Author Archives: Wayland Bruns

About Wayland Bruns

Wayland founded CompanionLink in 1987 as The Jorf Company, a maker of shareware 4gl products. As a leading maker of CRM Add-On products, the company started with Sync Products in 1996 for the PalmPilot. As CEO of CompanionLink, Wayland strives to balance quality customer service, products with good value, low prices, and a positive workplace..

The Hard-Right vs. McCarthy: A Battle Over the Debt Ceiling

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In the next 20 days, the United States economy will be shaken to its core. Janet Yellen has put up a false date that the government cannot meet its obligation in hopes of forcing the parties to agree. That date is false because Yellen does not know the actual date and because, in general, April and May are revenue-positive months, so there is not much possibility of a real crisis until July or August. But the opposing party also fails to have a real crisis since the government spending problem is primarily tax cuts and spending authorized by Republicans and Trump. Republican-authorized tax cuts and spending dwarfs Democrat-authorized expenditures, and everyone knows it. Bill Clinton, a Democrat, introduced the last genuinely balanced budget.

The two sides engage using sound bites filled with false facts, hidden motives, and power plays. At risk are the US economy, the well-being and the retirement savings of ordinary Americans. It is a chess game with Death, and the loser will never be the wealthy, entitled politicians playing the game.

At the heart of this battle lies a contentious conflict between two factions of the Republican Party: those who seek to hold onto power at any cost and those willing to risk economic catastrophe to push their extremist agenda. At the center of it is House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, whose leadership hangs in the balance as he tries to navigate the treacherous waters of the debt ceiling debate. In this blog post, we will explore the intricacies of this political struggle and what it means for the future of our country.

The Background of the Debt Ceiling Fight

The United States debt ceiling is a statutory limit on the amount of national debt that the federal government can accumulate. In essence, it represents the maximum amount of money the government can borrow. Congress sets the debt ceiling, which must be approved periodically for the government to keep borrowing money to fund its operations.

The current debt ceiling has been set at $28.5 trillion, but the government has been using “extraordinary measures” to avoid default since July 31, 2021. These measures include tapping into federal trust funds and reducing investments in government accounts. However, these measures are only a temporary solution, and Congress needs to raise or suspend the debt ceiling to prevent the US from defaulting on its obligations.

The debt ceiling has become a contentious issue in recent years, with the Republican Party using it as leverage to extract concessions from Democrats on fiscal matters. In 2011, the debt ceiling debate led to a downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, and in 2013, the government shut down for 16 days when Congress failed to reach a deal to fund federal operations.

The current debt ceiling fight is particularly challenging for the Biden administration, which has been working to pass a massive infrastructure bill and a budget reconciliation package. Failure to raise or suspend the debt ceiling would likely lead to a government shutdown and could damage the country’s economy and reputation worldwide.

Who is Kevin McCarthy?

Kevin McCarthy is a Republican politician from California who has served in the United States House of Representatives since 2007. He is a staunch conservative who rose through the ranks of the House leadership and currently holds the position of House Minority Leader. McCarthy has been a critical figure in the ongoing debt ceiling fight and is seen as the primary obstacle preventing hard-right Republicans from sabotaging the US economy.

Born in 1965 in Bakersfield, California, McCarthy was raised in a conservative family and attended California State University, Bakersfield. Before entering politics, he worked in the private sector and served in the California State Assembly from 2002 to 2006. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006 and has been re-elected every two years since then.

McCarthy is known for his unwavering support for President Trump and his policies. He has been a vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and has called for the law’s repeal and replacement. He has also strongly supported tax cuts for businesses and individuals and has been a key architect of the Republican Party’s economic policies in recent years.

In his current role as House Minority Leader, McCarthy is responsible for leading the Republicans in the House of Representatives and advocating for their policy positions. He is seen as a pragmatic politician who is willing to compromise with Democrats on specific issues and is firmly committed to the conservative agenda.

McCarthy will kiss his career goodbye in a few weeks, and he knows it.

The Hard-Right Republicans’ Desire to Crash the Economy

Some more hard-right Republicans will crash the economy to achieve their goals. They believe the short-term pain will be worth it in the long run. They think that the country needs to hit rock bottom before it can be rebuilt in its image. This type of thinking is hazardous and irresponsible.

However, this mindset has put Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, in a difficult position. McCarthy is caught between two factions of his party. On one side, he has the hard-right Republicans who want to crash the economy. Conversely, he has the more moderate Republicans who want to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a financial crisis.

The hard-right Republicans have been attacking McCarthy for his position on the debt ceiling. They want someone more willing to play political games and take extreme positions. However, if McCarthy were to go along with them, it would be a disaster for the country.

McCarthy’s position on the debt ceiling reflects his desire to keep his job and his belief in the importance of responsible governance. He knows that a financial crisis would hurt his party’s chances in the upcoming election and that the country would suffer if the debt ceiling isn’t raised.

How McCarthy is Caught in the Middle

Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, is caught in the middle of the debt ceiling fight. On the one hand, he is responsible for holding the Republican caucus together and maintaining party unity. But, on the other hand, he must also recognize the potential damage that defaulting on the nation’s debts could cause to the economy and his party’s electoral prospects.

McCarthy’s precarious position results from the deep divisions within the Republican party over fiscal policy. The hard-right wing of the party, which has gained power and influence in recent years, wants to use the debt ceiling as a weapon to force the government to cut spending on social programs and other Democratic priorities.

McCarthy, however, is more pragmatic and understands the importance of maintaining the government’s creditworthiness. He also recognizes that a government shutdown or debt default could be politically disastrous for Republicans, who have suffered electoral losses in the past when the party has been seen as too extreme or uncompromising.

McCarthy’s challenge is to navigate these competing interests and find a way to satisfy both the hard-right faction of his party and the more moderate members who understand the dangers of default. To do so, he may need to use political maneuvering and compromise, perhaps by supporting a short-term debt ceiling increase or targeted spending cuts.

Ultimately, McCarthy’s job may be on the line if he cannot find a way to keep the Republican party unified while also avoiding an economic catastrophe. If the hard-right wing prevails, it could shift the party’s priorities away from more moderate fiscal policies and towards a more extreme, Tea Party-like agenda. The stakes are high, and McCarthy’s ability to navigate these difficult waters could determine not only his political future but also the direction of the Republican party.

Analysis of the Political Maneuvering

The debt ceiling fight is complicated, with multiple players jockeying for position and political gain. At the heart of the issue is the battle between Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, and the hard-right Republicans pushing for extreme measures to crash the economy.

McCarthy finds himself caught in the middle, trying to balance the demands of the hard-right faction with the need to keep the country’s financial system stable. On the one hand, he wants to keep his job as Minority Leader and maintain his influence within the party. But on the other hand, he recognizes that the stakes are high and that a misstep could have serious consequences.

The hard-right Republicans, for their part, are driven by a desire to shrink the government and eliminate programs they see as wasteful or unconstitutional. They believe that a government shutdown or a default on the debt would be a small price to pay to achieve these goals.

However, the consequences of such a move could be catastrophic. It could trigger a recession or global economic crisis, with widespread layoffs, business failures, and social unrest. Even if the US government manages to avoid default, the threat of a downgrade in the country’s credit rating could still harm the economy.

The hard-right faction may believe they will benefit politically from such a crisis, but this is far from certain. Instead, it’s possible that they will be blamed for any economic fallout and that their donors, who are often wealthy and politically connected, may start to rethink their support.

Ultimately, the debt ceiling fight is a microcosm of the country’s broader political and ideological divisions. It’s a battle between those who want to maintain the status quo and those who want to upend it. And while there are no easy solutions, it’s clear that the stakes are high and that the outcome of this fight could have far-reaching consequences for years to come.

Lowering the US Debt Rating is More Likely Than Default

The United States has a long-standing reputation as a reliable debtor. It is, therefore, shocking that a significant portion of the Republican Party is now pushing for the United States to default on its obligations. However, many political analysts suggest that an actual default is unlikely. Instead, they argue that the more probable outcome of this fight will be a reduction of the US debt rating.

On Thursday, the credit agency Fitch put the United States on a credit rating watch list and DBRS Morningstar also gave a warning. The United States will face significant consequences from a reduction in its debt rating. If the United States’ credit rating is reduced, it will become more expensive for the government to borrow money. This increased cost would force the government to divert more funds to pay for interest payments, potentially causing cuts to essential programs like healthcare and education.

A reduction in the debt rating could also negatively impact businesses that rely on the government as a client, such as defense contractors or technology firms. Additionally, it could lead to a decline in the stock market and hurt retirement savings for millions of Americans.

Overall, it is clear that a fight over the debt ceiling is a dangerous and reckless political game. While an actual default may be avoided, the United States still faces significant consequences if its debt rating is reduced. Therefore, our elected officials must put aside their partisan bickering and work together to address this issue. Otherwise, we risk damaging the economy and hurting millions of Americans.

