tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24439731187152236892023-11-15T23:01:53.683-08:00TVIT NewsA blog by Treasure Valley IT about Computers, Computer and tech news, handy tech tips and tricks, and even tech savvy gift ideas. TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-46454401175451713872016-04-06T09:43:00.000-07:002016-04-06T09:43:17.194-07:00Do you even know how to spell my name?<div>
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Something that <i>really </i>peeves me is when someone spells my name incorrectly. Sound trivial? Maybe so. Considering my name is my email address, one would think the salutation that takes place a nanosecond later would contain the correct spelling of said name. Inevitably though, people are in a hurry and carelessly typo away. The former Marine comes out of me about this time and wonders how hard is it really to spell someones name correctly? We call this "Attention to Detail". As a business-owner and passionate deliverer of exceptional customer service, I make SURE I at least care enough to spell the persons name in which I'm communicating with correctly! Maybe you don't feel the same but the way I look at it is if I am communicating with you, there's a good chance you're giving me money or I'm giving it to you. Both of which warrant me giving you the basic courtesy of a spellcheck of your given name! I mean really, if you don't care enough to get someones name right, why would one believe you would care about the more significant stuff??<br />
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TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-53553674112773000242013-02-19T13:53:00.002-08:002013-02-19T13:54:28.108-08:00One Install per Microsoft Office 2013 LicenseIf you buy a copy of Microsoft Office 2013 you will only be able to install it on ONE machine. You will not be able to transfer it to another system, even it is lost, stolen, or damaged, Microsoft has confirmed.<br />
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This is Microsoft's way of encouraging customers to opt for the Office 365 version of the software. The subscription based model offers the ability to transfer your software on up to five <a href="http://tvit.net/tvitcomputers" target="_blank">machines</a>. This does not mean you can put one copy on five machines at once. As the service is cloud based, it pings your machine to ensure that the machine you registered with it is in fact the machine you have on file.<br />
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The subscription is $9.99 a month, or $99.99 annually. So it's like buying office every year. However, you get ALL the office programs for the price. Currently to get ALL the programs you're going to be paying roughly $400 or MORE retail. So if you're using all the programs you're really only buying Office every four or so years, and that's not so bad.<br />
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Adobe rolled out with their subscription based software as well. The Adobe Creative Cloud Subscription is <a href="http://www.tvit.net/" target="_blank">set up</a> much the same way. At $50 a month you get a license to EVERY Adobe CS6 product that is available and publishing space. I'm a member and I love it.<br />
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So time will tell if these subscription based software applications will stick. The Adobe CS6 Master Collection is $2600, so that's like 4.3 years of use. I'm sure by then there will be CS7...so it's a win win I think. Same probably goes for Office 2013. The last version was 2010, so in 2016 when the new Office version comes out, all the subscribers will have access, while those that just bought licenses will have to buy new ones. It is nice that you can decide.<br />
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<span id="goog_744477556"></span><span id="goog_744477557"></span><br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-47304129216541576372013-02-13T11:01:00.000-08:002013-02-13T12:56:32.354-08:00Our interview with the Idaho Business Review<h3>
1. What sets your company apart from the rest? In what ways are you unique, different, better?</h3>
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There are a lot of people who can fix a computer or a network. Defining a niche' is such a competitive marketplace isn't easy. It has taken year and years of really listening to out customers, both the good and the bad. What we have found, is that people want someone they can truly trust. Price isn't the number 1 deciding factor when it comes to choosing an IT professional When a computer or network is down, it's a stressful situation and downtime can be costly, so people just want someone who is not only trustworthy , but knowledgeable and RESPONSIVE. Most folks can't afford to wait around for hours or sometimes days, for a vendor to return their call or come back from vacation to get them up and running. We take that very seriously. That's why we are available <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">24x7x365</a>. We answer the phone. We respond to your messages and emails. We follow through. YOU are who keeps our doors open!</div>
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2. Company Story (history, background, mission statement, company values, slogan):</h3>
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Treasure Valley IT was founded in 2006 by Michael Lukes, Rebecca Yeager, and Brian Stogsdill. The basis for it? We knew we could provide this trustworthy and responsive support that none of us had experienced with other vendors. We knew we could speak to you in a language that you could actually understand. We knew you wanted someone that could just handle everything and not pass the buck. And we knew we could provide it at a reasonable rate. Fast forward 6 years. We joined forces with the 12 year old company Cutting Edge Networks in January of 2012, along with the majority of it's staff and clientele. The founder, Shawn Schnitker, is now a partner with TVIT. The partners all have the same fundamental values that drives our business - our employees and our customers.</div>
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3. Community Involvement: </h3>
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<a href="http://www.tvit.net/" target="_blank">TVIT</a> is actively in the business community in the Treasure Valley. We participate in numerous events each year. We are proud accredited members of the Better Business Bureau. </div>
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4. Recent Success Stories (awards, milestones, achievements):</h3>
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Anytime a customer is dissatisfied to the point they leave us, I assure you we want to know what went wrong and how to best avoid it in the future. One of our business customers replaced us with another local IT provider because they though they might get better service for a better price. They quickly, within 4 weeks, realized the level of dedication we at TVIT provided them. It's never a fun experience but it is humbling and an inevitable part of doing business. We define success by customer satisfaction and their overall experience with us. We know people have choices when it comes to IT, and we recognize how important new and existing customers are. </div>
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5. Plans for the future:</h3>
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We are in a hiring frenzy for the last quarter of 2012. Our explosive growth since the merger with Cutting Edge Networks has afforded us the opportunity to expand not only in the Treasure Valley, but into other markets such as Twin Falls. We are simultaneously growing the sales development team, and technical engineering team. We are also excited to bring on 2 full time help desk technicians to offer instantaneous support when customers call in.</div>
TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-1486410353957791462013-02-05T12:00:00.000-08:002013-02-07T09:58:29.118-08:00Tech Upgrades for a more Effecient Small BusinessBeing effective with your time and effort is crucial for a small business (big business too, really). So one way to help is to optimize your technology. Work easier, not harder.<br />
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So here are some simple and fairly inexpensive ways to optimize your office!</div>
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<b>Dual Monitors! -</b><br />
