Network Services of Cape Cod

I had actually already updated to iPhone firmware 2.0.2

While this might improve things elsewhere, here on good old Cape Cod, you won’t have a prayer of maintaining a phone call if you are driving on the mid-Cape. Yes folks, if you want to drop 100% of your calls, just buy yourself an iPhone…

Since I don’t know a thing about cellular networks or service, I decided to disable the 3G radio on my phone to see if it would improve my ability to maintain calls. It did not appear to have any affect. Oh well, at least I can listen to my iTunes when I’m out of cell range.

Hello everyone!

I have been making some adjustments to the website to make it a little more user friendly. I have made the following changes:

1) Removed the bulletin board – didn’t seem to have any purpose. You can leave comments on the blog if you’re really mad about that…

2) Improved the way my schedule displays, so that it doesn’t open a new window. (Now if I can just keep it updating automatically…)

3) Integrated the trouble tickets and knowledgebase pages into the site so that they do not open new windows. Let me know if you have any trouble posting new tickets. I may have to adjust the code some to tighten up the way the pages display under Internet Explorer 6

Thanks!

BK

Ever google yourself to find that you’re listed in some goofy directory with all the wrong information? Yep. Happens to me sometimes as well. I wonder who’s phone number that is…

So have I mentioned lately how much I prefer OS X to Windows? If it wasn’t for Outlook and a few other essential Windows apps, I probably wouldn’t miss it at all.

Recently, while cleaning up a client’s PC, I came across something I hadn’t seen before. In the end the malware was very easy to remove, but what intrigued me was the behavior exhibited by the infected machine. I had been informed that the ‘virus’ was causing the computer to spontaneously reboot several times throughout the day, rendering the computer more or less useless. While remote controlling the to determine if I had to make the 80 mile drive, I witnessed the “reboot” first hand. First the computer exhibited a variation of the infamous BSOD (Blue Screen of Death for all you Windows newbies); then the system “rebooted.” Of course, I should have lost my connection when the machine restarted, so I thought there must be something amiss. The malware was simulating system crashes and restarts, while displaying a modified version of the Windows XP startup splash screen. The blue progress bar moved left to right and then back again like a Cylon Centurion, instead of the typical left to right pattern.

Imagine life without malware. Just another reason to love the Mac.

As part of a periodic “maintenance” routine, I would suggest that all clients review their network diagram from time to time. The diagram is typically updated when workstations are added, moved, or changed and also when significant changes to the network environment are made. When reviewing the diagram, be sure to take notice of the warranty expiration date for each workstation and server. As the end of warranty draws near, machines that are performing well should be evaluated to see if a two year warranty extension is justified. File servers deployed by Network Services are routinely configured with hardware that greatly exceeds the requirement set forth by the software they were intended to run. A two year warranty extension typically runs between four and six hundred dollars depending on the server configuration and warranty contract. This is often far more cost effective than deploying a new file server to an existing environment when you consider the labor cost of outsourced IT.