All In One Desktops

Page Rank to 3!

2011-09-28T19:39:00.001-07:00

I am working on link exchange requests tonight. I try to go through link exchange requests about once a week. When verifying if our link was placed on a website as the e-mail stated. I noticed that the page rank for the website increased to three. WOOHOO!! I know this seems weird but since I have had more time to focus on the business this was a goal. The page rank for the website had been sitting at 2 for almost 3 years. Yes we did get up to 2 pretty quickly but when I switched gears and had to focus on other things, getting or maintaining the website's presence per say fell to the back burner.

I did notice yesterday, when I check the backend website stats, that our monthly visits had increased. I assumed that the change was because we are approaching the holiday season. Hopefully the change is also because our page rank has changed as well. Not sure but will keep an eye on it.

Joining Forces Community Challenge Award

2011-09-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

This last month I have been working with the MSBA Board of Directors on putting together a submission for the Joining Forces Community Challenge Award. Last night the Board Members were nice enough to stay up late or during their supper time (depending on which time zone they were in) to work with me on finalizing the submission.

Our goal was to finish the submission before the end of the month of September which also worked out in regards to our moving from the West Coast back to the East Coast. The movers were here to pack boxes today so the last night session allowed me to add the information onto the MSBA website before I went to bed last night.

If you are interested in learning more about the Joining Forces Community Challenge go here: http://joiningforces.challenge.gov/

Pro Bono Grant Writer?

2011-08-30T20:42:00.000-07:00

In conducting interviews for MSBA I see that I am spending money that MSBA is pretty darn close to running out on now. I start trying to research online to find a pro bono grant writer. I didn't realize that pro bono grant writers really don't exist. MSBA does have posted a Grant Writer volunteer position however we haven't had too many calls/e-mails from people interested in filling that position.

Realizing that we need money sooner rather than later I am trying to fill this position or find a pro bono grant writer as soon as possible.

If there is anyone out there interested in helping us with this project I would appreciate it :) Please contact me. Thank You!

GoDaddy Path Directory UnWriteable

2011-08-07T20:32:00.001-07:00

For the last couple of days I have been trying to update the Community Builder component on the MSBA website. The update failed to install and Akeeba Backup installed an older version of Community Builder when that happened. I was receiving a message about a file couldn't be moved. I checked the Community Builder forum and the source of the problem as to be with directory permissions.

I spent some time on the phone with GoDaddy support to try and figure out why some directories were unwriteable. I was able to fix the problem due to there help. With the unwriteable directory now writeable I tried to install the update to the Community Builder. I was receiving the same message. But none of the other directories were unwriteable.

Through the process of elimination and after my GoDaddy phone call I tweaked the settings on another directory. The file was still writeable. I tried to install the Community Builder update again and success. Not sure what happened within GoDaddy for the path to two directories to change suddenly but the problem is solved and all is well.

MSBA Gathering

2011-08-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is attempt number two in trying to have a gathering of fellow Military Spouse Business owners. I tried to get together with other Military Spouse Business owners in Norfolk, VA but didn't have much luck. I am hoping this one will work out.

The gathering will be here at my house on Saturday August 13th. I will make pizzas and asked that anyone coming please bring a side or dessert to share. Business cards and any questions they have will also be needed. I am hoping we can talk about operating a business in CA and any MSBA questions they might have.

It is funny because technically I haven't done much of anything with my business in the two years we lived here in California.

Notary For Business Paperwork

2011-08-03T13:02:00.000-07:00

Did you know that UPS is able to do notaries? I didn't know that until I researched it the other day: http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/locations/store/. I am very late it notarizing the annual shareholder meeting paperwork for the business for 2010 so I finally put in on the agenda of things that needed to be accomplished. I got it done today while I was doing some other errands. Thank You UPS for making that convenient for me!

*A little side note. A notary here in California also requires a thumbprint.

MSBA Weekly Meeting

2011-08-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today must have been the shortest MSBA meeting in history. Well since I was voted in as Operations Director anyway. It was just a half hour meeting! I know I was surprised myself.

I give lots of credit to all the MSBA Board Members. We are an all volunteer "staff" and we are very passionate about our work with MSBA. We know what we are doing will help benefit Military Spouse Business owners and hopefully make their lives a little bit easier. The military lifestyle is definitely not easy!

Google+

2011-08-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

I did some research to learn more about Google+ and if it is something that I should look into joining sooner rather than later. I found this link that was very helpful in explaining about the new Social Media platform: https://plus.google.com/up/start/?continue=https://plus.google.com/&type=st&gpcaz=1e5e480b

Hopefully The Last Big Project For MSRRA

2011-07-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today I worked on putting together an excel spreadsheet that had links to tax information for each state. There are a lot of questions on the MSRRA Facebook Page about where to find more information and this was the easiest. I did start this after the bill became law in 2009 but never finished it. Of course a majority of the links have changed since then as the bill has been law for almost two years now. I took the old excel spreadsheet I had and referenced the help from two other websites and links posted on the MSRRA Facebook Page to put together this final spreadsheet: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Au78fYoxEFQEdFYzTmVLZ2hMRFJTcWRnQ3hCMGx0VWc&hl=en_US#gid=0

Head Shots

2011-07-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

I had some head shots taken today. I need them for the Military Spouse Business Association website, for my LinkedIn profile and for my business website. I was using a head shot photo that was 5 years old and realized it was also time to have a picture in business attire. I know it is sad that I have waited so long to have it done.

