Computer Service in Seattle

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: King County Computer Repair & Tech Support; Support Category: Computer Service in Seattle

The recent economic turmoil has put tremendous pressure on organizations to explore ways to reduce costs across all areas of their business—and IT is no exception. Although most companies have implemented some level of technology to improve staff productivity, the cost of maintaining and supporting computer systems and ensuring continual end-user satisfaction can be significant.

Fortunately, there are now attractive alternatives for small and mid-size businesses (SMB) to significantly reduce their IT budgets while simultaneously improving the uptime, effectiveness and satisfaction of their investments in computers and technology.

SMB’s are typically limited to three types of models to manage and support their computers

The first model is to invest and build out an internal IT Department. This option is by far the most costly to setup and maintain. Most organizations will need to budget about $120,000 for just a single IT support professional. In the Washington DC marketplace, an experienced senior tech will command an annual salary of $80,000-$100,000. With benefits ($10,000), overhead ($5,000), training ($5,000), recruiter fees ($15,000) and required software tools and equipment ($10,000)—these costs quickly grow. Given the high demand for quality IT staff in our area, finding, managing, retaining and developing your technical person can be a difficult and time consuming process. Furthermore, based on industry standard turnover rates for IT staff, you will need to restart your recruitment process every two years!

Another alternative is to outsource the support of your IT department to a sole proprietor or independent IT consultant. This initially attractive low cost alternative can actually be very difficult to make successful. However, these individuals can easily be found online, or through a referral from a friend or colleague.

Their resumes may contain many industry “buzz words” but their experience and skills are often focused on just a few technologies. More importantly, their limited resources do not allow them to scale to the cyclical needs of your business and they have few resources to respond to the ongoing demands of more than one account at one time. Furthermore, almost all have not made the substantial investment in system management tools and applications and are therefore unable to offer Service Level Agreements (SLA’s). As such, you should be prepared to churn through several people before securing the one you feel can adequately support your business.

A final alternative is to outsource your needs to a dedicated IT Support company or Managed Services Provider (MSP). This option will save you 30-50% of the cost of the in-house model yet you will receive higher levels of service and response than either of the other support models. There are many variations on this model and you need to be diligent in selecting a partner that has a comprehensive service offering that can respond to your varied IT support needs and requirements.

It is recommended to select a company that offers fixed-fee pricing, utilizes a team of IT professionals that each perform specialized tasks and roles, has staff members with multiple technical certifications, leverages industry leading technologies to effectively manage your environment, has documented best practices processes and procedures, performs regularly scheduled onsite visits combined with unlimited remote support as well as a trusted partner that can recommend and successfully implement new technology in support of your business goals and objectives.

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: King County Computer Repair & Tech Support; Support Category: Computer Service in Seattle

There is no doubt that you have heard about VoIP by now. It’s made headlines and is plastered everywhere both in online and TV advertisements. Just in case you haven’t caught on to the hype yet, VoIP is the abbreviated term for Voice over Internet Protocol. Voice over Internet Protocol is basically the ability to communicate on a phone over your Internet connection. With VoIP, the promise is the ability to make local and global long-distance calls at a significantly lower rate than over a plain old telephone line through your local carrier.

The VoIP trend has caught on and large enterprises all over the globe are adopting this new technology to reduce their cost of business communications which may include fax, conference calling, along with streaming video applications. VoIP has been around for some time, but it has only been recently that it has finally matured to the stage worthy of replacing everyday phone use. At the household level, it is certain by now that you are compelled to embrace this technology somewhat, but are not sure how to go about it or even if this technology has any real benefit for your family.

You must have an Internet connection. No, not your 56k dial-up connection, but an actual high-speed Internet connection. This can be cable, satellite, or DSL Internet, but you will need high-speed Internet for VoIP to function properly and become your new calling station. Dialup just doesn’t have the capacity or speed to transfer voice digitally without significant quality loss. A company named SpeakEasy has recently come out with a new DSL product that requires no current phone line for high-speed Internet if DSL is your current favorite of broadband services and if you are planning on replacing your current phone service with VoIP.

