That pop up just won't leave. It’s been hounding you to upgrade your software and clearly, it has zero intention of giving you a moment's rest. That software wants to be upgraded and it wants it now.
With a grudging sigh, you click and let it upgrade in the background. Maybe now it will let you get some work done. Except instead of grabbing a competitive advantage by having the latest and greatest edition, you quickly discover it's given you the exact opposite. Your essential hardware no longer works, you've got errors all over the place, and that application no longer runs at all.
Your urgent upgrade was more of an instant downgrade.

Before you click that nagging upgrade button, consider the following:

Is the Upgrade Going to Work With Your Current Systems?
If your project management software no longer talks to your scheduling software, you've got a problem.  It's reasonable to expect the upgrade to have gone through robust testing and bug fixes, but even the mega corporations are caught out in an instant.

Is Your Current Solution Still an Option?
Developers cease support of older software versions after a certain date. In these cases, continuing to use an outdated version leaves your system vulnerable, without patches and security updates.  If your software is at the end of its cycle, you'll need to upgrade regardless.  This, however, gives you the perfect opportunity to revise your selection and make some experienced decisions - upgrade or replace.

Will This Upgrade Benefit Your Business?
Some upgrades are purely cosmetic. They look great and the developers pitch them as the latest and greatest, but without additional innovation on offer, you're better to wait.
On the other hand, if the upgrade is going to have a positive effect on productivity, efficiency or customer satisfaction, definitely put it on your to-do list. Hold off for just a few moments though, while your IT technicians research any conflicts that might arise.

Being an early adopter isn't always the best idea. Sometimes you need to let your other software packages catch up, and compatibility issues will always be relevant. It's more important than ever before to take your time and research the upgrade to see how others have fared - before things come crashing down.
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Call us at 715-255-0325 for a quick compatibility check before you click!
Speaking of upgrades, here are….

With Office 365, it seems common sense has finally prevailed, giving customers the changes they actually want. It’s still Office, and you will still know exactly how to work it, but you’ll get so much more done.

1. The Whole Mac/Windows Drama Is Over
Office 365 brings with it a stack of benefits, but perhaps the most relieving is the in-built file compatibility across all platforms. No more converting (or corrupting) files back and forth, productivity black holes have essentially been eliminated.

2. It’s Always Ready to Go
Microsoft is so confident in their cloud-based software and data storage; they’re giving a 99.9% uptime guarantee. Work online, offline or mobile – the choice is yours.

3. Security Is Built In
A large part of Microsoft’s uptime certainty comes from their extremely robust security protocols. Office 365 offers enterprise-grade admin controls at your end, as well as government-grade security at their end for Office 365 Business customers.

4. Generous Data Allowances
Each user gets 1TB of cloud space for file storage, which can be shared at folder or file level.

5. Work Anywhere, Anytime
Previously, staff needed to establish a VPN or manage security concerns which made working off-site difficult and cumbersome. Office 365 has solved that problem and working from anywhere is now easy.

6. Integrated Across Devices
Calendar, email and contacts are all synced and updated across multiple devices: Laptop, desktop & mobile.

7. Upgrades for No Upfront Costs
Once upon a time, updating your Office version meant paying a small fortune and half a day downtime. Office 365 changes that, with no upfront cost or installation delay. You get each new version as they are released for as long as your subscription is current.
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Ready to make the switch to Office 365? Give us a call today!

Most of us know a fair amount about computers, even kids are joining circuits and coding programs in schools - but that does that make everyone an IT expert? It’s fair to say almost all workplaces have that employee who can finesse the printer or use shortcuts nobody else knows about. They have skills, absolutely, but they often know just enough to be dangerous to your business.

Training and Skill Set
Hobby IT skills are learned on home computers which are very different to a professional business setup. When something goes wrong on a home computer, there’s no drastic impact if parts need to be replaced, data is lost or it stays down for a week or two. In a business setting, every problem costs time and money, usually creating a domino effect through the entire network. Would you gamble the success of your business with a non-professional who did a quick Google? It’s unlikely you’d let someone be your lawyer purely because they can deliver a stubborn argument, nor would you let someone perform surgery just because it looked easy on TV. Businesses have unique, specialist IT needs that go beyond amateur computer skills and there’s always going to be more at stake.

