Tag: technology

Wireless Technology in a Hurricane. Really?

Posted on by MarleneMB

With the power outages so many folks are experiencing due to the damages to the electrical transformers and the power grids that were in the path of Hurricane Sandy; I noticed that people are scrambling to find power source for their mobile phones. Many have cut off their traditional wired phone lines to save cost and to be wire-free and remain more mobile. But there is still that thing called electrical supply that still keeps us wired.

When I decided to cut off my wired-line and install a VoIP phone in my home, I agonized over it. Working in the telecommunications industry for so many years, I know that having that wired-line is a great thing during a power outage most often than not. The wired-line often gets its electrical supply from the phone company. These companies usually have generators and battery back up that will  usually stay running when the electricity goes off. This means calls could still be sent and received.

Now  that I have a VoIP-based service, I am in the same situation as someone with just a mobile phone. If the power goes out, my line will be down and my mobile phone will run out of juice. Yes I received a small battery back up unit with the VoIP service, but this has a short supply life. Now I am thinking if it’s worth it to get the basic line and have it siting there for such a situation. After all, I am living in Florida, the state that sits in the path of hurricanes coming off the coast of Africa, the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico! While I mull this over, I will keep my fingers crossed and keep praying that we keep having the luck that they continue to pass us by. Even more so, I hope that we come up with a better way to charge our devices via solar technology.

What do you think?

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New Technology, Old Fashion Touch

Posted on by MarleneMB
Hug

I like having gadgets and using things technology brings us. I like hooking up the surround sound on my stereo and television, and figuring out where all the wires go. In my opinion microwaves, washers/dryers and air conditioning are some of the best inventions ever. They make life seem easier, more convenient and more comfortable. Yet, sometimes doing things the  “old fashion” way is the best.

I remember when I bought one of those automatic garbage cans that open by waving your hand over the sensor. It worked really well, until one day a family friend came over and tried to open it manually. He didn’t know how it operated; thus, he broke it. I replaced it with another one and someone dropped the top. This caused the battery compartment to break. I finally gave in and bought a garbage can that requires you to step on the foot lever and it opens. It is working perfectly fine! The same thing happened with the electric can openers. The electric ones broke so easily or they wouldn’t work if the light went out. I replaced them with a manual one that is wonderful. It cuts the cans and the cans open with smooth edges. I have it now for years and it still working well.

Sometimes we need to view social media the same light. It is good to be able to connect with others virtually. Social media has helped us advance our relationships beyond our traditional neighborhoods. I am able to re-connect with old friends and family members that I have not seen in years. It is fun to share information and get caught up on life’s events.

Still, social media and technology should not replace the human contact. As one of my friend said today: “Technology changes, but human nature stays the same.” People still want to have a real hug, to see a real smile, to exchange a firm handshake face to face. We are definitely social beings. Social beings that adapt to using technology, but beings that need the old fashion touch! This weekend make sure you give someone a big hug the old fashion way.

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Winning

Posted on by MarleneMB

As an entrepreneur, you often have to go the extra mile to get new business. This means when the clock hits 5 p.m. you are not going home and turning on the television. It sometimes means you have to get in the car and head to another networking event. Today was a very long day for me, but I signed up for yet another business event that started after five. The good news was that it wasn’t far from home.

After rushing from Broward County, trying not to do 90 mph on 95 South to get to Miami on time. I hate being late! I got a nice call from a potential client that she wants to meet with me as soon as possible. She needs some of the products we offer. That picked my mood up immensely. Suddenly I was not so tired. After freshening up in the “powder room,” I got my badge and entered my name on the tablet they had at registration for a raffle later.

This event was the Miami Small Business Symposium hosted by Verizon and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Verizon had lots of wireless gadgets on display and assistances that were snapping our pictures with some of these nifty items. Did I mention that they had free food? The meeting consists of: a panel discussion, a round table session on various products, and networking with other attendees. When it was time for the raffle, I was crossing my fingers hoping that I would win the new Samsung Tablet. Instead I won the round-trip ticket to anywhere Southwest flies! I jumped out of my chair and ran to get that hot-little ticket in my hands.  Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

The symposium was very informative and gave me great information that I can share with my clients and prospects. I also met two new prospects that need assistance with technology for their small businesses. This night taught me that you have to go, even when you don’t feel like going. You have to constantly network to find new opportunities. Finally, you may be very surprised by winning a round-trip ticket to anywhere in the country. This makes it all worthwhile. Winning!!!

