The technical problem indicated at the time was the computer was not booting up all the way. This, of course, could be several things but this post is not intended to discuss the technical aspect of the call.

When I arrived the client showed me to the server which he had started to take apart on his own. It was soon determined that it needed a proprietary power supply and since none of the stores were open on this holiday Monday, we would not be able to fix the computer. But that wasn’t the biggest problem.

The client asked me if I would reseat the processor which he removed on his own. I replied “No problem”. But I noticed that it had been forcibly removed. In other words, the arm that needs to be lifted in order to remove the processor was not lifted and the processor and heat sink had been forced away from the motherboard. Not a good situation. Instead of having a potential simple problem, we now had a potential disaster on our hands! Pins were bent on the processor and even though I bent them back the unit would not even fire up and return a video.

At this point we called it a day.

As entrepreneurs we have achieved certain successes in our lives which give us the confidence in ourselves to solve problems. Sometimes this confidence backfires as it did today, however. I am guilt of the same problem at times and today was a gentle reminder for me not to suffer this same fate. Hopefully it is for you as well. Wait for the Pro!

WordPress is a free blogging software tool. There are two ways to use WordPress; both are free, and both do a good job (If I haven’t mentioned it yet I am writing this post with the assumption that the reader is unfamiliar with blogging and WordPress). WordPress.com offers an easy way to get started. Your blog is hosted online by WordPress and completely accessible from any internet accessible computer in the world. There is no limit to the amount of blogs you can create and every time you post on one of your blogs it’s an opportunity for you to create content that will help someone and help your website’s search engine rankings.

I’ll write more on this later with more specific instructions. In the meantime please visit wordpress.com and get started with your own blog!

Communicating by video saves time and money but will it really eliminate your need for travelling? Probably not. More than likely it will just reduce it. There are still plenty of reasons to meet in person such as a simple handshake being required to solidify a relationship or a group event that can’t be simulated over video. Perhaps you have some product that is being tested on location or someone that needs to be ‘felt’. In these cases communicating by video won’t be a viable alternative.

But what about those monthly Board meetings where everyone sits around the same table, reviews the minutes from last month, the financial statements, etc. Absolutely! Why are you doing those in person? Especially if there are great distances involved. These days even a home-based high speed internet connection is good enough to join a video meeting. There are several tools that I use on a regular basis to accomplish this goal such as GoToMeeting, WebEx, Skype or an H.323-compliant endpoint like a Tandberg system. My reasons for using each are different.

I use GoToMeeting and WebEx for those use cases when desktop collaboration may be required, recording may be necessary and audio and plenty of time has been allocated for tech support. Desktop collaboration and white boarding is often a necessary component to a meeting especially when the meeting is more of a group work session and not a lecture or a quick “hello”. These are often the sessions that are useful to refer to after the meeting has taken place. Both WebEx and GoToMeeting offer reasonable recording solutions (more on this in a later post) that can be accessed for review by all parties after the meeting has ended. As well, these solutions are not as widely used as Skype so I tend to use them for those participants that will be meeting on a regular basis rather than a ‘one of’ meeting as some technical support and training are required to learn how to setup and use these products productively.

I use Skype in situations where I do not need a recording of my meeting or when i need to send someone a quick IM (Instant Message). Skype is widely used by millions of people so my time is less likely to be consumed by troubleshooting their connection as they have likely already done so if they are on Skype already. It is a very good and effective tool for the quick conversation and an excellent alternative to the telephone if you want to see someone on the other end. The call quality has also increased very well over the past five years.

My H.323 compliant solution of choice is a Tandberg endpoint that sits on my desk. It is a MXP 1000 (I think) and I use it for those situations where I want an excellent call quality or require a multi-site connection. By using this unit I do not have to worry about my processor speed, available computer resources, desktop software interfering with call quality, etc. It is not cheap and is therefore out of the price range of most small time users.

I will be reviewing desktop videoconferencing solutions in a future post soon.  As always, thanks for taking the time to read this. Feel free to Subscribe to my posts using the link on the right side.