Brainspiral

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Web Development

March 23, 2015 By admin

Looking for a small business web design? Do you need more than just web design services? Need someone who understands the local economy? We’ve got you covered!

Check out our portfolio!

Our Berkshire based web development team creates custom websites for small businesses and non-profit organizations. A website is like a first handshake with a customer. With an up-to-date, sleek, and professional website your customers will be impressed before you even meet them.

Professional website design will always be more appealing and effective in achieving your internet marketing goals. Not only will a new site allow a visitor to navigate your site intuitively and quickly—finding information in the least number of clicks—it will encourage visitors to convert into valuable customers. When you get a custom web development from Brainspiral Technologies you get a unique design that sets you apart from your competitors. Our sites are built to be search engine friendly and have a full content management system so you can update your own site without having to learn complicated programming.

Whether it’s just a simple website, or a much more complicated project, we can help you solve the puzzle and make the process a pleasure. We offer competitive rates and beautiful design for small business owners and non-profit organizations.

Websites your customers want to browse

The design team focuses on building websites that streamline content and feature efficient navigation—the most content with the least amount of clicks—so your brand message gets across quickly and clearly. The website content needs to be timely and relevant—compelling content that keeps a visitor on your site.

Websites that grow with your business

Our web design team ensures the website is easily expandable so that you can integrate more functionality and content down the road with no issues. For instance, your firm may start as an Orange County financial firm and after a few years in business, your firm expands to the Los Angeles market. Ease of edits on the backend is critical for future website success.

Websites that cater to all devices

Brainspiral builds responsive websites—websites that respond to desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones. It elevates your brand and perceived value, as well as increases search engine visibility.

Websites that play nice with the search engine bots

Your website means nothing it no one can find it. Our design and development is executed with the latest SEO practices and tactics in mind so you’re ranking with your ideal customers. We can help identify industry-specific keyword phrases for local customers that will help you rank more quickly.

Website design and development services we offer:

  • Web Development (all of our sites use the WordPress content management system)
  • Integrated Social Media
  • E-news development
  • Mobile Websites
  • Responsive Web Design

Filed Under: Services

Business Infrastructure

March 23, 2015 By admin

Brainspiral has years of experience helping thousands of people.

We have a long client list, including Williams College and the Clark Art Institute.   In addition, we maintain clients in many different fields, including professional (legal, medical, accounting, primary care, healthcare professionals, sales, marketing), educational (pre, elementary, middle, high & higher education), trades (electricians, plumbers, contractors, landscapers) and residential.

Our services list includes:

  • Networking System Design and Maintenance
  • Network Monitoring
  • Windows & Mac OS Server Management
  • Application Hosting
  • VOIP Systems
  • Offsite backups
  • VPN & Multi-Site File Access
  • Educational Services: Networking, Laptop Carts, Tablet & Smart Device Deployments
  • Building Control & Access Systems
  • Computer Upgrades & Repairs
  • Audio/Visual, Home Theatre, Home Automation

Filed Under: Services

Application Development

March 23, 2015 By admin

We listen.
We offer a fresh perspective.
We craft unique solutions for your needs.

Software runs our lives.  Good software makes our lives better.  Bad software makes our lives miserable.

We have evaluated hundreds of software products for our clients over the years.  Many of them are great – reliable, inexpensive, time-saving, convenient – but nearly all of them have limitations and are missing critical features and capabilities.  To overcome these deficiencies we have started enhancing these products or creating new solutions from ground zero.  The end result:  a solution that works perfectly and is specifically engineered to save time and money.

Let us evaluate your business operations.  We provide the best efficiency consulting in the area and work with you to develop a solution and a relationship you can trust for life.

Filed Under: Services

Overland

March 23, 2015 By admin

Overland Summers   Exceptional Teen Summer Travel Adventuresoverlandsummers.com

For over 30 years, Overland has been more than simply a summer experience—it’s a life experience with value and resonance that extends far beyond the boundaries of a single summer. In everything we do, we seek to show our students how beautiful and exciting, how full of promise the world is.

Brainspiral worked with overland to create an integrated application system and web based camper management system.

Project included: custom database, web interface 


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom application, database system, member managment

Memory Clinic

March 22, 2015 By admin

Memory Clinic Bennington, VT – Research and clinic trials for Alzheimer’s Disease (1)memorydoc.org

For nearly 30 years, the clinicians at The Memory Clinic have been committed to “Caring for the Mind” of our patients and their families. Our patients and their families are treated with respect at all times, including maintaining confidentiality and advocating for their interests. Our goal is to bring the level of expertise typically associated with urban universities to the local area, making quality dementia care more accessible to persons in a rural area.

Project included: Logo refresh, website redesign, simple intuitive navigation, SEO


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom website, website development

Williamstown Community Chest

March 22, 2015 By admin

Annual Campaignwilliamstowncommunitychest.org

Once quite common across the country, Community Chests extended a helping hand to people in need. Today, the Williamstown Community Chest is one of just a handful of these local charitable organizations left.

In these times of decreasing funding, cutbacks in programming and increasing need, they remain deeply committed to helping solve problems right here in our own neighborhoods.

This project included: website redesign, donation system, SEO


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom website, local web development, website development

Cummings Contractor

March 22, 2015 By admin

1 - Albert Cummings General Contractorcummingsgc.com

The Cummings family has been shaping the landscape of the Berkshires since the start of the twentieth century. As a fourth-generation builder, Albert Cummings has inherited this innate legacy of expertise, grounded in his appreciation of the unique history of this beautiful corner of the world. After graduating from the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, he returned to Williamstown to continue in the family tradition. For over twenty years, he has been doing just that: crafting exceptional homes.

This project included: Website design and development, logo design, custom slideshow, SEO


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom website, Logo Design, website development

Alliance

March 21, 2015 By admin

Alliance LLC – Alliance, LLC is a collaborative enterprise that enables financial institutions to partner in taking control of their vendor management.alliance-llc.org

Alliance provides consolidated access to the full range of settlement services.

The proprietary Alliance platform is built on the latest Microsoft .NET technology combined with the latest Cisco security. Intrusion Detection and Intrusion Protection Systems (IDS/IPS) are incorporated into the Cisco systems to provide the ultimate in security.

Project Included: Website design, Website development


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom design, website design, website development

Shalan Stained Glass

March 21, 2015 By admin

Portfolioshalanstainedglass.com

Shalan Stained Glass specializes in the conservation and restoration of stained and leaded glass windows for churches, public buildings and private residences. The studio’s approach to any restoration project includes attention to the detail and craftsmanship of the original window. Glenn needed a website that matched his level of craftsmanship.

This project included: Website design and development, logo design, SEO


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom design, redesign, website design

Back Roads Granola

May 2, 2014 By admin

homebackroadsgranola.com

justin, our web geek, has been working with Peter and Virginia for over a decade (before he joined the Brainspiral team). A few years ago their side business, BackRoads Granola became their main business and they were in need of a new site to showcase and sell their award winning granola. Brainspiral was happy to work with them to meet their needs.

