Triona's Tech Tips

Microsoft has unveiled its latest version of Microsoft Office. But Office 2010 offers no upgrade path for previous users of the software suite.

In the past, users of Office were able to purchase upgrades instead of paying full price for new versions. In my opinion, discontinuing this option is a mistake, given the economy and the fact that many Office users see no reason to upgrade.

Microsoft faces competition from the free OpenOffice as well as from cloud-based services like Google Docs. Perhaps Microsoft’s reasoning behind the discontinuation of upgrade pricing is to lure people to the cloud-based version of Office 2010 (which is available free for consumers on Windows Live via an ad-supported service). If so, alienating previous customers is a gamble that may not pay off.

What do you think? Do you plan to upgrade to Office 2010 and if not, would upgrade pricing have altered your decision?

Those of us who have used computers for a long time remember the days when floppy diskettes offered the best in computer data storage. Then we graduated to hard drives, CDs, DVDs, flash drives.. and now, network attached storage (NAS).

A NAS is a unit containing one or more hard drives with a network jack. The biggest advantage of a NAS is that it is much less expensive than a server. Instead of spending thousands of dollars for the hardware and software needed to run, say, Window Server, you can spend mere hundreds for one terabyte (that’s 1,024GB, or about 728,000 floppy disks!) of storage capacity. And the device is barely the size of a shoebox.

The key to NAS is its redundancy. NAS writes your data across multiple hard drives using a technology called RAID. The drives are hot-swap, meaning you can replace them while the unit is running. You can also add additional storage capacity simply by sliding in a new drive.

NAS is cross-platform. If you work with both PCs and Macs, you can connect both easily and conveniently to the NAS. You can set up file shares, users and groups on a NAS, just as you would on a server. Some come with built-in backup software. Configuration is done through a simple web interface.

NAS is a terrific server replacement for any small business or home office in need of centralized storage at low cost.

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Each holiday season I try to give you some fun and innovative gift ideas. These aren’t paid ads, they’re simply gadgets I’ve run across that I think you might like.

One of my favorites this year is the ioSafe Solo, a hard drive built to resist water and fire. It has a large capacity and is a great choice for a backup drive in case of a business disaster. www.iosafe.com

I also like the NovoThink surge, an iPhone case that includes a hybrid solar charger. www.novothink.com

Mobile mavens may enjoy the Verizon MiFi 2200, which offers WiFi access via Verizon’s 3G network. No more searching for hotspots! www.verizonwireless.com

For the graphic designer on your list there’s ColorMunki, which helps maintain consistent color across all of your software and devices. It’s great for anyone who needs exact color matching for advertising or other purposes. www.xrite.com

Finally, clean your computer with the DataVac Electric Duster from Metrovac. This handy tool replaces canned air products with a cordless fan designed for use on computers and other electronics. www.metrovacworld.com

In January we’ll talk about Fixing Printer Problems. Through December 31st, new subscribers to my Tech Tips email list will receive my tip sheet on Creating Strong Passwords. Click here to sign up.