As a proud member of CompTIA’s Subject Matter Expert Technical Advisory Committee, I’m always on the prowl for new experts in the tech industry to help out a great cause. For the uninformed, CompTIA is the most globally recognized non-profit body that oversees the gold-standard of vendor-neutral IT certifications for budding and experienced IT professionals alike. If you’ve heard of the A+ and Network+ exams, CompTIA is the wonderful organization behind them.

I have had few clients have asked me about how to print from their iPads and iPhones because certain applications such as Notes and Mail have had a print button available since iOS 4.2.1. The problem is unless you have a printer with a feature called “AirPrint”, you cannot print from the iOS devices. That was until some smart coders created a free application called “AirPrint Installer” that will allow any USB printer to become an AirPrint printer.

We’ve all lost clients from time to time, some of them very valuable. While it may not have been something we did, or something we didn’t do, it’s just one of those things that hurts business, and something we should keep to a minimum if at all possible. Clients switch from service to service sometimes because they hear of a discount, and often they find that service not up to par with the service you provide, and they call you back and resume business with you. Sometimes they never call back, and that’s where you can take the initiative. But the burning issue of the hour is: How can you make sure you are keeping existing clients, and not losing them due to some lack of effort on your part?

A potent Java security vulnerability appeared earlier this week that allows hackers to run malware on systems that have the Java plugin installed in their web browser. Yesterday, Oracle released an emergency update to plug this security hole and in order to get this update you simply need to update your Java version.
This is a simple task to do on a single computer but a bit more of a problem if you have multiple computers, even hundreds of computers that need updating.

Our friends over at Ninite have offered a special version of their Ninite Pro trial to help technicians get patch this Java vulnerability quickly.

As PC repair techs, we’re often called upon to troubleshoot issues such as Wi-Fi network issues, such as low signal, no connectivity, and so on. There are many many apps related to network testing, exploration, security analysis, and basic troubleshooting. Many of these are included in the Linux distro BackTrack, a favorite among those who work in penetration testing and network security infrastructure. However, in this article, I’d like to highlight two Wi-Fi testing and mapping apps for techs, both of which are freeware. They are invaluable for wireless network mapping, and should be included in every tech’s toolkit. Depending on what you use in the field, laptop, netbook, tablet, or smart phone, and depending on the area you’re analyzing, one or the other might be more useful. Both support 802.11a/b/g/n, as well.

If you’re often searching for ways to optimize your tech methods, creating USB installation media is a good place to start. Leave those CD wallets behind and utilize a few USB flash drives, something you can carry around easier and something that will speed up those installations as well. The requirements are few, and it won’t take long at all to create a bootable Windows 7 USB drive. With one extra step, you can make it a universal Windows 7 installation tool.

The terms “trimming services” and “gaining business” don’t seem as if they go together. At first glance, you’d consider them in stark contrast to one another. But I’ve pounded the minimalist drum before with my stance on firing horrible customers, and this time, I’m taking aim at a similar plague that gunks up even the most well-oiled computer repair businesses.

We all have our little USB toolkits, our ‘ultimate’ CD’s, our repair disks and other related repair tools. Most of us like to have a comprehensive list, a solution for every possible problem we could encounter in the field, to the extent of carrying around drivers for common hardware in the rare case there is no reliable internet connection near the client. The issue with having a comprehensive set of tools often means you have to search through your tools for the one you need, and once you’ve located it, run it, and then search for the tool you need to use next.

You may have a routine you would like to automate, but instead you sit there at the computer and babysit the mouse, clicking once every 5 to 15 minutes to close something, affirm something, or perform some other menial task. While automation is a partial solution, there is a much better solution that has been available for about a year in the tech sector, about which there have been some recent improved developments. It’s been mentioned on Technibble and Podnutz before, but it deserves full coverage.

Guest Post by Ronn Hanley:
Applying security patches to the Operating System of your computer can save you a ton of trouble when fighting viruses and malware. The problem is, as technicians we don’t always go far enough when it comes to patching software and hardware. It’s important to realize that you and your clients are vulnerable from other directions as well.

This post is a little different than our usual lineup as I would like to talk about the Technibble site itself.
Back in 2006 Technibble originally started on a shared host but as we became more and more popular, it began eating up most of the servers resources to the point where we were about to get kicked off the shared hosts servers. Soon afterwards I migrated Technibble to a dedicated server which ended up serving us well for a few years until we started overloading that server as well. In order for us to keep up with the traffic, we moved to cloud hosting where the site gets whatever it needs when it needs it. Of course, this costs even more money.

Technibble grew into something beyond what I could handle on my own so now we have a team of writers and a dedicated customer support person who have been great. Of course, this also costs money.

I plan on keeping front page content free forever but there are bills to pay and Techibble advertisers help offset some of these costs which I am thankful for.

That doesnt mean I allow just anyone to advertise with Technibble. I have had plenty of “How I lost a bazillion pounds in 4 days” and “Win an Free iPod!” type advertisers approach me and I tell them where to go. Technibble advertisers have to be solid, computer technician targeted products or services. Its all about keeping it relevant.

I am also big believer in under-promising and over-delivering (important for any business) so I would like to give the Technibble advertisers a little extra exposure. I would also like to help our readers by showing people like yourself what products are out there that could help you with your businesses and make you more money.

Here are the Technibble advertisers ordered by the amount of time they have advertised with Technibble: