Kevin Cork

Kevin Cork , CFP, is President of TheAbsoluteGroup.com and a best-selling author.

Looking at a PowerPoint alternative

Part of providing value to clients is presenting information clearly, visually and concisely. Many advisors rely on PowerPoint for such presentations, but there’s another option out there. Microsoft has launched a cloud-only presentation app called Sway. It allows you to create a web-ready presentation quickly, either from scratch or using an imported Word document, OneNote […]

By Kevin Cork |November 14, 2017

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Push your hardware’s lifespan, for free

It used to be we needed to upgrade our office computers every three to five years. It was a major undertaking every time. Now, you can upgrade your hardware in 20 minutes at no cost. How? Take your old hardware and load one of these options on it. 1. Ubuntu, Mint or a similar Linux […]

By Kevin Cork |November 4, 2016

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Let clients book their own meetings

Think about how much time you and your staff have spent booking client meetings. And think about how helpful would it be if you could clump all the phone calls you receive from clients into specific time slots of the day, and know in advance what they’re calling about. Well, there are services that will […]

By Kevin Cork |May 6, 2016

3 min read

Planning and Advice

The end of Windows XP

Software usually has a short shelf life, but Windows XP has become a dynasty. Microsoft released its longest-running operating system in 2001, and 13 years and four Windows OS upgrades later, Netmarketshare.com finds it still runs nearly 30% of the world’s computers and most of the world’s ATMs. Due to this high usage, Microsoft regularly delayed ending support for the now-antique operating system. But the company has also spent the last two years urging users to move to a newer OS, most recently Windows 8.1.

By Kevin Cork |May 9, 2014

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Should you use a Chromebook?

When netbooks came to the market in late 2007, users criticized their lower processing power, truncated keyboards and lack of software choices. But they’re making a comeback in sleeker, simplified formats.

By Kevin Cork |March 7, 2014

2 min read

Planning and Advice

A web app to manage your workflow

Almost every client meeting generates a slew of new activities. But having staff to assist in transactions doesn’t automatically mean these things get done more quickly, accurately, or even efficiently. That’s why I was so pleased to discover the web-based app Workflowy. It’s a simple list maker that’s feature-rich, shareable, searchable, archivable and taggable.

By Kevin Cork |January 17, 2014

3 min read

Planning and Advice

Why to choose the Acer Iconia

My newest tablet is an Acer Iconia W510 running Windows 8 Pro. The basic version is $549 and has 64 GB of storage—four times the storage in the entry-level iPad 3. The Acer has become my main tablet for two other reasons.

By Kevin Cork |November 5, 2013

3 min read

Planning and Advice

BlackBerry 10 is different

The new BlackBerry 10 (BB10) is different from Android and Apple smartphones. It’s an improvement on the old BlackBerry, but still equipped with what users know and love: tools to keep them organized and facilitate communication. Here are some of the new features.

By Kevin Cork |June 4, 2013

3 min read