REDDING, Calif. (January 1, 2011) – Your desk is overrun with piles of paper, your computer screen is a confusing map of icons, and you can’t remember where you put the electric bill. You resolve with glass held high, “This is the year to get organized,” but how do you get started? Nerds On Call’s has some advice for getting organized: “Get in the Cloud!” Cloud computing offers a single point of access for your computing needs and will help you get organized. If you are away from your home computer and need to get to an important document, your appointment calendar and contacts you can with Google.
1. Gmail: Outlook is starting to show its age. This is the year to send your little email friend the way of the floppy disk. Gmail (http://mail.google.com) offers a familiar experience, but with tons of added flexibility. Set up a FREE account, and access your email from any computer, anywhere! If you’re still using the email address from your Internet service provider, you can forward all of your mail from any account you can’t bear to let go.
2. Google Calendar: Organizing your life and schedule doesn’t have to be a burden anymore. Once you have your Gmail account set up you can use this great FREE feature, http://calendar.google.com. With Google Calendar you can easily set up appointments & events, create task lists and even get reminders via email or text messages sent right to your mobile phone. Not sold? How about the ability to share your calendar with family and friends? Now, your husband can quit asking when Sally’s big soccer game is, and you can let everyone know Saturday at 3pm is “Mom Time.”
3. Google Contacts: One of the most annoying parts of getting a new phone every couple of years is trying to move all of your contacts from one phone to another. You have three different numbers for Nana? Google contacts, allows you access anywhere you can access your email and will sync with your Smartphone or Outlook, you never have to worry about Outlook crashing and losing all your client or friends contacts because it is stored “in the cloud” with Google. For more information go to: http://contacts.google.com.
4. Google Documents: Have you ever sat down at your computer to work on a document, only to realize it’s on another computer? Have you ever tried to have several people work on one document at a time? Passing it around, tracking changes, ARGGGHH! With Google Docs you can share, store, and work all in the cloud! For example, everyone in your book club can see and update this year’s book choices. For more information go to: http://docs.google.com.
NERDS co-founder, Andrea Eldridge, uses Google Calendar and other features to organize her personal and business life. “Using your computer isn’t a solo experience anymore. What we create using our computers often requires input, or coordination with others. Google gives us free, easy to use tools to get and stay organized.”
This is the Year to Get Organized…
About The Author: Andrea Eldridge is CEO and co-founder of Nerds On Call, a computer repair company that specializes in on-site and online service for homes and businesses. Andrea is the writer of a weekly column, Nerd Chick Adventures in The Record Searchlight. She prepares TV segments for and appears regularly on CBS, CW and FOX on shows such as Good Day Sacramento, More Good Day Portland, and CBS 13 News, offering viewers technology and lifestyle tips. See Andrea in action at callnerds.com/andrea/.
About Nerds On Call: Established in a spare room in Redding, Calif., in March 2004, Nerds On Call offers on-site computer and laptop repair services to consumers and businesses. Nerds On Call provides trouble-shooting for PCs and Macs, home and office networks, printers, iPods® and MP3 players, handheld devices and cell phones, home theaters and game systems, and virtually every other form of digital entertainment. In 2009, 2010, & 2011 the company was named to Inc. magazine’s list of 5000 fastest growing private companies. With 7 locations across California and Oregon, Nerds On Call serves more than 40,000 satisfied customers per year. For more information, visit callnerds.com or call 1-800-919-NERD.