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I couldn't imagine life without them. I personally do all sorts of work with computers from purchasing for TVIT, to Graphics and Web Design at home. I will generally have information on one monitor and my quote/purchase order/or website back end, up on the other monitor. It saves so much time not having to flip back and forth between windows or panels. This gets especially slow when you have several windows open at once, which I generally do. The set up can be fast and easy. You may need a dual monitor capable video card but they are very affordable. Monitors too have dropped in price considerably. The setup on your system takes a couple tweaks once you've got all the hardware, and <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">we can help</a> you with that quickly!</div>
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In fact here's an article that details just how great multiple monitors can be!</div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/technology/for-multitaskers-multiple-monitors-improve-office-efficiency.html?pagewanted=all&_r=3&" target="_blank">Dual Montiors</a></div>
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<b>Upgrade your RAM -</b><br />
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If you can upgrade your RAM that is. If your computer is older than 4-5 years old, you may be maxed out. Ram gives you a snappier performance. I like snappy! A funny thing about RAM however, is that the older and more out of date the type you need, the more expensive it is going to be. Also there are lots of different aspects to making sure you are getting the RIGHT RAM. So give us a call to help you with that! <a href="http://tvit.net/" target="_blank">(367-1000)</a></div>
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<br /><b>Upgrade to SSD's, or Solid State Drives -</b></h2>
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This is a bit more pricey depending on how many machines you want to upgrade, and if you don't know how to switch out hard drives (it can be tricky) then consider the labor cost involved as well.<br />
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Cost aside, there are a LOT of benefits to solid state drives. Hard disk drives, which are the ones you are probably using now, have a spinning disk inside. Anything with moving parts has a finite life span and finite speed. Well a solid state drive is, well, solid. As far as we can tell they have no definite life span, and a failed hard drive is a VERY common reason to get an entirely people get an entirely new system.<br />
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They are also super fast. You can boot up your system faster, access information faster, and run programs faster. The immediate noticeable effect of upgrading to a SSD is even more substantial to that of upgrading your RAM. But remember, there is a bit more cost involved. It can take several hours for a technician to get it switched out.</div>
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<br />Upgrade your internet - </h2>
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Are you sitting at your desk twinning your thumbs waiting for a page to load? Well that's not time spent very productively! Ask your internet provider if you are utilizing the fastest connection available to you. Better yet, ask SEVERAL internet providers what they offer. You'll be informed on the going rates across the board and the companies may even haggle for your business. </div>
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The speed also relies on your equipment being up to date. I had a residential client call me a couple months ago with internet speed problems. They had just upgraded their service to a higher speed package, but with little noticeable increase. Turns out they had an older version modem and router that could only support lower speeds. Their equipment was essentially bottle necking their speed. I suggested they call their ISP (internet service provider) and see if that equipment was theirs or on lease. Turns out they were leasing it and were available for a free upgrade with no additional cost to them. So the lesson here is that it doesn't hurt to ask. If you've been using your service providers equipment for as long as you can remember it may be time to trade up!<br />
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Is your internet and equipment is up-to-date but you're STILL not getting adequate speeds? There could be some simple reasons why. How many people in the office are listening to music at their desks? Let's say you have three people out of ten people listening to a streaming music service, like Pandora, from their work internet connection. Well that is roughly 50mb an HOUR per user. That can add up. More importantly, that's 50mb of bandwidth that is being used for music and not actual internet speed. Additionally, if your internet plan gives you X amount of GB of bandwidth monthly, you will get charged for every GB that goes over. One full day of Pandora for ONE user is half of a GB. If that person is full time that will equal almost 10GB a month. Now if you have multiple people using that service, you can see how that adds up quickly.<br />
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We have a NO-STREAMING music rule here in our office. I get to cheat and play Pandora off my phone because I have an unlimited data plan with my phone carrier. If you do to, just plug your speaker jack into your phone and stream away. But just like internet, if you DON'T have unlimited data on your phone, the overage charges can be high.<br />
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Same rules go for Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, Torrent....it all adds up.<br />
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Another thing that could be slowing you down is malicious infections. Viruses and Malware could be running things on your system that are taking up bandwidth that you are completely unaware of. If it can happen to me it can happen to you. I recently moved into a new house and had my internet service moved over as well. Same equipment, same setup. I got an infection somehow and my monthly bill shot up $50 because my usage <i>DOUBLED!</i> Well I knew that wasn't true. I looked at my day to day usage charts from my ISP's web page and I was using roughly 5-10 GB a DAY! I am generally gone on the weekends and was not home AT ALL over Christmas. I ran full scans with my virus and malware protection software and sure enough, I had gotten infected somehow. The problem is now fixed, but that was an expensive lesson.<br />
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TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-49049205994440749212013-02-01T12:00:00.002-08:002013-02-01T12:00:34.556-08:00January a productive month for VirusesIt's only barely 2013 but cyber criminals are already hard at work.<br />
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The most popular viruses known so far this year are called Ransomware. It infects your system and literally takes control or your computer, blocking your access to most of it's functions. They like to disguise themselves often time by giving itself a government name. We've had a handful of clients calling us with suspicious "FBI Warnings". If the FBI is asking you for money via a pop-up....don't call them! Call <i><b><a href="http://www.tvit.net/" target="_blank">US!</a></b></i><br />
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So here's the million dollar question.....How to you protect yourself? make sure that you are keeping everything up to date. Run your updates when they come in. Even better have them set up to run automatically. And even better than THAT is to sign up with our managed services and we'll make sure they're running FOR you! Also make sure that you're scanning your computer every couple weeks with your antivirus. Just having it installed on your computer doesn't completely protect you, you have to actually USE it!<br />
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So this year may be productive for malware and viruses, but you don't have to be a victim. Be diligent, and double think before you double click!<br />
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<i><br /></i>TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-61500898893208903022013-01-29T12:27:00.000-08:002013-01-29T12:28:58.179-08:00Microsoft Office Mixes it up AGAINThere's a new Microsoft operating system (Microsoft 8), and now there's a new version of Microsoft Office as well. Microsoft is calling it.....drum roll.....Microsoft Office 2013! But it's also called Microsoft Office 365 for the yearly subscription option. Let me explain....<br />
