If your smart phone freezes on you, resist the urge to pull a Naomi Campbell. Read these tips instead; you’ll save yourself unnecessary frustration – and even the cost of a new phone.

Frozen Treat: Three tips on resetting your smart phone.

How to Thaw a Frozen BlackBerry (all versions)

The first step to take if your BlackBerry is misbehaving is to reset it. Doing this will clear the internal memory and solve many issues. There are three ways to reset a BlackBerry: soft, double-soft, and hard.

Soft Reset
Press ALT+RIGHT SHIFT(CAP)+DELETE to perform a soft reset.

Use this reset method when you want to stop all applications on a BlackBerry while leaving the device powered on.

Double-Soft Reset
Start by performing a soft reset (ALT+RIGHT SHIFT(CAP)+DELETE). The screen will turn off. When it turns back on, press ALT+RIGHT SHIFT(CAP)+DELETE again. You should then see another blank screen, followed by an hourglass.

Performing a double-soft reset stops all applications on the BlackBerry and is nearly the equivalent of a hard reset. Timing is the key to performing this manuever. This is something to try if you are having difficulty removing the battery to perform a hard reset.

Hard Reset
Starting with the device powered ON, remove the battery for 30-60 seconds. After you put the battery back in, the device will reboot. This usually takes between one and three minutes.

NOTE: The BlackBerry Pearl, Curve and Storm only have the ability to perform a hard reset. However, there are third-party applications that you can download that provide the ability to perform a soft reset. (by Joel Reeves)

How to Thaw a Frozen Windows Mobile Device (Pocket PC Edition 5, 6) Read more…

admin BlackBerry, Mobile Devices, Windows Mobile, Worker Productivity BlackBerry, freeze, hard reset, soft reset, Windows Mobile

Sometimes it’s hard to explain in just a few words what this company does. Of course we help people with their PCs — that’s how the company got its start in 1992. But over the past 18 years, we have expanded our offerings. We help with Macs, mobile devices, Tier 1 help desk, migrations, and much more.

“The Ribbon” almost became a profanity in 2009. It’s central to the Office redesign, and it has rendered even seasoned Office users lost and confused.

Are we “efficiency experts”? We think so. Are we “leisure enablers”? Yes, we are. Are we “ROI generators”? Precisely.

Here’s a breakdown:

1. Mobile Device Support

I, personally, cannot imagine a world without on-the-go access to e-mail, documents, maps and every other feature my mobile device affords me. And, I suspect, most corporate workers would agree.

And smart phones will only become more central to how we work. According to a 2009 study, mobile use for business will double from 2008 to 2011 and the variety of devices being used will increase. Problem is, IT departments will continue to be ill-equipped to handle the support needs. Read more…

admin Customer Service BlackBerry, Customer Service, Help Desk, iPhone, mobile device, Office 2007, Outsourcing, smart phone, Windows Mobile

It’s a new year. The economy’s rebounding and, according to a recent survey, employee confidence is on the rise. Here are three software tips that will help you to become more productive and ride the momentum.

How to Create an AutoText Entry (Word 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007)

By David McQueary

Retyping long strings of text over and over can become tedious.

Say you are creating a Word document for your company, and you have to use the firm’s 30-character name countless times throughout. Retyping long strings of text over and over can become tedious. Use AutoText instead; it makes document creation much faster and much less repetitive.

Word 2000, 2002, 2003

1. Click on the Insert menu and select AutoText.
2. In AutoText you can create your own entry. Once you enter the company name click the Add button on the right.
3. Click OK. Read more…

admin Time-Saving Tips, Worker Productivity autotext, BlackBerry, recession, Windows Mobile

Although the weather and the traffic are enough to make some swear off the winter holidays all together, two short work weeks in a row is what makes it worth enduring. The business world in general moves at a slower pace during this pleasant period — and it’s even more relaxing if you remember to set your away messages before you leave the office on Dec. 24. We’ve compiled a list of tips to get you ready for your yuletide break.

Outlook: Activating the Out of Office Assistant (versions 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007)

By Mary Hazel McDermott

Top tips to get you ready for your yuletide break.

Before you leave on vacation or even a long weekend, it is a good idea to set up an Out of Office message. This allows Outlook to reply automatically to each person that sends you a message when you are not there. Outlook replies only once to each person to avoid creating a large volume of messages.

Turning on the out of office message:

1. Click on the Tools menu and click on Out of Office Assistant. (If you do not see Out of Office Assistant, the option may be disabled; call the help desk for assistance.)
2. Select “I Am Currently Out Of The Office.”
3. Set up your AutoReply message.
4. Click OK.

Turning off the out of office message: Read more…

admin Time-Saving Tips BlackBerry, happy holidays, Lotus Notes, out of office, Outlook

It’s that time of year when we look back on what was and ponder what is to come. The year 2009 brought a number of significant tech developments — the iPhone as a legitimate business tool (AT&T’s bandwidth issues notwithstanding); the Cloud’s emergence; grandmothers embracing social media; Windows 7 — all of which promise to change the way we work.

Still, all our readers cared about was learning how to use a secondary axis in Excel, how to change BlackBerry calendar views, and why help desk techs are so surly.

Here’s a list of our top 10 posts from 2009. Read and enjoy.