Status "Terminated"

2011-07-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

I learned today that the business status for Winters Computing, Inc is "Terminated" as far as the Virginia State Corporation Commission is concerned. Yikes! Unfortunately the reason for that status is completely my own fault. I forgot to pay the annual business registration fee for 2010. I was however able to pay that online oncehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif created an account with the SCC e-file. I didn't see the payment for 2011 that was due. I thought for a minute okay maybe if I pay the late 2010 fee the 2011 fee will show up. Nope! I needed to call the Office of the Clerk.

In order to reinstate our business she was going to have to send us paperwork on everything that we need to submit in order to "reactivate" the business. YIKES!! I have a feeling this is going to be bad. I did a quick Google search on the keywords the Clerk used and learned this. A good tip for Military Spouse business owners.

Advertising Space On MSBA

2011-07-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

I finally added a link to the advertising modules on the Military Spouse Business Association website. We are hoping that by selling advertising space we can bring in some money for MSBA. We are at a point where we need money now. We may run down our original sponsorship monies to $0 by the end of the year.

The MSBA Board Members have agreed that we are going to keep all the advertisements on one page. We don't want to take up room or space on other pages for advertisements. We all seem to agree that advertisement space on the main pages of the website will appear uninviting.

Military Spouse Business Owner Tradeshow

2011-07-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

I went to my first ever Military Spouse business owner trade-show today. I was motivated and yet in a weird way felt so out of place. I didn't have anything to display per se for my business. I sell computers online so I don't have any inventory. I was in awe by the other military spouses though. The talent and the creativity. I also felt a little jealous. They all seem to be thriving with their creative businesses. Me not so much!

They had me thinking though of how to change that.

I was also happy to share some information with them about the Military Spouse Business Association.

I plan to follow up today's event by hosting an MSBA gathering at my house in August.

Good notes, lessons learned and an overall wonderful experience! Thank You ladies for letting me come and Thank You Tatyana for hosting!

Military Spouse Employment Act Tips

2011-07-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

I am getting ready to help in assisting the Military Spouses Coalition with the Military Spouses Employment Act, MSEA. I posted on the MSEA Facebook Page today about a list of helpful tips learned when making calls in support of the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. I hoped that it would help when we started making phone calls in support of MSEA.

Link Exchanges Added

2011-07-05T14:20:00.000-07:00

Link exchanges were added to the All In One Desktops website today. Whenever I add links I also try to purge through the link exchanges that never followed through to completion. I try to do this at least once a month.

Page View Consistency

2011-07-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

I know it is weird but I went through today and got a little nit picky with the presence of some of the All In One Desktops webpages. The pages weren't looking consistent. Since the upgrade of the website software and the gradual fixes from that upgrade, I noticed that the pages weren't looking consistent. They were each looking different. I tried to go through each of the main pages of the website today to make them look a little more uniform. I hope that worked some.

Google +1

2011-06-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

The Google +1 button was finally added to the All In One Desktops website today. It took me a couple of days to figure it out and with a little help from our website software provider, I was able to get it up on the website and working today.

If you like our website and the information we provide, PLEASE click on the Google +1 button on our homepage :) Many Thank You's in advance.

Taxes For Online Sales

2011-06-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: A new bill in Congress to make this a Federal law for all states - http://www.adotas.com/2011/08/associations-rail-against-federal-online-sales-tax-bill/http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I received a noticed from Amazon today about closing the Amazon Associates account that I have set up with them for the Military Spouses Business Association and this is what I found when I Googled.

Rack Cards For MSBA - Done :)

2011-06-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

Kara uploaded the Military Spouse Business Association rack cards to my VistaPrint.com account today. MSBA will now be able to do some more marketing, networking and advertising with the help of these Rack Cards and soon to be additional volunteers.

Thank You Kara! They are great!

Rack Card Content - Finalized

2011-06-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

The MSBA Board Members were able to finalize the verbiage for the Rack Cards today. It has taken us about a week from the day we started to today. Not too bad when we put ourselves under a deadline.

Now we just wait for Kara to work her magic and then hopefully we can put an order in for the SBA office in Puerto Rico to have for their business conference.

Phone Call with Our Branding Expert

2011-06-08T15:12:00.000-07:00

I called Kara today to talk to her about needing to put a brochure together for the Military Spouses Business Association. I just need to get to Kara content and then she can do the rest: pictures, images, layout, appearance, etc.

