Desktop Virtualization is starting to gain the attention of more and more businesses with its promise of simplifying IT management, strengthening IT security, and ultimately gaining new efficiencies and cost savings in the business. Read on to find out how.

There is growing interest in Desktop Virtualization with its promise of improved manageability, security and efficiency for the business. Simply put, Desktop Virtualization is new technology that separates the system software such as the operating system and applications from the underlying hardware.

Desktop virtualization allows the hardware, like a laptop or a server, to run multiple operating systems. Imagine having your Mac running Microsoft Windows and Office, or your Dell running OS X and GarageBand for example. To stretch the concept even further, operating systems and applications can be housed on remote machines – such as a server farm in Texas – which you access via the web. The applications are not resident on your computer at all.

Desktop virtualization shifts the burden of managing the system software from you or your in-house IT teams to someone else—people who can do a better job managing and updating your Windows and Office software than you can. If you have a fairly large organization managing a large number of machines, centralizing support allows the organization to gain from economies of scale—ie less people to manage more machines at less cost. Leveraging the computing power of server farms with faster machines also allows employees to get more value out of aging desktops and laptops.

Enabling anytime, anywhere access to applications and data, Desktop Virtualization connects your employees to the tools they need no matter where they are. As organizations support more and more remote employees, using desktop virtualization technology gives them access to their Windows desktop anywhere in the world, at any time, on any device.

Are you supporting remote workers or is your hardware slowing down your employees? Let's talk about Desktop Virtualization and how you can try it for your organization today.

The big difference between Android and the iOS is the fact that, on an Android device, you can play Flash videos. There are times however when this seeming advantage can be a disadvantage as Flash (such as Flash ads) can slow down your browsing experience or even crash your browser. There is a solution.

You can turn off Flash if you choose to. Simply go to your Browser's Settings by pressing on the Menu/Options button, then go to Advanced and change 'Enable plug-ins' setting from "Always on" to "On demand." Flash applications will now appear as an arrow that you must touch to start.

There are times when you may want to capture what is currently being shown on your iPad's screen. That’s easy to do on an iPad.

Simply press the Home button and then the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously. When you hear a click, the screenshot has been taken. You can then go to the photos gallery to see all of your captured screenshots.

For those of you using Google Mail or Gmail, chances are you're familiar with the "stars" feature, which serves as a visual reminder to follow up on certain messages or mark their importance. You may not know, though, that you can use different types of stars. To do so, click on the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the screen, click Mail Settings, and on the General tab look for the Stars section.

You will see many different types of stars that you can cycle through. Drag the stars between the lists that you want to use and in the order you prefer. Another neat trick is to use the name of the star to filter messages. Simply hover over the star to learn its name (i.e., "red-bang"), then use the "has" prefix to filter by star name. For example, typing "has:red-bang" in your search box will show all messages with that star name.

Julie Sheldon, Marketing & Events Manager for Applied Tech, has been nominated to participate in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) 2012 Man & Woman of the Year campaign. The campaign is a 10-week fundraising competition that includes hundreds of exceptional male and female leaders from across 44 cities in the United States. Beginning on March 22, 2012, candidates will compete by raising money to help in the organization’s fight against blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. Participants were chosen based on their dynamic leadership abilities and desire to make a difference in their communities.  Candidates compete in honor of local children who are blood cancer survivors, the Boy & Girl of the Year.

Every dollar raised counts as a “vote” in this year’s competition. The male and female candidates who raise the most money and receive the greatest number of votes will be named as this year’s Capital City Man & Woman of the Year. Local winners with the highest money totals will then be considered in the naming of national titlists at the end of year. Ms. Sheldon’s goal is to surpass her $20k goal for the society.

Since 2009, The Wisconsin Chapter has raised over $254,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Mission.  Funds raised allow the LLS to fund three Translation Research Programs for five years.  This research program encourages and provides support for new and novel clinical research. The program’s purpose is to fund research that shows high promise for translating basic biomedical knowledge to prevention on new treatments and, ultimately, to prolong and enhance life.

 “I’m glad to be a part of this exceptional campaign,” said Sheldon.  “While my campaign is in honor of local children who are blood cancer survivors, I am also honoring the employees of Applied Tech and their families whose lives have been affected by various blood cancers.”

This year’s Grand Finale Gala will be held on Friday, June 1, 2012.  Nominees for the 2012 Man & Woman of the Year will be honored and the winner will be announced.  The evening also includes auctions, food and an inspiriting presentation.

“With your tax-deductible donation, LLS can continue funding critical research in the fight against blood cancers as well as provide outstanding patient services. Please make your check made payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and please make sure that you write my name, “Julie Sheldon,” on the memo line of the check so that LLS will be able to process it more easily. You also may make an online donation after March 22, 2012. Silent and live auction items also being accepted.”

