Posted by Matt Kolowski on Mon, Jul 26, 2010
You have an XBOX 360, right? Me too.
You have a Twitter? Oh…uh, neither do I….
The XBOX 360 S was unveiled a little ways back with built-in WiFi, 250GB and a dedicated port for their new Kinect. If you’ve never heard of the Kinect, think of the Wii, but without a controller. That’s right, friend, you ARE the controller! I can now safely have dance parties at my house and not be considered a creep. Well, not sure about that last part, but I can still have them.
Aside from the dancing games, there are also some cool sports games, and even on where you’re on a raft.
But back to the savings monies part of the title, they’ve announced a cheaper model that comes with just a 4GB HDD, and also will be bundled with Kinect, all for $299. Now we can all have quasi-creepy dance parties! Who needs a 250GB HDD when you stream most of your media these days, anyhow?
Shh, Purple Rain just came over the radio, I’m out here!
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Posted by Matt Kolowski on Fri, Apr 02, 2010
And what of it?
Uncle Sam was kind enough to give me a few dollars with this year's tax return and I've decided to spend it wisely. So I'm putting a good portion of it into Steve Jobs pockets.
"What are you going to do with it, you dummy?", you're probably yelling at the computer screen. First of all, calm down. Weirdo. We don't want your macchiato spilling all over your Dockers.
I already have an iPhone. I already have a laptop. So right there, most people are thinking I have no use for it. And, hey, they may be right. I'm not sure about you, but I do most of my browsing and communication on my iPhone. The overall browsing experience on the iPhone is far and away better than anything you'll get on a mobile OS. You use your finger on the screen to direct you to where you want to go. It's ideal. I don't need a touchpad, or worse, a mouse. Who *wouldn't* want to browse the web on a big iPhone? You know who didn't?
Hitler.
The mobile IT landscape changed with the iPhone. Companies began to design new sites specifically designed for mobile Safari. With the iPad, you're going to get a full screen website at the touch of your chubby, greazy fingers. I dig that.
What I really think people are underestimating, is that developers can now design an app with a much bigger touch screen in mind. Apple showed of their iWork suite which, for the uninformed, is their version of Microsoft Office. The apps are going to run $9.99 each, and can be exported into common filetypes, i.e. their Office counterparts. The demo shown for their PowerPoint-esque app was truly surreal. Can you imagine if the rumors are true that Microsoft would develop iPad specific Office apps?
The real draw for me will be for comic books. Don't act so shocked, "an IT consultant nerd that reads comics!?" Can it, you beatnik. I've long been bemused at the fact that comics are reaching $3.99-$4.99 for a single issue. There are several iPhone apps out there that have a recent backlog of comic book transferred to a digital format. Some of them even have desktop apps in the works. Think iTunes for comics. With a near 10" screen on the iPad, this is going to be the best thing for a comic nerd, such as myself. Several of those app companies are working fast to have their native iPad apps ready for April 3rd. I've cleared my schedule that day just in case. Take that, guitar lessons!
Oh, and there will be video games and stuff. But that's just an added bonus.
If you're curious, I ordered the 32GB Wi-Fi model. I only have a 10GB music collection, and I'm not planning on carrying around my 20GB photography library with me. These small HDD sizes indicate to me that Apple could be indeed working on moving iTunes ‘into the cloud'. If these iPads are their vision of computing for the future, they are sure as heck going to have to do something to stop nerds from running out of space. Please be true, rumors!
I held off on the 3G model because I really only see myself using this as a laptop replacement. And that thing doesn't have 3G. Plus, how often do I travel with my laptop cursing the fact that I don't have a free Wi-Fi connection?
In closing, if you're not planning on grabbing an iPad, you're obviously delusional.
You need a young priest and an old priest.
Or I could be delusional....Ah, forget it.