Thank You Kara for making this easy and for helping us with this project!

SBA Office in Puerto Rico

2011-06-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

Got an e-mail from the Veterans Business Development Office in the SBA office in Puerto Rico. She requested someone to contact her in regards to answering some questions.

I called Ana and spoke with her briefly about what MSBA does and she requested a brochure or pamphlet to pass out to the attendees of her conference at the end of the month. I mentioned that we were working on that and that I would keep her update. She also requested my contact information.

A good contact if we need help or more information from SBA.

MSBA Website Additions

2011-04-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

As the MSBA Board Members work together through more things we try to keep a list or spreadsheet of those experiences. We then try to incorporate those into the website. That is what I worked on this week. There are so many things that we have documented and trying to organize and figure out the best way to place that information on the website is what I have done.

As we gathered information for SOFA rules and Military Spouse business operation overseas; some of those items were added to the website. Details on how to move your business equipment when you PCS and what the government will move for you was added to the website. We created an Amazon aStore and was able to figure out how to incorporate or edit the code for the store so that it appears as part of the webpage and not a separate page, was done this week. Editing the top navigation menu was also done this week.

Closing Online Gateway

2011-04-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week All In One Desktops closed our account with the online Gateway and processing bank. We were being charged a monthly fee for a service we weren't needing at all. Especially since we haven't been doing much with the business these last two years it seemed a waste of money to keep paying for these services when they weren't being used. All In One Desktops is just using PayPal for it's shopping cart now.

SOFA Rules and Business

2011-04-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

MSBA is working on putting together a list of requirements for Military Spouse business owners that live overseas. What do Military Spouses need to do in order to operate their business overseas in base housing.

The MSBA Board Members have decided to split up and contact various individuals in help getting this information. One of the known issues is that the Status Of Forces Agreements may play a part in whether or not a Military Spouse can operate a business overseas.

As we gather information they will be put into a list on a word document in Google Docs and then post them to the MSBA website.

AllForGood.org - Complete

2011-04-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

I completed the AllForGood.org excel spreadsheet today and finally submitted that in for review and approval. Just like Military Spouses do best, "hurry up and wait" for approval and then wait for volunteer e-mails to come in.

This is a very exciting time for the Military Spouse Business Association!

MSBA Website Tweaking

2011-04-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

The first half of the month I spent working on tweaking the Military Spouse Business Association website. Breadcrumb trails, menu display, learning how to create new module positions to display more on the Home Page, business directory business card layout, edit User Account menu links to display proper breadcrumbs; were all pieces that needed to be worked on.

Iframe Changes

2011-03-21T15:50:00.000-07:00

With the upgrade to the All In One Desktops website software I forgot to update the iframe code for the anchor text used to reference forms. This was corrected today.

Business Directory Categories

2011-03-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

After a weekly Military Spouse Business Association meeting it was agreed that we should change the categories of the online business directory. The agreed upon solution was to set the categories up to meet more like a Yellow Pages setup. Today I changed the categories and then sent an e-mail to all MSBA members to request they log into the website, update their business listing and their business category. We hope to delete the old categories and don't want their business lost.

Amazon Associates

2011-03-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

An Amazon Associates account was created for the Military Spouse Business Association today. We hope to start to make some money for the non-profit organization through listing some of our favorite books for sale through Amazon.

CCR Account For MSBA

2011-03-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

Today I worked on setting up a CCR (Central Contractor Registration) account for the Military Spouse Business Association. Unfortunately it will be needed in order to try to apply for grants http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giffor the non-profit organization. Money is something that we will need to start to focus our attention on as our funds are creeping very close to $0.

DUNS Number For MSBA

2011-02-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

Military Spouse Business Association is officially registered for a DUNS number. DUNS number is needed in order to register with CCR, which is needed to apply for grants. It is quite time consuming when you realize how much needs to be done in order to try to apply for a grant.

Taxes For 2010

2011-02-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

After all the organizing and quite honestly me ready to pull all my hair out it is time to mail off the taxes. Oh what fun! Honestly I am so happy to just be done with them that I don't mind mailing all these packets off. Did you finish your taxes yet?

More Specific Tax Information Needed

2011-02-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

After inputting the business taxes into our tax accountants database it was time to fax, scan and e-mail more specific items earlier this week to them. Hopefully I didn't mess things up too badly.

Taxes

2011-02-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

It is time to organize and put all of All In One Desktops data into the online database for our tax accountant. It only took me all day today but that isn't bad. It usually takes me longer. I think I am finally realizing how to better organize all of this stuff.

Time To Prepare The Spreadsheets

2011-01-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

The last week of the month has been gathering the last of the business bills and inputting them into my spreadsheet. Reviewing the spreadsheet to make sure that everything is correct and no information is missing. Organizing all the receipts and invoices in the business folder. All of this excitement to prepare to input our data into our tax accountants online database.

