adapter/IF107-108

ProTech Base Tool

When you try to open your client’s Apple Computer and either change the RAM, remove the hard drive or change the motherboard, you will always have to deal with an unusual screw. Apple does it on purpose so nobody can open/fix their machine except them. You really need to bring all the tools necessary to remove all the pieces for your needs. I use this set of tool created by ifixit: http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Pro-Tech-Base-Toolkit/IF145-072
It has everything you need to repair iMacs, Macbooks, MacPros, iPhone, iPod Touch etc.

RAM Memory

Sometimes, when you try to boot the computer and you hear one or two beeps, the RAM failed. I always bring extra RAM to test this issue and to sell it to my clients if this is the problem.

External USB Hard drive

I bring my pocket 1TB external hard drive for backup. (model no. WDBACZ0010BBK-NESN). Usually your client won’t have another drive to back up his files. I like this HP drive because it is Mac/PC compatible and it supports USB 3.

USB Key

I bring my 4gb USB key that includes all the free software Mac offers. I always install all of them on my client’s computer. I know this is personal but up until now, my clients love it! This usb key includes:

Suction Cups

The iMac is the most difficult machine in the world to change its hard drive. Why? Because you have to remove the huge front glass. The only way of doing it is with suction cups. I only bring those if my clients have a problem with an iMac. http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups-Pair/IF145-023

Magnifying glass

I usually use this on Macbook’s problems. When you have to change the trackpad, keyboard, motherboard etc. http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Helping-Hands/IF145-082

Kensington Contour Pro 17″ Nylon Laptop Case

I can easily fit all of those things in this bag. I also always bring my 15” Macbook pro in it. http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/kensington-contour-pro-17-nylon-laptop-case/10040886.aspx?path=28ee4468307abdf19cb8fdcfbaa5cd56en02


These are my main tools that usually cover everything I need. Whats in your Mac technician bag?

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. Inside an Apple Technicians Toolkit

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6 Reasons Why You Should Consider Remote Support

Authors: Bryce Whitty

Have you ever considered expanding your computer repair business by doing remote support? While it is unlikely to replace your physical computer repair work, it does allow you to save time with your current work and expand your service area. Here are some of the benefits of remote support that are worth considering.

Billable Hours

Many people scoff at the fact that a Computer Technician will charge in the range of $100 hour. Especially when a 9 to 5 office job will only earn in the range of $20-40 per hour. What these people dont understand is as business owners, we have to these charge prices because there is a large amount of unbillable hours where we still have to work, but cannot directly charge for. One of the biggest contributors to unbillable time is driving time (I know some techs DO charge for driving time/distance though).
With remote support, you can often cut out the driving time. In fact, you can pretty much start the moment you get the call.
If you are an onsite computer technician, think about how much time you spend driving around on a typical day. In my business, it was easily 3-5 hours depending on how many jobs I had lined up in the day.

Profit

On the topic of driving time, while you are running around town all day you are consuming fuel and slowly devaluing your vehicle as you rack up the miles/kilometers on the odometer. Of course, these are normal business expenses that you factor in but with remote support you can reduce these. Resulting in more overall profit.

Efficiency

Remote Support also allows you to work more efficiently. We all know about “loading bar time” where we cant do much more other than but sit there and watch the loading/installing bar slowly reach 100%. If you were working on a machine where you had to wait like this via remote support, you could use that time to work on another persons computer or do an in-office task – making better use of your time.

Access To Resources

We computer technicians cannot know what every single error message means and how to fix it, so we occasionally need to turn to the almighty Google. There is no shame in referring to Google but it doesnt always look good doing so in front of customers. With remote support, you have access to one of your own machines where you can research the clients problems and have access to a range of applications.

Geographic Location

This is an obvious benefit. Most onsite technicians have a “service area” where they limit the maximum distance they are willing to drive. With remote support, the geographics dont really matter anymore as long as the client has a good enough internet connection. Even with my own business, I look after my clients in my home city of Melbourne Australia even though I am currently living in London UK. Even though my clients are half a world away, the speeds are actually pretty good.

Proactive System Maintenance

If you are a computer technician who has maintenance contracts with their clients, keeping an eye on your clients systems is made much easier and more effective with remote support. For example, you can log into their systems and check the usual Windows/Antivirus updates and hardware statuses once every 2 weeks, and visit the clients physical location quarterly to check the physical state of the computer. Again, this saves you time driving around all the time to support your maintenance contracts.

Getting Started

If you are interested getting into remote support, I recommend you check out Lisa Hendricksons guide “Call That Girls Guide To Remote Support” which is now in its second edition.
Lisas book is not a technicial manual on how to do remote support but rather a remote support business operations manual. It includes setting your remote support rates, getting a ticketing system setup, marketing your remote support services, accepting payments remotely and up-selling.
It also talks about what to do if the clients internet doesnt work, dealing with issues you cannot fix remotely and how to deal with issues that make working remotely difficult.

Lisa’s guide is currently selling for $79 until December 24th, comes with a free copy of her “Computer Business Manual of Operations” and comes with a full refund policy if you find its not for you, so its completely risk free. You can check out the guide and what is in it by CLICKING HERE.

If you are looking for remote support software, ScreenConnect is picking up a lot of popularity on the Technibble forums. Their concurrent licenses start at $275 and once you purchase it you can use it forever. The software is self hosted giving you a bit more control over your product.
It comes with all the features you would expect from a good remote support package such as being crossplatform, has a Android/iOS app and is brandable. You can check out ScreenConnect HERE.

© Technibble – A Resource for Computer Technicians to start or improve their Computer Business
To get started with your own computer business, check out our Computer Business Kit. 6 Reasons Why You Should Consider Remote Support

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Plus One Solutions

Plus One Solutions provides service fulfillment solutions and services to IT service organizations, such as Consumer Electronics, Appliance Manufacturers, Retailers, Home Improvement, Home Based Services, Cable and Telecommunications and Third Party Warranty Administrators (TPAs). The company claims to have over 45,000 service providers. Plus One Solutions also provides online training solutions, recruiting and dispatch management services as well as background, certification and drug screening.

 

Contact:

PlusOne Solutions, Inc.
11301 Corporate Blvd,
Suite 215
Orlando, FL 32817-8354

Phone: 407-359-5929
Toll Free: 877-943-0100
Fax: 407-359-6929

407-249-3011
877-943-0800 Toll Free

 

Web site: http://www.plusonesolutions.net

Technician Sign Up: http://www.plusonesolutions.net/our_network

Technician Log In: http://my.plus1solutions.net

Exel-i Inc.

Exceli-i procures and resells new, refurbished, and excess computers and computer peripherals. The company specializes in provisioning spare parts and claims to offer hard-to-find computer parts at competitive prices.

 

Contact:

John T Wieber
Exel-i Inc.
john@exel-i.com
http://www.exel-i.com

7913A Cessna Ave
Gaithersburg, MD 20879
240-632-2100 x222
240-632-0231 fax