If you, for example, install multiple media player applications on your Android device, you’ll find that Android will give you the choice of which application to launch by default when you open a media file or document. However, you may later want to change this default setting.

To do so, go to Settings > Applications > Manage applications and then press the "All" tab. Choose the application that you previously selected as default, and scroll to the section "Launch by default" and press the "Clear defaults" button. Next time you open that particular type of file in the future, Android will prompt you again to choose a new default app.

Imagine the last time you were dealing with a frustrated customer over email. It can be hard to convey meaning through the digital medium, context is often missed. That's why a good old-fashioned phone call can do wonders. Traditional phone systems are a large investment, however there is an alternative: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The question many business owners ask is: Can it bring any benefits to my business? In short, yes, it can. Here are five benefits of VoIP.

1. Automation Most VoIP systems can be easily configured to route calls to numbers without the need of an expensive switchboard. This means that you could route calls to your mobile phone when you are out of the office.

Any good phone system offers callers the ability to leave messages. Some VoIP systems can take voicemail messages and turn them into emails, which makes it easier for you to track and reply to these messages.

2. Larger appearance Solid VoIP systems allow you to have different numbers that can route into one branch. For example, if you have a presence in four states, you can set a local number in each state and when users call, they are automatically routed to your office.

By having a local presence, many customers will think your business is bigger than it really is, and may be more trusting. Similarly, you can also assign numbers to different 'departments' that get routed to one phone. This is a great way of making your company seem bigger and more reliable.

3. Features With most traditional phone services, you have to pay extra for features like all display, extra numbers, call monitoring, etc. VoIP systems often include these features and more at little to no extra cost.

4. Savings As VoIP uses your Internet connection, calls are not geographically routed which means that a phone call that would normally be considered long distance, isn't on VoIP. This translates to lower phone bills. These systems don't require complex infrastructure and wiring that traditional phone systems do. Existing phones can be easily integrated into VoIP systems with a small piece of hardware, meaning you won't need to invest in new hardware.

5. It's scalable It is easy to add numbers and phones to any VoIP system. This means that when you hire new employees, you can quickly (often in as little as three minutes) and easily assign them a number and a phone at little to no cost. This means that as you grow, the system grows with you.

If you are looking to update your current phone system or save money, please contact us today. We may have the VoIP solution that fits your business needs.

Facebook has become one of the main ways people communicate. You can post on people's Walls or send them messages using Facebook Messenger. This, in and of itself is pretty impressive, but what's lacking is the ability to call people directly from Facebook Messenger. With the number of people accessing Facebook from their phones nowadays growing more than accessing via a browser, this feature is highly requested.

In early January Facebook announced that they had started testing free calling to contacts over Facebook Messenger. This feature was tested in Canada for all users with an iPhone, and turned out to work well. So, in late January Facebook rolled this out to iPhone users in the US as well.

This new service uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology, commonly found in many business's phone systems, to offer users in Canada and the US the ability to call other Facebookers using the Messenger app for free.

Calls can be made via your data connection or over Wi-Fi on your iPhone. No love for Android as of yet, but we are sure it's coming soon. If you use the Facebook Messenger app, you should be able to use it now. You can call other users by:

1. Opening the app (or download, install and open it from here) and find the person you would like to call.
2. Tapping on their name to start a conversation.
3. Pressing the "i" button in the top right of the conversation windows and selecting Free Call.

The user you are calling will see a notification on their phone similar to the one when you get a phone call over your cell network.

Will businesses benefit? It's hard to say whether businesses will find this feature useful at this time. If your employees use iPhones, and are often in an area with poor cell service but a decent data connection, this is a free way to stay in touch.

This could also prove a good way to deal with public complaints on your Facebook page. You could encourage the person to take the complaint offline and talk to them, as long as you both have an iPhone.

In reality however, most businesses will likely not use this feature at this time. However, there is a good chance that Facebook will release more business oriented calling features in the future which could give you another way to contact clients.

What do you think? Will you or your employees use this feature? Let us know, and if you have any questions about VoIP, please contact us today.

