Are You Using Office Furniture to Communicate Your Brand?

Blog provided by Wicker Paradise

Some of the most innovative, world-changing brands don’t just use branding in their advertising and external communications. They also communicate the company culture to their employees through their furniture and interior design. Observe the example of famous apparel and extreme sports brand Volcom. Their corporate headquarters are clean and functional, but its design also incorporates the brand’s “street” aesthetic and even features hallways employees can skateboard through. Their office even includes a fully-functioning indoor skatepark for use when employees have finished their shifts.

Your office’s interior design doesn’t have to be so gray. If you want to promote a warm, welcoming, relaxing atmosphere, don’t be afraid to experiment with your choices in office furniture. Even if you run a tech company, you can still use rattan furniture to create the desired ambiance that communicates your company’s ideals. Using unorthodox, aesthetically pleasing design choices immediately tells employees and visitors that your company isn’t the average, run-of-the-mill business. The right office design can make your office a more memorable place to work, which will leave a lasting impression on anyone who passes through your doors.

If you’re looking for new furniture ideas to spice up your office design, check out Wicker Paradise’s collection of wicker and rattan furniture. Their natural, tropical-inspired designs may be just what your office needs to stand out from the rest of the companies in your market. You’ll find high-quality chairs, sofas, tables, and barstools for your buying pleasure. Also, don’t forget to browse their outdoor furniture collection if you need outdoor furniture for your office or home.

What you should look for in an everyday PC

Blog provided by Curacao

There are a variety of desktop computers for different purposes. Some are meant for work, some are optimized for gaming, and others are designed for everyday use. For the best results, it’s important to understand what you need a PC and look for technical specifications based on that.

For an everyday PC meant for personal use, storage, RAM, processing power, and graphics might factor into your decision. If you’re planning to store lots of photos, videos, and other personal data on your computer, it might be a good idea to look for a hard drive with a decent amount of storage. A computer with a large amount of RAM will help you multitask and run several programs all at once. If computer speed is your priority, strong processors will able to process information and complete tasks most efficiently. And if you plan on using your computer for watching entertainment or doing video or picture editing, a good graphics card will help you accomplish your goals.

You can look for the right computer based on which of these components is most important for you, or you can choose a computer that has a good balance of all these features. Hewlett Packard’s All-in-One Desktop Computer and Apple’s iMac are two impressive machines that can serve you well as everyday computers.

At Curacao, you can find everyday desktop computers at the most affordable prices. If you’re on a budget, you can even sign up for our PC financing options to finance computer purchases for low, easy monthly payments. Sign up for Curacao Credit today and start saving on PCs!

How The Right Office Furniture Can Boost Productivity

Blog provided by Wicker Paradise

The main aim of an office and its employees is to produce or to contribute to a product or service that earns profits for a company. This is a clear, straightforward goal, but you’d be surprised to see how many factors can affect your workplace’s productivity. One of the most important, yet overlooked factors is your employees’ morale and mental well-being. If your employees don’t feel relaxed and empowered by your office environment, something needs to change.

One of the small details that affect employees’ mental state is office décor. It may seem insignificant, but according to one study from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, negative attitudes among employees were lower in aesthetically pleasing workplaces, while they were higher in workplaces that were not aesthetically pleasing. Another study examined the effects of workplace aesthetics on a Swedish broadcasting company. This one found that individuals in non-aesthetically pleasing workplaces complained more about work stress, problems at work, and musculoskeletal pain.

With this in mind, it’s important to choose workplace furniture and decorative pieces that are more conducive to your employees’ success. Natural, earthy colors tend to have mental effects that help your employees. For example, color psychology suggests that brown promotes feelings of stability and warmth. For this reason, furniture made from natural, plant-based materials might be just what your office needs.

Bamboo rattan furniture and wicker furniture are examples of exotic furniture pieces you might want in your office. Wicker Paradise has a collection of plant-based furniture perfect for your office or living room, along with a selection of wicker patio furniture for the outdoors. Contact them today for great deals on natural furniture products.