Back Roads Granola includes e-commerce, twitter feeds, a blog that pushes content to facebook and much more.

This project included: Website design and development, ecommerce solution, SEO


Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom website, ecommerce, shopping cart, website design, website development

Darra Goldstein

May 2, 2014 By admin

Featured Publicationsdarragoldstein.com

Darra Goldstein is Willcox and Harriet Adsit Professor of Russian at Williams College and founding editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture. She is also a prolific food writer and needed a site to showcase her writing.

This project included: Website development, SEO


Filed Under: Portfolio

Pretty Paper Cards

May 2, 2014 By admin

ON SALE NOW! - Pretty Paper Cardsprettypapercards.com

PrettyPaperCards is the home for independent Stampin’ Up saleswoman, and artist, Peggy Noe. Peggy needed a site to show off her paper creations and interact with her dedicated followers. The site pushes daily emails to followers and to facebook. Social Media is key for artists such as Peggy, so we created themes for her personal brand, across platforms.

This project included: custom website design and development, logo design, e-newsletter design, facebook branding



Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom website, facebook branding, Logo Design, mailchimp template design

Accept Credit Cards with Square!

April 30, 2012 By admin

Are you looking for a cheaper and better way to accept credit payments? Try Square!

Square is a great iPad/iPhone system to accept payments. It emails or texts receipts to the customer as well. You could use square for everything from tag sales, coffee shops, taco trucks, and yoga classes!

If you are already using square, you can also set up to accept “Pay with Square.” The best way to explain “Pay with Square” is for you to watch this great video at the link below. If you need help setting up Square for your business, call us at Brainspiral. We can help you out.

http://allthingsd.com/20120430/paying-with-squares-new-mobile-payments-app

-justin adkins

Filed Under: In The News

Amanda, Michigan

September 1, 2011 By admin

You’re a rockstar.  Thank you 🙂

_____

Regarding: Remotely installing a virtual environment for Windows XP on a Macbook Pro.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Tortured Orchard

June 28, 2011 By admin

torturedorchard.com

Tortured Orchard, a local seasoning sauce company came to us looking for a full re-design.  justin designed this beautiful layout with the client highlighting their products and the many ways you can use their tasty sauces!

The new site is Search Engine Optimized and connects to both Facebook and Twitter so every new blog post gets posted seamlessly to the top two social media outlets.

This project included: Website design and development, ecommerce solution, SEO

Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: custom design, SEO, website development

Elizabeth Winthrop

June 28, 2011 By admin

elizabethwinthrop.com

Award winning children’s author, Elizabeth Winthrop, is a client we have been working since our beginning.  Her website looked like it was done ten years ago, because it was.  She needed to enter the 21st century and turned to us for design and technical help.

Building a custom theme for Elizabeth was tons of fun!  Her site needed to reflect the fun of her kids books and the seriousness of some of her adult focused work.  What came out is a site that we are all proud of.

Look for her books at your local library.

This project included: Website design and development, logo design, facebook branding, SEO

Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: author, custom website, SEO

Albert Cummings

June 28, 2011 By admin

albertcummings.com

Blues guitarist, Albert Cummings, was in need of a new website.  Over the years we kept patching his tired site and it was time to update.  Always on the road, we needed to highlight his tours and since he is an independent artist, highlighting the store was key.  He was also in need of a new logo, justin created an awesome design for shirts and a logo for the site.

We also customized the rest of Albert’s web presence including custom graphics on Facebook, Myspace, and Artistdata.  A new mobile phone app is coming out soon as well, brought to you by the Brainspiral team!

Check out Albert Cummings on a stage near you.

This project included: Website design and development, logo design, YouTube integration, facebook branding, integration with LastFM and BandsInTown, SEO 

Filed Under: Portfolio Tagged With: blues, custom facebook, custom myspace, facebook, Logo Design, music website, SEO

QR Codes

June 2, 2011 By admin

I’ve been asked a lot about QR Codes recently.  In fact, I had two clients call me today because they saw local forward thinking businesses using QR Codes.  I used to just call them mobile scanners but I guess I gotta catch up to the times as well.

QR codes are not for every business.  Just like facebook is not always good for business.  Please, do not just use them cause they are trendy and you saw them at a bus stop in Brooklyn, think before you use QR codes.  That is why my first recommendation is… Decide why you are using a QR code, what is the point?

No need to ask me when you want to generate one… you can generate your own.

First, what are QR codes?
QR codes are basically a link in print.  You can print an image and when someone with a mobile device that has a QR scanner, such as an iPhone, scans the image then the link you place shows up.  QR Codes can be used for many things such as, a link to a song in itunes, a link to your contact information, or a link to a webpage.

I use the Bakodo scanner on my iPhone because it can scan more than just QR codes! (in fact, I just learned that it could be used for more than finding out the price of spaghetti sauce (my past use of it)

Want to generate and track QR Codes like a web geek?

Decide why you are using a QR code, what is the point?

For something other than a link to a webpage on your site:

  1. go to: http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/ (there are many generators out there.  this is the one justin likes)
  2. choose from the dropdown what kind of content it is
  3. fill out the fields
  4. choose your size (the size of the image)
  5. click generate
  6. then… you can either download the image or use the url to link to it (if for instance you are putting it in your email signature)
  7. test your image by scanning with your mobile device

For a link to a webpage of your site there are more steps because we want to track the code to see how many people use it:

  1. go to: http://www.google.com/support/analytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55578
  2. put in the url that you want to link to example: https://brainspiral.com to link to the Brainspiral Homepage
  3. for the campaign source put “the name of the magazine, etc” cause that is what we are gonna track here.  For example for this I would put “websiteqrexample”,  if this was in the Transcript on May 22nd, “transcript522”
  4. for campaign medium, Id put “qr” cause that is what the medium is
  5. for campaign name… give it a name
  6. click generate URL (I got: https://brainspiral.com/?utm_source=QR&utm_medium=qr%2Bcode&utm_campaign=qr%2Bweb%2Btest)
  7. now that is one LONG URL…let’s shorten it! so, copy that long URL
  8. go to: http://goo.gl/
  9. paste the long URL you just generated into the box and click shorten
  10. For mine I got: http://goo.gl/5UcsV (nice and short!)
  11. NOW go to: http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/ (there are many generators out there.  this is the one justin likes)
  12. choose from the dropdown URL
  13. paste in your nice short URL
  14. choose your size (the size of the image)
  15. click generate
  16. then… you can either download the image to use in print or use the url to link to it (if for instance you are putting it in your email signature)
  17. My image looks like this:
  18. test your image by scanning with your mobile device

Ok, that is it!

-justin adkins
Get a website today with Brainspiral!!!

Filed Under: Web Develoment

Diana, Brattleboro

February 9, 2011 By admin

Many thanks for Brainspiral’s help in making Core Flow Yoga a success.  Justin is a great designer!  Good luck with everything.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Jane, Williamstown

January 19, 2011 By admin

Thanks,Hunter! So glad I got a Mac!

