Guest Bloggers

There's a few people I would like to be guest bloggers and those invitationbs have been sent.  If you feel you have something you want to say, and would like to blog about it here, email me webmaster@itinfoguy.com.

Hewlett Packard - HP

HP sells more in the business IT space than anyone else by far.  They have a great website but sometimes it's just hard to find exactly what you need.  Here are a few of my favorites that I use at work:

Add to your Internet Browser favorites

HP’S PRODUCT BULLETIN (Online) - Use to look up systems, networking and accessories
http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/North_America/North_America.html#intro

HP’S FAST ATTACH - Use to look up system accessories
http://www.hpfastattach.com/default.aspx 

HP’S NoteBook Finder - Use to look notebook systems
http://www.hp.com/sbso/buyguides/pg_notebooks/notebook-finder.html

HP’s SUPPLIES FINDER (Ink, Toner, Paper and Storage Tapes) -  used to look up all printer and storage supplies.
http://www.hpsupplieslink.com/

HP’s CARE PACK SERVICES (warranty/services) -  Use to look up HP warranties by mfg#
http://h30125.www3.hp.com/csn/salesmktg/elfpack/elf_nonlkup_ctrylang.asp?code=ELNL::-USA

HP’s PARTS STORE (spare parts) -  Use to look up HP spare, discontinued accessories by mfg#, model, or product #
http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/default.asp

HP’s MAIL IN FORMS (End user Mail In Rebates) -  Use to look up current mail in rebates
http://h71016.www7.hp.com/dstore/html/mir/index.asp?jumpid=ex_r2910_go/rebate/kim032704 

HP’s ENHANCED TRADE-IN PROMOTIONS (End user trade-in programs) -  Use to look up current trade in programs all HP products
http://www.hp.com/united-states/tradein/promotions.html

HP’s SUPPLIES RECYCLING (free recycling) -  Use to look up details on free prepaid supplies recycling
https://h30248.www3.hp.com/recycle/supplies/index.asp?__cc=us

HP’s HARDWARE RECYCLING SERVICES (recycling fees applicable) -  Use to look up details on hardware recycling
https://warp1.external.hp.com/recycle/index.asp?__cc=us 

HP’s BUSINESS CENTER (All HP Products) -  Use to look up details on hardware software and drivers by Model#, Self Repair, FAQ, Diagnostics
http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Home.jsp

Internet Ready Notebook PC

I had a customer looking for an internet ready notebook pc with a full 15.4" screen for under $400.  I searched high and low until I found this gem:

The Gbook from Everex.  

"Looking for a full-size laptop that will let you surf the net, email, blog, IM, Skype, rip CDs and play your favorite DVD?  Introducing gBook... the latest notebook from Everex.

Loaded with popular applications from Google, Mozilla, Skype, OpenOffice.org and more, you'll find a simple, fun and intuitive computing experience.  Everex makes it easy and affordable for everyone (Everex and its products, the gBook and gOS, are not affiliated with or sponsored by Google Inc.)."

source: http://www.everexstore.com/everex/products/gbook/gbook.php 

The Oscars

Great show last night.  Hugh Jackman was fantastic...who knew he could sing and dance...who knew?  Wolverine, soft-stepping it in his top hat...who knew?  

Anyways, next year, I plan on watching the Oscars on this sucker unless something newer and more wonderful happens:

Sony
Bravia 52" W Series LCD HDTV 120Hz 
16:9 Full HD 1080p Resolution (1920x1080p) LCD Panel Motionflow 120Hz - clear, smooth motion DVDs, TV DMe x compatible; allows seamless feature upgrades Enhanced XMB with 3D graphics 
PC Mall Part #7494660  
Mfr. Part #KDL52W4100

Blackberry Storm vs iPhone

I love my Blackberry but I want an iPhone--at least that's what I used to say.  Now that the Blackberry Storm is out it's a tougher choice.  From what I have read and heard about both, Blackberry is still better for business but the iPhone is more suited to consumers: and it's catching up to Blackberry as a business tool...FAST!  I need to get one of each someday and test it out.  

I mean look at them, they are both as gorgeous as a piece of equipment can get.

Any comments if you have either would be appreciated

Point of Sales Systems

When I really needed it I found out that trying to find a point of sale system is not the easiest thing in the world.  You might be able to find a cash register at Bureau en Gros (Staples or Office Depot to you Southerners) and you can find barcode scanners but to make sense of it all got a little more complicated than that.

If you have a small shop, look no further than Wasp Barcode http://www.waspbarcode.com/point_of_sale/. 

They have a great bundle for small medium stores that comes with the scanner, register, printer, mag stripe reader, and software.

Give me a call if you need more info.

Gobi

Gobi is about to make a dent in the wwan world.  What is it?

"Gobi is the mobile broadband technology that connects your laptop to the Internet via 3G cellular networks around the world.

Gobi is the first built-in, 3G modem with the ability to connect you to both EVDO and HSPA cellular networks using a single embedded device."

http://www.gobianywhere.com/

Instead of choosing a laptop because the module inside

is with Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, etc; choose one with 

Gobi and then decide which provider to activate with.