Make your Computer Whisper Quiet

Article by Pierre Zarokian

 

Have you just built a brand new gaming PC only to find that as soon as you play any games, it starts sounding like a helicopter? With standard cooling, most computers are noisy when they are running on full load. This is because the stock cooling solutions which come with Intel or AMD CPUs are normally noisy and relatively inefficient. Improving your computer’s cooling system can make it run cooler and quieter.

Indeed, there is now a big market for silent computer cooling solutions. There are even entire online retailers which specialize in providing everything that you need to make your computer as quiet as possible. The following provides some tips on how to make your computer run as quietly as possible.

1. Clean the Computer. You may have noticed that older computers tend to be noisier than newer ones. This rarely has anything to do with the age or the specification of the computer. More often than not, it is due to a buildup of dust inside the computer. An excessive amount of dust forming inside a heat sink and on the fan blades adds a thermal layer which causes fans to run faster than they would otherwise need to. Regularly cleaning your computer will keep it running cooler and quieter. It will also prolong the life of your hardware. Cleaning the inside of a computer can be done using cans of compressed air or even a vacuum cleaner.

2. Acoustic Dampening. Some retailers sell acoustic soundproofing kits which you can fit to the inside of the case. You can also make this yourself without too much trouble, but you will need to take care to purchase the right type of material. Many materials may help to deaden the sound, but they can also cause your computer to run hotter by absorbing and building up heat. Some high-end cases designed specifically for the quiet PC market already have some acoustic dampening built in, but these can be prohibitively expensive.

3. Replacing Fans. Stock cooling solutions tend to be very noisy when a computer is running on full load. If you want to have a quiet PC, you will almost certainly need to avoid using the stock heat sink and fan which comes with any new CPU. Replacing a CPU fan does not have to be expensive and a new fan can normally be installed in a matter of minutes. You can also purchase silent case fans and graphics card coolers. For case fans, you may want to go for one which has a built-in speed control.

The above three factors contribute to about 95% of all the noise a computer makes, and if you follow the tips, you can easily make it whisper quiet, possible with no investments, as well!

About the Author: Pierre Zarokian has Computer Science degree and writes for Search Engine Journal. You can also read Pierre Zarokian’s Articles at Visibility Magazine.

Items That Will Boost Office Productivity

 

Summary: Boosting productivity is something managers around the world want to do to boost profits. Purchasing some items for your office can help you make your business more efficient.

 

 Competition amongst companies is important because how well your business does, in relation to others, can lead to market growth or shrinkage. Competing to create the best products and services at the lowest prices, while still creating large profit margins, is a tough balancing act the manager will fight for to put the company on the path towards growth. At the end of the day, a large portion of sustained growth can be traced back to the employees who work for you. Investing in their growth and well-being can ultimately lead to the creation of valuable work.

 

 Reliable Internet

 Most offices nowadays rely on the internet for a lot of the work that gets done. Researching, sending messages, hosting video conferences, and sending data back and forth to others all requires a fast and reliable internet connection. If your employees are constantly getting interrupted from their work because the internet is down or there is not enough bandwidth to handle all of the traffic on the network connection, your employees will get frustrated and they will not be as efficient.

 

Multiple Monitors

 A computer is necessary for most office employees but just a laptop might not be enough. Some of your employees may need more screen real estate while they work, which is where having multiple monitors can be beneficial. For example, someone in your finance department might need to have certain forms open while filling out spreadsheets. A secondary monitor could allow this person to have one document open on one screen and the other document open on the other screen, rather than having to constantly switch back and forth.

 

 

How EDI VANs can benefit your business

Communication and understanding between business partners is a crucial part of commerce. Today’s technologies have made it easier than ever to be on the same page as your trading partners when making transactions and organizing business details. Using a VAN or Value Added Network for EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, is one of the ways companies can help their business partners understand crucial details and information, so that deals can happen without any information-related setbacks.

The main purpose of a VAN is to allow companies to exchange messages in a format that they can understand and that is compatible with their systems. This means translating one company’s messages into the format another company uses to process information and vice versa. VANs make this process very quick and automated. In addition to this, many VANs also provide other benefits, such as security and encryption, data backup and recovery, checking for errors, and network performance optimization.