TV is working out great….HUGE improvement!

**********

Regarding: Mac Laptop Updates and Installation of a new 40″ LED TV with matching Blu-Ray player for streaming Netflix.

Filed Under: Client Comments

HP Pavilion dv6 Trackpad

October 9, 2010 By admin

I recently had to set up a new HP Pavilion dv6 16″ Laptop.  It came with Windows 7, 64-Bit.  Aside from the fact that HP stole the keyboard design from the Apple Macbook and attempted to make their crappy plastic case look like Apple’s brushed aluminum, it’s not a bad computer.  Except that it runs Windows.

Though no direct fault of Microsoft, the trackpad is the worst piece of pointing hardware I have ever used.   The trackpad vacillates between totally dysfunctional and so aggravating I feel like moving back to pen and paper.  I can only blame the limitations of the trackpad on HP or at least on HP’s choice to by cheap Synaptics hardware .  Microsoft’s own poor software development habits are not at fault this time.  Though some of the quirky behavior of the trackpad may be fixable with better software, the current driver support offers very limited maneuverability.  The sensitivity is all wrong, it’s physically too small, and like many artifacts in the PC world that are core components of a computer, this one just doesn’t work well.

Filed Under: Windows Rue

Mike, Williamstown

September 27, 2010 By admin

Hunter, I wanted you to know that Jackie did a great job the other day, and thank you for following up so quickly on my initial request.  It’s good knowing you folks are in town!

_____

Regarding: Mac OS 10.6 System Optimizations; Compatibility checks with

Filed Under: Client Comments

The Myth of USB 2.0

September 23, 2010 By admin

USB 2.0 was introduced to replace the limited USB 1.0 interface with something more robust and capable of handling faster data transfers for devices that required it.  It was also introduced to combat with Apple’s Firewire-400.   USB 2.0 claims to boast transfer speeds of 400Mbps.

Yet I sit here with a brand new HP Pavilion dv6 and a Western Digital MyBook 500GB external hard drive and can only muster 20Mbps.  The MyBook is fully USB 2.0 compliant, as are all the ports on the Pavilion.  Why would anyone advertise an interface as being capable of transferring data at a maximum speed of 400Mpbs, when I have never seen it – on any system or drive – move much faster than 20Mpbs.  That’s a 95% decrease in the purported speed.

Filed Under: Windows Rue

Lee, Williamstown

August 4, 2010 By admin

Great. I’ll be in touch. But your instructions were flawless, and the machine is running like new.

*****

Regarding: Optimizing a windows system following a spyware infection.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Facebook, Twitter and More…

July 23, 2010 By admin

Confused about how social media can help you?  Call for a free consultation with our social media expert call today!  Also, all of our new web packages include FREE:

  • Facebook Fan page
  • Twitter fan page
  • Google local account

Why free?  You shouldn’t have to pay for something that is so easy!

Filed Under: In The News, Web Develoment Tagged With: facebook, local web development, social media, twitter, williamstown

Kathy, North Adams

June 10, 2010 By admin

Thank you so much for setting me up [with my new iMac]. It is great. I loaded on photoshop elements 8 today that I got new a while back – so I am all set to go! At some point I will get some kind of publishing or indesign. Thanks!
_____
Regarding: Purchase and set-up of a new Apple iMac.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Jean, North Adams

April 21, 2010 By admin

We want to extend our appreciation of the great job you did for our home and look forward to future services along with recommending your business to all of of friends.
*****
Regarding: Installation and wiring for high speed wireless internet, a bedroom television and full home theatre with surround sound.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Mary, Williamstown

February 9, 2010 By admin

It is even more fun than a new car!  I like it and thank you.

*****
Regarding: Installation of a new Lenovo A70Z All-In-One Integrated Workstation and migrating data & settings from an older Dell system.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Kathy, Williamstown

February 1, 2010 By admin

BRAVO!!!  As always, you have been amazing and we really appreciate all your hard work. K

*****

Regarding: Installation and configuration of:

16 Apple iMac Desktop Computers
10 Apple Macbook Laptops
1 Apple Mac Mini Server
2 IBM Lenovo A70Z PC Workstations
1 HP Laserjet CP2025X Network Color Laser Printer
2 Canon MP560 Wireless Color Inkjet Printers
2 Epson Scanners

Including the migration of an existing Windows Active Directory Domain to Open Directory on Mac OS X Server, reconfiguration of various network services including DHCP & DNS, and installation of a new print server.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Ann, Williamstown

February 1, 2010 By admin

Thanks Hunter

I really appreciate your attention to my little business.  You’re the best!

*****

Regarding: Developing an internet-based backup strategy for securely storing off-site backups.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Molly, Williamstown

January 14, 2010 By admin

Super! Oh thank you very much!

*****
Regarding: Updating a client website by removing several top-level navigation elements.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Liz, Williamstown

January 8, 2010 By admin

Hunter,

Thanks, as always, for your prompt attention to our problems/issues.

You are great to work with and we appreciate your help.

*****

Regarding: Upgrading to a new Canon wireless photo printer.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Sarah, Williamstown

November 22, 2009 By admin

Hunter, That is great! Thank you so much. Let me know how it goes fixing my old computer and we’ll take it from there.
Always appreciative, Sarah

*****

Regarding: Replacing defective LCD on a PC laptop.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Robb, Williamstown

November 4, 2009 By admin

Hunter, it was incredibly kind of you to send my friend the information you sent her, and I just want you to know that it was above the line of duty! It’s a pleasure to work with you under any circumstances, and thank you so much! If you ever relocate Williamstown will go under!

All best to you and Johanna and Jackie

_____

Regarding: Troubleshooting Microsoft Office for Mac performance and stability issues.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Welcome to our new clients!

October 28, 2009 By admin

Willows Motel (site under development)

West Oil (site under development)

Filed Under: Web Develoment

Gigliotti Electric, Cheshire, MA

October 26, 2009 By admin

Jackie did a great job yesterday.  She fixed all of our problems.  She even got the AnyTime software working.
Gigliotti Electric
_____
Regarding: Properly configuring a peer-to-peer network for file and print sharing, resolved printing/emailing invoice issues with Peachtree, activated a multi-user calendaring system, fixed outgoing Outlook mail problem.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Microsoft Windows XP

October 8, 2009 By admin

Windows XP Professional x64: Windows is now a 64 bit tweak of a 32 bit extension to a 16 bit user interface for an 8 bit operating system based on a 4 bit architecture from a 2 bit company that can’t stand 1 bit of competition.

Filed Under: Windows Rue

Elodie, Phoenix, AZ

October 1, 2009 By admin

Thank you Hunter and Dave! I really appreciate your help and your time.

I went to the site and all of the 8 links look and work perfectly.

Thanks again!

Best,

_____

Regarding: Updating search engine optimized (SEO) links on RussMatt.com, a site we maintain & host.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Michelle, Williamstown

September 29, 2009 By admin

I see it yeah, you’re the best !!!!
_____
Regarding: Data Retrieval & Restoration on a Windows 2000 Server File Server

I see it yeah, you’re the best !!!!

