With the recent increase in usage of home devices, online gaming and video streaming devices, having a stable internet connection is more vital than ever before. If you have been having trouble with buffering on streaming services and unusually long wait times when connecting to web pages, the problem might be with your internet connection. A faulty internet connection can be frustrating, but it doesn’t have to ruin your day. There are a few strategies you can try out to ensure that your connection stays strong and consistent, allowing you to and enjoy browsing, streaming, and downloading without any headaches. Below, we’ll cover a few tips that can help you troubleshoot your internet connection issues and keep your devices online when you need them.

Unravel the Blinking Light

If your device can’t access the internet at all, the first thing to do is to check the LED indicators on your modem and router. If there are no lights on the indicators, then your device is probably unplugged or rather not connected to a power source. The only thing you need to do in this situation is to disconnect the devices reconnect them after a few minutes. Once the lights are on, your device should be working again. The LED lights indicate that the device is strongly connected to the internet.

Check the DHCP Settings

These settings typically allow computers to connect to a network more easily. As long as the DHCP is turned on, you do not necessarily have to operate the IP address manually. The automated settings ensure that you have access to the internet connection once you turn on your device, unlike the manual setups where you have to keep checking on the internet settings to get the device connected.

Update Your Firmware

A firmware is a piece of software that, among other things, handles a device’s support for routers, modems and other connected pieces of hardware. Recent advancements in technology have led to the development of quick, user-friendly firmware updates that can be easily downloaded on most devices. If your device’s connection issues persist after trying the suggestions above, check to see if it’s running the latest available firmware version. Firmware updates are an important part of a device’s security, and they often come with new features that can improve the device’s overall performance—including internet connection stability.

Use the Windows Network Diagnostics Tools

If you’re troubleshooting the connection of a Windows device, you can use built-in tools to run several tests that help diagnose the causes of network failure. Once all the possible causes are determined, the Windows diagnostics tools provide you with a list of solutions to your problems. Note that at the time of writing this article, these tools are only available on windows 7 to 10.

Scan for Viruses

In many cases, your internet connection may be affected by malicious viruses that invade your computer. Running a thorough scan for viruses and malware can often fix internet connection problems and overall system performance. If your device is affected by malware, then you will not only experience problems connecting to the internet, but also a host of other potential issues. Your personal data and security may also be compromised depending on the type of virus. If your scan reports any sort of malware on your device, consider hiring an IT technician to help you safely remove the dangerous files and keep your device safe—as well as connected to the internet.

In many cases, if you’re experiencing frustrating problems with your internet connection, the problem can be easily solved on your end. If issues persist, you may need to look into investing in higher performance equipment or a faster internet package from your service provider. Take the time to diagnose the problem and use the appropriate techniques to fix the issue. Calling your Internet Service Provider should be your last option after you have exhausted everything else.

Need Help from Managed IT Service Providers in San Marcos TX?

Are you still experiencing internet connection issues even after trying out all of the strategies listed above? Contact your San Marcos IT service providers at tekRESCUE for help. We’ll be able to determine the underlying cause of your connection issues and recommend a way to fix them for good!

The tried and true methods that businesses use to reach their audience are evolving with modern marketing trends. However, the importance of putting your brand in front of the right audience has not diminished. Your company offers a solution to your target audience’s needs in a unique way that only you can do. To make sure that your audience is aware of your solution, you need to know two things: who your audience is, and how to build a brand perception that will appeal to them.

Finding Your Audience

Before you can begin building and managing audience perceptions of your brand, you have to know who your audience is, and how they think. There are countless resources available for identifying specific demographics, but to be successful you’ll have to go deeper than just age and income statistics.

Identify Your Core Offerings

The first step in determining a target audience is a thorough understanding of what you as a company have to offer them, and what you have that sets you apart from the competition. Make sure you always know the answers to these questions:

• What services or products do I offer?
• How are my services or products superior to those offered by a competitor?
• How is my company unique in my business niche?

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you learn who the audience that will benefit from your business is, and how to represent your brand in a way that will appeal to them.

For example, if you were branding for a hypothetical furniture store, you might end up with answers like these:

• What products do I offer?
  —Rustic and western furniture.
• How are my products superior to those offered by a competitor?
  —I offer free delivery for custom-made furniture orders.
• How is my company unique in my business niche?
  —Our furniture is made using only sustainable materials.