Landline phone systems are quickly going the way of the dinosaur, with companies having to have either digitized or leave the traditional phone behind. This digitization is commonly referred to as Voice over Internet Protocol, or simply VoIP. One of the most popular VoIP platforms is Skype, which is currently owned by Microsoft. Skype has recently been updated, which makes it a little less Skype and a lot more Microsoft.

A few weeks ago, Skype Version 6 was introduced which allowed users with a Microsoft account to sign into Skype using their account name and password and have access to their Microsoft contacts. This move, of Microsoft backing a non Microsoft branded product, was seen by pundits as an interesting one, but it works well for those who use both Skype and Messenger. It means you don’t have to have two programs to do essentially the same thing; communicate.

Last week, Microsoft announced that Messenger will officially be merged into Skype. This means if you use Messenger, you will have to switch to Skype. This should automatically happen the next time you update Messenger. This may seem like a weird move, but there are some great benefits to this merger that will make both Messenger and Skype more competitive. Some of the benefits to the merger include:

• Messaging on more platforms - Skype is available for nearly every platform, which means you can communicate on nearly any device.
• Central hub for communication - With this update, you can call phones, conduct video chats and use Instant Messaging all from one place. There is no longer a need to have 3-4 different programs open.
• Group communication - If you are looking for a free platform that enables you to communicate with a group, say your team or employees, Skype allows for this.
• Screen sharing - You can share your screen on Skype, which is ideal for giving product demonstrations, or even showing a PowerPoint presentation during a chat.

After you update Messenger or Skype, you'll be taken to the sign in screen and will be asked if you are an existing Skype user or a new one. If you are an existing user, you can click I have a Skype account and you’ll be taken to a new screen where you can merge your Messenger and Skype accounts. If you are new to Skype, you can sign up for a new account by pressing I'm new to Skype. Follow the signup process during which, you will be given the option to merge your accounts.

When you sign in and merge your accounts, you will see all of your messenger contacts synced and available under Contacts in the left-hand panel. Messaging a contact is as simple as double clicking on their name. To call you press the green phone button icon when you hover over their name. Alternatively, you can right click on the name and select either Call, Instant Message, Send Files, etc.

Skype is an ideal VoIP solution for light call volumes and inter-office messaging in small businesses. However, if you handle a high volume of calls, or are in a larger office, you will need a more robust system. If you're interested in a VoIP system for the whole office, regardless of if it's Skype or some other setup, contact us, we can help with that.

In this constantly changing world, where advances in technology are eagerly awaited and adopted by businesses of all sizes, one system has largely been ignored by small to medium enterprises. The telephone system, in many companies, is still largely the same system that’s been in use for the last 50 or more years. It’s time to digitize, and reap the benefits a system like VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol - can bring.

VoIP, is a digital telephone solution that replaces traditional systems with a digital alternative that utilizes broadband Internet connections and transmission lines. Here are five reasons why your company should upgrade to a VoIP system.

• Remote phones. Working remotely has become a viable alternative to a desk in the office. One of the major issues with remote workers however is that that they can be hard to get a hold of; often using their homeline for both work and personal calls. With a VoIP solution, employees connect to the office over the Internet and their computer becomes the phone. They can get an extension, or use their office direct dial number, thus reducing the need to pay for potentially costly phone bills.
• Mobile office number. Mobile phones are a prominent part of business, most managers have their mobile number written down on their business card. While this is a good idea, customers are often hesitant to call mobile numbers because they feel they may be intruding. With VoIP, there’s no need to have a mobile number as there are apps that will route calls through the office’s phone system, meaning no missed messages and lower mobile bills.
• Lower calling rates. Many small businesses now operate without borders and if you’re making a lot of long distance calls, you’ll notice that the bills using a traditional system can be outrageous. VoIP providers often offer substantially lower rates, or the same rate regardless of the location the call is placed to.
• It grows with you. If you plan to expand your business in the near future and have a traditional phone system it will cost you to upgrade your system, lay new phone lines, and purchase new equipment and numbers. With VoIP systems, it can be as simple as assigning a new number, which often costs nothing, and that’s it. In short, VoIP is highly scalable, whereas traditional systems aren’t.
• More useful features. Some features offered by telephone providers are essential for business, yet companies are charged for these additional benefits, often on a per number basis. Many VoIP providers bundle the features businesses use the most into the monthly costs, usually at no extra cost.

