p14, v6.36 — Business News & Trends

Business News & Trends

Mountain Views News Saturday, September 8, 2012

MVNews this week: Page 14

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

Mountain Views News Saturday, September 8, 2012

2-IN-1

After my Dell laptop died 2 years ago I decided against replacing it as I already had two work-
assigned computers at my disposal and, since much of my at-home computing activities revolved
around work issues, it seemed totally reasonable that I should just use one of those computers. The
work machine that I used most often was a Dell Latitude E5530 running Windows 7 Professional.
This machine was fairly built-out (Win 7 64-bit Professional, 2nd Gen i5 Intel Core processors,
8GB RAM, 650GB HDD) and had all the administration tools installed that I needed to tweak my
network remotely. The other machine was a Macbook (Mac OS X 10.6, 2.0 Core Duo Intel processor,
8GB RAM, 500GB HDD) and was also outfitted with all the remote administration tools and office
productivity software I needed to accomplish my daily tasks.

Over the course of time the MacBook became my primary tool-of-choice for a variety of reasons
for routine tasks but when it came time to whip out the big guns to work on a problem or project,
the main platform was the Dell. I think I liked the MacBook because it seemed less work-like to
me and, when I brought it home with me, it didn’t sit there reminding by association of whatever
business project needed doing at the time. Fast-forward to 2 months ago and the great new business
opportunity that fell into my lap that involved a change of workplace and job title. That’s when it
dawned on me that I now needed a computer. I took a chance and asked my former employer if I
could keep the MacBook and to my great relief, they agreed. That only partially solved my problem as
I had a ton of software that only runs on Windows and I was now going to need to get all of this stuff
on a single platform, one way or another. My first inkling was just to buy another Dell \ Windows
laptop but before I even had a chance to begin looking up the latest prices I remembered that there
was a way I could fix this dilemma without incurring the cost of a new computer in the process:
VMware Fusion 5.

VMware Fusion is a normal application that you install on your Mac and you can use it after you’ve
booted into Mac OS X. It resides in your Applications folder and it sits on your Dock, just like Safari
and iTunes. After VMware Fusion has been installed and started for the first time you can create
what’s called a virtual machine. This is actually a file that lives on your Mac, but to the user it appears
to be an actual computer running within Mac OS X. You can see the Windows boot up process on
the virtual machine when it starts. VMware Fusion will help you install whichever operating system
you’d like to use on your virtual machine. Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 7 are just two of
many operating systems you can install. You could also install a Linux-based operating system if that
is your preference.

Once you’ve installed your operating system, you can boot into your virtual machine after you’ve
started your Mac. In fact, you can even switch out of your virtual machine and back into Mac OS X
at any time. The two operating systems are running in parallel, so you’ll never have to restart your
Mac to get from Mac OS X to Windows, or vice versa. VMware is available for download at http://
www.vmware.com. A 30-day trial is available for free and a single-user retail license costs $50. So
far most, as in 95% or better, of my Windows software is compatible with VMware and the virtual
session runs smoothly.

BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques

By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA

PORTABLE PAYMENT OPTIONS

Mobile credit card readers are making it easier than ever for you to accept and process credit card
payments while on-the-go. Remote credit card processing machines are not new, but a new category
of products is creating a revolution with an application of the technology to Smart Phones that can
allow you to accept payments most anywhere. Mobile payments are transactions processed via
wireless technology. It is considered safer than processing payment via the phone or internet since
a physical credit card is presented in person to be scanned on the mobile credit card reader.

Until recently, PayPal has reigned as the most popular online payment service outside of vendor-
specific websites like Amazon.com and other retailers. But this new mobile payment processing
technology can turn any Smart Phone into a portable payment register. It is no longer necessary
to return to the office to prepare an invoice to send to a potential buyer who is ready to pay with a
credit card. Entrepreneurs and businesses that accept credit cards generate more sales than those
that only accept cash and checks. In addition to providing your customers with a full range of
options to make purchases, it also allows you to take your business beyond the confines of four walls
of an office or retail location. This opens up opportunities for entrepreneurs to turn participation in
trade shows and other offsite presentations and meetings into activities that can generate revenue.

By signing up for a mobile credit card processing service, you will be able to provide real-time
transactions at low and competitive rates. You also have the ability to transmit receipts to customers
via e-mail or text for each transaction. One of the most impressive upfront benefits is that the most
popular of these new services is free to get started. The companies that offer mobile credit card
processing services charge a percent for each transaction. Most offer the small credit card scanning
device at no cost.

Larger, hand held devices that print are also available, but the newer, smaller devices are less than
one inch thick and most are less than half the size of a standard business card. The compact size has
created a whole new realm of possibilities for sales offsite. Some of the most popular include Intuit’s
Go Payment, PayPal’s Here and the Square, co-created by Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter.

For a review of the top ten mobile credit card processing systems, visit: http://credit-card-processing-
review.toptenreviews.com.

CHECK YOUR FACEBOOK INSIGHTS

If you have a Facebook page, take a look at your “insights.” This will give you important information
about the demographics of your audience and feedback about your posts. You can find out all kinds
of information, “likers” by location (country, city) and even by language spoken. You can even find
out if there were any “unlikes” and when those events occurred.

Once you have 30 “Likes” for your Facebook page, you will have access to your insights. They are
located in your admin panel at the top of your page. Select “see all” and you will open up detailed
reports about the demographics of your audience on Facebook

Don’t be afraid to click on the little blue numbers as more detailed information and charts will come
up. For example, under the area of “Page Posts,” you can click on a number under “engaged users”
and a pie chart flies with more details. The pie chart will show you what the “engaged users” did,
how many clicked on a photo, shared etc. It will also let you know if any negative activity happened
(people who hid your post or gave it negative feedback in the news feed.)

Use the insight information to help you with your messaging strategies. For example, you can see if
you have more men than women who like your page and what age group favors your page. Depending
on what you find out, tailor your content to fit your demographics.

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes in
Social Media Education for business owners. Join their conversation on Facebook and get good tips
and tricks about social media, www.facebook.com/hutdogs