So many of us have stacks of papers all over our desks which are unnecessary…. Not the desks, the paper.
For example, I have business cards, receipts, invoices and a contract laying on my desk right now, all taking up valuable “real estate”. But I can’t throw any of it away. I have to put the business card contact information into my address book (Sometimes I use an app on my Android phone for that), and the invoices, I scan those in and keep a physical copy in a folder, and that contract will get filed away somewhere too. The receipts should go to Pamela, my wife, who keeps track of those.
If only there were a better way than getting up off my bottom and walking to the copier/scanner, arranging all the stuff on it and scanning to the desktop or email.
Enter the NeatDesk Desktop Scanner…
One of our clients needed a desktop solution (it may end up being nearly 50 of them now that they have seen it working) which would allow users to scan in their personal documents, so we took a serious look at the plethora of products available and settled on the the NeatDesk Desktop Scanner.
This is a small USB connected scanner measuring 7″x10.8″x.7.5″, however, do not be fooled by the small size as this thing packs a punch.
Out of the box it will let you dump in 10 receipts, 10 business cards and 10 sheets of paper and then, without loading any software at all, you can hit the PDF button and it will put it all in a folder on your computer which you specify after hitting the button.
It is amazingly fast, and as simple as can be.
Need to scan more than 10 pages at once? Not an issue, you just pull the insert out and load up to 10- pages at a time. It can scan BOTH SIDES of the paper in one single pass.
The speed is more than acceptable at 25 pages per minute (50 if you scanning both sides at once) in monochrome. It cruises along at 8.5 in color.
It comes with document management software and it integrates with QuickBooks.
A Mac version is available!
If this type of scanner sounds right for your business, let us know, we can arrange a demo in our Greenville office or your Upstate business. Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
We have been providing what we believe to be one of the best computers available at any cost to our Greenville and Upstate SC clients for years, and it is not a Dell, HP, Toshiba, Samsung, Acer, Mac or any other common brand… It’s Nexlink, from Seneca Data.
Our clients have grown to love these machines due to their reliability, affordability and two real bonuses:
1. They are assembled right here in America! (And supported here, by people who speak my language, well)
2. They use actual Intel components! Like Genuine Intel motherboards and processors, not some mash-up of suppliers that changes from run to run.
Sure, the other companies make great machines, they are reliable, readily available and generally affordable, but they cannot touch the user satisfaction we have had! We’ve sold dozens and dozens of the Nexlink computers without a single unhappy client. That’s more than we can say for other brands we sell, service and support.
Clients love Nexlink so much at their businesses that they often want to buy them for their home computers too!
Until recently, we had to sell them the exact machines they use at their office, generally a larger form factor, and more powerful system, but now, Nexlink is offering a new Express system that is in a small form factor.
Summary:
Intel® Pentium® Processor G630
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premuim
Intel® H61 Chipset
2GB DDR3 Memory and 250GB Hard Disk Drive
Nexlink Small Form Factor
Item Number:
EXPRESS-1100-HOME
Item Name:
Nexlink Express 1100 Value Series Featuring Intel G630 – Intel® Pentium® Processor G630, Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium Operating System, Intel H61 Chipset, 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 Memory, 250GB 7200RPM Hard Disk Drive, Nexlink Small Form Factor
Description:
Specification
Processor
Intel® Pentium® Processor G630
Operating System
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Chipset
Intel® H61
Memory
2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR3 1333
Hard Disk Drive
250GB 7200RPM
Optical Disk Drive
22x DVD-RW
Graphics
Intel® HD Graphics
Peripheral Interfaces
Up to 10 x USB
1 x Parallel
1 x Serial Header
4 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s
1 x VGA
Expansion Capabilities
1 x PCI Express* 2.0 x 16 bus add-in card connector ports
2 x PCI Express 2.0 x 1 connectors
1 x PCI Conventional bus connector
Tower Option
Nexlink® Small Form Factor
Micro Tower Specification
Form Factor
Slim MicroATX
Power Supply
275 Watt
5.25″ External
1
3.5″ External
1
3.5″ Internal
1
Expansion Bay
4 Low-Profile Expansion
Motherboard
MicroATX and FlexATX
Front Ports
2 x USB 2.0
1 x Audio
1 x Mic
Fan
2 x 60mm
Dimensions
(w x h x d)
3.9 x 12.75 x 17 inches
99 x 324 x 432 millimeters
The pricing is right, please call us for more details or to get one: 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – We can migrate your existing data to one of these new machines and configure it for you at your home, or you can do it yourself…
We are trying to increase awareness of what Homeland Secure IT does, and Thumbtack offers another resource that will do just that.
