Excessive Maintenance Means Excessive Downtime

Have you endured the “FUD” salespitch? Signed a maintenance agreement for your computer systems only to later discover then not much has changed except that your costs have increased? Well, it turns out your not alone. In an article published in Data Center Knowledge a study has shown that the more maintenance you do, the more downtime your likely to have.

From the article… “There’s this mantra that more maintenance equals more reliability,” said Steve Fairfax, the President of MTechnology. “We get the perception that lots of testing improves component reliability. It does not. The most common threat to reliability is excessive maintenance.”

Many Kansas City IT departments are often locked into rigid over maintenance. The same goes for many Kansas City Computer service companies. Selling ‘real time monitoring’, solidifying their pitch with a free network assessment, etc. all designed around ‘FUD’… Fear Uncertainty, and Doubt. But now, (way too long in our opinion) there are some facts that blows the over hyped maintenance plan sales pitch out of the water.

Which helps us all bring a little more reality and a lot more awareness of the bottom line into the picture. Proper maintenance doesn’t have to cost a fortune. More maintenance than what is necessary can actually hurt your IT infrastructure.

You happen to have a high cost maintenance plan your afraid to cancel? An IT company pitching a plan to you? Do yourself a favor… Call OPENRSM today and ask for a second opinion. We won’t sell you a thing, just provide a qualified assessment of what your business really needs to do for the best ROI for your data infrastructure dollar.

Thailand Floods Endanger Kansas City I.T. Budgets

Floods in Thailand have caused a significant portion of the world’s hard drive and other computer component manufacturing facilities to be temporarily shut down. ASUS Reports they are nearly out of Hard Disks, Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Others are expected to have similar announcements soon.

This will lead to shortages of computers and peripheral products over the next Quarter. Kansas City (being a very high adopter of advanced I.T. systems) will be affected negatively and short term implementation of systems, servers, and peripherals will cost more.

There are, however, creative ways to deal with short term market “blips” such as this that can actually help you increase your bottom line without affecting your business in radical ways. OPENRSM has long been known for it’s ability to effectively manage business IT investments for the maximum positive effect. Now that critical computer component parts are in short supply it is wise to assess your own I.T. Infrastructure and plan effectively to maximize the returns from your I.T. Investments.

More to the point, “I.T. is a Process, Not a Project”. And by employing OPENRSM to help you transform your own I.T. infrastructure to a process (rather than a number of disparate “black boxes” that cost money) you can weather this storm.

Here are a few articles that provide more detailed information about this situation:

Thai Floods Devastate Supply Chain
EBN: The Premier Online Community for Supply Chain Professionals

Massive Thailand Floods Likely To Cause Widespread Hard Drive Shortage
CRN: News, Analysis, and Perspective for VARs and Technology Integrators

Ready for a Shortage of Hard Drives?
All Things Digital/Wall Street Journal

Steve Jobs Has Passed, Along With A Part of My Past

It was just announced that Steve Jobs has died.  And with his passing, a part of my own personal past.

Steve Wozniac and Steve Jobs, 1976

It’s funny how when someone “Rich and Famous” dies affects you.  A favorite actor, sports figure, etc. This is different.  I havn’t told many people about my own personal encounters with Steven P Jobs.  And now the “Kansas City IT Guy” is going to tell you “The Rest of the Story”.

When the Apple II was first rumored I had just purchased an Apple I.  The funny computer board with no case, keyboard, or video output (you had to build all that yourself) was assembled and mounted inside a Heathkit Ascii Terminal kit.  Pretty fancy stuff that stretched my own personal abilities in electronics assembly at the time.  And shortly thereafter I purchased an Apple II right when they came out from a dealer in Columbia MO who happened to actually have one available.  It was $1,380.00 (which was more than my Chevy Luv Pickup truck cost).

Which is how I had the opportunity to have some discussions with a young man only a couple years older than myself, in a garage, in California.  All from my parents house in Cape Girardeau, MO.

The Apple I had issues.  I called the number on the hand written invoice and a guy named “Steve” answered the phone.  Elated that I was happy with the Apple I but thoroughly incapable of helping me with mine.  He waxed poetic about the new Apple II coming out.  Told me it was “insane” how great it was, etc.  And then I was passed (literally, the phone was passed, no hold or anything) to another guy named Steve who was so technically beyond me that it took some effort to figure out just what he was talking about.  Til it dawned on me he was discussing replacing an IC Chip that I could get from Radio Shack. A $5.00 fix.

