One of the most popular questions we get asked at PCGURU is; ‘Do I need a server?’ 

If 1 or more of the following situations are occurring to you in your business then you most likely do need a server:

• Someone goes on leave and you have to go to their computer and check regularly for new emails
• You have spent hours updating a spreadsheet only to realize it is not latest version in the office and you have to start again
• You want to make an appointment with a Client but you need to colleague to go with. So you have to call him to get his availability then call the Client back to see if there are available to.
• Someone’s computer dies and it has not been backed up - so everything is lost.
• You need to send an email to the rest of the team but you keep forgetting to add important people.
• You continually have to forward emails to other people in the office
• Your staff size has grown and you now have 5 or more people
• You have deleted emails on your smartphone and when you get back to the office you have to delete them again in Outlook.
• Your calendar is not up to date on your smartphone and you miss a major meeting.

A Server has features which will solve these problems plus many more and it will make your business more productive.

Now, when I say "Server", I do not necessarily mean a physical box that sits in the corner of office. There are many options such as Virtualisation, Google Apps and Cloud Solutions etc which means having a server is not as expensive as it once was.

If you need more information on Servers and what they do, please contact Karl on 1300 724 878.

This machine is a horrible fire hazard.

Dust accumulates quickly especially when it’s on the floor. Then with the heat that a computer can generate, it can catch fire and cause some major damage.

This is why regular maintenance is important.

Not only does regular maintenance prevent disasters, it also means your computer or server will run better and faster and it will be protected from malicious and unwanted intrusions by viruses and hackers.

If you are not able to conduct the regular maintenance yourself then PCGURU offers GURUCARE Proactive Management Plans where we do the maintenance for you. To find out more click http://www.pcguru.com.au/support-services/proactive-support

Winter is upon us and there is more water about which means there is more chance of dropping your smartphone into a pool of water. 

Be honest now, when was the last time you used either the White Pages or Yellow pages that gets delivered to your door every year? Propping up your monitor or as a doorstop do not count.

If you are like me and have not used it for years because you prefer the internet then there is a way you can cancel your delivery.

Sensis, the company that produces both the White and Yellow Pages, has a website called directoryselect.com.au which allows you to pick and choose which books get delivered and which books do not.

By cancelling these books you are also doing some good for the environment.

Tired of paying for phone calls? Got rellies overseas or interstate?

If you're not already taking advantage of services like Messenger, Skype and Google Talk - you need to!

Not only can you just type to each other in real time, you can also talk to each other just like on the phone - with or without a video camera!  Imagine face-to-face chats with someone overseas, for free!

I do recommend you purchase a webcam. A decent one not a cheapie. It'll set you back about $80-$100. Good webcams have a microphone built into them and have a better quality picture.

Once installed, you can choose your preferred tool for chatting. I like Skype primarily because it works so well and it's ubiquitous. Its everywhere - and soon you'll even see it embedded into TVs!

I have it installed on all my PCs, my iPhone and my iPad!

These tools aren't complicated, so don't worry about it all being too hard to set up. Most webcams plug straight in, and the software to make the calls is designed to be easy to use.

You won't look back.

Take advantage of the many and varied benefits of the Internet!

It may be old news to some of you, but for others this often comes as a surprise.

Did you know you can listen to the vast majority of your favourite radio stations over the internet?

It's easy, free and doesn't use too much of your download quota (as long as you don't leave it running for days on end!)

Simply do a Google search for your favourite radio station - like ABC Local Perth or Mix 94.5 and go to their home page. Most radio stations will have a button on the home page allowing you to tune in instantly via the web page itself.

Even better, if you've migrated from your birth country, you can do the same thing and listen in to your old favourites - and it doesn't cost anything!

I had a long and vigorous debate with an old friend of my parents about this. He was convinced he'd have to pay for it - but no, it's absolutely free.

So if you want to listen to BBC Radio 4 or WRGA in Rome, get thee to Google and do a search. 