Our listing there shows that we do your typical computer service and repairs here in the Upstate of SC, and the only thing missing is for a few people to say they have used us and help put our name up in lights.
Our band, The Dockside Band, has been making the most of technology since we have been performing out, and apparently, some people have been taking note. We have been asked dozens of questions by our friends, club and venue owners and other musicians, they span many topics:
How are you controlling those LED lights?
Are you playing back to a track? (asked about the computer we use)
Your recordings are pretty good, how did you do that?
How did you make that video with the shot of the guitarist?
First off, nothing we are doing is magic, nothing is really state-of-the-art or “high tech”, we just happen to be able to pull several functions together into one notebook and let it do a bit of work for us.
The one thing that we decided from the start was that technology was a great thing, so long as it did not get in the way of what we were doing. If we spend more time working on the gear and making it perform well, we have less time to enjoy playing.
Here is a run-down of what we are actually doing with that notebook computer and cameras you see at our gigs…
Light Controller
The notebook serves as a DMX 512 control surface for us. Through the use of a very inexpensive USB DMX interface, and absolutely FREE software, we are able to control everything from the dimmer packs for our PAR 64 (PAR cans) fixtures, to the DMX controllable LED light bars. We have simplified it into just a series of buttons for our loyal sound and light crew (My wife Pamela and daughter Megan) to point and click at, whether it is for a chase, a wash, a color fade, etc.
Audio Recording
The notebook also serves to record just about every gig we do. This is accomplished with an affordable USB audio interface from Presonus and sometimes a firewire Presonus Firestudio. We generally record with a pair of inexpensive AKG condenser microphones placed back where our sound personnel is, which provides a fairly accurate representation of the band’s sound from the perspective of a typical listener. We have the ability to record every input right off the board, but opt for simplicity. This is cut into tracks once I get it home.
Video Recording
Something we just started playing around with is video… I’m graphically challenged, so anything you see that I have produced is amateurish at best, but for some reason, people have given us kudos for it. God bless ’em! This is handled with three Cisco Flip cameras I own, and two that my kids own. We start them up simultaneously before a set and let them record all the way through. We will then try to pull one video from each gig and try to get multiple takes so the video might show the drummer, guitarist, singer, etc. So far, it has not worked out well as people bump our cameras and move them. We sync in the audio from the notebook whenever possible.
Tracks
A couple of people have said, “You sound like you are playing to a track, the mix is so good”, or “Are you using a track for keyboards?” (since we have no keyboard player. Actually, we have not done this at all. Any synth sounds you hear come from a Roland guitar or bass synthesizer. I have one, but have only used it in one gig, and Chris has one, but has only used it in a handful of gigs. So no, no tracks… If you look at our setup, there is no audio link between our notebook and the audio mixer console, unless we record direct from it.
A few members from local bands want to learn more about various things we are doing, so as time presents itself, I will make an attempt to detail some of these… We’ll probably start with lighting since it has been a hot topic of discussion!
New toys we will be implementing will be covered too, such as the awesome Presonus digital mixers which permit control from your iPad, and an iPad control surface interface for our lights is in the works (It is FREE).
Also, if you have something you would like to share, regarding what YOUR band does for any of these solutions, or telling me I should be doing it another way, believe me, I want to hear from you! I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me your’s!