Joomla Service Pack Upgrade

2010-10-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

I initiated an upgrade to the Joomla software for the Military Spouse Business Association website today through GoDaddy's Hosting Control Center. When the upgrade completed there weren't any noticeable complications.

Links Added

2010-10-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

I responded to link requests for the All In One Desktops website. Links were added and the website was published.

Backing Up Is Important

2010-09-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

I know we have mentioned this before but backing up is important. Here at All In One Desktops we backup onto eachothers computers. This is a good/bad idea.

Last week we lost some important files. I had been forgetting to backup and it has cost me time this week. Trying to rebuild and recreate the lost files. Because the last time I did a backup was in April :(

As of today files are now backed up on ZumoDrive and Google Docs.

The loss of the files between computers could have been caused by a known rootkit virus found on one of our computers. One computer running an updated version of a certain software program while the other an older version.

Networking

2010-09-28T18:48:00.000-07:00

MSBA's weekly Board Member meeting was today. We are trying to get MSBA's name out there and network. Applying for membership to The Military Coalition, Educating ourselves on the SOFA rules, networking with the MSCCN (Military Spouses Corporate Career Network), work on a couple of different things; The Military Coalition membership, educating ourselves on SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) rules, SCORE and SBA.

Hopefully some great things will come over the next couple of months.

September 2010 Newsletter

2010-09-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

The September 2010 newsletter is complete and can be viewed here.

MSBA Update

2010-08-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

Things have been a little slow with the Military Spouses Business Association. We had a very big meeting today. An update of where things are, where we want to go and what needs to be done sooner rather than later. It was nice to be back on the phone with the Board Members. They are a great group of ladies.

One of the co-founders has retired from the military and a vote was taken on the phone for a new leadership team. Rikki was voted to step in as lead :)

AIOD Website Update

2010-08-18T18:14:00.000-07:00

A big update was done on the website software today. You will notice some changes in the template design that we hope to be able to adjust. We are looking forward to customizing the template more with the software upgrade.

Monthly Bills

2010-08-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

It is that time to go through the reciepts and bills for the month. Doing this also allows me to make sure that my timesheet co-ordinates with the errands. Which in turn matches the mileage log. Don't forget to account for the miles used on your personal vehicle for your business.

Join MSC In Phone Calls

2010-08-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

The Military Spouses Coalition asks fellow Military Spouses and military supporters to join them in making phone calls to Connecticut & DC this week. Phone calls are in support of the Military Spouses Employment Act.

Military Spouses Coalition Update

2010-07-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

The Military Spouses Coalition is making phone calls this week to Connecticut and Colorado in support of the Military Spouses Employment Act.

The Military Spouses Coalition is also waiting for the Senate Legislation meeting in regards to the National Defense Authorization Act FY2011, NDAA. The NDAA incorporates HR 4923, the Tricare Dependent Coverage Extension Act. Here is the latest information.

Learning About SEO

2010-07-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

I had a meeting today with a consulting firm. I learned more about SEO and website marketing. There are some new techniques (well new for me) that I hope to incorporate into the website.

I am always learning something new for the business.

Update MSBA Website

2010-07-15T15:46:00.000-07:00

You won't be able to see it from the front end but some components of the website were updated. The updates were done both for security and proper function on the website.

Your Website Secrets

2010-07-13T15:50:00.001-07:00

All In One Desktops would like to know what your secrets are in regards to Search Engine Optimization. Do you have any special techniques or tricks that you would be willing to share?

All In One Desktops tries to do keyword searches on words that they hope customers would use to find their website. We then try to update the content in the body of our pages to incorporate these keywords and keyword phrases.

All In One Desktops would like to appear on the first page of a Google Search for more than just one keyword phrase. Would you be willing to share any of your tips with us?

Please add your comments or send us an e-mail at webmaster @ allinonedesktops dot com.

GSA Contract Update

2010-07-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

All In One Desktops continues to persue a GSA Contract. In order to do this we needed to renew and update some registrations and applications.

Co-Sponsors

2010-07-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Due to the hard work of Military Spouses Coalition in the last month there was a significant increase in co-sponsors in two different bills; Military Spouses Employment Act & the Military Spouses Job Continuity Act. Even though progress seems to be slow in obtaining co-sponsorship for the first half of the year I am very hopeful that things will change.

A link has been provided to the Military Spouses Coalition to obtain up to date information.

Toll Free No More

2010-06-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

All In One Desktops has closed down their toll free number. You can reach us on our direct line. Doing this will help eliminate some bills. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!

Military Spouses Coalition Work

2010-06-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

Two fellow Military Spouses volunteered to help me make lead phone calls in support of current Military Spouse bills. I am excited to see the outcome of Military Spouse work this year!

May Newsletter

2010-06-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

The May 2010 AIOD Newsletter is complete. You may view the newsletter here.