Posted by Andrew Neumann on Tue, Mar 02, 2010
The other day, while researching a client issue for
Trigon, I ran across an acronym that I had not seen before -
SEO. Having spent time in the Board Room of a few companies as well as knowing a few persons that held various ‘C' level positions, I thought that I had been exposed to all possible executive level naming schemes. SEO - what was this?? A quick trip to Wikipedia provided the answer. To my surprise, SEO was not a new executive level position that I could now aspire to, but rather stood for ‘Search Engine Optimization' - a term I had run across in the past but not paid too much attention to and subsequently moved to the black hole of my mind.
I work in the IT Support field and you could say that I'm pretty savvy. However, for those who maybe in the dark as much as I when it comes to SEO, Search Engine Optimization (according to Wikipedia) is a term or rather the practice of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines that are classified as ‘Organic' (i.e. un-paid) as opposed to search engine marketing which deals with paid inclusions. After reading this definition, I, of course, asked myself the question - What is the difference between an ‘Organic' search engine and one that deals with paid inclusions?
To be brief and minimize the possibility that I missed the boat on the whole concept, web sites are constantly looking for ways to improve their page ranking through the various search engines. Two ways (further reading indicated that there are more than 2 ways to accomplish this) to accomplish improving your page ranking are to rely on filling your web site with specific key words and phrases that are relevant to your line of business, thus attracting visitors who are initiating a search of the World Wide Web using similar key words and phrases - the Organic way. Or a site can utilize a method known as ‘Pay per Click'. In short, the advertiser will pay their host only when their ad is selected. Through this process, a site does not solely rely on cultivating exposure via use of key words and phrases but improves their chances of being recognized because they have previously agreed upon a fixed price for those key words and phrases. Pay per Click sites are more than likely going to be the sites that are listed first on the results page of your search but can also be a sponsored link or feature that appears on the top or side panel of the web page. So which is better?
Proponents for each side will argue that their process is the best. An organic search, because it is unpaid and relies on careful planning and execution of specific key words and phrases in tune with you line of business seems to be the best way to attract visitors to your site. Albeit though, I think this process will ultimately take a longer period of time for your goal of being the number one result of the search to be realized, however, there seems to be a more honest vein in this approach. Pay per Click, as with anything that uses the almighty dollar to fuel its existence, promises to make your rise to #1 on the page a fast and most assured certainty. However, the term ‘Flash in the Pan' comes to mind as my opinion leads me to think you are relying on the power of money to guide you as opposed to a well thought out plan to the success of your site.
Posted by Solutions Center on Mon, Mar 01, 2010
Hey Philadelphia Businesses! Have you ever considered IT Mobility Solutions and how they can positively affect your business?
Trigon offers
IT Mobility Solutions to Philadelphia area businesses. These solutions can help your business and its people become more productive while on-the-go and out of the office.
With all of the Mobile Business Solutions and IT Services available through Trigon, your business will be enabled with options, including your own virtual office. Often times, in order to stay efficient, business executives and employees leave the office and are off-site attending meetings and visiting clients. It's time that is spent well, but it's also time in which needs in your office get put on the back burner. Trigon can help you remain efficient while out of the office by helping you have access to email at all times, so you can communicate more efficiently while on-the-go.
Aside from being able to check email, Trigon can also help you gain access to key data while you are away from the office. With the Mobility Solutions implemented by Trigon Technology, you can store and even view your documents and spreadsheets, so that you, and other members of your organization, have any-time access to your data.
For more information on how Trigon's Mobility Solutions or IT Support can help you, be sure to check out Philadelphia Mobile IT Solutions!
Posted by Jon Pentecost on Thu, Feb 25, 2010
It's always exciting to stay up-to-date on new technology, especially because I work in
IT Support. As a follow-up to my previous article, USB 3.0 (also known as SuperSpeed) devices are now starting to be made more available. According to the
website, Belkin has two peripheral cards available. One is a PCIe card that can be installed in Desktops and the other is a PCMCIA card that can be connected to laptops. Belkin has also developed two different styles of USB 3.0 compliant cables - a SuperSpeed A-B cable and a SuperSpeed Micro-B cable that can be used to connect USB 3.0 compliant devices to USB 3.0 capable systems.
