The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

Does it need to be said?
22:44 Jul 31 2009
Times Read: 1,013

Beautiful weather here in Buffalo... clear and sunny. But my flight is delayed an hour... why?



Because it's coming from Philadelphia.



I wonder if they ever get flights out on time...

16:48 Jul 31 2009
Times Read: 1,019

Trying to get through a whole bunch of work today before I have to head out around 4PM for a flight.



Time crunch!



The things I do for my customers sometimes... *shakes head*

A change to the contest
18:40 Jul 30 2009
Times Read: 1,038

I made the decision that this will be a Q3 drawing to win, meaning anyone who registered after June 30 will be automatically entered.



So those of you who recently signed up and asked if you would be included, as long as your sign up was July 1 or later, you're in. :)



If you haven't signed up yet... why not? It's a chance to win something that will be absolutely free to you. No shipping... no taxes... no strings attached, you just have to register for an account.



It doesn't get easier than this.

*sigh*
00:31 Jul 30 2009
Times Read: 1,057

Definitely Furcifer. The old saying in IT - there are only three ways to protect your data.



1. Back it up

2. Back it up

3. Back it up



Pick a couple methods - external hard disk, network storage, off-site storage. They have combo network storage/tape libraries now (high end stuff).



A customer is debating with me on buying a USB hard drive for $80 when he's been running his PC without any anti-virus and we're reimaging it for the 2nd time this year.



$80 once or pay for the service every 6 months?

It's what we do...
03:33 Jul 29 2009
Times Read: 1,081

Just reading Nedra's journal... sorry that happened, but it does. I have a customer that didn't have anything in place to back-up data - the read-write heads on his hard drive failed. Now he's looking at $2000 to recover lost files, or lose family photos forever.



He can't afford the $2000 right now.. his situation sucks. Hard drives have a 1-3 year lifespan these days. His was was about 2.5 years old. It's no surprise, especially in a laptop.



That could have been totally avoided if he had a back-up hard drive, or a network attached storage unit, or used a remote backup service...



Such simple and inexpensive things to put in place - but so few people do.



These are the kinds of things my company recommends, sells and teaches our customers how to use them.



It's not so difficult to even have your PC do an auto-backup to the external drive. Many come with backup software that allows you to set it all up.



It's a lot easier than paying the bill when your hard drive dies and takes your data with it.

Wow!
18:13 Jul 28 2009
Times Read: 1,104

Holy cow, Morrigon rocks! Check this out!

If this doesn't convince you, nothing will. :)

In the process...
05:32 Jul 28 2009
Times Read: 1,126

So, are you like me and have hundreds of digital photos? Worried one of these days a hard drive failure might make them all go *poof*?



How about an unlimited off-site backup for only $60/year. Store all your photos and important files easily at a secure facility on servers that are monitored 24x7 and are backed-up daily.



Oh, and for that $60 a year, you also get your own domain with unlimited email and the ability to host and market a website.... and host your own blog... and your own photo gallery.. and your own chat... and your own e-commerce store...



Crazy, huh? I'm uploading all my photos to my personal server as I write this...

Yes, it's an ad. For $60/year for this package, I'm not collecting a whole lot of marketing dollars.



That's a win for you.

Do something that makes sense.
16:08 Jul 24 2009
Times Read: 1,150

Seriously, Dell... it's an Optiplex. The computers you engineered for business productivity use.



Why base the config and pricing off of Vista Home Basic? What business wants this?

We like to offer and price out options based on what people want. Don't get sucked in by marketing ploys that show a lower cost for an option that obviously won't work for your application.



Oh yeah, and be sure to register to get into our drawing. It's a contest just like those big companies have, except we're small so your name isn't in the hat with a million others - you actually will have a chance to win!



We're also a Dell partner. If you are considering Dell, talk to us. We can find you the right system and probably dig up a promotion that you wouldn't otherwise get going direct.

What you've all been waiting for...
22:01 Jul 22 2009
Times Read: 1,199

Everyone likes free stuff, right?