_____

Regarding: Data Retrieval & Restoration on a Windows 2000 Server File Server

Filed Under: Client Comments

John, Williamstown

September 24, 2009 By admin

Hunter—many thanks for help today. Jackie was a super teacher (now to remember!). Probably will call on you again. All the best.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Darra, Williamstown

September 24, 2009 By admin

Just to let you know that Jackie was great — efficient and fixed the problem! Thanks for having such a responsive staff.
_____
Regarding: Troubleshooting issue whereby Verizon began to block all outgoing mail traffic on communication port 25. Over the past few weeks Verizon has been rolling out a block on port 25 in an effort to make more difficult the lives of spammers and virus propagation. Use SSL or a non-standard port for outgoing, unless you’re unfortunate enough to have a provider who doesn’t offer an alternative. Most providers, including GMail and Williams, allow outgoing mail traffic on ports 465 or 587, Webmail is not affected. You can read more about this issue here.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Carol, Williamstown

September 19, 2009 By admin

Oh my gosh — you did it!   That one little thing and I spent an hour talking to a nice young many in India who couldn’t help me in the long run.  I’ll report  back tomorrow, but the black is gone.  It was a weird day on the computer. Many thanks.
_____

Regarding: Mac OS X Snow Leopard corrupt color profile resulting from attempt to custom calibrate display using Spyder calibration software and hardware. Resolution involved removal of all custom profiles in Macintosh HD->Library->ColorSync->Profiles, permitting system to default to a functional color profile.


Filed Under: Client Comments

Theresa, Williamstown

September 12, 2009 By admin

Jackie,
Thank you so much for all your help yesterday!!!!!!!!  I really appreciated it!!!!!!!!  I get so nervous that I’m going to do something drastically wrong and you eased my mind.  🙂
_____

Regarding: Microsoft Access Database Size & Performance Issues, SQL Table Linkability, Workstation Upgrade Options

Filed Under: Client Comments

Deborah, Williamstown

September 12, 2009 By admin

Big Thanks! All better.  Thanks so much.
_____

Regarding: iMac Snow Leopard Upgrade, Alternative HP MFC Scanner Driver Configuration & Integration w/ iPhoto, Apple Mail Auto-Complete Diagnosis, Printing Troubleshooting & Testing

Filed Under: Client Comments

Mary, North Adams

September 8, 2009 By admin

Hunter , Jackie,
I just got  your message and wanted to say Thank You for such prompt attention and a job well done.  Honestly I was hoping you screwed things up just enough so I would have had today off as well as Monday but no such luck, you guys are too good !!!!
All is up and running very smoothly.
Hope you had a great weekend

Filed Under: Client Comments

Christopher, Williamstown

September 4, 2009 By admin

you are wonderful.  thank you!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Becky, Williamstown

September 3, 2009 By admin

YOU ROCK!  THANKSSOMUCH!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Jim, North Adams

September 3, 2009 By admin

Hi.  You’re the best.    Thanks to you guys, we can access email from anywhere.  I just wanted to thank you again for your good humor and admirable competence.  Thanks for all your (and Jackie’s and Judson’s) help.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Andy, Westport, NY

August 5, 2009 By admin

Thanks to all. Just off a conference call and they all love the website. THANKS for your efforts.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Paul, Lanesboro, MA

June 29, 2009 By admin

Thanks for your advice. A new PC was well worth the money. Enjoy your summer.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Lois, Pittsfield, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Hi Alex, My computer is doing well! Thank you for bringing it back to where I can manage it. Your patience paid off! I hope some day you will turn your family research into some short stories or a novel. Think about it! Best Wishes

Filed Under: Client Comments

Z, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

… thank you … for the “sterling” service.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Bob, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Thank you very much for helping us out so quickly with our perplexing problem. This email and attachment are sent wirelessly thanks to you.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Dale, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Thanks! I noticed some nonprofit I’m involved in was recently thanking you: perhaps Hoosic River Watershed, or Northern Berkshire Community Coalition? Anyway whatever it was, keep up the good work, it’s appreciated.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Karen, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

You are, as usual, so smart.

Filed Under: Client Comments

John, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Looks terrific! Great outcome, and thanks for all of the hard work in helping us to look good. It will be a popular spot..

Filed Under: Client Comments

Tim, Westport, NY

May 22, 2009 By admin

Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Amanda, North Adams, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Thanks for your work on the installation and for the return of the cable! Everything is working great.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Renelle, Adams, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

YAHHOOOOOOOOOOOO! I WOULD SAY I LOVE YOU…BUT I HARDLY KNOW YOU….SO I’LL JUST SAY THANK YOU!!!!!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Jack, Kent, England

May 22, 2009 By admin

Our thanks to you for making things understandable for a couple of high tech neophytes.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Charlie, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

That was a very nice article in the Eagle yesterday. The only area they did not stress enough was that you knew what you were doing, something I have appreciated a great deal.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Charlie, Lanesborough, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Hi Hunter and Crew. i would like to thank you and your staff for making what I think is the first fire department in Berkshire County that is state of the art. You and the staff at Brainspiral have been great to work with. I am looking forward to working with you all for a long time. Once again, thanks from all of us.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Fred, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

The write-up in the Eagle is splendid! You are now a Celebrity! Revel in it!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Peggy, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Seth was miraculous yesterday, and we think of him as the glowing light at the end of the tunnel.

Filed Under: Client Comments

Mindy, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

I was doing library web stuff last night and went again to look at your sites. I love your new logo and the breakout between technical and design departments. Your pages are great! … I’m awed by the work you do. Especially since I can remember what you guys were like in first and second grades!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Sam & Dottie, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Hi Hunter: The new TV is great!  Yes, the size is just right, and we’re delighted with the easy accesses, either to DVD and VCR with just one click! Thanks so much

Filed Under: Client Comments

Theresa, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

Hunter you are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Karen, Williamstown, MA

May 22, 2009 By admin

When I give thanks around the table later, you will be at the top of my list…

Filed Under: Client Comments

Lori, Williamstown, MA

April 12, 2009 By admin

Hunter, I just called my mom with my new bluetooth headset and I love it, thanks for that advice and for everything else you helped me with!

Filed Under: Client Comments

Content Management Systems

March 5, 2009 By admin

While working on a site called AmmaPeg.com justin wrote a comparison of various Content Management Systems (CMS). We post this information below as it may answer some of your questions about “Why we choose WordPress”
———————

Software Solutions:

To address the goals and requirements of the site I set off in search of a content-management-system.  Though the years I have worked with quite a few CMS’s and usually return to WordPress.  Since it had been sometime since I explored Joomla and Drupal I decided to take a look at what they are currently offering.

I am only looking at these three CMS’s because they are open source, stable, and based in PHP an mySQL, technologies I am familiar with.  I need a system that will address most, if not all of my requirements either out-of-the-box or with add-on modules.  If it requires add-ons they need to be easy to implement and ideally they would need little recoding.  I have worked with some template systems that have add-ons which require code changes to the primary system files, I would prefer to avoid this type of situation as it always makes upgrades painful at best.

