The Force Field Podcast

We continue our discussion with an IT professional who will tell us about the risks in operating an IT business and how to minimize them. He will tell us what a tech business can be potentially liable for and offer some tools and tips to help protect ourselves and our businesses from such liability. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Support our Sponsors! Visit them at The Force Field! Intro to Topic 2:01 We continue our discussion with Bryce Whitty, an IT professional and owner of Technibble.com, a popular web site and forum for IT professionals and business owners. We’ll talk about the different types of insurance available to techs in the field, some of the risky situations that can quickly put a tech in the IT business out of business, and how you can cover your company and protect yourself from such potential peril. If you would like a copy of Bryce’s book, The Computer Business Kit v3, it’s available at now. Interview with Bryce Whitty – How To Limit Liability In Your IT Business 2:58 How To Get The Computer Business Kit v3 31:24 Order your copy of The Computer Business Kit v3 today! Wrap up and Close 32:20 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2015 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

Today we’ll talk with an IT professional who will tell us about some of the ways techs can be scammed by their own customers. He will tell us what to watch out for and discuss ways to protect yourself and your business from getting ripped off. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Support our Sponsors! Visit them at The Force Field! Intro to Topic 1:58 We interview Bryce Whitty, an IT professional and owner of Technibble.com, a popular web site and forum for IT professionals and business owners. We’ll learn about some of the most common scams perpetrated against IT techs, talk about some of the red flags to watch out for when dealing with questionable customers, and swap our own personal experiences with customers who tried to take advantage of us. Interview with Bryce Whitty – Customers Who Scam 3:31 Order your copy of The Computer Business Kit v3 today! Episode 71 Teaser 27:50 Wrap up and Close 29:14 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2015 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

Today we’ll continue our discussion with an IT consultant who recently wrote a book that takes a different approach to starting a computer business that most other books of its kind don’t consider. We’ll also tell you where you can get this book and how you can get a special discount when you purchase it as a listener of The Force Field. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Support our Sponsors! Visit them at The Force Field! Intro to Topic 2:01 We conclude our discussion with Matthew Rodela, an IT consultant, owner of Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy, host of The Computer Business Podcast and author of a new book called How To Quit your Job and Start a Computer Business. We’ll find out how to keep your finances in order while you build your business, how to determine when it is time to quit your day job and manage your business full time, and how to plan for the future as a computer business owner. Part 2 of a two part series. Interview with Matthew Rodela 2:50 Order your copy of How To Quit your Job and Start a Computer Business and save 20% at checkout with discount code: FORCEFIELD20. Wrap up and Close 33:17 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2014 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

Today we’ll talk with an IT consultant who recently wrote a book that takes a different approach to starting a computer business that most other books of its kind don’t consider. We’ll also tell you where you can get this book and read some of your comments from inside The Force Field. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Support our Sponsors! Visit them at The Force Field! Intro to Topic 1:59 We talk with Matthew Rodela, an IT consultant, owner of Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy, host of The Computer Business Podcast and author of a new book called How To Quit your Job and Start a Computer Business. We’ll find out what it takes to be a computer consultant, the pros and cons of starting a computer business, and find out what you need to know and have before you get it started. Part 1 of a two part series. Interview with Matthew Rodela 3:31 Episode 69 Teaser 31:12 Order your copy of How To Quit your Job and Start a Computer Business and save 20% at checkout with discount code: FORCEFIELD20. Feedback 32:13 Comments and feedback from listeners. Wrap up and Close 34:24 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2014 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

Today we’ll ask a very important question to the techs who work on web-based IT service platforms. Are you a contractor, a vendor, a commodity or customer? We’ll define each of these business terms and find out which one best fits the techs who work on these platforms. We’ll also evaluate the numbers from a poll that asked this very question and read some comments from techs who responded to the poll. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Support our Sponsors! Visit them at The Force Field! Intro to Topic 2:06 Are you a contractor, customer, commodity or vendor on these platforms? Where do you really stand in these provider/platform/client relationships and what is the platform’s responsibility to you in that regard? Topic Discussion 6:54 Feedback 19:06 Comments and feedback from listeners. Wrap up and Close 23:44 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2014 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

We talk with an IT service provider who built a successful business working through web based service platforms and find out how he makes it profitable. We’ll also read some of your comments and e-mails from inside The Force Field. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Support our Sponsors! Visit them at The Force Field! Intro to Topic 2:01 We talk with Dave Hayden, owner of Computer 911 and an IT service provider who works almost exclusively for national IT service companies and web-based service platforms. We’ll learn how got he started with the platforms, why he builds relationships with the companies that route the work through them and how you can make platform work profitable too. Interview with Dave Hayden 3:34 Feedback 28:26 Comments and feedback from listeners Wrap up and Close 30:11 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2013 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

We celebrate the seventh anniversary of The Force Field Podcast by asking a very important question that is often never considered by techs who want to start their own computer business. We also evaluate the results of a recent poll about Windows 8 and read some comments from listeners of the show during the last seven years. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :00 Intro :10 Intro to Topic 2:17 We talk with Matthew Rodela, an IT consultant, owner of Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy and host of The Computer Business Podcast. We discuss a rarely asked, but very important question he posed to his audience in the second episode of his show. Interview with Matthew Rodela 3:55 To commemorate the 7th anniversary of The Force Field, this episode is Commercial Free! Windows 8 Poll 34:21 Feedback 35:52 Comments and feedback from listeners Wrap up and Close 40:11 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2013 Savoia Media. All rights reserved.