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If you have a new machine and you needed Microsoft Office installed, you bought the version you needed, and that was that. Now they are leaning consumers toward a yearly subscription and will be charging a yearly fee. Hence the Microsoft Office 365 nomenclature.<br />
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Home Premium 365 includes the line up of programs that were included in Office Professional 2010. This includes: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. The one year subscription will be $100 dollars for up to five PC's.<br />
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Small Business Premium has everything Office Professionalism Plus 2010 included. This has everything listed above plus InfoPath, Access, InfoPath, Communicator, and Sharepoint. This will run you $150 a year PER user.<br />
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Both subscription versions come with some extra swag:<br />
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Home Premium gives you 60 Skype minutes a month and 20 GB of extra SkyDrive storage in addition to the free 7GB already included.<br />
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Small Business Premium customers will get get Exchange Hosting through Office 365, with a 25 GB mailbox and shared calendars. There is also 10GB of Sharepoint storage for your organization and an additional 500 MB of Sharepoint storage per user. The Lync software also gives you free video conferencing and screen sharing.<br />
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If you don't like the subscription model you can still buy the more traditional software style of Office 2013, but you'll notice a significant price hike. And like 2010, are only available to install on one machine.<br />
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<a href="http://tvit.net/" target="_blank">Like always, give us a ring or shoot us an email with any questions!</a>TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-24699253718398877072013-01-22T12:23:00.000-08:002013-01-22T12:23:42.664-08:00Maximizing your RouterNine times out of ten, your router is just fine as is, but there are ways to ensure that you are maximizing your router's capabilities.<br />
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The first rule seems counter productive, but use wires whenever possible. A wired Ethernet connection will always be your fastest option. This means that if your computer is sitting three feet away from your wireless router, just connect them via an Ethernet cable, and save the wireless for your laptops and tablets.<br />
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Next, you will want to choose the best wireless channel. The biggest thing that slows down a wifi signal is OTHER wifi signals from other routers in your area. Most routers will default to channel 6 or channel 11. So those channels can get easily crowded. There's an easy way to check this if you have a wireless smart phone or tablet. Or I guess I should say, "There's an app for that".<br />
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<a href="http://tools.meraki.com/stumbler#q=" target="_blank">Wifi Stumbler</a><br />
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Simply pick the channel with the least traffic. You don't have to fully understand why picking channels likes this changes the strength of your signal, only that you want the least congested highway. You can change the channel in the administration page like we went over in the last post.<br />
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Another thing you can do is tweak your routers power Also in the admin page is a selection called "TX Power". Boosting it too much can have adverse effects so keep it around 70 mW. Going much higher can cause your router to overheat and even die. Some routers don't have this option at all.<br />
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Make sure to turn off all wifi devices while not in use. Those devices just sitting there doing there thing, running updates, calibrating with GPS, keeping you up to date on the weather, whatever, is still a transfer of information that is taking up a piece of your wifi highway.TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-41529624696358016292013-01-16T15:33:00.002-08:002013-01-16T15:39:43.371-08:00Understanding Your Router's Admin PageOK, so in our last router lesson we went over the basics of the hardware. Now we are going to take a look at the settings. You won't necessarily need to change ALL the sections of your admin page, but it is helpful to understand them and what they do.<br />
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The first thing we have to do is GET to the admin page. You will need to know your router's IP. It is 9 times out of 10 printed on a sticker on the back or the bottom of the router. It will be something like: 192.168.0.1. You will need to connect it to a computer via a wire for this set up process. Then open up your web browser; Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc. In the address bar type in the IP that we found on the router. You don't need to type www or anything like that. Just type the IP. It will then ask you for the user name and password. A lot of routers will have a default one that hopefully you know. If you don't try googling it. I had to look up mine and it was Admin/Motorola. Once you get into the setup pages, you can change the username and password.<br />
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First things first and it's a fun one!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Naming Your Router</span></b><br />
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That's right you get to name it. This is technically it's "SSID" or service set identifier. Have you ever searched for a network and seen all kinds of interesting options like "New Kids on the Block" "Rosco's Rocking Hot Spot"? Well those are SSID's that people designated. Mine is called "Sarah_The_Dinosaur". Why? Well because my favorite stuffed animal is Sarah and she is a dinosaur.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Choose Your Broadcast Mode</b></span><br />
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Like we mentioned in our speed test blog post, wireless N is the fastest. You can choose to broadcast both N and G but this will slow your speeds over all. If you can just broadcast N do that. But make sure that your devices are N compatible. All new devices will be. If you're not sure, just choose N and G. It might be called "mixed".<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Security</b></span><br />
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This is an important one for obvious reasons. This is where you enter your password. Mine is a combination of letters and numbers. I use numbers for some of the letters. Like this:<br />
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">S33 Jan3 4un f457 </b>(make sense? It says: See Jane run fast)<br />
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You'll have an option to choose what type of encryption. Generally the options are WEP, WPA, WPA2. WEP tends to be the easier setting to crack. Choose WPA2 if it's an option, choose WPA if 2 is not available.<br />
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So there's the basics. There's a lot more in there as you can see but this will get you in there and running safely with encrypted password protection! <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">Call us if you would like our help and show you all the settings.</a><br />
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-77110308546094091732013-01-15T11:34:00.003-08:002013-01-15T11:34:36.715-08:00Is your internet fast enough?With internet speeds as fast as you are these days, it may be difficult to tell if your getting optimal performance. Connection speed really is a quality of life issue, your virtual life that is. Many of our day to day applications depend on the speed of your connection. Applications like Netflix, Youtube, and Pandora, are all reliant on the speed of your internet. On the flip side you may not need blazing fast speeds. No one needs to drive a Ferrari to the grocery store. If you're watching Netflix in the living room while you have a couple kids in their rooms streaming music, and also watching some business tutorials...and things are getting slow....you have a problem.<br />
