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!