Open source is important to me because too much information in our world is owned.  Beyond that I have found that I get better support from a community of users and developers than from proprietary sources.  With open-source solutions people support and maintain software because they use it themselves and because they care about the quality and functionality of the software.

Vattekkat Satheesh Babu laid out on his site vsbabu.org three great reasons to use open source software, I can not say it any better than he does:
“Trust worthiness of software. Unlike closed source, open source software has more chance of getting exposed to people with no financial interests. This really improves the trust worthiness – you don’t have to worry about claims like “oh, we want to get information from your computer to our server, to serve you better and to better analyze your problems”. If need help, I’ll call the vendor rather than vendors collecting information on their own.
Reliability of software. Well known open source software like Apache, Linux, Free/Open/NetBSD, Samba, Zope etc are worked on by people who do that work simply because they are proud about it. That, IMO, is the best ownership. You get code with lot of heart behind it. For most closed source software, that feeling of responsibility that any one and every one can see the code and hence you might be held responsible simple won’t be there. Just how would you like if your constitution is a closed book and the judges alone can look at it and decide whether you broke the law or not?
Support. This is often brought up often by anti-open source advocates. I think, in reality, open source offers the best support, if you’ve competent people in your team. Either you can get help from the community or you still have the option to go through the source and fix it” (http://vsbabu.org/mt/archives/2002/04/25/why_is_open_source_really_better.html)

For profit companies with closed code are working on the product to make money not to make the product better.  This often leads to products not working with other software and in this case browser issues.  It is also often hard to find real support from closed software companies where as the open source community is offering support based on experience.  Joomla says it best, “[…]Open Source Matters” (http://extensions.joomla.org/)

Comparison:

Joomla:
Joomla is one of the most complete CMS’s I have ever worked with or seen.  This is one of the best things about Joomla and in my opinion, one of the biggest issues.  Though my client has a wide array of needs I need to make sure that whatever she uses is easy to manage.  Simplicity is king in letting users update their own content, in my, not so humble, opinion.  Fine, for me to have a million and one options as a developer but my clients are another story.  They need to be able to perform a few basic tasks, and that is it.

On of the biggest issues I used to have with Joomla was image management.  It was confusing at best and after trying to train multiple users on how to use the image manager I had given up on it. With version 1.5 Joomla says,“A very popular improvement is Joomla!’s new image manager enabling you to browse media folders to select and insert images directly into your article as you write” (http://www.joomla.org/content/view/4483/118/)  This uplaoder is similar to other CMS’s, in the sense that it is a flash overlay to the screen (works like lightbox for images).

On thing I really like about Joomla is the article back-end screen that shows page statistics.  This is a very handy tool to have readily available in the write screen.

In the administration screens you are able to set and online and offline mode which is very handy for doing updates to a site, and you are able to set the metadata in the administration, cool, and a great help for SEO.

One of my other issues in the past with Joomla was its heavy reliance on tables.  The developers listened to the public and “Now, template designers can use custom layouts, often referred to as template overrides, instead of the typical table heavy output from Joomla! Core.” (joomla.org)  While this may be true the core still relies on tables,

“Designing Joomla powered sites currently presents considerable challenges to meet validation standards. In the current series of releases, 1.0.X, the code uses a significant amount of tables to output its pages. This isn’t really using CSS for presentation, nor does it produce semantically correct code. This problem is compounded by the fact that very few 3rd party developers are using CSS either, most use table to generate their code too. However, tableless is not the same as valid. Its quite possible to have a site that uses tables to validate, it just makes it harder. A useful thread on the Joomla forums go into this in more detail:
Easy tricks to remove many tables from the standard output of Joomla!
Fortunately, the Joomla Core Development team recognize this issue of Joomla. While in 1.5 there will be no changes towards removing tables from the core, a roadmap has be defined that begins to address this in the 1.6 release and on.
Regardless, care can still be taken when creating a template so that it is accessible (e.g. scalable font sizes), usable (e.g. clear navigation) and optimized for search engines (e.g. source ordered).” (http://dev.joomla.org/content/view/1136/79/1/3/)
While I agree that tables and validation are not one in the same I am not to thrilled with the idea of the extra steps it seems to take developers to break out of tables, and as this blurb states, because Joomla! Relies on tables so much so do the module/add-on/plugin developers.

Joomla! Has so many options.  After playing with the online demo, I still find the back-end interface confusing and though you can create roles for various users these roles do not seem to simplify things too much.  Joomla! Does offer a lot of functionality “out-of-the-box” which is nice but if the “out-of-the-box” functionality is confusing it does not help me to much.  What amazes me with Joomla! Is that though everything on the back-end is accessed by one login things are still quite separated to various areas.

Drupal:

It was funny in researching for this project I found something that said what I always felt about Drupal, “Drupal is not known for its ease of use”  the bummer is that I closed the tab and have no clue who said it.  That said… I was less than optimistic when looking into Drupal.  The only reason I even looked at it at all is because many of my friends swear by Drupal and everywhere I turn I hear about how many changes were made in version 6.x.

One of the best things about Drupal is its “out-of-the-box” support for multiple users.  Users can have roles.  In former versions of Drupal setting up user roles was not the easiest task, users adding themselves was quite simple on the other hand.  With the version 6 the administration section has been restyled and is much better.  Because Drupal is focused on community sites the user options are more through than any other CMS I have seen.  In fact, about a quarter of the admin options are in regards to users.

The new admin panels look great.  The main admin section is broken into a few head categories: Content management, User Management, Reports, Site building, and Site configuration . This is great and intuitive.

For ammapeg the big concern is content management.  In Drupal you have a wide array of options, collaborative “books” that work great for user manuals, etc. and Pages and Stories (similar to Pages and Posts in WordPress).  The focus of Drupal really is collaboration, Drupals site boasts, “In Drupal, the community aspect is threaded through the system at the most fundamental level, so snapping these functions together and configuring them is not too different whether you want to do it as a mostly one-to-many site, or you decide to open it up and go many-to-many. Connecting the distributed, collaborative possibilities of community with all aspects of your site is something Drupal does very, very well.” (http://drupal.org/node/265726)

There is a native forum module in Drupal which is very nice, not something my client needs, but nice none the less. Drupal also has multi-site support which is very cool, but again not a feature my client needs.

I mentioned images in regards to Joomla and here the pesty buggers come up again.  Drupal does not support image uploads “out-of-the-box” you have to install the image module to add this functionality.  Once the module is installed you have to reference the url of the image, no pretty previews here.  This image thing is a big hold up for my client.  This might be a bit complex for her at this point.