You will need what is called a gateway. The gateway is connected between your computer and the Ethernet modem. The VoIP gateway is where your phone line will be plugged into. Gateways enable freedom from possible computer problems that can shut down calling capabilities or deteriorate voice quality. Computer crashes, slow memory, and many other computer problems plague us in everyday life, you do not want to plague your ability to make phone calls. Gateways are specifically designed for VoIP phones but adapters are available for current phones should you not want to buy a brand-new phone. VoIP providers usually have the adapters available for sale so you don’t have to shop around for one yourself. Before you write off buying a new phone, however, video phones are the newest product line and it won’t be long before this trend explodes.

You may want to get your video phone so you aren’t left out of exciting face-to-face conversations with friends and relatives when they get theirs. The services included with VoIP usually include all the convenient bells and whistles your current phone service provides including your own local VoIP telephone number, call waiting, voice messaging, 3-way calling, and more. There are some important things to remember with VoIP before you go diving into this feature-rich voice technology. You should check with your VoIP provider for local 911 emergency coverage. Some VoIP providers charge extra on a monthly basis for both 911 and 411 access so make sure you know how much it is going to cost you before committing to a calling contract. One last important thing to remember is that your gateway is reliant on electricity to function. This means power outages will put your phone line out of service, but then isn’t your phone already only functional with electricity these days?

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: King County Computer Repair & Tech Support; Support Category: Computer Service in Seattle

Computer servers are among the most important infrastructure in any organization. The basic answer to the question 'what is a computer server', lies in the name of the term. It is a computer that serves all the computers or terminals, that are connected to it. Applications are stored in this computer and the other computer terminals connected to it, can access it.

Tasks Performed by a Computer Server
Well, the tasks performed by a computer server depend on the use of the computer server. We will come to this process of classification of the server, at a later stage. For now I have listed down some of the generalized tasks performed by a computer server.

Stores applications and databases required by the computers connected to it.
Provides computer security features. It protects all the computers connected to it using a firewall.
Provides an IP address to the machines connected to it. An IP address is a unique number in the format x.x.x.x, where x can be any 1 to 3 digit number, which is assigned to every computer in the network.

Features of a Server
The server that you choose for your organization, should satisfy certain conditions. It needs to have a memory size or RAM, large enough to hold the number of queries that are executed by the computers connected to it. It may have to provide services to a large number of computers and hence it will require a primary memory of that capability. The next aspect that you need to take care of, is the processor speed. The processor speed is usually measured in Giga Hertz and it needs to be sufficient to execute all the commands requested by the machines. It is very necessary that your server should have an optimum processor speed, because it needs to provide multitasking facility. The hard drive storage capacity of the computer server, needs to be large enough to be able to store all the data that the host machines will require. In a network, computer users generally store the information, that they intend to share on the computer server.

Types of Server
The different types of computer servers can be categorized in two main categories.

Dedicated Server
This type of a server performs a particular function, like hosting a website. There are various web hosting services, which use dedicated servers for hosting websites. On the payment of a certain amount of money, you can upload your webpages on their computer servers. They will perform the task of hosting your websites. Certain companies also have dedicated computer servers to hold their own websites. These type of servers require to be very powerful because they need to handle the web traffic, that tries to access the webpages contained in them.

Shared Server
A shared computer server is an ordinary server, that is used in a network, for multiple users. Large number of applications, databases etc. are stored in them. Different users connected to the server, access the server depending on their requirements. These server do not require to be customized like the dedicated servers. The most common example for this type of server, is an application server. An application server stores all the information required by the people in a network. In many organizations, the employees are often given dummy terminals. It means that, they have a computer keyboard and a computer monitor, but the entire processing and storage is done at the computer server. These terminals do not have individual hard disks, instead, they store data on the computer server's hard disk.

Hope this article has helped you in solving the query, what is a computer server? This article was meant, not only to answer your question, what is a computer server, but also to acquaint you with the different aspects related to it.

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: King County Computer Repair & Tech Support; Support Category: Computer Service in Seattle

Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to infiltrate a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. The term "computer virus" is sometimes used as a catch-all phrase to include all types of malware, including true viruses. Software is considered malware based on the perceived intent of the creator rather than any particular features. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware, and other malicious and unwanted software. In law, malware is sometimes known as a computer contaminant. Malware is not the same as defective software, that is, software that has a legitimate purpose but contains harmful bugs.

