#LeapIntoIT Kindle Fire Giveaway

It’s that time again!  Time for us to have some fun, and help one of our Upstate, SC friends get something cool to play with.

We’ve given away stuff before, like Trend Micro anti-virus, a wireless IP security camera, a Cisco Flip Mino HD video camera, Microsoft Office 2010, and even a Microsoft X-BOX 360, but this is likely the most exciting thing yet, or at least the 2nd most exciting!

We decided that since it is a Leap Year, we will help one person leap into the tablet computer revolution by giving them one of the hottest little tablets out… The Amazon Kindle Fire!  It is far more than just an eBook Reader, it’s a smokin’ hot tablet too!  So hot, it’s on FIRE! =)

Let’s call it the “Leap Into IT” giveaway!  #LeapIntoIT

Who is eligible?

Anyone who can walk into the Homeland Secure IT office at 104 Mauldin Rd, STE E in Greenville, SC to retrieve the tablet in person. We will NOT SHIP IT. Also, you must not be prohibited by law from participating in any giveaway, and all that legal mumbo-jumbo. Let’s put an age restriction on it too.  You must not be older than, no wait, you must be at least 18 to participate.

Employees of Homeland Secure IT cannot play this silly game because they would never get any work done.

Past winners of Homeland Secure IT giveaways ARE eligible (Andrea, James, Hal, etc)

How do you get involved in this?

There is NO purchase necessary, but there are some things that you will want to do…

• Pass through our initiation process – This is where you tattoo your forehead with the Homeland Secure IT logo. Okay, this is optional.
• Sign up to this blog by hitting the SUBSCRIBE BUTTON over in the right-hand column. You can receive the daily blog posts in email first thing in the morning this way. And you can opt out later (after the contest is over) when you get tired of my yammering…
• Sign up for our SUPER LOW traffic mailing lists HERE … We rarely send anything out, so you won’t be too annoyed. You can unsubscribe from either or both at anytime, AFTER the contest end date.
• Go to our home page at www.HomelandSecureIT.com and hit the Google +1 button & Facebook “like” while you are there.
• Go to our Google business places page and leave a review and rating (hopefully a good one)
• Go to Merchant Circle and leave a review/rating
• Go to Yelp and leave a review/rating
• Go to Yahoo! and leave a review/rating
• LIKE us on facebook HERE …     Follow us on Twitter HERE …

Here is a list of ways to connect:  

http://www.homelandsecureit.com/connect.html

If you connect in a different manner and you feel it is important, email me, or tag me in a post so I can see what you have done and count that as well!

In review, it is up to you to determine how much, or how little you wish to get involved. The more ways you connect, the more chances to get this darn Kindle Fire!

How is the selection made?

Good question! We lay out a grid, with your each name written in it in the parking lot, and we then shoot a gerbil straight into the air, and in whatever grid the gerbil falls into, that’s our winner.

Okay, (maybe) it isn’t like that at all.  No, in fact it is not.

On February 29th, 2012, I’ll take every name/email address from our mailing lists, all the names of those who have reviewed us on Yelp, Google Places, Yahoo! & Merchant Circle, all the mentions on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, all the Likes and Follows on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, all the Google Plus +1s, and dump them into a spread sheet. Next I go to www.Random.Org and put the number of lines in my spreadsheet as the max number and generate a random number.

Whoever matches that number in the spreadsheet is contacted.

If they are out of the area and cannot get it in person, another number will be selected and the process repeated until we have a winner!

So, with that said… Let’s do this!   Leap Into IT!!!!

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Computer Version

I first read this story on a University of Arkansas computer system sometime before 1985 and promptly typed it up and put it on my BBS (Non-Prophet BBS) for people to read. I have sent it in email, and “snail mail” for the last 25 years or so…  I still get a kick out of it.   If anyone knows the author, please contact me so I can give credit and thank them. – John M. Hoyt

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – Computer Version

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the shop,
The computers were whirring; they never do stop.
The power was on and the temperature right,
In hopes that the input would feed back that night.