Will Republicans Benefit if the Debt Rating is Reduced?

The short answer is no. A lowered debt rating would negatively impact the economy, and while it may temporarily appeal to hard-right Republicans, it would ultimately hurt the country and the party’s electoral prospects.

A lowered debt rating would lead to higher borrowing costs for the government, which would, in turn, lead to higher interest rates for businesses and consumers. This could slow economic growth and increase unemployment. It could also damage the reputation of the United States as a safe place for investors to park their money.

While some Republicans may view a lowered debt rating as a way to stick it to the Democrats, it would ultimately harm all Americans and hurt the Republican Party’s image. It’s not just the wealthy, uneducated, or immature donors who would be negatively impacted – it’s the entire country.

The idea that a lowered debt rating could be good for the Republican Party is shortsighted and ultimately self-destructive. It’s time for the party to stop playing political games and start working on solutions that benefit all Americans, regardless of political affiliation.

Are Republican Donors Rich, Uneducated and Immature?

Some donors use their wealth and influence to push an agenda that harms the country. Of course, this is not unique to any political party, but it is a problem that should be addressed. A small group of wealthy individuals should not dominate our political system with their narrow interests at heart.

Not all Republican donors are wealthy, uneducated, or immature. While it’s true that some wealthy donors support conservative causes and candidates, there are also plenty of middle-class Republicans who donate time and money to political campaigns. Additionally, many donors are highly educated and actively involved in their communities.

It’s important to remember that political affiliation is not determined solely by wealth or education level. People have many beliefs and values that influence their political leanings. Therefore, it’s unfair and inaccurate to make sweeping generalizations about any group of people, including Republican donors.

It is important to look beyond stereotypes and examine the complexities of our political system and the motivations of those involved. While some donors may have questionable motives, others are committed to making a positive difference in our society.

Why Can’t We Have Nice Things? 

This phrase perfectly encapsulates the current state of politics in the United States. The debt ceiling fight is just one example of how politicians are willing to play political games at the expense of the American people. However, the fact that the United States has to continuously raise its debt ceiling indicates a much deeper problem. This dysfunctional government is unable to work together to solve problems.

In recent years, the debt ceiling fight has become an annual event, with politicians from both parties engaging in political brinkmanship. The Republicans use the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip to try and force concessions from the Democrats. In contrast, the Democrats use it to call out the Republicans for their reckless fiscal policies.

The sad truth is that this political game-playing has real-world consequences. For example, if the debt ceiling is not raised, the United States could default on its debts, which would have a catastrophic effect on the global economy. It could also lead to a downgrade in the country’s credit rating, making it more expensive for the government to borrow money in the future.

It’s frustrating that the American people are caught in this political game. We want our politicians to work together to solve problems and improve our lives. But, instead, we’re stuck with politicians who care more about winning political points than they do about doing their jobs.

The truth is that we can have nice things – if our politicians would just work together. We could have better healthcare, schools, infrastructure, and a stronger economy if our politicians put their differences aside and work towards a common goal. But, unfortunately, that seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Potential Outcomes and Consequences

The debt ceiling fight is a game of political chicken with severe economic consequences. The most likely outcome is that the debt ceiling will be raised at the last minute, as it has been every time. However, the risk of a default or a lowered credit rating is higher than ever. Just the thread ads a costly and unnecessary burden to the ordinary taxpayers. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the government will be forced to cut spending or default on its debts, leading to a recession, job losses, and damage to the US’s reputation as a reliable borrower.

If the US’s credit rating is lowered, the interest rates on US debt will increase, increasing the cost of borrowing for everyone. This will hurt the US economy and the global economy, as the US dollar is the world’s reserve currency. In addition, it is unclear whether the hard-right Republicans would benefit politically from a lowered credit rating, as it would likely lead to a backlash against them.

The debt ceiling fight is also a symptom of a more significant problem: the polarization of American politics and the breakdown of bipartisanship. The hard-right Republicans are the ones to blame for this. The Democrats and the moderate Republicans have worked for years to bridge the gap between the two parties. The fact that a small minority in power has brought the US economy to its needs is a sordid tale of greed and stupidity.

How to Restore DuoLingo Classic on Android Phones

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Switch from DuoLingo Path Mode back to Old DuoLingo and make five times more points with 2x bonus on level ups and cracked skills

In early 2022 DuoLingo was at the top of their game. With 37 million daily active users, a well rated app, and complete domination of their industry niche. The higher ups had a meeting and declared a crisis: “People Love us! We are helping them learn and grow! We have high ratings! What can we do?” 

DuoLingo management created a crisis team. Their idea was Path Mode. A more structured way to force diverse people to conform to a single structured system of learning. Part of Path Mode was to nerf the lesson scoring so now it takes many more lessons to earn the same score per day. Scoring is critical to maintaining your place in the league hierarchy.

Having come out with a bad idea, they surely would make this an option for people to use. Right? Wrong. They force it on everyone with almost no warning. People like me have daily habits built out of earning my 50 points per day in three lessons. I’ve done this not just for one month, or six months, but for many many years.

DuoLingo wants to force me to change to a system I neither want nor ask for. They force a single learning system on to all of their 37 million users. Just call it Boomer be Gone because the game-centric animations take so much away from focused learning.

I create Apps for a living. My team works very hard to never force a change on our customers. Instead we always have an opt-out – an easy setting that allows the behavior to revert. This is because customer create longstanding habits, and old ways of working. Our role is to enhance their productivity, not stand in the way of it.

Luckily for Android Phone and Tablet users, we have an option that is entirely reasonable when a vendor abandons us. That is – revert to a build that is old enough to not have the mandatory DuoLingo Path update. Here are the steps on how to do it on an Android Phone or Tablet:

1. Save your settings and make sure you have a DuoLingo login

Our steps involve removing DuoLingo from your phone. Check your Account settings to be sure you know your user name and password. If needed log into DuoLingo’s website to make sure you know these values. That way you know your progress is saved.

2. Remove DuoLingo from your Android Phone. 

Go to the App List, and long-press on the DuoLingo icon. Select Remove App.

3. Obtain an API that is old enough not to have the Path Update. 

What I found for Old Duolingo is that the Mid-September 2022 is good. For a time build 5.74.2-148 worked. But DuoLingo changed it on November 1, 2023. Since that time, Wegian Warrior has discovered that DuoLingo 5.63.5 @ApkMirror is still showing the old UI.

4. If needed – download to your PC and Move it to your phone.

Note: You cannot email this apk file because it is too large. You need to move it to the phone.

5. Run the APK to Install It.

On Android phones, go to Files, then choose the Old Duolingo APK. You should see it listed there. Tap on it to install.

6. Log in Using your User Name and Password.

Login with your saved username and password. This should set you back to how you were working in October 2022.

7. Prevent DuoLingo from Updating

From now on – you cannot use the Play Store “Update All” option. Every time play store updates, you need to select the details and click on update for all Apps except for DuoLingo. Leave DuoLingo here without updating it. You need to do this every time Play Store wants to update apps since they long ago removed the setting for “do not update this app”.

If you make a mistake and update it, just uninstall the update, and run your Old Duolingo apk file again. This will stay on your phone and you can revert your version whenever you need to.

8. Enjoy the Little Things in Life

With DuoLingo Classic you can now earn points five times faster than anyone using Path mode. You get double points, and your double points will double whenever you complete a section. You will enjoy the App that got DuoLingo 37 million users, rather than the one that lost them their formerly excellent star rating. Finally, you will embarrass the overpaid management at DuoLingo who think that their entire user base are too immature to handle a setting that allows one mode over the other, not the clever folk who made DuoLingo a runaway success.

About the Author

Wayland Bruns is on Day 807 of his current language conquest. He completed one complete course early in DuoLingo history. He has 6 other flags next to his name in DuoLingo. He says: merci, danke, obrigado, Спасибо, 谢谢, Cảm ơn, ありがとう.

CompanionLink to Launch Outlook Sync for monday sales CRM

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Supported sync destinations include Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Google, iCloud and DejaOffice

CompanionLink Software, the long-time leading maker of PC-based Sync Products, is launching a Sync driver for monday sales CRM in September 2022. This driver will be supported throughout our product line, allowing integration from monday sales CRM to PC Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft 365, Google, iCloud, iPhone, Android and DejaOffice.

A month ago, monday.com announced the availability of the monday sales CRM. The CRM is a fully customizable multi-user CRM you can set up in minutes, giving small business owners and large business sales teams the ability to manage their sales cycle and customer data. Introduced by monday.com (MNDY), monday sales CRM seamlessly integrates with hundreds of apps and services, but not Microsoft Outlook on the PC. Instead, CompanionLink will supply an Outlook Sync product.

Market Position

CompanionLink plans to release software that fully supports Sync with Contacts and Activities in monday sales CRM. Based on a Windows software engine, CompanionLink products commonly connect a legacy platform with a novel platform.

