I am horrified everyday I walk through a Starbucks or Panera’s and see a laptop unattended. Sure you will be back in just a minute. Just going to the bathroom. Going to refill that cup of coffee. That is when many laptops are stolen. 

Insurance companies estimate as high as 600,000 laptops are stolen every year.
Stolen laptops are a bigger cost burden to businesses than computer viruses. — National Hi-Tech Crime Unit, 2004

I could spew off a list of staggering statistics. Bottom line, secure your laptop. Besides the cost of replacing them, you have sensitive company, personal and client data on it. In the wrong hands it could be a nightmare professionally and legally.

  For under $35, a laptop cable lock will protect your investment with a cut-resistant, galvanized steel cable to attach your notebook computer to any secure object. Simply loop the lock around a desk or chair, then insert into your notebook’s lock slot and set the combination.
While no security measure beats supervision, this should prevent most possible theft attempts and avoid a lot of hassle that will ensue from a stolen laptop.

Clients often ask me, how do I avoid having to double delete my emails? Meaning if you delete from your Blackberry, you have to go back to your Outlook or  If you are not on a BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server) at work, there is a better way. We figured out how to delete on the blackberry and the office at the same time!  While in the email or message application   While in the email or message application 

1. Go to “options” 

2. “email reconciliation” 

3. “change” 

4. delete on “prompt” 

5. And be sure to save
      
     When deleting a message the question appears “on mailbox and handheld.”  This should solve the issue of double deletion and ultimately save time.  

I often get calls and emails from clients telling me something is “glitchy” with their cell phone, Blackberry or Mobile device. It’s often a key not working or there is a weird line on the screen or something more of a nuisance than a hinder, though they do lock up from time to time. 

I remind folks, these devices are like small computers. When your PC does something odd or freezes up, what do you do? Exactly, RESET. Or I like to say soft reset for your mobile device. While many devices have a mechanism to soft reset, the easiest thing you can do across the board, no matter what manufacturer or platform is take the battery out. Wait about 15 seconds ( longer for PDA phones) and put the battery back in and turn it on.  This should fix most minor issues. 

Wireless Warrior  

One of the biggest inquiries I get from Blackberry users is “how can I get more battery life out of my Blackberry?”

While you can buy an extra battery or buy an extended life battery, its an additional cost and it enlarges the device if you use the extended life battery.A quick and simple thing you can do is to change the brightness of the screen. This can add 50% or more Blackberry time before having to recharge.

On most Blackberry’s, go to

1. Options

2. Settings

3. Screen keyboard

4. Scroll down to Backlight Brightness

5. Lower brightness level to preference

6. SAVE and close