Toshiba Thrive Android Tablet

If you are one of the many looking for an alternative to the iPad and can’t bring yourself to like Windows based tablets, Toshiba may have the device for you.

The Toshiba Thrive 16GB tablet is a brand new product featuring:

• Android 3.1 Honeycomb (Yes, it has Flash!)
• 16GB storage, 1GB DDR2 memory
• 10.1″ Display with 1080p resolution (1280×800)
• NVidia ULP GeForce graphics for fast graphics
• Stereo speakers w/Toshiba sound enhancements SRS Premium Voice Suite
• Dual cameras – 5megapixel on the back (720p capture) and 2megapixel front facing with microphone
• Expansion ports! HDMI to allow connection to your big screen or a projector for presentations,  full size SD card slot, USB 2.0 (Both full sized and mini!), docking connector and a stereo headphone jack
• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 + HS

It also has a rubberized finish that helps you keep your grip and a replaceable battery!

There are a growing number of Android based tablets, but this one could very well be the best of the bunch (so far)…

To purchase this tablet, call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com – We are a Toshiba partner here in Greenville / Upstate, SC.

If you would like to discuss how this product or any other tablet may work within your business, please call us…

One of the more frequently asked questions by those who are purchasing or planning to purchase new computers, servers or network equipment is, “Can we get the computers now, then upgrade our server later?”, meaning that they are considering performing an update in steps, maybe over a couple years.

Up until recently, if the business were planning on leasing their equipment that they would apply for one lease, then when it came time to purchase the other products, they would apply for yet another lease.

Our leasing company has what is known as a “Master Lease” program, which allows you to sign a master agreement for the initial purchase, then supplement the future purchase when the time comes.

Benefits:

• The Master Lease easily accommodates add-on equipment with a one-page document.
• Projects that are broken into phases continue smoothly under the Master Lease agreement.
• Pricing of monthly payments may be lower due to the total exposure outstanding.

All we have to do is to finalize our proposal outlining potential phases to the project, determine the amount of services (which may be included in the agreement or paid separately) and then do some paperwork with our leasing company…

For instance, we could upgrade your server today, your computers in 6 months and your VoIP phone system next year, all with the same Master Lease…

If you would like more information about how we can help with your IT needs and how leasing may work for you, please call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

Lenovo’s new ThinkPad Edge E420 (1141-55U) notebook has all the features that make for an enjoyable business user experience, in addition to claims of it including “Advanced VoIP features”.

With businesses going global, video conferencing has become the new standard for communication. ThinkPad Edge E420, featuring a low light-sensitive 720P HD camera and multimedia function keys, delivers a high-quality video conferencing experience. These features coupled with noise reduction technology and the new 2nd generation Intel^® Core™ i3 processors make it a perfect choice for SMB customers.

• 2nd generation Intel Core i3-2310M processor
• Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
• 320GB/7200rpm hard disk drive
• 4GB memory
• Spill-resistant keyboard
• Digital microphone
• HDMI 1.4 for projecting HD
• 4.6lbs
• 4.2 hr

All that for $579.oo!

Homeland Secure IT is proud to be your Greenville / Upstate Lenovo partner. We offer the full line of Lenovo products, including the new E420! Call us today at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com.

If you own a smartphone, you know what your cellular provider does to the phone before you get it. With Android based phones, each phone is subjected to a custom install of carrier specific “tools” laid on top of the beautiful Android OS.

Verizon thought you didn’t need the Google browser by default, so they sent you to Bing, and Sprint, they thought navigation would be better handled elsewhere, etc. So you really don’t get a Google Android phone the way Google intended it to be, and in turn, phones run slower, lack the ability to perform certain functions, and it sure makes it difficult to compare a Samsung Galaxy phone on Verizon to one on Sprint or another carrier because they don’t have the same exact install. Most consider them crippled.

You will find a growing number of people have opted to “root” their phones and bypass the garbage, or install a pure Google Android OS on it. Creating phones that run much faster than their stock counterparts.

What about computers? For years, manufacturers of computers have been bundling software with computers. This preinstalled software could add a specific function, allowing you to access features of a notebook that are not supported by the stock Microsoft Windows Operating System, or they could just be junk.

The “junk” ranges from demos of games and applications, to browser search bars and other tools.

It’s easy to see why a manufacturer would bundle a trial of Norton Anti-Virus, because if you register it, they likely get a kickback from Symantec, but, could manufacturers be loading something malicious?

In one article, a man has claimed that Samsung has loaded a keystroke logger on new notebooks… Samsung is denying this, and it is possibly that VIPRE is producing a false positive, but, none-the-less, a cause for concern. Time will tell in this matter.

All these things taken into consideration, it is easy to see why some people buy a new computer and immediately wipe and reload a pure Microsoft Windows operating system.

One reason we love offering computers from Seneca Data, such as the Nexlink series that we offer businesses, is that they do NOT come loaded down with junk. Though, they have in recent years begun to install a tool to allow for easy restore disk creation, a trial of Norton and a pre-load of the Microsoft Office trial, we believe these to actually be tools a new computer needs.  We CAN order them with NO operating system, and we can provide them with our own build of the OS to preimage.