Military Spouses Coalition For Summer

2010-06-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

I am currently looking for help from the Military Spouses Coalition fans. I posted to the Facebook Page for possible volunteers to be lead callers. The lead callers would help me make calls before the Coalition as a whole makes calls.

The Military Spouses Employment Act has a bill in both Congress in Senate. The MSC is only making phone calls in Congress. I need to start in the Senate but don't have a lot of time. I am hoping that some people would be willing to help.

There are some other bills that effect Military Spouses but I haven't had time to dive into those as well. If I get enough volunteers and they all would like to focus on different areas this would be of great help. I can split up the MSC into teams, maybe?!

Military Spouses Coalition Badge

2010-05-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

I updated MSBA's website with a link to the Military Spouses Coalition page on Facebook. I also updated the information on MSBA's front page in regards to what the Military Spouses Coalition is doing.

MSBA Website Update

2010-05-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

I updated the business directory component of the MSBA website today, SOBI2. It didn't take too long to do this.

Precautions before updating: Create a back-up before you update. I created several back-ups. The first through Joomla on the back-end of the website. The second was through GoDaddy.

After successful update: Create a back-up through the back-end of the website and then created a back-up through GoDaddy

April 2010 Newsletter

2010-05-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

Completed and e-mailed the April 2010 AIOD newsletter. You can view the newsletter here.

Military Spouses Employment Act 2010

2010-04-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

The Military Spouses Employment Act of 2010 was introduced by Congressman Carter. I called Congressman Carter's office to find out more information about this bill after reading the text of the bill online.

This bill will provide a tax credit to companies that hire Military Spouses. The spouse must be employed for more than 90 days, I believe.

The Military Spouses Coalition have started making phone calls in support of this bill.

Thank You Congressman Carter for supporting Military Spouses! We look forward to working with you again in order to get this bill passed.

Zero Footprint Specifications

2010-04-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

I created a page today for the Zero Footprint PC specifications. Once I created the page I linked it to the Zero Footprint PC product pages. Hopefully this will provide more helpful information.

I went through and updated the iOne specifications as well.

March 2010 Newsletter

2010-04-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

The March AIOD newsletter is complete. You can view the March 2010 newsletter here.

MSBA Website Tweeks

2010-04-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

After the major upgrade to the MSBA website there was some fine tuning or tweeking I worked on today. The subchild menus were wrapping and there was some content that wasn't published live to the website.

I don't know how long some of the articles haven't been visible on the website. It could have happened when we switched the website over to GoDaddy originally and I didn't set the proper settings.

Military Spouses Coalition

2010-04-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am going to take the lead with the Military Spouses Coalition. I went back and edited the data sheet from the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. I started to go through and update the list of Representatives, their phone numbers and their currently listed Military Legislative Aides. I also searched and found that there are possibly three bills that the Coalition are interested in supporting. I will need to contact the Representatives MLA's for those bills to find out more information and see how we (the Military Spouses Coalition) can help.

800 Number Working Again

2010-03-31T21:02:00.000-07:00

We have been having some problems with the 800 number. I was finally able to fix it today. It required a "reset" of the forwarding numbers in the system. I called Verizon today and they recommended that I remove the numbers from the phone system and save it and then log back in and add them. That worked :)

Major Update to MSBA website

2010-03-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spent the day doing some major upgrades to the MSBA website. I received an e-mail notification a couple of days ago stating that the Community Builder (membership directory) software had an update. I also know that there have been updates to our CMS program, Joomla.

It has been a year and a half since MSBA stopped its agreement with a website host and switched everything over to GoDaddy. At that time I volunteered to learn the CMS program and familiarize myself with the ins and outs of the website. Since that change I hadn't updated the CMS. It took us some time to update the template we were using with the CMS since I loaded the latest Joomla software that time onto our GoDaddy server.

On Friday I learned through some research online that GoDaddy actually has an automated process for updating Joomla. Which I think saved me a ton of hassles. I am still fairly a newbie to Joomla. Anyway GoDaddy performed a backup of our database, upgraded Joomla and then reinstalled our database. AWESOME!!! The only aggravation was that this took about 5 hours. With that 5 hours of time though I worked on the All In One Desktops website by purging old products and researching the other software that I needed to upgrade for the MSBA website.

In the 5 hours MSBA went to hosting a Joomla 1.5.6 website to a 1.5.15 website! Once this upgrade was done and I played around on the back end I made the website live again and checked the front end. I didn't notice any problems. From the back end of Joomla I did a backup. I didn't backup the website through GoDaddy as it has a backup of the 1.5.6. If there are any problems with the upgrades that were done yesterday I will utilize the revert process in GoDaddy.

I then installed the upgraded Community Builder. That was very easy! MSBA went from Community Builder 1.2.1 to 1.2.2. I have updated the Community Builder 2 other times in the last year and a half. After a check on the front and back end of the website I did a backup through the back end.