Belkin has also shown in tests that data transferred over a USB 3.0 connection is 3x faster than USB 2.0 in real-world tests. Theoretically, USB 3.0 can transfer data at 5 Gbps, which is ten times as fast as that of USB 2.0 (480 Gbps). With speeds this fast, watching a Blue-Ray disc in high-definition will be no problem at all, provided your system has the capability of adding a USB 3.0 card for compatibility and viewing high-definition video.
There is also a good PC World article that gives a little bit of background into where USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 started, as well as talking about the compatibility guarantee of USB 3.0. Previously, a number of devices claimed to be USB 2.0 compliant but that is only because of the fact that they were low-speed devices. USB 3.0 has to be capable of delivering 5Gbps speeds in order to qualify for SuperSpeed compatibility.
As was stated in the previous article, more devices will be coming out with USB 3.0 capabilities, but now there are options from Belkin on getting non-USB 3.0 capable systems to be able to attach USB 3.0 devices. Most likely there will also be other vendors in the future, but items are currently available from Belkin for adding USB 3.0 to a system not having SuperSpeed abilities right now.
If you'd like to stay up to date on the latest in the technology world, continue checking out our Tech Blog. Or, if you'd like more information on Trigon and how we can optimize your small or midsized business with our IT Services, feel free to contact us at solutions@TrigonIT.com or by telephone at 1-888-494-TRIGON.
Posted by Solutions Center on Mon, Jan 18, 2010
Let's face the facts; it's as annoying as hell when you're in a hurry, you try to startup your computer and it essentially comes to a halt as it tries to open all of the startup programs. Not fun, right?
Well, we here at Trigon have a solution to your problem! You see, we're in the business of making people happy with their technology. We like it to work seamlessly, essentially causing you no problems, delays, or interruptions.
There's a free application you can download called Startup Delayer. And what it does is basically allow you to put a delay on the way programs open upon your startup. This will ease the program startup congestion that occurs as you start your computer.
The best way to go about using this ever handy app, is to go through your list of startup programs and pick which ones don't necessarily need to open upon startup. Stay away from programs that you don't recognize, but put a delay on things such as iTunes and other unimportant programs that you won't need instantaneously. This should help you speed things up instantly!
If you'd like more information on how to implement Startup Delayer, as well as other
IT Solutions, please contact Trigon at
solutions@TrigonIT.com.
Posted by Solutions Center on Tue, Jan 12, 2010
Ever wonder if there was a way to update an OEM XP install CD to include the most recent updates? Want to minimize the time it takes to complete an installation of a workstation? Do you wish it was possible to have all the most recent updates and service packs already installed after a fresh install from the CD of Windows XP? Ever need updated drivers included with an installation CD? Well, other than taking advantage the
IT Solutions offered by Trigon Technology, a
Philadelphia IT Support Company,
nLitemay just be the program for you.
As a follow-up to my previous blog about BartPE, this blog is about nLite - another "must-have" for the Engineer's toolkit. If you have any level of Service Pack of any type of Windows XP installation (OEM, retail, volume license), you can use the nLite application to update it to the latest Service Pack (Service Pack 3), as well as including additional updates that have come out since. nLite gives you the ability to slipstream Service Pack 3 and put in new updates, such as Internet Explorer 7 and other XP "Critical" updates, into the installation CD. You also can update drivers for new hardware that is included on the newest workstations, like SATA and NIC drivers.
In order complete the updates to the CD, all you need to do is copy the files from the CD you need to update to the hard drive of a machine with nLite installed. From there, download the necessary update files (do an install on a new machine, see what update files are needed, and download from the Windows Catalog the KB articles listed), make a few selections in nLite, and there you go! An updated XP installation CD that has the most recent files installed!