CompanionLink solves a common business problem. Although dynamic teams seek to implement new and powerful web-based technology, established processes and staff rely on traditional PC-based tools to be productive in their everyday assignments. CompanionLink solves this problem by creating software that connects the legacy tool, like Microsoft Outlook, with new platforms like monday sales CRM. As a result, the CompanionLink customer gains the best of both worlds as they maintain their legacy systems while engaging in dynamic involvement with monday’s modern productivity tools.

Outlook Contact Integration with Monday CRM

CompanionLink’s new driver connects Outlook Contacts to monday sales CRM contacts. Your entire contact list is available on Monday in just a few seconds. CompanionLink’s product works without regard to whether you use the email portion of monday sales CRM. You can add the Outlook fields to your monday sales CRM template, and the CompanionLink driver will sync them. CompanionLink supports all forms of Outlook folders, including POP3, IMAP and Exchange folder types.

Outlook Calendar Integration with monday CRM Activities

The new driver connects Outlook Calendar with monday sales CRM activities. This connection ensures your daily activities are shared between Outlook on your PC and monday sales CRM for your team. monday.com’s product lacks a formal week and month view, and many people find these views fundamental to how they schedule their activities in Outlook.

CompanionLink products that integrate with monday sales CRM

When CompanionLink introduces a new driver, it is supported throughout the diverse CompanionLink product line. Customers who use monday sales CRM can take advantage of the following products:

CompanionLink Professional

CompanionLink Professional is sold as a perpetual license for $149.95 per user one-time charge or as a subscription for $28.95 per user, billed once every three months. CompanionLink Express is installed on your local Windows PC and will integrate the following data destinations:

  • PC-based Outlook versions 2007 and higher
  • Outlook.com
  • iCloud Contacts and Calendar
  • Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar

DoubleLook Enterprise

CompanionLink’s DoubleLook Enterprise provides server-based integration used by larger-scale websites to automate the sync process. DoubleLook is commonly used in corporations with a Corporate Exchange server instead of Office 365 hosted by Microsoft. DoubleLook integrates the same destinations as CompanionLink Express, including Exchange, iCloud, Google, and DejaCloud.

DejaOffice on PC, iPhone and Android

DejaOffice CRM is the highest-rated CRM product in the Android App store. It provides a convenient database for handling Contacts, Calendars, Tasks and Notes. The iPhone and Android-based DejaOffice App is free. While DejaOffice will not connect directly to monday sales CRM, customers set up a DejaCloud connector to handle this task. DejaCloud is a sync service offered by CompanionLink.

DejaFlow Automatic Sync

CompanionLink hosts a service called DejaFlow. When monday sale CRM is added to this service, small businesses can quickly add and maintain a connector for a fraction of the cost of Microsoft Automated Services, Appy Pie or Zapier.

Simple Setup

CompanionLink products are focused on the consumer market and are very easy to set up. Supply your login credentials. For example, with monday sales CRM, you create an API key, enter this value in the software, and then select simple items like which user records you want to integrate. You do not need to script separate actions like add, change, delete, or worry about complex data flow.

Speed and Performance Metrics

CompanionLink makes full use of App Hooks, which allows sync to be done in a few seconds. For example, once you have connected your Outlook to monday sales CRM, a new contact added in Outlook can be viewed on Monday at about the same speed as you switch to your browser (about 3 seconds). In addition, when you add an activity in monday sales CRM, it will display on your Outlook Calendar the next time you look at your calendar.

A Step Up for monday CRM customers

While Monday.com provides Google and Outlook integration, CompanionLink’s PC-based tool can provide an alternative level of service. As an established 3rd party vendor, CompanionLink provides a simple setup, fast sync, and technical support service in the style typical of legacy PC products. CompanionLink runs as a traditional Windows App. You install the product, set up the integration, and run automatically for weeks and years without any need for adjustment or maintenance. If you purchase a perpetual license, it is a one-time charge, so you do not need to spend money in future years until the PC or web-based platform requires an updated version.

Availability

CompanionLink’s products with the new monday sales CRM driver is now available in late September 2022. If you are interested please click here.

Tech Support

CompanionLink provides free telephone tech support in our local time zone from 7am-3:30pm US Pacific Time. In addition, you can email 24×7, and CompanionLink will respond to all messages on the next business day. CompanionLink is located in the US in Portland, Oregon.

CompanionLink also provides a one-time setup service called RunStart, for $69 and Premium Tech Support, for $149 per year. An experienced technician will log into your computer with both services and provide hands-on assistance for setup and maintenance tasks.

About CompanionLink Software

CompanionLink® Software, Inc. is a pioneer developer of data synchronization solutions for mobile phones and CRM software and services. They also develop a DejaOffice® for Outlook® App, which runs on Android™, iPhone® and iPad® devices. For 30 years, CompanionLink has connected Contacts, Calendars, Tasks and Notes from legacy platforms to innovative new web platforms as well as mobile phones and tablets. For more information, please visit www.companionlink.com and www.dejaoffice.com.

CompanionLink, DejaOffice, and DejaCloud are registered trademarks of CompanionLink Software, Inc. Other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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Top 5 Reasons to Avoid CRM in The Cloud

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The fastest and best traditional Customer Relations Managers were written for Windows. First, there was Packrat and Commence, then TeleMagic and GoldMine, and who can forget Symantec Act! When a customer calls, you answer the phone, look up their name, and start taking call notes within seconds.

Well, after the early days, Salesforce came along and made a multi-billion-dollar investment convincing well-heeled corporations that ponderously slow web applications could be somewhat effective at taking down customer notes. Management bought on – because they are talkers, not note-takers. The note takers of the company do not agree, which is why most salespeople no longer make notes about their customers. By tying key customer support, marketing and accounting features, Salesforce has convinced the world that CRM belongs in the cloud.

“On-premise” CRM is a self-hosted and in-house CRM alternative, as opposed to data storage in the cloud. On-premise gives you complete control over your data and is typically significantly less expensive than a cloud subscription. You have complete control and visibility over your database with its own CRM, allowing it to be entirely customized and user-specific.

Because of its high level of data security, on-premise CRM is more appealing to consumers. The in-house structure provides greater privacy and less chance for security breaches. When you can “own” your on-premise software, you have the benefit of having it on a psychical device rather than a corporate-owned cloud to which you have subscription access.

There is nothing that CRM in the Cloud does better than CRM on your PC. Here are five things that are worse:

Unstable Platforms

A Cloud-based solution is totally dependent on your PC browser and can fail any time your Chrome or Firefox browser updates. Features and systems you use every day can suddenly become unusable or disappear altogether.

A CRM on a PC is stable, and updates are in your control. Links to associated products like Outlook, Word and Excel are always available.

When a company chooses a Saas platform product, it gives up control over the key systems and related hardware to unseen third-party service providers. With on-premise CRM, the client houses and manages all components. In many cases, out-of-sight and out-of-mind mean out-of-order. Most small entrepreneurs prefer the control you can have by using a simpler local CRM solution that runs on your laptop or in your office.

Snail Speed and Refresh Delays

Cloud-based systems use multiple screens just to search for a record, with many screen taps and mouse clicks. It’s all about the platform and none about your customer. You will constantly wait for screens to refresh. Then you need to verify that the system saved the data you just typed. With on-premise CRM, you can quickly access your database regardless of your internet connection.

Software on your PC runs faster than browser-based tools. Time for yourself – when a customer calls, how fast can you get to their record in your database, taking notes about the call? A good desktop PC system can get you there in 5 seconds or less – including the data lookup. This speed ensures you are productively handling your service, and not just fighting your tools.

Complex Layers of Security Cannot Keep You Safe

With Cloud-based systems, if you miss a payment, your data is wiped out without you knowing. There’s no way to get it back. With a system on your PC, you know exactly where the data is. Backing it up and securing it is clearly in your control, and no one can take that from you.

Customer information is very sensitive and protected. Because the servers containing client information must be handled by the vendor, some businesses just do not feel comfortable with the on-demand method. With on-premise CRM, businesses can be certain that the necessary safeguards are in place to ensure that their client data does not get into the wrong hands.

Database Access is Controlled by Low Paid Contractors Half a World Away

During an AWS outage, any tool hosted on that platform might fail, leaving you unable to do your business. Google Cloud is only slightly better in security and performance. Cloud Services like AWS use dozens of internal tools, any one of them able to create one of their famous Outage disasters.

Ever Increasing Monthly Fees

With Cloud-based CRMs, there is never an end to monthly payments. If your credit card changes and you miss a payment, your data will be erased. While hundreds of staffers, contractors and overseas techs can see your data, there is no one to call and no one who can help you if it gets erased. With a PC-based CRM, your data is safe and secure on your PC, and any tech you hire can help you back it up or move it to a new PC.