And yes, that was Steve Wozniac that told me to go to Radio Shack for that $5.00 part.

But the phone was passed again to “The Real Steve”…  I was drilled, pinned, unable to just let the call go.  “You should become an Apple Dealer”, he said.  “This is gonna change everything for everybody”, he said. The pure enthusiasm was not lost on me.  I like it when people believe in what they’re doing and in what they’re selling.  Which is the primary reason I bought the Apple II which served faithfully and well through four jobs and three moves over the course of time I had it.

And I wouldn’t have learned as much, as fast, if I hadn’t gotten it.  All thanks to a young entreprenuer and his partner that took the time to talk with an even younger guy from Cape Girardeau Missouri.

Godspeed, Steve…  As much as I didn’t care for some of the things Apple has done, I do appreciate the time we talked and the Apples I bought.

Facebook Denies, Then Changes Logout Cookie Behavior

This is interesting. Yesterday, Facebook Denied tracking you based on their cookie behavior (From our KC IT News post yesterday).

And today Nic comes back and analyzed the entire process of how Facebook is using Cookies again and shows in detail what Facebook has changed.

Which is to say, Facebook was cought with their hands in your cookie jar, said they didn’t do it, and changed how Facebook works so they couldn’t be accused of it down the road.  Which is okay.  An awful lot of these occurances are due to developers just not thinking through what they’re doing and why.  Especially an organization that is more marketing than technology driven.

Even After You’ve Logged Off, Facebook Tracks Your Every Move

The new Facebook Changes do more than alter how you use Facebook.  It seems that your now being “watched” whever you go on the Web..  By Facebook, even if you’ve logged out.

In a blogpost today by Nic Cubrilovic (a highly technical and thorough post I might add).  Nic shows you the exact mechanisms Facebook is using to track every page you visit on the Internet.  And if you thought logging off would prevent that, well, no it doesn’t.  There are a range of various “cookies” being set when your on Facebook and these don’t go away when you log off.  And the mechanism is there for every website you visit, every page you read, every Google Search you do to be logged and tracked.

Does Facebook actually log all of this data?  It’s sure to happen if you click a “Like” button on a news website, share button on an article, etc.  Beyond that, only the people at Facebook know for sure.  And it looks like they are, Nic conducted an experiment where he created a couple of facebook accounts.  Then he discovered..  As Nic puts it, “Somehow Facebook knew that we were all coming from the same browser, even though I had logged out.“.

His suggestions?  Use a different browser for Facebook, and only Facebook.

Microsoft Wants a Piece of Your Software

Windows8 has been released to developers and so has the “Metro” interface.  And the Metro interface is both the same, and different than what your used to.  To put it simply, Metro is like your Android or iPhone screen, and the regular Windows interface is more like Windows LiveMail.  The old Windows interface is gone.

Along with that is a general “disdain” for the Windows interface in Microsoft documentation itself.  Perhaps giving a clue that Metro is where Microsoft wants all your Desktop computers to run with all your applications running under it.  And no wonder.  All Microsoft Metro Applications will be exclusively delivered by…  The Windows Online Store!

To directly quote Microsoft documentation…  “Speaking of discoverability, all roads, as the saying goes, lead to the Windows Store.”, and “For Metro style apps, that is, the Windows Store is the only means of general distribution”.  And finally, “As such, your relationship with the Store really defines your business, whether you’re in it for fame, fortune, fun, or philanthropy.”.

Which means Microsoft wants money for every application installed on Windows even if (especially if) that application comes from a company other than Microsoft.

And that’s okay.  The model works well for the iPhone, iPad and other devices.  And Microsoft stands to make a ton of money doing it.  But this will drive your IT costs higher.  Your a couple years from full out deployment of Windows8 and Metro, so you have time to plan accordingly.

Samsung Restricts Windows Reinstallation.. for itself.

Woe is the person who has a laptop problem.  Like Joseph reports to Consumerist...  His (out of warranty) laptop started having hard disk issues.  He promptly backed everything up (backups are good) and proceeded to replace his disk.  Only it isn’t so easy.  And Samsung tells him his only option is to return the laptop to them (for a fee).

Which isn’t all that unusual anymore.  We’ve seen this from prospective customers that call with laptop issues frequently.  Manufacturers designing the packaging of their systems so that you cannot repair or reinstall software yourself, or even locally..  Of course, with payments to the manufacturers required.

