Merrimack Tech News: 3/20/11

Friday, March 25, 2011

Today's Favorite Articles.

Tintri a company that handles virtual storage raised 17 million dollars in seed money.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-20045989-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

How to deal with new managers.....
http://www.infoworld.com/t/it-management/claim-your-rightful-spot-the-management-team-331

IPv4 addresses should be valued at around $200 says expert..
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/ipv4-addresses-could-soon-be-valued-at-200-dollars-apiece?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_2011-03-25

You should consider adding virtualization certifications to your list of certs to get.
http://www.infoworld.com/d/virtualization/virtualization-certifications-prove-valuable-in-tight-job-market-765?page=0,0

Do you want a job in healthcare IT? Go to Nashville.
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/Silicon-Valley-Nashville-Sings-Praises-of-Health-Care-IT-Jobs-424294/?kc=rss

Watch out Youtube here comes Vid.ly.
http://www.infoworld.com/d/virtualization/virtualization-certifications-prove-valuable-in-tight-job-market-765?page=0,0

Report claims that AT&T’ metering of broadband is “shoddy” and inaccurate.
http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/03/24/att-broadband-metering-is-shoddy-and-they-know-it/

“6 Myths of Server Virtualization.”
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215032/Server_Virtualization_6_Management_Myths?taxonomyId=154&pageNumber=1

Today’s Want it toy for the geeks. The Iomega DX HD Media Player/Server. This one will stream Netflix and comes with 2TB of RAM.

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2011/03/iomega-screenplay-dx-hd-media-playerserver-launched/

I want this one for Christmas!

Surfs up!............Eric

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Today's Favorite Articles.

Oracle to no longer support Itanium. HP is supposedly shocked over this development.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215006/HP_shocked_by_Oracle_s_Itanium_decision?taxonomyId=162&pageNumber=1

I wonder if the real reason that Oracle is dropping support for Itanium is because former HP CEO Mark Hurd is in the house. Hmmm. Makes one wonder……..

Or is it Larry Ellison’s way of trying to take out HP one piece at a time? At this rate it won’t work.

http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/229400188/oracles-move-to-end-itanium-support-may-hurt-hp.htm?pgno=1

Something as small as a paper clip can land someone a job in tech.

http://www.infoworld.com/t/it-jobs/techie-finds-career-potential-in-paper-clip-326?page=0,0

For the geek who wants a ultra fast graphics card, a comparison and recommendation.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-590-dual-gf110-radeon-hd-6990,2898.html

Apple is thinking about challenging Netflix in the streaming movie business.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-23/apple-is-said-to-weigh-expanding-airplay-for-streaming-video-on-devices.html

Google and Microsoft lead the heavy hitters that the “Open Network foundation” to develop open network standards.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/032211-google-and-other-titans-form.html?source=nww_rss

Oracle and IBM announce that they have found common ground on Java.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/032311-oracle-and-ibm-find-solidarity.html?page=1

Microsoft launches Intune…………..

“Windows Intune is a Web-based console where IT administrators can manage the deployment of Microsoft updates and service packs to all PCs, keep track of hardware and software inventory, fix PC issues remotely, manage protection from malware threats and set security policies. It can be accessed anywhere an Internet connection is available.”(Network World)

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/032311-microsoft-windows-intune-better-way.html?page=1

Surfs up!...........................Eric

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Today's Favorite Articles.

Microsoft to add new management feature to Windows server 2008, from Network World;

“By the end of the year, System Center, the management console for Windows Server, Hyper-V, and other Microsoft systems, will get an add-on component, System Center Advisor, which automatically collects information on your server configurations, notifies you of known or potential problems, and recommends a best practice alternative.”

To continue the rest of the article………………

http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=229400098&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

“10 Ways Linux is making life better.”

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/222728/10_ways_linux_is_making_life_better.html#tk.nl_bpx_h_cbstories

Microsoft believes private clouds are the thing of next big thing.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/222875/private_cloud_can_prevent_end_runs_around_it_microsoft_says.html#tk.nl_bpx_h_crawl

GoDaddy to support the new DNS standard DNSSEC.

“With more than 47 million domain names under management, GoDaddy has a huge DNS infrastructure that it has upgraded to support the emerging Internet security standard known as DNSSEC for DNS Security Extensions.”

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/032311-godaddy-dnssec.html?page=1

“Four tech startups to watch.”

http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/coverage/28700.asp?imcid=coverage

Here’s an inside look at how Microsoft views the future tv and how product placement plays a roll.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/summits/coverage/28701.asp?imcid=coverage

In the article the Microsoft Veep talks about his digital home. Digital home?! What happened to going outside and playing games with the kids in the backyard or down at the park? A problem with modern society is that we are so tech focused that we loose sight of what’s important in our lives, like getting outside with the family, and getting away from our cell phones and pda’s so that we can enjoy the small things in life, like quality time with the wife and kids. Reconnect with the family, friends and work can wait.

Sometimes the slow move to the cloud is the right thing to do.

http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/the-case-slowing-your-move-the-cloud-284?page=0,0&source=IFWNLE_nlt_daily_2011-03-23

“Industry split on new Ethernet standard.” Some deep tech speak here…..

