Do you have your servers and networking equipment out in the open, the noise is driving you crazy, and you are afraid everything could be easily damaged? Want a "pretty" server rack that also cools and is quiet? You might want to check out the new line of APC Netshelter CX series racks. They come in three sizes and are made to sit in the open. They look good (for a server rack) with wood paneling and enclosed doors.

I often see companies that do not have a dedicated closet for their servers and networking equipment so it is out in the open on a table or shelf. Often the equipment sits on the floor in the corner of an office under a desk or on a shelf system in a public space. This type of setup is by no means optimal and raises the risk of equipment damage and failure.

These units are not cheap, but they are way less expensive than building a room for your equipment or paying for repairs or a replacement when someone accidentally spills a cup of coffee on your server.

If you choose not to have all of your equipment in a off-site collocation facility and do not have a dedicated server closet in your office, you might want to consider picking one of these up.

Here is a picture of the product and you can find more information on the APC site here.

• OpenDNS – This service (free and pay versions) will allow you to restrict user website access, but uses their own DNS servers. Very simple to implement, works great with no software to install and works immediately. It also gives you metrics on what sites were blocked and what sites are being accessed (but not down to the user level). More details can be found here http://www.opendns.com/
• SDExplorer – If you use the Microsoft SkyDrive service to store Office documents on the internet, you could use this program (free and pay versions) to help make your life easier.  This allows you to treat the SkyDrive site just like you would a regular hard drive. No need to use a website to get your SkyDrive documents.  More details can be found here http://www.cloudstorageexplorer.com/index.php

There is a TEDx Naperville Event This Month being held on March 25^th. This looks to be an awesome event with some great speakers so I highly reccomend attending. Details below. 

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TEDx welcomes ideas worth sharing to Naperville on March 25, 2010
Self-organized TED event brings world class speakers to North Central College

NAPERVILLE, IL (25 February 2010)  – With the Wentz Concert Hall as its backdrop, TEDxNaperville.com is launching its inaugural conference.  The kickoff event will be held at North Central College in Naperville Illinois on March 25, 2010 from 1PM to 5PM. Cost of this event is only $25 and is payable online at tedxnaperville.eventbrite.com

About TEDx
In the spirit of "ideas worth spreading," TED has created TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDx[name], where x = independently organized TED event. At TEDxNaperville, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

TEDxNaperville is a local, self-organized event modeled in the spirit of TED. 

“Through TEDx, the TED organization has created a viral movement that allows great ideas to be spread – starting at a local level,” said Arthur Zards, founder and curator of TEDxNaperville.com

The March 25^th TEDxNaperville event includes the following speakers:

• Bryan Campen, new media associate at the Long Now Foundation
• Charlie Catlett CIO of the U.S Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory
• Dr. Robert Wolcott, the Executive Director of Kellogg Innovation Network and a founder/faculty Member, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Kellogg School of Management and Author: Grow From Within – Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Michael Kiefer, general manager of BrandProtect, outlines his vision for the future of art and music distribution,
• Geoff Rhyne, chef de Cuisine at SugarToad Restaurant and founder of Slow Food Upstate in Greenville, South Carolina
• Harold Clampitt who will share lessons learned, especially the confluence of disruptive technology, decision making and success
• Todd Flaming, a passionate proponent of rethinking design
• Douglas L. Sisterson, Operations Manager US Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility.

Tickets are $25 and go on sale immediately at tedxnaperville.eventbrite.com. Seating is extremely limited. Interested parties can also visit www.tedxnaperville.com for complete speaker bios and the most up-to-date event and ticket information. After the event, from 5 to 6:30PM, there will be a cocktail reception with cash bar. 

At 7PM, after the TEDxNaperville event, Geoff Rhyne, chef de cuisine at SugarToad restaurant has planned a private “chef’s choice” four-course meal with wine-pairing.  If you love good food and great conversation, don’t miss this private dinner. Space is extremely limited. The cost of this event is $112 per person and is payable online: http://tedxnapervilledinner.eventbrite.com

Looks like everyone is looking for good smartphone application these days. Below are some apps that CIO.com has come up with that may be worth looking in to. 

