We’ll be at the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, September 29 Business After Hours networking and trade-show with Advanced Systems. Drop by and say hello!

Here’s the official flyer for Business After Hours.

Dean

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Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Here is good advice for laptop users from an article posted by the CBC regarding the tragic death of a man in Vancouver when his laptop computer caught fire after overheating when it was left on a couch.

Safety recommendations

The coroner’s office recommended anyone using a laptop take the following precautions.

• Always operate on a hard surface that allows ventilation. Soft materials can block the airflow vents and cause it to overheat.
• If it is not possible to avoid using a soft surface, an optional heat-sink base should be used to maintain cooling.
• Always shut down your laptop, even for short periods of time, especially when placed in a carry bag.
• Inspect and clean the air vents on a weekly basis. Forced-air dusters can be used to keep the vents clean and free from debris.
• Replace any equipment or parts that do not work.
• Using a laptop desk or cooler to allow air circulation between the laptop and the desk
• Visit the Health Canada recall listings website to see if a laptop has been recalled.

Review the manufacturers’ website for additional safety tips and recommended maintenance.

This is good advice. A fifty dollar cooling fan unit goes a long way to keep your computer cool and prevent premature failure.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

The current recession has forced the move of IT budget decisions further up the ladder. Now CEO’s are giving the go or no to IT initiatives. Not surprising since a good CEO needs to manage with tighter control during tough times. Talking to the president of a company is not a new sales strategy. In his book The Sales Bible, Jeffrey Gitomer advises going straight to the top and working your way down. It’s a lot easier than starting at the bottom and getting stuck there.

This will be seen by many veteran and senior IT managers as a blow to their power within the organization. The result may be a further separation of the IT department from being a strategic decision maker and move them to strictly tactical roles. The worst that could happen is that the CEO makes decisions based strictly on costs and sales pitches, ultimately setting up the IT department for failure.

The best that could happen is if a CEO looks at the vendor proposals from the strategic advantages their products and services offer and include IT managers in the consultation process. IT managers need to make the most of this new role versus fighting it and ending up with less than they had before. I’ve seen both scenarios and only one of them works well. Guess which one.

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Robert Scoble posted about his experiences with bad passwords and a hard drive failure with no back-up.

These along with poor malware protection have to be the most preventable but common problems with computers. In our personal lives and in our businesses. Why is this? Are we too lazy to take precautions? Maybe we just don’t know about the risks and the measures we can take?

I’ve never had a problem with passwords but on more than one occasion I’ve lost valuable data without a backup. Password design was drilled into me early in my IT support career. Back-ups? Just lazy I guess . . . after all I can always back it up tomorrow!

Dean

Here are two examples of government spending you might want to think about.

The CBC reports that the RCMP is funding two separate data bases. One for BC and one for the rest of the country. This costs the RCMP (the taxpayers) an extra $9 million dollars to support two systems that aren’t integrated. Hmmm. The reason why is mostly politics and could be solved with proper IT systems governance.

The Recovery.gov website is being upgraded for the cost of almost $18 million. This is the website which the US government uses as a vehicle to update the rest of the country on the where, who, what and why of their economic recovery plan. Hmmm. That’s a lot of money for a website.

Dean

With burgeoning data requirements in even the smallest of businesses, simplifying access to it becomes a major headache. Obviously, dumping data on a PCs internal hard drive isn’t a viable option anymore. The complexity increases with the advent of devices like laptops, smart phones and PDAs, hooking up to the LAN and trying to access data conveniently through a central location.

A NAS (network attached storage) box is an acceptable option for small business networks. Not only are these devices small, but they are equipped with hard drives which can store up to 4TB of data, and connect through an ethernet cable into a network port or router. You can also plug in a USB device such as a printer, to NAS device and make it accessible over the network. These devices are ideal for small offices with 10 to 15 PCs for compact, centralized storage accessible from anywhere, including over the Internet.

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Trojans accounted for 70 percent of all new malware between April and June 2009, according to data compiled in the latest PandaLabs Quarterly Report. Adware rose dramatically over this period, from 7.54 percent in the previous quarter to 16.37 percent. This is largely due to the increase in fake antivirus applications, a type of adware that passes itself off as a legitimate security solution.