Think about your own business and decide on the most accurate and specific answers to the questions.

Meet Consumer Needs

In addition to knowing your brand inside and out, you also need to know your consumers’ needs, and how your services or products satisfy those needs.

For example, if you own a luxury travel agency, pay attention to the customers you serve and any trends that appear among them. Perhaps many of your customers are couples looking for a romantic getaway, or families looking for kid-friendly cruises. Wherever you notice similar needs, take note. Understanding your target audience’s needs in addition to their demographic information will help you develop accurate marketing personas.

Marketing Personas are brief but insightful compilations of customer data that are representative of specific sections of your target audience. The best compilations include multiple data types, from demographic statistics to customer trends and preferences.

According to Buffer.com three to five marketing personas is usually enough to represent the most significant sections of your target audience¹. Don’t be afraid to adjust this number depending on your business niche.

Communicate Your Brand to Your Audience

Once you’ve established who your target audience is, you can start branding your business with them in mind. Branding your business is different than marketing or advertising it.

Branding is the process of creating an image of your company and what it stands for in the minds of your customers and target audience. The purpose of branding is not to bring in a large number of new customers, but to promote loyalty among existing ones.

When done well, branding helps create and maintain a relationship between a business and its customers. Loyal customers not only bring repeat business, but are also more likely to recommend your business to their friends, family, and business associates, which leads to new customers.

So how do you communicate your brand to your audience?

Branding for an Audience

Communicating your brand to your target audience takes effort, but the results are rewarding in many ways. The best brands are able to foster a relationship with not just their target audience, but their community as well. This relationship will keep your business in the minds of current customers and in front of new ones. To accomplish this, and communicate your brand to your audience, you’ll use brand positioning.

Brand Positioning is essentially a method to create and maintain your brand image in the eyes of your customers and potential customers.

To apply this method to your business, you need to look back at the answers you came up with when identifying your company’s core offerings.

Make Your Brand Unique

One of the most important steps in brand positioning is making your brand unique. Your company needs to do more than stand out – it needs to be one of a kind. This will both separate your company from competitors and retain customers who are attracted to the unique aspect of your brand. When you offer a product or service that no one else does, or offer a product or service in a way that no one else does, then customers seeking that specific offering will come to your business every time they need it.

To determine what makes your brand unique, take a look at your business. In our earlier example of something that could be a unique aspect of a business, we used a furniture store that retails only furniture made with sustainable materials. In every decade, and especially in 2019, environmental concerns influence how many customers choose where to take their business. If your business utilizes a program that is environmentally friendly, let people know.

For a real world example, take a look at the branding efforts of local San Marcos restaurant Gumby’s Pizza. As a local business, part of Gumby’s branding positioning is as a company with a vested interest in community issues. This type of branding positioning has already started rewarding Gumby’s with increased interaction on social media. Look at the post below from Earth Day in April, 2019:

The above post was not monetarily boosted or sponsored, yet it received significantly more interaction from followers than any other post Gumby’s made in April:

The difference between the interaction seen on the Earth Day post and the previous posts in April is significant. In branding themselves as a business invested in community improvement, Gumby’s attracts followers to whom this idea appeals. The more followers interact with a post, the more likely their connections will notice and could become followers and potentially customers as well.

Social media is only one of many mediums that can be used for brand positioning. It’s what you choose to brand that matters. For Gumby’s, a post about their dedication to becoming a more environmentally friendly business helped support their brand positioning. Now, for those pizza lovers who also feel strongly about environmental issues, Gumby’s will likely be their choice over other eateries that do not brand using the same ideal.

Research Your Competition

When determining what makes your company unique, take some time to research what your successful business competitors are doing. By looking into competitors’ strategies, you can learn from other businesses’ successes and failures.

Insight into what has and hasn’t worked for other businesses can also give you an idea of what your target audience is already thinking about. There are a few different ways to get this information:

• Keyword Research—Spend some time researching relevant keywords. There are a variety of programs online, such as Google Trends, that can help with this. If you have an SEO team working with your business, they can help you with professional keyword research strategies and software. Find what terms users are searching for related to your business. The more popular the keywords, the more competition there will be.
• Forums & Social Media—Find out what other businesses customers are talking about online. If you have social media accounts for your company, pay attention to businesses that your followers interact with besides yours.
• Real World Feedback—Find out what your existing customers have to say. What businesses do they prefer to use over others, and how are those businesses branding?