Got a minute? It would mean the world to me if you would “like” our band:
Adobe released a security bulletin this week warning of nine critical vulnerabilities that affect Adobe Shockwave Player 11.6.3.633 and earlier for Windows and Macintosh.
Basically, it is the same old and busted story… If you are running an unpatched, and therefore vulnerable version of Shockwave Player, and you happen to visit a website that contains malicious Shockwave content, these vulnerabilities could be leveraged to execute code on your computer, within your privileges. Local administrators on Windows machines, and those who give root access to their Mac, could allow the attacker full control of their computers.
Shockwave Player 11.6.4.634 has been released to address these flaws. Get it & install it.
If you require assistance with this or any other security related matter at your business, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – We provide computer, server & network service, sales and support to the entire Upstate of SC.
Yesterday I took a break from supporting and selling computers, servers, networks and all that technostuff and left my comfortable and safe office to experience something new, and very exciting – The BMW Performance Center Performance Driving School in Greer, SC!
Arrangements were made the day before by Kamran Popkin / @SwagClub & his lovely wife Natalie who is the Facility Coordinator at the Performance Center. My partners in crime for this mission were Kevin Lyons / @KevinLyons from Lyons Den Solutions and Emelie Hegarty / @MissEmelie marketing expert for Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County.
I spent the prior evening contemplating what it would be like… Wondering if we would be driving wimpy cars, with some speed limiter or other means of governing the speed. I even took some time to look at videos others had posted on the web in order to get a feel for what was to come. Tuesday wasn’t coming fast enough.
After arriving at the BMW PC, we were treated to an excellent buffet before being briefed and then sent out in beautiful, and brand new BMW sports cars. We were broken up into 3 groups of 7 each, and for us, that meant that Kevin and I would be together in one car and trade off, and Emelie would take a car to herself.
Cool stuff from the BMW Performance Driving School - No crap swag here!
We took off towards the “Rat Race” track first, which was a mostly flat surface, partially wet from the rains the previous evening and from sprinklers that run continuously. The car was the ever popular 3 series sedan with all the options. One thing different about from how you normally drive it on the street was that the traction control had been disabled for this course. An oval had been laid out, delineated by pylons, and two cars at a time raced against one another. Each car was staged one half lap from the other, then went multiple laps, with the only rule being you could not pass the other car (if you could catch them or if they spun out). That’s right, that was the only rule. No limits baby!
Each car raced against the other cars, changing drivers if necessary. Kevin drove first and I warned him about our female counter-part, saying, “Watch out for her, I think she’s going to be trouble”… Emelie was exactly that. She drove it like she stole it! I still think she has done this before, though she insists she has not. Kevin believes someone pissed her off that day, because she wasn’t giving anyone an inch. I think she beat everyone there, including a Grreenville County Sheriff’s deputy who is in charge of patrol and two BMW Performance Driving School employees. Somehow, I managed to squeak out a win against her and took the title of “King Rat”. The stuffed rat in the picture above says “The Big Cheese” and serves as the trophy!
X6 M Sport - Serious power
We returned the 3 Series cars to the staging area and next moved to a fleet of cars comprising of a X6 in M Sport trim, a 750i, Z4 and a 335i. We kept our same group and teams of drivers and proceeded to a road course. If you pull up the aerial view of the BMW Performance Center in Greer, it is the largest of the tracks you will see in the satellite photo. They had shortened it up a bit, so we couldn’t really stretch our legs fully, but in the length of that course, they let each person drive each of the cars to its limits. Seriously, no limitations except your own desire for self-preservation and again the rule that you could not pass another vehicle or get too close to the car in front of you. (Safety really was the major topic of the day in spite of all my talk about “no limits”).
I should add here that before we were set free on these courses, a professional driver escorted around each track, giving us the proper lines to take to achieve the maximum performance from the cars, and how to take these tight turns in a safe manner.
