How to Troubleshoot NewsGator

NewsGator is an award-winning cloud computing application network for businesses.

One distinctive feature of NewsGator, a set of cloud-based applications, is the social network capability it offers to employees of an affiliated business. NewsGator was developed to allow users to connect to their business applications, documents and information from any computer without having to use a company networked computer. All data is saved on the Web in firewalled third-party servers. If you are the only person having trouble with the NewsGator application, the issue can be related to your browser and Internet configuration, or to computer maintenance issues on that computer.

Instructions

Internet and Browser Issues

1. Check to see if Java is enabled on your Web browser. If Java is not enabled, applets and parts of the NewsGator applications won't open. Open Internet Explorer and click "Internet Options," then select "Security" and the "Custom Level" button. Locate "Scripting of Java applets" and click the "Enable" option. Click "OK" to save.

2. Open Firefox if this is the Web browser you use. Select the "Firefox" button in the top toolbar and "Add-ons." Click the "Plugins" option in the Add-ons manager. Select "Java Platform" and click "Enable."

3. Install the latest version of Flash. Older versions of Flash can cause error messages or prevent videos or animations from opening in the platform. Go to "Start," "Control Panel" and "Programs." Locate the old Flash player and click "Uninstall." Navigate to the Macromedia Flash website to download and install a new version of the player.

4. Check your Internet speed. Cloud computing applications require a great deal of Internet resources, and you may be in areas where Internet speed is slower. Visit an Internet speed testing website like SpeedTest or TestMySpeed. If your broadband speed is less than 1 megabit per second (Mbps), the NewsGator connection and applications will run very slowly, and in some cases may not work at all.

Registry Errors

1. Download and install a reliable registry cleaner such as Ccleaner, Eusing or TweakNow.

2. Click the "Scan" or "Run" button to clean any corrupt Windows files from the registry. Click "Clean" or "Fix" if the program requires it.

3. Go to the "Start" icon and select "Computer." Right-click the "C:" drive and select the "Properties" option. Click the "Tools" tab and select "Disk Cleanup." Check-mark the "Temporary Files" option and any other files you want to eliminate. Press the "Start" button to begin the process.

4. Open NewsGator, type in your user name and password to connect to your NewsGator account, and see if the problems persist.

References

• NewsGator: Business Value Through Social Computing
• "PC Magazine"; What Is Cloud Computing?; Rivka Tadjer; November 2010
• The Accidental Successful CIO; CIO Cloud Computing 101; August 2009

Resources

• Java: How Do I Enable Java in My Web Browser?
• Speed Test: Internet Speed Tester
• Internet Connection Speedometer: Internet Speed Tester
• Piriform: CCleaner
• Eusing: Registry Cleaner
• TweakNow: Free Registry Cleaner