More from HP

HP continues to pound away at the recession with amazing offers:

The laptop is especially interesting.  1gb of ram expandable to 8gb.  DVD writeable optical drive. It's a nice machine to just browse around the net with, perfect for home use.  I would upgrade the OS to Vista Business, Enterprise or Ultimate, but for the price would find no fault with the OS it comes with.  

This offer is only good for a few days so call me quick, 800-555-6255 x8345, direct 514-373-8345.  Ask for Garfield. 

Unified Communications

Someone passed this on to me earlier today.  It was interesting, thought I would post it.

"What to ask before you buy.

Checklist: Enterprise Unified Communications

Done right, UC (Unified Communications) can boost employees’ productivity, help

executives better manage a distributed work force and improve the company’s

response time to customers. Forrester Research Inc. is seeing growing momentum

behind UC in the enterprise; the technology research firm expects a significant

increase in deployments by the end of 2009." 

Download it here

uc-checklist.pdf

or view it online 

http://itinfoguy.com/uc-checklist.pdf

source:  http://www.voip-news.com/

Wacom - Intuos4 Tablet

Wacom - Intuos4 Tablet

Posted using ShareThis

Wacom Introduces new Intuos4 Tablet

These things are fun!  I think.  I never used one, but I assume they would be useful.  Perfect for taking notes or even freehand design.

Professional photographers, designers and artists agree: Intuos4 pen tablets speed production time for photo editing, design and art creation. When working with digital assets, there isn’t a more natural tool than a pen for increased comfort and control.

• Powerful, yet sensitive - Featuring the new Wacom Tip Sensor, you will now realize precision and control with only a single gram of pen pressure. With every stroke, Intuos4 captures even the most subtle nuances of pressure, giving you the creative power to dynamically adjust exposure, brush size, line weight, opacity and more by pressing harder or softer with the new Grip Pen.
• Pixel precision - By integrating Wacom?s highest level of pen pressure sensitivity at 2048 levels, you will realize accuracy and detail at the pixel level like never before. The new Grip Pen precision mode also allows for fine, detail work.
• Keys to success - Work smarter not harder. Set up the Intuos4 ExpressKeys? to activate your own unique, time-saving shortcuts and modifiers in each of your applications. With Intuos4, remembering your shortcut settings is now as easy as casting a quick glance at the tablet. Each ExpressKey is now equipped with an accompanying illuminated display, providing a constant reminder of the Key?s application-specific function.
• Speed Ring - The finger-sensitive Touch Ring allows you to control up to four different functions in each application for on the fly adjustments such as zooming, scrolling, brush size, canvas rotation, and more* *.
• Left, right, left - The innovative, ambidextrous design of Intuos4 allows you to maximize the productivity of both your hands. By locating all of the ExpressKeys and the Touch Ring on the same side of the tablet, they are all in the perfect position for use with the hand that is not holding the pen. Simply rotate the tablet 180° degrees and change a single control panel setting to adjust the tablet from a right-handed to a left-handed configuration.
• Extra comfort - Intuos4 is the most comfortable Intuos tablet yet. The slim-profiled tablet has gently sloping, easy glide palm rests that provide complete support for working on all areas of the tablet. The cordless, battery-free pen features a cushioned, ergonomically contoured barrel, and a selection of interchangeable nibs.
• Peek inside - A new weighted pen stand not only provides a convenient pen holder, but also functions as a handy twist-off storage compartment for pen nibs and a handy nib removal tool. Standard, felt, stroke and flex nibs ship with the Intuos4, allowing you to simulate working with a variety of traditional art and design materials.
• Software No Less - With your Intuos4, gain access to new choices in bundled software to best fit your needs. Intuos4 owners are eligible to download the following valuable software applications: Wacom Brushes 3.0., Nik® Color Efex Pro? WE6, and Corel® Painter? Sketch Pad. In addition, Intuos4 owners may choose between Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 7 for the PC, Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 6 for the Mac, or Autodesk® SketchBook Express® 2010.
• Mouse included - There is even room for a mouse on this professional pen tablet. Completely redesigned, the new five-button mouse moves the cursor based on both the direction and the orientation of the mouse for smooth, accurate tracking across the tablet surface.

source:  http://intuos.wacom.com/

Check out these Apple Mac deals

Apple
20" iMac - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M 
20", Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz, 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 320GB SATA, 8X SuperDrive, 10/100/1000, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M, AirPort Extreme 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.0, iSight, OS X 10.5 Leopard 
PC Mall Part #7758229  
Mfr. Part #MB417LL/A