The system was ready, the program was coded,
And memory drums had been carefully loaded;
While adding a Christmasy glow to the scene,
The lights on the console, flashed red, white and green.

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
The programmer ran to see what was the matter.
Away to the hallway he flew like a flash,
Forgetting his key in his curious dash.
He stood in the hallway and looked all about,
When the door slammed behind him, and he was locked out.

Then, in the computer room what should appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer;
And a little old man, who with scarcely a pause,
Chuckled: “My name is Santa…the last name is Claus.”

The computer was startled, confused by the name,
Then it buzzed as it heard the old fellow exclaim:
“This is Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen,
And Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen.”

With all these odd names, it was puzzled anew;
It hummed and it clanked, and a main circuit blew.
It searched in its memory core, trying to “think”;
Then the multi-line printer went out on the blink.

Unable to do its electronic job,
It said in a voice that was almost a sob:
“Your eyes – how they twinkle – your dimples so merry,
Your cheeks so like roses, your nose like a cherry,

Your smile – all these things, I’ve been programmed to know,
And at data-recall, I am more than so-so;
But your name and your address (computers can’t lie),
Are things that I just cannot identify.

You’ve a jolly old face and a little round belly,
That shakes when you laugh like a bowl full of jelly;
My scanners can see you, but still I insist,
Since you’re not in my program, you cannot exist!”

Old Santa just chuckled a merry “ho, ho”,
And sat down to type out a quick word or so.
The keyboard clack-clattered, its sound sharp and clean,
As Santa fed this “data” into the machine:

“Kids everywhere know me; I come every year;
The presents I bring add to everyone’s cheer;
But you won’t get anything – that’s plain to see;
Too bad your programmers forgot about me.”

Then he faced the machine and said with a shrug,
“Merry Christmas to All,” as he pulled out its plug,
“And to all, a good night!”

 Merry Christmas everyone!!!!

We’re going to give away something!  Watch here for more info.

To be eligible, you will have to subscribe to this blog, our mailing list or our FB page *AND* be able to pick up whatever trinket it is in person…   We’re not shipping it out =)   (So it would be best if you were in the Upstate or Greenville SC area…

Most business security policies require passwords that are a minimum of 8 characters, with upper and lower case, numbers and special characters, and on top of that, they require you to change your password every so many days.  Yes, very annoying, and people find not-so-creative ways to circumvent the password changes. For instance, if your password is “Fubar#70″, when prompted to do so, you may enter “Fubar#71″ the next time, and just keep incrementing it.

But, if this person is right, and an 11 character, all lower case password would take hundreds of years to hack, then maybe businesses should rethink their security policies regarding passwords?

Three simple words like “pass the gravy” would be far more secure than your “Fubar#70″, in fact go to this URL and give it a try…  http://howsecureismypassword.net/

For the record, all my passwords are “p455w0rd” because I know nobody will ever guess that.

This thing is going to be a blast. But, unfortunately, I can’t tell you about it, until after the event.   There will be fire, meat, swords (not meat swords though), entertainment and a good time will be had by all.

The presenters have been working on this for months, and starting about now, and all through the night and into tomorrow, they will prep.

I’m just glad to be a part of it, but sorry I can’t tell you about it =)

A video link will be up in a bit at http://www.Bovinova.com   and you can follow the #bovinova hashtag for more info.

Screwtape at Greenville's Warehouse Theatre

Paul Savas and the Warehouse Theatre have done it again… They provided an evening of entertainment for my family that did not break the bank! Just what I needed on a Friday evening!

This time we attended the opening performance of “Screwtape”, an adaptation of “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, which I have never read or had any exposure to at all, nor had my daughter Megan. Of course, my wife Pamela read up on it as if there would be a test at the end.

