Still haven't found all the right gifts for this holiday season? You are on your own there - but we CAN help ensure a safe online shopping experience. Internet shopping has become widely popular over the years, and this year retailers have seen a big increase in mobile transactions as well. Consumers can skip the lines and the crowds and save a lot of cash in the process. Online shopping is generally safe, although there are a few tips you'll want to be aware of before going virtual shopping this holiday season.

We'd like to wish everyone warm and safe travels this Thanksgiving. Spend time with family and friends, divulge in great food, and try to get your mind off work for a day or two! We'd like to take a short moment to share the things we're thankful for.

Tablets are definitely becoming a staple in the consumer electronics world. For the longest time, the tablet PC was an expensive, clunky device that just didn't wow consumers. Some businesses had adopted tablets back in the day, but they were difficult to use, hard to support, and they simply didn't perform for the price tag. However, like many consumer electronics, Apple reinvigorated the tablet market with the original iPad, and now it would seem tablets are here to stay. The question is, are they right for businesses?

A lot of Southern California small businesses are taking advantage of regular proactive maintenance that keeps their servers and workstations in tip-top shape much longer than their typical lifespan. Amazing amounts of money are saved on new hardware and downtime and everything is just peachy! You've been able to run that old server for years and you have workstations that are still chugging away on Windows XP. What you don't know is that your old technology, even if it is in perfect working order, could be drastically slowing things down for your business.

"Change your battery or switch to outlet power immediately." This is one of the dreaded warnings for any Windows user. No one likes to be interrupted while on a laptop only to be informed that his or her battery is about to die. Is there anything we can do to better save our battery life? The answer is Yes. Here are some simple tips on how to maximize your Windows laptop battery performance.

Foursquare is a social network of sorts that works like a marketing game. Users run Foursquare on their mobile phones. It uses GPS to pinpoint your location and pulls up stores, restaurants, and other public locations and venues in your vicinity. You can then 'check in' to the place you are at, and it will share it with your friends. It's a service that promotes word-of-mouth marketing!

Some companies go to great lengths to make sure their backup is up to date. Data is extremely important, and yet fragile. There are so many situations that can cause data loss, is your backup solution ready?

Business owners and executives aren't always chained to their desk. Sometimes opportunities take you out of the office, out of town, and on the road. Traveling to vendor shows, conferences, training, expos, or even hitting the greens for a few days doesn't mean you need to be totally inaccessible. It's becoming increasingly simple to for the traveling business person to stay connected and get things done even when not at the office.

With today’s global economy, the time and money spent on marketing needs to be stretched pretty thin, and results need to  be tracked carefully so you know how to make the most of a limited marketing budget.  Fortunately, we’re experiencing a worldwide revolution in the form of the way people communicate, share information, and how small businesses can reach their customers.  The Internet has opened up huge possibilities, but the real question is how are customers finding YOUR business, and how can you make it easier to be seen.

Voice Over IP phone systems add a lot of great features that businesses can take advantage of, and are improving the way companies are using their voice communication. Besides the fact that supporting older analogue phone systems is becoming increasingly harder as technology carries us forward, here are 7 reasons why Southern California businesses should switch over to voice over IP.