Appleton
Ridge Technology Services, Inc.
Customer focused PC support &
education with personalized service.
John Fromer
Tel & Fax (207) 975-6995
Email:
john@appletonridge.com
Printers, Peripherals & Accessories
| Surge Protector | Every component that plugs into 110v power needs to plug into a
surge protector. Additionally, phone lines and ethernet cables also need
to connect into a surge protector to fully protect your systems from
surges. Many computers have been destroyed from lightening hitting the phone line down the street. The surge travels up to your office and into your computer and fries your modem and potentially your entire system. The same thing can happen across a network on ethernet cables. Also, do not have any technology or electronics plugged in on the same electric circuit that also has a motor plugged in. For example, spaces heaters have motors which can cause problems with your electric current supplied to your technology. |
| Battery Backup | Battery backups protect your business systems from brown outs and short black outs. In addition some battery backups connect to your computer with a USB cable and run software to shut down your computer after power loss and before your battery goes dead. This helps keep your system running normally because an improperly shut down system can be corrupted when the power is accidently shut off or lost in a black out. |
| Inkjet Printers | Inkjet printers are inexpensive, small printers for black and white
and color printing of documents and pictures. They print quickly,
with good results and are economical to run. Some inkjet printers
are integrated with a scanner, fax and copier. These are called
All-In-One devices. They will save space and money over individually
purchased components. It is likely that the all-in-one will have less
features than each of the individual components taken together so check
the features before purchasing. One other note about inkjet printers: the ink has a shelf life so only purchase enough to have one extra cartridge on hand if you get low on ink. My preference and greatest experience has been with HP printers. I can help you decide on which model and what accessories is right for your needs. Here is a link to HP to get you started in your decision process:  |
| Laser Printers | Laser printers have the highest quality print capability for the
money. They are good investments for a work group printer that
several people will use on a network. Toner is expensive but a shared
printer on a network helps to spread the costs. Laser printers can print
in color in addition to black and white. Since laser printers melt the toner onto the paper, they make a permanent print on the page. This is useful for document security where fraud could be an issue. However, if you reuse paper printed in a laser printer, the toner can melt inside your printer, get on the rollers and other parts creating a printing problem difficult to fix. Like inkjet printers, there are many models and options and I can help you choose which one is right for you. As above, here is a link to HP to get you started in your decision process:  |
| USB Drives | USB drives, commonly called thumb drives are little storage devices
with flash media inside them capable of holding up to 4Mb of what ever
kind of data you wish to put on them. They are ideal for transporting
data from one system to another where a network is not present.
However, do not rely on them for backup. They can fail if dropped for example. They work well for temporary storage only. |
| Cables | A new computer will come with the basic cables to set it up.
However, printers, scanners and cameras do not necessarily come with a
cable or a cable long enough. It never hurts to have an extra USB
cable on hand. You can label each end of your cable with a Sharpie marker and put a label on the device where they connect to make it easier to reconnect if you need to relocate your system. |
| Cable Ties | It is nice to tie up cables to clean up the appearance of your system. The Velcro ones work well because you can easily undo them if needed. |
| Router | A router connects computers, printers and other network devices and
also connects your network to the internet. Routers have ports for
ethernet cable connections and also have the option for wireless
connectivity. A router also has a firewall built in to keep hackers from attacking your network from the internet or wirelessly. There are several security protocols and I can help you decide which one is right for you. |
| Wireless Network Card | Older laptops and desktops may not have wireless capability or even an ethernet card built in. If you need wireless connectivity, you can purchase a wireless card for both a desktop and a laptop. Wireless-G is the latest version. |
| Headset | Headphones are handy for listening to music or multimedia files. However, the latest version of MS Office 2007 includes a very versatile and powerful voice recognition program. This program allows you to dictate documents to the computer and generally run your entire system through speaking commands as well. A headset is recommended. |
| Handhelds | Handheld devices, like the HP Ipaq or Palm Treo run Windows like operating systems and portable applications like MS Office. The interface with your computer with a cable or wirelessly. Some have Wi-Fi capability for an internet connection or a cell phone built in which also allows for getting on the internet. |
| Digital Cameras and Camcorders | Here is a case where there are so many styles, capabilities and prices that it's just best to go to a store and get the look and feel for them before buying. The features change too often to keep up with but I can help you choose one right for you. |
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