Over a five-year life span, SaaS systems cost five to ten times the one-time price product they replaced. Quickbooks at $300 is now Online for $330 per year. Adobe Creative Suite for $560 is now online for $720 per year. These costs can double if you add a second user to your account, even if they log in just one time per year.

Cloud CRM Solutions

Instead of troublesome Cloud-based CRM, an on-premise solution is much more stable and affordable option. “On-premise” CRM is a self-hosted and in-house CRM alternative, as opposed to data storage in the cloud. On-premise gives you complete control over your data and is typically significantly less expensive than a cloud subscription. You have complete control and visibility over your own database with its own CRM, allowing it to be entirely customized and user-specific.

An affordable on-premise CRM option is DejaOffice. DejaOffice is a note-taking tool for your computer that syncs with your phone, making it easy to take notes, schedule follow-ups, and assign tasks. Make a shared database that everyone in your office may access. DejaOffice PC CRM is a PC-based contact management. It is more secure and quicker than web-based solutions. Using DejaOffice, you can easily keep track of all conversations, meetings, tasks, emails, and texts with your clients, vendors, and partners.

DejaOffice has the lowest pricing range, beginning at $69.95 for a one-time perpetual subscription.

Wrapping up

When data is kept in-house, you and your team will have better knowledge and access to the information you need. On-premise CRM is less expensive, and there will be no need for remote technical assistance.

When it comes to on-premise CRM, there are several solutions for varied database and user capacities. Depending on your budget and whether you want a subscription or a one-time license purchase, on-premise CRM is the ideal solution for anyone who prefers to keep their data in-house rather than on a cloud server. PC CRM is a secure and dependable choice for you and your database.

5 Quick Ways to Grow Your Small Business in 2022

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When you first launched your business, your major aim was to establish your product and presence to develop a formula for consistent sales. Since then, the world has changed dramatically. We have entered the era of Everlasting Covid. The importance of your online and physical company visibility has surpassed that of your shop hours and employees.

In your endeavors to grow your small business, don’t overlook the importance of a solid foundation for your company. Consulting the best LLC formation service could ensure your business structure is firmly set for future growth and success.

If you want to see business growth, you will need to be creative, optimistic and resourceful.

Business people in a meeting

Growth is a continuous process that involves hard effort, patience, and commitment. There is no particular step or secret formula for outperforming competitors or achieving rapid success in the sector. Be sure to make the best use of experts for Marketing Small Business in 2022.

There are tried-and-true methods for achieving growth milestones that may propel a company to success. Here are some ideas to get you started in the new year.

1. Keep Your Website Fast and Effective

Last year, Google Page Rank prioritized website speed, mobile efficacy, and bounce rate. The focus of your website’s SEO should be on original content that people want to read. This entails hiring a content developer from another country or using click-bait headlines. In addition, quality information provided fast is required for a long-term Search Position (SERP).

Hiring a full stack development company that can manage your website’s technical demands is one way to stay top of the game. A skilled web development company can correct faults on your present website and add turn-key features to increase traffic to your website. Most developers will provide you with a free consultation session, so take advantage of it to plan your budget.

Whether it brings in business or not, every dollar spent on advertising is lost once it is spent. Every dollar you spend on web page creation becomes a lasting component of your online visibility for your small business.

2. View Customer Experience as the Customer Sees It

Customers’ impressions of your company may make or ruin it. They’ll scream your praises on social media if you provide them good experiences and goods; if you don’t, they’ll tell the world even quicker. Therefore, making your present and future consumers satisfied with their experience is critical to rapid growth.

In comparison to giant corporations, small firms can be more agile and better able to recognize, predict, and respond to their customer’s needs. If you concentrate on how your customers see you compared to your competitors, you can outpace them.

You don’t have to be a clairvoyant to try to figure out what your consumers want, need, or have gone through. You just need to pay attention to them, and there are several steps you can take as a small company owner to better understand your clients.

Your firm may be great, but you will only be genuinely successful if you understand the drivers of that success as a business owner. You may improve your business and expand to become even more successful if you know this.

3. Grow your Reviews

Your clients are no different. We’re all human beings who enjoy being addressed and recognized. If your consumers take the time to submit a review, the very least you can do is respond, demonstrating that you appreciate their opinion and take it seriously. Regardless of whether they post a favorable or bad review, you should always respond positively.

Listening to your clients’ evaluations is one approach to show that you care about them. You need to read your reviews and act on them – analyzing, modifying, and using them as constructive feedback.

Remember to pay attention to both negative and positive client feedback. You must become aware of anything that is causing your clients to be dissatisfied so that you can address it.

Utilize review databases such as Trust Pilot and Gartner, and ensure that pleased consumers are directed to these sites. Invite consumers to post a review or comment on another platform after they leave one on one. Review websites frequently give incentives for reviews, and you may do the same with a discount from our product range.

Negative feedback should not be avoided. Your consumer would not leave a review if they believed you were hopeless. Instead, reach out to the reviewer, listen to what they have to say, and offer to help if you can. You can typically turn around a negative review while learning more about your consumer.

4. Target the Future

If your company continuously responds to what happened yesterday, you are starting the year off on the wrong foot. Instead, you must look forward and plan for the future to achieve quick growth.

Examine the current state of your markets’ industries. Next, take a look at how technology is developing and what that means. Finally, take a look at how people’s lifestyles are evolving.

Nothing in our life has altered as much as the Covid Era and the Era of Stay at Home Jobs, Restaurant Deliveries, and the Restaurant and Concert Collapse. Those that adjusted rapidly became the beneficiaries of the crisis. Focusing on future adaptations now will put you ahead of the competition.

So, rather than grumbling about the challenges you’ve encountered, use the time to look for fresh chances. Eateries with good ordering and delivery systems have done well, whereas sit-down restaurants have struggled. People are substituting home entertainment for holiday travel, which has gained popularity. As individuals attempt to improve their lives within their Covid restricted shells, education and learning create new opportunities to fulfill.

5. Take Time to Hire the Best People

The job economy in 2022 is a shambles. Because there are fewer candidates, it’s tempting to recruit a lower-level employee. However, meeting the requirements of customers necessitates greater thought and responsibility.

Adjust your hiring process such that it takes longer to identify people who have the initiative and commitment to succeed on the job. Re-calibrate your job outreach to take advantage of new platforms like Indeed and Upwork. Take time to fully consider how the people you hire will be helped in their career by working for you.

The best people will create opportunities for themselves, and it is your job to provide the fuel for them to do so. Likewise, your small business is their fuel to advance in their careers. To keep a remote employee happy while serving your demanding consumers, you will need a Win-Win situation. Make this equation a reality by motivating your employees to develop and learn and satisfying their demand for constructive feedback and motivation.

With hardworking employees dedicated to your company’s success, your business will be better equipped for continued growth. In addition, delegating tasks to focus on important work will free up your time and energy, allowing you to perform at your best and cultivate a collaborative work culture.

Summary

Small Business needs to adapt to the era of Forever-Covid.  Take a clear look at the successes and failures of the past year. Cut ties with the failures; it’s ok, you tried hard, it did not work. Build on your successes. Your growth lies in new success.

With each successful project from last year, brainstorm new things to try in the current year. If you make up five new things to try today, and 2 of them are successful by the end of the year, your business will be growing and profitable.

Life comes not what you planned but from what you succeeded at. More tries mean more opportunities for success. These five ideas will give you a great start and make 2022 a successful year for your small business.

How and Why to Safely Invest in Cryptocurrency in 2022

Posted on by Wayland Bruns
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As we enter the third year of the COVID era, we see tectonic shifts in the financial industry. From the debt limit crisis, the failure of Gold as a safe asset, Brexit and the looming default of the major financial markets, there comes a need to be flexible.

The way you invested in the past will not likely achieve the yields necessary to fulfill your retirement goals. Willie Sutton, a famous bank robber, was asked why he robbed banks. The oft-quoted reply is “Because that’s where the money is”.

It is time to move your investments to where the money is.

Remember how you got started with investing. In a time when simply holding stocks made a profit, or a safe company like IBM was considered a safe investment. Everyone trading now knows full well that robots dominate the market, and the major wall street firms are stealing your money by trading ahead of you.

Fifteen years ago, I hired a major bank’s investment advisor to invest $78,000k of IRA funds – representing 10 years of my savings. Over the subsequent 10-years, he took the bank took $22,000 in fees and achieved a $2000 return. The APY on that is tiny – one-quarter percent. At this time, even a simple CD returned 0.5%. With inflation running about 2% per year, my funds decreased in value by about 25% during this time.

My Banker retired and put another guy in place, so I pulled my funds and started doing it myself. In the following four years I have made about 50% using index ETFs. i still feel burned that during the middle part of my earning years, the majority of my retirement savings was locked away in an account that only made the bank money. I thought I was getting wisdom and instead all I got was fees and declining assets.

