Hello All!

I'm new to the VA industry and to the forum (well I've been lurking and have found everyone to be so generous in their support/advice)

I'm hoping you can provide some insight. I'm looking to get a new laptop and computer. I was wondering what features are most important to look for in a laptop/computer especially for people in our industry (I'm guessing storage and speed would be important)? I would also appreciate suggestions on particular models etc.

Thank you!

Hi AusVA,

Storage and speed as you mention is one of the essential elements that should be considered when purchasing a new computer or laptop. But over and above that, the first you should consider is what sort of application software you need to deliver the services your business offers and your budget. Are you a Mac or a PC person?

If your preference is a PC, I would expect that you need the basic operating system which in this day and age is Windows Vista. I recommend Vista Ultimate for your O/S. Whatever services you offer, I would recommend Microsoft Office Professional Ultimate. Other application softwares you will need will depend on specific services you offer.

Please visit my blog for additional information, that any small business owner require for an acceptable IT infrastructure that delivers client requirements effecientl and effectively. Have a look at my post on how you can make IT Work for You. a link to my blog is in my signature below.

Hope that this is of help.

Grace

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Grace Long-VA Extraordinaire
The Ultimate Technology Specialist

I agree that it is important to consider what services you will be offering to help determine how much power & speed you want/need or if you are going to be heavily on the graphics and design side then you might want to consider a Mac unless the learning curve would be too high for right now.

Many people have MS Office on their computers, but also keep in mind that you can get a free version of essentially the same thing through OpenOffice.

Getting the most computer for the money you can afford right now can be a good idea. If you plan to or will have a need to be mobile and be working, then a laptop with a good wireless card is ideal.

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

I would also like to add that while having a good computer is very important, having backups of your personal and your client data somewhere other than your home is also very important.

What I do is a combination of things:

1. I usually have two copies of everything I feel is important on several computers in the house. If one goes down, I can still get to my data. If you don't have two computers, then get an external USB drive (depending on your files, make sure you get one big enough). Worse case you can take this drive to a friend's house (see below for file-syncronization options). You can also keep a copy of the files on a CD/DVD or unplug and store the USB drive in a fire proof/waterproof safe.

2. Find a way to back up your files somewhere other than your house. There are many inexpensive file storage solutions out there (just do a search for "online file storage" and pick one that fits your budget and make sure it is easy to use). I found one that allows me 2GB of storage for $25 per year. I also have an FTP site that is part of my Web site that gives me much more than that.

3. Back up your stuff DAILY and test it often. I am in the computer business with the responsibility of protecting customer's data and I can't tell you how many stories I have heard where someone forgot to back something up, lost the files or never tested the backups. When the data is gone, it's gone. And so can your business. Imagine losing all your financial info, customer contacts, all your emails, all your documents you create, etc. This is extremely devastating to a company. There are studies that show that most companies that lose several days worth of data have a much higher risk of failing than those who protect their data. That's only a few days worth of data. Not to mention the lost confidence your customers will have in your company.

4. Spend a few moments and organize your files, set up a method to automatically back it up and be paranoid about it. If your data isn't safe, then neither is your business. I personally use an inexpensive product for replicating my files and another to protect my passwords (also copied off-site with my files). However there are several free utilities out there that will work well but may not be as easy to use.

If you would like more info or software suggestions, feel free to PM me.

Though macs are great for many things (especially if your doing design work) I find a PC is sometimes more compatible with the programs and applications I use on a daily basis. The decision of mac vs. PC is yours to debate with yourself. Laptop vs tower is fairly easy. If you travel at all, go to client locations and need your files, or in any way want mobility in your work enviroment you need a laptop.

In line with what David says above you really need to have a backup system in place that offers the right amount of storage for your needs. I found an iomega usb backup drive with half a terabite cheap on amazon and it works wonderfully. offsite storage is great as well for the unexpected issues like fire, water, and structural damage.

Personally I have a Dell inspirion with Vista and though I did have to re

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Kristi Bennitt
Virtual Assistant/Bookkeeper

sorry, the end of that is...I did have to do a complete wipe and reload on my system due to a virus....which basically taught me to pay a little extra for the best in internet security rather than the system standard protection which frankly isn't enough.

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Kristi Bennitt
Virtual Assistant/Bookkeeper

Marie sent me a private message with some good questions. And since I am new, I don't have enough mojo on this forum yet to reply to her. So I am posting here on this post to share this valuable information. I hope Marie doesn't mind me sharing with the world.

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Hi Marie!

Thanks for asking these good questions. And you are doing the right thing with having your files on an external drive. The next step you are also already taking, which is looking for an online or second backup system. I use Box.net (www.box.net) to store some extra files. The accounts are very reasonable and will store a ton of documents (they have a free account if you would like to try them).

As for hidden files, the only time you need to be concerned with hidden files is when you are performing a system backup so you can restore it in the case of a massive failure (i.e. hard drive failure, spilt beer, etc).

Now if by "Hidden Files" you mean files not in an obvious location on your computer.. that will take some hunting on your part to make sure you know where you save stuff. Just make absolutely sure that you store all your documents in the exact same spot on your computer. For example, I usually have a folder called "Data" and then a bunch of folders under that with all my stuff (docs, pictures, etc). As long as I back up the "Data" folder, I am sure to get everything I need.

Some other files you will need to be concerned about:

- Web Site Bookmarks: There are plenty of free programs that will allow you to back these up. I use Firefox and they have some add-ins that allow me to back these up to my data drive or my hosting provider.

- Passwords: There are several free programs that allow you to store these securely and to back them up. I personally pay for and use Roboform to store those in my "Data" folder mentioned above. This makes protecting it automatic when I back up that folder. I also use GoodSync to replicate that to an external drive.

- Financial data: Many programs we use will store the data in a certain folder on the hard drive (in Windows it might be under Program Files/Quicken, etc). Make sure you move this to your data directory and use it from there.

- Pictures: Many people forget how important this can be. But you would hate to lose years worth of memories.

- Game data: I know, this computer is for work right? Yeah ok, mine too. If you have favorite games you play to relieve the stress and it saves your game data, learn where it's stored and make sure to back it up often.

I am sure there are a few more I missed because everyone uses their computer a bit differently, but this will give you an idea of where to start.

David

Originally Posted by Office Support Online

Hi David, I was just reading your post about backing up and believe me, I know it's important. My son spilt his beer all over my laptop! Luckily I was only using it for backup at the time and have my Mac with everything, but there was a moment or two of panic till I realised I had already transferred everything! I just thought I'd check with a professional - I have an external hard drive on my Mac and use Time Machine which automatically backs up every couple of hours (bliss!). But if I wanted to have an extra backup of files on a USB for example, do I just need to copy the folders/directories where my working files are (My Docs say), or are there hidden files or other areas where I should be aware of as well? I'd hate to think I was doing the right thing only to find it didn't work. I'd just like to be prepared with a viable alternative as I'd hate to think I'm doing something stupid (which is ALWAYS possible!). I am also researching online backup and have found a couple of options that are free which would be good for just my business files and not my whole computer (since a lot of that is music that doesn't really need to be backed up). Thanks in advance for your advice and thanks for the info on the forum. Cheers, Marie