Many people have been “wowed” since the release of the Apple iPad. It has a very eye catching display of colors and ear pleasing array of sounds. Not to mention that there about a billion apps available for it. Due to Apple’s success with the iPad, there have been many releases of Android OS tablets to compete. This raises the question: Is this a business tool or is it a toy.

The iPad has many practical business uses. You can send and receive email, make presentations, work on documents and spreadsheets, surf the web and even remotely connect to and control a PC. There are two versions of the iPad – 3G and WiFi. With the 3G version, you can stay connected anywhere you can receive a signal. The WiFi version can do the same, but you are limited to being connected to a wireless network.

In business, communication is key. The iPad can keep you connected to your email. This means that the user can be mobile and still keep up their communication with the office, customers or vendors.

Presentations are relied upon heavily when trying to make a sale. The iPad has many apps available that allows a user to create, edit and present PowerPoint presentations. One such app is Documents To Go. This app gives the iPad or iPhone the ability to create new or edit existing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations anytime and anywhere.

Note taking can be tedious. With an app like Evernote, you can listen, focus on the person you are listening to and get your notes. This can very beneficial in business and group meetings. It will take written, audio and photo notes and save them for you. You can even view your notes by geographical location.

Have you ever been mobile and been asked by someone in the office for a document or to make changes to an existing one? With FTP On The Go Pro, you can view and edit documents from your company’s server. It also allows you to store files and documents saved on your iPad to the server.

As you can see these are very good reasons to use an iPad for business. But, just as it can be used for business, it can also be used for play. There are as many, if not more, apps available for games and entertainment as there are for productivity.

The opportunity for business use is there. It can definitely help someone on the go. It is much easier to carry than a laptop and almost as effective. Just as with a laptop, you will have apps to purchase, but there are many free ones and demo versions out there too.

Is it a tool or a toy? It depends on who’s hands it's in.

There are many phone devices that are available today but, they all have the same basic function. It’s a just phone, right? Wrong, they are much more than that.

The smart phones of today allow you stay functional while you are mobile. Whether you are editing a spreadsheet from the office or looking at your child’s soccer schedule, you can do it remotely. When you use a smart phone, you are less likely to miss an important email or a scheduled meeting.

Here are some things you should consider when looking for a smart phone.

1) Since your phone most likely will be use for business, it should offer Bluetooth connectivity, call waiting, a speakerphone and conference calling.

2) You will need a data plan that not only allows you to surf the web but do it at 3G or 4G speeds. Be sure to include a plan that will allow you to have enough time for your conversations and access the web as you need. Once you have a plan in place, it most likely can be changed if necessary.

3) There are now a plethora of productivity apps available, many of which are free. Your phone should allow you to add these apps to your device and update them when a newer version is available.

4) A keyboard is important since you will be typing messages or editing documents. There are phones with a physical keyboard and phones with a touchscreen keyboard. It is important to find the type that you are most comfortable with.

5) The ability to send and receive messages from the device is important. This does not just mean texting, but email as well. You should look for one that can sync with your company email system. This will allow you to send and receive your work email. In addition, it can also allow you to sync your calendar and address book.

6) The battery life should last the entire day. What is worse than being on a business call and having you phone die?

7) The size of the device is something to consider. You should find something that fits comfortably in your hands and where you can read the display easily.

There is no single phone for everybody. Every smart phone user is as different as every smart phone. You should consider your choice carefully when making your decision.

I have been asked this question quite a bit during my career.  It’s actually pretty easy decision once you break it down to basic items.  The most important question that needs to be answered is, what will be you doing with this computer?

If it’s just basic surfing on the Internet, email and the occasional spread sheet, then we’re ready to choose our computer.  If you are heavy into graphics, i.e. photoshop, 3d rendering or gaming, then this tends to complicate things a little.  For the most part the majority of people are just basic users, who need a basic computer.

Today’s basic machines are so much more powerful and those 5 years ago, even 2 years ago.  I guess Moore's law still holds true.  I’m not a big brand kind of guy when it comes to basic desktop/laptop.  For the average user any known brand computer will suffice.  If there is one thing that I would upgrade though, it would either be memory or hard drive space.

So why hard drive space or memory over other items?  They are probably the cheapest of the upgrades you can get that impact performance.  Think of hard drive space as your gas tank in your car.  The bigger the hard drive, the larger your “gas tank”.  This allows you to store more stuff in your “tank”, i.e. pictures, music etc…  I would compare memory to a Train or bus station.  If you have a good chunk of memory, then this will allow you to place more things on hold for the engine or CPU to process.  So in essence you have more people in the train or bus stations waiting for their turn to ride.

So if you are an average computer user, then the decision should be fairly easy.  Any modern computer should fit your needs. Don’t stress, just go buy and have fun.

What is Server Virtualization and why is everyone talking about it?

Virtualization is a term that is often applied to a wide range of technologies. Essentially, virtualizing a technology decouples the software used in that realm from the hardware.  In the area of server virtualization, this means that multiple server environments can be housed on a single piece of physical hardware.

Generally, server virtualization solutions work by introducing a thin layer over the physical server. This layer partitions the physical server into separate areas that the virtual servers then run on. Computing resources from the underlying server are viewed as a pool of resources which can then be shared and allocated out among the virtual machines sitting on top.  Each virtual server acts as its own entity; problems with an application on one server do not affect other virtual machines on that same physical server.

What are some advantages of virtualization?

The advantages of a properly planned for and implemented virtualization project are many but just some of them include:

Portability: is one of the best benefits for Small and Medium businesses . Because the server operating system is no longer tightly coupled to the physical hardware, virtualized servers can be picked up, moved around and dropped down on completely different hardware and never know the difference. The recoverability factor of this technology provides for fantastic Disaster Recovery capabilities and really helps business owners to get good night's sleep.

Server Consolidation: is one of the most often talked about benefit of virtualization. If applications running on separate computers do not utilize the computing resources of their computers, they can be consolidated onto a smaller number of servers using virtualization technology. Infotech, an IT research firm, estimates that distributed physical servers generally use only 20 percent of their capacity, and that, by virtualizing those server environments, enterprises can boost hardware utilization to between 60 percent and 80 percent. Doing the math, that's a 3:1 or 4:1 consolidation ratio, though some companies have reported consolidation ratios as high as 12:1.

Smaller footprint: Virtualizing servers decreases the number of physical boxes that a company must use. This means a smaller datacenter, with the resulting decreases in cooling and electrical costs.

Hardware costs: Because virtualization allows for greater utilization of existing resources, fewer physical servers are required, saving money both on upfront hardware costs and and on maintenance costs.