I must admit, after seeing the incredible production of “The Rocky Horror Show” at The Warehouse Theatre, I was half expecting “Screwtape” to be about a 70s adult film or something similarly risque, but in my heart I knew the author wouldn’t go there as he was a Christian. In short, I really didn’t know what to expect at all… 

The play was indeed Christian themed, and one we can all relate to, even if you are not a believer. It is about good and evil, and how evil walks the earth and tempts you…

In this case “Wormwood” (played by Dayrl Ward Phillipy) is a fiend from Hell, charged with the task of tempting Mike (Jason Adkins) under the supervision of his uncle “Screwtape” (Kevin Treu) , a seasoned devil. Should Wormwood fail, he will be eaten below, as their slogan goes, “Bring us food, or be eaten…”. They enlist a female fiend to help with this job, “Slumtrimpet” (Roberta Barnes) and a running gag is the continued varied pronunciation of “Slumtrimpet”, whom they resort to calling “Slut”.

Interesting to me is that this comes from the point of view of the evil side, showing everything that Screwtape, Wormwood and Slumtrimpet embark upon to get Mike to give up his soul. They reverse all the lines we are used to hearing, so we don’t hear, “Father above”, instead we hear, “father below”, etc.

I won’t give away the plot or the ending here…   You could read up on that at the Wiki entry for The Screwtape Letters.

As in every event we have attended at the Warehouse Theatre, the set and props were perfect, the audio, video and lighting awesome, and the actors were incredible. The Upstate is apparently filled with so much talent that I didn’t even know existed and The Warehouse has found them! The only thing that could really be improved upon would be the audio track used in a couple of scenes in which the lyrics are hard to pull out. I write this one off as an opening night glitch and surely this will be cleared up quickly. 

Simple people are easily amused, but I really enjoyed the stereo effects, the use of video projectors and scrims.

This show is appropriate for your more liberal church groups, as long as they can handle the words, “slut”, “bitch”, and a topic from the perspective of hell, instead of heaven for the most part. I believe it would be rated “PG” if it were a movie.

Thank you again to the cast, crew & supporters of The Warehouse Theatre for another great production! I can’t wait for January to get here because, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” looks interesting too!  

You need to reserve your tickets now as I understand they are selling out fast, last night was totally sold out, tonight is probably sold out.

Click on the video below to view on YouTube and LIKE them and comment…     See if you can spot and hear all the memes that are in there, there’s a ton!

Will Ragland as Dr. Frank-N-Furter

I’m sure most people who are of a certain age (say, in their 40s?) have seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show, staring Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter… And maybe more than a few have been to a midnight showing of that movie at a movie theater. However, how many people have experienced a live performance of it?

A live performance may come in many flavors. When I lived in Los Angeles, we saw it where people dressed up and participated in the theater, and more interesting is where actors will be on the stage, and perform along with the audio playing and the actual movie on the screen behind them, and yet another way has been for the video to play, while actors and a band perform along with it (all while the audience participates)…

If you have NEVER seen the RHPS, you can catch it on the FOX Movie Channel on Halloween… All night long…. You will need an open mind, and maybe an adult beverage. More information can be obtained at http://www.rockyhorror.com/. This movie has nothing to do with “horror”, it is a rock-n-roll tribute to Sci-Fi movies of the past, with a naughty / risque flare. I don’t recommend it for immature people, or those who are easily offended.

This past Saturday, Oct-22-2010, at midnight, my wife Pamela, daughter Megan and her friend Nick went with me to the Warehouse Theatre’s production of The Rocky Horror Show. Prior to this, I had only seen it performed in the stage show manner once, and to be quite honest, it wasn’t fantastic. It was as good as amateurs could do, and everyone had a great time, but it wasn’t a “production”, it was a party.

Pamela, Megan and Nick had never seen any form of RHPS other than the movie, and didn’t know what to expect. I was not certain how it was going to be performed either since as I mentioned previously, I have seen it in various formats.

The Warehouse Theatre production is a full stage show, there is absolutely no tie to the movie itself. All scenes are performed by the actors themselves, all music is from a live band.

