IT Spend

It appears everyday goes by with a new report coming out on how IT spend will increase in 2010. Some reports state a 4-5% increase, others are stating a very gradual increase throughout the year. Whatever the case may be, the upside looks like it is coming for VARs, distributors and manufactures.
I am taking a wait and see approach.

Enjoy the rest of the year!

Black Friday Sales

I just looked thru some of the BLACK FRIDAY ads from several retail stores. Looking through the ads gives me an idea of where future pricing will be on some of the hot technology in a few months.
The trend I have seen usually works like this:
If you see a 32 inch LCD 720p TV for sale on Black Friday for $329, then it will usually be that price a few months into the new year.
Ther is a Blu-Ray DVD player liste at $78. There is no reason it cannot be sold for this amount in the near future.
Last year they were going for $349.
Now you can find decent units for around $149.

Enjoy the shopping season!

Windows 7 Does Anyone Care?

Windows 7 is being pushed out on October 22nd.
Does anyone really care besides the employees at Microsoft?
Has XP been a great operating system? Yes.
Was Vista...umm...uh...no? Not many IT professionals that I talked to moved to Vista.
Kind of reminds me of the Windows 98 to Windows Me upgrade that crashed thousands of PC's.
It appears that Microsoft has learned from their past mistakes and is moving towards the Windows 7 release very cautiously. Instead of including Vista in OEM machines, Microsoft has included an XP mode with the OEM software from the beginning.
Will Windows 7 drive PC sales and new applications? That's a big question in a troubled economy.

Enjoy the week!

Apple Releases Snow Leopard

Snow Leopard has been released and is in stock at www.mnjtech.com
This is the latest O/S from Apple. Cost is low at $29.
If only Microsoft software was that cheap...

Enjoy the day!

MNJ Technologies Launches New Website

MNJ Technologies has just launched their new website at www.mnjtech.com
The new site has a great new look with a lot more features.
The site is being updated every day.
Be sure to check it out today!

Windows 7 Release Date

The official launch date for Windows 7 from Microsoft has been carved in wood for:
October 22nd
Windows 7 is going to feature:
-Faster startup
-XP Mode which allows most applications to run in a Virtual XP Window
-Jump Lists which will keep all the users' most accessed features right in front of them
-Easily share documents and devices with multiple PC's in the same network
-Centralize and distribute audio, pictures and video with new video streaming features

Most of the feedback I have been getting from the beta users has been VERY positive.

Only time will tell if this is another leap or flop for Microsoft.

Enjoy the 4th of July weekend!

Microsoft Windows 7 Downgrade Rights

Microsoft will allow only limited rights for those who buy a Windows 7 PC to go back to Windows XP. Microsoft plans to only allow that option for those that buy PCs during the first six months that Windows 7 is on the market. After that, Microsoft's proposed licensing terms would allow buyers of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate only to go back to the comparable Windows Vista edition.
Businesses that have volume license deals for Windows or a software assurance contract would be able to move back to Windows XP even if they bought their Windows 7 PCs after six months.

More fun to follow I am sure.

Enjoy the day!

Twitter

I have been working on Twitter for the last few months to see if this is a worthy source of getting the word out on new items that come up. I have seen several websites that will increase your followers by automating the process but is this really what is needed? It looks more like a Twitter type of spam. Most followers just seem to be interested in following and being followed by more people. I am waiting to see if this generates any business. Let me know what you find out.

Enjoy the week!

Computers for the Rich

Here is what some very rich people said about computer shopping.

Computers: Buy more mainstream computers with proven technology. Select higher capacity hard drives, a decent amount of RAM (the memory that the program runs in) and a cost effective processor. Super fast doesn't always equal super good...unless you are building airplanes or bridges. Laptops are a good compromise between desktops and netbooks. Don't go through the pain of upgrading operating systems on existing computers, it's not time efficient and you will probably go insane trying.

Have a great day!

D-Link Wireless

Go Wireless Now. Buy G Today and Get a
Free Upgrade to N When Available. Worry-Free Offer!
Improve Your Network Now - and Later. When you purchase D-Link’s popular DWL-8500AP 802.11g Access Points, you immediately add the benefi ts of wireless access to your network.
Later this year, D-Link will begin shipping DWL-8600AP 802.11n Access Points. But you won’t pay to upgrade.
You’ll just trade in your DWL-8500APs at no additional charge! Wireless N is faster and farther-reaching Wi-Fi now being incorporated in enterprise-class hardware. And like the DWL-8500AP, the DWL-8600AP will support PoE and will be compatible with the DWS-3024 switch (controller).
Combine the purchase of the DWS-3024 Unifi ed Wireless PoE Switch with multiple DWL-8500APs and corresponding Unisys Support Packages today at your standard D-Link prices. When the new wireless N APs are released, we will exchange out your DWL-8500APs for the newer enhanced technology DWL-8600APs. We’ll even move your Unisys support service over to the new N AP’s. That’s it!