I then installed the upgraded Kunena Forum. When we switched the website over to GoDaddy we were using Fireboard for our forum. Fireboard is now Kunena. Kunena 1.5.6 to 1.5.9. In the last year and half I have updated the forum twice. I was unable to perform a backup on the back end at this point.

I am happy to report that as of this pm the website doesn't appear to have any major problems, I was able to do a final back up and we did have a new registered member this am.

Long Distance VHS to DVD Transfer

2010-03-26T11:46:00.000-07:00

On Friday evening I transfered a VHS to DVD for a customer. I talked to the customer earlier in the week and mentioned that I could also transfer the tape to an MPEG-2 file if needed. I mentioned this after the customer stated that he would like 50 copies of the DVD.

I thought that I would be able to upload the MPEG file onto our website for him. After creating the MPEG-2 and the MPEG-4 files they were over 2GB. I also created a flash video file as well. This was a little over 300MB.

I will burn on Sunday the MPEG-2 and the FLV file onto DVD.

VHS to DVD Customer

2010-03-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

Transfered one VHS to DVD for a customer yesterday.

The customer tried to reach us via our toll free line but that isn't working. I updated the website to include my cell phone number as a way to contact us temporarily.

We will try to reorganize the phone system set-up today and see if that fixes the problem.

February 2010 Newsletter

2010-03-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

Completed and mailed out the February 2010 newsletter to all subscribers. You can view the newsletter here.

Reorganize Newsletter Archive

2010-03-04T14:35:00.000-08:00

I reorganized our newsletter archive today. The newsletter archive page was getting too long so I reorganized them. My goal is to keep two years worth of newsletters on one page.

It took me about 2 hours to complete this task but I am getting better at working on SEO while I am creating the page. Hopefully I can avoid needing to edit this in the future.

I also spent another hour brainstorming for February's newsletter.

Taxes Mailed

2010-03-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

Mailed off the business taxes today via Express Mail (I didn't have an envelope big enough to hold all of that paperwork. I used the Flat Rate Express Mail Envelope at Post Office). Cost - $18.30

Before I went to the Post Office I did call over to the Virginia Department of Taxation. I remembered including last year, a copy of our personal 1040 returns. I couldn't remember if it was required though. It was not required for S-Corporatioins but it was recommended. So I printed, signed and included a copy of them for this year as well.

Tax Time

2010-02-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

I completed the tax organizer online last night. It took me two days to complete it for a total of 8 hours. I received a notice from the tax accountant this morning that they received our information and would be in contact soon.

My Work On Military Spouses Residency Relief Act

2010-02-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

I received an e-mail today from Rebecca about a recent article on the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. When I read the article I was surprised to find myself mentioned.

Rebecca mentioned in her e-mail that Laura, the Red River Magazine Editor, and Andrea, the writer of the article, are both Military Spouses.

The article

Thank you Red River Magazine!

The other article I was mentioned in was back in June of 2009 through the Jacksonville newspaper - The Florida Times Union.

February Order

2010-02-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

We received an order today for the IONEGX31-17" today.

This customer is a returning customer. He purchased another IONEGX31-17" from us back in November.

Thank You for purchasing with All In One Desktops!

January 2010 Newsletter

2010-02-09T19:38:00.001-08:00

The January 2010 Newsletter was e-mailed today. You can view the newsletter here.

2010 Start

2010-02-07T20:20:00.000-08:00

The first bills for 2010 are starting to come in. As the bills came in this week I started to put this information together into a spreadsheet. I try to keep track of mileage, my timesheet and bills in here.

State Tax Info for MSRRA

2010-01-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

As Military Spouses have posted helpful links on state tax info in regards to MSRRA I have compiled that into a spreadsheet. I also have done some research on some states and added this information. I put this document up on skydrive in my public documents folder. A link to the document was placed on the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Facebook Page.

If you are looking for this information you can find it here.

December 2009 Newsletter

2010-01-13T20:08:00.000-08:00

I am behind by a week in getting the December newsletter complete. I spent last week preparing paperwork for the end of the year and pushed this task off.

View the December 2009 Newsletter here.

Preparing End of Year

2010-01-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

The last two days were spent preparing the end of the year paperwork. The city of Norfolk mailed us the 2009 Personal Property taxes. I put together all the needed materials into a spreadsheet, printed that out and mailed it back to the Treasurers office.

I backed up All In One Desktops website and Military Spouse Business Association website.

AIOD Newsletter

2009-12-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

The AIOD, November 2009, newsletter was completed today and mailed to our subscribers. You can view the newsletter here.

MSBA Website Changes

2009-12-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

I installed some software updates this week on the Military Spouse Business Association website. The software, SOBI2, for the business directory was updated. I also updated the forums from Fireboard to Kunena.

Whenever you are making changes to a website backup both before and after.

Annual Meeting

2009-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

The documents for the annual shareholder and directors meeting were printed today. I am a little behind on these because of the website revamp. I need to get them notarized before the end of the year.

