It is time for another update on our RoboForm Password Management solution.  RoboForm has made some excellent changes in the past few months and now have a solution called RoboForm Everywhere.  RoboForm used to be a USB key based system.  Now, it is purely software that runs on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android device and more.  It securely synchronizes to online storage and can be accessed securely from all of these devices for $20/year.  It is an excellent solution for managing your passwords and saving you a lot of time as you do your work.  If you prefer to have this set up and working for you, give us a call at (913) 944-4980!

We have mentioned this device in the past and we are bringing it up again because we have had so many of our clients that love it and say they can’t live without it.  Our goal at Blue Gurus is to educate you, save you time and help you grow your business.  Think about how many times each month you type in a username and password on a web site to do your job.  Now think about how many times you couldn’t remember the password and had to go through a “Password Reminder” process just to get to the point where you could actually log in to do your work.  What would it be worth to you not to have this problem ever again?  Our clients usually say “a lot”.

RoboForm pays attention to the web sites you are going to and asks if you want to remember passwords whenever it sees a new username and password entered.  It stores these in a secure, encrypted location on your device and also sends the encrypted file to the servers at RoboForm.  That way, all of your other devices can get the password information as well!  This comes in handy when you stored a password at the office but need access to the password when you do a little extra work from home that evening.  There are also things called SafeNotes that cover anything besides a username and password combo.  For example, if you need serial numbers, account numbers, your rep’s name, PIN numbers and more to access a site, you can put everything in a SafeNote for easier access.  (I have found this helpful with 401K web sites)

If you are a little technical, you can figure all this out on your own.  Start here: https://online.roboform.com/

RoboForm is easy to learn and the feedback we get is always something like, “that is amazing.  I can’t believe you guys are the first people to tell us how to solve the problem of managing our passwords.  This is going to save us a lot of time.”

We hope you will do this on your own if you have the time or call us if you don’t.  Stop keeping your passwords on a piece of paper in a file cabinet that you can’t get to from home.  You shouldn’t be wasting time trying to remember passwords and typing in your user name on web sites many times every day!

At the recent Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple announced key new features in the upcoming iOS 5 operating system.  iOS 5 will be available in Fall 2011 for iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPads 1 and 2, and iPod Touch (third and fourth generations) devices.  Here is a list of the features we think are going to be the most valuable:

Over the Air Updates
This simple statement is actually a big deal.  In a world where just about everything is accessible via the internet, we still have to tether our favorite Apple device to a Mac or PC to sync with iTunes.  With iOS 5, we will all be able to download and install software updates over the air, requiring no connection to a computer.  We will also be able to backup and restore our devices if we leverage the new iCloud storage offering.

Enhanced Mail Application
The new Mail application has a TON of great new features.  Rich-text formatting like bold, underline and indentation.  Drag email addresses between the To, CC and Bcc fields.  Message flagging, and more.  I can’t tell you how many times I have tried to copy an email address to start a new message on my iPhone… it just doesn’t work.  Until this fall anyway.

FaceTime Will Work Over a 3G Connection
Mic and I use FaceTime on our iPhones or iPads to have our weekly status meeting.  Today, we are required to be connected to a WiFi hotspot for this to work.  In iOS 5, we will be able to use the 3G network provided by the phone carrier to have FaceTime conversations.  This will free us up to be just about anywhere and able to have our FaceTime call.

Revamped Notification System
Are you tired of all the little red circles with numbers in them telling you that their is a new message or notification with various applications on your device?  Combine that with the fact that a typical user has multiple pages of applications (meaning you have to scroll through pages to see the notification of new messages or updates).  The new notification system lives at the top of the screen as always available.  It will be a system wide notification system that collects notifications from all applications and keeps them in one nice, easy to access screen.  You simply use one finger and swipe down on the screen to access the Notification System.  Yay.

iMessages
iMessages is like a text messaging client on steroids.  It works over 3G and WiFi connections but only works between iOS users (other people with iPhones, iPads, etc.)  Kind of like those commercials that say, “If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone.”  iMessages lets you share texts, photos, videos and more and supports persistent conversations.  Persistent conversation means you can start your communication with someone on your iPhone as you are driving home and then switch over to your iPad to continue the conversation seamlessly.