We go inside The Force Field and discover some of the resources available for entrepreneurial technicians. We’ll also learn about some changes coming soon to the show and the site to help you make the most of these resources. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:16 Billboard 1:51 News and Comment segment 6:26 The Force Field will carry LIVE coverage of the 2013 National Association of Broadcasters Show on the front page of the portal beginning Monday, April 8 through Thursday, April 11, 2013 courtesy of The TechPodcasts Network (TPN). The Force Field Podcast is a proud member of TPN. VMware will host the Online VMware Forum April 23, 2013 from 11:00AM – 4:00PM ET in a 3D virtual environment with interactive booths staffed by VMware partners. The event is FREE to qualified professionals. To Register for The Online VMWare Forum go to http://theforcefield.tradepub.com/free/w_vmwa75/. Seagate claims to be the first hard drive manufacturer to ship two billion hard disk drives. Sales of Microsoft Windows 8 are below expectations, while demand for laptops with Windows 7 is high. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 1:48 Today I would like to give you an overview The Force Field. We’ll take a look at the history of the podcast and its overall objective. I’ll introduce you to the web portal, talk about some of the resources available on the site and how you can access them FREE. I’ll also tell you about some exciting new changes coming to show and the site to enhance The Force Field experience and to help you master the business of tech. Inside The Force Field 13:33 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2013 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

We talk with three IT service providers and ask them if they think the data in the National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report is a fair assessment of the state of the IT service industry. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:18 Billboard :48 News and Comment segment 7:13 The FCC wants everyone to be on gigabit ethernet by 2015. Makeuseof.com is offering a FREE Guide called Ubuntu: An Absolute Beginners Guide. This 30 page guide will tell you everything you need to know about Ubuntu, a free, open-source linux based operating system with 20 million users worldwide. The guide is free to qualified professionals. Leap Motion announced plans to launch the Leap Motion Controller exclusively at Best Buy this spring. Office Max and GoDaddy have teamed up to offer web site bundles to small and medium-size businesses in the retail marketplace. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 2:14 In the summer of 2012, The Force Field conducted a survey of IT service providers and asked them to rate the national contractors and service platforms from best to worst. The results were published in a 20 page The National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report released in tandem with The Force Field Episode 62. Today we’ve assembled a panel of three IT service professionals who represent a cross-section of technicians who actively perform contract work in the field. Our three panelists are Parrish Reinhoel of Pathfinder Networks, Chris Tiffany of Sprinter Technology Services and Dave Hayden of Computer 911. We will ask them what they think of the survey data and if it paints an accurate picture of the techs, the nationals, the platforms, and the IT service industry as a whole. Download The Force Field 2012 National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report. The National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report Panel Discussion 23:30 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at

We will find out what IT field service technicians really think of national contractors and web-based service platforms and how they rate specific companies from best to worst. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:19 Billboard :52 News and Comment segment 6:37 Intel announced the introduction of two new Intel Xeon Phi coprocessor families November 12. Makeuseof.com is offering a FREE Guide called HackerProof: Your Guide to PC Security. This 53 page guide provides an objective, detailed, but easily understood walk through of PC security. The guide is free to qualified professionals. Acer America debuted the $199 C7 Chromebook November 12. Kyle Weins of ifixit launched a campaign called Operation: Fix Toshiba. His goal is to write repair manuals to replace the manuals Toshiba took down from Tim’s Laptop Service Manuals. He is asking for help from the tech community. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 2:34 In the late summer of 2012, The Force Field conducted a survey of IT service providers and asked them to rate the national contractors and service platforms. The results were published in a 20 page report released in tandem with this episode of The Force Field. Today we’ll analyze the results of The National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report and discover just where the contractor-platform-provider relationship stands. We’ll learn about the techs who perform contract work for these companies, discover which nationals and platforms rank best and worst in the industry, and find out what techs really think of them, in their own words. Download The Force Field 2012 National Contractor and Service Platform Survey Report. The National Contractor and Service Platform Report 32:00 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net! ©2012 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