One other nice thing about nLite is the ability to even create a new ISO image from the updated installation. This makes it easy to burn to multiple discs, in case you have a number of machines to install quickly. It takes a little while to download all the necessary files needed from the Windows Catalog, but think of it this way - it takes about 4 hours to download and update an installation CD one time but it takes an additional 30 minutes PER MACHINE if you don't. After only 8 installations, you have "broken even" with time. Further updates only take an hour or less but installations will only take longer the more updates there are.
So you see, it is well worth the time and effort to download, install, and get comfortable with the nLite application if you install Windows XP on machines with any sort of regularity. I know I have gotten to know it very well and shared my experiences with my fellow Trigon employees.
Posted by Solutions Center on Mon, Jan 11, 2010
At
Trigon, we usually deal with some pretty complex
IT Solutions. However, here is a simple issue that is often overlooked and can be dealt with rather easily (and it'll also leave your wallet a little fatter come year's end!). Electronic devices that are left plugged in around your home and business are leaching power from you. Whether they're in use or not, if they're plugged in, PCs, TVs, DVD Players, VCRs (sad to say it, but I'm 23 and I think I'm showing my age with that one), and other electronics and appliances are all gnawing away at your energy.
It's estimated that this wasted energy accounts for up to 10% of a home's annual power usage. In fact, there are now devices available to show you exactly how much energy is being wasted by each device when it is plugged in and on standby. In the long run, it's not really important to know how much each device wastes, but what is important, however, is stopping the device from wasting in the first place!
SO - in order to save you what could be up to a couple hundred bucks, and to save some energy from being senselessly wasted, we have some advice for you. There are some ways around this senseless little spending spree. For starters, unplugging each item that is not in use can start saving energy and cash. The problem is, though, we as a people, are LAZY... who wants to go around unplugging and plugging devices all day? It makes sense for some of the bigger energy hogs, but what about something that will only cost you an extra 2 to 3 dollars a year? Come on, I'm all about convenience, and I'd rather spend the money. But there's another solution! Technology!
Wait, what? Why would technology cut power to its evil counterpart, other technology? Well, it seems that new breeds of power strips are coming about, and they offer alternatives to unplugging. Some of them have sensors to detect when a room is vacant, and will cut power to devices if it is. Others can pick up on devices in standby mode, and cut power to them. Lastly, there are power strip options that allow you to cut power to devices by way of a wireless remote.
All in all, as a
Tech Support Company, we thought this information could be useful to our friends, clients, and anonymous readers that should ultimately become our clients (wink wink). If you'd like more information on what
Trigon has to offer, send an email to
solutions@TrigonIT.com.
Posted by Matt Kolowski on Mon, Jan 04, 2010
And what of it?!
My prayers to Santa were finally answered this Christmas. And when I say Santa, I mean my much more attractive girlfriend. I eagerly opened the gift she placed in front of me with glee normally reserved for that of a Civil War reenactment actor, called up for the big show. We've all seen that glow they have, don't lie to me.
The first thing I noticed after wiping the drool of my face was the weight of the Zune. More accurately, the lack of weight. This thing is light, son! Everyone, myself included, compares this product to the iPod touch. But it's so light that all I could think about was the iPod nano. After booting it up, I was treated to a funkadelic load screen, and the sad reality that the Zune HD is essentially a paperweight until you connect it to your PC. Drat.
I had been toying around with the Zune software for a few weeks. And what's nerdier, I had my media location set to my Dropbox folder, which now houses my entire music collection. When I make additions to that folder on another computer, so goes my Zune library. Pretty sweet. Something that is also quite succulent, is the fact that after the initial wired sync, you can use your own home wireless network to sync your Zune to your PC. That's right folks, no cables. Welcome to the future, Al Gore was right!
Hats off to Microsoft on the design of the UI for this player, it's the best I've seen on any MP3 player, iPod touch included. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that the Zune HD is a better MP3 player than the iPod touch. It's quite a sight to zoom through your library and see album artwork and band photos in the background as you browse. It's gorgeous. I had ripped some of my DVDs to a mobile version to play on my iPhone, and it translates very well to the Zune. The colors look even more vibrant on this player, in fact.