Order/Sitemap

2009-11-24T12:11:00.000-08:00

An order received today for an iOne-GX31.

Regenerated the sitemap for the website today and republished with Google Webmaster Tools.

Products Updated

2009-11-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Went through and updated all the products on the website. Windows 7 is now available on most the all-in-ones.

Website Back-End

2009-11-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

I have been working on some of the back-end projects of the website. I have finished SEO for the main pages of the website. I have resubmitted that information to Google Webmaster Tools. Hopefully the website will be picked up and have a better google search ranking just in time for the holidays.

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act now Law!

2009-11-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

MSRRA was signed by President Obama yesterday. Here is the press release from the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Coalition.

Military Spouses finally have a State to call Home;
Landmark Bill is signed in the Month of the Military Family
Washington, DC –Wednesday, November 11, 2009. On Veterans Day, President Barack Obama signed into law the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (S 475 and HR 1182). This bill amends the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA) of 1940, guaranteeing the equity of the spouse of military personnel by providing them the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse.

The law improves the quality of life for military families by allowing the military spouse to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse and guarantees equity regarding matters of property, taxes, voting and residency. Often, military spouses would experience impediments in voting and property ownership as well as deterrents in employment and education because they accompany their active duty spouse under federal government orders.

Congressman John Carter (R-TX), who represents Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the country, introduced the bill. “This is fantastic news for our service families worldwide,” says Carter. The bill passed through the House earlier this month with strong bipartisan support.

Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) brought the companion bill before the Senate, which passed unanimously in August. “Our military families are often called on to make frequent relocations, and it is only fair that we give the same residency benefits to spouses as we do to service members,” Burr said in a statement.

Congressman Carter credits two military spouses, Rebecca Poynter and Joanna Williamson, with approaching him with their recommendation to petition Congress for reform. “It’s their baby, and they should be recognized,” Carter acknowledged.

Over 8,500 military spouses, friends and family members united to support the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Military-Spouses-Residency-Relief-Act/51457362877 It is here that military spouses from all branches of service united to share their individual stories and contacted Congressional representatives to ask for their support of the bill. “It has been a grass roots effort by thousands of spouses across the country, who have campaigned to get this passed,” explains Poynter.

“The support from Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the Veterans Service Organizations, who testified on our behalf is greatly appreciated,” said Williamson. “Together, we claim this victory for all military families.”

October Newsletter

2009-11-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

The October issue of AIOD News was completed tonight and e-mailed to everyone.

You can view the newsletter here.

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Coalition Press Release

2009-11-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act awaits the President’s approval

Washington, DC – Tuesday, November 3, 2009. A comprehensive military family legislation, the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act (S 475 and HR 1182), which will legally recognize military spouses by providing them the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, passed through the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support, and is now being brought before the President to become a law.

The bill was introduced by Congressman John Carter (R-TX), who represents Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the country. “This is fantastic news for our service families worldwide,” says Carter, who has been pushing the legislation for the last three years.

Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the companion bill into the Senate, which passed unanimously in August. The legislation will amend the Servicemember’s Civil Relief Act (SCRA) of 1940 allowing military spouses to share a home state with their spouse, the service member.

Currently, military spouses experience impediments in voting and property ownership as well as deterrents in employment and education. The bill offers fair treatment of the military spouse and improves the quality of life for military families by allowing the stability of a single state of domicile to call home.

Over 8,000 military spouses, friends and family members united to support the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Military-Spouses-Residency-Relief-Act/51457362877 They shared their individual stories as they contacted Congressional representatives to ask for support. Initially, Army Spouse, Rebecca Poynter and Navy Spouse, Joanna Williamson, approached Congressman Carter with their request to petition. “It has been a grass roots effort by thousands of spouses across the country, who have campaigned to get this passed, by telling their stories,” explains Poynter.

“The support from Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and the Veterans Service Organizations who testified in our support is greatly appreciated,” said Williamson, “and together we claim this victory for all military families.”

S 475 Passes House Today

2009-11-02T14:49:00.000-08:00

The House floor passed S 475 under suspension today at 11:23 PST.

The last I wrote we were hoping that HR 1182 would be heard by the Full House VA Committee on October 28th. The bill didn't show up on the schedule but the day later we received word of possible other good news. On the 30th the Military Spouses Residency Relief Act Coalition heard that the bill would be reviewed under suspension on the House floor. The bill kind of sneaked out of the Committee and went straight to the House floor.

There is much excitement around this news today. Now to wait for President Obama's signature to become law. Hopefully this will happen before or around Veteran's Day. I will keep you posted.

First CA Customer

2009-10-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

Transferred a wedding VHS Tape to DVD for our first CA customer yesterday. We took an image of the couple from the video and used it to make a personalized, lightscribe label.

New Look

2009-10-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

All In One Desktops has completed the redesign of its website. Let us know what you think and if you find any problems.

