In our previous newsletter, we featured the Apple iPhone; however, we still don't recommend it for your business due to its lack of Enterprise connectors to Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Domino.

In the meantime, if you want the breakthrough features of the iPhone, but you want to listen to music without buying new cell phone service, Apple's new iPod touch is your solution. It has most of the innovation that makes the iPhone great-minus the phone.

This might be one of the best portable media players in existence.

If you've never tried the Cover Flow user interface of both the iPhone and iPod touch, you won't believe it! The easy, intuitive features include treats such as tunes that appear on album-like icons. You can sort through music as if you were thumbing through an old collection of vinyl records.

The iPod touch comes equipped with a Wi-Fi version of the iTunes Music Store, so you can buy music on the run.

There's more to this than mere convenience. Apple has an agreement with Starbucks allowing you to instantly buy the music you hear while you're sipping your latte.

If there's a significant flaw to the iPod touch, it's the earbuds. Big deal. Just replace them and you'll have the sound quality this device deserves. Despite the flimsy headset, the iPod touch is an overall winner.

We'll let you discover some of the new features on your own, but here's one example you should know about. You can access your music instantly by double- clicking the touch's single button. This makes the music controls appear over whatever screen you're currently viewing. You'll have the best in entertainment at your fingertips.

If you're used to the original iPod, you'll see that this one is a bit thinner and shorter, and just a tiny bit wider. As usual, Apple scores high on the physical beauty of their latest product. It's a pleasure just to hold the iPod touch in your hand, let alone enjoy music and videos with it.

The iPod touch retails around $300-$400, and you can check it out here.

The first and best way to protect your domain is to use a reputable registrar. It's foolish to put your brand and all your hard work at risk just to save a few dollars a year with a cheap but dubious company.

There are over 500 registrars out there, and you can learn more about them or choose one by going to NamePros, DNForum, or RegSelect.

More importantly, though, be sure that you are the owner of your domain. Many unscrupulous registrars will try and list themselves as the owner. Be certain that the international WhoIs database record lists your own name, address, and phone number. Click here to check the ownership status of your domain.

Beyond these basic precautions, you should also be aware of unauthorized domain transfers. All domain names are regulated by a non-profit organization, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Under their rules, anyone can request to transfer your domain. If you don't deny the request within five days, this request can automatically go through.

Fortunately, you can ask your registrar to block all attempts to transfer your domain without your permission. Be sure to choose a registrar that offers this service, such as Register.com or NetworkSoluti ons.com.

More than 150 businesses were shut down, at least temporarily, when wildfires whipped across southern California in October.

If you do business in California, you're vulnerable to fires, earthquakes, storms, and floods. It's imperative that your senior management take responsibility for a Business Continuity Plan. This should protect your business should it encounter such disasters.

Your plan should go beyond the basics, such as safety and evacuation issues, and data backup (you are storing a copy of your data off-site, aren't you?) At the very least, be sure your insurance will cover loss or damage of property, inventory, and equipment.

But there's a lot more to do. Every aspect of your business will feel the impact of a disruptive event, so every department and every staff member should be involved. By allocating time and resources to your plan, you send the message that this is important.

Dependable Computer Guys has outlined a few of the issues you should consider. As a starting point, here is a sample checklist for business and home use. The sample lists will help get you started, but plan on revising these extensively in order to fit your situation. This isn't an absolute list because you need to establish parameters that are appropriate for your business. Here are some of the issues to consider, and questions you should be asking yourself and your staff:

How quickly can you get your operations up and running again? You may need alternate phone and internet resources, not to mention a physical location if you can't return to your company headquarters.

One solution is to have a reciprocal agreement with a non-competing, similar business in another location 20-50 miles away. If your facilities are unavailable in the event of a disaster, you can operate from the other party's location. Likewise, they would operate from yours if a disaster impacted their business place.

Another solution is to use laptops and home computers to conduct business after a disaster. But to make this work, you need to plan ahead. You should establish the resources that are available, and assign key responsibilities to specific people.

Inventory and supplies are another concern. Aside from insurance to cover the economic loss, how will you physically replace essential goods and material? Can you re-source from an alternate supplier? How much of a delay will this entail, and what will be the effects of a delay?

Your business continuity plan has to reach farther than the contingency plans you put in place to protect your home and your family. Survival is just the first step. You need to continue operations and generate revenue as soon as possible or your business could face broader, more persistent financial problems.

In the late 1990s, Deutsche Bank started testing its Business Continuity Plan every six months. When their headquarters in the World Trade Center were destroyed in the attacks on September 11, 2001, they were able to make a quick recovery while other companies limped along for months or even years. This is what a good plan can do.

How ready is your business? Commit the manpower and resources to get the job done. To do nothing is treacherous.

When it comes to secure Wi-Fi, the weakest link in your network chain could be an open and vulnerable home Wi-Fi network linked to the office. If this home user has remote access to your network, then your network is vulnerable. Once an intruder enters this open network, they can access your company information, steal passwords, or send viruses and spyware.

Many home networks are breached through file sharing programs. An intruder on your wireless LAN can have access to any file, whether personal or business-related, if it's file sharing enabled. File sharing is enabled as the default position in Windows XP Home Edition, and it's easy to bolster your security by disabling it.

Disable file sharing by clicking on Start and then going to Control Panel. Click Network Connections and then double-click Local Area Connections. After hitting the Properties button, a dialogue box will open with checked boxes. Uncheck the box "File and Printer Sharing," click OK, and you're done.

However, disabling file sharing won't protect your unsecured wireless connection. Another user could use it to run illegal operations like downloading child pornography, exchanging copyrighted material such as music and movies, and hacking into other computers.

Any activity done through your connection could be linked to you. This could lead to subpoenas, months of legal hassle, and the confiscation of your computer.

Likewise, if you piggyback on another person's open Wi-Fi network, you may be subject to prosecution. There aren't many legal precedents for this, but these are WiFi poaching cases pending in Michigan, Florida and Great Britain.

You may not plan to harm anyone, but the legal environment is changing around this issue. In the future, it may be considered trespassing or theft.

Remember, your wireless security has ramifications beyond your company walls.