Let’s take a look at an example. Consider an HVAC contractor trying to find a way to uniquely brand themselves amongst their competitors. See below how they can begin researching their competitors.

• Keyword research for an HVAC contractor could involve searching for keywords involving your service, such as “New Air Conditioning” or “Thermostats” and more. Keywords can be very general or very specific (Need help understanding keywords? Read our article about Keyword Research for Beginners).
• Forum and social media research for an HVAC contractor might include visiting your Facebook or Twitter page and finding brands that are followed by your target audience. If you work with Nest and notice a lot of your audience following their brand, consider if branding yourself as a specialist in learning thermostats is an option.
• Real world feedback can be gained in several ways for HVAC contractors and other businesses. One option is to ask customers during in-person interactions. If you utilize an email capture strategy, you can also send out a survey to have customers fill out.

Now you’ve found your target audience, and identified some ideas for your company’s brand positioning, where do you go from here?

Determine and Experiment with Your Branding Strategy

You know your audience. You know what brand image you want to present to them. Now you need a way to present and manage that image successfully. There are many ways to do this, and what works for one business may not necessarily work for another, so your strategy will need to involve some experimentation. Here are some great places to start:

1. Create a Positioning Statement—A positioning statement is a declaration meant exclusively for your company’s internal use. Unlike a tagline (often used for marketing purposes), this statement specifies in a sentence or two what your company’s unique value to your customers is². Develop a statement that communicates this intent and follow it in your operations.
2. Manage Brand Perception—Managing customer perceptions of your brand is important during face-to-face and online interactions. Ensure that your staff understand the image you want to present and always adhere to it in their customer interactions. For management online, make sure to respond to as many reviews and comments on your business as possible. A quick “We’re happy you enjoyed our service!” on a 5 star Google review, or taking a second to like customer comments on your Facebook page lets you keep up with how your customers are perceiving your brand. If the reactions you’re getting aren’t in line with your branding, you may need to revise your current strategy.
3. Build a Physical Presence—There are several methods for building your presence as a business through internal practices and participation in your community. See our next article for an in-depth look at how to build your brand through your business’s physical presence.

An important aspect to remember when working with your branding strategy is that adjustment is okay. By taking steps to give your business a unique brand position, you are going where no business has gone before. You cannot develop a unique brand by copying another company’s strategy. As such, revision may be necessary from time to time. Listen seriously to your customer feedback. When something works, take note, and when it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to try something new.

Wrap-Up

Here we’ve looked at how to find your audience by determining your company’s core offerings, how they meet customer needs, and how branding influences customer loyalty. In addition, we’ve covered how to communicate your branding to your audience by creating an image that’s unique among your competitors, researching your business competition, and experimenting with your strategy.

The most important thing to remember throughout your branding process is what the goal of your company is. How is your company going to change the experience of your customers in a way no other company can? As long as you adhere to this ideal, you’ll be on your way to successfully branding your business.

Sometimes Quickbooks Database Manager won’t load when it is supposed to. There are many fixes for this but the easiest is just to update it to the latest version. This article explains how to do that. If you search for help on this issue it is very difficult to find. So here it is, plain and simple.

How to Update Quickbooks Database Manager to the Latest Version 

1) Go to the following URL https://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/ProductUpdates.aspx

2) Select your Quickbooks product by clicking on [Change] next to the version that is preselected.

3) Scroll down to where the Update icon is and click on it. This will download the latest Quickbooks update for your device.

4) Run the update. After the update is finished, reboot if necessary. 

5) Open Quickbooks Database Manager. It’s now updated to the latest version.

About Quickbooks and tekRESCUE

We work with Quickbooks all the time at tekRESCUE and it’s not always the easiest software to deal with. It has been the #1 accounting software for so long and as a result it’s bloated and buggy and just all around messy. tekRESCUE has become an expert in helping companies solve their Quickbooks issues. Call us if you need help with Quickbooks issues such as backups, network connectivity, Multi-user mode, and making it work with other software.

Since the beginning of the era of personal computers, there has been the debate of whether it’s better to buy your PC or build one. When it comes to convenience, obviously a prebuilt will win out. But when it comes to getting the best bang for your buck, it’s always best to build your own. For some, this means spending the least amount possible on a barebones machine. For others, it means getting impressive specifications at a great price.