Should you be interested in computer for your business that you are SURE do not come pre-loaded with unwanted software, you might want to give our Seneca Data Nexlink computers a serious look!  Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information. We offer computer & server sales, service and support to Greenville / Upstate businesses and individuals.

When you buy a new computer, what do you do with the old one?  Donate it to charity? Give it to a friend? Leave it with the computer vendor who sold you the new computer? Sell it on Craigslist?

The real question here is, what happens to the data on the hard drive in your old system? Do you take the drive out and dispose of it? Do you format it and reinstall the operating system? Do you physically destroy the drive? Do you possibly use a “Secure Wipe” on the drive?

Did you know many people don’t give it a second thought? They hand their system over, with their data intact! Expecting the person on the other end to do the right thing.

I was recently talking with my good friend Brent over at Shred Disk and a group of other Greenville business owners about this topic, and we decided it would be interesting to find out for ourselves what becomes of data in old systems, consider it a science experiment if you will.

Brent went to an Upstate computer dealer and asked to purchase the smallest drive that they had. He was given a “repurposed” hard drive at a reasonable cost. An older Seagate 40gb IDE drive, which he dropped by the Homeland Secure IT office for us to examine.

We took the drive and connected it to our system, found it had been formatted, or possibly “wiped” and then set out to see if we could recover anything.  Here’s a video of what we found:

As you can see, even I was surprised at the results!

The bottom line here is… PROTECT YOURSELF from this!  A format is not the answer, a “secure wipe”, may NOT be as secure as you think.

The ONLY 100% reliable way to protect your data is the destroy the hard drive. Shred Disk is a company that can assist you with that! Whether you have one or one thousand hard drives, they can come to you, remove the drives and shred the drive into tiny pieces and provide you with a certificate of destruction that will free you from liability! Shred Disk even has a ship it in program that I hear is about to start, where you can pay online, an envelope will be sent to you and you can send the drive the drive to Shred Disk, they will document the opening of that envelope on video along with the shredding of the unit. You can even opt to have the crushed remains sent back to you with a certificate of destruction.

You may think you can destroy a drive by yourself, using a hammer or even a shotgun, however, we advise against these alternatives due to the potential for shrapnel. Use a professional. Contact Shred Disk Onsite Hard Drive Shredding. They also shred other media too, such as tapes and entire electronic devices!

All hard computer hard drives left at Homeland Secure IT will be eventually DESTROYED by Shred Disk, so if you upgrade a computer through us, your drive and your data will NEVER leave our doors. We do *not* sell used hard drives for any purpose.

If you are in the market for a new business computer, where do you go in the Greenville / Upstate area?

Do you go to a “big box store”? A warehouse? An office supply?

You should be aware that the “business computer” you purchase from some dealers may actually be a computer designed for home use, and not actually a business environment.

Here are a few differences between a home computer and a business computer:

• Home computers generally are designed for faster graphics (aka games) and not processes, such as multi-tasking with business applications, where you have QuickBooks, Microsoft Office and other business applications open simultaneously.
• Home computers are likely to have small power supplies, or power supplies that claim higher wattage output, when in reality, that is maximum power output, not average power output.
• Home computers may have inferior cooling systems, such as fans with bushings instead of ball bearings, possibly causing damage to the computer itself if failure should occur.
• Home computers do not have the hard drives designed for long duty cycles (being left on long periods of time), and tend to fail much quicker than their business spec counterparts.
• Home computers generally have Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium loaded by default and cannot join a corporate domain without an upgrade to Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate.
• Home computers have cases and motherboards that may not lend themselves to expansion (IE, adding drives, or additional cards).
• Home computers in most cases do not have long warranties (Our business class computers are sold with a 3 year warranty!).
• Support for your home computer is rarely easy to obtain. You may have to call a call center, stay on hold, then speak to someone who may not speak your language as their own primary language. Returns and replacement parts are hard to obtain sometimes. Our business computers are supported by *US* as well as the manufacturer who is reachable, speaks English, and will ship parts next business day at no additional charge.

Before you purchase your next business computer in Greenville / Upstate SC, consider comparing specifications with a computer designed from the ground up for use in a business! Will it cost more? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Absolutely!

Call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information.  We are partners with the best computer manufacturers in the world: Seneca Data / Nexlink, HP, Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba, and more!  Not only are we a computer dealer, we also service / repair business computers.

Windows MultiPoint Server 2011

Microsoft is planning a March release for it’s Windows MultiPoint Server 2011.

Some nifty features are included in this version, such as the ability for a teacher / instructor to view student desktops as thumbnails and to interact with those sessions. Use of thin clients over LAN allows for virtually unlimited distances between stations, connect multiple MultiPoint Servers and manage from MultiPoint Manager console, split screen ability at each user stations allows for use of each station by two people (collaboration and sharing), Active Directory connectivity to your existing domain, and more!

