It’s hard to resist the cheaper prices you see on laptops made for the consumer market, but a business-grade device could actually be a much better deal in the long run.

There are distinct differences between laptops that are made and marketed to the everyday consumer and those that are designed for business use. These include everything from case quality to performance.

Laptops generally see more “rough and tumble” wear than a desktop computer, simply because they’re designed to be taken from place to place. This can increase the chance of screen damage, keyboard spills, or other things requiring PC repair.

A cheap consumer-grade laptop can last as few as 2 years, whereas a business-grade laptop will typically last at least 5 years.

If you want to get the most out of your laptop investment both in longevity and productivity, there are a number of reasons why you’ll want to bypass a consumer device and go for a laptop designed for business instead.

Why Business Laptops Make More Sense, No Matter What You’re Using It For

You might think that a consumer laptop is okay because you’re not technically using it for business, but it’s more about the quality you get for your money than it is about the name.

For the upgrade in parts, longevity, and performance that you get, the business-grade laptop is a much better deal, dollar for dollar. Here are several reasons why.

1. More Durable Cases

Did you find a steal on a cheap laptop during Black Friday? You might be keeping the case together with duct tape less than a year later. Those low-priced consumer laptops have cases that are not nearly as durable and can easily come apart even during normal opening and closing.

The cases for business-grade laptops will typically be made of better and more durable materials, meaning less damage physically and to internal parts.

2. Better Keyboards & Touch Pads

Business-grade laptops are designed for productivity and all-day use, so they’ll typically come with more tactile keyboards, meaning they’re easier to use. You’ll also generally find the touch pads of business laptops give you better control and are less susceptible to cursor jumping from inadvertent contact while typing.

3. Longer Battery Life & Replaceable Batteries

Battery life is an important part of laptop performance, especially if you need to be away from a power source for long periods of time.

A laptop battery for consumer use can last an average of 18 to 24 months, after which you could have serious charging or battery life issues.

Batteries used in business-grade laptops are designed to last longer and also be replaceable. So, purchasing a business laptop can allow you to simply replace the battery if it begins to lose its charge rather than having to buy a whole new computer.

4. Better Displays

One of the lesser noticed components when you’re just comparing laptop prices, is the screen quality. Business-grade laptops are often designed with better screen quality both in pixel size and features to improve use in a wide variety of settings.

For example, the Lenovo ThinkPad E495 (which we carry at Pro Tech Guy) has an FHD (full HD) anti-glare screen. It also includes a technology called IPS, which displays a consistent color at any viewing angle.

5. More Easily Upgradable

Consumer laptops are generally made with fewer upgradable components than business laptops.

This means you can get stuck with a computer that freezes when you try to multi-task because it only has 4GB of non-upgradable memory.

The ability to upgrade components in a laptop is important because it can increase useful lifespan and allow you to easily add performance for much less cost than buying a whole new device.

6. They Cost Less Than You Think

Many people don’t even consider a business-grade laptop for their everyday use because they think it’s going to cost much more than a consumer laptop.

But there are many well priced business-grade laptops that fall in a similar price range to consumer-grade, depending upon the features.

7. Better Quality & Longevity

The components used inside business laptops are higher quality than those put into the consumer-grade versions. This means they will last longer and give you more useful lifespan.

If you end up having to replace a consumer laptop after just 3 years because it’s made from lower quality parts, you could end up paying much more than a longer-lasting business laptop would’ve cost you to buy in the first place.

8. Improved Performance for High Productivity

Business laptops are designed to be used day in and day out in a business setting. Consumer laptops are not. That difference will often show up in things like memory and processing power.

A business-grade laptop built for productivity will be better at multi-tasking and generally have fewer issues overall when it comes to performance.

Find Your Perfect Business-Grade Laptop!

Pro Tech Guy offers a number of business-grade laptops from the affordable to the high-end range. Before you choose that next laptop, come to us to see some excellent options!

Contact us today to learn more. Call 508-364-8189 or reach us online.

Have you ever considered having a managed services plan for your home computer? [Read more…]

After the COVID-19 outbreak, no one is looking at a surface in quite the same way. From door handles to shopping carts, we’ve become hyperaware that germs can be lurking on all types of places.

Some of the surfaces that we touch the most often are our electronics. Just think about how many times a day you touch your mouse, smartphone, keyboard, or TV remote control.

If you’re not doing it already, it’s a good idea to disinfect these devices regularly to protect yourself and your family and prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus or other germs.

How long does the novel coronavirus live on surfaces?

Depending upon the surface type and conditions, you can be looking at between 3 to 4 days that the virus can last on surfaces.

