Intel SSD 320: Taking Reliability To The Next Level

Interesting post about Intel’s SSD technology…

Intel SSD 320 drives include redundant flash memory. Should any of the drive's blocks go bad, they can be remapped to the surplus storage transparently. The new SSDs also include an array of capacitors able to keep the controller running during a power loss. Cached information is quickly written to non-volatile flash to maintain data integrity.

We all know SSDs are fast. They're so fast, in fact, that many enterprises dependent on high-performance storage have replaced cabinets full of mechanical disks with just a handful of solid-state drives to achieve similar I/O throughput. But, in a business environment, uptime is often even more important than speed.

Intel already has a fantastic reputation for delivering reliable SSDs. Its drives are increasingly being used in mission critical environments specifically because they're proving to be so dependable. Real-world data from the company's reseller partners help quantify those claims—Intel's second-generation mainstream X25-M came back .59% of the time, while competing SSDs demonstrated a greater than two percent return rate.

And now that we're looking at the third-gen SSD 320, Intel's reliability story gets an even more substantial emphasis. To begin, SSD 320 drives include redundant flash memory. Should any of the drive's blocks go bad, they can be remapped to the surplus storage transparently. The new SSDs also include an array of capacitors able to keep the controller running during a power loss. Cached information is quickly written to non-volatile flash to maintain data integrity.

Those improvements add up a product in which customers should put even more faith. In fact, Intel recently fortified its warranty coverage on the SSD 320, extending it from three years to five.

Evernote News…

If you are using Evernote you probably have gotten this email notification from them. First off there is a new update available. To force an update on your desktop client click on the Help menu option and choose Check For Updates. You will be prompted to download and run the update if you don’t have the updated version already. While many of the changes are cosmetic, Evernote tells us that it should be more user-friendly to use.

What! You don’t have Evernote?

If you are running around with many different kinds of devices, you may want to consider looking at this program. This program has front end program interfaces for the iPad, iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, Windows Phone 7, Blackberry, Palm Pre, Palm Pixi, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is a great way to share notes between all of these devices. Start with the free version and see if it is a good fit for what you do. I think that you will.

And…

If you have an iPad 2 you might be interested in the new Evernote Peek. This learning application works in conjunction with an iPad 2 and a smart cover.

Connect Peek to your Evernote account and brush up on a language, make flashcards for a quiz or test your trivia knowledge, all by simply peeking under the Smart Cover.

Take a sneak peak at how it works:

iPads for all! Sort of…

As reported by the Huntersville Herald, the town of Cornelius, Colorado has fond that a new pilot program to replace paper with iPads is helping them save money, production time and helping them be more green. Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte and the town’s five commissioners were each issued an iPad 2 recently paid for by the town.

The iPads all plug into the town’s NovusAgenda Software, and provides the commissioners with all of the necessary meeting materials, including budget worksheets, zoning maps and PowerPoint presentations. In previous instances this was comprised of an average of 210 pages of printed material for each commissioner other recipients totaling a total of 19 copies. These packages had to be developed, printed, copied and package for each meeting.That’s a lot of work and cost involved to do this.

Town Manager Anthony Roberts says he’s amazed with how much sense it makes to use iPads and digital material instead of paper. “It’s just a no brainer,” he told the Huntersville Herald. “We used to print all those agenda packets and people threw them in the recycling bin after the meeting.” Plus, Roberts says, going digital helps transparency, since “the beauty of this system is you have everything online. It’s there forever and a day, and the general public sees everything.”

We are starting see more and more applications that have web based interfaces that allow the end user to interact with multiple kinds of endpoint devices that they can use. This is a trend that will help bring down the cost to the end user especially those that have small budgets and allow them to act as big as their much larger counterparts.

The Toshiba Thrive will be shipping soon.

The Toshiba Thrive (strange name) will become available towards the middle of this month from which you can pick from one of three models (8, 16 and 32GB). Priced at $429.99, $479.99 and $579.99 respectively. This appears to be a WiFi only machine at this time and doesn’t show any 3g or 4g radios as part of the package. It is running Android 3.1 (Honeycomb) and touts having a bright responsive multi-touch, high resolution 10.1 inch screen. The LED-backlit display is well-sized for surfing the Internet, and engineered with exclusive adaptive display technology, which adjusts brightness and contrast to the surrounding light conditions. Thrive not only has a well-sized display, but really rises to the occasion when it comes to expanded entertainment. Use its built-in HDMI port to share on a big screen TV all the stuff you've captured and carried around - in up to 1080p Full HD resolution.