Ok, maybe you haven't been waiting, but I know I have! I always have fun when we get to have give-aways and contests.



This is a promotion in combination with a local town chamber event we are sponsoring and attending tonight. We have fortune tellers with random winner messages in them for the locals, but we wanted to do something everyone would have a chance to win something at.



As the contest goes on we will try and increase the number of prizes and thus, the number of winners we will have. We have a bunch of cool stuff to give away as it is - we're planning on getting more!



The promotion is simple - register for an account with our online store and you're entered. The point is obviously to get people aware of our store and shopping with us for technology.



Why shop with us? Competitive prices, fast nationwide delivery and we're a company that is easy to work with. Not one of those faceless, internet giants.



For example, we have a Lenovo G530 laptop on Spotlight right now. Thousands in stock and our price is lower than CDW. Or a Logitech rechargable wireless desktop set - for 10% less than CDW!



And those are our everyday prices - no sales, no rebates, no gimicks.



So register, log in and shop!

Whoa!
23:09 Jul 17 2009
Times Read: 1,227

Big News coming on Monday here - we're going to be rolling out a contest on our corporate website.



Everyone will have a chance to win... and win some cool stuff.



Stay Tuned!

That's right...
13:41 Jul 13 2009
Times Read: 1,253

....one other thing, as Faeriemoon eluded to in her comment on my last entry - small businesses can also service nation-wide, just like the bigger companies.



Not only that, many times we can service nation-wide faster.



Where a company like Best Buy or Sears might depend on local stores to deliver to a region and might have limited stock on a product in those regions, we service from a network of warehouses all across the country and can generally get any product, via ground shipping, to anywhere in the nation in 1 to 3 days time.



We currently offer inks and toners, very similar to what the office supply companies offer - next day delivery nation-wide, free shipping over $50...



...except our prices are lower, we have more inventory, higher rated 3rd party alternative brands and we can recycle the old stuff at no cost to the customer...



Small businesses can be quite powerful. ;)

The conversation stopper...
03:42 Jul 13 2009
Times Read: 1,270

...my brother-in-law is a piece of work.



He was sitting around reading the Sunday ads and talking big about the new LCD panel he wants to get... then he asks me to look things up on line...



J: "Look up this one... a Sharp Aquos LC-40E67UN... Sears has it for $799."



B: "Yes, Sears does have it..."



J: "Yeah! 10% off. That's a really good price."



B: "Yeah, it is... oh, look here... I have this one in inventory too. My regular price on it is $759."



J: "Really?"



B: "Yep, looks like I have over 200 in stock... no sale needed, I just sell it for less..."



J: "Let me talk to my wife..."



Yeah, that's what I thought... he probably wouldn't have thought twice to go to Sears and buy it for $799, but once I told him he could get it for $40 less from me, all of a sudden it was a "maybe I'll get it."



He needs a kick in the ass...



Why do people think small companies can't compete with the big retail stores? Sure, the manufacturers will often push low-end, consumer level products out for cheap, but when it comes to the good stuff, it's usually a pretty level playing field.



The small companies will treat you better and offer better service. We just can't market like the big companies can...



No sale needed... we don't jack up prices just to lower them and make people feel like they're getting a "deal."



And regardless of the deal, you can't negotiate anything when you're in a faceless retail store dealing with a high-school kid who only knows what he's told. Small companies, we know the product, we know the bottom lines and we'll work with you.



This is the way it all works... those big retail chains aren't all that, so shop smart.

Making waves...
19:04 Jul 10 2009
Times Read: 1,289

...since I started advertizing and talking up my business here we've sold one laptop and moved or opened a few webhosting plans for members here.



And there's a few more in the works.



The double-edge sword of grass-roots, word-of-mouth advertizing is we need to keep doing a great job so the good press keep spreading.



So far, there are no complaints, and we intend to keep it that way. ;)

And then some...
22:56 Jul 08 2009
Times Read: 1,311

...the neagtive of all those frequent trips...



I haven't rented a car from Avis in three months. I now get daily email offers from them.



Sometimes, several per day.



Damn spammers.