1.) What is the purpose of your machine?

What you plan on doing with your computer will decide what quality of parts must be used, where corners can be cut, and if you should go with a prebuilt computer. What’s the daily usage going to consist of? Is your machine going to be used to browse Facebook, check the news, and occasionally edit Microsoft Office documents? Or are you a hardcore gamer that edits animated video with resource intensive programs? If you only need the bare minimum, Newegg has very affordable desktop computers that, when paired with a Chromebook for mobile usage, would suit basic needs. But even if you do not need a lot of resources to accomplish your daily tasks, it can still be cheaper to build your own machine.

2.) Parts You Will Need to Build a PC

• CPU(Central Processing Unit)
• RAM
• Motherboard
• Power Supply
• Computer Tower(the exterior case)
• Liquid Cooling(high-end) or Cooling Fans
• Network Card
• Storage (SSD or Hard Drives)
• Surge Protector
• USB Card
• Operating System
• Sound Card
• Peripheral Equipment(speakers, mouse, keyboard, monitor)
• Optional Equipment(printers, webcam, modem, external HDD)
• Graphics Processing Unit(for those who need something better than the integrated card that comes with some CPUs/APUs)

3.) What Parts are Best for you?

If you’re going to have an intensive workload for your computer, then it is recommended to have some basic specs to deal with the workload. Hard drives should either be solid state drives, or have 7200 RPM if you need more than a basic machine. A 5400 RPM will be more affordable. RAM should be DDR3, and 4-8 GBs will normally be more than enough. GPUs that are 1GB+ are recommended for gamers, graphic designers, programmers, or those who need to work fast or can pay a premium for better specifications. GPU benchmarks can be used to decide the most powerful cards for the best price. If you don’t want to pay for a GPU, make sure your CPU has an integrated card. CPU benchmarks can be used to decide on the best bang for your buck. Search for deals on Newegg, Fry’s Weekly Deals, and Slickdeals.

4.) Assembling your computer

There are several steps for assembling a computer. You can look for outside professional help, or use this popular online tutorial.

If you have any problems, Google is your best friend. The next step? Enjoy your machine! With a self-built machine you can also upgrade as you need, making sure it never becomes an obsolete computer. Download any antivirus software you may need when you first get it online to prevent any infections from taking hold.

Google Drive is a cloud-based storage gem, and an online office suite, and the epicenter where other Google services converge. It is loved for its simplicity and ease of use. However, it also contains tremendous power. With the right combination of tools and settings, it can become a lean, mean, productivity monster; one which saves you time and satisfies your specific needs.

1. Google Drive Offline

Google Drive allows you to view and edit your documents without internet access. It requires Google’s Chrome browser. But after installing the official Drive app, you access the drive online and click the “More” option in the left-hand menu, and select “Offline.” Clicking the button enables offline access from your computer.

2. A GOOGLE Drive on your HARD Drive

In order to access, on your local machine, any files stored in a Google Drive account and easily drag and drop these files between the Drive and your computer, you can enable Drive-to-PC syncing. To achieve this, you obtain the Google Drive sync download, and after installing it, it will allow you to select a local folder which will serve as a two-way sync location between the Drive and the computer.

3. Use Gmail to send large files from Google Drive

You can send files as large as 15GB with the help of Gmail, by inserting the file from your Google Drive. Simply click the Google Drive icon at the bottom of the email window and browse for the file. Gmail also allows you to convert a file into a Google Doc, Sheet, Slide, or Microsoft Office files. This allows you to work easily and efficiently, while offering the same convenience to external parties.

4. Insert Images

During the edition of a Google Docs document, you can drag an image from your computer into the document. You can then move or resize it as your needs require.

5. History Revision

To look back at a detailed list of edits made to any Google Docs document and, if you so wish, revert back to an older version of the file, you can open Docs’ Revision History feature. It can be accessed by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Shift-G.

6. Order & Organization

Google Drive allows you to create folders and nested folders; but it also allows you to color-code them for better organization. Right-click on a folder in the Drive and click on the “Change color” option.