The most surprising car of the lot was the 750i, which is a huge 4 door sedan that likely could dust off a Camaro, Mustang or Challenger with ease. The power and traction control was simply amazing for a vehicle of this stature. At no time did it get squirrelly as we put it through the paces.
The Z4 was exactly as we expected, zippy and easy to throw around where you wanted it to go. The particular car we had was brand new with only 357 miles on the clock. 357 miles of driving with two alternating modes, full throttle and full brake I imagine!
The X6 M Sport was agile for a big beast and I believe it had 550 HP that kept it propelled in a forward manner with ease. The big brakes helped bring it to a controllable speed to make the sharp turns.
The 3 Series performed superbly. I believe for the money, that you couldn’t go wrong with that car. Quite speedy and predictable. Who could ask for more?
This was not a timed event, or a race of any sort, it was the opportunity to open up a vehicle and feel what it could, and could not do. However, this exercise did serve to prepare you for what was next…
We moved to the serious road course, a short track laid out for you to accelerate as fast as you could, then into a slalom, then as sweeper, a hairpin, a little twisty S-curve coming off a banked curve into a stop box. This event was timed, and it took the most concentration and control of any of the courses.
As with the others, we were taken around the track, escorted by a professional and shown the lines to take. I saw this course as having the biggest penalty for failure. Guardrails, drop-offs into the dirt, etc, and that, combined with the fact that the metal didn’t belong to me, kind of held me back. My cohort, Kevin, didn’t seem so bothered and did very well with his times, as did Emelie, though she decided once to take the car for a spin, quite literally.
The M3 dual clutch transmission take a little getting used to, at least for me, as I am used to actually pressing a clutch (most of the time) in manual transmission cars. But, the way you are SUPPOSED to do this is to put the car into 1st, using the paddles on the steering wheel, then at redline (7 grand or so) hit the right paddle and grab second. I think just about every time I made my run I actually thought about pressing my left foot to the floor before hitting the “+” paddle. Then you are not supposed to hit the brakes, but instead snap the car between the pylons, and get yourself in line for the sweeper, braking at the last possible minute, and powering hard to the right (drifting here would be okay), going up the hill as far to the outside right of the curve as you can, then heading between the rows of cones that are opened up in your vision at that point, and at the last possible second, slam your foot to the floor so that the massive brakes bring you to a halt before you move outside of a “box” established between four cones. Your time then appears for that run, and you forever have bragging rights.
I wasn’t the slowest, but I sure wasn’t the fastest. The fastest was an employee of BMW Performance Center who says he had never made that run before. His trophy was a cute custom squishy pylon with the date and his time written on it. He signed it and gave it to Emelie.
I think Kevin has missed his calling, with a little training, I believe he would be a superb auto-cross or even SOLO II driver. Did I mention I have done SCCA racing before? Quite a bit when I was younger… But I had to pay for my own tires, gas and maintenance. Yesterday, all that rubber we tore off the tires and left on the pavement and under the fender wells of expensive BMWs was part of the package!
The last thing we did was a “hot lap”, where we piled in a car with a professional and went all-out. Wow… They are incredible drivers! At one point, we drifted around a circular track, and our driver was in such total control of the vehicle that he could have probably used one hand to fix his hair while looking in the rear view mirror!
Today I am back at my desk, but still talking about yesterday. I am sure my employees and family will grow weary of it, but I will likely be talking about it for a good long while, and maybe some day, I will get to return!
But first, I want our 16 year old boy to do the youth program, where professionals teach kids how to drive and how not to.
Thanks to the BMW Performance Center and to the Popkins for the opportunity to do this, it is amazing that we have a great resource like this in our backyard!
This is from our friends over on the WatchGuard Security Center:
Most people get flowers, chocolates, and cards for Valentine’s Day, but next Tuesday Microsoft IT professionals can expect a big box of patches.