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The first thing to determine is how fast your speed really is. This is fairly easy to do as there are several on line sites that will test your connectivity. I like to use <a href="http://www.speedtest.net/" target="_blank">THIS SITE. </a> Just hit the go button and it does the rest.<br />
But how do interpreted the results? You don't want less then around 2 megabytes per second if your streaming <a href="http://tvit.net/residentialservices/hardwaresupport" target="_blank">ANYTHING</a>. This would be considered light usage. Moderate usage would be around three simultaneous users using high definition media. Suggested speeds for this would be 6Mbps to 12Mbps. Heavy usage would be four or more people using HD streaming of movies, videos or large files. For this type of usage you would want around 15Mbps.<br />
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There's also different TYPES of connections; Dial-up, DSL, Cable, and Fiber-optic. That list in order of speed with Fiber-optic connection only available in very select areas. Cable internet is available all throughout the Treasure Valley and is recommended if you want to do any streaming.<br />
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You want to make sure that you are getting the speeds that you are paying for. Ask your internet service provider for the speeds in your internet package, then perform the speed test that we went over. It is best to connect to your modem with a wire instead of wirelessly when conducting the test as the test will show results of your router's speed and not your actual connection which often times will be slower. Connecting directly to the modem with a wire will give you the best speeds. If you need to rely on a wireless connection make sure that you are keeping the software up-to-date. Also look for the term "802.11.n". 802.11 means it is a wifi product, and the N is the fastest version of hardware currently available.<br />
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Just like you want a current router, you will also need a current modem. If you have been using the same modem with your internet service provider for years then it's probably time to upgrade. If your connection speeds are fast but your hardware is out-of-date, you won't be properly utilizing your internet.<br />
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There are other things that can slow your speeds as well. Viruses and Spyware can dramatically slow your browsing speeds. So make sure you have antivirus and malware installed and are using it properly. Installing protection is NOT enough, you have to run scans and make sure it is staying updated.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGjMUlsnEFjuA6aXF4khnCM0Huirl_TmpD4oOMASY6OE3YaDzx9UM1xcOPRmiDTuGU7GoahV8MNz-iukGflAo0a05OVu50an2_3XMT2etzUcOAtse3O8GhA9Gq4ucVnQTds82CVjBQmk/s1600/googly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGjMUlsnEFjuA6aXF4khnCM0Huirl_TmpD4oOMASY6OE3YaDzx9UM1xcOPRmiDTuGU7GoahV8MNz-iukGflAo0a05OVu50an2_3XMT2etzUcOAtse3O8GhA9Gq4ucVnQTds82CVjBQmk/s320/googly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
So to answer the question just ask yourself if you get frustrated with your connection speed? If you do run a speed test, check the age of your hardware, and find out what type of connection you have. There are tons of upgrading options if you know what you need. And remember, you can always <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">ask for us to come</a> and audit your set up and determine if an upgrade would be a good idea for you!TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-77935343830254870182013-01-11T08:47:00.002-08:002013-01-11T08:47:43.540-08:00The Future is here and Google is driving!<br />
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Video chat, commercial space flight, robotic surgery, self-driving
cars….have you noticed that the future is here? It interesting that as a child
it seemed everyone thought that once we had video chat we had really moved
forward as a society. Now that’s here, turns out no one really cares. It’s more
trouble than it’s worth, especially considering you should probably put on
pants and act like you’re really listening. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Commercial space flight is awesome and all, but still not a
lot of people can afford it. Robotic surgery has sent us leaps forward in terms
of precision and keeping wounds clean reducing accounts of post surgery
infection.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But how in the world are there self-driving cars? You know
the one; Google’s street view car is completely self-propelled and navigated. The
fleet of Priuses has logged nearly 200,000 miles. These miles include
everything from inner cities to mountain trails. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The car’s computer is programmed with all the appropriate
traffic laws. There is a “Velodyne 64-beam laser” mounted on the roof that
creates a detailed 3D map of the cars surroundings allowing it to interpret it’s
path and avoid obstacles. This is made even smooth with other sensors
including: four radars, a camera that interprets traffic lights, a GPS, an
internal measuring device, and wheel encoder. All these different sensors are
essential as relying on GPS alone could result in several meters of error. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YXylqtEQ0tk" target="_blank">Here is a video overview of the Google car.</a></div>
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The car knows to yield when appropriate but has also been programmed to be aggressive when necessary. For instance at a four way stop if
the other cars are not allowing the Google mobile to proceed, the car will
begin to advance to show the other cars it’s intention. Without a more aggressive
approach around human drivers the car would never make it in the real world.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This could lead to a convenient service of automated rides
throughout cities and towns. Just tap on your smart phone app and a self-driving
car would appear and take you <a href="http://www.tvit.net/" target="_blank">where you needed to go</a> while you caught up on your
email or applied your makeup.<o:p></o:p></div>
TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-60765888098370542472013-01-02T09:57:00.003-08:002013-01-02T10:21:25.083-08:00Router Hardware: 101Your router is what connects your home and office network to each other and the web. (Most of the time, but we won't be getting into all that right now).<br />
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A router is NOT a modem. These two pieces of hardware do two different things. There are modems that double also broadcast a wireless signal, but they still have different functions.<br />
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The modem is your house or offices connection to the internet. Your router connects all your computers and your modem together. The router enables data to be transferred from point to point. This data can include the internet connection that the modem provides. So by connecting the modem to the router and then multiple computers to the router, they are able to share a data connection.<br />
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Most modems can only direct data to a single computer. A router can connect to several computers, but cannot connect to the internet alone.<br />
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Anything that gets data from the router, like your computer, a tablet, a printer, etc., is referred to as a client. Each client gets their own IP address that is like it's ID. Your modem gets a GLOBAL IP, while your clients get LOCAL IP's. Think of it like this: Your modem is the street, and the global IP is the street name, while your clients local IP's are like the individual house numbers.<br />
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Now there are wired and wireless routers. This is pretty straight forward. Wired connections are going to befaster, and generally more reliable, so if you can hard wire computers that aren't moving around a lot do that. For your mobile devices like your tablet, phone, and laptop, or even a computer at the far end of the house, connect via the wireless connection. Most people have a mixture of both.<br />
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Throughput is the speed of the data transfer. The speed of the data transfer depends on what "standard" the wireless router uses. The most common are 802.11g and 802.11n, (or commonly known as wireless G or Wireless N). Wireless N is faster, but also more expensive.<br />