Blackberry
http://www.cio.com/article/530413/Free_BlackBerry_Apps_Your_Smart
phone_s_10_New_Best_Friends?source=CIONLE_nlt_enterprise_2010-02-10 

Android
http://www.cio.com/article/535617/Android_Apps_for_
Business_Users?page=11#slideshow 

iPhone
http://www.cio.com/article/525963/10_Great_iPhone_
Apps_for_Business_Users_at_a_Glance

Waident has been doing virtual server and SAN implementations for many years and we are always looking for new vendors to work with. Click here for further details on what we do.

We rarely become partners with hardware/software firms so we can remain completely impartial for our clients. However, every so often, we find a manufacturer with such a compelling mix of technology, reliability, customer service, and exceptional price point, that we have no choice but to start working with them. Scale Computing is one of those firms.

The Scale SAN is an amazing piece of technology that won’t break the bank. We recently installed one for a client in conjunction with VMware vShere 4, VMware View, and VMware vCenter with great results.

They can be found here http://www.scalecomputing.com/ for complete information.

We are not in the hardware game, which allows us to discount what we sell so our clients get the best equipment for the best price. We partner with firms in order to leverage that relationship to benefit our clients and not to capture the minimal dollars we make on the hardware purchase transaction. In the end we make a little money off of the hardware transaction and our clients save money so it ends up being one of those rare win/win events.

We have all been there - You click on Send and then an instant later you realize with great dread that you forgot to add the attachment, didn’t finish the thought, or even worse, had the wrong recipient in the email because you hit reply instead of forward. I know for me, there is some sixth sense that usually catches my mishaps the moment I click Send and I am left wishing there was a way to stop the delivery so I can update my message.

Greg Woodard with Woodmark Technologies has come up with an elegant solution. Just have your emails sit in your Outbox for 60 seconds before they actually get sent. This allows you to grab the message if you need to without causing any real delay in the delivery. One caveat...this may cause a problem with the Outlook Delayed Delivery option so if you use that feature, be aware.  Check out his blog entry to see how it is done.

 http://blog.woodmarktech.com/2010/01/28/delaying-sending-of-mail-using-outlook/

Robert Green Joins Waident Technology Solutions to Head Healthcare Technology Management, Advocacy, and Electronic Medical Records

Chicago, IL (January 26, 2010) – Waident Technology Services announced today the addition of Robert Green as Director of Managed Services.  Bob brings 10+ years of experience developing comprehensive client solutions.   He will leverage his experience working with medical practices to help them develop a clear information technology strategy, and organize their managed care services. The service offering will provide for the ongoing comprehensive support of their technology, as well as, electronic medical records selection and use.

Waident Technology Solutions will be working with small and midsized medical practices, doctor organizations and other health care agencies providing comprehensive technology support consisting of Helpdesk services, network infrastructure monitoring and management, electronic medical records platform management, strategic guidance and advocacy. “I was amazed at the stories I would hear from medical practitioners all relating around technology vendors providing poor advice, not being responsive, and failing to provide the high level of service they deserve“, said Robert Green. “I was looking to align with a firm that could solve the pain I have been seeing in the health care industry and Waident was a perfect fit”.

Waident started working with Health Care clients after seeing an inordinate amount of vendors not stepping up to help with their technology needs. “I am extremely excited to have Robert join the team. His approach to customer advocacy parallels what Waident has been providing clients since day one, so it was a natural fit.” said John Ahlberg, Waident’s Chief Executive Officer and founder.

About Waident:

Waident provides a complete technology support and management platform for small to midsized organizations in Health Care, Commercial Real Estate, Finance, and Professional Services. By providing responsive helpdesk support for end users, comprehensive technology management, and CIO strategic guidance, Waident’s clients leverage a cost effective solution to handle all of their technology needs and gain a robust IT department.

