When creating a computer lab some basic activities should occur. The remainder of this document outlines a strategy or rules of thumb for successful management of a networked enabled computer lab.

The first consideration is to decide and apply a name for the local area network. Our network naming scheme will consist of GGGGNN where g indicates a group name and n represents a two digit group number. Typically groups of a determined number of PC’s or computers would consist of a node on the network. In this example we will use CompLab01 and a group of eight computers. The second group of computers will be labeled CompLab02. The grouping and naming process is repeated until all associated computers are assigned to a respective node. This file naming scheme is viable until you have over 99 nodes added to the network.

Make sure computer lab local area network CompLab01 and all PS’s are connected and have visibility. This visibility includes file and printer sharing capabilities. Each PC has approximately been named Comp1 through Comp8. All hard disks have been named Comp1HD through Comp8HD. This level of organization allows staff to readily identify which workstation is being affected.

One way to hack into a PC is to boot from a CD, floppy, flash drive, remote LAN card boot or external hard disk. A setup password should be established for every CMOS configuration for each PC in the lab. For ease of administration I recommend using the same CMOS password for all connected computers.

Our completed network setup scenario configures CMOS tells the computer to boot only from the hard disk. The only way to change this is to access CMOS with the password and change the boot sequence. Once the access is gained the CMOS should be restored to boot from only the hard disk to ensure the integrity of the PC and the local area network. Any variation from this strategy will jeopardize the overall security of the system and the network local to the associated computer lab.

Since our hard disk are small (less than 20 MB in most cases) they should be defragmented daily. Even when the Microsoft defragment utility says defragmentation is not needed they should be defragmented anyway.

The overall performance of each workstation is diminished considerably for each day they operate without hard disk defragmentation.

I have trained staff to take daily snapshots of each hard disk to verify whether the maintenance has been performed or not.

A hardware inventory and property accountability sub system is designed to store pertinent information about each PC characteristics. Characteristics include but are not limited to model names, serial numbers, software keys and other uniquely qualifying identifiers.

These simple guidelines and rules of thumb should offer a blueprint for successful operation and maintenance of the computer lab for many years.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if questions arise or if additional assistance is required.

By Arch Brooks

Mr. Arch Brooks, Software Engineer

http://archbrooks.com

Home printers are very convenient and an integral part of your home office, but there’s one thing about them that gets under my skin – the pesky ink cartridge! It’s such a pain in the backside when an ink cartridge runs out and you haven’t got a spare at your disposal!

For me, the inconvenience used to come from having to trek to PC World or the like, walking up and down the vast isles of different types of ink cartridge, and even if you know which cartridge you want, it could be like trying to find a needle in a haystack thanks to these large retail outlets using absolutely no common sense in organising cartridges by brand or keeping stock levels up to date.

And then when you would be in need of some assistance, you would be left waiting around for a shop assistant to give you a helping hand – this is where the law of sod would take effect: when you’re just browsing, you get asked at least four times by different shop assistants if you would like some assistance, but when you actually do need some help you’re left waiting!

Many people have tried buying supermarket branded ink cartridges also, but they soon realise that you get what you pay for when they see the poor quality print and occasional bleeding of colours. Cost cutting does not eliminate the hassle of replacing ink cartridges.

What does eliminate the hassle is buying your ink cartridges online. Obviously this isn’t a new phenomenon, and you may well strike me down for never having done this before, until a few years back that is when I saw sense and found how simple and convenient it was.

And it’s a quick and efficient way of keeping your stock levels up to date for all types of businesses who use printers. The last thing you want is to be in desperate need of printing off a business proposal for an all important pitch only to find that the toner has run out on your printer and there are no spares in the dusty stationary cupboard!

It’s a similar nightmare of a scenario in the home as well. You’re entertaining guests and you’re already running late, then as you frantically attempt to print off the recipes for your starter, main course and desert from that brilliant little cookery website, that orange light starts flashing on the printer! You get that dreaded feeling when you realise the orange light is telling you that the ink cartridge is on its last legs. You really haven’t got time to scoot out and buy a replacement ink cartridge – even only you had bought your ink cartridge online and had the foresight to buy a spare in case of emergencies!

You now either have to threaten the livelihood of your laptop by having it by your side, amidst the boiling pots and sizzling oil, or you waste time that you don’t have jotting down each and every recipe… Either way, it’s a nightmare!

Many online ink cartridge specialists offer same day dispatch, with fast delivery free of charge, or next day guaranteed delivery for just 5 of your English pounds, so it really is a no brainer! That doesn’t mean to say they will be any easier to fit into your printer! I’m afraid you’re on your own with that one!

By Shaun Parker

Shaun Parker is a leading personnel expert with many years of experience in the office environment, struggling with printers. Find out more about ink cartridges at http://www.inksave.co.uk

Most businesses and business people have a website these days. It’s a necessity in these days when people are more likely to look up a business on the internet than to get out a phone book. But designing a website has to be carefully done; if people can’t find the information you’re offering, they won’t stay, and both their time and yours will have been wasted.

Here are some tips for designing and evaluating your website.

• Few images, carefully used. Pictures can be an important part of your site, especially if people want to see your products before they buy them. But keep your images simple and clean so that they load quickly and are easy to focus on once they have loaded.
  
• Lots of white space. This is especially true in text. Long paragraphs are very difficult to read on the computer, and people will generally click away if they experience that much frustration. Keep your text short, and use bold-faced headings, numbers, and bullet points. The more white space you have, the easier it is for your viewers to find their place and keep it.
  
• Good fonts. This includes both size and style. Headlines can be a bigger font than paragraphs, but even paragraphs should be big enough for a reader to skim them. A unique font can give your website style, but if it’s too unique, it will be too much work to read.
  
• Keep your content up to date. Your images, prices, articles, and news links should be up-to-date, within a day. Your customers and viewers should have something new to look at every time they visit.

By Mark A. Abrahams

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