• Plastic and stainless steel: up to 72 hours (3 days)

• Glass: up to 96 hours (4 days)

You need to be careful when dealing with electronics. For example, you don’t want to use just soap and water to clean them like you do with your hands, or they might get damaged and need emergency tech repairs.

Below, we’ve got guidelines on the proper way to safely sanitize your electronics without harming them.

Here’s the Right Way to Sanitize/Disinfect Your Smartphone, Mouse, Keyboard & Other Electronics

By nature, electronics and water don’t play well together. When you’re going through disinfecting, even if you have a waterproof iPhone or Galaxy device, it’s best to use alcohol-based cleaners instead.

Here are the steps on how to safely sanitize your electronic devices.

Know the Difference Between “Disinfecting” and “Cleaning”

If you don’t use the right solution to wipe down the surfaces of your electronics, you may just be cleaning them of dirt, but not killing the coronavirus or other potential germs or bacteria.

This is another reason that you don’t want to use water on waterproof mobile devices, because it’s not going to provide the sanitizing that you need.

It’s important to use alcohol-based cleaning solution or wipes, but to also know the percentage you need to kill the virus on surfaces.

The recommendation is to use products with a minimum of 70% isopropyl alcohol to disinfect surfaces properly.

Unplug & Power Off All Devices

Begin with this basic safety step, which is to power off and unplug your devices before you begin. If you’re cleaning something like a TV remote control or wireless mouse or keyboard, then take out the batteries to power them down while cleaning.

Dust and Wipe Down Devices First

The sanitizing step is more productive if you first do a dusting and wiping down of your device. This removes any dirt or built up oils and helps provide a cleaner surface for the disinfecting step.

Use a microfiber cloth or microfiber wands (for small surfaces) to prevent scratches and any lint being left behind. For stubborn smudges, use a circular motion instead of rubbing back and forth.

For getting dust and particles out of keyboards, mouse wheels and other crevices, use compressed air.

Sanitize Your Device with the Right Solution

Use either alcohol-based wipes or a solution that has no less than 70% isopropyl alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is recommended for disinfecting electronics because:

• It can kill the coronavirus (if at least 70%) and other germs

• It evaporates quickly and won’t leave moisture behind on your electronics

If using a solution of a 70% isopropyl alcohol, apply it with a clean microfiber cloth or wand (looks like a Q-tip, but is microfiber, not cotton). If using an alcohol-based cleaning wipe, make sure it meets the 70% minimum.

Apple states that Clorox Disinfecting Wipes can be used on their products over hard, non-porous surfaces.

Allow Disinfectant to Remain for at Least 30 Seconds

30 seconds is the recommended amount of time to allow the isopropyl alcohol product to remain on the surface without being disturbed in order to kill viruses.

After that time, you can start using your devices again and power them back up as soon as all the alcohol has evaporated.

What NOT to Do

We already mentioned not using water to disinfect your electronics, here are some other things you want to avoid.

• Don’t Use Bleach: Bleach may help kill viruses and bacteria on kitchen and bathroom surfaces, but it’s very corrosive and should not be used on electronics.

• Don’t Submerge Electronics in Cleaning Agents: Even if your smartphone is waterproof, that doesn’t mean you can dunk it into isopropyl alcohol. Don’t submerge electronics into cleaning agents of any type.

• Don’t Use the Wrong Cloth: Using towels, paper towels, or other non-microfiber cloths can cause scratching of your screen or leave lint pieces behind in your keyboard or crevices. Stick to microfiber cloths, they are specifically designed for cleaning things like eyeglasses and electronics.

Does Your Computer Have Inside Protection from Viruses as Well?

Don’t forget about internal computer viruses that can easily happen if your device isn’t properly protected. Pro Tech Guy offers convenient Cloud Care to keep your system both secure and optimized.

Contact us today to learn more. Call 508-364-8189 or reach us online.

More people than ever before are using online video conferencing. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, applications like Zoom and Skype have been invaluable for keeping employees connected to work, students educated, and locked down families in touch. [Read more…]

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, many people across Framingham and the rest of Massachusetts find themselves now working from home. Both businesses and government agencies have had to quickly change their way of operating to support social distancing guidelines.

What this means for businesses and their employees is that they might not have the same level of IT and network security as they do in an office environment.

Many small businesses were caught off guard when it came time to make a decision about having employees work remotely. They didn’t have a lot of time to implement protocols for data security of devices connecting from home networks.

On top of this, hackers are all over this transition, and attempting to breach home networks to gain access to sensitive business data.