Trojans were also responsible for more infections than any other type of malware over this period. This type of malware was behind 34.37 percent of all infections detected by PandaLabs, an increase of 2.86 percent with respect to the previous quarter. Adware infection levels remained stable, accounting for 19.62 percent of the total. Worms increased slightly (0.89%), staying in the picture due largely to the effectiveness with which they spread.

In terms of specific strains of malware, the number one ranked specimen between April and June 2009 was Downloader.MDW, a Trojan designed to download other malware on to computers. The Virtumonde spyware and Rebooter.J Trojan were also among the malicious codes that caused most infections.

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

Taken from a news release posted on the Alberta Government website:

July 8, 2009
Commissioner urges vigilance in wake of computer virus outbreak at Alberta Health Services

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been notified by Alberta Health Services that a virus was present on the Alberta Health Services network in Edmonton. The virus impacted the network and Netcare, Alberta’s electronic health record, before it was discovered and removed.

You can read more about it here . . . Google Links. This follows the theft of two computers from a UofA medical lab a few months ago which contained un-encrypted patient information. The laptops were chained to a desk in a locked room!

Vigilance is the key word here and should apply to any and all businesses that value their data and want to keep it private. These were computer based breaches but we need to apply vigilance across our organizations which include any form of access to data and confidential information. You need to review, evaluate and enforce any policies and procedures regarding how you and your people manage and handle confidential data whether it’s computer based or paper based. Let’s not forget the two recent incidents where Federal officials mishandled confidential and top secret paper documents.

How important is securing your data? Ask yourself this: would you want to do business with an organization who were slack in securing your personal information?

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists

_________________________________________________

According to a recent report, sales of new desktop computers are dropping compared to mobile computers such as notebooks and net-books. Not surprising considering we are all more mobile and need to be connected where ever we are. According to one report desktop computers still capture 47% of the new computer sales market.

Desktop computers still offer great value for money. Most are well spec’d for the price when compared to portables. Easier to upgrade when you want to extend their life or improve performance. A 24″ monitor connected to a desktop PC is easy to look at. Large laptops (17″-18″) are nice but extremely heavy and hard on battery life. There’s also the long-term maintenance issues to consider. Desktop cases have better ventilation when compared to laptops. As a result they are less likely to overheat the internal components and suffer from premature failure. Replacing internal components in a desktop box is cheaper and offers more options when compared to a laptop.

What we are seeing now is a turn around from previous years. Where laptops where niche and special purpose only five years ago they are now becoming standard computers for most of us. Desktops still have a role to play in the corporate environment but they are becoming the new niche technology.

Word on the interwebs is that Microsoft plans to open it’s own chain of retail stores. Is this what it will look like? The MS fake retail store. Other than Xboxes and Zunes what else could MS sell in these stores? The Apple Store model works because Apple’s product lineup is slim and end to end.  On the consumer PC side of things other people make the hardware that MS’s software runs on. So how is that going to work? Will there be featured ‘partners’ vying for the coveted spot in the stores? MS has lots of products in their catalogue – items that you probably have not have even heard of. Maybe this will be an opportunity to see these products in action. That’s one reason the Apple stores are successful – opportunities to demo products before you buy. Apple also has a strangle hold on street prices. No matter where you go – the Apple store, big box retailers or local dealers, the price is the same. PC’s and MS products are priced competitively and just walking across the street can save you $50.

 MS wants the consumer market  but they don’t know how to get there. It’s not part of their DNA. And MS is not part of consumers DNA – too many choices are available in the market and consumers will seek them out. At best, MS products – Windows, Office etc. – are tolerated by consumers. Apple on the other hand has a strong loyal fan base that will buy their products no matter what other options are available.

There are lots of reasons why this won’t work. MS has demonstrated with their past actions and activities that there are some things they just don’t do well. And this could just be another one. Most likely it will be a big waste of time and may last two years before it shuts down with a clearance sale.

I could go on and on, but I won’t – there’s lots of others doing that…

Dean