Main Specifications:

• Product Type: Tablet - black
• Operating System: Android 3.1
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 10.7 in x 0.6 in x 7 in
• Weight: 1.6 lbs
• Display: 10.1" TFT - LED backlight - 1280 x 800 - Multi-Touch
• Processor: NVIDIA Tegra 2 1 GHz ( Dual-Core )
• RAM: 1 GB
• Memory (depending on model): 8 GB, 16 GB or 32 GB
• Supported Flash Memory Cards: SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
• Wireless Connectivity: 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 HS
• Digital Camera: Rear + 2 Megapixel front
• HD Video Recording: 720p
• Supported Digital Video Formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264
• Supported Digital Audio Formats: MP3, WMA, AAC, MIDI, AMR, AAC +, OGG
• Sensors: Ambient light sensor, gyro sensor
• Manufacturer Warranty: 1 year warranty

Software - Clock, Calculator, Quickoffice, Virtual Keyboard, Google Talk, Gmail, YouTube, Adobe Flash Player, Swype, Google eBooks, Android Browser, Android Market, Android Music Player, Gallery, Google Music, Google Places, Google Latitude, Google Search, Google Calendar, Google Calendar Sync, Google Contacts, Google Contacts Sync, Google Voice Search, LogMeIn Ignition, Hardwood Backgammon, Hardwood Euchre, Hardwood Solitaire, Hardwood Hearts, Hardwood Spades, MOG Music, Printer Share, Need for Speed Shift, Toshiba App Place, Toshiba Book Place, Toshiba Start Place, Toshiba Media Player, Toshiba Service Station, Toshiba File Manager.

What is a Zettabyte?

recent Engadget post demonstrated just how big a Zettabyte is. Cisco things that by 2015 will be the commencement of the Zettabyte era. Other ways to visualize how big a Zettabyte is:

“you can alternatively think of it as the equivalent of 250 billion DVDs, 36 million years of HD video, or the volume of the Great Wall of China if you allow an 11oz cup of coffee to represent a gigabyte of data. So "zetta" must be Greek for one hell of a lot, but what Cisco expects is that we'll be pushing that much information around the web each year by 2015.”

I still can get a sense of how big a terabyte is, and I can barely imagine the amount of storage that a single petabyte is.But going up two more factors to get to a zettabyte is just mind boggling and to think we will be pushing that much data around the Internet in another couple of years is amazing.

Astaro Acquisition by Sophos Completed

We received an email detailing primarily that there will be little change in the overall function that we have with Astaro and the products that we work with from them. What we will see is a different email format for our contacts, a new logo and updated marketing material but for the most part it will be business as usual.

We look forward to the expanded product line and adding the long list of Sophos products to our arsenal. As we become more familiar with these products look for more information in this blog as we explore these new products.

How To: Some of my favorite keyboard shortcut commands

When it comes to Windows I am totally old school. Whenever I find a keyboard shortcut that I can use instead of going through a menu system I definitely use them. Here are 10 of my most often use keyboard shortcuts that can be used in many different Windows Programs as well as Office.

1. Cut, Copy and Paste are usually some of the first commands that you learn the shortcut keys for. They can be used not only when editing documents but in many utility situations as well. Cut – will delete your selected text or item and place that selection into the memory buffer that is called the clipboard. You can perform this operation with a mouse one of two ways, by selecting it of the edit menu or ribbon bar, right mouse clicking on the selection and choosing Cut on pop-up menu or by holding down the [CTRL] key and pressing [X] simultaneously.
2. Copy – the keyboard shortcut is [CTRL] [C]
3. Paste – the keyboard shortcut is [CTRL] [V]
4. Select entire contents can be done with [CTRL] [A]
5. To force a save press [CTRL] [S]
6. To center a line press [CTRL] [E]
7. To align text to the left press [CTRL] [L]
8. To align text to the right press [CTRL] [R]
9. To undo the last command press [CTRL] [Z]
10. And for my last one I will give you a twofer, [CTRL] [I] applies Italics to the selected text and [CTRL] [B] will Bold the selected text.

Astaro Version 7

From the Astaro Blog:

Astaro will continue to support the release V7 of ASG, AMG and AWG for 18 months after that date, until it’s End-of-Life on December 31st, 2012. Support includes bug and security fixes (System Up2Dates) and Pattern Up2Dates and technical support (via web form and phone).

If a customer decides to renew for longer than a year now, we should plan on upgrading them to V8.  The process takes approximately 1 hr, if everything goes smoothly.