Phone Computer

It doesn't exist yet but it has to come at some point.  A computer with the look and feel of a phone. The advantage is all you need is a hotspot or a wireless module and then with IM you can call anyone, anywhere without any additional charges, plus you can do every thing else -- built in camera, gps, play music, play videos/movies, plus browsing capability...it's a computer after all.   

Current phone technologies would be great if they didn't charge you for phone calls but every month that bill keeps climbing.  They charge you $20 for the wireless service, $20 if you want voicemail and call display, $20 for the internet access, $20 to access email, plus charges for being over your minutes, charges for long distance...all that should be simplified.

It's gotta come though, with computers becoming smaller and smaller, it's just a matter of time until I can have my list of IM contacts that I can "message" by text, voice or video no matter where they are in the world and no matter where I am.

HDMI Connectors

Connectors

Start with the most popular connector buzzword today

HDMI

There are three HDMI connector types with Type A and Type B defined since the HDMI 1.0 specification and Type C defined since the HDMI 1.3 specification.

The Type A connector has 19 pins with bandwidth to support all SDTV, EDTV, and HDTV modes. The plug's outside dimensions are 13.9 mm wide by 4.45 mm high. Type A is electrically compatible with single link DVI-D.

The Type B connector has 29 pins (21.2 mm by 4.45 mm) and can carry double the video bandwidth of Type A for use with very high-resolution future displays such as WQUXGA (3840x2400). Type B is electrically compatible with dual link DVI-D but has not yet been used in any products.

The Type C mini-connector is intended for portable devices. It is smaller than the Type A connector (10.42 mm by 2.42 mm) but has the same 19 pin configuration. (The number of pins are the same but the signal assignment is different because of the different shielding requirements due to the signals being in a single row. The differences are:

All positive signals of the differential pairs are swapped with their corresponding shield,

DDC/CEC Ground is assigned to pin 13 instead of 17,

CEC is assigned to pin 14 instead of 13,

The reserved pin is assigned to pin 17 instead of 14.)

It can be connected to a Type A connector using a Type A-to-Type C connector cable.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI 

Picture source http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdmi.htm/printable

So I won this robot

So I won this robot at work, what a cool toy.  is it my new best friend, my toy, my pet...all of the above?  :)

What the heck does this thing do?

6 different kung fu moves

Walks, runs and turns

• 
  Full-function arms with 2 types of grippers
• Fluid motions and gestures: fast dynamic 2-speed walking and turning; full-function arms with two types of grippers
• 67 pre-programmed functions: pick-up, throw, kick, dance, kung-fu, fart, belch, rap and more; 3 demonstration modes
• Fully programmable by remote control: Up to 84 program steps with 4 program modes for advanced operations; programmable "reflexes" to sound and touch stimuli
• Remote controlled functions
• 4 programming modes
• Robosapien is programmable to "react" to touch, pick up, kicks or sound
• Remote controlled functions
• Fluent international "caveman" speech
• Auto power-off
• Extended battery life
• 
  

Video Conferencing Set up

I had a few questions for this client:

• is customer looking for to get a desktop based video conferencing solution or LCD TV type of set up?
• let me know how many people they will have in each conf room, if they have TVs with RCA/HD15 ports? 
• how many sites they will need to conference in at the same time?
  
• how will they connect between those sites for video conferencing? 
• type of WAN connections, T1s, dual T1s, ethernet, etc.  
• do they have a budget?

Which he responded to:

• Conference room, not desktop.  Would be very nice to have the ability to have a desktop user or 2 if needed.
  
• No real number of people per site, but I’d imagine no more than 5.
  
• They currently have 1 projector.
  
• 3 sites linked via T1 (frame relay)  Looking at upgrade to MPLS 2 bonded T’s at 2 of the sites and a single T at the 3^rd.
  
• No budget, getting idea of money needed.
  

So it was decided that the Polycom would be their best option:

they will need VGA or S-video input on the TVs/projectors 

• QDX6000 bundles for 2 sites: PC Mall Part #7744195 Mfr. Part #7200-30831-001 q.2
  

Polycom
QDX 6000 
The perfect balance of quality, performance,simplicity and affordability. 
PC Mall Part #7744195  
Mfr. Part #7200-30831-001

• installation: 7744289 ON SITE INSTALL QDX 6000 q.2
  
• warranty 1y: 7744290 PREMIER 1YR QDX 6000-VIA SCHEDULED PHON q.2
  

• and for one site we need HDX with 4 port MCU to accommodate for connectivity between the other two sites:

PC Mall Part #7383238 Mfr. Part #7200-27690-001 q.1
Polycom
HDX 7001 XLP STD DEF-VIDCONF 
HDX 7001 XLP STD DEF-VIDCONF 
PC Mall Part #7383238  
Mfr. Part #7200-27690-001

• installation: 7381115 ON SITE INSTALL HDX 7000-SERIES q.1
• warranty 1y: 7381116 PREMIER 1YR HDX 7000-SERIES q.1

• for desktop solution:

PC Mall Part #706793 Mfr. Part #5230-23038-001 q.1

things to note: 
there is a limitation of 4 sites per conference, with 4 port MCU that comes with HDX 7001

• plus a few screens
  

Sharp
PNS525 52IN LCD 1920X1080-3YR WTY DIGTL 
PNS525 52IN LCD 1920X1080-3YR WTY DIGTL 
PC Mall Part #7673898  
Mfr. Part #PNS525

Other Options

Of course every laptop nowadays comes with a built in microphone, speaker, and camera.  5 laptops per location plus Acrobat Connect and 3 TVs gets you there as well.