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Math, Science, Power Tools and Shoes

Posted on by MarleneMB

I remember that I first fell in love with math when my Aunt Peggy taught me long division versus short division at the age of eight. I was so excited to be able to figure out the problems that I would try to see how fast I could solve a problem. In ninth grade, Mr. De La Vecchia introduced me to Algebra. My happiness sensory went into overload. Figuring out a+b=c or learning polynomials was so exciting for me!

Then there are sciences. I couldn’t wait to get to Mr. Wolfe’s class to see the next Physics demo or in my chemistry class to turn on the Bunsen burner to perform another experiment. I think I liked these two subjects, because mathematics was involved. It shouldn’t be a surprise that in my career I ended up using mathematics in all of the jobs I held in telecommunications. As a sales engineer, I had to determine how many IP addresses a client may need for the companies data network. I had to become certified in the design of networks via the Cisco certification process.

The part I love most about studying for my exams involved understanding binary codes and subnet masking. Learning about ASCII, ANSI, Hex, etc. codes was thrilling to me. I would engross myself into converting binary codes to IP addresses and back for hours! Knowing that as the IP 192.168.0.0 and is the beginning of a “C” class private IP address, sent my mind into happy land overdrive. Most of my girlfriends taught I was “nuts” of course. They couldn’t imagine I would give up my weekend to read a technical book.

I also love music because of math. There are eight notes that when rearranged make great melodies, but I see them in mathematical combination instead of arrangements or scores.  When I learned to dance the waltz or other types of dances, I was usually counting 1-2-3, 1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4. Again math came to my rescue.

Fear not, guys and dolls. I’m not totally geeky. I get the same happy feeling when I enter Home Depot or Lowes, and I walk in the power tool aisle only to see a Dewalt Cordless 18V Hammerdrill with double battery pack on sale for $100. I love power tools. Or when I walk into Macys and see a pair of shoes on sale, marked down from $120 to $20! Shucks it doesn’t even have to be Macy’s, any pair of shoes on sales anywhere gives me the same happy feelings I have for math.

Next time you are out and about, think about the great things mathematics and science has brought us. You may have a new appreciation for these two awesome subjects. I didn’t like learning English subject much or writing an essay, but I have grown to love words and how beautiful they are when used to express my love of people, places, things, mathematics and science.

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Death of a Social Media

Posted on by MarleneMB

One of the people I follow in the Social Media world is Lewis Howes. He always has great info on LinkedIn. Yesterday, he posted a question on his page see below:

“Which social network will you STOP using or will go out of style first?
1. Twitter
2. Facebook
3. LinkedIn
4. YouTube
5. Google+
6. Pinterest

Most of the replies came back with Google+ as the front-runner as the first to die out in the online social networking arena. Some made the case that Facebook is dying because younger kids are moving to Instagram or Twitter.  The conversation is an interesting one. Personally, I use Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to promote my businesses, in that order. I am working to develop our business presence on YouTube because I see this as a very important vehicle to get the message across about our products and services.

I must admit that I occasionally stop by Google+ and Pinterest to post something. Part of my issue is that most of my contacts have not migrated to Google+ from Facebook. Managing my circles on Google+ takes time and I don’t have much of that these days. I do like using the Hangout feature. It still needs a few quirks worked out, but one of the pastors at my church uses it for bible study. This works great of me, because I don’t have to drive far to take part in the group. Pinterest is still just growing, but I like the ease of use.

I think I use Facebook most, not only because of the number of contacts, but I am used to it. I know how must things work on Facebook, even if they make unannounced changes occasionally. I have a love hate thing going with Twitter. In order to grow my contacts I have to tweet often, respond to retweets, mentions, etc. Sometimes I forget to thank someone and feel bad about it. Too much emotional ties sometimes. Overall, I am not sure which one will go out first; Google has very big pockets while Facebook is still trying to monetize the database of users. I love LinkedIn for professional connections and sharing jobs or business leads with my contacts.

What’s your opinion?

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