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Andy Taylor posts an article on Web Planning

After talking with a few customers that have been contemplating websites, I decided to share with some of you in that same thought process where you really should be approaching the idea of having a site built. My article can be found at the TechtalkRadio website in our Articles section. http://www.techtalkradio.com/articles/newsite.html

I laugh when I see those commercials for Intuit which helps customers get on the web as well as manage the many facets of the business. The sad thing about that commercial is the complaints that many of the businesses portrayed. actually mirror what many Small Business Owners feel. Either a website was started months ago and no real development was seen, a friend of a friends kid was building the site or for the most frustrating,  they themselves were trying to build the site.

Getting a website built doesn’t have to be that difficult and with the right information, you not only could have a site built for you that can drive new customers into your business but also have returning customers increase loyalty by visiting often and sharing thiers and your site with others. It’s a Win Win for both the Web Builder and for the business. The article shares some of the finer points of getting started but I’ll reiterate here, it is communication. Talk with your web builder but remember, you own the product. It should be 100% your vision with the function defined between you and the person or company undertaking the project. Enjoy the Reading, I plan on posting more articles on tips for getting a website built from picking the service plan, deciding on a monthly updating fee and other considerations for your overall site.

Thanks for checking it out, also – if you are looking for tip and solutions for problems encountered when working on a site – check out our forums, Register and Post there and we should be able to help you. Forum=http://www.techtalkradio.com/forum

— Andy

Admin Note: Andy also shared a link in the article for the Archive.org site where the TechtalkRadio.Com site from 1999 can be viewed.

Take a look!

Andy Taylor1 Commentsoftware, , , ,

SalonBiz Light – Free Software for the Beauty and Spa Salon

When I repair and upgrade customers computers, occasionally I become familiar with specialized software and databases they might need reinstallation or backing up before doing work. I recently worked on a system for a small independent hair salon in midtown Tucson that ran the business part of the operation on her laptop computer. This allowed her to have more time with creative work with clients hair as well as marketing her business.

She used a software from a company called Neill Technologies which is part of the Neill Corporation, one of the largest Aveda distributors in the United States. What surprised me about the software SalonBiz Light was that it was a free program she downloaded from the SalonBiz website. Usually when a person or company tells me they downloaded a free software program from the internet, red flags are raised and I begin to get concerned for my customer. This was not the case after looking at the reputation of Neill Technologies and the products they market. According to the Director of Sales for Neill Technologies Jill Gentry, they decided to offer the SalonBiz Light for the salons that may be running  4 stations or less that need to have an organized system for charting appointments, job tickets and keeping track of inventory.  

The software even for being a Light version, is rather full featured. There are certainly good reasons for upgrading or subscribing to the Full version however for the start-up or non-computerized, this is a great way to get ramped up. The full version offers marketing features such as emailing customers to remind them on appointments or sending out announcements of specials. Full Support and webinars are available with at your own speed online training as well. Online appointments can be made by the Salon or Spa professionals appointments with a WebBiz 2.0 product that plugs seamlessly into your website.

If this is your business or you know somebody that works as a salon professional, have them take a look at http://www.techtalkradio.com/software/salonbiz.html. I interviewed Jill Gentry from Neill Technologies who shared with me some of the finer points of the SalonBiz Light program as well as new technology including an iPAD application for the full users of SalonBiz. Be sure to check out the website for the company at http://www.salonbiz.com and the Blog at http://salonspabestpractices.com

If your business uses a special software program geared at your operation, we would love to know about it and possibly feature it in one of our segments on Industry Software.

Andy Taylor4 CommentsEntertainment, TTR Website, , ,

Felicia Day talks with Andy Taylor

Photo of Actress Felicia Day
Felicia Day - Red: Werewolf Hunter

I really love my job. Actually..it’s not really a job, it is more of a passion for me. The ability to tie in my professional radio career to all this technology is rewarding.  In my professional career I have talked with the likes of Ozzy Osborne, James Stewart, Mickey Rooney and even Jerry Mathers..yes, the Beav. Today I spoke with not only somebody that works in entertainment but also I respect for her passion for technology and the spirit to take a series to the web and see it through. I am talking about Actress, Producer and Writer Felicia Day who has taken her concept TV series “The Guild” and turned it into a successful web series.

The story of “The Guild” is simple yet includes all the ingredients for the shows I enjoy, Great characters, dialog and production value. As Felicia told me, they still  shoot the episodes in her house and everybody has a good time doing them. While I really enjoyed the Bollywood Dance Video that can be seen at the Official Site http://www.watchtheguild.com .

The Season Finale for Season 4 features an appearance from Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg. The finale  not only features some great visual effects but some very funny character development. In a scene that had me laughing,  the character of  Zaboo played by Actor Sandeep Parikh and his traditional Indian Mom played by Actress Viji Nathan are playing the MMORPG game. Zaboo’s Mom is partaking in a mock wedding with the character of Vork played by Actor Jeff Lewis. At One point, she asked her son in her accent which immediately had me thinking of my Mom of Indian decent delivering the line “Zaboo…how do I hug you in this game..”  