Designing and implementing a custom backup plan for your business is a particularly interesting area. While most home users skip this part entirely, an IT professional has seen (and recovered) all manner of situations and will use that knowledge to ensure that if the worst happens, your business is covered. This could mean anything from having a complete copy of your drive stored securely in the cloud or drilling down to backup only the most important data. An IT expert is equipped to help you identify the value in each piece of data and implement a plan so robust that if your business is ever hit by disaster or breach, downtime is minimal - along with losses.

Experience Counts
If a disaster ever does occur, like fire, flood or theft, would an amateur know what to do? Who to call? These situations are so charged with tension and panic that making the wrong moves can lead to more damage. A professional helps design continuity/disaster plans, which map out exactly what should happen, who should do it and in what order. It takes out the guesswork and minimizes downtime. Perhaps more importantly, the expertly written disaster plan will include a complete risk analysis so that you know in advance where to strengthen your protection. It also includes a business analysis so you know which systems are dependent so you can stop the domino effect, plus know the legal/contractual impacts, financial impacts and so on.
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Regulatory Compliance
Your IT professional will also help ensure your business is meeting any regulatory requirements. Many businesses are subject to strict data rules set by government bodies, such as FISMA and HIPAA. The regulations change often and demand increasingly more attention to data security, with hefty penalties for businesses that fall behind. Professionals are constantly in the loop around upcoming revisions and how best to comply with little to no disruption to your daily business. Part of ensuring your business is safe means staying on top of software updates and patching multiple computers at the same time.
The best option is to run the updates before employees arrive for the day, and since the process can take a few hours and be quite fiddly, it’s generally not something amateurs will prioritize. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen with recent cyber-attacks, delaying a security update by even a few days can lead to disaster. Engaging an IT professional is a cost-effective solution that keeps your business running, growing and earning.
 
Let the professionals manage your tech the right way by calling us at 715-255-0325.

It’s a decision that comes with equal doses of excitement and angst: getting a new computer! Unlike running out to the shops for a new toaster, choosing the right computer comes with so many questions, most of which are usually asked in some sort of alien language. Helpful sales people at BigBox Mart offer RAM as if it were a side of fries, they measure CPU speed in ‘gigahertz’ and ‘cores’, and list features that mean nothing around what you actually want to do.

That’s not what you’ll find here. At Yellowstone Computing, we chat with you about how you use your current computer, what kind of performance you expect from a new one, and how your needs might be changing. Looking for a laptop to replace a desktop? If you never take it from your desk, is a laptop the best way to go? Heading to college? Then maybe your laptop should be super light. We work with you to find the right tool for the job. Depending on your needs, we may even have exactly what you want on the shelf.

Then Comes the Real Fun.
Once you’ve got that new machine home and out of the box, you’ve inhaled that new tech smell and taken plenty of selfies to remember the moment forever, the anxiety can come flying back in. Which cord goes where? It doesn’t work like your old one! Why is it doing that?! How do I put programs back on? Does it come with security already loaded?  If you’ve had your old computer for a few years, you know you’re in for a bit of inconvenience, no matter how shiny the replacement is. We can assist you through this transition period and make it all so much easier by:

Moving Your Old Files for You.
One thing most people forget during their new computer bliss-phase is how to get information off your old computer and onto your new one. If your old computer is too broken to start, this can be a real problem. Our technicians can transfer all your files to the new computer, turn your old hard drive into an external drive for, or copy the data onto a USB stick. You’ll be able to pick out the files you need and continue what you were doing. If you’d prefer, we can often install the old hard drive inside your new desktop so it’s always there and you have extra storage as a bonus.

Set Up Your Email.
It’s no secret, setting up email can cause headaches! Getting the settings perfect can sometimes be more error than success. The most common problem we see is email that can receive, but not send. It’s a frustrating problem, especially when you’re sending important emails. We can set your email up successfully and ensure it both sends and receives, as well as add in any additional email accounts you’d like to manage from the same app.