For those who love the movie, your first thought may be, “This is going to stink”, because as everyone knows, it is very hard to pull off a well known number such as “Sweet Transvestite” and not be compared (unfavorably) with Tim Curry’s version. Likewise, the other characters from the motion picture are very dynamic and difficult to reproduce. Admittedly, I went in expecting somewhat of a lackluster show. In the words of Magenta, “I ask for nothing”. Then Frank’s reply: “And you shall receive it… In abundance!!!!”

Rocky Horror Show Cast

That was not the case at all. The actors that portrayed the main characters were unbelievable! Will Ragland brought a new twist to Frank, without trying to duplicate his every nuance, and Rocky… Ohhhh Rocky, he was far better than the original Rocky in the movie! Better in every way… He sang his own parts (as did all the actors), and he looked the part. (My wife and daughter, and just about everyone were fixated on this guy’s genuinely beautiful physique… Uhmm, okay, that sounded weird for ME to say that, but it’s true).

These actors had to do something that Tim Curry and his movie cast never had to worry with, they had to perform while the audience shouted out all kinds of off the wall comments, as is the tradition with RHPS. The actors managed to keep straight faces, and use a good bit of improv to interact with the audience, which made the show all the more fun! Audience participation is a major part of this, and there are guides on the internet that will show you what to do, what to say, when to say it, etc.

We purchased the “audience participation pack”, which included light sticks (since flames are dangerous), confetti, newspaper etc.  No rubber gloves or noisemakers as some scenes from the movie are not present, such as the dinner/birthday party scene, where you get to say “Meatloaf again????”. But, not missed, and I’m sure were not part of the original stage production.

I’m a technical kind of guy, and very critical when it comes to audio and lighting, so I will add this in for those of you who are like me and love to pick things apart. The audio was absolutely perfect. Good levels, and great control, especially when you take into consideration the number of open mics involved. The lighting could not have been improved upon.

Every number performed by the band was well orchestrated, the mix was low, but necessary in order to have legible vocals. I only wish I could have played guitar or bass (I even emailed the Warehouse Theatre and asked if they needed a guitarist or bass player, but they had already put their band together by that time).

The remaining shows are probably sold out by now, even though they added some extra performances in November, so if you want to attend and see what all this is about, call TODAY – The box office number is 864.235.6948 or you can visit their website for more information.

My hat is off to the cast and the crew for a superb job! We had a marvelous evening out (early morning rather) and as always, with the Warehouse Theatre, it didn’t break the bank like it would have at other venues in Greenville.

Yeah, I know, this has absolutely nothing to do with Computer Service, Computer Repair or even Business, but even hard working people have to take a break and enjoy themselves every once in a while. I highly recommend it.

The Clean House - Sarah Ruhl

Let me preface this post with the fact that I had never heard of The Warehouse Theatre until my family participated in the “Google on Main” event earlier this year. After that event, there was a follow-up which took place at The Warehouse and that was the first time I set foot in the facility.

Since then, we have been seeing lots of discussions on various social media sources about plays and events at that venue and decided we just had to check it out, so I purchased tickets on the phone last week for “The Clean House”… To make this even more interesting, I scored a “Social Media Press Pass” which let me in for free…  What on earth was The Warehouse Theatre thinking when they gave MEa press pass? haha  I think it must be because I quickly jumped on the band wagon when Aaron Von Frank (@AaronVonFrank) said he and Paul would dress up as French Maids and clean the home of one lucky attendee if all the shows sold out!  

All that aside, I took my wife Pamela, 17 year old daughter Megan and 15 year old son Brett this afternoon’s performance of “The Clean House”.

Having little exposure to community theatre, I must admit that when I walked in the doors today I was not exactly sure what to expect. I’ve been to many plays and musical productions, paying lots of money for great seats in world reknown theatres, and to be honest, I had braced myself for disappointment. I assumed that I would be watching a production similar to a high school play, with lousy lighting, poor audio, a spartan set and worse, actors straight out of the high school drama department.

Boy was I wrong! The audio was perfect, excellent sound quality, not a missed cue. The lighting was outstanding, including a video backdrop with colored background and text/graphics that were perfectly synchronized with the actors – if there was a mistake made, I sure didn’t witness it!

