Technology

, , ,

What's Not to "Like"?

, , ,

Let's imagine, just for a minute, that you decided on a new line of work: ripping off the IRS. How do you think you would launch your new business? Maybe you'd open a secret bank account in one of those "sunny places for shady people" like the Cayman Islands or Bahamas. You might rent a secret flop house where you could hide evidence of your crimes. And you'd probably look for someone who could make you a fake passport, just in case the heat comes down and you have to flee the country under a secret identity.

You probably wouldn't post anything about your new career online, would you? Right? But if you're Rashia Wilson — the self-appointed "first lady of tax fraud" — you'd brag about it all on Facebook! Why play it safe and discreet when you can

, , , , ,

Protecting Your Most Important Assets. Your Intellectual Property Rights.

, , , , ,

When you think about protecting company assets, several things probably come straight to mind, such as land, buildings, machinery, inventory and vehicles. In many instances companies overlook their intellectual property (IP), which can be one of their most valuable assets. By understanding the different types of intellectual property and how they can be protected against infringement you can help your business stay ahead of the competition.

Your business 'intellectual property' can include:

, , ,

Why More Businesses Are Turning To Online Training

, , ,

As more people turn to the internet for news, entertainment and social interaction, online training, also known as e-learning, is being chosen by more businesses to deliver the knowledge their employees need to achieve organizational goals. With many benefits to both a business and its employees, it’s easy to understand why e-learning continues to grow in popularity.

Benefits to the organization

Lower cost. Research has shown that e-learning is 40-60% less expensive than classroom learning. When employees learn online there are no instructor fees, room costs, and travel and meal expenses. For general knowledge, there are many “off-the-shelf” solutions that are very cost-effective, while customized e-learning programs are often more economical than in-class training.

Consistency. For companies with many locations, employees may receive inconsistent training content delivered with variable effectiveness depending on their particular instructor’s knowledge, interests and capabilities. The standardization of e-learning alleviates these issues.

, , , ,

"Like" This

, , , ,

America's economy continues to sputter. But stocks are picking up steam and flirting with four-year highs. We're even seeing new "dot-coms" hitting the market. Last May, the social networking site LinkedIn went public at $45 per share, then leaped to $94.25 in its first day of trading. Internet coupon vendor Groupon opened in November at $20 per share, then jumped 31% on its first day of trading. And earlier this month, Facebook filed registration papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission for what may be the hottest IPO since Google.

Companies typically go public to raise money to expand. But Facebook doesn't really need cash from an IPO. The company made nearly $4 billion in advertising revenue in 2011. So why go public?

, , ,

Tax "Hacking" With Rupert Murdoch

, , ,

Press Baron Rupert Murdoch started with his father's newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, and built it into the world's second-biggest media empire. Time magazine has ranked him three times in their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Vanity Fair routinely lists him in their "New Establishment" ranking of the 100 most influential people of the information age. And Forbes ranks him as one of the wealthiest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of $7.6 billion.

But now Murdoch's News Corporation is in hot water because reporters at Britain's News of the World tabloid illegally hacked into telephone voicemails across Britain. Since the scandal came to a boil, several company officials have resigned, others have been arrested, and the News of the World — which began publishing in 1843 when Queen Victoria ruled Britannia — has shut down.

,

Our experience with "cloud computing"... Wonderful!

,

I suppose I should first ask if you even know what the term "cloud computing" means. According to Wikipedia, cloud computing is Internet-based development and use of computer technology.  Essentially, this means that rather than installing some type of hardware or software in your own business computers you just use the Internet to access the tools you need via the Internet.

In our case here at Scholl, Chyo & Company, CPAs we recently finished migrating our email, calendar, scheduling, tasks, etc. from our Microsoft Exchange Servers to Google's Apps Premier Edition. I can now say that we're thrilled with the results. We've been able to eliminate the cost of maintaining several expensive servers and saving David, our internal IT guru a ton of time and aggravation. At $50 per employee per year its cost is less than the annual Microsoft Exchange updates alone.