Last week I told you all about Dropbox. An awesome tool for synchronising a folder between all of your devices. You get 2GB of space for free (and can purchase more if you need it!)

Once you have it installed, you can save a file on your PC and it will almost instantly appear on your other PCs (like at work), and your iPad, iPhone or Mac.

But I received a few emails asking what practical use it has. Here's some ideas!

1. Backups
Save critical files into your Dropbox and they'll be copied to all your other devices.

2. Photos
If you're travelling, save your photos into your Dropbox and your family and friends will be able to see the photos straight away PLUS you've made a safe copy back to your other devices in case your camera/memory cards are lost or stolen.

3. Synchronising bookmarks and favourites between PCs.
Whether it's Internet Explorer, Chrome or Firefox, you can make sure all your PCs have the same web bookmarks!

4. Synchronised Passwords using Keepass
If you’re an keen KeePass user you might find it frustrating to keep your Database on a USB key. KeePass is an extremely secure password safe. You can use Dropbox to store your password safe. This means that you’ll have the same passwords on all the computers you have your Dropbox on.

5. Sharing folders with family & friends
Do you want to have a folder where you can share files with your Mum/Brother/Sister? Are you working on a group project or do you need to swap files with team members? You can configure Dropbox to be accessible by many people. It's safe and quick!

If you didn't download it last week - download it now! It's great!

Download: http://www.dropbox.com

One of the most common emails I get is from people enquiring if we can recover files from a "broken" USB Thumb Drive.

Usually the drives physically look ok - and they haven't been through a wash. The reason they're broken is that they were removed from a computer without being "ejected" properly.

I won't bore you with the geeky explanation on why this happens - although Google could give you more information that you could ever want! Suffice to say that if you want to keep your data safe and your USB Thumb Drive operational for a long, long time - you do need to follow one simple rule.

Eject safely.

Whenever you plug a USB Storage Device into your PC, you'll notice that in the bottom right hand corner of your screen an icon will appear indicating the device is attached. Explore the menu and you'll spot "eject" options which vary slightly depending on the version of Windows and the type of USB storage device. 

It will be pretty obvious which device is which. 

Before unplugging your USB Storage Device, use this menu to safely eject it.

Then you won't lose data - and you won't burn your stick out prematurely.

I regularly get emails from people asking what my favourite applications are and what I use on my own PC.

My work and home PC's are a little bit different - and I no longer use a laptop because I have an iPad - which is one of the best pieces of kit I have ever bought!

So lets look at my home PC.

It's running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. Why the 64 bit version? That allows you to use more than 4GB of RAM. And in this particular Hewlett Packard workstation I have 8GB which keeps things running nicely.

For home, I use Microsoft Security Essentials as my antivirus. (At work I use Trend Micro).

But every PC I use has Google Chrome as the default Web Browser. It's fast, rock solid and has lots of terrific extensions available to make life easier.

As a big user of Twitter, I also need an application that keeps me up to date - for that I use tweetdeck.

On the email & calendar side - there's no alternative for me than to use Outlook 2010. It's simply the best, fully integrated groupware client available. Yes, it costs money - but I can't think of any alternative that does the job as well as Outlook.

I use Paint.NET for image manipulation and Foxit PDF Reader instead of Adobe PDF Reader as Foxit is much faster.

That's really about it. There's a few other bits and pieces that I use on occasion but these days the bulk of what I do is web-based.

One final thing though - I use 3 monitors. I have a 24" Widescreen LCD on the Left and 2 x 21" in the centre and right. It's makes me far more productive as I don't have to keep opening and closing windows. They just stay open permanently. With the price of LCD screens these days, it's a no brainer.

Let me know what your favourite apps by posting in the free PCGURU Forum!

One of the most popular type of tips I do relates to keyboard shortcuts. I'm really not sure why, but every time I post them, I receive a heck of a lot of emails and positive feedback.

So - here's a few more. These are really for the Windows7 people, so if you're not there yet, you can try them, but they likely won't work properly.

When I mention the "Win" key, that's the one to the left of the Space Bar and Alt key.