Apple
13.3" MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 2GB, 160GB, SuperDrive - Aluminum unibody 
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 2GB DDR3, 160GB SATA/100, 256MB DDR3 Nvidia GeForce 9400M, 13" Display 1280x800, Super Drive(DVD+-R/CD-RW), Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11n WLAN, Bluetooth, OS X 10.5 Leopard 
PC Mall Part #7684018  
Mfr. Part #MB466LL/A

Apple
13.3" MacBook Air 1.6GHz 2GB RAM 120GB HD 9400M - Aluminum 
Intel Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz, 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 120GB SATA HD, 13.3" TFT WXGA, NVIDIA 9400M Graphics card, 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard 
PC Mall Part #7684027  
Mfr. Part #MB543LL/A

Apple
15.4" MacBook Pro - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 2GB, 250GB, 9600M SuperDrive 
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz, 15" Display, 2GB DDR3, 250GB SATA, Nvidia GeForce 9600M 256MB, 8X SuperDrive, Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T, Airport Extreme, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR & iSight, OS X 10.5 Leopard 
PC Mall Part #7684020  
Mfr. Part #MB470LL/A

Lenovo Offers

Lenovo
ThinkPad T400 - Intel Centrino 2 Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz Notebook 
Intel Centrino 2 Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, DVDRW, 14.1" WXGA TFT, Intel 802.11agn, 1GB Ethernet, Modem, Ultranav, Secure chip, Fingerprint reader, Windows XP Professional 
PC Mall Part #7531721  
Mfr. Part #7417TPU

Lenovo
ThinkPad T500 - Intel Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz Notebook 
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB SATA HDD, CDRW/DVDRW Drive, 15.4" WXGA TFT LCD, Fingerprint Reader, Modem, 1GB Ethernet, WLAN 802.11a/g/n, Windows XP Pro 
PC Mall Part #7531844  
Mfr. Part #224233U

Lenovo
ThinkPad SL400 - Intel Core 2 Duo T5870 2.0GHz Notebook 
Intel Core 2 Duo T5870 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM, 250GB SATA HDD, DVD Recordable, 14.1" WXGA TFT LCD, Fingerprint Reader, Camera, Modem, 1GB NIC, WLAN 802.11agn, Bluetooth, Windows XP Pro 
PC Mall Part #7676309  
Mfr. Part #27436AU

These offers are only valid until March 31st, 2009 or while supplies last.

Call 800-555-6255 x8345

VMWare Technical Resources

http://www.vmware.com/resources/techresources/cat/91?from=0

A great VMWare virtualization resource depot and guide.

HP jump start the economy deal

I love this Hewlett-Packard (HP) deal that we have this week.

So check it, for $399.99 (after mail in rebates) you can get:

HP DX7500 with 3gb and a 22" monitor for $399.99 after mail in rebates...why not? Limit of 5 per customer! Valid until Friday the 27th or while supplies last.

Plus you can get the mouse, the security lock, the connectivity kit...FREE?  I mean come on!!!

HP Smart Buy Business PC Security Lock Kit  This handy device ensures desktop PC remains exactly where it is by locking the chassis cover and securing it to an anchor point.  PC Mall Part #7702727   Mfr. Part #PV606AT

HP Smart Buy USB 2-Button Laser Mouse  The HP USB Laser Mouse provides the speed and accuracy of laser tracking in a simple, elegant design.  PC Mall Part #7763737   Mfr. Part #GW405AT

HP Smart Buy Connectivity Starter Kit  Get connected with everything you need in one kit - surge protector, local area network (LAN) cable and USB printer cable.  PC Mall Part #7197390   Mfr. Part #RT174AT

Call 514-373-8345 for more details or 1-800-555-6255 x8345 but not after Friday March 27th, 2009.

Installing a new hard drive

Tech Tips

A Practical Roadmap for Balancing IT Cost Pressures and Top Line Value

A Practical Roadmap for Balancing IT Cost Pressures and Top Line Value

Live Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Time:  8:00 AM PT/11:00 AM ET

Speakers:
Andre P. Hughes, Global Managing Director, Accenture & Cisco Business Group

Rebecca Jacoby, SVP and Chief Information Officer, Cisco Frank B. Modruson, Chief Information Officer, Accenture

Moderated by:
Bob Melk, Publisher, CIO Magazine

Accenture and Cisco joins CIO magazine to discuss how IT can be an asset that drives value for your business by deploying technologies that can fundamentally change the way your organization collaborates with its customers, employees, partners and suppliers. 

Register Today

Why You Should Virtualize

Why Your Company Should Virtualize

Virtualizing your IT infrastructure lets you reduce IT costs while increasing the efficiency, utilization, and flexibility of your existing assets. Around the world, companies of every size benefit from VMware virtualization. Thousands of organizations—including all of the Fortune 100—use VMware virtualization solutions. See how building a virtual datacenter will benefit your organization.