You might be wondering what the difference is between using a VAN and using other EDI methods. VANs are private networks, and companies outsource management of their correspondence and EDI operations to them. In contrast, direct EDI involves establishing a direct connection between two companies. Direct EDI is generally much more difficult to manage, because it requires you to make sure your EDI protocols are compatible with all of your business partners. VANs cost more than direct EDI, but they may be a worthwhile investment, especially now that many companies are exclusively using VANs for EDI.

A Phone Answering Service – 3 Ways It Makes Your Business Look More Legitimate

Article By Herb Kimble.

If your business relies on customers, you can see some huge benefits from a phone answering service. No matter how small your business is, having a team of people to answer the phone can make your company look more legitimate. If you are not sure what a phone answering service can do for you, consider these 3 benefits:

A phone answering service provides your clients with customer service 24/7

By having virtual help desk services, you can rest easy knowing that your calls are never going unanswered. A good phone answering service has teams of people that work 24 hours a day answering calls for their clients. You can hire a phone answering service to answer your calls anytime you cannot get to the phone – whether you’re in a meeting, on vacation, or asleep in the middle of the night.

By having a fully-staffed virtual phone answering service, you do not have to hire a full-time receptionist, or have to worry about answering calls at all hours of the day or night.

A phone answering service can be a life saver for a doctor’s office

If you own a small doctor’s practice, a medical answering service can give your patients peace of mind anytime you are not available. The people who work at your medical answering service can be trained to ask specific questions, so that the most important middle-of-the-night phone calls get patched directly to you, or so that a patient with only minor symptoms can be told what to do until morning rolls around.

Nothing is worse than being sick and scared in the middle of the night or during the middle of the weekend – when it seems like there is no one available to help you. By getting a medical answering service, your patients will never have to feel that way.

A phone answering service can help troubleshoot problems

People want to know that the company they’re dealing with has a way to provide a customer service solution if they ever need it. By hiring a phone answering service, you can give your customers impeccable service anytime. Even if someone needs assistance with a simple issue, your virtual help desk services can provide it for them.

By having valuable help desk services, your customers will never feel ignored – which can go a long way towards getting you repeat business!

About The Author:

Herb Kimble was perhaps the most famous outbound call center CEO and the best sales trainer in the Philippines. Herb Kimble is co-founder of CineFocus Productions, a movie production and soundstage rental company.

Basic web design checklist

A website is a lot of moving parts, there is the design, then there is input from the UX/UI personnel, and then there is the content from the writers. All this needs to fit together into one seamless whole, and that is the objective of the designer. Here is a basic checklist from Rack Alley that will help narrow down some of the things that you will need to keep an eye on:

The goal

The first step is to make sure that someone with enough authority defines the goal of the website. The decision needs to be come from management, and that will form the basis of everything that goes into it. We want all the teams pulling in the same direction.

First impression

There is research that shows that it takes only 0.05 seconds for a visitor to make a judgment about a website. The first impression is critical, and do everything, including the use of images, text, headers, calls to action etc. that will keep your visitors around a little longer.

Mobile version

Surveys show that more than half of web traffic is now from mobile devices, making it critical that you have a mobile version of your site, and that it is as fully functional as the desktop version. Forcing a mobile user to seek a desktop to complete certain tasks is asking for trouble.

There are many other factors, list hosting at a Los Angeles data center, etc, but the above three should give you an idea of how to approach and create your own checklist.

Airplane Battery Maintenance

Summary: Carelessness and neglect are two reasons why batteries aren’t pumping out an optimal stream of electricity.

If you’re a proud owner of an airplane, then you’re more than likely to come across one of the most common maintenance issues that plague nearly everyone – battery issues.

Most owners tend to leave their plane idling for longer than they would like. Naturally, doing so will allow the battery to naturally discharge a bit each day it’s left running. Furthermore, connecting the battery to an automotive battery charger could result in a loss of water within the electrolytes. Instead, consider utilizing a ground power unit, as it will essentially give your internal battery a much-needed break.