7. Shortcuts To Get There Faster

You can navigate faster through your Google Drive by using a series of shortcuts that can be viewed by pressing “Shift” and “?” simultaneously. Some of the essential shortcuts include: share selected item: . (dot); hide or show the activity pane: i; hide or show the details pane: d; create new Doc: Shift + t; create new Presentation: Shift + p; create new Spreadsheet: Shift + s; and create new Folder: Shift + f.

8. Share The Love

Google Drive allows you to share your content and invite others to work on a document along with you. This will permit them to make edits and comments, as well as permit you to email a document or file directly from Docs in whatever format you would like. Both of these options can be accessed with a right-click on any file in Google Drive or in the File menu, while the document is being edited.

9. Make Documents Searchable

A very useful feature of Google Drive is its capability to scan certain file types, such as images or PDFs, for text. The feature is called Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and makes the files searchable as well.

10. Easier Saving

An easier way to save Web-based content to your Google Drive account, is by way of a free Chrome extension called Save to Google Drive. It adds right-click “Save to Drive” commands to the browser in order to allow you to download a diversity of documents and file types, straight into Google Drive.

So effective is it at organizing and optimizing one’s school or work life, that soon, upon searching for the meaning of efficiency in a dictionary, the resulting meaning will be: “Google Drive”.

With Windows 10 coming out at the end of the month, we decided we’d take a few minutes to discuss whether or not your computer can handle it. Current users of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 are eligible for a free upgrade to Microsoft’s latest operating system. Anyone running an older version Windows will have to purchase a license. But before you make the switch, it’s important to look at your computers technical specifications to ensure the new OS will run smoothly on your machine.

What Your System Needs

If you’re running windows 8 or 8.1, we have good news: your machine should be good to go! And if your computer runs Windows 7, there’s a good chance it can handle 10 as well. However, you’ll need to look up the following information:

• Processor: 1GHz or faster
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (for 32-bit) or 2 gigabytes (for 64-bit)

How to Check Your Specs

If you aren’t sure about this info, here’s an easy way to check:

1. Open your computer’s control panel (via the Start Menu, you may want to type “Control Panel” in the search to avoid hunting for it)
2. Type “System” in the Control Panel search bar and click the Green “System” link that pops up in the results (should be the first item in the list)
3. Look for a panel that looks similar to this:

If the Processor is greater than 1GHz, and you have enough ram based on your system type (32-bit or 64bit), congratulations! You shouldn’t have any issues upgrading.

How to Upgrade

In order to reserve your free copy of the upgrade, you should see a little white Microsoft icon in the taskbar (near the clock) that says “Get Windows 10” when you hover over it. If you double click it, you can quickly reserve your copy (if you haven’t already), which should be available to download around the end of July.

Now, just because your system is capable of handling the newest iteration of Windows, it doesn’t mean everything is guaranteed to go off without a hitch. Be sure you backup all of your data in case something goes awry during the upgrade process. If you need help with backing up your machine, or you want to let a pro upgrade your computer to avoid any potential hassles, give tekRESCUE a call! We’d be happy to get your computer upgraded to the newest version so you don’t have to worry about any problems.

This happened to me! Not very fun. I suggest just not using iMessage at all but it’s OK if you still want to.

Randy

https://www.yahoo.com/www/tech/not-receiving-all-of-your-imessages-heres-how-to-fix-85735759199.html

So much to learn. Hope this helps

Randy

http://www.redmondpie.com/50-siri-voice-commands-to-help-you-get-the-most-from-apples-voice-assistant-video/

http://feedly.com/k/19lJcEx

Really good article about batteries on smartphones.

Randy

http://feedly.com/k/15RccmC

From Lifehacker: How to Use Multiple Dropbox Accounts on One Computer – https://lifehacker.com/5971204/run-multiple-dropbox-accounts-on-one-computer

So you’ve installed Mountain Lion. It won’t take you long to realize that Java is not installed or enabled by default. Since the world practically runs on Java you are going to need it. There isn’t an obvious way to install or enable Java so here’s a little tutorial to help you out. In this post I am not going to even begin to address why in the world somebody at Apple thought it would be good to disable Java by default. Something about a “security risk” I’m sure….

Anyway, here’s the tutorial:

1) Use spotlight to search for and open “Java Preferences.”

2) The system will probably say “There is no Java to configure. Would you like to download the latest version now?” or something similar to that. Click Yes.

3) Once that is done, make sure Java is enabled like in the screenshot below. Reload your browser and you’re done!