PCM Customer Briefing Center

PCM Customer Briefing Center
 

MacMall

MacMall is a reseller of computers manufactured by Apple Inc., such as the MacBook and iMac, with both an online store and brick-and-mortar locations. They buy Apple products in bulk, which allows them to sell them at a volume discount, and are one of the only companies authorized by Apple Inc. to do so. They also sell accessories for other Apple products, like iPods and iPhones. MacMall is a wholly owned subsidiary of PC Mall, which is a NASDAQ traded company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacMall
 

Barclays Buys 8500 iPads

By Zack Whittaker for Between the Lines | November 26, 2012 -- 11:11 GMT (03:11 PST)

Summary: One of the world's largest banks is rolling out 8,500 iPads to its front-end bank branch staff. But what lies underneath is a signal to other corporate and enterprise clients that Apple's shiny rectangles are far from consumer-only devices.

http://www.zdnet.com/barclays-buys-8500-ipads-sends-enterprise-ready-bat-signal-7000007845/
 

HP StoreServ 7000 - 3Par

HP Expands Midrange 3PAR Storage Portfolio with StoreServ 7000 Tier 1 Solutions
HP's 3PAR StoreServ Storage lineup has been enhanced with systems and functionality to better support midmarket organizations adopting virtualization and cloud computing. Today’s announcement includes details about HP’s new 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Storage systems as well as resiliency and quality-of-service updates to the HP 3PAR Operating System Software.
http://www.storagereview.com/hp_expands_midrange_3par_storage_portfolio_with_storeserv_7000_tier_1_solutions


HP adds 3PAR StoreServ 7000 for midrange, file and object storage:

Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co. today launched two lower-end midrange 3PAR storage arrays and a new big data and archiving platform in hopes of reversing its declining storage sales.
HP is extending 3PAR, its one successful storage platform, to cover the lower end of the midrange through the enterprise. The new systems are also available as all-flash arrays, and HP is also offering a migration path from its aging enterprise virtual arrays (EVAs) to 3PAR.
The new HP 3PAR StoreServ Storage 7000 series includes the 7200 and 7400 models. The other new product is the HP StoreAll Storage system for unstructured data. HP also enhanced its StoreOnce 2000 and 4000 backup deduplication disk target appliances.
http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/news/2240173682/HP-adds-3PAR-StoreServ-7000-for-midrange-file-and-object-storage

Samsung Printers Have Hidden Security Risk

Some Samsung printers, and Dell-branded printers manufactured by Samsung, can be remotely accessed by attackers. Here's how.

By Mathew J. Schwartz InformationWeek
November 28, 2012 03:06 PM

Some Samsung printers and Dell-branded printers manufactured by Samsung are vulnerable to being taken over remotely by an attacker.That warning was made Monday by the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT), which said that the affected printers "contain a hardcoded SNMP full read-write community string that remains active even when SNMP is disabled in the printer management utility." In other words, the printers have a hardcoded account in their firmware that can't be disabled by users. SNMP, or simple network management protocol, is a TCP/IP-based network protocol used to manage and monitor network device configuration.

http://www.informationweek.com/security/vulnerabilities/samsung-printers-have-hidden-security-ri/240142715


 

HP ElitePad

Hmmm...nice looking device not yet available in North America.  Will it sell?

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ad/elitepad/features.html

Cisco to buy Meraki for $1.2billion

Nice play Cisco!  HP or Dell should have made this move.


Cisco Systems said Sunday that it had agreed to buy Meraki for about $1.2 billion, as the networking titan continues to bolster its cloud computing services.
By buying Meraki, a privately held company backed by the likes of Google and Sequoia Partners, Cisco will add products that allow networks to be controlled through the Internet.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cisco-buy-meraki-1-2-025432136.html

iPad Mini Heist

How many iPads do you need?!!!  Who the heck does that?


It's like something straight out of Goodfellas.
Two thieves skirted security at JFK International Airport and got away with part of a cargo shipment of Apple's (AAPL) iPad minis worth $1.5 million, according to a report from the New York Post.
The crooks pulled off the heist late Monday night, just before midnight, and used one of the airport's forklifts to lift the heavy shipment of iPad minis, which were being stored in a cargo building, into their get-away truck, according to the report.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/crooks-pull-off-1-5-163231321.html;_ylt=AhV9dmEV0_31OnnlDp._xnSiuYdG;_ylu=X3oDMTQ4ZTFpNGdwBG1pdANDTkJDIFRvcCBTdG9yaWVzBHBrZwNlYWNmZTYyYy01ZjM5LTNiMzctYTdkMy1lMjZiYzA4ZTE4YTQEcG9zAzUEc2VjA01lZGlhQkxpc3RNaXhlZExQQ0FUZW1wBHZlcgMzZWQ5YjQ4Yy0yZjQ1LTExZTItYmJjOS02NTdkZDQyMTc0MGI-;_ylg=X3oDMTFpNzk0NjhtBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25z;_ylv=3

 

Google - Government Surveillance is On the Rise

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/government-surveillance-rise-says-google-1C7048164

Government demands for user data worldwide from Google have "increased steadily," the search giant says in a new report: "One trend has become clear: Government surveillance is on the rise."


Not shocking at all. 

Office 365 Outages

So far, I am not a fan of cloud services - SAAS

http://searchexchange.techtarget.com/news/2240171234/Two-Office-365-outages-in-five-days-serve-as-reminders-of-cloud-chaos?utm_medium=EM&asrc=EM_NLT_19544255&track=NL-1701&ad=883120&

Two Office 365 outages in five days serve as reminders of cloud 'chaos'

Downtime may be part of the deal when it comes to cloud computing, but the second Microsoft Office 365 outage in five days tested the patience of IT pros and consultants.

Reports of the most recent Office 365 outage first emerged on Twitter yesterday morning, and Microsoft later confirmed that some Office 365 customers were experiencing intermittent email access. That came on the heels of another outage Nov. 8, when customers experienced delays in receiving their email...

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Dragon naturally speaking

Dragon NaturallySpeaking works as well as Dragon medical, themhen, I can control my PC using just my voice.  I can start new e-mails just by saying new e-mail I can open up Microsoft Word just by saying, Microsoft Word.  I can even write this post on blogger.  Just using Dragon medical 10.  So hell yeah this is really freaking cool!

$199.00 Notebook from Acer

https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebooks.html#ac-c7

Acer C7 Chromebook

Everyday simplicity

• 11.6’’ display
• 1 inch thin and 3 pounds
• Over 3.5 hours of battery
• Boots up in less than 20 seconds
• 100 GB of Google Drive free for 2 years1

Only: $199

 

3D Printing

HP needs to buy this company 3D Systems.  http://www.3dsystems.com/ 

The means of production in every home...interesting possibilities.