Our real reason though for talking with Felicia Day was to highlight her upcoming film on the SyFy Network Red: Werewolf hunter. The Original Movie tells the fictional story of Virginia “Red” Sullivan, a descendant of Little Red Riding hood, who brings her fiance home to meet her family, and that is where he not only discovers they hunt werewolves but also falls prey to the bite of the Wolf.  The family, predicting the outcome of the werewolf bite demands he be destroyed and Red fights to keep him alive.  The Movie is a change from the roles that Felicia has played in the past however it is in a Genre she is familiar with. As she told me during the interview she’s dealt with Vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer “I have killed Zombies in Doll House and it would make sense to go after Werewolves.” The movie will premiere on SyFy October 30th at 9pm.

Listen in to our Interview with Felicia Day and find out what costume she wore for last years Halloween, her thoughts on this years BlizzCon, Comic-Con and what she has planned for 2011. http://www.techtalkradio.com/celebrities/feliciaday.html

I am hoping we see more of The Guild, be sure to take a look at the series yourself.  You can check out episodes of the Guild at http://www.watchtheguild.com and follow Felicia Day’s Blog http://feliciaday.com/blog and find out about her work on Fallout 3 New Vegas and other projects she’s involved with. Her Twitter is http://www.twitter.com/feliciaday

Check out this Scene from Red: Werewolf Hunter

Andy TaylorLeave a commentsoftware, , , ,

System Mechanic 10 Featured Review and Interview

Photo of Box for System Mechanic 10
Review and interview on the New Version
There is something quite nice about unwrapping the sticky plastic protector off a brand new PC. The smell of the new system wafts into your nose as you hook up all the connectors to the colored tabs. Once completed you gently press that power button with hesitation, it’s great feeling.
Seeing that Logo come up on the screen is the first sign that everything is OK and then, slow down mode. We all have to go through it with a Manufacturer’s PC. We have to enter settings, log-in info, name and address for warranty and activation and then countless screens of information to make the experience better. I’ve always felt that this is like opening the doors to a candy shop and holding the kids back until all the lights are on. <Suddenly I am hungry for Candy!??>

Unless you have built a custom PC, you really never get to see your PC working at its optimum. After you have gone through the process of loading all the extra software, trials, help programs and connection wizards – your system is already taking a hit with unneeded and resource hogging software. I really have nothing against the manufacturers of PCs but honestly, they want to give you a ton of software so you’ll be able to boast to your friends and neighbors how many different wonderful things your computer can do.

I spoke with Abbas Mehdi from iolo technologies LLC about the latest System Mechanic software version 10.  The software is designed to optimize the computing experience and give the system a like new feel.  Even for new computers the software can streamline the start up and provide a faster boot time to begin working or playing with your new computer.  Abbas told us of the new licensing plan for the program which now enables the entire home to use the license for System Mechanic 10 .  Technicians in the labs of  iolo technologies recently published a report of the 9 root causes of PC slow down.  From window start-up bottle necks to fragmented system files,  System Mechanic 10 examines these causes and corrects them easily.  Listen to our interview with Abbas Mehdi at http://www.techtalkradio.com/software/systemmech.html and read our review on the same page.

Andy TaylorLeave a commentTTR Website, , , ,

CorelDRAW Training with Foster Coburn

A Photo of Unleash.Com Author Foster Coburn
Foster Coburn Unleash.Com

I had the opportunity this morning to talk with Unleash.Com training guru Foster Coburn. I actually found Foster while I was looking up some information on CorelDRAW.Com for a client that owned a copy of Graphics Suite X3 and needed a question answered on file formats. While looking through the Corel site I stumbled upon some questions that were expertly answered by Coburn and thought this was somebody I wanted to have on TechtalkRadio for our Streaming OnDemand Audio files on Training and How to Use Graphics Suites.

Foster has co-authored nine best selling titles on CorelDRAW and continues to write a popular blog at his site http://graphics-unleashed.unleash.com as well as visit the CorelDRAW community and provide answers that come in and research other solutions for problems that users of the graphics suite program may be encountering. For those that enjoy the hands on approach, they will find a One to One experience with the training DVD’s. The most recent subject has been for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X5 and includes a PDF Publication on the DVD that can be read over and then the Video from Foster will show in Step By Step fashion the way to complete the task.

Along with the DVD series of training, the Unleash team also holds CorelDRAW Boot Camp sessions to provide the latest information to users on changes, updates, news and upcoming releases that may assist the graphics artist. Foster also shared with us some tips on using the Wacom graphics tablet and getting the most out of the extremely useful design aid. For those looking for personalized training of the graphics suites, Foster is also available for companies worldwide to instruct on getting the most out of the program.

CorelDRAW has come a long way since Version 1.0 and some features have stayed while others were eliminated to adjust the program for the changing times. With new versions comes new features that need to be learned. Listen to our Interview on the website at http://www.techtalkradio.com/books/unleash.html and for more interview with publishing companies, online and digital book authors, self publishing and training books check out http://www.techtalkradio.com/books.htm