Happy Monday on Tuesday!

AMD Takes Marketshare from Intel

AMD has picked up market share on Intel in the first quarter as global PC semiconductor shipments fell 13 percent from a year ago. Intel remains top dog with a unit market share of 77.3 percent, but that’s down 4.7 percent from a year ago. AMD’s market share in the first quarter was 22.3 percent, up 4.6 percent from a year ago.
Looks like the down economy and cost conscious consumer is buying the lower priced AMD PC's.
I own an AMD laptop and I have never had any problems with it.

Enjoy the day!

XEROX Now Offering HP Cartridges

Xerox is now offering replacement cartridges for HP printers.
They are backing it with a 100% guarantee.
Your HP printer supplies represent about 30% of your office supplies budget. But did you know that you have a quality alternative that can save you 20–25% per cartridge?
Don’t worry, using replacement cartridges won’t affect your HP printer warranty. HP states on their website: “For HP printer products, the use of a non-HP ink cartridge or a refilled ink cartridge does not affect either the warranty to the customer or any HP support contract with the customer. However, if printer failure or damage is attributable to the use of a non-HP or refilled ink cartridge, HP will charge its standard time and materials charges to service the printer for the particular failure or damage.”

Have a great week!

Unified Communications

The new Cisco commercials on TV are befuddling to some but very interesting to those that are experiencing unified communications and the cool features.
I wanted to let you know of the incredible benefits of unified communications.
I got a full dose of it last week when our Cisco phone system started forwarding voicemail messages to my Outlook email. The email message was sent to my Blackberry in a wave file. I was then able to open the wave file and hear the message on my drive home from work.
Tying all of these communication tools into one system will increase productivity in my daily business. The bottom line is, IT WORKS!

Enjoy the week!
LT

Tandberg RDX Affordable Removable Disk

Tandberg has a removable hard drive product that is 100 times more reliable than tape.
Instead of using a USB drive for local backup of files, get this!
First you purchase the drive carrier and then you can select the drive you want to install.
The drive carrier is available in USB and internal versions.
They come in 80, 160, 320, 500GB sizes with an expected release of the 640GB drive later this year.
This device is made for 5000 uses. Show me a tape that can do that!
You can remove the drive and replace it with a larger size.
The RDX is compatible with almost every backup software on the planet.
RDX Filekeeper software is included with each drive carrier.
For more information:
http://www.tandbergdata.com/us/

Have an enjoyable day!

Upgrading vs. Buying New

I have started to see more and more upgrading of desktops and laptops over the last few months. Additional memory and hard drive space seem to be the norm right now. The great thing is that memory prices for older machines using DDR 667 or 800 Mhz are at an all time low. I have seen 1gb modules going for as low as $15 per chip. You could add 2gb of memory for as little as $30!!!
Adding additional hard drive space is just as inexpensive. The Western Digital 80gb SATA drive (WD800AAJS) is being shown advertised on several sites for $39.99.
New sales on laptops and desktops appear to be lagging and manufacturers have reduced the pricing on several models. Even Apple has been in the discount mood lately. There are some very good deals for these machines. You just need to know where to look.

Happy Monday!

IBM looking into the Sun

IBM has made a $6.5 billion offer to acquire Sun Microsystems.
This is pocket change for IBM and makes sense. The services arm of IBM can only increase the value of Sun Microsystems. This also fits in with IBM server line and provides another option. Sun has had some tough times getting their product exposure. IBM will be able to market the heck out of it.
Enjoy the day!

Windows 7: The Versions

The latest version of Windows from Microsoft will have two main flavors.
Windows 7 Home Premium for the consumer and Windows 7 Professional for the business customers. There will be one upgrade sku from Home to Professional. This should make things easy to upgrade.
There will be a Windows Starter 7 and Windows 7 Home Basic but these are only going to be offered to OEM partners.
Windows 7 Enterprise will be for the largest enterprise customers and will only be available through Volume Licensing Agreements.
More information can be found here: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/02/04/a-closer-look-at-the-windows-7-skus.aspx

Have a great week!