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Another aspect that determines speed is the wireless card in your client. Older laptops will only have a wireless G, so updating your router won't make the speed any faster. If you have a mix of wireless G and N in your home or office, you have set your routers to "Mixed Mode" which will support both. This will compromise the speed of the N clients, so if you can have everything on your network run N, that's the way to go.<br />
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Wired Throughput's have two speeds: 10/100 or 10/100/1000 (or gigabit). If all you're connecting to a router is one computer, the 10/100 should be fine. If you are transferring data from computer to computer however, you'll want the faster router.<br />
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Range is another thing to consider with your routers. If you have a large house or office and the router is at one side it may not reach the other side. Wireless N has a larger range than wireless G. There are ways to extend the range. You can purchase a wireless extender, or wireless repeater. You also have the option of using a power line adapter which uses the electrical wiring to connect to the router via an ethernet cable. A little trickier <a href="http://www.tvit.net/" target="_blank">but that's what we're here for!</a><br />
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And for a big one: SECURITY!<br />
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You should ALWAYS protect your wireless network with a password. WPA2 is currently the most secure type. Some of the older devices will only have WEP. Some routers also offer a "guest network" which will give people (like customers or guests) access to the internet without access to your computers or data.<br />
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If you think you need a router, or need to upgrade yours be wary of on line reviews. There are a lot of factors involved with the effectiveness of a router. It depends of its environment, how it's used, or even what kind of interference is in the area. <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">Please don't hesitate to let us help pick the best option for you!</a><br />
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-83172693751926211922012-12-26T08:08:00.000-08:002012-12-26T08:09:10.226-08:00Congratulations to Nik Lewis for earning his CCNA Certificate!!One of out techs just passed the CCNA. What is the CCNA? you ask. I'll tell ya.<br />
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The CCNA is by definition:<br />
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The CCNA certificate validates the ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-size routed and switched networks, including implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN.<br />
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Basically this means you're a pro at your knowledge of installing, troubleshooting, and operating an enterprise on a branched network. So when you have several workstations in an office that are all networked together that is a LAN, or a Local Area Network. When you have an office in one place and a workstations in another location that need access to that network, that is a WAN, or a Wide Area Network. This involves setting up security, network types, routing and switching, IP addressing, establishing point to point connections, etc.<br />
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We continue to challenge ourselves to bring you the most knowledgeable and certified staff that we can. The more we know the <a href="http://tvit.net/company/blog" target="_blank">better we can help you with your IT needs quickly and efficiently.</a><br />
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TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-71823289398671775672012-12-18T07:43:00.001-08:002012-12-18T07:43:30.884-08:00Home gadgets review from the consumer reports to me to you!<br />
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What do computers and blenders have in common? Well technology of course. It's all science and invention and a lot of these gadgets have computers in them.<br />
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<b><i>Kenmore Elite 7206 Grab-N-Go</i></b><br />
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It has a door in a door. In other words you can snack items and beverages in the little door so you're not standing with large doors open looking for a juice box. Convenience and energy saving!<br />
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<b><i>LG WM8000H(V) Front Loading Washing Machine</i></b><br />
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Not only is it large capacity, but loads in the front, can take a beating, and is energy efficient.<br />
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<b><i>Vitamix 5200 Blender</i></b><br />
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This is the top rated blender beating out 50 other blenders for the top spot. At a whopping $450 price tag you may be wondering, <i>whhaaaaat?! </i>If you're making smolthies every morning and perhaps have a newborn and want to make your own baby food then this thing is for you. It has power and is easy to clean. But if you're like me and only use your blender once or twice a year for Pina Coladas, then it's a bit over the top.<br />
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<b><i>Wolf R484DG</i></b><br />
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It's a $10,000 kitchen range with two ovens, four burners, and a dual 22 by 18 griddle. I'm a cook, this is awesome, but totally out of my price range. But I tell you what, if I had that kind of money laying around, this would definitely be on my wish list!<br />
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-47208662968307586502012-12-14T10:03:00.000-08:002012-12-14T10:04:44.924-08:00Cheap Smart Phones to be the Norm by 2017You know the longer something is on the market the cheaper it gets? As new models or better technology are available, the existing tech becomes more accessible.<br />
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Currently the iPhone 5 and the Samsung III are the two most popular phones with consumers right now. The 16GB iPhone 5 will set you back around $1000, but are sometimes available for around $200...with a two year mobile phone and data service agreement that is. What a lot of people don't know, is that there are ALWAYS cheaper smart phone options for you.<br />
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I worked for a major phone retailer for about a year. I was there when the iPhone 4 was almost out and the Galaxy S II, or the HTC Sensation were the hottest things you could carry in your pocket. However, we had Android phones that were priced, full retail, around $200. Often these more affordable were free with contract.<br />
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What was the biggest difference between the $700 dollar phone and the $200 phone? A big one was screen resolution and size. The larger, pricier phones had larger, clearer screens. The Galaxy phone series were known for coming pre-loaded with HD movies like Avatar and Inception. Their cameras were also quite fancy, sometimes exceeding 8mpx. The cheaper versions didn't come with a block buster movie, but they had decent cameras. <a href="http://tvit.net/residentialservices/hardwaresupport" target="_blank">Most had around 3-5mpx.</a><br />
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The most popular feature of a smart phone is of course the "smart" part. In other words it's data. The smaller phones had the same android market as the big boys. They also had GPS, multiple screens, you name it. The phone was just as smart, just maybe not so flashy.<br />
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When I left, we had a smart phone with the same screen size and the giant Sensation, and a 5mpx camera, but made with lighter and cheaper plastics. The processor was not a dual core, but neither was the big Galaxy. That smaller phone went for around $175. It was free with contract. Not only was it VERY similar to the bigger, shinier phones, but you had four colors to choose from.<br />
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So now lets look to the future when this tech is old and the new is coming. That $175 dollar phone will be the one they lend out to get people by while there new phones are getting shipped in. The $800 dollar phones will be $175, and the latest and greatest model available will probably do your dishes.TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-41784702067743460862012-12-12T08:46:00.004-08:002012-12-12T08:46:45.599-08:00Lenovo to release Professional PowerhouseLenovo, one of our favorite brands for both laptops and desktops, is releasing a new touch-optimized, Windows 8, business class notebook. Lenovo is taking advantage of Windows 8 design of focusing on touch surfaces. The Operating systems was born for this.<br />