While it’s not a requirement, companies that don’t upgrade their phone systems to VoIP, or other similar systems, are missing out on some great benefits and may, in the near future, find themselves left behind by competitors who have upgraded. If your company uses a traditional phone system and you’d like to find out how to upgrade, please contact us.

Voice technology can be put to use in your business in new and innovative ways. In this article, we will look at how voice technology can improve warehouse operations. Read on to find out how voice technology can enhance the picking and packing process to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and safety in your warehouse.

Business processes and activities in the warehouse have traditionally been very receptive to automation, with the goal of improving efficiency and effectiveness. Automation has been focused on areas including managing stock levels, tracking stock movements, and more. The processes done on the warehouse floor itself, such as item picking and packing, are now largely run by computer-based systems. One attempt at automation included outfitting staff with handheld systems, but they proved to be impractical or prohibitive since they required the use of both hands, were complicated to use, and made the overall process too complicated. Employees have generally preferred to stick with the simple pen and paper instead. But recent advancements in human-to-computer interfaces—such as the use of voice commands instead of keyboard and mouse, pen-based, or touch based systems—promises to change this.

Using voice technology, warehouse staff and managers can now send and receive instructions via voice, using a headset connected to a back-end system that understands and processes voice instructions and can respond in a natural sounding human voice. This can result in:

• Faster and more accurate order fulfillment: Warehouse staff can be given more specific and accurate instructions allowing them to navigate the warehouse, identify specific bins or pallets containing items for packing, and be able to pick out the correct quantities for the right order.
• Cost savings: Faster and more accurate fulfillment can result in reduced costs over time as it reduces the need to redo work, avoids costly customer returns and dissatisfaction, and lessens other costs such as training time for employees.
• Improved safety: With pallets and bins stacked in long, tall rows, forklifts and other heavy machinery zipping from one place to another, and people moving around, usually in a hurry, with both hands full and sometimes distracted, accidents are commonplace in warehouses. With voice technology, this can be avoided by getting people to focus with voice commands, and freeing up their hands and body to work on other things.

Voice technology in the warehouse is new but promises to deliver great benefits for businesses who employ it. If you are interested, let us know so we can help you find out how UC can enable your warehouse or any other part of your business today.

With Windows 7, there are easier and faster ways to rename multiple files in one sweep. The first way is to click on a file's name and rename it as usual, then press the "Tab" key to access the next file in the list.

Another way is to select multiple files (press the Ctrl key or Shift key and select the desired files), then right click on the first file and choose "Rename" to give it a new name. The rest of the files will be renamed with the same name. For example, if you name the first file "image", it will become "image (1)" followed by "image (2)" and so on.

Google Chrome allows you the option to search within a specific site. First type the web address of the site you want to search in the address bar, and then press the "Tab" key.

If Google Chrome has a record of the site's search engine, you’ll be offered the option to search within that site only. Try it with sites such as LinkedIn, Bing, and Yahoo.

In Windows, there are various options for configuring the speed, look, and behavior of your mouse pointer to exactly the way you want it.

To do so, click the Start button, and then click Control Panel. Click Hardware and Sound, and then under Devices and Printers, click Mouse. In the Mouse Properties box, click on the Pointers and Pointer Options tab, and adjust the options to change the shape and size of your cursor by changing the "scheme". In the "Pointer Options" tab, you can change the speed, visibility, and other characteristics of your pointer. You can add pointer trails, automatically snap the pointer to buttons and dialog boxes, and so on. These settings are especially handy when using small screens such as on laptops or netbooks.

The clarity of text and images on your screen can depend largely on how you set your monitor's screen resolution. At high resolutions, such as 1280 by 1024 pixels, you can display more on the screen—but text and images will look smaller.

At lower resolutions, such as 800 by 600 pixels, objects will appear larger but may look jagged and less sharp. The optimal setting to choose really depends on your monitor and the larger the monitor the higher resolution it supports. Most newer computers have already been pre-configured for you, but you can try various options to see what works best for you. You can quickly change this setting by right-clicking any empty space on your desktop, then choosing "screen resolution" in the menu.