WordPress:

WordPress 2.5, and as of July 15, 2008, 2.6 is much closer to being a full service CMS than it used to be.  WordPress, unlike Drupal and Joomla! Did not start off as a CMS, in fact it technically still is a blog package.  That said over the years the community has been taking the simplicity of the package and making it usable as a full service CMS.  It is difficult to write this paper in a balanced way because I have had so much more experience in WordPress.  Compared to Joomla! And Drupal Wordpres comes “out-of-the-box” with very little.  You basically have a simple user panel, and manage and write sections for posts and Pages.

In WordPress posts are like Drupal stories and Pages are like Drupal pages, semi static data.  These are managed with a very minimalist approach and few options.

Like the other CMS’s I looked at WordPress used to be very problematic in regards to images, with 2.5 they fixed this issue and now it has one of the better image managers “out-of-the-box”.  Everything in regards to images happens within the write panel and you can also add a gallery of images with the simple WordPress shortcode, similar to other API short code.

WordPress becomes a powerful solution as you start adding plugins.  The wordpress plugins are simple to install and integrate rather seamlessly to the admin screens.  Where the other CMS’s I looked at tried to do most tasks the user and developer needs “out-of-the-box” WordPress does little and it is up to you to make it what you need it to be.

As I am at this point looking and the requirements of the project I had to go outside of the  main install to see if WordPress was my best choice. I quickly found some plugin options that would fill my needs.

One of the requirements of the project is for my client to easily update the content.  With WordPress custom write panels I can create custom write sections for each aspect of the site.  These write panels combined with the already simple administration screens seems to be the best choice for my client.  With write panels, and a couple other easily installed plugins I am able to develop the back-end as well as the front-end of the site.  This flexibility is very appealing when creating sites like this which need to be a blog, store, and more static content.

Plugins:
Now that I have chosen a CMS framework to work with, WordPress 2.5/2.6.  It is time to customize the backend to do the various tasks my client needs.

Let’s look at the requirements again and see some of the solutions.

Provide information for current students
Information is something all of the CMS’s handle well, that is why they are CONTENT management systems.  This is “out-of-the-box for not only the three options I looked at but others as well.  WordPress offers something the others do not, simplicity.  In addition to the WordPress admin system there is a well supported plugin called “fresh post” (http://freshout.us/goodies/fresh-post-for-wordpress-wordpress-cms/).  Fresh posts allows the developer to have custom panels with custom fields for the content manager.  This will allow me to simply create a custom back-end for my client where she can fill in and check boxes for exactly what she wants.  Using this simple but robust plugin I can make the administration tailored to her specific needs and help cut back on any training time.
Have daily inspirational and encouraging messages
My client has a message that she wants to show of the homepage.  Everyday her friend e-mails this message to a small group of people.  Ideally this message will be automatically posted to the homepage via that same e-mail.  To do this I am using a plugin called “postie” (http://www.economysizegeek.com/wp-mail/)  Postie was actually slightly out of date, however because there is a wide community using this plugin people have filled the gaps for support.  I needed to make a couple changes in the postie code to get it to work in WordPress 2.5.
What postie does is allow you to not only post via e-mail but direct the posts to a specific category, which I then am feeding to a section on the homepage.  With an automatic cron the home page will daily show the new post.
Have “homework” materials for current students
The homework section is fairly straight forward and is being handled using posts.  For each assignment or week, my client can make a new post and easily attach any files she needs to, be they pdf, doc, or images.  She can also add video and audio via the WordPress uploader whenever wants to.
Portal for Peggy’s study materials
Download of studies by Peggy
The study materials and downloads both dictated some type of e-commerce solution.  I looked at OsCommerce, which I am actually most familiar with, and at WP-e-Commerce.  OsCommerce would not integrate with the WordPress back-end which was initially the biggest turn-off as I do not want my client to have multiple logins.  The OsCommerce system is extremely through but my feelings about it are much like my thoughts about Joomla, it has more to offer than my client needs.  As I was researching my options I discovered the perfect solution, WP-e-Commerce (http://www.instinct.co.nz/e-commerce/).
WP-e-Commerce fully integrates with WordPress administration panels and handles downloads so that I can set downloadeable material t go through the e-commerce solution either for free or for pay.  It also works with paypal and google check out as well as the industry standard authorize.net.  WP-e-Commerce is awesome.  I am able to tweak presentation and back-end functionality.  It is simple to use and fully integrates with WordPress.
Opportunity for Christian women  in the general public to submit requests for and receive prayer and support from Peggy
I want Peggy to be able to add fields to any type of prayer request form that I offer.  Additionally I for see her desiring to add people to help her pray, in the sense of someone submits a prayer request and she and 2 of her friends or her pastor want to pray for all of these requests.  So I needed a solution where my client could add recipients of the submitted form.  I also wanted her to be able to add her own custom fields to the form as time went on.  I decided to go with a plugin called Cforms 2 (http://www.deliciousdays.com/cforms-forum/)  C-Forms is a full form software and is well supported and documented.  It has various default form themes and you can use your own stylesheet as well.  It also allows for auto-response messages and confirmations as well as the required multiple recipients.
Recommend pertinent outside reading
Have the site support itself financially
Outside recommendations ends up tying in with financial support.  By linking into the amazon.com API Peggy can make simple book recommendations, pull the cover image and title and link into her own amazon seller account and make a profit off of each sale.  This is also done in the administration panels and actually right in the write/edit sections where she inputs her content.  Using Nick Orhn’s Amazon Reloaded plugin (http://nickohrn.com/) my client can search for a product on amazon within the edit area and once she finds it she can input the image and title with a click into her post.  Though the settings area I am able to configure it to link to her seller account.

Conclusion:

Through much research I discovered that most CMS’s are very similar these days.  Over the past year even the difference have become rather slim in regards to core functionality.  The main difference is preference in administration and the ultimate goals of the project.  If my client had been looking for a solution that offered a lot of community input and many users, Drupal would have been the natural choice.  If my client had someone to offer on-going technical support I would have recommended Joomla as it really offers more but is more challenging to navigate.

Filed Under: Web Develoment

Why the WordPress framework?

March 5, 2009 By admin

Why do we build websites on the wordpress framework.  Well, because it is open source, well documented, and well supported.  WordPress, formerly a bloging software, lets us build you great web standards based sites where you can edit your content and upload images.  No longer do you need to call us to do simple content updates.  We put the power in your hands.

Filed Under: Web Develoment Tagged With: web sites, web standards, wordpress

Exchange Servers?

August 27, 2008 By admin

We have had some recent questions about Microsoft Outlook Exchange servers.  This is what we told one client:

Dear Mr so-and-so,

You probably won’t receive this message because you’re not on Exchange right now.
You shouldn’t be ‘Blocking’ or marking spam as ‘Spam’.  That won’t work in Outlook.  All you can do is trash it.  And keep trashing it day after day after day after day.
The basic truth is that Exchange is a worthless piece of shit & no one should have to tolerate its crapiness.  Google provides excellent Spam protection, online document storage & sharing, online calendar storage & sharing & online contact storage & sharing.  With 25GB of storage per user and $0 annual cost, it makes it a very compelling alternative to Exchange.
But Google is completely different than the whole Outlook/Exchange setup you have now and you’d have to learn to do things differently.
Google has been completely disabled at this point, so nothing will ever go there any more.  Instead, it goes directly to Exchange.
So I’m not really sure what to say – except that for now you have to live with the deficiencies of yet another poorly written and poorly designed Microsoft product.
Brainspiral Technologies

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: exchange, google, microsoft, outlook

1st Responder Broadcast News Web Article

January 8, 2008 By admin

Original available here.

