ANTenna Blog

Massive Job Losses Don't Spare Small Businesses

Posted by Fredric Paul 08:53 PM ET | Jul 2, 2009

The national unemployment figures are in, and they stink. Really, really stink. And small businesses aren't doing much better.

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Business & E-Business
Company Size: 1-49 | HR

Microsoft Offers No Response On Response Point

Posted by Fredric Paul 06:51 PM ET | Jul 2, 2009

If you were wondering about the future of Microsoft's Response Point small business VoIP system, you can keep wondering. The system's future has been in doubt for months, and the company declined to clear up the confusion at a meeting with Voice over IP resellers this week.

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Networking & Communications
Company Size: 1-49 | Technology/Telecom

Small Businesses Hold Back On Tech Spending

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:43 AM ET | Jul 2, 2009

If you're a small business desperately trying to hold the line on your IT budget, you're not alone. A new CDW survey reveals that fewer SMBs expect technology budgets to improve in the next 6 months.

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Business & E-Business
Company Size: 1-49 | Company Size: 50-249 | IT

AT&T And CDW Offer Subsidized Netbooks To SMBs

Posted by Fredric Paul 07:37 PM ET | Jul 1, 2009

Wanna buy a netbook real cheap? How about $199? No problem. All you have to do is sign this little 2-year contract for 3G data services...

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Hardware & Software
Bargain Bin | Company Size: 1-49 | IT | Mobile | Networking & Communications

Cloud Computing: A Security Disaster Waiting To Happen?

Posted by Keith Ferrell 12:02 PM ET | Jul 1, 2009

Cloud computing is be the biggest risk the Internet has ever faced, according to one hacker. He went so far as to say that security problems in the Cloud may bring "an end to the Internet as we know it."

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Security
Business & E-Business | Cloud Computing | Internet/Web

How SMBs Can Build A Community - A Checklist

Posted by Fredric Paul 11:34 AM ET | Jul 1, 2009

Creating a community around your company or brand can help you connect with customers for marketing, support, and insight, but building a successful community isn't easy. Forrester Research has put together a checklist of what you need to help remove some of the guesswork.

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Internet/Web

HP Access Discovers The Virtues of "Free"

Posted by Fredric Paul 01:03 AM ET | Jul 1, 2009

HP Access, the company's assistance program for small and midsize business, has dropped its $49 price tag and is now free to buyers of qualifying HP products. Ironically enough, at that price the program actually has some value.

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Business & E-Business
Company Size: 1-49 | Company Size: 50-249 | Sales/Marketing

Dell's Adds Ultraportable Notebook To Its Vostro Line For SMBs

Posted by Fredric Paul 08:50 PM ET | Jun 30, 2009

Question: What's smaller than a notebook but bigger than a netbook? Answer: An ultraportable, like Dell's new 3.36-pound Vostro 1220, with a 12.1-inch screen.

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Hardware & Software
Company Size: 1-49 | Company Size: 50-249 | Mobile

Linux Netbook Prices: How Low Can They Go?

Posted by Matthew McKenzie 04:03 PM ET | Jun 30, 2009

Some netbook vendors can't stop bad-mouthing Linux. But it's still the way to go if you want a low-priced, energy-efficient machine that is actually capable of doing useful work.

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Hardware & Software
Linux | Mobile | Open Source | Windows | bMighty

Social Networks Make Great Phishing Holes (And The Crooks Know It!)

Posted by Keith Ferrell 12:12 PM ET | Jun 30, 2009

The overwhelming popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks -- as well as the nature of their members' trust in them and their content -- is proving to be bonanza for phishers. So much so that social networking scams increased a stunning 241% between early 2008 and this year.

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Security
Business & E-Business | Internet/Web | Social Networking | bMighty

Are SMBs Facing A Crisis Of Cloud Confidence?

Posted by Fredric Paul 09:53 AM ET | Jun 30, 2009

Cloud computing is often thought of as the perfect option for small businesses. But a new survey shows that small businesses share many of the cloud computing concerns of their larger competitors, including security, availability, and speed.

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Services
Company Size: 1-49 | Internet/Web | Security

Online Sales Tax Brouhaha Hits More SMB Amazon Affiliates

Posted by Fredric Paul 08:34 PM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Amazon.com has dropped affiliate relationships with small businesses in North Carolina and Rhode Island as the states prepare to implement new laws requiring the company to collect online sales tax.

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Business & E-Business
Company Size: 1-49 | Economics | Entrepreneurs | Finance/Accounting | Government | Internet/Web | Retail | Sales/Marketing

Cloud Computing... By The Hour

Posted by Fredric Paul 06:04 PM ET | Jun 29, 2009

It's easy to understand the need to for configurable cloud-computing resources. But does anyone really need to buy (rent?) cloud-computing capabilities on an hourly basis? SoftLayer thinks so.