We conclude our talk with a computer consultant who wrote an e-book with helpful tips for other computer business owners and is giving it to them FREE. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:17 Billboard :33 News and Comment segment 8:33 Work Market (http://www.theforcefield.net/portal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5395:work-market-expands-into-canada-rolls-out-new-platform-features&catid=1:latest&Itemid=2) is expanding into Canada. The Force Field is conducting the National Contractor and Service Platform Survey. Take the survey now (http://www.theforcefield.net/portal/index.php?option=com_jextsurvey&Itemid=116). ExamForce is offering a FREE Microsoft 70-646 PRO Windows Server 2008, Administrator R2 Practice Exam (http://theforcefield.tradepub.com/free/w_exam13/). Subscribe to The Force Field Insider Newsletter. (http://www.theforcefield.net/portal/index.php?option=com_acajoom&act=subone&listid=1&Itemid=117) A tribute to The Force Field Admin Renee Wright, who passed away last month. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit (http://www.technibble.com/aff/forcefield) Intro to Topic 1:37 Today we will conclude our discussion with Matthew Rodela, an IT consultant, owner of Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy (http://www.yfncg.com) and author of a free e-book called 20 Things You Can Do Right Now To Improve Your Computer Business (http://www.yfncg.com/2012/01/12/improve-your-computer-business/). We'll go through the last ten tips in his e-book, learn how you can use them in the daily management of your own computer business and find out how you can get his e-book FREE. Part two of a two part series Interview with Matthew Rodela 23:51 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums (http://www.theforcefield.net/forums/index.php?board=205.0). Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net (http://www.theforcefield.net)!©2012 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

We talk with a computer consultant who wrote an e-book with helpful tips for other computer business owners and is giving it to them FREE. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:18 Billboard 1:34 News and Comment segment 2:53 AMD was awarded $12.6 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for two research projects. MakeUseOf is offering a free e-book called Your Guide to Solid State Drives. Over 400,000 Yahoo passwords were stolen July 11. Betaworks reports that it has acquired Digg. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 2:11 Today we're going to talk with Matthew Rodela an IT consultant, owner of Your Friendly Neighborhood Computer Guy and author of a free e-book called 20 Things You Can Do Right Now To Improve Your Computer Business. We'll learn what inspired him to write it, find out what makes it different from other publications of its kind, and discuss how you can incorporate the first ten tips listed in his e-book into your own business. Par1 1 of a two part series. Interview with Matthew Rodela 21:59 Episode 61 Teaser :33 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!©2012 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

Today we are going to conclude our discussion with a professional from a company offering a self-hosted remote support solution and find out how we can customize this remote support software to help our own businesses become more profitable. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:18 Billboard :37 News and Comment segment 6:54 The US International Trade Commission ordered an import ban on Motorola Mobility products with Android May 18th. VIPRE Antivirus is offering a Free 30 Day Trial Download of VIPRE Antivirus Business Software. The Force Field Episode 58 featured a commentary on a ZDNet article called OnForce: Improving economy might not be helping IT industry. After the episode was released, the author added a direct link to the original report that was cited as the source of the data presented in the article. The assessment of the report in The Force Field show commentary was correct. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 1:37 Today we're going to continue our discussion with Jeff Bishop of Elsinore Technologies and learn more about a remote support system called ScreenConnect. We'll discuss the difference between the tools used for remote support and managed services, the advantages of using self hosted support software over a hosted, subscription based service, and how customizing and branding a remote support tool can add a whole new dimension to the marketing and promotion of your IT business. Interview with Jeff Bishop 25:07 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!©2012 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

Today we are going to talk with a professional from a company offering a self-hosted remote support solution that not only helps you service your customers, it can also be customized to promote your brand. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:17 Billboard 1:14 News and Comment segment 5:22 Microsoft officially ended mainstream support of Windows Vista April 10. Apple released a removal tool April 13 to get rid of the Flashback malware. MakeUseOf is offering a FREE e-book called Computer Inside Your Computer: How To Use VirtualBox. Western Digital is shipping its Scorpio Blue 2.5 inch hard drive. ZDNet claims a new report from OnForce indicates that improvements in the economy may be a mixed bag for the IT industry. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 2:18 Today we're going to talk with Jeff Bishop of Elsinore Technologies. We'll learn about a remote support system called ScreenConnect. We'll find out what makes it different and unique from other remote access products, some of the features and technical applications of the software and how you can integrate it into your own IT support services. Interview with Jeff Bishop 18:59 Part 2 Teaser :32 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!©2012 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.

Today we'll talk with an IT service provider who launched a new publication for computer business owners and find out how you can subscribe to it FREE. TechPodcasts Promo Tag :10 Intro 1:18 Billboard :48 News and Comment segment 4:19 AMD signed a deal to acquire SeaMicro. Google upset privacy groups after it instituted new changes to its privacy policy. Global Knowledge is offering a FREE white paper called 77 Features For Windows 7 That Every IT Professional Should Know About. Microsoft released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview February 29. OnForce is now testing an android version of its mobile iPhone app for IT service providers. For a demo, watch the video. Commercial Break 2:00 The Computer Business Kit Intro to Topic 1:58 Today we're going to talk with Daniel Hand of The Association of Computer Repair Business Owners. We will learn about his organization, discover a new trade publication he launched for computer repair business owners called ACRBO Magazine and find out how you can get it FREE. Interview with Daniel Hand 15:12 Wrap up and Close :46 Comments, questions or suggestions? Send them in to comments@theforcefield.net or post them in The Force Field Forums. Feedback on this topic will be read by the host and included in future episodes of the show. Visit us at http://www.theforcefield.net!©2012 Savoia Computer. All rights reserved.