Syncing Contacts from Outlook to Gmail

Question for ya. I’d like to import all of my outlook contacts to my Gmail but I can’t seem to find the CSV or vCard files on my C drive. Any hints on where to look???

Answer: The process is pretty simple if you have ever played with the import/export feature of Outlook. Google requires a CSV or vCard file to upload a contact or contact list into Gmail from your Outlook database. Here’s a quick overview of the process. You are limited to one contact at a time.

Creating a CSV file of your contacts will cause you to create a file of all the contacts that in the folder that you are exporting. If you want to limit the contacts that you are planning to import into Gmail then you will want to place a copy of the contacts you want to export into a temporary contact folder before running the export function. Then you will need to import that CSV file back into Gmail. Here is another quick video showing this process.

How to use Windows 7 Upgrade Packages

There have been a lot of questions about whether you need to purchase a full install package or an upgrade package when upgrading your machine to Windows 7. You will be able to perform a full install if you go through the custom settings so don’t hesitate buying the Upgrade Package and save the money if you already have a previous Vista or WinXP package on your machine. For more detail on procedures and lots of answers to nagging questions take a look at the following two blog posts:

Finally, some answers to Windows 7 upgrade questions

by Ed Bott TechRepublic

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

by Paul Thurrott SuperSite for Windows

TechRepublic Windows 7 Installation Flowchart

For all you techies out there that want a little helping hand to make sure your are covering all of your bases for your Windows 7 upgrade/installation, take a look at this article/flowchart by Rick Vanover that will guide you through each decisional step. Included in the zip file is both a .vsd (Visio) and .pdf documents showing the same information. Choose the one that will work best for you. The .vsd will allow you to make your own changes to the information that you need for more detail in the process that you determine works best for you.

Technology Benefits to be gained from the Government Stimulus Package

Most of the benefits that you will see from the Government’s Economic Stimulus Package will come in the form of tax cuts. The government view is to have you spend money to improve your company infrastructure and hopefully your bottom line. That way they can get more taxes from you with your new and improved performance. Here are some of the benefits you can gain this year by spending some money on your company for those improvements that you have been holding back on.

Equipment Expensing and Valuing. Purchasing computers, machinery, and off the shelf software may result in substantial write-offs.

A provision buried within the Obama administration’s nearly $800 billion stimulus package will
extend a piece of the earlier Bush administration plan designed to aid small businesses that
purchase new equipment.

Section 1201 of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) allows additional
first-year depreciation of 50% of the purchase cost of new equipment by extending for one year
Section 179 of the 2008 Economic Stimulus Act.
Last year, finance experts applauded the provision, saying Section 179 had led to increased
sales among equipment manufacturers as customers reaped the benefits of the new tax
deduction.

Like the original provision, businesses can write off twice as much equipment acquisition costs as
an expense rather than depreciating the purchase over several years, with qualification extending
to almost all tangible personal property. If the company exceeds the $250,000 cap, the law
features a provisional depreciation bonus that lets it write off up to half of the purchase in the first
year, on top of the regular depreciation allowance.

A laundry list of state-sponsored opportunities, many boosted by the ARRA, can be found  at www.business.gov. Included on the site is state or industry specific information pertaining to the R&D, training and implementation incentives outline in the ARRA.

The thing to remember is that the government is providing the incentive to purchase the products that will enhance your company’s ability to support your clients better. Make the changes you have been hesitating on and advantage of these extra tax benefits while doing so. As always, talk to you tax advisor to make sure you qualify and determine the best way you can take advantage of these tax savings.