Small-Business Technology

Here, I will be providing a collection of technology-related articles that will appeal to those of you who run a shop or other small business. Most of you will be the ones who will be deciding what information-technology equipment you purchase for your business and will also be ending up configuring and managing what you buy. So I have focused this site on the technology that you can effectively “own” and manage yourselves.

Articles Of Interest

• HomePlug powerline networks in the buusiness environment – An article which will give some guidance about implementing HomePlug powerline networking technology in your small business
• Moving your closed-circuit TV system to IP technology – Understanding IP-based video surveillance and how to go about upgrading your video-surveillance system to this technology.
• DLNA and UPnP AV in the business - An article outlining the relevance of UPnP AV / DLNA multimedia network setups in the business
• Using QR Codes to help promote your organisation – An article about how the QR code can come in handy with linking your offline promotion to the switched-on mobile generation of customers.
• Making Sure Your Small Business Is Ready for IPv6 Technology – How to make sure your small business’s network and Internet presence is ready for IPv6 and how to factor it in to your technology upgrade plans.

Wi-Fi hotspots and public-access computing

• Basic Information About Provisioning Public Wi-Fi Hotspot Service – What you need to know about providing a public-access Wi-Fi hotspot for your customers or guests.
• Implementing HP ePrint technology in a public-printer setup - The bonuses and pitfalls of implementing HP’s ePrint driver-free printing technology for a printing service for the benefit of your customers. This includes how to manage your printer if things get out of control.
• Should you set up a Wi-Fi hotspot in your cafe or bar? – An article that raises issues for cafe and bar owners to consider when thinking of that Wi-Fi hotspot idea. This is an invitation to cafe and bar owners to leave comments about this issue.

Printing in the Small Business

• Colour laser printers – Are they a luxury or not? – an article on considering and choosing colour laser printers for your business
• Considering printing on A3 in the office – Using the A3 or Ledger paper size in the small-business office and how to choose equipment that will print on this paper size
• Expecting your printer to be the home or small-business printing press? What does it need - An article about putting your home or small-business desktop printer in to service as your business’s only printing press. It also covers whether you should really outsource that job or use the printer.

Buyers’ Guides

• Buying A Printer For Your Small Business - How to go about buying that next printer for your small business

Product Reviews

Laptops

• Dell Vostro 3550 business laptop – A durable value-priced business laptop that excels on connectivity and expandability.
• Hewlett-Packard ProBook 4520s laptop – A business-class laptop computer that can work well as a “work-home” computer or a desktop replacement computer.
• Toshiba Portege R830 ultraportable – A series of 13″ ultraportable notebooks that can be worth considering for business owners and employees who do a lot of frequent air travel.
• Toshiba Tecra R850 business laptop - A series of Sandy-Bridge-powered business laptops which are optimised for durability in the “work-home” business environment.

Other Office Equipment

• Brother P-Touch PT-2730 Label Writer – A highly-functional thermal labeller that can be connected to your computer for merged labels or custom-designed labels.
• Brother QL-570 thermal label printer – A general purpose thermal printer for turning out labels or visitor badges
• Brother VM-100VP visitor management software – A software tool that works with the Brother QL-570 thermal printer to allow the reception desk of a small office to manage visitors who are at their premises.

General-Office Printers

Inkjet

• Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet 6500 Wireless – A printer-scanner-fax that can connect to a wired or wireless network and offers the essentials for a home office or small business
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, Duplex Print)
• Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet Pro 8500a Plus – The fax-enabled multifunction printer at the top of HP’s business-printer stable which provides an alternative to the colour laser printer in the general office
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, ePrint receive, ePrint apps, Full Duplex)
• Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet Pro 8600a Plus – HP’s latest fax-enabled multifunction printer that is a credible alternative to the economy colour laser printer in the general office.
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, ePrint receive, ePrint apps, Scan to Network Storage, Full Duplex)

Monochrome Laser

• HP LaserJet P1560 Series Personal Laser Printer- A small laser printer for use at reception desks and similar locations. This is the economy version of the HP LaserJet P1600 Series Laser Printer which has networking and double-side printing.
  (Direct Connect)
• Brother HL-2240D – A small laser printer suitable for reception desks or a private office printer for professionals. This is the economy version of the Brother HL-2250DN with Ethernet networking and the Brother HL-2270DW with Wi-Fi wireless networking.
  (Direct Connect, Duplex Print)
• Hewlett-Packard LaserJet M1210 Series – A network-enabled “all-in-one” laser-printer (or fax-machine replacement) for the small legal office or medical clinic
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax)
• Brother MFC-7360N - An entry-level network-enabled multifunction laser printer that is IPv6 ready. The economy version of the MFC-7460DN which would be a good document-printing workhorse for the legal office.
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax)
• HP LaserJet M1536dnf – A mid-range network-enabled monochrome multifunction laser printer that can print on both sides of the paper. This printer is also equipped for HP’s ePrint “email-to-print” service.
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, ePrint receive, Duplex Print)
• Dell 1130n - A small single-side-printing network-enabled monochrome laser printer that can be suitable for tasks like turning out invoices at the typical medical clinic.

Colour Laser

• Brother MFC-9840CDW – A colour laser multifunction printer that connects to a wireless network
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, T.37 Fax, Full Duplex)
• Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet CM1415fnw -  A wireless-network-enabled “all-in-onw” colour laser printer which is enabled for HP ePrint services
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, ePrint receive, ePrint apps)

Printers To Help Promote Your Business

A3-capable Inkjet

• Brother MFC-6490CW - One of the first few inkjet multifunction printers that can work with A3 paper
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax)
• Hewlett-Packard OfficeJet 7000 – An A3-capable wide-format inkjet printer for the small business, especially for printing promotional material or large spreadsheets
• Brother MFC-J6910DW – The second-generation A3-capable inkjet multifunction printer that can print both sides on A3 as well as simultaneously scan both sides of an A4 sheet of paper. Of course, this network-capable printer can scan, copy and fax A3 documents.

High-Throughput Colour Laser

• Brother HL-4150CDN – A dedicated colour laser printer that has the ability to become a short-run document workhorse especially with its ability to do double-sided printing with negligable time penalty.
  (Duplex Print)
• Brother MFC-9840CDW – A colour laser multifunction printer that connects to a wireless network
  (Print, Scan, Copy, Fax, T.37 Fax, Full Duplex)