Every time a Financial Advisor tells you not to trade Bitcoin – keep in mind that the value they are protecting is their own fees, and that they may not have your best interest in mind.

Bitcoin was invented in 2009 as an electronic form of value and exchange. In the early days, it was easy to say that it was made of nothing, worth nothing and would go nowhere. In the following 12 years, the value and adoption have exceeded all expectations. If you are not currently invested in Bitcoin, here are some easy ways:

1. Purchase Bitcoin Using a Traditional Stockbroker

Popular brokers are Robinhood which operates as a high-tech operation. You deposit your funds to Robinhood and purchase Bitcoin. They claim to not have a commission. However, they are entirely funded by order flow – a market consolidator that trades ahead of you – scalping higher prices in the process.

2. Purchase Bitcoin Through PayPal or Other Payment Provider

At this point, everyone and their brother handles Bitcoin, including PayPal. You can simply run your purchase through them.

3. Use a Popular Crypto Exchange

The most popular exchanges in the US are Coinbase and Binance.US (Binance-dot-US). Note that Binance.com (Binance-dot-Com) the global company is banned from operating in the US.

My quick suggestion is to make accounts on both of them. Coinbase is handy because they will give you $5 for just opening an account and you get about $40 of free crypto for watching a few movies. My experience is that the UI for Binance.US is easier for me to understand – which is important when moving my hard-earned money.

4. Invest in an ETF that trades in Bitcoin

The SEC and Bitcoin have a fraught relationship. If Cryptocurrency becomes successful, a considerable number of financial corporations and brokers will be unemployed. The SEC runs front man ensuring that Bitcoin is a second class asset in its tax treatment, rules to limit firms from trading it, and ensuring that regular people cannot invest.

While there currently is no ETF that trades Bitcoin directly, the Grayscale Investment Trust (GBTC -0.89%) allows you to own an investment based solely on Bitcoin assets. In general terms, one GBTC share is about 1/100th of a Bitcoin. Recently, due to changes in their management, the “premium” value has moved from positive to negative. GBTC trades with the Pink Sheets, so you can only trade it during market hours. You can trade GBTC from your IRA account.

Information is key when using ETF’s and finding that data on your own can be hard. Using an ETF’s data API can provide that extra bit of critical information for making the best trading decisions.

5. Invest in Etherium

Bitcoin’s younger sibling is Etherium, and Grayscale now offers Grayscale Etherium Trust (ETHE -5.59%). Again, this is a trust and not a real ETF, but it gives a vehicle that can be easily traded from a common stock account.

6. Invest in Blockchain Related ETFs

In addition to GBTC and ETHE, 2021 has brought us some new blockchain-based ETFs – And finally, some new ETFs for blockchain – Vaneck Digital Transformation ETF- (DAPP -6.06%), Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK -3.93%), Siren Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (BCLN).

7. Invest in Companies that are Bitcoin Merchants or Miners

Bitcoin Stocks – Some companies are so involved with Bitcoin that they trade relative to Bitcoin’s price. None as directly as GBTC but enough to be worth mentioning. Coinbase – (COIN 245.75 -17.26 -6.56%), Marathon Digital – (MARA -3.63%), Riot Blockchain – (RIOT -1.12%), Sphere 3d – (ANY +1.92%).

8. Do NOT Invest in Bitcoin Technology – Soon to be Obsolete

Some call NVIDIA (NVDA -3.87%) a “Bitcoin stock” because their GPUs are used for mining. But this is not trading on the broad cryptocurrency market or even in a sustainable market. You are merely trading the merchant of the current mining technology. The method of bitcoin mining is wasteful both in electricity and electronic waste products. It is already obsolete. You are trading Coke in the era of Rockstar or IBM in the era of Microsoft. Trade Robinhood, not Lehman brothers. Everyone knows that you need to trade emerging technologies and not get distracted by the dinosaurs you see on the road.

9. Move your Money to Where the Action Is

Bitcoin (BTC 2.252%) and Etherium (ETH -2.217%) average about 200% gains per year. However, they tend to run a pattern of going up 400% one year, then going down as much as 80% the following year. So half of Bitcoin investors are thrilled because they’ve been through a couple of cycles and made 400%, and the other half are somber because they lost 80% in their three months of trying it.In 2022, both Bitcoin and Etherium have enough history to become dependable. They have even spawned an investment style to put a fixed amount in per month so as to slowly grow an account without having a considerable risk at the start. For instance, if you want to invest $10,000, you have a massive risk if you invest today – since Bitcoin may drop by 50% next month – burning $5000 of your investment. But if you instead move $500 per month over a 20 month period – you are likely to bridge a number of up and down cycles and good chance to end up with a higher balance at the end of the period.

I can tell you from experience that I own the equivalent of 2 bitcoin at a purchase price of $8,000 each. A couple of years ago, I was on the seat of my chair for every drop. But in 2021, I really don’t care if Bitcoin is worth $40,000 one day and $20,000 the next. I just do not care. It is improbable it will ever again hit my break-even spot and is very likely to hit $100,000. I can state from experience that once you have hit a 400% gain, it becomes far easier to ride out the swings.

10. Investing in Altcoins and 2nd Tier Cryptocurrencies

Once you have a Coinbase and Binance.US wallet, you will see that they allow you to invest in about 100 other cryptocurrencies. It is easiest to look at these in terms of market share. Bitcoin (BTC 2.252%) and Ethereum (ETH -2.217%) still account for 80% of the market. But the next 15% of the market is held by a small number of Altcoins. Cardano (ADA -1.583%), Binance Chain (BNB 1.537%), XRP (XRP -0.032%), Solana (SOL -1.228%), Dogecoin (DOGE -4.569%) and others. These are easy to trade and have regular chart patterns.

Anyone experienced in chart trading of stocks will quickly find comfort in trading the Alt-Coin market. Even if you are not experienced, use this simple formula –

  1. Find any coin trading in a zigzag that represents an upward moving channel
  2. Watch when it hits the bottom of the channel
  3. Buy when it moves up off the bottom (confirming the move),
  4. Sell when it hits the top of the channel and turns over (confirming the end of the move).

The past channel will show you your holding term, and ideally, a channel that runs 14-60 days gives a good ROI. Day traders like to trade intraday channels, but I have always been a fan of 60 day channels. Finding channels that run 14-60 days give you a nice in and out cycle. Just sell when the coin breaks the channel or goes “weird” on you. Not every investment keeps to channels, but finding the ones that are regular is better than trying for a wildcard win.

My own experience is that the Alt-Coin market generally trends in-line with Bitcoin. So the best time to trade is when Bitcoin is rising. This is easy to spot because all the coins follow the same general trend. In an uptrending market, even your wrong decisions become right. Then when Bitcoin falters, move your money to the stable coins.

11. Stable Coins and their Use

There are a number of stable coins – Tether (USDT), Center (USDC) and Binance USD (BUSD) which attempt to remain parity with the US Dollar. When you encounter a down-drafting market, it is often faster and cheaper to park your funds in a stable coin rather than withdraw them to a US Dollar account.

12. Easy Way to Minimize your Risk

A reasonable way to invest in Alt-Coins is to wait for a time when market analysts predict Bitcoin will rise. Currently, with the debt ceiling looming and the COVID cloud on the economy is a good time.

Then invest a small amount of money broadly in many vehicles. I like to put $50 or $100 in a coin for a month or two, so that I can track the action to be sure it looks sane.

Then if it starts trending, I double and quadruple my investment. Right now, I have an alphabet soup of Altcoin investments with $40-60 in them (depending on whether they went down or up) and only about 5 of them with more than $400 in them. If these coins follow the general trend for Bitcoin, which goes up nearly 400% every-other-year, then I am anticipating returns of about 1,200% per year from Altcoins. Keep the tax treatment in mind – as these investments are taxed as income and not as long or short-term gains.

13. Another Warning

Crypto markets trade 24 hours a day. If you have spent any time trading penny stocks or trending stocks, you are accustomed to the rhythm of pre-market, market and post-market hours. With Cryptos, the market runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The market commonly trends as soon as the US stock market closes. On many weekends you can see Bitcoin takes off just after 4 pm Eastern Time on Friday and carries that momentum through the weekend, only to lose it on Monday morning. Beware of the effect on your sleep and worry that your new investment will lose value if you fail to execute a 2am trade on your phone.

14. Investing on the Wild Side using DeFi (DEX) Markets

Starting in 2019, the DeFi markets have come into their own. This is a place you can make significant gains. The DeFi markets allow you to invest in the virtual birth of a Coin, and there are thousands of them. You can easily have a coin with such a low value that 1 trillion of them is not even $100. It raises the imaginary circumstance that if they rise to a penny, you can retire for life.

