How many times throughout the day have you just wanted someone to give you a simple answer? Perhaps you have a computer guru in your office that seems to take care of a lot of problems, but you have no idea what he (or she) did, and how to fix it the next time it comes up - and it always does, right when you don't have time to deal with it by going and asking again. Even worse, you don't have anyone to answer your questions, and your 10 year old daughter is in school and unable to come to the rescue. A lot of time each day is undoubtedly wasted puzzling over simple questions about your computer.

It doesn't help at all when the computer manufacturer charges you money to ask questions, as does the store where you bought it, and even if you make the call, you can't understand the person talking to you, either due to their accent or their use of techno-speak that only can be understood by other phone-support people. Even worse, they eventually will just refer you to the website, which you invariably cannot access, cannot navigate, and cannot understand. If you strike out on your own, the first 10 search results that aren't trying to get you to buy another product to replace the one that is frustrating you already, are also either written in techno-babble or merely the opinions of some loudmouths that either don't have the answers and are just trying to convince you to avoid the problem by buying into their favorite brand, or you simply cannot understand them at all. Now you've wasted a solid hour, and your fingers are tired of clicking. Perhaps sitting on hold sounds better now.

This is no way to run a service-based industry, which is what computer support is! It should be based on serving you, the customer, with the best advice and explanation available. Even an honest "I'll look into it and get back to you this afternoon" is better than wasting time and money dealing with "tech support." The IT industry in general has gone through some major changes in the last decade, and most good IT teams are no longer confined to the basement server room. As dreadful as it sounds, IT is no longer the place for social misfits and outcasts, although we still hear lots of stories about the odd habits of the last IT guy - and most of those "last IT guys" had never spent 10 minutes sitting down and talking with anyone not on their team.

We change this. You can contact Avineo Inc whenever you like, free of charge. Opinions are given freely, simple answers are provided, and generally speaking, you won't see a bill unless we actually make the changes to your computer. Further, we make an effort to talk to you. If you don't understand the solution we give you, ask more questions! We will listen and explain as best we can, and you'll probably learn a little bit as we go. That is what support is!

Hopefully, your computer will tell you occasionally if an important update was automatically downloaded and applied. Most of the time, these updates happen without anyone lifting a finger. Sometimes, the update changes something that you are used to. Occasionally, the update actually breaks something and makes it unusable. So, what are all these updates anyway? The vast majority of updates are loosely based around computer security. Any competent computer hacker will tell you that there is no computer that cannot be hacked (unless it's unplugged!) - it's merely a matter of time and effort before a hacker can gain access. Hackers are always busy programming tools to reduce the time and effort it takes, and major software companies are constantly working at making it harder for hackers to tap into their products. So, we end up doing the upgrades and downloading security patches and such. This is almost always a good thing, as long as the software itself is requesting the update. Using services like Microsoft Update or Adobe Software Updater will provide you with the safest options - but when in doubt, open the program, and look under the Help menu for a "Check for Updates" link - or check the software company's website.

Another kind of update is a bug fix. These are less common, as by the time software is released and sold to the public, it has generally been tested extensively by individual users who sign up for such things. The only major company that seems to regularly release bug fixes is Microsoft, and this is simply due to the limited amount of participation they allow in the testing process - besides, with millions of eventual users (and abusers) putting their software into every imaginable configuration, it's not too surprising if some programming flaws eventually become evident.

Service Packs, service releases, and minor version updates are typically the way that bug fixes are handled - although they are generally a different kind of update, since they usually combine bug fixes, security updates, and even some actual program enhancements into one big update package. Microsoft commonly uses these, as does Apple, and to some degree, all computer software manufacturers. Generally, these are free updates, and any licensing that applied to the original product will carry over to the updated product. Occasionally, software companies will impose some kind of maintenance fee that will make you eligible for upgrades only if you have paid for a year or more of software upgrade support in advance. More often, the companies will just release a new major version upgrade, and charge you again for a full (or slightly less for an upgrade) license.