The prevalence of malware as a vehicle for organized Internet crime, along with the general inability of traditional anti-malware protection platforms to protect against the continuous stream of unique and newly produced professional malware, has seen the adoption of a new mindset for businesses operating on the Internet - the acknowledgment that some sizable percentage of Internet customers will always be infected for some reason or other, and that they need to continue doing business with infected customers. The result is a greater emphasis on back-office systems designed to spot fraudulent activities associated with advanced malware operating on customers' computers.

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: King County Computer Repair & Tech Support; Support Category: Computer Service in Seattle

A broken laptop can be a very stressful situation especially if the laptop in question is used every day and is an important part of your job, school, or business. The purpose of this article is to offer you some things to consider when it comes time to get your laptop repaired.

1 Repair vs. Replacement: One of the first questions that usually come to mind is “Is now a good time to just buy a new laptop?” The answer to that question is… “It Depends.” Depending on the severity of your laptop repair, the falling prices of most laptops, and the age of your broken laptop, it may be a wise choice to throw in the towel and spring for a new laptop.

Some of the types of repairs that would warrant this action are:

A broken LCD screen
A broken motherboard (beyond component-level repair)
A severely damaged case

These types of repairs are the most costly (usually ranging from $300 to $700) and factoring in how long you have had your laptop this may be a good time to get a new one.

2 Your Data: Whether you are replacing your laptop or repairing it, you still have to figure out what to do with your data. If you can’t turn on your laptop it makes it very difficult to back up your data. That is why it is very important to do regular backups of your laptop data to guard yourself against this situation. This will also give you a way to access your data while your laptop is getting repaired. Some laptop repair services offer data backup and recovery with their repairs. Make sure you ask about data recovery and backup options when speaking with a laptop repair service.

In addition to recovering your data, you also want to ensure that your data is safe and secure with whoever you choose to repair your laptop. With that being said, you want to make sure you choose a reputable repair service for your laptop repair.

3 Repair Cost: I don’t know about you but I want to know how much my laptop repair is going to cost before I send it in. This is a tricky situation because most laptop repair services need to diagnose your laptop to find out what’s wrong with it before they give you a price. Even some of the laptop repair services offering flat rate repair, do not cover the parts that it takes to repair your laptop. If you are worried about repair costs, do not ship your laptop to a company that says they need to diagnose your laptop before giving you a repair cost. You are opening yourself up to getting a big shock once you find out what the bill is going to be.

4 Not All Laptop Repairs are Handled Equally: There are a lot of laptop repair services that will simply replace a major component rather than repair the affected area which can cost you 3 to 4 times the cost. For instance, let’s say you have a problem with your motherboard. One service center may simply replace your motherboard and charge you anywhere from $300 to $700 for simply changing out a part, while another laptop repair service center actually takes the time to diagnose the problem and discover you have a bad capacitor on your motherboard and repairs the damaged component, saving you the cost of a new motherboard.

I hope that this article has given you some insight into the world of laptop repair. So before you choose a laptop repair service center to handle your laptop repair, do some research, speak with them over the phone and ask questions. The more informed you are about what to expect and what to look for in a laptop repair service the more you can save.

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: King County Computer Repair & Tech Support; Support Category: Computer Service in Seattle

Computer hardware and software problems can happen out of the blue. That is an unfortunate side to owning a desktop or laptop computer. That said, the majority of problems PC techs deal with are a result of user error or ignorance.

When dealing with computer repairs, there are some recurring problems that stump end users and are totally avoidable. So here s a list of simple tips and tasks to keep your computer working as it should.