10. Get It Together: 5 Ways to Stay Organized in Outlook
9. 5 Lessons to Learn Before Outsourcing
8. A Kinder, Gentler Help Desk
7. Top 5 Most-Asked Help Desk Questions
6. 7 Productivity-Boosting iPhone Tips
5. Out of Office, Out of Mind
4. How the Help Desk Earns its Bad Reputation
3. Follow the Format: 5 MS Word Tips for Managers
2. 4 BlackBerry Tips Every Manager Should Know
1. Management Tool Best Practices: 3 Excel Tips that Promise Charting Greatness

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

admin Year in Review BlackBerry, Excel, FACEBOOK, How To, iPhone, Outlook, Social Media, the Cloud, tips and tricks, Twitter, Windows Mobile

There’s no doubt mobile devices have altered the way we work. According to Pew Internet and Research, almost half of American workers report doing at least some work at home, and about 20 percent say they do job-related tasks at home every day.

Accessing your e-mail using keyboard shortcuts takes productivity one step further.

In preparation for the holiday, here are some tips to help you keep your mobile work time to a minimum while you’re enjoying the family feast:

For the BlackBerry

Filter Incoming Mail

Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?

Of course you can. Here’s how:

1. Click on the Messages icon to open your messages, then click the trackwheel or Menu button and select Options.

2. Select E-mail Filters.

3. Click your trackwheel or Menu button, select New and then type a filter name. Read more…

admin Mobile Devices, Time-Saving Tips BlackBerry, holiday, iPhone, Outlook, productivity, Thanksgiving, tips and tricks, Windows Mobile

We have lists on the brain, largely due to the recent debut of Twitter’s new “lists” feature, which enables users to create and share lists of people to follow. Twitter lists are like Follow Friday on Red Bull, and are the microblogging service’s logical next step.

Mashable.com’s Pete Cashmore writes this of lists on CNN.com: They cut down Twitter’s noise and arguably make it more useful.

Indeed, lists — and “how-to” guides and the like — enable you to break down large amounts of information into easier-to-use bits. And that’s the essence of what we do in software support. Some of our more list-like posts continue to get ample clicks, perhaps because of their utility. Among them:

4 BlackBerry Tips Every Manager Should Know

7 Productivity-Boosting iPhone Tips

5 Microsoft Word Formatting Tips

Windows 7: What IT and End-Users Need to Know

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

admin Lists BlackBerry, cnn.com, Follow Friday, iPhone, Pete Cashmore, Red Bull, Twitter, Windows 7, Word

Although iPhones are catching up, the BlackBerry still rules mobile business communication. Case in point: We ran this tipsheet earlier in the year, and it continues to bubble up to the top of most-read lists. Here it is again.

Indeed, we get hundreds of BlackBerry calls a week, and most aren’t from the guy who cannot find the on/off button. Rather, it’s the managers on their way to meetings or hopping on flights who want to know the handy tricks and tips that will save them time and make their smart phones smarter.

Here are a few of the notables:

Tip No. 1: How to Filter Incoming Mail
Say, for example, you receive a daily report that you will not read or deal with on your phone and would prefer to just handle it back at the office. Can you create a filter for that?
Of course you can. Here’s how: Read more…

admin BlackBerry, How To BlackBerry, calendar, shortcuts, smart phones

With all the complaining about social media sapping the productivity out of the world’s workers, Twitter ruining the English language, and smart phones extending the work week to 24-7, it’s nice to read a story or two about technology’s blessings.

Do regular people who travel the same routes every day really need satellite-powered hand-holding?

Two recent examples that caught my attention:

1. Information Week’s “GPS Can Save Drivers 4 Days Per Year, Cut Co2 by 21%”

GPS devices always seemed an unnecessary accessory. Granted, they are valuable tools for traveling workers, like salespeople and cops, but do regular people who travel the same routes every day really need satellite-powered hand-holding?

Then along comes this study, in which researchers found that drivers who use a real-time traffic-enabled GPS save up to four days of driving time a year. Even better, they cut the CO2 emissions by 21 percent.

If I didn’t have an excuse to buy a GPS before, I do now. Read more…

admin Mobile Devices BlackBerry, GPS, mVisum

According to an Aug. 12, 2009, Computerworld UK article, six out of 10 CIOs were not able to measure the financial effect outsourcing had on their company. The result has been a whole lot of pointed fingers, canceled contracts and dissatisfied customers.

Stop clinging to the old rules, which said that if you hired an outsourcer with a pretty SLA, things would work themselves out. Try a new tack. Here are six things to look for in an outsourcing outfit:

1. First-level certified consultants: First-call resolution rates are higher, and callers are less likely to be put on hold and bounced around from tier to tier.

Stop clinging to the old rules, which said that if you hired an outsourcer with a pretty SLA, things would work themselves out.

2. After-hours and round-the-clock coverage: If you think keeping a tech or two on the clock to cover after-hours calls suffices, think again. It penalizes employees who work off-hours or in other time zones. An outsourcing company should offer the same level of support at any hour of the day.
3. Advanced-level support: Advanced-level requests should not be treated with any less urgency than basic-level calls. The result will be less worker frustration and downtime.
4. Wide range of supported applications: Mobile devices are becoming essential tools in the workplace. Hiring an outsourcer that supports a range of applications, plus mobile devices like the iPhone and BlackBerry, translates into less downtime and positive overall image of the help desk.
5. Smart training programs: If a help desk focuses solely on break-fix issues, it’s just serving as a Band-aid. By addressing employees’ needs with training, you’re not only fixing the Read more…

admin ROI BlackBerry, CIO, Computerworld UK, Help Desk, iPhone, Mobile Devices, SLA, software support