1. Clone existing Astaro to new hard-drive.

2. Load version 8.

3. Restore config file.

Microsoft Word Tip: Drawing borders automatically

Word offers a sometimes-handy option that lets you insert a border automatically. Type three hyphens on a blank line and press [Enter]. If the option is enabled, Word will replace the hyphens with a horizontal line. You can get rid of it if you press [Ctrl]Z after Word inserts it (see above). But if you try to select the border and delete it, you're out of luck. You're not dealing with a line object here. Word has applied the Bottom Border format to the paragraph.

To remove that format in Word 2003, click in the paragraph and choose No Border from the Borders drop-down list on the Formatting menu. In Word 2007/2010, click in the paragraph and then click the Border button in the Paragraph group of the Home tab. Just select No Border from the drop-down list.

HP Announces HP TouchPad Availability for United States, Europe and Canada

Product Announcement: June 9

The HP TouchPad should be available Starting tomorrow July 1. It will be coming to mixed reviews with some touting it’s great multi-tasking capabilities and support for Flash as among its biggest assets. It will be available in 16GB and 32GB version for $499.99 and $599.99 respectively. However, without the add-on support from App developers I question whether this product is or will be a good buy. HP announced that it will be partnering with AT&T to introduce a connected version of HP TouchPad later this summer.

Optional accessories for HP TouchPad include the HP Touchstone Charging Dock, the HP TouchPad Wireless Keyboard and the HP TouchPad Case (sold separately). Speaking of accessories, that is another thing that we may not see for a long time for this product. Third Party manufacturers will probably wait to see how many of the these units actually make it into consumer’s hands before ramping up to product compatible add-on products.

It will be interesting to see in the next few months what happens but I don’t think HP’s Name is enough to cause the industry to jump on board as quickly as you would see an Apple product gain support.

More information about HP TouchPad, including product features and specs, is available at www.hpwebos.com/us/products/pads/touchpad.

A $300,000 Reason Why Secure Banking Is Now a “Business” Responsibility Too

AVG posted a blog entry on 6/10/2011 detailing a situation where a US District Court Judge in the state of Maine has ruled this week that Ocean Bank is not liable for $300,000 stolen by hackers from Patco Construction Company’s online banking profile.

In May 2009 hackers siphoned around US$100,000 per day from Patco’s online bank account. The hackers had previously sent an email to employees carrying a Zeus password-stealing Trojan, which was successfully installed on an employee computer.

The judge ruled that the bank’s security was on the level of other bank’s security. The judge ruled that the bank made it clear to customers when they signed up for an account and the amount of liability the bank would shoulder. He ruled that Patco itself was ultimately responsible for the loss because it hadn’t better secured its credential.

This is increasing scary when we read reports that show that less than half are aware of the real and tangible threats posed by Internet based attacks, and that one in seven small businesses have no security software (this number rising to 1 of 4 in businesses that are single employee).

Given this week’s events in the US, it should be clearer than ever than business-level IT security issues necessitate a precision engineered business-grade IT security software suite. Now is the time to act. So we must learn from the Patco Construction case and not become an easy target for the hackers; your business can take steps to avoid malicious IT attacks, so please afford it the respect it deserves.

A good starting point is AVG’s Free Online Security Audit.

Fujitsu Q550 - W7 Tablet should be available in July

Fujitsu Stylistic Q550

The Fujitsu STYLISTIC Q550 is a Slate PC that really works for you whether you are a prosumer, work in business, government or SME. It combines a brilliant display with precise and pressure sensitive pen input plus a touch screen for multiple touch input. It brings you the ideal tools for creating data and collaborating. You can get logged in and working fast and secure with the built in fingerprint and SmartCard readers. If you lose your device or it's stolen, Advanced Theft Protection will allow administrators to track, recover and if necessary delete the data on missing slates. The STYLISTIC Q550 is fast-on, with a balanced weight distribution and a special coating to keep it in your hands. The screen image auto-rotates and reflows your content so you'll always be looking at your work right side up. You'll always be connected to your work through the internet no matter where you are with embedded mobile broadband. You'll be able to work more efficiently because you'll never have to hunt for a hotspot again. With WLAN, and Bluetooth you won't lack for a way to connect with the world and stay on track. Active pen input is just like writing on paper. It gives you the power to fill out forms, mark up plans, and brainstorm with all of the benefits of electronic collaboration. Edit, share and save your electronic documents with all the familiarity, flexibility and exactitude of paper. You work all day, so your slate has to keep up. The STYLISTIC Q550 gives you power to work all day long, and your battery is detachable in case you've got to work overtime. You'll never be stuck searching for a socket when you should closing the deal.