Video Conferencing

One of my customers needs to implement video conferencing in three of his rooms.  He needs a middle of the road solution and did not provide a whole lot of info in terms of equipment.  He does need to be able to share files though.

My first though is this

Polycom
VSX 8800 Presenter MP 
Rack mount, easy-to-install, high performance video conferencing system for integrated and custom room environments. Adds People+Content and MultiPoint licenses and ImageShare II collaboration device. 
PC Mall Part #699316  
Mfr. Part #7200-22750-001

But three of these puppies are going to run about 12k each; and then I found this little guy for 3k each:

Polycom
QDX 6000 
The perfect balance of quality, performance,simplicity and affordability. 
PC Mall Part #7744195  
Mfr. Part #7200-30831-001

It comes with the remote, cables, microphones, camera, and codec and all that's left to look at is the display set up.  Do I go with 52" LCDs or with a projector?  

I also thought about looking into these two possibilities:

Acrobat Connect Pro

Raindance/Intercall

I'll take a look at all three solutions and make my recommendations.

IT Info Guy Forum

The forum is now built and ready to be used.  You can join the forum or search it for answers to any questions you may have by clicking here- IT Info Guy Forum.  

Virtualization Overview

VMWare whitepaper, Virtualization Overview, here's a little bit

"Virtualization in a Nutshell

Simply put, virtualization is an idea whose time has come.

The term virtualization broadly describes the separation of a

resource or request for a service from the underlying physical

delivery of that service. With virtual memory, for example,

computer software gains access to more memory than is

physically installed, via the background swapping of data to

disk storage. Similarly, virtualization techniques can be applied

to other IT infrastructure layers - including networks, storage,

laptop or server hardware, operating systems and applications.

This blend of virtualization technologies - or virtual infrastructure

- provides a layer of abstraction between computing,

storage and networking hardware, and the applications running

on it (see Figure 1). The deployment of virtual infrastructure

is non-disruptive, since the user experiences are largely

unchanged. However, virtual infrastructure gives administrators

the advantage of managing pooled resources across the enterprise,

allowing IT managers to be more responsive to dynamic

organizational needs and to better leverage infrastructure

investments."

virtualization.pdf

Trusted Source

Learned about this site today from this great security company called Secnap.  Check your domains reputation, go there and Enter IP address, domain name or URL to check reputation/traffic patterns.

Secnap offers a whole range of security tools- visit the site for more info or call me at 514-373-8345.  

"Three robust security solutions combine highly advanced technology with surprising cost-effectiveness for the best price-to-value ratio in the industry. 

Email Security: A full range of appliances and hosted solutions, all powered by SpammerTrap^® to deliver legitimate email at lightning speed and filter out 100% of spam, viruses and other malware. Feature-loaded with email archiving, encryption, mailbox-based routing, a killer firewall and more. No surprise SC Magazine called it "The King of Spam Filters," or that everyone who tries it buys it. Click here to request your free 30-day trial.

Network Security: Intrusion detection and prevention solutions incorporate our advanced, patent-pending HackerTrap™ technology to protect your organization from external attacks 24/7. Awarded "Best in Intrusion Prevention"by Network Products Guide. Favorite secret weapon of SECNAP clients everywhere.

Security Services: IT security audits, web application and wireless assessments, penetration and vulnerability testing help identify, prioritize and mitigate security gaps. Compliance audits ensure your security position is unassailable with respect to FACTA, FERPA, GLBA, HIPAA, SOX and ISO standards."

IT Info Guy

Day one of the IT Info Guy http://www.itinfoguy.com.  

I'm starting this particular blog because of my current job working at PC Mall www.pcmall.com.  I have access to a lot of resources to help people who are now what I used to be and also help the more advanced IT Professional.  

What I intend to do is use this blog just to discuss things out there that I think are cool and also to keep a pulse of the going ons in th etechnology world.  Things like virtualization, usb3.0, w3, HIPAA, Microsoft EA's, etc, etc, etc.  

I hope to demystify for myself some of the trepidation I feel whenever a great new technology comes around and I suddenly need to be an expert in it.

I'll be linking to the forum quite often as I hope it is where IT Professionals will gather and discuss technology, old, current, and emerging.  I will also be linking to a site currently being built IT White Paper http://www.itwhitepaper.org where I hope company representatives and individuals will load up their current whitepapers on the technologies they produce or study.  

I figure the first couple things I will touch on are virtualization- what is it?  and of course Windows 7...it's coming, will it really be worth it?