Top 5 Reasons to Adopt Virtualization Software

1.     Get more out of your existing resources: Pool common infrastructure resources and break the legacy “one application to one server” model with server consolidation.

2.     Reduce datacenter costs by reducing your physical infrastructure and improving your server to admin ratio: Fewer servers and related IT hardware means reduced real estate and reduced power and cooling requirements. Better management tools let you improve your server to admin ratio so personnel requirements are reduced as well.

3.     Increase availability of hardware and applications for improved business continuity: Securely backup and migrate entire virtual environments with no interruption in service. Eliminate planned downtime and recover immediately from unplanned issues.

4.     Gain operational flexibility: Respond to market changes with dynamic resource management, faster server provisioning and improved desktop and application deployment.

5.       Improve desktop manageability and security: Deploy, manage and monitor secure desktop environments that users can access locally or remotely, with or without a network connection, on almost any standard desktop, laptop or tablet PC.

http://www.vmware.com/virtualization/

Transform your Business with Virtualization

Virtualization dramatically improves the efficiency and availability of resources and applications in your organization. Internal resources are underutilized under the old “one server, one application” model and IT admins spend too much time managing servers rather than innovating. An automated datacenter, built on a VMware virtualization platform, lets you respond to market dynamics faster and more efficiently than ever before. VMware Infrastructure delivers resources, applications—even servers—when and where they’re needed. VMware customers typically save 50-70% on overall IT costs by consolidating their resource pools and delivering highly available machines with VMware Infrastructure.

• Run multiple operating systems on a single computer including Windows, Linux and more.
• Let your Mac run Windows creating a virtual PC environment for all your Windows applications.
• Reduce capital costs by increasing energy efficiency and requiring less hardware and increasing your server to admin ratio
• Ensure your enterprise applications perform with the highest availability and performance
• Build up business continuity through improved disaster recovery solutions and deliver high availability throughout the datacenter
• Improve enterprise desktop management & control with faster deployment of desktops and fewer support calls due to application conflicts

5 Things to Consider

1. Assess your virtual environment readiness

You can't optimize what you cannot measure. A detailed assessment is required before full project commitment to understand your current capabilities, help justify current as well as future investments, and provide a baseline measurement that can be tracked and reviewed.

2. Investigate shared/unified storage to improve flexibility

A well-architected shared storage environment can help IT groups enable the advanced features of virtualized server environments without adding the overhead of additional management.

3. Revisit data backup and recovery plans

Virtualization means relying on fewer physical systems to process more tasks. Consolidating on fewer machines without redesigning data protection will lead to performance issues, impede recovery and limit overall project success. CIOs should carefully consider the best choice in data protection for their organization's specific needs, to minimize the impact of events such as data, system, or site failure and ensure information is properly protected.

4. Consider thin provisioning

Server virtualization enables the rapid provisioning of applications and administrators should consider thin provisioning for their environments to reclaim unused storage, improve storage efficiency and enable faster time to market.

5. Dig into data de-duplication to maximize efficiency

By its very nature, virtualization tends to have a lot of duplicate data such as the same operating system and application software. De-duplication technologies allow an organization to use and manage less storage while still reaping the benefits of virtualization.

Try it, It's FREE

Download VMware ESXi free is VMware next-generation hypervisor that allows you to deploy virtual machines in your physical servers.

ESXi live demo shows how it works and gives an excellent overview

VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3 live demo summary of features and benefits of VMware Virtual infrastructure 3.

VMware View 3; Take Control of Your Desktops!

You can also try a full blown trial version of Virtual Infrastructure 3 Enterprise for 60 days...FREE.  It's a great option if you currently run 10 or more servers.

If you have already virtualized your servers and storage, you also want to consider virtualizing your desktops.

Call me when you need to implement a virtual solution, obtain additional licenses, or need to renew your VMWare maintenance.

Garfield Jones

514-373-8345

The IT Info Guy

Network Security

What if I were to ask you just how safe your network is?  You'd probably tell me you have firewalls, HIPS, all kinds of AV, spamblockers etc...you'd probably tell me it's pretty safe.  

Now what if I told you that I could arrange for a company to try to hack into your system for free in order to expose any weakness in your security profile?  I made that offer to a few people today and they turned it down, they felt that they had done all that needed to be done to be safe.  

They felt that because they are monitoring from the inside that the system is ironclad and foolproof.  While that may be true, why not have a company test it from the outside.  You never truly know how safe your home is until a criminal wants to break in and tries to break in.  

If your company has 150 or more computer users, let's get the test arranged.  Right now I can get it set up for free but that promotion may not last forever.