For more information about this year’s event, contact Kim Kokott, Campaign Manager, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, at 608.826.0711 x201 or visit http://www.mwoy.org/wi/localchapter/cc/ or www.facebook.com/TeamSheldon2012. Donations and inquiries: Julie Sheldon  – sheldon@appliedtech.us, 608.577.4388.  Checks payable to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – 1201 N. Windsor Ave, Cottage Grove, WI  53527

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Applied Tech is a full-service outsourced Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and Business Solutions provider, specializing in infrastructure, Microsoft CRM, VoIP, and SharePoint Services. Offices in Madison, Stevens Point, and Waukesha, WI.  Toll-Free: 855.729.1300 | appliedtech.us

Did you know you can have the activity feeds/social stream or live updates from your favorite social network such as Facebook or LinkedIn appear in the latest version of Windows Live Messenger? Simply sign in to your Live Messenger account, select Add/Manager Services at the bottom right area of the application, and then choose a service you wish to integrate to (i.e., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn).

The application will ask you to sign in to the chosen service and give permission to integrate. After you have given permission, you will see updates from and be able to post to that social network in Live Messenger.

Microsoft recently posted a video on its website that is the latest in a series from Microsoft offering a view into where technology is headed in the future through product development at Microsoft. The video offers a fascinating and impressive glimpse into the future of work and productivity that may occur in less than a decade.

The video from Microsoft gives us a glimpse into a day in the life of Ayla, a travelling executive, her daughter Shannon, at home with her Dad, and Qin, Ayla's colleague. The video is the latest in a series from the Microsoft Office team. You can see past videos here, or view a behind the scenes video from Kurt DelBane, Microsoft Office Business Division President, who explains the technological concepts behind the video, such as collaborative technologies, data visualization tools, mobile technologies, and cloud computing.

Interested in finding out more? Check out the actual place where this technology is developed by Microsoft demonstrating some of the video's concepts in real life.

If you own an Android phone, you can use it as a substitute for an external drive or a USB key. You can load files into your phone simply by plugging it in to a PC with a USB cable, then tapping on “Mount” when you are prompted by the system.

This mounts the internal storage of the device as an external drive relative to the PC, and you can easily drag and drop files or create folders on the device as you see fit. Of course, it is recommended you do this on the SDCard that likely came with the device, or one that you buy for your phone.

A hard drive shortage threatens to impact the worldwide computing industry due to the floods in Thailand. The majority of the world’s hard drive factories are located in Thailand and are struggling to recover pre-flood production levels.

In the same way the massive earthquake and tsunami damaged Japan's electronics industry, the flood crisis in Thailand is causing concern for companies that require hard drives for production.

The majority of the world's hard drives are produced in factories located in Thailand, where the flood crisis has put a damper on many industries, hard drive producers included.

According to reports, the shortage is already driving hard drive costs up and may just be the beginning of that trend. As companies like Hewlett Packard respond to the situation, the outlook remains unclear. PC sales could be affected well into 2012 and beyond. With flooding still an issue for some producers the shortage could expand.

As of now, there is still no concrete solution in sight for the problem with the supply of hard drives in the world, and while reconstruction efforts in Thailand are ongoing, getting the hard drive industry on its feet will take a while. As for the effects on the computing world as a whole, PC prices will likely rise as pre-flood inventories are sold out and replacement stock is delayed.

Some companies have decided to tap into the phenomenon of social networking to create similar networks within their own organizations. While this can do wonders with the way every member of the business communicates with each other, it’s important to have proper and specific rules that pertain to its use.

With the waves created by social networking in how companies do business nowadays, many have also utilized the same principle to develop internal social networks to enhance their in-house communications as well. However, the use of this new medium of communication also requires that companies develop new policies to cover its use.

One concern that may leave you apprehensive about creating an internal social network might be the fear that it could be abused by employees. However, reports have shown that introducing an in-house social network has produced generally positive results.

As long as company policies regarding the use of internal social networks are developed and implemented properly, employees will view such a network as an extension of the workplace, and will try to put their best foot forward. Such policies must specifically tackle the use of the internal social network, and many experts recommend revising existing company rules that govern the use of email, IT resources, and even external social networks. To be on the safe side, it's a good idea to consult with a lawyer to avoid any legal problems with the policy in the future.

Who's going to be in charge? Your managers, of course. Since the social network will be for company use, it follows that department heads should be given administrative duties and permissions which they will use for moderating communications and discussions in and pertaining do their respective sections.

While an internal social network can do wonders for your in-house communications, good policies and rules pertaining to its use will be what keep it working like a well-oiled machine.