Download Spec Sheet

Main Specifications Product Description Fujitsu Stylistic Q550 - Atom Z670 1.5 GHz - 10.1" TFT Dimensions (WxDxH) 10.8 in x 7.6 in x 0.6 in Weight 1.9 lbs System Type Tablet PC - slate Built-in Devices Speaker, wireless LAN antenna, Bluetooth antenna Embedded Security Trusted Platform Module (TPM 1.2) Security Chip , fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader Processor Intel Atom Z670 / 1.5 GHz Cache Memory 512 KB RAM 2 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR2 SDRAM ( 1 x 2 GB ) Card Reader Yes Hard Drive 62 GB Solid State Drive Display 10.1" LED backlight Multi-Touch High-Bright TFT 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) - 16:10 Graphics Controller Intel GMA 600 Audio Output Sound card Networking Network adapter - IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 Wireless NIC Ralink RT3572 Notebook Camera Integrated - 1.3 Megapixel (back), 0.3 Megapixel (front) Input Device Digitizer, touch-screen, Tablet Pen Power AC 120/230 V ( 50 - 60 Hz ) Battery 4-cell lithium polymer Run Time (Up To) 8 hour(s) Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Microsoft Office Preloaded Includes a pre-loaded image of select Microsoft Office 2010 suites. Purchase an Office 2010 Product Key Card or disc to activate preloaded software on this PC. Manufacturer Warranty 1 year warranty General System Type Tablet PC - slate Built-in Devices Speaker, wireless LAN antenna, Bluetooth antenna Embedded Security Trusted Platform Module (TPM 1.2) Security Chip , fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader Width 10.8 in Depth 7.6 in Height 0.6 in Weight 1.9 lbs Processor Processor Intel Atom Z670 / 1.5 GHz 64-bit Computing Yes Chipset Type Intel SM35 Express RAM Installed Size 2 GB / 2 GB (max) Technology DDR2 SDRAM Configuration Features 1 x 2 GB Storage Controller Type Serial ATA Serial ATA Interface Serial ATA-300 Storage Hard Drive 62 GB Solid State Drive Card Reader Type Card reader Supported Flash Memory Cards SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card Display Display Type 10.1" Multi-Touch TFT - IPS LCD Backlight Technology LED backlight Max Resolution 1280 x 800 ( WXGA ) Widescreen Display Yes Image Aspect Ratio 16:10 Features Anti-glare, Outdoor View, WideView

Video Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA 600 Audio Audio Output Sound card Audio Codec Realtek ALC269 Audio Input Microphone Notebook Camera Camera Type Integrated Sensor Resolution 1.3 Megapixel (back), 0.3 Megapixel (front) Input Device(s) Type Digitizer, touch-screen, Tablet Pen Networking Networking Network adapter Wireless LAN Supported Yes Wireless NIC Ralink RT3572 Data Link Protocol IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, IEEE 802.11n, Bluetooth 3.0 Expansion / Connectivity Expansion Slot(s) 1 (total) / 0 (free) x memory 1 (total) / 1 (free) x Smart Card Interfaces 1 x Hi-Speed USB - 4 pin USB Type A 1 x audio / video - HDMI 1 x audio - line-out/headphones - mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm 1 x docking / port replicator Miscellaneous Features Administrator password, system password, hard drive password Compliant Standards CE, CB, EN 60601-1-2 Power Power Device External Voltage Required AC 120/230 V ( 50 - 60 Hz ) Power Provided 40 Watt Output Voltage 19 V Output Current 2.1 A Battery Technology 4-cell lithium polymer Installed Qty 1 Capacity 5240 mAh Run Time (Up To) 8 hour(s) Operating System / Software OS Provided Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Microsoft Office Preloaded Includes a pre-loaded image of select Microsoft Office 2010 suites. Purchase an Office 2010 Product Key Card or disc to activate preloaded software on this PC. Software Drivers & Utilities, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton Internet Security (90 days subscription), Fujitsu Battery Utility, Fujitsu Portshutter, Softex OmniPass Fingerprint Authentication Utility, Power Saving Utility, Fujitsu Touch Launcher, Microsoft Office 2010 Starter, Auto Rotation Utility, Fujitsu HomeLauncher, Fujitsu OnScreen Touchpad Manufacturer Warranty Service & Support 1 year warranty Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year

Comcast introduces a new malware detection service

I received a new service announcement from Comcast discussing a new detection service to look for “bots” that may have infected your system. These bots can create bottlenecks on their system if present and this is probably the reason that they are instituting this new service. It will be interesting to see how effective this service will be.