Contact:
John Ahlberg
Chief Executive Officer
630.547.7011
http://www.waident.com

Thanks to Greg Woodard with Woodmark Technologies (http://www.woodmarktech.com/) for the below site recommendations.

http://ninite.com/ - An excellent site that has a host of commonly used free program downloads. These are not just a compilation if simple links. The Ninite system allows you to check off the ones you want to install and it will create a custom installer that can be run that will automatically install them all at once. We use many of these programs internally and for clients.

http://www.piriform.com/ - A great site with computer maintenance utility programs to address all of your common needs. We use ccleaner all of the time for users.

The Consumer electronics Show (CES) took place last week, and as usual, a lot of interesting products will be released in 2010. Below is my quick list of things that caught my eye. 

• Lenovo's IdeaPad U1 hybrid laptop/tablet – what is interesting about this machine is that it looks and acts like a laptop, but it allows you to take off the screen and leave the keyboard behind for tablet computing. http://gizmodo.com/5440054/lenovos-ideapad-u1-is-one-smart-dual+processor-laptoptablet-hybrid
• Klipsch Light Speakers – Plug these audio speakers into any normal light bulb socket and you get an LED light (to replace the bulb you just took out) and high quality wireless speakers. Great idea. I would get a few if they were less expensive. http://www.pcworld.com/article/186050/lightspeaker_combines_wireless_audio_and_led_light.html
• RIM Blackberry Presenter – Play PowerPoint presentations wirelessly from your Blackberry to a projector. http://www.pcworld.com/article/186084/rim_reveals_blackberry_presenter_for_powerpoint.html
• ShowWX laser pico projector – plug this tiny battery powered projector in to your iPhone, laptop, or other device and project up to a 200 inch screen.  http://www.microvision.com/showwx/
• AR Drone helicopter – a remote controlled helicopter type device that has onboard video and is controlled by an iPhone app. If it comes out with an Android app I’m getting one! http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/parrots-ar-drone-helicopter-brings-military-style-amusement-to/
• 3D – it seems to be the year of 3D for the home. There are a lot of TV manufacturers coming out with sets that are 3D, as well as, Blu-ray players that can handle 3D discs. Now if there was only enough content to justify the upgrades. Speaking of content, it is coming this year with several channels and sporting events planned for 2010. And yes you still need to wear the glasses.
  
  

We had a client recently looking for a small portable speaker to use on their desktop machine. We ordered them a new computer and it did not come with an internal speaker at all (oddly many new machines do not come with internal speakers as an option or even by default – go figure). You would think it would be easy to find a little speaker that that can be hidden back behind the desk, monitor, or the PC itself and be loud enough to handle the basic sound needs like the Windows dings and the random webinar audio. Of course when you go looking, you can never find what you need and trying to search Google for speakers is like finding a needle in a haystack. 

There are a multitude of options for speakers, but the small ones used batteries and pretty much all of the desktop speakers are too big, especially when you are looking for one that you want to be hidden. When you do find one that fits the bill, it turns out to be too expensive. 

While at the local Staples store buying envelopes for the office, I spied a small round speaker at the checkout counter that is about the size of a golf ball and was on sale for $10. I figured I would give in to the impulse buy and pick one up. I have to say I’m glad I did. This thing is really small (like I said the size of a golf ball) and shockingly loud and clear. It has a mini audio connection – the same kind that most laptops, PC’s, iPods, and such use. It also has a USB connection that charges the internal battery. The speaker can be used in portable devices running off of the battery, or you can plug it all in to a PC and it works great while drawing power from the USB connection. You can twist the two halves of the speaker and it expands in the middle revealing an accordion like middle which ends up helping to produce some fairly deep bass notes for such a small speaker. 

Now don’t think that this tiny speaker will produce sound like your big and expensive home stereo speakers do. The amazing part is that such a small speaker can produce such a crisp and loud sound for its size. It is definitely worth picking one up if you need a portable speaker. 

Omnitech Mini Speaker Model# 18721 – oddly there is little information on the web for them, but an identical model is the iHome iHM7BC http://www.ihomeaudio.com/iHM7.