Now we don’t begrudge the PC manufacturers from making a profit.  Far from it.  But some manufacturers are way worse than Samsung in this regard.  Which ones?  Well, it’s a moving target.  Policies change, products change, special deals and offers/promotions change.  But OPENRSM does keep track and knows the score for it’s Kansas City IT customers.

Before you chuck out old systems, or purchase new ones for your Kansas City Business..  Call OPENRSM.

Google Buys Motorola And What It Means For Small Businesses

UPDATE! – It seems my musings about a “SuperApple” type strategy have not gone unnoticed.  For example, the musings of the Wall Street Journal….. Which begins “Google Inc.’s proposed $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Inc. underscores the allure of a business model pioneered by one of the company’s rivals: Apple Inc.“

Big News this morning..  Google just announced they’re buying Motorola Mobility.  Which (we believe) will generally benefit our small and medium sized business customers.  Here’s why:

• Google Doesn’t Discriminate Against Small Businesses.  All their platforms are universally available (i.e. AdWords, Video Advertising, Voice, Search).
• Google Integrates their Acquisitions.  Blogger, Gmail, Docs, Voice, Google+ are tightly integrated.  Expect the same from their Motorola Products.
• Google Gives Away Android.  The Number One Mobile Platform.  Expect Motorola’s innovative adoption of Android to continue.

In the short term, don’t expect to see much.  Just the Xoom Tablet, excellent phones, etc. to keep coming out the doors of Motorola.  But downstream (and I would expect sooner rather than later, Q1 or Q2 2012) I would expect a significant rollout of more advanced tablets and what we call “crossover” systems…  Essentially tablets with all the power and storage of netbooks and notebook computers.  All with tight included integration of Google platforms on Android.

Of course, there is another possibility…  Could Google be looking to build themselves they’re very own “SuperApple” type of company?  Where they control Android, and the hardware?  All coupled to Google’s virtual services?  Might be a little far fetched, but stranger things have happened.

Factory Installed Maleware In Your Computers?

An intresting article came out yesterday in the blogs at Hewlett Packard about Malware, Viruses, etc. and the threat of them being “built in” to the computers and peripherals you buy.  And just what a threat it is.

Which brings up an interesting situation for businesses and the liability they may incur as a result.  For example, what would happen to your business if suddenly all your customers data (stored on your business systems) was being sold to identity thieves?  What if it was discovered that your systems contained Malware that enabled the breach of security?  How much money, time, effort, and manpower would it take to figure out what was going on with your computers?

Which is why OPENRSM humbly suggests that you need us to manage your systems and security for you.  Being proactive includes screening hardware and software systems before they’re installed in your business.  That takes a level of expertise and experience that you and your company simply don’t possess.  And why should you?  Your the experts in your own industry.  Let OPENRSM come in and audit your systems (For FREE) and provide you with a comprehensive report on the overall health and security of your network, a list of suggested maintenance, and a security review.  It won’t cost you a thing.  We’ll do it for free just so you can see how OPENRSM employs it’s “I.T. is a Process, Not a Project” approach and show you just how cost effective it is to not have computer issues.

Take a look at the HP blog HERE…  It’s an interesting read.

Is Your Business Ready For The Yearlong Power Experiment?

Tentatively set to start in mid-July, an experiment proposed by the major US Power companies (AP Source linked) will cause the frequency of the electrical current powering your computers, printers, phone systems, etc. to fluctuate to a much wider degree than in the past.  And many of the internal clocks in your computers, phone systems, and printers rely on the frequency of the electrical grid to help regulate their internal clocks.

What is this going to do to your business?  Just check out some of the things you use every day that rely on system clocks:

• Point of Sale Systems
• Employee Time Clocks
• Time and Billing Applications
• Phone Systems

Fortunately, we have the Network Time Protocol and Internet Time Servers we can use to help keep your systems properly “clocked”.  Unfortunately, many (if not most) systems we see for the first time havn’t been configured to use NTP properly!  This is okay as long as the power grid is at a constant frequency, but with this new yearlong experiment about to begin these systems are susceptible to disrupting your business.

Do you know if your business is at risk?  Call or Email OPENRSM and we’ll check out your systems, network, and peripherals and provide you the news, good or bad, and if anything needs to be done.  No risk, No obligation.  Just straight answers.