The DeFi coins all have convoluted reasons for existing and features that their designers hope will bring them into prominence. From the silly coins like WIFEDOGE (-1.034%) because DOGE needs a wife to the super-serious Greentrust (GNT -0.891%) which promises to offset the investing with green technology. GNT is now my most significant loss so far at about 85% lost (nearly $60 or 1.5 Chinese Dinners). Trading in these coins is speculation in its purest form – you buy a currency foolishly, hoping only to sell it for a higher price to the next fool.

15. Getting a DeFi Wallet

The vehicle for trading Defi Markets is a Defi Wallet. Popular wallets are MetaMask for your browser or Trust Wallet for your phone. These wallets give access to a trading Blockchain, like Binance Smart Chain or Polygon. Finally, within that chain, you can purchase DeFi tokens.

It is challenging to move money from your Bank to the top tier exchanges, to the DeFi chains. This is convoluted because you are moving through levels of deregulation of your money. So be careful to only move money you can afford to lose – and never borrowed money or your emergency funds.

The Crypto markets use the term “Fiat” to mean US Dollars, which are worthless without the trust of the US Government. So in their words, Crypto is Real because it tangibly exists on the blockchain, and Fiat is Fake because it has no value except that people agree to honor the face value of a piece of paper. So you are moving your money from the Fake world to the Real-world, which takes time and effort.

Both Coinbase and Binance have holding requirements of about ten days before you can withdraw funds to the blockchain world. Then you need a third-party utility like Uniswap or Binance Wallet to effect the withdrawal into the blockchain. The most popular one will be used by Ethereum.

16. Procedure for Moving from Fiat to DeFi – from Dollars to Pancakeswap

  1. Withdraw US Dollars from your bank account into a Binance.US. You can purchase BNB OR BUSD here, but you need to let it sit for ten days.
  2. Then withdraw into a compatible chain – like Binance Chain.
  3. Once in the chain, convert it to a DeFi chain for the token family you want to buy. So convert Binance Chain BEP2 to Binance Smart Chain BEP-20.
  4. Finally, move the money into the more obscure coins supported by that chain. Sift through the features, and make some test investments.

Again, my experience is to start with a $50 investment to start, and then $100 and only if it feels right to work with more significant amounts of money. For me, $50 is the cost of a takeout Chinese Dinner, something we do once or twice a month (with leftovers, it makes two dinners for my family).

17. Staking Rewards add Up To 90% APY to DeFi Profits

One of the things you can do with DeFi coins is to stake them. Staking a coin assists the market and gives you access to staking rewards. When other people trade the coin, or “stake” is rewarded. For this activity, I am most impressed with Pancakeswap and their CAKE ( 0.594%) coin. Currently, if you stake CAKE, you can earn about 80% APY – that is – about 5% per month. Your earnings are dwarfed by the movement in the underlying coin, which has gone up 25% in the last three months. Like Bitcoin – from its recent High in April 2021 to its low in June 2021 was an 80% drop. On the other hand, if you had purchased CAKE in January 2021, you would now have a 2,900% profit.

The 2,900% profit in 9 months is completely dwarfed by SAFEMOON ( -13.296%), which launched in March 2021. If you had invested $1,000 at launch, you would have made $3.5 million two months later.

As Willie Sutton observed – “Because that is where the money is.” For 2022, where you want to be is in Altcoins, Staking and watching the breakout opportunities.

18. Build a Blockchain App

With Rapid Innovation you can build a blockchain app of your own. They will help you get from concept to launch, and offer software and blockchain consulting. Rapid Innovation can help you build, test, and launch with a team of experienced blockchain developers.

Summary

If you ever dream of being one of the early Bitcoin investors, spending 10,000 bitcoin for a Pizza, only to have that amount grow to be worth $400 million in 10 years, do not think those days are over. A simple strategy of investing $100 evenly over 100 coins, total $10,000 investment, will likely yield 50 complete losses, 40 break evens, and 10 winners. But if even one of those winners makes $100,000, you would call this the best investment of your life.

Stay safe and only play with money you can afford to lose. But it may be worthwhile to skip a Chinese dinner tonight and to push the $40 over to walk on the wild side of DeFi and DEX Cryptocurrency.

Amazing New Way to Share Google Calendar with Outlook – Automatic and Free

Posted on by Wayland Bruns
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It takes just five seconds for DejaFlow to update Outlook when you change Google. CompanionLink has delivered this fast, low-cost PC app for nearly a decade. Today CompanionLink is launching DejaFlow. DejaFlow is a low-cost online service that connects Google with Outlook online, for free, without needing to install anything on your PC or Mac.

Thousands of services connect to Google Calendar, but most business people use Outlook.

Subscribe to Google Means You Are Publishing Your Personal Calendar

Outlook has a primitive ability to subscribe to a Google Calendar. However, this requires you to publish the calendar on the open world-wide-web which is hardly private. So there is a pressing need to connect the two.

Microsoft’s Solution

Microsoft Power Automate is an expensive, complex tool that cannot do the simple task that customers need; Add, Change and Delete Appointments and Recurring Events, with two-way sync between Outlook and Google. 

Everyone has just one calendar, with a choice of keeping it on Google or Outlook. You place your appointments on it. You depend on your PC or Phone to ring alarms to notify you of places to be and things to do. Having a phone that uses Google and a Computer that uses Outlook makes it hard to schedule and plan. 

Other Expensive Solutions Do Not Complete the Task

Vendors like Zapier and Power Automate have tried to make a toolkit to handle this task. But 95% of business customers do not need a toolkit; they need something that works. 

The Company with Experience

CompanionLink understands your needs. We have created products to fulfill this need for 30 years. We know all about how calendars work with each of the vendors, both Microsoft and Google. And we are good at it which keeps our costs low. As a result, we can reflect these low costs to our customers with low service fees. 

DejaFlow connects Calendar, Contacts, and Tasks from Gmail and Google workspaces accounts. 

These can connect to any online Microsoft account, including Office 365, Corporate Exchange, Microsoft Teams, and Free Office.Com/Hotmail Accounts.

Planned updates will add a direct connection to Apple iCloud, Act! CRM, Pocket Informant, and DejaCloud.

IMAP and POP3 Solution

For Outlook customers who use IMAP and POP3 folders, the calendar information does not store online. For you, CompanionLink offers CompanionLink for Google for windows-based PCs and CompanionLink for Mac for macOS computers. The installed software will automatically synchronize from our local calendar to the online calendar.

Office 365, Exchange, Teams Connector for Google

DejaFlow is a SaaS website to connect Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar. Setup is a simple three-step process; Create a DejaFlow account, identify your Outlook and Google Calendars, and press Sync. The initial connection takes about two minutes for most people, and DejaFlow automatically matches any duplicate entries. Once Connected, any change in Google Calendar, and any change in Outlook Calendar, will flow to the other side within about 10 seconds. 

500 Records for Free

You can use DejaFlow for Free! As long as you have 500 records or less, you can use the service forever without a charge. Most people have less than 500 records in their calendar. 

Corporate Accounts as Low as $1.50 per User per Month

Most businesses will have more than 500 records. Companies should plan on paying $1.50 to $5 per month per user for the DejaFlow service, which is still just a fraction of the cost of competing services. 

For 2 Connectors up to 5,000 records, DejaFlow costs $4.95 per month or $39.95 per year. 

For 5 Connectors (5 users) and 30,000 records, the cost is $11.95 per month or $99.95 per year. 

Both Free and Paid customers can take advantage of CompanionLink’s email and telephone technical support. 

About CompanionLink Software:

 CompanionLink® Software, Inc. is a pioneer in developing data synchronization solutions for mobile phones and CRM software and services. They also have generated a DejaOffice® for Outlook® App which runs on Android™, iPhone®, iPad®, Windows Phone®, and BlackBerry® devices. For 30 years, CompanionLink has helped mobilize information across devices, computers, applications, and web-based services. For more information, please visit www.companionlink.com and www.dejaoffice.com.

CompanionLink, DejaOffice, and DejaCloud are registered trademarks of CompanionLink Software, Inc. Other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Top Ways to Stop Climate Change – Five Actions You and Your Small Business Can Take Today

Posted on by Wayland Bruns
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In Portland, Oregon, we thought we would become a climate change paradise. Blessed with 150 days of rain per year, a cool maritime climate, and a low population, we looked at reports of warming weather and rising oceans as a distant problem for our sympathy.

That changed on June 24, 2021, when record-setting heat baked our region, killing 116 people and leaving our green landscape desiccated. In one short week, sleepy rainy Portland became the center of climate change in the United States.

Portland’s Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake showing Glaciers Shrinking

It is easy for us to see the visible effects of warming. A sea-level city, most parts of Portland have an outstanding view of Mt Hood, 11,249 feet, just fifty miles away. Hood stays glaciated year-round. Ski season runs well into August. So in Portland, all you need to do is look at the mountain to see the rapid shifts of the melting glaciers.