How to Notice a Dead Cell

If you take off the cap of a flooded battery, take a second to look at the innards. If nearly every cell is bubbling rapidly, they’re functioning properly. More so than often, you’ll notice that there are a few cells that are stagnant. These indicate that they are more than likely to be dead. As stated before, utilizing either a diesel electric hybrid GPU or any other type of ground power unit will prevent many of these issues from occurring. Although batteries are built to last in this day and age, carelessness can result in the death of a brand new battery. Keep yourself disciplined when it comes to the maintenance of your airplane – you already know that it isn’t the cheapest of things when it comes to repair costs.

 

How to Boost Traffic to Your Brick and Mortar Store

Summary: A lot of purchases are now made online but a number of people still visit physical stores. Finding unique ways to draw people to your business can help drive profits up.

The convenience of online shopping has driven many customers away from standard brick and mortar stores but plenty of people still enjoy the experience of checking something out before making a purchase.

How you get people interested in visiting your store is entirely up to you but there are some techniques you could implement to increase your chances of making a sale.

Data Analytics

The increase of information flowing around the internet can help you make better decisions. By sending out surveys and researching how consumers behave, you can get a better grasp of what your customers want. A system put in place by companies can help you create charts and graphs with your data to determine how long to keep products in your store for, what kinds of sales to have, and what kind of products people like the most. Use this data to your advantage by sending out offers and exclusive deals.

Interesting Store Front

An additional way you can get more people to stop by your store is to come up with an interesting store front. What people see when they walk by your store could influence whether or not they will actually walk in. An LED display wall for announcements, product visuals, and advertisements can grab someone’s attention and get them interested in what you have to offer. The goal with creating an interesting store front is to design something that will get people interested without being too forward. A design that is too flashy could steer potential customers away.

How Command Centers Can Make Operations Smoother

Summary: Implementing a command center into your organization can make operations run more smoothly.

In a free market the price you sell your goods or services at, compared to the price you paid to make said goods or services, will determine how much of a profit your company will make. This is a very simplified statement that does not go into the nuances of running a complex organization but it shows that, if a company wants to increase the money they make from each sale, they need to either increase the price they sell at or decrease the costs of producing.

More Knowledgeable Employees

An area where command centers really shine is in the delivery of information. Since mission critical consoles can take information from a number of sources, such as external sites or internal databases, and display them in a format that is both easy to access and easy to understand, employees who utilize their organization’s system can become more knowledgeable about what is going on. This level of transparency can help employees understand what is going on across the board, which can influence how they approach the work in their own department.

Giving Viewers More

If you run a broadcast company, for instance, then a command center workstation from a company can help you give your viewers more information with less effort. Things that were tough to provide before, such as different angles, more statistics and more relevant information, can be given with relative ease. More features can help your broadcast stand out among the other providers, which some users will be willing to pay for.

Video Games of the Past

There are more than 24,000 video games available today in the market according to the VideoGameGeek.com. Since the introduction of Arcade games in 1975, the video game industry has reinvented itself to include games played on smartphones, handheld devices, PCs, and consoles.

This post has been sponsored  by CamElectronics.com.
Cam Electronics offers sound reinforcement products including rock speakers, Bogen amplifiers, music sources, audio mixers, paging equipment and PA systems.

In 1975, there were only 24 video games available to play on large arcade screens. But by 1980, the field of video games branched out to include Atari, Apple II and others in addition to arcades. In the 1990s many other systems came and gone leaving Windows dominating the market in 2000s. Others included Xbox just entered the market, PlayStation and PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color, Nintendo 64 and GameCube.

Today, Windows still a prominent platform for development of video games. The iPhone and iPad comes in close second and PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 just behind. In 2011, 737 iPhone games were released, more than any other platform. In 2007, there were only 26 games released for iPhone. It is hard to say what will happen to Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, Wii U and Nintendo DS. Web Browsers and Macintosh are also maintaining their share of the video game market.