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The notebook will come with either an i5 or i7 processor, that's quick, and slim 14 inch, 3lb design. The system also went forward with opting for a solid state drive, the next step in hard drive technology. The i5 model will have 4gb of ram and the i7 will double that to 8gb.<br />
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Preorders start at $1,499 and will begin to ship out December 21st. This is no joke, beefy, durable, professional machine. <a href="http://www.tvit.net/" target="_blank">Call for more details or to order!</a><br />
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TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-82078246079065097622012-12-11T12:19:00.001-08:002012-12-11T12:19:56.974-08:00Considering the Cloud to store YOUR data?Amazon, among the millions of other things they do for you, is now offering a service called Redshift. Redshift is basically a cloud based warehouse. Cloud based storage is a low cost option to building internal infrastructure that needs to be maintained.<br />
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Most companies would agree that affordable is a big bonus. Cloud storage, however, leaves some people leery about security. How safe is your businesses sensitive information from security breeches to corruption? Also one aspect that needs to be considered is the amount of bandwidth that will be used for the actual transferring of data. You could quickly use up your monthly quota if you have one in place by your internet service provider.<br />
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Redshift claims it can store and manage data at around $1000 per terabyte per year. Compare that with a lot of on site services that will cost $25,000 or more. This sort of data storage and analyses is generally used by large businesses. Thanks to the cloud, now small businesses have an option they can afford.<br />
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-62859211041907956892012-12-10T08:30:00.001-08:002012-12-10T12:22:16.301-08:00911 text service coming in 2014This is really good idea and probably one that you're surprised hasn't been implemented YET!<br />
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In a lot of emergency situations victims can't talk or are afraid to. A large percentage of people in need of help have texted friends for support instead of calling 911. It's fast, it's easy, and emergency dispatch is 20 years behind the curve on this one.<br />
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The first step is to set up an automated response message explaining that their message was NOT received. until the infrastructure is in place, it is imperative that people know they can't reach responders this way.<br />
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Technology has been an ongoing challenge for the emergency systems that we have relied on. Landlines were easy to pinpoint location. Each line was installed at a particular address and they didn't move. With cell phones it got a lot trickier. This lead to pin pointing possible areas by determining what tower the signal came from. This is was not as easy as it sounds however, as it opens doors for law enforcement to trace peoples locations. There is a fine line between protecting our privacy and protecting our lives.<br />
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<a href="http://tvit.net/company/blog" target="_blank">With a 911 text service this could be easily over come. If a person texts 911 it could be assumed they WANT their location traced. I surely would.</a><br />
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-69123325577853161222012-12-06T08:41:00.002-08:002012-12-06T08:41:52.895-08:00Death of the disc driveburning a disc is soon to be a thing of the past. CD's, DVD's....personally I don't don't even own any, (albeit my Bollywood Collection. They are too obscure still in the states to find downloads).<div>
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Not only does the device in your machine that reads the discs take up valuable space, but most of the information we get from them is available in streaming or downloadable content. This even includes software. </div>
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The new iMac was released this week sans an optical drive. It's the first computer to be released without one, but will definitely not be the last.</div>
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Information is stored in sleeker and faster fashions these days. How many people do you know that carry around thumb drives? I have two in my purse right now. I think one has some digital art work on for impromptu portfolio viewing, and the other has a few episodes of Adventure Time. These drives are getting smaller and smaller but the storage space is getting bigger and bigger. You can fit several gigabytes in the size of your pinky. You can't fit that much on a disc. Not to mention that discs are just so fragile that they are a pain to travel with.</div>
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This has been prevalent, almost painfully, in the music industry. I can't remember the last time I bought a CD. By car doesn't even have a CD player, but it does have an auxiliary jack. In fact, I think my PC is the only thing in my house that can play music CD's. Maybe my Xbox can? I don't even know.</div>
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Don't panic yet. If you end up with a PC that has no optical drive and still have all your information via burned disc you can purchase an external optical drive that simply plugs into a USB cable. </div>
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You may, however, want to consider backing up your data onto an external drive. <a href="http://tvit.net/" target="_blank">We can help you out with this.</a> A Terabyte drive is only around $100 and that is enough space for 10,737,418 pictures. Or you can fit roughly 5000 movies! The point is, it's a TON of space. The drives take up less than a square foot. Think about how much space all those discs and discs racks take up? Too much we say.</div>
TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-79749385752404479392012-12-05T08:17:00.001-08:002012-12-05T08:18:07.690-08:00The computers in your carThe first self propelled mechanic vehicle was created in 1769 by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in France. It was far from a car, in fact, it was a steam powered tri-cycle. This was 167 years before the first programmable computer came around in 1936.<br />
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<a href="http://tvit.net/company/blog" target="_blank">Today the two are intertwined. Cars that is, not steam powered tri-cycled. But what do they do?</a></div>
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Today's cars could have as many 50 micro processors in them. This may complicate the do it yourself system, but they do make it easier to service your car professionally. Some of the tasks of these processors are:</div>
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Sophisticated engine controls to meet emissions and fuel economy needs.</div>
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Advanced diagnostics.</div>
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Safety features.</div>
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And my favorite part, convenience. </div>
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Controlling the engine is the most processor intensive job in your vehicle. It keeps track of coolant levels, temperature, exhaust....and calculating the results to determine the best spark timing, or how open the fuel injection should go. </div>
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Another area where creating computerized communication standards is called the "Instrument Cluster". This cluster gathers and displays data from various parts of the vehicle. There's a LOT more to it then that, but it has to do with car makers being able to tell the cluster makers the car specifications which makes panel design easier. Well that's part of it. </div>