Don't install more than one anti-virus program. This leads to conflicts that can be difficult to pinpoint.
Completely uninstall a malware program when installing a replacement. Just disabling such software often leaves processes and registry entries that conflict with the replacement program. This often leads to hard-to-diagnose errors and lockups.
Clean the temporary files from your computer regularly. I'd suggest after every session, no matter how short. This is best done with the fantastic free program CCleaner and takes seconds if done regularly.
Run regular full virus scans with your anti-virus software. This will ensure that any files you have added to your hard disk are scanned and cleaned, or removed if not.
Avoid handling laptops with one hand when not in a carry case. This is a common cause of dropped laptops, leading to failed drives and other problems including screen damage.
When plugged in, always use an anti-surge socket with your laptop or desktop PC. This is vital for the protection of the delicate components within.
Back up regularly. Data retrieval is a very expensive repair to have done and is probably the most avoidable.
Shut down your computer properly. Avoid cutting the power at the plug. Sudden power cuts can lead to corrupted and even dead hard drives.
Don't open and attempt hardware repairs unless fully competent to do so. Tampering with computers can turn a simple repair into a major repair.
If you do handle any of the internal components of a desktop or laptop computer, make sure you are grounded against static discharge. This can be fatal to your computer.

If you do, however, get into a situation where there are preliminary signs of failure such as unannounced crashes and lockups, make sure the first thing you do is back up your recent files, or if you have no backup routine running, do a full backup. This is really the most important part of your regular routine as it's possible to save years of work and memories from being lost with a simple backup. The one thing to bear in mind about backups is you should never backup to the same physical drive you are using for your files. Having a backup on the same drive means that if there is irretrievable physical damage, both the original and the backup will be lost.

Generally, most end users will be guilty of doing one or more of these problem-causing actions. The problem is that most people don't realize the dangers before it is too late. Follow these simple rules to cut your chance of disaster... Safe computing.

Details: Tech Support by: Emerald City IT; Support Field: Computer Service in Seattle; Support Category: Central Seattle

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways recapped 2022 recently, and I think it’s a good reminder of the progress made while also setting the stage for the work needed ahead. It is difficult to celebrate wins when you’re talking about a transportation system that is increasingly deadly, but there were quite a few legitimate wins worth celebrating.

We will discuss the exciting, must-win challenges ahead of Seattle in a future post, so stay tuned. But first, a look at some of what we achieved as a safe streets movement in 2022. From SNG:

Vision Zero

We believe that everyone should be safe traveling on our streets — no matter how you get around. Sadly, last year was the deadliest year on Seattle streets since 2006, with 31 lives lost — and this year is proving tragic as well. These crashes disproportionately claim the lives of our Black, elderly and homeless neighbors and are geographically concentrated in SE Seattle. But together we are holding the city accountable to make progress:

North Seattle neighbors in the Aurora Reimagined Coalition successfully won $50 million to fix part of Aurora Ave, Seattle’s most dangerous street, from the state legislature as part of the Move Ahead WA transportation package.
Our Vision Zero vigils including a memorial ride for Robb Mason (Sep 30) and a memorial for the World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims with Rainier Valley Greenways-Safe Streets (Nov 21) honored the fallen, and brought attention to this issue.
Duwamish Valley Safe Streets volunteers and SNG worked with Councilmember Morales to bring city officials to inspect unsafe streets in SODO as part of a push for rapid changes to SODO/4th Ave S following the death of Gan Ho Li.
Thanks to our advocacy, SDOT Director Greg Spotts pledged to prioritize safety over other concerns Mayor Harrell backed this commitment. We worked with our volunteer network to craft a manifesto to get Vision Zero back on track.
As a part of the Seattle Solidarity Budget Coalition, we won increased funding for the Vision Zero program through the Seattle City Budget process.

Whose Streets? Our Streets!