Full VA Committee Mark-up

2009-10-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

HR 1182 didn't make it on the schedule for Thursday for mark-up with the full VA Committee.

The coalition continues to call to obtain new cosponsors in support of the bill.

Click on the widget to the right to get up-to-date information.

HR 1182 Mark-up Hearing Results

2009-10-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

The mark-up hearing wasn't broadcasted today. After twenty minutes of staring at a black screen I checked in with the other MSBA ladies to see if they were able to get anything. We are on dial-up here so all video downloading is slow. The MSBA ladies weren't getting anything either. I called the VA Committee to find out if the hearing was cancelled. Hearing wasn't cancelled it just got out. I mentioned that I was trying to watch it online and was told mark-up hearings are not available online. I asked the wonderful lady if she knew the outcome of the hearing and she stepped away from the phone to find out for me. She came back and told me that all bills were reported favorable and without amendments. WOOHOO!! Way to go MSRRA.

We are not done yet. The mark-up hearing was through the subcommittee. MSRRA still has to go through the VA Committee. I don't know if there will be a hearing and then a mark-up hearing for the House VA Committee. I also don't know when those hearings will happen. I will keep you informed as I get more information.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization

2009-10-07T15:38:00.000-07:00

As we prepare to update the website I also need to learn more about SEO. It is something that will help improve our page rank and google page listing. I would like for our website to show up at least within the first three pages of a google search. Right now we are not close to that. I don't quite understand SEO and what works best except keywords. The point is to have your pages and meta tags rich in keywords. These keywords are keywords you hope that people are using to search in google to find your product. To me this is the complicated part. How do I know that the keywords that I search for are the same keywords that you would search for? There are keyword tools out there to help with this but there aren't free ones that will also help you determine which keywords your competitors are using.

If anyone is willing to help me with this or point me to the appropriate tools to help me with this I would appreciate it.

HR 1182 Mark-up Hearing

2009-10-06T21:50:00.000-07:00

I didn't post what happened at the September 24th hearing. Military Spouses Residency Relief Act wasn't being voted on. The hearing was just an informational hearing for the Economic Opportunity Subcommittee to hear facts, statistics and information about the bill. We received some great support from MOAA, VFW, AMVETS, and Vietnam Veterans of America.

The Economic Opportunity Subcommittee has scheduled a mark-up hearing to decide whether or not the House will support the bill. The mark-up hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 8th at 1 PM EDT. For those of us on the Pacific Coast it will be 10:00 AM PDT.

Please go to the following link: http://veterans.house.gov/ and click on the Live Webcast button in the top left column.

HR 1182 - House Hearing

2009-09-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

Military Spouses Residency Relief Act has a big day tomorrow; House Hearing. If the bill passes the hearing tomorrow, Military Spouses are on the home stretch to being able to declare one state of residency :) Thank goodness as I would like to be able to put my name back on the title of my vehicle. I would also appreciate not having to stand in another DMV line. Okay so maybe just one more DMV line.

If you would like to watch the House Hearing tommorrow it will be at 1 PM EDT. For those of us on the Pacific Coast it will be 10:00 AM PDT.

Please go to the following link: http://veterans.house.gov/ and click on the Live Webcast button in the top left column.

Macromedia 8

2009-09-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

With the help of Macromedia 8, such as Dreamweaver, Fireworks and Flash, I have been able to create some unique webpages and unique components to add to webpages. I am hoping that these new programs will help aide me in the redesign of All In One Desktops website.

A New & Improved Website??

2009-09-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

I have been working with another Military Spouse on some ideas for improving All In One Desktops website. The Military Spouse was going to take a look at our site and put together her thoughts on what could be improved and changed.

A new and improved website may be published before the holidays.

Grants For 501(c)6

2009-09-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of days I have done some grant research for the Military Spouse Business Association. Money for the non-profit organization is running low. They need to be able to pay for the website, marketing, traveling and would eventually like to pay the volunteers. They don't charge their members for a membership fee so they aren't bringing in any regular income. I have been trying to find a way to obtain grants to help pay for future expenses. If anyone has any insight I would greatly appreciate it. Please e-mail me.

Federal Schedules Update

2009-08-28T15:19:00.000-07:00

Our contact at Federal Schedules gave us a call today to see if there was any change in our discount price to DoD and government. I told him everything has stayed the same and that there haven't been any major changes.

DUNS Self Monitor

2009-08-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

Phone call from DUNS to renew our self monitoring report. We renewed this as we will be able to see what DUNS sends to other companies that inquire about us. DUNS send a company credit report to other companies upon request. Requesting a copy of a companies report is something that you do have to pay for. In order to monitor our own company report and submit updated information online we have to pay. Cost for a self monitoring report with DUNS was about $369.

DUNS also inquired about being placed in their directory. We did decline this service. However we were sent a temporary 12 hour unsername and password to update our business description, logo, and photos. We did update this information. Whether or not all of that information will be viewed in the directory we aren't sure.