Major Version Release - These are when a software company releases a new version of a product - like Windows XP upgrading to Windows Vista, or Adobe Photoshop CS2 to Adobe Photoshop CS3. Generally, when a new major version is released, one must pay for a new or upgrade license. Some software companies, like Intuit (Quicken), HeavyJob, or AutoDesk (AutoCAD), do a major version upgrade each year. The version upgrade number just becomes the year of release (or sometimes the following year for which it is intended to be used) - this especially makes sense in the financial industry, where laws, taxes, and other matters external to the program itself make annual changes as well. Outside of legal reasons, the nice thing about major version releases is that you can generally skip them, to a point. The software life cycle generally allows for at least the two prior major releases to remain supported and updated, although generally not sold. This is where we stand with Windows XP - it is still fully supported, and until Windows Vista proves to be a cost-effective transition, there is no reason to upgrade - in fact, quite the opposite, due the extensive hardware upgrades necessary to run Windows Vista practically. Often, companies choose to only upgrade to a new major version every other time one is released, so that would mean skipping from version 2.0 to version 4.0, then to version 6.0. This is generally not a bad plan, and keeps costs low while maintaining current support for the product.

Of course, there are costs involved regardless of your decisions on updating. Sometimes the costs of NOT updating far outweigh the cost of an update, but generally, it will be less expensive in the long run to keep your software fairly current, especially with security updates, when the opportunity costs of time and productivity are taken into account over the long term.

This is a tricky question, because along with the Internet came free distribution for any software programmer that wanted to write an application. Today, we can download simple plugins and toolbars for our web browser that by themselves do more than full software suites could do 10 years ago. The best tool is always one that maximizes your overall productivity while allowing you to remain comfortable while using it - that means it has to at least have some user-friendly or more important, user-familiar features. All this, and it has to remain cost-effective. We still see some industries using simple text-based database-driven programs that were written 10, 15, even 20 years ago - but they are productive, familiar, and cost effective. Once they loose one of these factors, a new tool will emerge to take their place. With the vast majority of computer users being trained on Windows or at least graphical desktop systems, the familiarity aspect of the older tools will likely be the first to go - but at what cost? This question looms huge in the minds of those entrusted to oversee any kind of upgrade to an existing system.

With the many choices of software "tools" out there today, it helps to have someone that can cut through the pomp and fluff, and find the right tools for your workstation. There is no "one tool fits all" answer - every industry, every work environment, every computer user is different - different comfort levels, different experiences, and different ways to use certain tools. Avineo Inc. will not try and sell you a tool you don't need or want - we are not simply a Microsoft shop here to sell you MS products, or an Apple store trying to sell you the newest iProduct. In fact, our expertise cuts through most software divides - we use Unix, Linux, Apple, and Microsoft computers. We have accounting experience with Quickbooks, Maxwell, and Sage. We can not only give you an objective point of view on what tool might be right for you, but we can help you learn to use the tool of your choosing. If there is a software that you use that we haven't tried already, we aren't afraid to learn how to use it as well, at least enough to help you with questions you may have, and to provide an interpreter between customer service and real life.

This is simple - increased productivity equals increased profits. When an employee is spending time and energy fussing with a computer that is not performing as desired, that employee becomes less productive both due to the time spent fighting the computer, and the additional stress created by the situation. What would you do if your co-worker acted in the same way as your computer, especially if he or she were your superior, or worse, your responsibility? Would you continue to want to work in that environment? Would you want such an employee working for you? A computer is a tool, and a significant one. If it is broken or not performing as desired, steps must be taken to repair or replace it. The initial cost of maintaining computers may seem high, but the added productivity and reduced workplace stress are all well worth it. After Avineo Inc. is a part of your company, we expect to save your company time, energy, and money by decreasing stress at the computer, streamlining work activities on the computer, and maintaining your computers at their optimum level of performance.