And of course for those of you who purchased MultiPoint Server 2010 with Software Assurance (SA), you can upgrade with no additional charge!

Want to know more about MultiPoint Server 2011? Microsoft has information available HERE.

Some great videos are available on the TechNet SBS blog, one of which follows:

From the looks of it, Windows MultiPoint is growing up and stands to make a real impact in classrooms!

If you would like additional information about the forthcoming releases of Microsoft MultiPoint 2011 Server or Microsoft Small Business Server 2011, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. We are a Microsoft Small Business Specialist partner and can help your Greenville / Upstate business determine what is right for you!

Most of you probably wonder why Homeland Secure IT doesn’t advertise… Or maybe since you have never seen any kind of ad, you haven’t thought about it at all! hah

The number one reason we don’t advertise is because we have a very strong & established base of amazing clients and so many terrific friends and family who believe in us so much that they do an incredible job of spreading the word of what we offer! That’s the main reason. There are other reasons, such as the fact that I don’t believe the majority of people who want to buy a Cisco ASA 5505 security appliance or license Trend Micro Anti-Virus are going to pick up the newspaper or phonebook to find us.

I know for a fact that the IT people that we work around don’t get the idea to get a backup solution from listening to top 40 radio, etc. So, in short, advertising in those ways has not been very attractive for us.

But, I couldn’t pass this one up… @BigJonEvans is available for rent. That’s right. This crazy guy over at http://www.youbrand.me/ is allowing us to tattoo our logo on his forehead for a day, as well as streaming a live video where he will discuss some of our products and services, and making a short promo video. But wait, that’s not all, he’s also going to introduce himself as “Homeland Secure IT” for an entire day. And, because we acted right now, he’s throwing in a video of him lip syncing to a song!

I can’t afford a billboard on I-85 that says “Homeland Secure IT offers computer, network and server support, service, repair, sales in Greenville and Upstate SC”, etc, and frankly I don’t think the system administrator at XYZ corporation would read it and give it a serious thought, but I CAN afford Jon’s forehead for a day!  While not quite as big as a billboard, I think more people may see it!

All for the low price of 9 dollars! Now that is advertising money well spent. Advertising with an impact!  (The price goes up one dollar each day, so reserve your spot NOW)

Tomorrow, SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!  That’s the day you can watch @BigJonEvans talk about Homeland Secure IT and wear our logo. For more information, HEAD on over to Jon’s website at www.YouBrand.Me or follow him on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.

If you have a business or cause or something that you would like the world to know about, this is certainly a fun way to increase awareness =)

Have a great weekend and prepare for the snowpacalypse that is coming!

Oh and Jon, I love your current project… That’s using your head!

Looking for a quality notebook at an affordable price? The Nexlink 4000SP series notebook which I have written about before is available in a model more suited to the home or mobile business user at a great price of only 599.oo.

4000SP Notebook from Nexlink

This version features a 15.6″ LCD display, Intel Pentium P6100 2.0 Ghz 3MB processor, 2GB of RAM, 160GB HD, 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless network, and Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium. It also has a 1 year warranty which covers the LCD and AC Port (1 instance).

Why would you buy the Nexlink product over brand X? The quality is outstanding, the customer support, should you need it, from the AMERICAN manufacturer is unparalleled (you actually speak to someone in the USA, who speaks English as their primary language!), and the customer satisfaction has been much higher than with many other brands!

A docking station is a suggested option which allows you to connect a keyboard, mouse, larger LCD display, etc to the docking station, and drop your notebook into that station when at home, and then grab just the notebook and slip that into your travel bag without plugging and unplugging lots of accessories.

If you would like more information about this 4000SP designed with the home or mobile business user in mind, or one decked out specifically for your business use with an Intel i7 processor and Microsoft Windows 7 Professional  for instance, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com.

This offer is available for a limited time, and quantities are limited. We cannot ship this item out of the Greenville / Upstate SC area.

Microsoft Office 2010

One of our preferred computer vendors, Seneca Data, the manufacturer of Nexlink branded business computers will discontinue sales of Microsoft Office 2007 starting on December 31, 2010. Private label sales will follow shortly afterward.

This does not mean the end of support from Microsoft, only the end of sales. Mainstream Support for the product will continue through April 10, 2012, and Extended Support on April 11, 2017.

Microsoft Office 2003 Professional reached an end of Mainstream Support in 2009, and on April 8, 2014, Extended Support will come to an end.

More information about the Microsoft Support Lifecycle can be found HERE.

Homeland Secure IT will continue to offer sales of the Microsoft Office 2007 product until retail supplies are depleted for those who require 2k7. Microsoft will also offer a “downgrade” to those who purchase Microsoft Office 2010 through the Open Licensing program, enabling you to obtain and use the previous version.

If you would like to know more about how Microsoft Office 2010 can be used in your business, please call us at 864.990.4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com. We offer sales, service and support to Greenville & Upstate businesses and individuals.