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Services

Small vs. Large: Amazon Explains How Companies Use Cloud Computing

Posted by Fredric Paul 05:12 PM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Cloud computing is often promoted as leveling the playing field between small businesses and large enterprises. But Andrew R. Jassy, senior vice president of Web services at Amazon, says that small companies use the cloud differently.

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Services

Botnet Alert: 90% Of Email Now Spam

Posted by Keith Ferrell 01:58 PM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Nine out of ten e-mails are now spam, according to the latest Symantec/MessageLabs Intelligence Report. And more than 83% of that spam is generated by botnets, relatively unaffected by large shutdowns of spam servers.

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Security
Business & E-Business | Internet/Web | Messaging

KACE Offers Mac Management Upgrade

Posted by Fredric Paul 11:02 AM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Apple Macintosh users like to believe that they use the best computers around. And maybe they do. But from an IT-management perspective, Macs in mixed environments have often been treated as red-headed step-children. The next versions of KACE's KBOX Systems Management Appliance aims to level the playing field with Mac-management tools on par with its Windows offerings.

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Apple
Company Size: 1,100-1,500 | Company Size: 250-999 | Hardware & Software | IT | Windows

Adaptive Planning Says Challenging Economy Requires More Sophisticated Planning Tools

Posted by Fredric Paul 09:56 AM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Is the recession bottoming out or will things get worse? Is a comeback bounce around the corner, or are we looking at the dreaded "L-shaped" recovery where business remains stuck at a depressed level? More to the point, what is your company going to do about whatever scenario plays out?

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Business & E-Business
Company Size: 1,100-1,500 | Company Size: 250-999 | Economics | Finance/Accounting | Sales/Marketing | Software-as-a-Service

NetGear Adds PoE Stackable Switches to Line

Posted by Paul Korzeniowski 09:51 AM ET | Jun 29, 2009

Increasingly, small and medium businesses are using IP to collapse their voice and data networks. Rather than manage two autonomous networks, corporations can combine the two, which eases management functions, lowers costs, and increases efficiency. However, these new converged networks require additional capabilities, such as Power over Ethernet (PoE), so NetGear added that feature to its switches.

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Networking & Communications

Macintosh Malware + Twitter = Greater Vigilance (If You're Smart)

Posted by Jake Widman 06:51 PM ET | Jun 26, 2009

Tweets from a respected Macintosh evangelist inadvertently contained links to a Trojan horse aimed at Macintosh computers. The incident should serve as a warning to Mac-using SMBs that while their Macs aren't nearly as subject to malware attacks as Windows machines are, that's not a guarantee that nothing bad can happen.

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Apple
Security

How Much Would YOU Pay For Windows 7 ?

Posted by Fredric Paul 04:16 PM ET | Jun 26, 2009

Windows 7 has taken another big step toward reality as Microsoft reveals how much it will cost and announces a special early-bird discount. Meanwhile, PC makers begin to roll out promises of free upgrades.

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Hardware & Software
IT

The Desktop Is Dead. So Is The Server!

Posted by Matthew McKenzie 10:25 AM ET | Jun 26, 2009

Are rumors concerning the death of the desktop PC greatly exaggerated? Or will the server soon be joining it on the Grim Reaper's hardware hit list?

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Hardware & Software
IT | Open Source | bMighty

How Long Should Your Business Keep Its Computers?

Posted by Fredric Paul 10:18 AM ET | Jun 26, 2009

When does buying new PCs for your business become cheaper than NOT buying new PCs for your business? According to Intel, it's when those PCs reach the ripe old age of... 3.

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Business & E-Business
Company Size: 1-49 | Company Size: 50-249 | Finance/Accounting | IT

CODA and Corefino Hope Midmarket CFOs Are Ready For "Cloud Accounting"

Posted by Fredric Paul 12:01 PM ET | Jun 25, 2009

Corefino 2go combines the CODA 2go Software as a Service accounting package with Corefino's Triple-C Technology Platform and outsourced accountants.

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Business & E-Business
Cloud Computing | Company Size: 1,100-1,500 | Company Size: 250-999 | Software-as-a-Service

Mobile Security: IT Pros Anything But Secure With Mobile Devices

Posted by Keith Ferrell 10:05 AM ET | Jun 25, 2009

Do as they say, not as they do might be a good description of the practices of IT professionals when it comes to mobile devices. A new survey from Credant shows that IT Professionals are not much better than anyone else when it comes to using a password to protect data stored on phones or other mobile devices.

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Security
Business & E-Business | Messaging | Mobile

Does Web-Based Printing (Finally!) Have A Future?

Posted by Matthew McKenzie 04:37 AM ET | Jun 25, 2009

HP is aiming its new Web-enabled printer mostly at the home consumer market. But it could easily turn out to be a great fit for small -- or even not-so-small -- companies.

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Hardware & Software
Cloud Computing | IT | Internet/Web | Linux | Open Source | Printers/Printing | bMighty