The set itself was a work of art and fit perfectly with the lifestyle of Lane (Stark white, sterile, with modern furnishings), however, the biggest thing I was wrong about was the quality of these actors!

I am not familiar with the work of the playwright, Sarah Ruhl, but these actors managed to portray characters that I believe we all can relate to and managed to capture our hearts in doing so. Many Broadway productions I’ve seen could have benefited from the expertise of this cast! I saw nothing but true seasoned professionals!

Without giving away too much, this play is funny…  And the timing of the cast was impeccable.  The lead character, Matilda (played by Lynne Junker) is a hired on by Lane (Debra Capps) as a house keeper, but she hates cleaning… Matilda has us laughing from the start. Virginia (played by Elizabeth Finley) the OCD sister of Lane feels moved to help the “depressed” Matilda by cleaning for her.

While cleaning, Virginia discovers the undergarments of someone other than Lane and that leads to the assumption that Lane’s husband Charles is having an affair. As it turns out, it is more than an affair, and we are taken on an interesting ride through what could be considered unbelievable if you have never been involved in something so ludacris in real life. My wife says she can totally relate with every character as the twist and turns unfold.

The play takes you full circle through relationships and the drama that goes with them sometimes. As I mentioned, it is very lighthearted, so do go prepared to laugh at the tragic story. (It is really a love story, but I’ll let you discover this for yourself)…

I feel I must appologize to these wonderful actors and The Warehouse Theatre for being so cynical about what Greenville had to offer in The Arts. I have been missing out on a lot and I am glad to have discovered this source of entertainment and enlightenment for our family.  For a fraction of the cost of an evening at The Peace Center, you can rest assured we will be visiting this venue frequently! 

The next show at The Warehouse Theatre is “The Rocky Horror Show”, a personal favorite that is coming up in October!!!! Hope to see you there!

Please ignore this….

Hal Westmoreland from AccessAbility Services Inc, of Simponsonville, SC was the lucky winner of the wireless network security / surveillance camera giveaway for July! Congratulations to Hal!

Incidentally the first name drawn was Pamela Hoyt, my wife, which somehow didn’t seem fair, so we drew again.

I would like to thank everyone for playing our little game, those who are signed up will be automatically entered into our next contest… Watch for details coming soon!

You can view your trends with a web interface, and access the data with your iPhone. I believe something like this really could encourage you to lose some weight. Recently there have been news stories which cite studies about weight loss and the results indicate that those who use internet weight tracking actually do lose more weight and manage to maintain that loss better than those who do not.

The thing that bothers me is that it will Tweet out your weight once a week to Twitter. All I could think was exactly what it would be tweeting when I stepped on it… Something like, “HELP ME! This fat guy is smushing me!” is probably what it would have to say about me! Still, it is an interesting gadget and I would love to have it. Who knows, maybe I will order one. Follow me on Twitter to see what this thing has to say!

I am active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Plaxo, and still have a MySpace account, though I don’t really use it that much. I haved tried out Google Buzz, FriendFeed, and several business only SM sites. (Heck, I have even checked out Chat Roulette and Omegle – but that is an entirely different story)

Out of all of these, one that I fail to see the value in for a computer service, repair and sales business like Homeland Secure IT is FourSquare. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. I use it constantly, and get very frustrated when it isn’t working like I think it should. But I use it for personal purposes. If you have not played with FourSquare, it is a geolocation based social media “tool” that lets you “check-in” to a venue or location when you get there using your GPS equiped smartphone. Assume you go to Starbucks for a quick Dark Cherry Mocha Frapp – you “check-in” and now the whole world can see what you are doing.  You can brag to Twitter & Facebook that you have disposable income you can spend on yummy coffee.

Same thing goes for attractions like amusement parks, ball games, and stores like say, “Target”. If you check-in enough times, you become the “Mayor” of that venue!