This all-BIPOC workgroup of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways group is dedicated to organizing BIPOC communities to gain full and free use of our streets and public spaces with solutions that arise from and directly serve our communities. This year…
WSOS conducted extensive outreach and engagement this year, developed working relationships with groups and organizations led by and serving BIPOC communities, hosted community events, and participated in public events that engage Seattle’s BIPOC communities. WSOS conducted community outreach and engagement with BIPOC community members at events around the city including Seattle’s MLK Day March; Honoring Black Wall Street; Umoja Fest; Summer of Solidarity; Juneteenth, Malcolm X Day; Back On the Block; Healthy Through Heat and Smoke, and the Garfield Centennial Celebration.
WSOS organized community safety listening sessions and town halls with BIPOC-led groups — including CID Coalition, Chu Mihn Tofu, Eggrolls, Black Prisoners Caucus, Surge Reproductive Justice, NAACP Youth Council and the Solidarity Budget Coalition — to hear from Black youth, Queer/Trans community members, and BIPOC residents from the Rainier Valley and CID.
Through this deep community engagement and listening, WSOS crafted an extensive report of findings detailing how street safety is more than safety from vehicles and outlining a slate of BIPOC community recommendations. We submitted this report to SDOT to help the city advance more equitable policies and practices.
With partners in the Helmet Law Working Group, led by Central Seattle Greenways, WSOS won repeal of King County’s helmet law that was enforced as a harassment tool against BIPOC and unhoused communities.
Unfortunately, the city moved Parking Enforcement back from SDOT to SPD — for now. The City Council will be discussing where to permanently locate this division next spring, and we plan to make the case that housing it within SDOT will result in the best safety and equity outcomes.

UnGapTheMap

is our campaign to create safe bike routes for people of all ages and abilities that connect every neighborhood. This year we…
Celebrated the opening of the Green Lake Outer Loop envisioned by Green Lake Wallingford Safe Streets, bike lanes connecting to Climate Pledge Arena in Uptown advocated for by Queen Anne Greenways, and the 15th Ave NE protected bike lane connecting U District with Lake City Way.
Improved the design to close the downtown waterfront trail gap on Alaskan Way after Downtown Greenways hosted a ride to bring attention to the issue.
Eliminated a dangerous gap in the plans to build a bike lane on Eastlake Ave connecting the U District to South Lake Union.
Fought back against the decision to delay south end bike routes for MLK Way, 15th Ave on Beacon Hill, and the Georgetown To South Park Trail.
Envisioned and established SDOT’s new “Even Better Bike Lanes” to use concrete barriers, not floppy plastic posts, to protect bike lanes to make them safer and more comfortable.

Won funding for bike routes in South Seattle through the City Budget.

Café Streets

Thanks to your support, and letters from over 700 Seatteites, the City Council passed legislation to make cafe streets permanent! This legislation will:
Support the 300 small businesses have benefited from the cafe streets program since we advocated for its launch in 2020.
Bring cafe streets and food trucks to more communities by reducing fees and red tape.
Improve these spaces by requiring accessibility for people with disabilities, improving designs, and creating barriers from traffic.
Encourage more walking by creating interesting, vibrant, and welcoming streets.
Help us continue to build relationships with small businesses, which historically have been some of the most skeptical stakeholders in conversations about converting street space to uses other than moving and storing cars.
Advance the conversation to create pedestrian-only streets for Pike Place Market, Ballard Ave, The Ave in the U-District, Capitol Hill and more!

Healthy Streets

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic we pushed for open streets as one solution to emerging community needs. The city has experimented with over 25 miles of these streets that are closed to through-traffic, but OPEN to people walking, rolling, and biking in the street. We believe that Healthy Streets should be the new default standard for the city’s Neighborhood Greenways program, and that all communities should have access to these family friendly spaces.
This December, Mayor Harrell reaffirmed the city’s commitment to make 20 miles of healthy streets permanent (putting Seattle in the top 6% of American cities).
Working with Councilmember Morales, we won funding from the Seattle Parks District to make permanent improvements to the beloved Lake Washington Boulevard — South Seattle’s most popular park that is currently used as a speedway for cars.
West Seattle neighbors won permanent improvements for the Alki Point Healthy Street.
Green Lake Wallingford Safe Streets won permanent improvements to the Green Lake Healthy Street through the construction of the Green Lake Outer Loop.
Greenwood and Lake City neighbors won permanent improvements for their healthy streets.
We are advocating for robust additional traffic calming standards to ensure these spaces feel safe and welcoming for all.

This truly is a people-powered movement, and we wouldn’t have made this progress without you. Thank you! If you are looking for meaningful ways to make a difference in 2023, I encourage you to volunteer, donate, and spread the word about this work by following our social media accounts.

(206) 657-6685

Computer Service in Seattle

Vision Zero

Whose Streets? Our Streets!

UnGapTheMap

Café Streets

Healthy Streets

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