HP Drivers for XP and Vista

There has been a lot of problems lateley with people being able to find drivers for their XP and Vista operating systems. These links should help for the HP user.

Here is a link to the drivers for the HP DC7900 desktop.
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DriverDownload.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=3785038&taskId=135&prodTypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=3785403&submit.y=4&submit.x=5&lang=en&cc=us

Here is a link to type in any HP product to download drivers.
http://www.hp.com/sbso/bussupport.html

Have a happy Friday Eve!

Ruckus Wireless...what is it?

Not very often does a product come along that makes me say, "It's about time!"
Ruckus Wireless has a wireless access point that actually pinpoints the user. Instead of a broadcast signal over an area, the access point looks for the users and aims the wireless signal at them. This is perfect for "hotspots," hotels, schools, airports and medium-sized business with little or no IT staff. They are claiming plug and play capability with little intervention.
Here is a link for more information.
http://www.ruckuswireless.com/products/zoneflex/7942/

Advertised pricing starts at $799 but a reseller could get you a better deal.
Let me know if you have any questions or need a quote.

Happy Wednesday!

Watchguard Firebox Going End of Life

Here is a important bulletin for companies that have old Watchguard Firebox appliances. They are going end of life on October 25, 2009.
This includes the following models: X5000, X6000, X8000, X2500, X1000, X700, X500, X50, X15, X5, X50W, X15W and X5W.
These models have not been sold since October of 2006.
All support and warranties will end on October 25, 2009. These means no more virus or spam updates can be downloaded.
More information can be found on this link http://www.watchguard.com/products/endoflife.asp
The good news is there is a migration path with a new appliance and there is a trade-up that can be made with a discount for your old Firebox equipment.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you.

Analog to Digital Conversion

Ok, February 17th was going to be doomsday for analog TV reception in the US but that all changed a few weeks ago. It has been pushed to June 12th, 2009.
I actually purchased some of the digital converters and antenna for some TVs in my house that are not connected to cable TV.
After connecting the antenna and the converter box, I was able to pull in about 20 TV stations with incredible quality. Some from a city 56 miles away. It kind of made me wonder why I pay extra for these channels on my cable bill. The connection of the equipment was relatively simple but there was some re-wiring that was needed for the VCR and DVD player.
There is a great site that can give you the exact settings for the different TV stations in your area by typing in your zip code.
Here is the link: http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Welcome.aspx
If you have an omnidirectional antenna, you will not need the settings but it does give you a list of the TV stations and their network.

Enjoy the transition!

Certified Women Owned Businesses

One thing that is constantly being overlooked is the tax breaks that companies can get by purchasing items with minority owned businesses. Women owned business qualify in this category. More and more businesses are being run by women and the government will give your company tax breaks for doing business with them.
The companies must be certified. The WBENC (Women's Business Enterprise National Council), pronounced wee-bank, is the national organization that sets the certification standards and procedures administered by 13 regional affiliate organizations. The WBE certification is recognized nationwide.
Please check out their website for more information at www.wbenc.org.
Why am I posting this information on my blog?
MNJ Technologies is a certified WBENC member with Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) certification.

Have a great day!

The World's Most Secure Flash Drive

IronKey Enterprise solution combines hardware-encrypted USB flash drives with the IronKey Enterprise Service. This little device allows you to not only remotely administer policies across thousands of IronKey devices but also to remotely disable devices.
If a thief tries to break into an IronKey Enterprise device and exceeds a policy-determined number of failed login attempts, the IronKey Cryptochip will lock out the encryption functions and securely erase all encrypted data.
The drives range in price from about $75 to $330 depending on the size and version you need.
Please feel free to email me for a quote.
More information can be found at www.ironkey.com.

Enjoy the winter, only six more weeks!

Moving Away From the Large IT Suppliers

This will be a little bit different from recent posts. I want to hear from you.
I worked for one of the largest IT resellers for 8 years. I thought they had it all.
100,000 products plus, a cool web site for tracking orders, a dedicated account manager ect.
What I didn't always have was better pricing.
Now I have managed to aquire better pricing on almost every item.
Smaller resellers seem to have an advantage in that they do not have a lot of overhead. They do not have commercials on TV with monkeys jumping up and down on remote tropical islands. Their brand recoginition may be lacking or nonexistent but they usually have better service and pricing to offer.
My point is stop paying for the over-marketing of the larger IT suppliers and go back to the smaller resellers.
If you have had contact with a smaller reseller and had a good experience, let me know.
Enjoy the week!