Filed Under: In The News

Protection of your data

January 6, 2008 By admin

Your data is important.  While we work magic in many ways, recovering data from failed hard drives is difficult, at best, and often impossible.  The only way to protect your data & minimize downtime is to ensure you have a good backup solution in place.  We’ve discussed this before, but it’s so important we want to discuss it again.

We have found the best way to backup data is to use an external hard drive, preferably a network hard drive.  Network drives are inexpensive, easy to configure, reliable & fast.  We recommend them in all cases – Macs, PCs, even Servers.

While most network drives are identical, we recommend those made by Buffalo.  They offer many excellent features & are very compatible.  They come in a variety of sizes (250gb, 320gb, 500gb, 750gb, 1tb, 2tb, 4tb) to accommodate for all different kinds of storage needs.  They also provide an excellent means to share files among multiple users in a household or small business.  These devices can also be configured to backup to each other – for maximum data protection.

On the Mac side of things, we highly recommend using Leopard’s (10.5) Time Machine.  It’s an excellent program (thanks, Apple!) that makes automatic backups on a regular basis.  It can even be used over a wireless connection.  Though many of you are probably still running 10.4 or 10.3, have you considered upgrading?

On the PC side of things, we highly recommend using a backup program called Cobian.  It’s freely downloadable from snapfiles.com.  It offers great flexibility – allowing you to choose what you want backed up, and when.

If you’re really concerned about safeguarding your data, look at an online backup service like mozypro.com or mac.com.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Microsoft Office 2007 / DOCX Files

January 1, 2008 By admin

We’ve had a lot of complaints from clients who have received attachments from users with Microsoft Office 2007 and have been unable to open them.  It turns out that Microsoft changed the default file format in Office 2007 & that format is not compatible with any other version of Microsoft Office (both on a PC and a Mac).  This is typically Microsoft – introduce something new that offers no advantages whatsoever & provide zero backwards compatibility within their own software families.  Nice work, Microsoft!

Microsoft also learns from their mistakes (though they never admit it) & has released converters for both PCs and Macs to allow these new file formats (based on eXtensible Markup Language – suffix docx)  to be opened properly.  They’re available here:

PC
MAC

Filed Under: Uncategorized

The Truth About TV Displays

October 3, 2007 By admin

A client just asked us about the Pioneer PDP4280 Plasma TV – 42″. We recently installed a Pioneer PDP5010FD – 50″, the quality of which was absolutely phenomenal, so we weren’t reluctant to encourage them to go for it. But then we looked at the specs for the PDP4280 & were a bit surprised. This was our response:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Email Chain Letter: PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED

September 5, 2007 By admin

A public school teacher was arrested this morning at John F.Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule and a calculator. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

High-Speed Internet Service Choices

June 21, 2007 By admin

There are a couple of choices in high-speed internet service providers in the Northern Berkshire. There are a few differences in the services that are offered by Time Warner Cable and Verizon:

Verizon DSL offers two services – a basic, 768 kbps service that is perfectly suited to loading websites, retrieving email, and downloading small files such as antivirus software updates. This service will perform these jobs at such a speed that there is no advantage to having the higher speed connection. The one limitation of the 768 kbps service is transferring large files via email or web browser, or watching streaming media, such as audio or video.

Verizon’s other service, their 3000 kbps service, is more comparable to Time Warner Cable’s service, which typically runs at between 2000 and 5000 kbps. These two services are virtually identical, streaming media, transferring files, etc. at lightning fast speeds. Their prices are not. Verizon’s service tends to cost approximately $15 to $30 less than Time Warner Cable service.

We hope this assists our clients in deciding which High-Speed Internet Service Provider is best for you and your needs. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like a Brainspiral technician to install one of these services for you.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Removing Security Warning when Opening Program in Windows XP

June 21, 2007 By admin

For those of you running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you have likely come across this problem at least once. You download a picture, document, or program you need, and before you can do anything, up pops a window, warning you of the (so-called) dangers of opening the file. “Warning,” the window advises, “This file is from an unknown publisher. Opening this file may damage your computer.” As helpful as this proposes to be, it is annoying for those downloading pictures of their vacation or their co-worker’s business document. For those continually annoyed by this, we offer this fix.

To remove these pop-up notifications, go to “Start”, right click on “My Computer”, click “Properties”, go to the “Advanced” tab, and select “Environmental Variables”. In User Variables, click “new”, and add the following: SEE_MASK_NOZONECHECKS, and give it the value 1. This will disable the pop-up security checks.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

And you thought you had computer problems…

April 27, 2007 By admin

PROBLEM: A Lady Tries to turn on her computer, but it doesn’t come on and…she calls the “Support Desk”:

SUPPORT: ” Hello, technical support how can I help you?”
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Which websites are dangerous?

April 15, 2007 By admin

With literally million upon millions of websites offering numerous services, entertainment, opinions, news, products, and downloads, determining which of these sites are good or malicious for our computers is largely a guessing game.  That is, it was.  McAfee provides a free product called Site Advisor that adds a small bar to the bottom of your browser that gives a green, yellow, or red indicator (think traffic lights) for the safety of the site you are currently visiting.  Like all software, it isn’t perfect, and the few sites it isn’t aware of, it will give a gray indicator.  The add-on to your browser is available at the Site Advisor website.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

1954 Popular Mechanics Magazine Photo

April 11, 2007 By admin

This picture is amazing. One of our clients sent it to us. It’s hard to believe how far off their technology projects were in 1954. Consider now that a common digital stopwatch is more powerful than the ‘computer’ featured in the image. Wow!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Internet Explorer 5/6 Full Alpha Transparency PNG Hack?

April 3, 2007 By admin

If you want to use png’s in IE, here is a very simple javascript fix to
allow IE 5/6 to display pngs with full alpha transparency. IE 7 supposedly
supports pngs without any help.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bobosola/

Filed Under: Uncategorized

File Sharing: The Real Story

March 19, 2007 By admin

Despite security and copyright problems that have plagued them throughout their existence, file sharing programs continue to be popular. The first Napster, Kazaa, & Limewire are the better known programs for file sharing, and they entice many consumers with their ability to get you the file, whether it be a video, audio, document, or picture file, for free. The good news ends there. Many of these free, or lite, programs, pay for themselves through collaboration with known spyware producers who pay the file sharing program makers to bundle their software with spyware and other nasties. To make things worse, there is no way of knowing what programs and files are being put onto your computer while these programs are being used. So in exchange for free audio, video, and text files, you get in exchange more spyware, worms, trojans, and viruses than you would have encountered through regular web surfing. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Care for LCD Displays

March 14, 2007 By admin

LCD displays have dramatically improved how we use and locate our computers. Any of those who have transitioned from the massive, bulky CRT monitors to the sleek, crisp imaged LCD displays appreciate the flexibility in location, better resolution, and decreased energy consumption. However, these LCD displays, which can be found in desktop monitors and laptops, require different care than their massive CRT cousins. We offer these tips to avoid costly repairs and replacements. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reverse iPod Sychonization & Backup

March 14, 2007 By admin

We know your music is important to you. We know the iPod has changed the way we listen and transport music. We know how annoying it is when your computer has crashed and your iTunes library is caput.