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Car computers handle "Multiplexing". This means sending power to the appropriate switch. Think of all the switches just on your door; windows, mirrors, locks, etc. The multiplexing keeps the wiring from getting out of control. </div>
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These are just a couple tasks that computers do in your vehicle, and these are the ones you don't see. Think of your speedometer, GPS, radio....they're everywhere.</div>
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TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-54652552539136483392012-12-04T09:29:00.001-08:002012-12-04T11:21:35.250-08:00Don't want to get sick? Don't lick a toilet seat.<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Our last lesson didn't stick so we're going to reiterate with some gruesome analogies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One thing we deal with in our office ALL. THE. TIME. is viruses. And not just viruses, repeated viruses from the SAME PEOPLE.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost 100% of the time our customer is verklemped as to how in the world did they get a virus when they have antivirus. And not only antivirus, but anti-virus that we, your IT company, provided to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ok, here's the deal party people. It's flu season. So what do you do? You go and you get a flu shot. You eat all of your veggies and buy yourself some oranges. You get plenty of sleep and even make it to the gym. Are you going to be impervious to influenza? NOOOOO you are not. You go lick that toilet seat and no amount of multi-vitamins are going to save your intestine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In other words: having an antivirus installed in you system is a good road block but it does not mean that you will 100% be immune to viruses. This is especially true if you are engaging in risky behavior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now don't be offended. Seemingly innocent acts can wreak havoc on your machine. We're not trying to say you're doing anything you shouldn't be doing, but we are saying be aware that you are not invincible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are some ways that you can pick up a virus:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1. You get a pop up that says your computer is infected and you have to click the pop up for the fix. This pop up may even have the name of your anit-virus on it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2. When you're installing new software and it prompts you to install secondary software. This is VERY common. Just say no to additional software!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">3. Not running your operating systems updates. An out of date OS is more vulnerable to infection.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">4. Being a pirate, and we don't mean the scurvy kind. Downloading software, music, movies, TV shows, books....you name it....and it is VERY risky.</span><br />
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<a href="http://tvit.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5. Opening an infected email. THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE REASON WE GET INFECTED MACHINES IN THE OFFICE. You can have a spam blocker on your email and still get malicious emails. If it looks unfamiliar it probably isn't a good idea to click on that link. Like we showed you in a previous newsletter, hover your mouse, WITHOUT CLICKING, over any links and read the address that pops up. Look suspicious? It probably is. We can not stress this enough. Just because you have Outlook, with spam filter, and anti-virus does not mean that EVERY email in your inbox is safe. You still need to use your common sense. A customer recently called in with ANOTHER virus on two of their office machines. They clicked on the same email. The email was from UPS and claimed they tried to deliver a package and couldn't. It prompted them to click the link for delivery information. UPS doesn't email links like this. They will generally leave you a paper receipt with a tracking number. Just because you recognize the company doesn't mean it's real. Be VERY careful if it looks at all out of the ordinary. For instance: This paragraph is a link. Hover over it and read the address. It may show you the address in a pop up window or at the bottom of the window. It should say TVIT.net, and that's legitimate! But if it said something like: http://yourasucker.net/thisfolder/worms/spiderface....then its bad.</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">5(continued). Email attachments. Most email providers are set to download attachments automatically. You may want to block this and set up attachments to download upon approval. Some of our customers go a little too far in this department and block ALL attachments. This is not a good idea as any forms, invoices, bills, etc, will be sent to you this way and will now be sent directly to your spam or rejected all together. I get a lot of returned email when a customer asks for quote to be sent to them just for me to get a failure notice. I then have to ask them if they have attachments blocked which almost always leads to a service call from a technician to get them UN BLOCKED and that costs money.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">6. Games. Free gaming sites can be loaded with bad ju-ju.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are different types of infections as well, not just viruses.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Viruses: a virus is a small piece of software that piggy backs on real programs. Example: a virus might attach itself to a program or a spreadsheet. Each time the program or spread sheet runs the virus has a chance to reproduce.</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">E-mail: An e-mail virus travels as an attachment to email messages, and usually replicates itself by automatically emailing itself to dozens of people in the victims address book. Some viruses don't even require you to click, but rather will infect you by simply viewing the message.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Trojan Horse: this is a program. The program claims to do one thing, like a game, but instead damages your system when you run it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Worms: A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks, like your office, and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of a worm scans networks for another machine that has a specific security hole. It then copies itself to the new machine within that security hole and starts the process over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">So just keep in mind that it happens to everyone and no one is 100% protected. Computing just doesn't work that way. Just keep diligent and be picky about what you click on and where you go!</span></span></div>
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-51711920688985319252012-11-27T09:12:00.002-08:002012-11-27T09:13:58.184-08:00The revolving door that is the Windows Presidents office.Steven Sinofsky unexpectedly left his seat as President of Windows Division at Microsoft on November 12. In 2006, CEO Steve Balmer appointed five presidents for five divisions of Microsoft. Sinfsky was president of Windows and Windows Live.<br />
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Sinofsky is just one of several Microsoft Executives that have left in the past four years, many of whom are still in the running to potentially be the heir to the CEO. The list goes as follows;<br />
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1. Jeff Raikes.<br />
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He was with Microsoft for 27 years. With extensive experience designing Office programs he was promoted to VP of Microsoft Office, and retired as president of the Information Worker business line. He is now the president of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.<br />
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2. J. Allard<br />
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J is best known for his work with XBox, Zune and Kin. He helped drive the path of Microsoft toward the cloud. He left shortly after Microsoft sided with the tablet friendly Windows 8 instead of his own two-screen tablet.<br />
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3. Robbie Bach<br />
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Robbie was head of the business end of things. When he left in 2010 he was the president of Entertainment and Devises.<br />