Save Your Favorites.
All those bookmarks you’ve made and carefully sorted (or not) are important. You may even have different collections of favorites in different browsers and the last thing you want to do is go find those pages again. We can retrieve your old favorites and put them onto your new computer, making your browser experience look and feel exactly as it did before, only faster.

Set Up Your Software.
Quite often these days, software doesn’t come on a CD. While that’s forward thinking and reducing waste, don’t you miss having a disk you could install from and the license key taped to the back? We sure do! Even so, we can help you re-download your programs and set up the licenses good as new. We also go one step beyond and make sure the new software is optimized, updated and working well. While we’re doing that, we make sure your anti-virus is up-to-date and you’re as secure as possible against threats.

Delivery & Setup.
Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing what cord goes where or getting the right adapter, but sometimes new devices can present software problems. Printers, webcams, game controllers, etc. all have unique drivers that need to be installed before they can work properly. Windows 10 is great at picking most of these up automatically, but if they’re not playing nice or your new computer is suddenly missing the correct plug, we can help get you moving again. With personal delivery and setup, we ensure all your devices are playing nicely together, so you can sit back and relax, while we get everything working!
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Skip the fuss, come to us! We make getting a new computer easy! Call us today at 715-255-0325.

Most homes are trying to reduce power costs by turning off lights and appliances, but do the same rules apply to computers? After all, it requires more than flicking a switch on your way out the door. Some people believe you should shut down after every use to save wear and tear, others believe you should never shut down your computer - ever. Others simply want to make sure the pages and apps they left open are still there waiting for them. So, who’s right and what are they really doing?

Back when computers were clunky behemoths that took a long time to start, you’d go nuts at the person who shut it down when it was your turn. If you have an older computer, maybe you still do.  Modern computers actually have two options for their downtime: Shut down or sleep.

When it shuts down, the system goes through and closes any open programs (often prompting you to save first), then gradually cuts power to all components. It’s a methodical process that seems quite fast to us but is actually made of 100+ intentionally ordered steps. If there’s a sudden blackout or you hold the power button until it turns off, it means the steps aren’t followed and damage is possible. The second option is to put your computer to sleep. This can be triggered by an automated timeout or a user click. Your system uses a special type of memory called RAM to hold all your running programs exactly as you left them but use minimal power. The hard drive stops spinning, the graphics card lets the screen go black, and even the system fan slows to become almost silent. When you wake it by moving the mouse or pressing a key, it ‘wakes’ again almost instantly.

Reasons to Shut Down
A switched off computer isn’t drawing power which is a tick for the environment. But shutting down is about more than saving power. It can sometimes give improved stability over a machine that’s been running for days/weeks. This is because every time you shut down, you give your computer a chance to clear out all temporary junk files it’s been carrying in memory. It also triggers various health checks on startup that may otherwise be missed, important routines like checking for updates or scanning for viruses. It’s certainly more convenient to spend an extra minute booting up than lose everything to a cyber-attack. For older computers or those under heavy strain like gaming or video editing, shutting down also provides a necessary chance for the components to cool down.

Reasons to Sleep
Speed is the big selling point here. You can literally sit down and start working where you left off without the delays of bootup, finding your program, opening your saved files, scrolling down... it’s all right there and ready. You can even tell it how long to wait before putting itself into sleep mode, just in case you get called away and forget. Windows updates still run in the background, so that’s okay, but it’s important to note that your computer might get stuck waiting for a reboot that never comes.  Those pending updates may stack up, ineffective until it either forces a reboot or becomes unstable enough that you give in to a restart.

The Best Method Is….
Since the whole point of having a computer is that it’s ready to work when you are, we recommend shutting down at night when it’s definitely not in use but using sleep mode during the day. Updates will get all the rebooting they need, memory is refreshed for the new day, and you’ll get the best of both worlds - speed and stability.
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We can help your computer boot faster, give us a call at 715-255-0325.