We also know how to restore the contents of your iPod back to your computer. It’s not easy & takes some time, but it’s absolutely possible. So if you need some recovery, let us know. Get us your iPod for a day (you can even mail it it us!), and we’ll take care of the rest.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Security Solutions for Windows XP

March 12, 2007 By admin

Security issues have bugged Windows XP users since its creation. Hackers, viruses, spyware, trojans, worms, and the countless other nasties can cause untold damage to your Windows XP PC, anything from slowing your performance to deleting your data files to corrupting your operating system. Thankfully there are some simple (and free!) solutions.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Daylight Savings: Windows XP & Mac OS X

March 9, 2007 By admin

Windows

Windows XP requires an update to be installed to deal with the new dates of Daylight Savings Time. Most likely your computer has already downloaded and installed this update; however in the unlikely chance that your PC hasn’t, we are providing the link to the Microsoft Download site for this update. It is important that you be running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (XPSP2) in order to install this update.

The site is:
Microsoft Windows Update

Mac OS X

There is a similar update available for OS X.

Apple Updates

Any computer configured to use a time server (NTP) will automatically adjust its clock based on the remote server time. No software update is necessary in this case.

Please check this out for answers to many questions concerning the shift in Daylight Savings Time and your computer.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Internet Explorer 7 – quirky as usual

February 25, 2007 By admin

We’ve noticed some unusual things with Internet Explorer 7. We feel that the world would be a far superior place if Microsoft had simply discarded IE and supported Mozilla – Firefox being a standards-compliant browser that web developers can actually make use of as a presentation medium. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Battery Maintenance – Laptop, iPod, Cell Phone, etc.

February 25, 2007 By admin

Batteries are running our lives these days. No one wants to be tethered by wire – SATV, GSM/CDMA, WIFI, MP3 – all make our lives easier & more mobile. Powering our devices is tricky, and no one wants to be left on a train ride to NYC with a dead iPod. Replacement batteries aren’t cheap. A typical laptop battery could easily cost over $100. This information about caring for your batteries may help preserve their life, and allow you to get the most performance out of them. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Gates vs. GM

February 16, 2007 By admin

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for
the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly
compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated:

“If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry
has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the
gallon.”

In response to Bill’s comments, General Motors issued a press
release stating:
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Integrating Thickbox and Lightbox Javascript Packages

February 8, 2007 By admin

This post is a bit obscure, but since I found very little information about this topic on the web, I wanted to share it for all.

Thickbox and Lightbox are great packages. Very powerful. Very elegant. Excellently scripted. Unfortunately, however, they don’t play nice together. Though Thickbox does in many respects supercede Lightbox, we needed both for a project. Turns out they’re incompatible with each other – or rather the libraries they depend on, Prototype and JQuery are incompatible – sort of. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Coping with Spam

February 5, 2007 By admin

True: Spam – or unsolicited email – is a serious problem.

Not True: Recent reports show that within the next eighteen months, most people will spend at least four hours of their day dealing with email, with almost 75% of that time wasted whilst wading through spam.

True or not, Spam isn’t fun. And unfortunately there isn’t much you can do about it. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Windows Vista

January 31, 2007 By admin

Microsoft has finally released their newest concoction – Windows Vista. They’ve been developing it for the past six years. We haven’t had a chance to test it yet, but we will soon enough. All new PCs will be shipping with it as of now (January 30, 2007). Our current recommendation is to ignore it – stick with Windows XP, unless you’re completely upgrading your system. We’re concerned there may be software incompatibilities between Vista and other Windows-compatible software, not to mention the fact that the interface and usability will be altogether foreign to a non-techie. Here’s an excellent article from the NY Times written by computer guru David Pogue:

New York Times, December 16, 2006: STATE OF THE ART; Vista WinsOn Looks. As for Lacks…

And another rather scathing article regarding Bill Gates and Vista:

Bill Gates loses his grip on reality

Still yet another article pointing to problems with Vista: the version you pay for may not be what you get, despite assurances from Microsoft;

Buying Vista? Get a guarantee 

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Freeing up Storage in Windows

January 3, 2007 By admin

In today’s digital world, computers can fill up fast with an assortment of pictures, MP3s, and videos whose files consume large portions of a hard drive. Unfortunately, other files and programs can fill up available storage space with unnecessary files. A few programs in Windows can take care of this problem and optimize your computer’s storage space. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Optimizing a PC with Windows

January 3, 2007 By admin

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Choosing A Backup Device

January 3, 2007 By admin

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Managing storage of photos, music & video

January 3, 2007 By admin

Question:
I was hoping to get my PC to you for a clean-up and also to help us deal with memory shortage. We got a new digital camera recently and the photos are considerably larger than our former camera’s photos. I went to check the memory the other day and we we were down to 3% left! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Williams Graduates Form Brainspiral

December 26, 2006 By admin

PDF of the same post

Filed Under: In The News

Computer Doctor

January 29, 2006 By admin

Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Edward Ortiz, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Hunter Greene may just be the closest thing to a country doctor. House calls are his bread and butter. But he’s no white-frocked MD with black bag and stethoscope in hand.

Rather, Greene’s world is filled with PCs and Macs and what ails them — infected hard drives, frazzled memory caches and virus-laden networks. [Read more…]

Filed Under: In The News

Websites Gush With Water Info

November 24, 2004 By admin

Berkshire Eagle, The (Pittsfield, MA)
Christopher Marcisz Berkshire Eagle Staff

WILLIAMSTOWN — The debate over whether to extend the town water main down Cold Spring Road has gone online, as the town prepares for a second special town meeting on the contentious issue Dec. 2. Residents with Internet access can use their time between Thanksgiving meals and holiday shopping to visit several Web sites that have popped up this past week with reams of primary source documents about the issue, along with a site to post comments on the issue.
Over the weekend, the town put online a page of files related to the project, after it was suggested at a recent Selectmen’s meeting that voters needed access to more information. [Read more…]

Filed Under: In The News

Williams Graduates Form Brainspiral

November 9, 2002 By admin

The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, MA)

WILLIAMSTOWN – Hunter Greene, a recent Williams College graduate, has launched Brainspiral Technologies, a technical support company for home and business computer users. Brainspiral offers a wide array of computer services including hardware and software troubleshooting, network setups, website development and technical training. The company supports Macintosh and Windows platforms, as well as other server-grade systems. [Read more…]

Filed Under: In The News

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