According to their advanced notification post for February, Microsoft will release nine security bulletins next Tuesday, February 14th. The bulletins deliver updates that fix 21 vulnerabilities, spread across Windows, Internet Explorer (IE), Office, and the .NET Framework. Microsoft rates four of the bulletins as Critical, and the rest as Important.
Other than its unfortunate timing for the more romantically inclined IT folks, this month’s Patch Day looks pretty routine. That said, you should still apply the upcoming patches as quickly as you can. Hackers often compare the differences found in Microsoft’s patches to previous versions in order to find vulnerabilities and build exploits for them. For instance, last month we saw attackers exploiting one of Microsoft’s patched flaws within weeks of the patch’s release. This should encourage you to download, test, and deploy these updates as quickly as you can, slamming the “vulnerability window” shut before attackers can climb into your network.
I’ll share more details about Microsoft’s bulletins on Valentine’s Day. Check back here to learn more. — Corey Nachreiner, CISSP (@SecAdept)
—
If we can help with your security concerns in the Greenville / Upstate SC area, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – We are a WatchGuard partner and can assist with sales and support of your WatchGuard security appliances / firewalls too!
Looking for an affordable way to backup your files or even entire computer? How about allowing access to those files via the web? Then check this out…
WD Sentinel™ Small Office Storage Server – Connect. Protect. Collaborate.
WD Sentinel is easy to install and provides secure centralized storage, complete data protection, and remote file access for your employees while in the office or from anywhere with a network connection. Featuring hardware and software from industry leaders it delivers a reliable, secure, and easy-to-manage storage server designed specifically for small office environments.
Easy-to set up. Easy to manage.
Designed to be up and running in minutes. WD Sentinel comes with everything you need to centralize your business files. Once it’s set up, it intelligently manages drive and network status, reducing maintenance time so you can focus on your business.
Enterprise-class data protection for your small business.
Built-on proven technologies from industry leaders, WD Sentinel small office server offers your business a complete data protection solution for your peace of mind.
Built-in remote access.
Enhance your business efficiency and productivity by enabling anytime, anywhere access to your business information. Your employees and trusted partners have secure access to your company files without the complexity and expense of a VPN solution.
Plug-and-play installation – The easy set up process allows the small business owner or IT consultant to integrate WD Sentinel into your office network like a pro. The administration dashboard quickly guides the user through the set up process including adding users, setting up user access, creating public or private shares, and scheduling backups.
Easy maintenance – Replacing one of the pre-installed drives or adding an additional drive is as easy as changing a light bulb. Just open the door and swap out the drives. WD Sentinel does the rest. It seamlessly migrates the server to the appropriate RAID level and automatically expands the server’s storage capacity. Connected users can still access critical business data while the drive is being integrated. No data loss. No down time.
Secure remote access – WD Sentinel is perfect for businesses with employees working in satellite or home offices because you have the security of knowing all your business files are safely stored in one place and remote employees can access them from any computer with an Internet connection. WD Sentinel also performs automatic daily backups so all of the files on all the computers in the network are backed up and protected.
LCD Display panel readily offers critical information – The LCD display panel on the front of the device allows the user to monitor the system status and critical alerts.
Realtime system status through the administration dashboard – View realtime updates for drive, RAID, and network status through WD Sentinel’s dashboard, which includes easy-to-use task wizards to help the user set backup schedules, administer user accounts, and manage public and private shares.
A total solution with industry-leading technology partners – We combined hardware and software from industry leaders to deliver a reliable, secure and easy-to-manage storage server designed specifically for small office environments. WD Sentinel features:
WD enterprise-class hard drives – Equipped with WD’s enterprise class desktop hard drives that feature WD GreenPower Technology™ for low power consumption, cool, quiet operation, and reliable performance.
Intel® Atom® processor – Built with the latest Intel Atom dual core processor inside, WD Sentinel DX4000 can easily handle a small business’s day-to-day computing and file storage demands.