What happened in June was not as much warming over three days. There was abnormally low rainfall in the preceding three months. This left the soil dryer than usual. When the long days of June arrived, the dry soil could not release the level of moisture needed to become local rain clouds. Without the normal rain clouds to moderate the direct sunlight, the 16 hours of June sun raised the heat of the stagnant air of Oregon’s inter mountain valleys.

The average daily high for Portland in June is 78 °F.

Before 2021 the record high was 107 °F.

On Saturday, June 26, the record was broken at 108 °F. Sunday 112 °F. Monday 116 °F.

In three record-setting days, the weather records for 100 years were broken three times. The new high-temperature record was 9°F higher than the previous record, and 40°F higher than average. 116 People died. Portland joined Las Vegas and Phoenix as the third record high for a major US city. Portland now has the highest temperature record of any city in the world north of the 45th parallel.

1. Understand what Drives Global Warming

No one knows the true driver of Climate Change, and anyone who claims to know is being mind-numbingly simplistic. But simply because the exact mechanism is not known does not mean you should not take steps.

There is clear evidence that climate change is linked to human population growth. We could quickly solve the entire problem by reducing the world population to the same as 200 years ago – the year 1820 – when the population was about 1 billion people.

Also in 1820 for the first time more than 50% of children in England lived past the age of 5. The C-Section of giving birth was invented in the 1600s. It took 200 years for the operation to be performed in a way that the woman giving birth lived through it. In 1820 – in an operation performed by a woman dressed as a male doctor. In 1820 women were not allowed to vote, because most people (including women) felt that women were not capable of becoming educated enough to vote responsibly. Finally, in 1820, the average life expectancy in the US was 28 years. So in a 1 billion person world, gentle reader, you are well beyond your expiration date.

The exact mechanism by which humans cause Climate Change is not known. Leading human-related candidates are CO2 emissions, methane emissions from our food animals, and deforestation. The leading non-human candidates are volcanism and sunspots (solar storms). Clearly, our planet is a series of massive systems in stasis; our ice caps drive weather, which causes wind and tides. If the weather were to change, systems that have been stable for millennia become unstable. The instability will make us uncomfortable.

2. Define your Role in this Battle

Your first and primary step is to define your role in this battle. You are perfectly free to state that climate change is based on volcanoes, sun spots, or is not happening at all. You are free here in Portland to not look up at our ever-present Mount Hood, to stay inside on warm days, and not to have a garden that becomes notably parched. You are equally free to join the Flat Earth society and fly to Flat Earth events on airplanes that circle the globe.

While Al Gore and Greta Thunberg can inspire you, acting like them will expose you to criticism that wastes your time and energy. You do not need to be a leader. Somewhere in the middle is an area to find a comfortable role. Today it seems altogether normal that women think and mature the same as men. One hundred years ago, women were considered so ill-adapted to education that the US became only the 22nd country to allow women to vote. In US Elections for the first 140 years – women could not vote. If you stated today what politicians and scientists said in those times, you would be fired from your job and laughed out of the bar (by the woman bartender!)

Acknowledge that the world is changing, that the mechanism is not entirely clear, and that the people can make individual efforts to address the change will make you a groundbreaking revolutionary. As others around you change their thinking, it is better to be a voice of the future, and not an idiot from the past.

3. Encourage Corporate Responsibility

Google proudly displays “Carbon Neutral since 2007” on their web page. You see it every day. This does not mean that Google is Climate Neutral, their staff does not use energy, or Sergey Brin has given up flying to Davos. It simply means that Google has made a slight shift to ensure the power they directly use is created using green energy or offset by carbon dioxide mitigating procedures.

Exxon has spent 40 years denying and fighting climate change, only to now turn around and embrace it. If you stay away from the judgment that one part is wrong and the other part is good, you can come to understand the breadth and power of this remarkable shift in perspective by a corporate giant. Surely as individuals and small business owners, we can quietly make our shift. There is no need to commit, over-promise or launch at wild targets. Instead, just as we slowly shift vendors, work styles, and office locations over time, we can also choose to support carbon-neutral or climate-enhancing efforts deliberately.

4. Subsidize Green Alternatives

Like Google, here in the US, you can choose green energy from your electricity supplier. Unfortunately, it costs a little more right now. In theory, if oil goes to a higher price, green energy pricing will stay stable. Solar roofing and solar panels are impractical but improving. Support the people who are testing this technology. Turn your thermostat down, learn the value of walking rather than driving. Each small step is a simple choice.

Look into getting a solar inverter. A solar energy inverter’s advantages are inherent to the system as a whole. No solar power produced by your panels may be used to power your home without an inverter! They handle power feeding back into the electrical grid and/or a solar battery in addition to converting the energy from your solar panels. They make up a considerable amount of the system’s cost.

Nothing you can do today will have a real effect. Giving up meat, living in the cold or heat, driving an electric car with a super toxic lithium battery will not produce change. But change will happen because of the collective actions of many individuals. Take time to find and educate yourself, and remember, that yourself is the only thing that you can change. Do not tell other people what to do; it annoys them, and is toxic for you. Change yourself, and they can change by your experience.

5. Be Patient and Persistent

The headlines harp about “Atlantic Current Stalling” or “We must take action now to stop it”. These click-bait headlines are as ignorant as the women cannot be educated so they cannot vote, flat earth society, global conference. The Atlantic current may stall in 300 years, but you will have to live to be 150 to know whether it will happen. In 100 years there will still be glaciers on Mt Hood, the tide will still go out in Miami, and Portland will still have rain 150 days a year.

You can harass your local government today, but the high-temperature next year will not change.

In 2020 we participated in an amazing real-world experiment. Because of COVID, nearly the entire industrial world went many months in lockdown. Factories were shut. Cars were idle. For more than a year, restaurants, theaters, cruise ships, and airlines ran at minimal levels.

So what was the effect on climate change? None!

A year of lockdown for the industrial world is insufficient to budge one data point off climate change. The climate is so huge, our individual efforts are like a mouse trying to herd an elephant.

Your serenity and peace will come when you review your role. You need not be a leader, and you need not be morbidly stupid. If you are open and willing to make an effort when possible then great things are ahead for you.

Summary

There is a technological solution to climate change on the horizon. Just as a world of COVID shutdown did not affect the global climate, we are on the verge of new technologies that may begin to make a change. For example, Norway is backing an approach to decrease Global CO2 levels using carbon storage technology. Dubai has released a drone army to create a wetter microclimate for their sunny city. A similar drone effort in Portland may have cooled our days in June to preserve the previous 107F record.

For the rest of your life and the life of everyone you know, our climate will get warmer. This is set not just in stone but in the climate, which has proved to be even more enduring than stone. In addition, things we thought were stable, like Portland’s 150 days of rain a year, are now unstable and changing before our eyes. We cannot stop this. But we can accept it, learn about it, and make a positive contribution through individual choices.

Kaseya Ransomware Attack – 5 Things to Do to Protect your Business

Posted on by Wayland Bruns

Ah, lovely holiday weekend. We closed early on Friday. All the staff is enjoying family time. Many are out of town. The ideal time for a horrific ransomware attack to shut down hundreds of businesses and cost millions of dollars. Happy Independence Day!

In my 30 years of running our business servers, I have noticed that system penetration attacks, denial of service attacks, and various other cyber attacks increase when people are away from their systems. The attackers choose this time hoping that people are not watching the server messages that hint their system has been compromised. In recent times, organizations are getting more cautious about this problem. Hence, they are actively seeking qualified ethical hackers who have pursued a professional ethical hacking course and are a good fit for their team.

Starting mid-afternoon on July 2nd, an nefarious group succeeded in compromising a network security reseller named Kaseya. Through Kaseya’s VSA management tools, they hit IT related businesses with ransomware. Ransomware is software that locks a server or data files and then demands a ransom to unlock them.

Kaseya Underwhelms in Response

True to holiday mode, the response from Kaseya has been underwhelming. They claim to be the victim. They claim only a few customers are affected. They state they had complete control of the attack within two hours. They offer a solution to turn off any server using their service. Meanwhile, because of the attack, a chain of 500 stores is closed in Sweden, paralyzed 200 US Companies, and caused thousands of network technicians to return to work to mitigate the damage. What is missing in Kaseya’s response is a sense of responsibility and scope. It is clear that Kaseya’s management is still by the barbecue and not in the office.

Is your Business Affected? Is your Business Next?

The year 2021 has been awash in cyberattack and ransomware news. If you are not now taking steps, then you should think about it. Like any disease, these attacks are like a virus, and you can take steps to avoid your company getting sick. This may save you thousands of dollars. Here are five steps you can take this month to lower your risk.

1. Recognize Phishing Email in all its Forms

Hillary Clinton would have become president if it wasn’t for a mistake made by Democratic Chairman John Podesta. The campaign was a target, and they already knew there were emails sent their way for information. John clicked twice and entered his email credentials. Within minutes, 50,000 campaign emails were in Russian hands, and Hillary’s campaign was toast. How could any high-level manager fall for a simple spoof?

