In which city did Paul Allen and Bill Gates found a small partnership named Microsoft in 1975?

A)Albuquerque
B)Seattle
C)Dallas
D)Boston

Call 717-291-4689 or e-mail Sue Worthing at sue@ezsolution.com
with the correct answer.

By the time you get this newsletter, Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system will be on the market.

The official launch date of October 22nd saw multiple versions of the Windows 7 platform hit the streets. Dell and all the major computer vendors started taking orders for preinstalled versions of the software well in advance of the launch date.

We will primarily concern ourselves with the Windows 7 Professional Edition, since most of our business clients use XP Pro.

EZSolution has taken several steps over the past few years to prepare our client base for the transition.

First, we actively discouraged adoption of Vista for business applications.

Second, we made sure that every machine that we sold was Vista compatible, even though we sold the downgrade to XP. The reason for this was fairly simple. Even though we didn't recommend Vista, we knew the OS that followed would be built on Vista and it was important that the hardware be compatible for the transition to Windows 7.

Third, when we did replace parts in older machines, we made sure they would be Vista compatible, so the hardware was prepared for upgrade. For example, we used 256/512K video cards.

To move from Vista or XP Pro to Windows 7 you need to purchase the Windows 7 upgrade which currently has a retail price of $199.99. This version allows you to move from your current OS to Windows 7. Upgrading from Vista does not require a clean install, but is recommended.

The upgrade from XP Pro to Windows 7 does require a clean install. You can check your computers' ability to run Windows 7 by downloading the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor at: www.microsoft.com/downloads

We have installed Windows 7 on our office machines and personal machines. It is fast, easy to use and well organized, with many features you will appreciate.

by Tom Malesic

YouTube - How will my videos go viral?
For most businesses your videos that you post on YouTube will not be at the top of the most watched videos and they probably won't get you any viral marketing benefits. And that's OK!

What do you want YouTube to do for your business?
For most of our clients the conversation is not so much about YouTube but more about video in general.

The fact is, as internet connection speeds increase, we become even more impatient than ever. Why read when you can watch a video! Right?

So how do you use video successfully on a website? If you have visited our website recently you have come across many video clips. You have the option of watching the videos or reading the text. Most importantly, the video is always about the section of the site that you are on.

I'm adding Video for 3 reasons:
1.You might be lazy like me and would rather watch a video than read.

2.The videos are part of my branding strategy.

3.The videos support my primary goal of the website which is to have people contact me in some way.

They allow YOU to meet me online which will help you form an opinion of me. Hopefully the videos make you feel that I am a guy that you could do business with. Many of our clients are not local. This gives the folks that we never meet face-to-face the opportunity to meet us.

Video Testimonials
Video testimonials are much stronger than written testimonials. After all, you could have just made those up. But with video you get a WOW factor. That's why you get testimonials in the first place. Right?

After you have these videos created, why not get the extra exposure that YouTube offers. In most cases we will actually reference the YouTube hosted video on your site.

Videos are the most powerful tool you can use on your site. If you would like to learn more about how EZSolution can help you use video effectively on your website, please call me at 717.291.4689 .

Sue joined EZSolution in the summer of 2005 as our Assistant after a lengthy career as a legal secretary and paralegal. Sue is the first person you talk to when you call EZSolution and is very skilled at helping web site clients with email issues. Sue has dubbed herself "Employee Happiness Coordinator" since she is responsible for maintaining employee happiness around the office. Sue is married to Mark and has a son, Luke, who she loves to spend time with when not at EZSolution.

Thanks Sue, we have come to rely on you and greatly appreciate what you do for us.

One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning of Lancaster has been an EZSolution customer for over 10 years.

During that time we have helped One Hour expand their computer technology. Our goal is to maintain the network with as little down-time as possible. We realize that every moment that they can't work is potential money and customers lost.

One Hour is unique among HVAC service providers.

First is their guarantee for being on time. "Always on time or you don't pay a dime," is their slogan. They have eliminated waiting for the serviceman to arrive. You will know exactly when to expect your service technician. "Waiting on us or any other service contractor is the last thing you want to do."

Second, they also provide a flat fee estimate to repair your problem. After a diagnosis, their trained technician will present to you all of your repair options, complete with a flat cost to do all of the work. There is no guessing on your part and they 100% guarantee their work.

In addition to HVAC services, One Hour has a partner business call Mister Sparky. Mister Sparky is a full service electrical service company, which operates much the same way as One Hour, offering on-time 100% guaranteed service, with Straight Forward Pricing up front. The business is built on having you the customer talk to a real live person, and making an exact appointment, with a technician who carries over 3500 parts on his truck ready to repair your problem. Not only do you know what the service will cost up front, you will receive a 100% guarantee on your satisfaction.

"We appreciate EZSolution's fast response to our computer and server needs. When you operate in a time sensitive business culture, it is a breath of fresh air to have a partnering business operate with a similar mindset. I would personally recommend EZSolution if you are looking for an IT company."

Scott Rohrer, President

Farnham Insurance
www.farnhaminsurance.com

Lancaster Phys. Therapy
www.lancasterpt.com

Earth Turf & Wood
www.earthturfwood.com

Lombardos
www.lombardosrestaurant.com

I'm not computer savvy, so I truly appreciate the knowledgeable, patient and courteous staff at EZSolution. Would I recommend EZSolution to you? Without any hesitation!

Ruth Grigoriades Symposium Restaurant

Business Continuity Planning

For the next several issues of the newsletter you will see several references to Business Continuity Planning or BCP.

BCP is working out how to stay in business in the event of a disaster. A disaster could be local, like building fires, floods or regional incidents like earthquake or even national incidents.

A disaster, either human - made or natural, is a disruption you should plan for.

The BCP is the creation and testing of a rehearsed logistical plan for how an organization will recover and partially or completely restore interrupted critical functions within a predetermined time.

Disaster survival statistics suggest that companies do not plan adequately. 150 of the 350 firms closed by the 1993 World Trade Center incident did not reopen.

Following September 11, the firms affected that had well defined BCPs in place were open in a matter of days.

At it's simplest, a BCP may be nothing more than a printed manual stored safely away from the work place containing the names, addresses and phone numbers for crisis management contacts, staff members, clients, and vendors along with the location of off site data storage media, copies of insurance contracts, and other critical material.

At the more complex end, the manual may outline a secondary worksite, technical requirements and readiness, work recovery methods and the means to reestablish physical records. The BCP, along with crisis management and disaster recovery planning, is part of your over-all risk management strategy.

At this point you may be wondering why you are reading about this in the EZSolution newsletter.

As EZSolution evolves our business model toward Managed Services, more and more of our clients will be relying on us to keep them up and running 24/7.

Managed services is only one part of the Business Continuity Model we are developing for you. There is Back Up and Disaster Recovery and down the road, cloud computing.

Currently we are deploying on- site disaster recovery devices that allow incremental offsite backups, virtual restoration of production servers on the device and overnight replacement, to have your critical servers in production in 24 hours.

Please check out our website for more detailed information. www.ezsolution.com/backup-solutions.asp.

When your referral becomes a client (and has spent $1000 or more) then we will pay you $50 more. And, we will give your referral $100 off their purchase.