Windows® Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials – WD Sentinel DX4000 uses the tested Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials operating system to provide the cost effective, reliable, and scalable storage solution a small business needs to quickly and efficiently organize, protect, and share critical business data using the familiar Windows user experience.
Leading-edge performance – With dual Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, WD Sentinel DX4000 delivers read speeds up to 100 MBps through the Gigabit Ethernet interface. That’s four times faster than most network drives in this category today. For maximum flexibility there is also a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port that offers connectivity for additional storage devices and up to 5Gb/s transfer rates.
Compatible with multiple operating systems – WD Sentinel includes the Connector software for Windows XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Mac OS® X Leopard® and Mac OS® Snow Leopard®. Support for major network file-system protocols enables cross-platform compatibility and file sharing among Windows, Mac and Unix/Linux operating systems.
Stream digital media anywhere in the network – With the built-in DLNA media server, connected employees can access any shared media libraries on the network rather than maintaining copies on their individual computers. Companies can also stream digital content like videos, music, or digital signage for employees, vendors or clients using remote web access.
Comprehensive data protection.
Pre-configured with WD’s reliable and durable enterprise-class drives
RAID level 1/5 for protection and speed
Automatic backup and restore
Dual Ethernet ports provide redundancy
Optional backup power supply for increased uptime
Optional off-site disaster recovery protection
Guardian for Small Business support– Western Digital offers standard customer support and warranty to all WD Sentinel owners. WD Guardian Services provide additional support and warranty options for small business customers. Choose from various technical support plans and extended warranty services that work best for your business.
Ideal for
Creating a secure small office network for up to 25 computers
Protecting your critical business data with comprehensive data protection – WD drives, RAID, automatic backup, dual Ethernet ports, optional power supply and optional disaster recovery
Setting up automatic backups for up to 25 computers
Restoring files to their previous location in the event of a system failure
Providing secure remote access to satellite offices and employees who work remotely
Offering cross platform file sharing with Windows®, Mac®, and Linux operating systems
Connecting and powering through your USB interface
What’s in the box
Small Office Storage Server, RJ45 Ethernet cable, AC Adapter with power cord, Quick Install Guide.
Compatibility
WD Sentinel includes the Connector software for Windows XP, Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Mac OS® X Leopard® and Mac OS® Snow Leopard®. Support for major network file-system protocols enables cross-platform compatibility and file sharing among Windows, Mac and Unix/Linux operating systems.
Where to get it
Homeland Secure IT is happy to be able to provide you or your business with this awesome appliance for your network! We can combine it with offsite cloud based backup like Servosity or even MozyPro for a complete backup and disaster recovery solution. Please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information.
Tomorrow night, February 9, 2012, my band, Dockside, will be opening for a hockey team!
I’ve played a lot of gigs, and opened for every style of band you can imagine, but never a hockey team…
There’s a first time for everything though, so we’re going with it and we are very excited to be playing before the Greenville Road Warriors vs the Kalamazoo Wings.
We will start up at 6pm and play until the game starts, then during the two 18 minute intermissions.
This is the perfect kid-friendly venue to catch Dockside, or maybe a nice date-night adventure… Inexpensive night out!
We will be performing two of our original songs, which will appear on our forthcoming CD.
It's not paranoia if they really ARE watching you!
TRENDnet announced that upwards of 50,000 cameras, comprised of 26 vulnerable models have been identified which are vulnerable to the threat of being used for reverse surveillance.
An article on BBC.co.uk indicates that as 7 of the 26 vulnerable models have patches to faulty code already released and the owners would be notified of the available updates. The scary thing is, only about 5% of these cameras are registered, leaving tens of thousands of potential owners vulnerable.
If you are using one of these cameras in your home or business, it would be a smart move to search out the updated firmware immediately to insure your privacy remains intact.
Here is a list of the affected cameras and links to firmware updates where available.
As a TRENDnet partner, we are here to help! If you require assistance with this or any other security related issue in the Greenville / Upstate SC area, please do not hesitate to call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com
