November 2005

Above: Scott "Spike" Radway of Team Spike Consulting in Richmond Heights says "people usually operate on the assumption that their machines won't fail." Photo by Toby Shingleton.

The Upgrade... and other stories of tears and technology
by Lori Valyko Weber

Roy Harry, president of Media II, thought he was having a bad day last February when his design software wasn't giving him the exact graphic effect that he wanted. In hindsight, that moment was the brightest spot for the next two months at this Willoughby Hills marketing communications agency.

A simple decision to upgrade software nudged the first domino, setting in motion a trail that racked up $35,000 in new equipment.

Early in the planning process, Harry settled on Adobe's new Creative Suite graphics and design tools. But his operating system wouldn't support it. So he upgraded his operating system to Mac OS X. This simple response, however, necessitated upgrading all of his other programs to run on the new system.

Then he needed to upgrade his writing and design teams' programs to be compatible with his new software. Oh, and those upgrades meant the firm's server needed updating.

Cha-ching.

He considered a multi-martini lunch the next day, but instead spent his time typing in all the registration codes, e-mailing the manufacturers and troubleshooting various applications.
All these new programs drained his computer's processor, so his workstation crashed. He bit the bullet and bought a new computer.
His new iMac, a blazing paragon of modernity, came with USB ports, not the serial ports that his printer and scanner required. In other words, his new Macintosh couldn't talk with his other equipment. What to do? He grabbed his American Express card and raced to MicroCenter to buy a new printer with compatible USB ports.
Thankfully, after installing, registering and troubleshooting, he had a new computer system with compatible software. He hired both Mac and PC technicians to troubleshoot each workstation, the server, the backup system and a new wireless system.

The result? His staff is happy, his clients are happy and he is more productive than ever.

Every good thing

Harry's story, though amusing, is typical of what business people who depend on technology go through. Like Harry, most prefer to handle the headaches that go with upgrades, service help desks and compatibility issues rather than think about life without technology.
Shirley Wolfe, owner of Jaye Wolfe Enterprises in Mentor, said that for all the hassles of technology, she's far more productive because of it. Software organization tools such as Maximizer help ensure that her clients' direct mail and e-mail marketing projects are sent on schedule. And Wolfe is vigilant against problems that could cause a disaster.

"I don't use Outlook, which I've heard can admit bugs into a system," she said. "Also, I never open an attachment unless I know who it's from. And I rely on MacAfee to catch viruses. I'm very cautious and like to play it safe, but at the same time, I need every good thing technology can do for me."

Many computer technicians agree that prevention is the best way to avert common office technology headaches. Steve Lamb is an infrastructure technician for Ohio Savings Bank in downtown Cleveland.

"When you buy any software, read the system requirements," Lamb said. "It seems like a little thing. It's amazing how many times an intended machine won't support the specifications for a software package."

Equipped with the latest hardware and software, computer users often get tricked into thinking they can easily produce award-winning materials with a few simple keystrokes. Not so, say area computer technicians.

"Know your products, be sure to maintain them, back them up and keep them virus free," said Marc Grossman, owner of PC On-Site Services in Cleveland Heights. "And realize that the larger your company is, potentially bigger catastrophes are in store when things go bump in the night. Train your employees to respect their system. Without it, their jobs become difficult."

Employee failure

Grossman said he's seen places where a few unmotivated employees brought havoc on an entire company simply by not ensuring their systems were in good working order.

"The biggest technology headache I know of doesn't concern the machines," Grossman said. "It's the employees. So many times I've been called into a business after disaster strikes only to find out that the employee who'd been entrusted to do the backups, didn't. Or, if a company is using a tape system, the employee may hear grinding noises coming from the machine and just not tell anyone."

Scott "Spike" Radway of Team Spike Consulting has been fixing other people's Macintosh systems for 15 years. The Richmond Heights consultant said that people assume their machines won't fail, which is exactly the kind of thinking that precedes disaster.

"It's the old aphorism, 'you can pay now or you can pay later,'" Radway said. "The opportunity costs that are lost when a system crashes can be enormous, so it's usually best to pay less money up front by performing backups, rather than lose all kinds of time and data, and potentially your clients, by scrambling to restore information that may be permanently gone."

Radway suggests that once a backup plan is established, companies find a place to store their data away from their offices. "Think of businesses hit by Katrina," he said. "If they stored their backups in their offices that were destroyed, they lost their backups along with their primary files."

Speaking of Mother Nature, electrical storms can be a threat to computers, especially in northeast Ohio during the spring. A simple way users can protect their systems is to have adequate surge protection, according to Jane McClenahan, owner of Macintosh Consulting and Sales in North Royalton. "I'm always surprised at how people will be willing to spend thousands of dollars on their computers but not pay much attention to keeping them safe from power surges," she said. "Even all those little power bumps where electricity flickers for a few seconds can be hard on a computer."

Another easy way to alleviate technology-induced stress is to keep software and accompanying materials in one safe location. For example, if a business has ten computers, it should have ten packets of computer supplies. Each packet should be clearly labeled and contain all the software, cords and manuals that go with each machine.

"Employers could save a lot of time and money if they just kept all their computer stuff in one place," Grossman said. "And often, it's a good idea to keep that place locked. These items have a tendency of walking away and getting lost. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a company to fix someone's PC, and no one knows where the original software is. We'll spend hours tracking materials down."

Another upgrade?

Many office computer users roll their eyes when they're told, again, that it's time to upgrade. "Users just want to do their jobs, not worry about the abilities of their computers," Lamb said. "But because new products are being continually developed and require the latest operating systems, perfectly functional software gets outdated, often faster than users would like.

"The entire industry is designed to do this. Because they have the latest whiz-bang machines, software makers write programs that will work on their machines. They don't care about old technology."

So what should users do with a three- or four-year-old system? Don't put money into it, the technicians say. It's more efficient to purchase a new machine, reinstall programs, register them, troubleshoot and move data. The process can be time consuming, which is why many offices hire a geek to handle it.

Harry's new computer system has been glitch-free for over six months now. His office is back to producing marketing and advertising materials. And it's with a smile that he complains about technology hassles.

"Compared to how ads used to be produced, I'll take today's technology," he said. "I may have to call geeks and deal with software compatibility problems, but I don't have to buy noxious rubber cement and thinner, or deal with clogged ink pens and cut fingers from the Exacto knife, or figure out where to store piles of cardboard keylines. Today, my original layout is also the finished art. When it's ready to go, I make an Acrobat .pdf and upload to my printer's FTP site. The printer takes my files and images them directly to the printing plate. No negatives, no assembly. That's the beauty of technology."

Lori Valyko Weber is a Hambden Township freelance writer.