Neat: Microsoft Surface Ad “The Surface Movement”

The following video was pointed out by fellow MVP Cris Hanna.

The Surface Movement

The keyboard has been the tablet’s Achilles’ heel from the get-go.

Wanting to get any serious work done on the Tega v2 tablet required us to purchase some sort of keyboard/mouse combination. The Logitech DiNovo Mini met that need for our Tega v2 tablet.

The fact that the Surface will have a keyboard built right into the unit is a “killer feature”.

Folks that are spot checking their Live Tiles for something they are waiting for can touch their way through in a few taps and swipes.

Someone that needs to focus on finishing up that report or tweaking their proposal will require an extra input method. The Surface’s built-in keyboard kit is perfect for that.

For anyone that has travelled coach, the ability to disconnect the keyboard and rest it on our lap while the tablet itself sits on the now reclined seat table in front of us is going to be a really good thing too!

The Surface and other OEM Windows 8 product offerings that are going to be available soon are, IMNSHO, going to be a game changer for that market segment.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer

Royal Bank of Canada - Banner Ads while online banking?!?

Recently, it seems that the Royal Bank of Canada has decided that they need to banner ad some of their products and services while we are doing our online banking:

RBC Product Banner Ad

The above banner ad appeared after completing a bill payment online. That banner ad was also present when completing a personal transaction. Note the banner's URL it is pointing to is outside the RBC secure online environment.

This practice is just plain wrong in so many ways.

It took the banking industry a long time to overcome the overwhelmingly negative psychology of doing our banking online. In my case, it took one of my former employers over a year to convince me just to try it.

Yes, once online, I was hooked. However, for the right or wrong reasons, it was very difficult to get me to that point.

To me, this is like depositing a product salesman into my living room without my permission to sell me something.

That "living room" experience for my online banking was one of the keys to getting comfortable with doing my banking online.

Perhaps for many that are used to having banner ads in their lives in virtually any online experience this may not be a problem.

But, our online banking is tied to our entire livelihoods. Any mistake on the part of the bank or a flaw in a browser that allows someone to somehow compromise my online session should be avoided.

And, for Pete's sake, I see banner ads everywhere! Do I have to see them while I conduct my personal and business online banking?!?

Again, I may be totally off base since I am not a browser coder or Internet security guru. However, perception is 80% of the battle...

The other aspect of this that really gets me: We are paying for our online banking service.

To put it another way: We are now paying the bank to advertise to us ... much in the way the movie theaters realized that they could get away with 10 minute mini commercials prior to the movie starting.

We pay for the online banking service through our business. We pay a flat fee to the bank for our personal online service.

If the bank wants to sell us something, do so through the company's regular Web site.

Next stop: Letter to RBC's President and CEO Gordon M. Nixon, Barbara Stymiest COO, and the RBC Office of the Ombudsman.

There are some things in life that should be left alone ... and our online banking experience is one of them.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Signage Really Pays Off!

The area we are located in is a new one. The City of St. Albert only recently, as in the last couple of years or three, opened the land we are on to anyone wanting to put up a business condo.

The time we moved into our office and shop space was a crazy one. We needed to keep a handle on our client's needs as well as getting all of the renovations done before we moved in.

So, once we were in, we did not focus on getting some of the little things like a front sign done until late last summer.

This is our frontage:

MPECS Inc. Microsoft Small Business Specialists

At the time, the sign was not a priority as there was very little build up happening around us.

Now that real estate prices have settled back, that has changed. We now have business condos being built around us at a fast rate.

As it turns out, we just signed our first new SBS install as a result of that sign. They saw it and walked in to chat. The deal more than pays for the sign and then some.

Once we have outgrown this location, we will look at our options.

However, you can bet that putting a sign up on the front of our business wherever we end up will be a top priority from now on!

By the way, when it comes to Window Stickers such as our Intel Associate Member Program and the others, we never stick them on straight.

It is a simple psychological fact that something out of alignment will catch the eye of the passers-by versus an ordered set of items.

They don't need to be like a Fringe poster, but just out of alignment enough that they do not look sloppy or unprofessional.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.

Business Principles: Advertising where?!?

Susan's post on advertising is rather relevant today for us: Do we need advertisements everywhere?

We just unpacked a new HP LaserJet 1022 printer for a client and guess what we found in the box besides the expected printer related collateral?

We found a post card sized advertisement for a well known VOIP home phone replacement service in the printer box.

Finding the advertising in a product purchased by a client is really disappointing.

What message does that send about the product and/or the product's manufacturer? Is the product we just purchased now a vehicle to sell advertising?

And, more importantly, what message does it say about the purchaser of the manufacturer's product? What does that say about the manufacturer's perspective on who or what the product's purchaser is to them?

These questions are rhetorical in nature. Yet, the answers, if we dig deep enough, may surprise us.

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists

*All Mac on SBS posts are posted on our in-house iMac via the Safari Web browser.