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4. Stephen Elop<br />
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he left to help Nokia as he is now their current CEO. He has the least amount of Microsoft under his belt as he was only there from 2008 until 2010.<br />
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5. Ray Ozzie<br />
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Ray left suddenly for unknown reasons. Could be the slow progress of cloud computing. He developed several products that were handed over to Sinofsky's team, and then killed. I would be mad to.<br />
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6. Bob Muglia<br />
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Muglia was president of the Server and Tools Division. He notoriously did not get along with Sinofsky, and with his foundation in hardware, it proved a rough transition to a cloud based environment.<br />
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7. Andy Lees<br />
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Not exactly fired in 2011, Lees was President of the Windows Phone Division. He was sidelined in 2011 but made a comeback in 2012 when brokering an agreement with Barnes and Noble that lead to the joint Nook Tablet venture. This upped him to Corporate Vice President.<br />
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8. Paul Maritz<br />
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Paul was with Microsoft for 14 years managing Windows 95, NT, and Internet Explorer. He left and became lead of rival VMware, and later EMC. <a href="http://tvit.net/" target="_blank">A definite contender to replace Ballmer.</a><br />
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<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-70943427222862612762012-11-27T07:23:00.001-08:002012-11-27T07:23:40.956-08:00Windows 8 Apps store hits over 20,000 and most of them FREEThat may not sound like a lot of applications for an application store, but consider it has only been open for a fraction of the time the Mac store and Google Platy have.<br />
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Here's the really fun part; 18,000 of those are FREE! That's 87% of all the available apps. Not only that but nearly 500 new apps are appearing every day. The goal is to have 100,000 apps within 90 days of the store opening...so even though it's sprouting quickly, it may not be quickly enough.<br />
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With the holiday season in full swing there should be a boost in downloads. There should be thousands of computers and tablets being given for gifts and the first thing anyone would do is start downloading apps. Lets hope developers have enough to offer!<br />
<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-42276407863761089522012-11-16T08:47:00.003-08:002012-11-16T08:47:44.038-08:00Holiday Shopping....at work, watch out!We all know that Black Friday is just around the corner. For most of us, however, we will still be getting up and heading into the office as per usual...I requested the day off to visit a friend in Washington but for the REST of you is status-quo.<br />
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Retail stores aren't the only shopping outlets busy that day, so are their websites. That means people at their desks are browsing Apple's website and not their TPS reports. Shoppers are expected to spend $54.5 BILLION dollars online alone this holiday season.<br />
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So watch out on your productivity this holiday season, but the REAL potential problem is the use of company bandwidth. While most employees may be shopping on their personal laptop or phone, they will still be using the company network.<br />
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Before you get too stringent on your employees keep this in mind: allowing workers a bit of flexibility in time management actually HELPS productivity. Letting people take the occasional break from work tasks to read a quick article, check up on Brangelina, etc., helps prevent burnout and people feeling too repetitive which actually diminishes productivity considerably. It needs to be within reason of course!<br />
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So here's the question: is the occasional personal browsing affecting your bandwidth? That may just point to another problem - your ISP. You may need an upgrade in bandwidth or speed.<br />
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There are a few things to figure out BEFORE you upgrade anything Do you have several employees streaming music on Pandora or Youtube? That's a HUGE reason for bandwidth consumption. I don't even get to stream Pandora from my office network. Nix that in the bud and you'll have a TON of free bandwidth. <br />
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So what IS my point exactly? Well first, Holiday shopping is bound to happen. Make sure that it is within reason. if you are noticing a slow down of your internet speeds look for the causes. Too many people streaming? Too many people shopping? Or maybe it's time for an upgrade in your internet service. If that's the case we can help! <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">Give us a call</a> and we'll see how to improve your speeds...maybe even talk to your employees about the proper use of bandwidth :)<br />
<br />TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-78751776143623527282012-11-15T10:37:00.000-08:002012-11-15T10:37:32.456-08:00Chromebook a steal at $199First there was the Samsung Chrome book for $249, and then there was the release of the Acer Chromebook just a couple weeks later for $199.<br />
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So this begs the question: what's the difference?<br />
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Two obvious differences are battery life and storage space. the displays are the same with the same resolution, and both come with the chrome operating system. The Samsung Chromebook features a Solid State Drive with 16 GB of storage, while the Acer version comes with a hard disk drive and 320 GB of memory. That's a BIG difference, but the fact that the Samsung has a solid state is a little flashy at the cost of space.<br />
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The Samsung has 6.5 hours of battery life while the Acer has about half that. Yet considering the Acer has 20 times the storage it may not be that big of a selling point.<br />
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Both notebooks depend on the internet to function. It's Chrome based OS runs all of its applications in the browser. It has just begun to start incorporating offline apps that you can access with no internet connection.<br />
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<a href="http://tvit.net/" target="_blank">We had a customer bring one in yesterday</a>, the Samsung version, and it was a very neat device. The screen was crisp and bright and the entire unit was slim and light weight.<br />
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A good Christmas present perhaps?TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2443973118715223689.post-27136751895106331492012-11-14T09:21:00.001-08:002012-11-14T09:21:22.361-08:00Awesome Holiday Special from us to you!We came up with a great offer for our customers for the Holidays. It's easy to shop for toys and gadgets and socks, but what about a service? You can offer your friends and family peace of mind by signing them up with a Club Fix IT membership.<br />
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We'll handle their monthly virus removal, disk cleanups, and even backups if you sign up for the Gold. Perfect for college students or family members with a new machine. They don't even have to be in the Treasure Valley. Our remote support is available and with the membership all services are at a discounted rate!<br />
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Each Club Fix IT membership comes with an annual 20-point Precision PC Tune-up. Sign them up between now and New Years and we'll give you a free Tune-up as well! That's a $200 value on top of the Club Fix IT savings!<br />
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Just give us a call today for details! <a href="http://tvit.net/residentialservices/clubfixit" target="_blank">Club Fix IT</a> <a href="http://tvit.net/contact" target="_blank">208-367-1000</a><br />
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TVIThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03611925521475364315noreply@blogger.com0