My first personal computer was an Apple IIe way back in 1984.  I  subsequently drifted into the Win-Tel universe until I was seduced back to the Apple fold in 2002 by the “lamp-shade” iMac G4 and Mac OS X.  I’ve been completely “Windows-free” since and the happier for it.

Clients and associates often ask me for advice on purchasing PCs for their businesses.  In most instances, I have no hesitation in recommending that they go the Mac route – it simply is the most logical choice in the long run for a small business.

Wondering whether the make the switch for your business?  Check out MacLife’s compilation of 10 reasons your small business should run on Macs.

You can do your part to combat the current global economic malaise – simply cultivate “a sense of optimism, preferably accompanied by a sense of energy and laughter.”

This according to Hong Kong entrepreneur Sir David Tang who argues that “pessimism has an uncanny knack of being self-fulfilling.”  Read more about how shedding our sense or pessimism can help put the global economy back on track in Sir David’s Viewpoint on the BBC website.

No need to feel guilty about spending time surfing the web … it is apparently good for your brain.

Research by a University of California team suggests that searching the web could in fact mitigate age-related slowing of the brain.  Scans of the brain indicated significant activity in areas of the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning while subjects surfed the web – but only in those who were experienced web users.  A BBC online article reports on this in more detail.

So, go ahead and add web surfing to your health regimen – doctor’s orders!

I find mind mapping to be an invaluable technique in almost everything I do – be it planning a new project, writing an article, or even preparing for a holiday trip.

I started using mind maps in ernest when I stumbled across NovaMind – a great mind mapping software package that made creating, managing & archiving mind maps a cinch. I have since discovered many other mind mapping tools with different abilities and advantages, some of which are absolutely free.

Here are two extensive lists of the various mind mapping related tools and resources you can find on the web:

• 99 Mind Mapping Resources, Tools & Tips from collegedegree.com
• Suryadiputra Liawatimena’s list of 100+ Tools, Resources, and Tutorials

I’m currently using the free, java-based Free Mind for stand-alone maps as well as the web-based MindMesiter application when I need to do a spot of collaborative mind mapping.

Over the past few days, a couple of our clients have been struggling with a range of niggling PC-related issues. Both clients have a mix of PCs running Windows XP and Vista operating systems. Their problems ranged from general instability in the Vista machines to insidious malware on the XP systems.

Having switched to an exclusively Mac OS environment some time ago, I had quite forgotten the constant struggle it took to maintain system security and stability in the Windows world. This is not to say that Mac users are completely immune to such problems, but modular operating systems like Apple’s OS X, as well as Linux and Solaris, are inherently more stable than any of the current Windows flavours.

A recent Economist article reports on Microsoft’s attempts to cure the ills of its flagship OS product. Microsoft is already paving the way for Vista’s replacement – Windows 7 – expected to be released in 18 months time. However, the more ambitious goal of a “total rethink of the whole Windows metaphor” will apparently have to wait for a project code-named “Midori.” Unfortunately, this Windows core is unlikely to be ready for action until four or five years down the road.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will be deciding on a proposal that could see a huge increase in potential internet domain names. Icann is the primary regulator of the internet’s domain name system.

Currently, strict rules govern the registration of top-level domain (TLD) names such as .com and the individual country extensions (.com.sg; .com.my, etc). This Thursday, Icann will be voting to relax these rules to allow any string of characters to be used as a TLD.

This would allow thousands of new top-level domains to be created. Companies could then turn their brands into truly international domain names. This branding opportunity won’t come cheap, though – it is expected to cost at least “several thousand” dollars to register such a domain name.

Another issue could be conflicting claims to a name. Large companies would likely have the resources to secure names based on their intellectual property. Smaller companies may well face an uphill battle trying to secure their more localized brand names if conflicting claims do arise. In any case, it will be all the more important to officially register your various brand names and trademarks with the relevant national authorities.

Refer to the Icann website for the final draft report on this proposed TLD policy.

Are you getting a little jaded with your normal browsing experience? Try roaming the web in 3D with SpaceTime, then. Or satisfy satisfy your urge to click with Hyperwords – a browser plug-in that turns every word on any webpage into a hyperlink.

A recent Economist article reports on these and a number of other interesting new techniques under development that promise to radically transform the web browsing experience.

The election before the election is finally over – Barack Obama has secured the Democratic party’s nomination with Hillary Clinton expected to formally stand down her campaign sometime today. The pundits are falling over themselves to analyse how the relatively unknown freshman senator managed to overcome Clinton who entered the primary race as the prohibitive favourite.

Form a small business perspective, one of the more interesting take-aways comes from Steven Strauss in TheStreet.com. He likens Obama to an unknown, under-funded start-up going up against a gigantic, well-known and well-resourced institutional brand (Clinton).

So, how did the little guy prevail against the established goliath? By being unique, playing smart and competing to his strengths. Read Spencer’s full article for the details.

Take extra care when you visit Hong Kong, China & the Philippines … or rather when you surf their respective top-level domains (TLDs), that is.

McAfee has just released its updated Mapping the Mal Web report (pdf) and it identifies the Hong Kong TLD (.hk) to be riskiest with close to 20% of its domains being tagged as being unsafe. The China (.cn) and Philippines (.ph) TLDs follow with 12% and 8% of their domains considered malicious respectively.

The safest country TLDs are Slovenia (.si), Norway (.no), Japan (.jp) and Finland (.fi) with 0.2% or less of their domains rated risky. The Singapore (.sg) TLD is also relatively safe with 0.27% sites rated risky. Among the generic TLDs, .info was the riskiest (11.7% risky sites) while predictably, .gov was exceedingly safe

McAfee assesses websites for a variety of malicious behaviors ranging from browser exploits to phishing and excessive pop-ups. Overall, the risk distribution is extremely uneven and fluid; vast portions of the web are safe, but you never know when you would unwittingly stumble into a den of online mugging. To stay safe, make sure your security tools are properly maintained and stay alert – common sense will keep you out of trouble most of the time.

Over the past decade, Google has entrenched itself as the web’s best-known brand. There can be few web users who have not used Google’s core internet search service.

But have you ever wondered exactly what resources are required behind the scenes to keep Google’s various services humming along? A Cnet blogger reports on a presentation by a Google insider that reveals some of the fascinating inner workings of Google.

Most interestingly, Google ignores conventional server vendors and largely builds its own technology using ordinary components. It apparently prefers to build reliability on the software level rather than rely on expensive high-end fault tolerant hardware.