Dear Valued Customer, We know that protecting your identity and using the internet safely are both very important concerns for you. The most prevalent threat to your personal information on the internet today is a Bot! A Bot, also referred to as malicious software or malware, is used to gain control of your computer, typically without your knowledge. Online criminals can use Bots to collect your Social Security numbers, bank account information, and/or credit card numbers by monitoring your keystrokes. Constant Guard is a service provided to you at no additional charge as part of your Comcast High Speed Internet subscription. As a new feature of the Constant Guard™ service, if we believe one or more of your computers may be infected with a Bot, we may present to you in your browser a Comcast Service Notice (see example below). The notice will encourage you to take immediate action by visiting https://constantguard.comcast.net for self help instructions or professional assistance.

Protect your personal information with the Constant Guard Protection Suite, Click Here. Need to remove a Bot or malware? Visit the Constant Guard Center Need the latest information and tips on security issues? Visit the Security Website Need to contact Comcast Security? Get Help

Don't be fooled by faked virus alerts, along with the Comcast Service Notice, we will also send a Bot Notification email alert to your Comcast primary email address. This alert will be marked with the Comcast brand below (see below). The brand symbol indicates the email is "verified" to be safe by Comcast. Ensuring your online safety and security is our top priority. While we hope you do not encounter a BOT on your computer, we want you to be rest assured that we will help you detect and remove it. For more information on the Constant Guard program, and how Comcast is protecting you online, please visit http://xfinity.com/constantguard. Sincerely, Comcast Customer Security Assurance

University of Ottawa -- Delivering Multimedia to 100 iPads

Here is a quick note to show how Wi-Fi networks can truly deliver a reliable Wi-Fi experience on tablets and smartphones. There was a recent deployment at University of Ottawa where they ran 6 multimedia applications across 100 iPads in 1 room!

The goal was to baseline performance of Wi-Fi networks for the influx of mobile devices. This was made possible with Aruba’s 802.11n Wi-Fi, which is the industry’s first and only solution to be validated with real-time multimedia apps over iPads. This test offers a model for not just Higher Education, but also any enterprise that needs to support mobile devices and voice/video applications.

Click here to read more and watch the 3 minute video. Please contact us directly to see how this can be relevant for network planning decisions.

Visit our website for more information

Jude Daigle

New Menu Option on Site

I have added a MyWay Video Menu Option and of course a page full of the MyWay product demonstrations.

If you are interested in the product be sure to take a look at these videos. The will give you a quick look at the interface and how to use it. Take a look here.

MyWay View On Demand Videos

See the solution in action by viewing a recorded demonstration at your convenience.

MyWay EHR for Family Practices with 1 - 3 MDs
Replay

MyWay EHR for Cardiology Practices  with 1 - 3 MDs
Replay

MyWay EHR for Pediatric Practices with 1 - 3 MDs
Replay

MyWay EHR for OB/Gyn Practices with 1 - 3 MDs
Replay

MyWay EHR for Urology Practices  with 1 - 3 MDs
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MyWay EHR for Dermatology Practices with 1 - 3 MDs
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MyWay EHR for Orthopedic Practices with 1 - 3 MDs
Replay

Good demonstration of Dragon Medical and Allscripts Myway Medical EHR

Square updates iOS app, intros iPad-based Register

New version of Square’s mobile payment software is available for download. Version 2.0 has an expanded iPad specific feature set that Square is referring to as the Square Register. These new features allow sellers to customize their systems with product photos, prices, sortable categories, and create variations of specific items, accept cash payments, let regular customers set up tabs, publish their menus, and share daily specials.

The Square Register allows you to setup and inventory system that allows you to manage your inventory stock as well as provide reports that will show you your sales patterns and inventory levels. It will allow you to swipe a customer’s card, have them sign for the payment directly on the screen and send them an email or text message receipt. The customer can even add a tip as they sign.

You can even setup menus and share daily specials with your customers. A great way to setup a mobile payment system that can be used just about anywhere you have an internet connection on you iPhone or iPad.

The Credit Card reader is free and plugs into the audio jack port. Works with Android, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Each payment cost you 2.75% fee for processing the payment which funds with automatic daily deposits the next day to your bank account. Click here for information on security of the transactions.

What Connected Community of Health Means to Members of North Shore-LIJ Health System

New video on Allscripts TV that talks about North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System’s approach to giving access to their medical care facilities so that the information is available for better patient care. Very interest approach that is a good model for what we are hoping to see come together in a connected community of health care.

Allscripts/MyWay Demo for Ob/Gyn Practices

Presentation of the MyWay Dashboard and Patient Notes Documentation Oriented towards Ob/Gyn Practices.

OB/GYN Demo Video of Allscripts MyWay