The spoofs are getting pretty good. It takes an effort not to click. We all get them. What is typical now is they come in a short email, with no explanation and a simple and logical attachment. The only clue is that the sender is not known.

Sometimes the sender is known or even a known vendor. Here at CompanionLink, a quick view of our publicly available DNS reveals that we use Rackspace for business emails. You can guess we get many messages that claim to be from Rackspace. Things like “Phone message from Rackspace” (we do not get phone service from them), or Mailbox Full, or Mailbox Corrupted. My favorite is the ones that make you panic – “Your credit card has been billed for $6,533.32” or “Your bank account has been closed for fraud.”

Avoid the panic. Tell your staff to forward all odd messages without clicking. Then, if needed, log into your Email Portal or Bank to ensure there is no actual problem.

2. Train your Staff – Really – to Recognize and Mitigate Risks

We all know the drill. You have a 30-minute meeting with your Vice President to underscore the importance of security for your business and your customers. He tells the tech manager in 4 sentences and maybe sends an email to all. Your team managers respond upstream in glowing terms, and then behind your back, convey a “don’t screw up” message downstream. The line staff gets the message: “Please don’t leave food in the refrigerator more than 3 days, remember to buy a secret Santa gift, and do not take down the entire company with an insecure password.” Unfortunately, the line staff just treats it as another empty command from from the top.

The most common method of attack is phishing emails

The SolarWinds attack vector is not known. What is known, however, is that for five years, certain SolarWinds systems were available using the password Solarwinds123. While the company CEO claims they immediately locked out the password after being notified that it was publicly available, others dispute both the timeline and the extent of the password use.

This goes beyond simply choosing a good password. And it goes beyond any automated system that forces you to change passwords frequently. The best hygiene is to ensure every system you have has a different password and your passwords are stored securely. These are opposing goals but worthy of taking time to get it right.

3. Do not use Unnecessary Vendors

SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and Kaseya show the vulnerability when an IT vendor becomes the source of a security breach. A company whose only fault is to purchase services from a vendor is suddenly left with a million-dollar mess.

For the most part, you can identify your IT vendors by looking at the bills you pay. If you pay for a service, your company may be vulnerable to a breach of that service. Keep a close eye on payments large and small because instead of paying them, they may cost you. Be sure the service is necessary and justified. Check your emails for unpaid providers like Facebook and Google, since these notices mean that you are paying by having your information sold (advertising) rather than from your bank account.

4. Do not Trust the Cloud

People who trust the cloud are the same ones that sign agreements without reading them. Their trust is misguided. You can be sure those click-through agreements have huge loopholes for data breaches. Your best security is not to be a target. Staying small and anonymous may work better than making waves and becoming a victim.

The Microsoft Exchange attack targeted corporations that run their own private Exchange servers. The problem was not systems that were up to date but systems that were lagging in updates. These were companies that made the best effort to run secure servers but that had fallen a bit behind on maintenance, which was not surprising during the COVID era. Most companies focused on how to pay staff and not on whether to install routine security updates.

For Email that is internet-based, you are safer using IMAP protocol that does not connect to LDAP logins which may allow system-level passwords. For in-house systems, like CRM, there are still many vendors that can supply an on-premise CRM that is a fraction of the cost of a cloud system and that ensures that even if your internet is down – your customer data is safe within your corporate firewall.

5. Beware of Security Dominoes

A security domino is any system that, when breached, leads to other systems that may be breached. Password vendors Lastpass and 1Password are targets for bad players. And it would be best if you kept in mind that Yahoo and AOL have been breached multiple times, as have Facebook and Twitter. Even Apple, who sticks its finger in Microsoft’s eye on viruses, has been found guilty of sickening silence when 128 million iPhone users were hacked.

For corporate servers, ensure that your logins are qualified not just by password, 2FA, and 3 Dimensions, but ensure their IP matches a minimal set of known IPs. Do not use IP location since any VPN user easily spoofs location. You need to limit access to the specific IP network that your team uses. Primitive firewalls like Iptables can sometimes block better than sophisticated ones that allow anyone to get to a login screen. The networks your team uses are limited and known. Strength lies in simplicity.

Ending

To the management of Kaseya, your company got attacked. Start your message by taking responsibility – until known otherwise – your company was vulnerable to an attack. If you did your job right, this attack would not have happened. Start by owning that fact.

Hundreds of IT workers got their holiday ruined. Reach out. Tell them that Kaseya management is called back at the office and will stay full-time to ensure the fastest possible response.

Finally, reach out to your customers – who have been damaged – to help mitigate their future losses and explain what you are doing to make up for their current losses. You have insurance. They do not.

For everyone else – sit down on Tuesday with your monthly vendor bills, and go through one-by-one. Make sure you are protected if that vendor is breached. The year 2021 has seen an unprecedented rise in successful ransomware attacks, and the trend is not in your favor.

New Way to Sync Google Calendar with Outlook – Automatic and Free

Posted on by Wayland Bruns

It takes just five seconds for DejaFlow to update Outlook when you change Google. CompanionLink has delivered a low-cost PC app with this amazing speed for nearly a decade. Today CompanionLink is launching DejaFlow. DejaFlow is a low-cost online service that connects Google with Outlook online, for free, without needing to install anything on your PC or Mac.

Businesses need a Simple Connector

Thousands of services are tied to Google Calendar, but most business people use Outlook. Outlook has a primitive ability to subscribe to a Google Calendar.  However, this requires you to publish the calendar on the open world-wide-web which is hardly private.

Existing Tools are Expensive and Complex

So there is a pressing need to connect the two. Microsoft Power Automate is an expensive, complex tool that cannot do the simple task that customers need; Add, Change and Delete Appointments and Recurring Events, with two-way sync between Outlook and Google.

Everyone has just one calendar. You may keep it on Outlook or on Google. You place your appointments on it. You depend on your PC or Phone to ring alarms to notify you of places to be and things to do. Having a phone that uses Google and a Computer that uses Outlook makes it hard to schedule and plan.

Vendors like Zapier and Power Automate have tried to make a toolkit to handle this task. But 95% of business customers do not need a toolkit; they need something that works.

Free, fast and automatic connector for Google Calendar, Contacts and Tasks with Outlook 365, Microsoft Teams and Outlook.Com

The Experienced Pioneer of Calendar Sync

CompanionLink understands your needs. We have created products to fulfill this need for 30 years. We know all about how calendars work with each of the vendors, both Microsoft and Google. And we are good at it which keeps our costs low. As a result, we can reflect these low costs to our customers with low service fees.

DejaFlow connects Calendar, Contacts and Tasks from Gmail and Google workspaces accounts.

These can be connected to any online Microsoft account, including Office 365, Corporate Exchange, Microsoft Teams, and Free Office.Com/Hotmail Accounts.

Planned updates will add a direct connection to Apple iCloud, Act! CRM, Pocket Informant, and DejaCloud.

POP3 and IMAP Solution

For Outlook customers who use IMAP and POP3 folders, the calendar information is not stored online. For you, CompanionLink offers CompanionLink for Google for windows-based PCs and CompanionLink for Mac for macOS computers. The installed software will automatically synchronize from our local calendar to the online calendar.

Online Calendar Solution

DejaFlow is a SaaS website to connect Outlook Calendar with Google Calendar. Setup is a simple three-step process; Create a DejaFlow account, identify your Outlook and Google Calendars, and press Sync. The initial connection takes about two minutes for most people, and DejaFlow automatically matches any duplicate entries. Once Connected, any change in Google Calendar, and any change in Outlook Calendar, will flow to the other side within about 10 seconds.

You can use DejaFlow for Free! As long as you have 500 records or less, you can use the service forever without a charge. Most people have under 500 records in their calendar.

Affordable Pricing

Most businesses will have more than 500 records. Companies should plan on paying $1.50 to $5 per month per user for the DejaFlow service, which is still just a fraction of the cost of competing services.

For 2 Connectors up to 5,000 records, DejaFlow costs $4.95 per month or $39.95 per year.

For 5 Connectors (5 users) and 30,000 records, the cost is $11.95 per month or $99.95 per year.

Both Free and Paid customers can take advantage of CompanionLink’s email and telephone technical support.

CompanionLink for Google
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About CompanionLink Software

CompanionLink® Software, Inc. is a pioneering developer of data synchronization solutions for mobile phones and CRM software and services. They also develop a DejaOffice® for Outlook® App which runs on Android™, iPhone®, iPad®, Windows Phone®, and BlackBerry® devices. For 30 years, CompanionLink has helped mobilize information across devices, computers, applications, and web-based services. For more information, please visit www.companionlink.com and www.dejaoffice.com.

CompanionLink, DejaOffice and DejaCloud are registered trademarks of CompanionLink Software, Inc. Other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.