Custom Tones for System Events (Finally)
iOS 5 will support custom tones (and vibration patterns) for new voicemails, new email, sent email, and calendar alerts. With custom alerts, you’ll know immediately what type of notification you are getting. If you have an office or home with more than one iPhone or iPad user, setting custom tones will make it easier to know which device is getting calls, messages, or has a calendar reminder popping up.

Location Aware Reminders
This could get really interesting as App Developers write software to leverage this feature.  The new Reminders app lets you store multiple lists of reminders, including dates for each event.  It can also assign location, as in “remind me to call my wife when I leave the convention today” which uses a geo-fence to see when you’re outside of an area to send that reminder. Reminders sync on iCal on the Mac with CalDAV, and on Windows with MS Exchange.

Updated Safari Web Browser
If you are on the web on your iPhone or iPad as much as we are, you will appreciate the simple update of tabbed web pages in Safari and faster switching between pages.

There are 200 new features in the upcoming iOS 5 release.  We think this is going to be a great update to an already amazing operating system.  Let us know what feature you are most excited to have when the update is available!

I was excited to be a guest columnist in the new and improved version of Thinking Bigger Business Magazine, a full color version of the magazine starting with the April 2011 edition.  I was asked by David Day who is the Executive Editor and Director of Product Development for Thinking Bigger Media to contribute this column after he found our blog post on the Sprint Overdrive.  Another success story showing the power of social media at work!

Here is a link to the article on the iThinkBigger.com web site, and what follows is the article text. The bottom line is that it makes sense for every small business to have some kind of mobile internet access for convenience, flexibility or in case of emergency.  We use the Sprint Overdrive and appreciate the freedom it provides as we go to companies all over Kansas City.  We don’t have to rely on their internet access because we have what we need right there with us!

Article follows…

One of the biggest technology trends is the migration of business systems to the Internet (aka “the cloud”) rather than running on local servers.

With more being done in the cloud, a reliable Internet connection is even more important today than it has been in the past. And, how businesses connect to the Internet is changing, from being tied by cables to the freedom and flexibility of wireless.

A wireless broadband solution for your business can provide a number of advantages, such as flexibility for mobile workers or providing a backup to your Internet connection at the office in case your primary Internet service stops working.

Wireless Solutions

Wireless broadband solutions are available from all major carriers, including Sprint, AT&T, Verizon and Clear. On average, the programs cost $60 per month with a two-year commitment. You can avoid the long-term commitment by purchasing the device outright for roughly $350. But if you are going to use the device, you might as well let the carrier pay for the equipment.

Wireless broadband devices come in many different shapes and sizes:

Internal // Built right into a new laptop.
Pros: Ultimate convenience
Cons: If you need to buy a new computer, you will need to buy another broadband access card. Also, you can’t share your Internet connection.

USB Dongle // A small USB device about as the size of a pack of gum that plugs into your computer.
Pros: Able to physically share between different computers as long as they have a USB port. Small size. No need for an extra power cable because it gets power from the USB port.
Cons: Can’t share your Internet connection at the same time, because it only works with the currently connected computer.

Wireless Hotspot // These flexible devices, such as the Sprint Overdrive, are about the size of a hockey puck.
Pros: Allows up to five devices to connect at the same time, just like the wireless Internet connection in your home. Some of the devices have access to the 4G networks for even faster download speeds.
Cons: Requires an external power source if you plan on using it longer than three hours.

Moving your business systems to the cloud environment allows you to access the software and information you need anytime/anywhere. So, doesn’t it make sense to have Internet connectivity that also provides access anytime/anywhere? A mobile, high-speed, wireless Internet device for $60 per month is an investment in productivity that most small businesses can afford.

Jason Terry is principal of Blue Gurus. Jason has been consulting in Kansas City since 1994. He founded Blue Gurus to help small businesses grow through the effective use of social media and technology. (913) 944-4980 // jason@bluegurus.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it // www.BlueGurus.com