That Computer Guy

I am, and as some of my clients will agree, a bit of a Google tragic – I do like their stuff.

In my defence though, I have to say that’s it’s purely for the simplicity and usefulness of their products. You have a problem, they solve it. You have a problem you didn’t know you had? Chances are they’ve got that covered too. And into this latter group falls a new feature in Google’s email client – Gmail.

Gmail has been a staple for me for a while now, and I’m hooked on that you can centralise all of your email domains to it. Being a mobile worker and yet still able to access any of my email addresses in one place is a golden goal!

What I’d overlooked until recently though was that users of some email software, and in particular Microsoft Outlook, would see my emails as coming from “myaddress@gmail.com on behalf of myemail@mydomain.net”. Now, given my rant on why you should get your business a domain name, this was not ideal, to say the least!

Today, the “Big G” ticks off that box by introducing the ability to set which outgoing mail server you want to use for your mail – your domain server or Google’s server. Here’s how the process looks without this feature:

Image: Google

And here’s how it works after enabling:

Image: Google

For mobile workers or those with multiple email addresses like myself, this means I can log on to my Gmail wherever I happen to be, and still know that emails to my clients appear as if they are from my domain address, regardless of the software they are using.

Here’s how to set up “Send mail from another address without on behalf of” in Gmail:

Firstly, you’ll need your email domain details. You can usually find these on your ISP’s website, in a welcome letter, or on your website’s control panel (cpanel or similar). Once you have these, log in to your Gmail account and look for “Settings” towards the top right hand corner.

Select the “Accounts” tab:

And then click on “Edit Info” on the right:

If the settings you have in the next screen are as you want, click “Next Step”

Hit the radio button for “Send through your ‘domainname’ SMTP servers…” and enter the details you gathered previously. Depending on your settings, you may need to tick the checkbox to always use a secure connection. Click “Save Changes” and you’re all done!

As this is my first tutorial here on the TCG blog, I’d be interested to know if you found it useful? Did you like it? Hate it? Please let me know in the comments – it’s only going to make the posts better!

Following the lead of a similar initiative during the pre-launch of Windows Vista, details of Windows 7′s Upgrade Option scheme have now been officially released. Essentially, the program is a free ticket upgrade for those buying an eligible PC or laptop between June 26, 2009 and January 31 2010 to upgrade from the version of Vista that comes pre-installed to an equivalent version of Windows 7.

Personally I had hoped that the scheme would have been announced on the same day as the release date was published. This would have allowed those of us in Australia a little more time to run to our local computer store and buy up, and still be able to claim the small business tax break 50% deduction in this year’s return. But as every cloud has a silver lining, the tax break now runs until December 31, meaning you can claim your deduction on next year’s return instead…

(By the way, if you haven’t heard about the ATO’s Small Business Tax Break package yet, give your accountant a call)

In other Windows 7 news – it looks like there’s a bit of a stoush brewing about the pricing here in Australia: US pricing has been announced at a rate that is some way below AU pricing, even allowing for (generous) currency changes.

Being as this is only likely to affect you if buying the software outright, and that the majority of purchasers will be exposed to it through a new PC or notebook anyway, I wouldn’t be holding my breath for Microsoft to change its decision. Still, bit of a nasty sideswipe though, given as it’s the same product.

Do you think you’ll be upgrading to Windows 7? Or are you over the hype already? Let me know in the comments…

Photo: Stephen Cherrin / Getty Images / Time.com

I doubt if Richard Branson really needs an introduction anywhere in the western world these days, particularly if there’s reference to entrepreneurs or business leaders nearby.

Since reading his autobiography, Losing My Virginity, a few years ago (another of my recommended reads), he became one of those people I’d love to ask over for dinner – mainly in part due to his leftfield approach to the traditional ideas of small business.

Fortunately for those of us without his phone number, he recently recorded an interview for the American Express Open Forum series, giving his insights on many topics across the subject of small business, entrepreneurialism and the state of the economy.

The interview has been broken into some thirty odd 1 – 3 minute videos – perfect for your coffee break! Although some of the questions asked are obviously aimed at the US market, they are well worth a watch:

Inside The Entreprenurial Mind: Richard Branson

I particularly liked “Why Small Is Better Than Big” and “Marketing In Tough Times” – some great advice. Which ones were your favourites? Let me know in the comments…

(Update: 07/08/09. Removed links to those last two videos as it seems OpenForum has pulled them from their site. Ah well…)

If you’re in the market for a new PC or notebook, either for your business or for home – don’t buy it yet. Windows 7 is coming.

Why should you care? Well, because I care about you (no, really, I do), and I don’t want you to end up tearing out your hair any more than you have to, just because the machine you end up with, has the train wreck known as Vista installed on it.

Yeah, I know, I’ve heard the arguments too – Vista is fine now, yada yada yada. And you know what the funny thing is? Until I got my hands on a pre release copy of its successor, I used to say the same thing.

So what is it about Windows 7 that made me change my mind about Vista? Well, get this: it just works. Yup, that’s it – finally I think Microsft may have cracked it.

Without getting all technical on you, let’s take for example that on my test notebook, Vista’s memory usage would idle just below the 1GB mark. On the same notebook and with the same applications installed, 7 comes back in around half that. For the non-techies among you, this is good – it means that your computer is not going to be running like a three legged dog through treacle.

My wife is now using that same notebook on a daily basis; she’s no technical wizard, but I’m yet to hear of any problems in jumping from Windows XP to Windows 7. I can’t say of recommending Vista.

Microsoft have announced that Windows 7 will be released worldwide to retail on October 22nd, pricing is yet to be confirmed.

A man called Seth Godin once wrote a very good book about a Purple Cow. If you haven’t read it, I’d highly recommend it. It’s about making your business remarkable. And with today’s marketplace becoming increasingly crowded, it’s an advantage you could find useful.

So, how do you get remarkable? Well, it’s a lot easier than you think; take this incident from last week…

Without a power supply for his Dell notebook, a client called asking if I could help. After a large number of calls to various outlets drawing blanks, I finally got this semi-result:

We’ve got generic ones in stock, but I need you to confirm the precise model number before I can sell you one. If it’s the wrong one and your notebook blows up, that’s not going to be good. The manufacturer, Targus, have a special phone number for just that information. It’s on their website.

Now by this time, I’m getting a bit edgy, and one of my eyelids is starting to twitch. But happily, the call to Targus made everything good in the world again:

Me: Hi, I’d like to know what model number power supply I need for an Inspiron 6400?”
Targus: “Sure, we recommend the APA64AU for that particular notebook.”

Providing a dedicated number that went straight through to a human being, and the answer I needed in under 10 seconds. In today’s world, that’s a Purple Cow.

Getting the Purple Cow to visit your paddock isn’t all that difficult; here’s 3 suggestions based on Seth’s ideas:

1. Have a look at your customer base – who are the most profitable? Target a premium service at these groups.
2. Think small. Take the ‘We’ & ‘Our’, turn it into something personal and connect with your customers.
3. Give away your services free to one client, if they can refer five more to you within a certain time frame.

Why not leave me a comment, and tell me how you made your business remarkable today…