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/032211-trill-ietf-data-center.html?page=1

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Today's Favorite Articles, and a first look at Firefox 4.

A free server app the NOVABACK UP app.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/download/NovaBACKUP-Server,0301-13970.html

The trend is not to the cloud but to micro servers. Here’s an article about Dell’s offerings. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/22/dell_poweredge_c_micro_servers/

The need for Unified communications through cloud solutions, from Network World.com;

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/frame/2011/032111wan1.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_wan_2011-03-22

“Hacker vs. Hacker, a cautionary tale.”

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_12/b4220066790741.htm

Some deep techie stuff on the need for networks to be efficient.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2011/032111-delivering-infrastructure-services.html?page=1

Here’s an article about system admins playing games with company equipment.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/032111-rogue-game-servers.html?page=1

Firefox 4 first impressions.

My Personal Opinion.

On first look of the latest version of Firefox it appears to be the same browser. It still has the tool bar on top and it has a separate search engine bar. The forward and back buttons are the same from previous versions, though the tabs look like Google’s Chrome tabs. The only thing noticeable with use the first time around is speed. The thing seems fast, for Chrome fans no worries here, since Google will catch up faster than a Firefox version release. But for web browsing, is speed a good thing? From a security perspective the faster things move the chances that some little nasty is going to get into system and take over. There will be arguments that Firefox can more personalized than Chrome. To me I like the Chrome interface and the fact that there is no separate search engine bar. I also like the fact that the tools are hidden away under an icon. Is this thing a Chrome clone or what? Even the way to book mark a page is the same as Chrome’s. To me the major reason to personalize the default Firefox interface is because of its bland appearance. For security worry warts there’s the NO Script feature in Firefox, but to me it hinders the browsing experience. I’m fine with out that tool. So unless you already use Firefox for your web browsing needs why would you switch back too it? For me there are not enough positives and too many negatives to switch from Chrome back to Firefox. But that’s just my opinion.

Today’s toy: Pop Corn, a media jukebox that you won’t find in Walmart.

http://www.popcornhour.com/onlinestore/

Surfs up!.....................................Eric

Our weekend project with Blue-Ray and Netflix.

We got our monthly cable bill the week before last. We have a major cable provider who shall remain nameless, and for the past year we did not have a contract with our cable provider so we had no guarantee’s that our rate would not go up. But my wife negotiated with the cable company for a reduced rate. They were able to give it to us under a couple conditions. One we had been their customers for close to ten years and always carried a credit on our account so they were never chasing us for their money. The other condition was that times were deemed more challenging last year with the people on unemployment. So for one year we paid a set rate sort of like a contract but nothing set in stone. Well the year came to an end this past month and the cable company sent us a bill for forty dollars more than we were paying. We said forget it. We weren’t willing to pay more. We have a budget and that extra forty dollars a month blew the budget out of the water. My wife called the cable company to see if they could give us some kind of deal. No dice, they had nothing for us, so we talked it over, and we called back to unbundle our services, and move to basic cable. We moved to basic cable got rid of what was suppose to be a high def box, and we went out and bought a Vizio Blue-Ray dvd player that streams Netflix. For ten dollars a month we get access to their online streaming service plus their DVD library. For two dollars more if we want we can get Blue-Ray DVD’s. So we went to Walmart bought the Blue-Ray player. I hooked the DVD player to our big screen Vizio with a cat5 wire, plugged in the wireless adapter. Now about week of working the bugs out of our new system we are now enjoying high-def entertainment better than before. As for the basic cable channels, the only thing I lost access to was the ability to watch the sports networks. No big deal there. I’m so busy, that I don’t have much time for watching sports now as it is. But the bonus is that a lot of the basic cable channels are all digital, and in high-def. So for a cheaper price we got a better viewing experience.

Here are some things to think about when making the switch to an online streaming service like Netflix.

-You might want to get a second modem and skip the wifi for faster streaming speeds, on the flip side of this is the little known fact that the ISP can see how many modem’s you have hooked up to the net. If you go to their website you can see the active devices, and how much they are streaming from the net.

-Which brings me to another point, when you stream, you are using bandwidth, which is shared with your neighbors. If you suck down too much the cable company is going to cut you off from the net. Some cable companies cap households at 250 GBs downloaded others at 150GBs PER MONTH! Check with your carrier for their cap limits.

-Two other things to consider. One, say you go with wifi, then you have to leave your router and modem on all the time. Now you are wasting money in electric bills, because if you are like us, and have all your power cords tied together, then everything is on in the ready state sucking power and costing you money.

Two if you go with wifi for Netflix streaming then consider this. If you are watching the Netflix stream on your big screen tv, and you have a kid surfing the net then both will experience slow service. One option here is to pay more for faster download speed. Another option is to make sure no one is using the net at the time that streaming is going on. Even picking out what to watch will be slowed by all the congestion in the pipes.

That’s just my opinion. Eric.

(Disclosure: My wife and I are the proud owners of Netflix stock. I’m waiting for Vizio to go public. I want a piece of that company too!)