D-Link Network Cameras

D-Link has been involved in the network camera arena for a few years but now they have jumped in with both feet. These cameras can be used for security and replace the CCD cameras that are out there now. There has been a strong shift to protect assets at all companies and this is a great way to provide security with remote alerts. Every camera comes with the required software. There is no addtional charge.
The cameras come in a variety of models that range from fixed to pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ).
There are a several options for mounting and enclosures for outdoor installation.
More information can be found at www.dlink.com
D-Link offers the complete solution which includes power over the ethernet (POE) switches and power injectors to power the POE cameras.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me directly.

Thank you and have a great day!

Checkpoint Friendly Cases

If you are a traveler or have to travel anytime with your laptop, this information could be helpful. Over 12,000 laptops are left at security checkpoints everyday. The main reason is because you have to take the laptop out of the bag or case and put it on the conveyor belt. There are now "Checkpoint Friendly" cases available in a variety of styles and colors. This enables you to leave the laptop in the case but zip it open so the case can go through the scanning system. The laptop sits conveniently on one side of the case with all of the cables and accessories neatly stored in the other side. You simply zip it up and take the case with you when you leave the checkpoint. MobileEdge is a laptop accessory company that makes several of these for him and her.
Here is a list of the following model numbers:
MESFOBP Women's Onyx Backpack
MESFOBC Women's Onyx Briefcase
MESFEBX Elment Briefcase in pink
MESFBC Scanfast Briefcase in black
MESFBP Scanfast Backpack in black
MESFMB Scanfast Messenger case in black
Pricing for these is just under $100.
These can be found on www.mnjtech.com or www.mobileedge.com.

Happy travelling!

Wireless VGA Adapter

This is straight from the Cosumer Electronics Show in Vegas. It is from Cables-to-Go.
http://www.cablestogo.com/wireless/
Wirelessly transmit UXGA/ WSXGA video signal up to 30 feet. Up to six computers can share one wireless display or one computer can have up to six wireless displays. Wirelessly display computer images to a remote monitor, projector, or television. I saw a demo and it works great.
Pricing is about $200. This would be exteremely helpful with projector installs where there is no place to run cables.
Have a great day!

The New MIMO Wireless Device

I just found some great information on the new TZ 210 from Sonicwall. This will replace the new TZ 190 device and support 802.11n. Check out the specs below.

The TZ 210 delivers 50 Mbps of Unified Threat Management performance, 75 Mbps of IPSec VPN, 300 Mbps 802.11n Wireless LAN, and Gigabit Ethernet!
Check out this feature set:
o 2.4 GHz 802.11n radio with 3x2 MIMO (supports B/G/N)
o Dual Gigabit Ethernet and a five port Fast Ethernet switch
o 500 MHz single core processor
o 256 MB RAM, 32 MB Flash
o Dual USB ports for future expandability
o Available now, starting at $895The TZ 210 beats all comers in the small business UTM market. In fact, no other product in this price category even comes close to these levels of performance.

It will also support up to 15 VPN site to site tunnels.
This is a good device for new remote offices or an opportunity to replace old VPN appliances.

Enjoy the day!

New Year New PC

It is now 2009 and with the new year comes the notion of purchasing a new PC. I think this is a great idea but is it really necessary? It is true that the cost of basic office PC's has dropped quite a bit lately and replacing the machines can be written off as a capital expense. Let's face it, IT budgets are constantly being slashed and most companies need to prolong the life of their existing equipment. A few recommendations I can offer are as follows:

• Upgrade the memory on all existing PC's to 2GB, if the machine will allow it. This will improve performance immediately. Memory prices have dropped drastically. Older 1GB memory upgrades of PC2-4200 range from $18 to $50 per chip.
• Replace any old CRT monitors that may be in the office. These consume energy and the cost of the new LCD monitors is so low now that the decision should be easy to make. The average cost on a 17 inch LCD monitor, which has the same screen size as a 19 inch CRT monitor, is $115 or less for a standard business class monitor.
• Add more storage with a NAS device to your server room. Although this is a band-aid solution for a much bigger problem. This will allow you to add more storage at a relatively low cost. The Buffalo DriveStation Flexnet 1TB NAS Server can be added for $197.33 from MNJ Technologies. https://www.mnjtech.com/indexhigh.html

I hope that everyone has a great 2009!