I might as well get the bad stuff out of the way before the big wrap-up. The players Wi-Fi does not work with the router that Verizon gives out for their Wireless FiOS. You read that right. I had to hook up a spare router as a bridge JUST to get the thing to use my wireless network. It's pretty astonishing that this issue hasn't been resolved as it's been out for several months. Sadface. The browser is based on Internet Explorer guts, and very similar to Windows Phones in how it renders pages. To put it another way, it's total junk. The apps that are out for the Zune, while few, are introduced by ads before the game loads. What? Thanks Ballmer, you clown.
But those things don't really bother me, because I have an iPhone for apps and browsing. (By the way, if you'd like more information on the mobile technology solutions we provide for iPhones and other Smartphones, check out our Mobile IT Solutions)
I have a Zune HD for playing music and movies. And it does it very, very well.
To stay updated on hot technology topics with Trigon, be sure to continue to check out our Tech Blog!
Posted by Matt Kolowski on Thu, Dec 17, 2009
The other day I was tending to my sheep herd and my Grandmother came up to me. She asked, "Grandson, just what the heck is Google Wave?"
Keep in mind that this is the same tech savvy G-mom that prefers to do all her computing in the cloud, and on tablet computer. She's smart as a whip, this one. Even still, this one is radically different than anything she's hopped into. And she's like a million years old, she doesn't hop without good reason.
Google Wave has often been described as Email, if it were invented today. Hurry; find your socks because they just got blown off! Don't worry, we're cool here. Not only is it reminiscent of Email, it also has a mixture of AIM mixed in. You see, you load up Google Wave, and it has a very Gmail look to it, with contacts and inboxes. Instead of creating a new email or AIM window, you start what's called a Wave. Once created, you can add contacts to it. Your Contacts list on your left, Inbox in the center, and the Wave your viewing is on the right. Think of the left side of your screen as a Word document. You can type in the wave, add files, change fonts around and even add Yes or No polls. Once you add contacts to this Wave, they can do all those things too. At the very same time as you, and you can even SEE them typing. Find those socks again!
Let's say that one of my Contacts added me to a Wave that had been going on for an hour or two, and it was a proposal for a future client. Hm, I wish I could see all the changes that had been made to this Wave, it would give me a better idea of how my co-workers got to this stage of the document. Well, you can. There is a Playback feature in each Wave. You can start from the very time the Wave was created, and watch as Contacts entered, edited text, added thoughts, all in real-time. Waves can be this living breathing document of total collaboration. When a Contact is typing in the Wave their name is right next to their text as they type. If they're deleting some things, you can see it as its happening. The same goes for you. That's very cool.
Wave is in its early stages right now. So much so that it's not even called a Beta, it's labeled; ‘Google Wave preview'. But so far there are very cool add-ins that have been created, called Bots. You can start a Wave and add a Twitter Bot, so you can see your updated Twitter stream and add your own statuses. "Eating lunch' is my personal favorite. Let's say you're going to a company holiday party in a few days, but some are unsure of how to get to the location. You can start a Wave and add the people that are going, and include a Google Map, allowing people to easily find the club in order to get crunk. Am I right?
You can even add waves to websites and blogs. A Blogger entry can be a Wave, allowing it to be constantly commented on and updated by your readers. You can even stay in your Google Wave window and just check that Wave for updates, both it and the website are updated in real-time.
Right now Google Wave is a hot topic, and a large majority of comments revolve around people that say they just don't get it. I tell people that it should have been called, "Google Brainstorm". It's a great collaborative tool for people that work together, like developers or a team working on a project. But, it can also be used just as a chat tool. And that's what I told my Grandmom. She's too busy fooling around with ChromeOS to even care.
For more information on hot topics in the technology field, be sure to check out the Trigon website Technology Blog.