5 out of 6 home Wi-Fi routers leave users at risk of cyberattacks.

But you don’t have be in constant worry about a breach of your work PC while telecommuting. There are several steps you can take to secure your device and home network to prevent a data breach. [Read more…]

Say you want to search out local pizza places. When you type in the search term (for pizza or another local product or service), you’ll get served up a map by Google along with a listing of three local businesses and a link to see more.

This map listing is known as the Google Local Pack and it’s a prized ranking position because it comes up above the normal organic listings.

If your business isn’t optimized to for the Local Pack, you could be missing out on a quite a bit of business that’s going to your competitors instead.

29% of all Google search engine results pages include a Local Pack in the results.  

When it comes to your business technology and marketing strategy, knowing how to take advantage of online rankings makes a big difference in your bottom line.

We’ll go through how to show up in the map listings and why it’s important for your small business strategy, whether you’re in Framingham, Natick, Sudbury or anywhere in the surrounding Metrowest area. [Read more…]

Your child thinks they may have downloaded a virus and their computer is acting up. How do you get it checked if you can’t leave your home?

You’re struggling with setting up your work email on your home computer, but don’t have your coworkers around to ask for help. What now?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could wave a wand and magically get a computer technician to appear in moments to fix your issue?

Near instant support is possible without you having to leave your home and it’s just like having a computer tech sitting at your keyboard. And you don’t need a magic wand, all you need is a connection through a remote support app.

While businesses have been taking advantage of remote tech support for quite a while, it’s a service that can also easily be used by residential customers for a majority of common computer problems. [Read more…]

Phishing scammers have always been a group to take advantage of a natural disaster or crisis, and the coronavirus pandemic is no different. Since February, COVID-19 phishing scams have been multiplying nearly as fast as the virus.

Phishing related to the coronavirus has increased 667% in less than a month. These scams take multiple forms, including fake emails related to work policies and promises of cures that are anything but.

One thing they all have in common is the desire to do no good. These malicious emails typically have three main goals:

• Take you to a site that will automatically download malware onto your device

• Compromise your login credentials by linking you to a fake form

• Steal money, credit card details, SSN (or other sensitive information)

These scams can be especially effective with two-thirds of the U.S. population under a “stay at home” order to help prevent the spread of the pandemic.

People are working from home and may not ask for that second opinion they usually do when faced with a strange email. Additionally, kids are home from school in many states, meaning more computer time and more chance they’ll get taken in by a phishing scam over email or social media.

While remote support services from Pro Tech Guy can help with virus removal with no in-person visit needed, it’s much better to avoid these scams all together.

Read on for tips on how to stay safe. [Read more…]

When you run a small business, it’s often easier to just get your email through a free service you’ve been using for your personal email, like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or another. They’re set up to be user friendly, and best of all, they’re free.

But what does a customer think when they see an email from “[email protected]?” It doesn’t exactly reflect a professional company that has everything together.

33% of consumers doubt the trustworthiness of a generic email address.

Some of the unspoken things that consumers think when they see a company using a free generic email for their business are:

• They’re not big enough to even have a business email address

• They might not be legitimate and might just take my money

• They’re not professional or don’t take pride in their work/business

• They’re aren’t doing very well and can’t afford proper business emails

Now, it could be that none of those things are true and you just find it more convenient to use an email address from Gmail or Yahoo, but what’s true and the impression your customer’s get can be two very different things.

You’re most likely paying for professional business equipment, IT support, and other things that help you deliver your products or services, but your reputation could be taking a big hit thanks to your email address.

The roughly $100 a year you might save by using a free email service just isn’t worth it when you factor in the drawbacks for your business. [Read more…]

“Can I get one more year out of this computer?” That’s a question people often find themselves asking when working on a computer that’s past its prime.

The price tag of purchasing a new system can cause people to hang onto a PC longer than they should. Some users are just really comfortable with their device after using it for years and don’t like the thought of having to change to a new one and move all their data.

We tend to get very attached to our PCs for a variety of reasons, but hanging onto them longer than you should instead of upgrading to a new computer, could end up causing you multiple problems.

How long should a computer last?

The usable lifespan of a computer can vary according to model and the types of components used inside, but on average it’s between three to five years.

Business computers made with higher quality components will typically outlast consumer PCs, which are not designed for as much continuous use. A budget PC bought during a Black Friday sale will most likely wear out closer to the 3-year mark.

The standard lifespan of a computer is 3 to 5 years.

As much as you may want to keep using a computer as long as it’s “usable,” it could end up costing you in a number of ways rather than saving you money. [Read more…]