Here is where the value of FourSquare comes in… Assume you check-in and become mayor of XYZ Sandwich Shop. You have been announcing this for a while, everytime you visit there. The whole world has seen you were there, giving free advertisement to XYZ! But, if XYZ is smart, they will reward you for your loyalty and offer a free sandwich when someone becomes Mayor, and maybe a free drink every time the Mayor visits after that. A very cheap price to pay for this type of advertising.

Many places, especially restaurants, will offer specials that popup when you check-in near their venue. These will show up as a “SPECIAL NEARBY – Check out the great ribs at ABC BBQ”, which can help bring new business into these places. And still other places will offer you a free entree when you visit several of their location. FourSquare itself offers “Badges” for accomplishing certain feats, such as checking into three Starbucks locations.

All that said, our business does not have foot traffic nor visitors, so offering a “Free Virus Cleanup” to a mayor would be silly. I believe I am the only person to check-in to our location in the months that I have been using it. But it does bring up a pet peeve of mine. Today I was ousted as Mayor of a local coffee shop – BY THE OWNER OF THE PLACE. Wow, that doesn’t do anything to help with loyalty. My suggestion to places that want to check-in themselves, create a second venue, call it XYZ Sandwich Shop STAFF, and let the staff go crazy checking in!

I would further suggest that business owners who can benefit from FourSquare’s power of (free) advertising, take advantage of it the way it was meant to be used. Offer Mayors a treat, some recognition, and encourage them to remain the mayor and others to try and oust the current mayor. 4sq is both a FUN, and a very useful business tool, when used properly.

BTW: If you can think of a way 4sq can be used to promote our computer repair business here in Greenville, and increase loyalty, well I’m all ears, but until that happens, I will be trying to take my place as mayor of every great business in the Upstate!  Watch out Mayors, I’m coming for you…   

BTW: Have fun, it is only a game!  (But seriously, I’m coming for you)…    Also check out other geolocational based SM tools / toys like Gowalla, Gypsii, BrightKite, Loopt, etc…

Next month, we will probably give away some awesome Trend Micro Anti-Virus product!!!!!

Thanks for playing…

Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010

Do you have a blog and tire of entering your entries through the WordPress web interface? Sure, some people post using Outlook and email their blog entries, but using Word to publish is another great weapon in your arsenal.

Using Microsoft Office 2010, you can simplify your life a little by composing the posting in the familiar Word editor and then publish to your WordPress blog!

How do you do this? Easy as pie…

Step 1: Get a blog! Oh wait, you already have one or you wouldn’t be reading this.

Step 2: Get Microsoft Office 2010 (or 2007).

Step 3: Write your blog entry in Word and when ready to publish, select “File” from the pull down, then “Save & Send” and finally “Publish as Blog Post”

Step 4: The first time you do this, you will be prompted to “Register a Blog Account”… Select “Register Now”

Step 5: Select the type of blog you have, such as WordPress, Blogger, Windows Live Spaces, SharePoint blog, etc…  I’ll go with WP from here on….

Step 6: You need to enter the path to your xmlrpc.php, such as: http://www.yourblog.com/wordpress/xmlrpc.php

Step 7: Enter the user name and password you use to log into your blog and select “OK” (Select “Remember Password” if you trust nobody is going to use your computer and enter silly blog posts for you)

Step 8: Profit… Uhmm okay, maybe not…  Let’s try that again… Step 8: Post something interesting to the blogospher for the rest of us to read!

If you have not tried out Microsoft Office 2010 yet, you can download a free trial, or you can purchase from your favorite Microsoft Partner, like US! Call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for additional information.

Apple iPad being used more and more for business

My initial reaction to the iPad was that it was cute little toy, but then immediately after its release it became apparent that people wanted to use them for business as well as pleasure. First was the use of Remote Desktop (Terminal Services), which I wrote about and has been finding extreme popularity, then of course was Microsoft Exchange integration to get corporate mail and with that came ways to get connectivity without buying the 3G version of the iPad, using a MiFi from Verizon, and ultimately, hacking the iPad itself and putting a MiFi inside the iPad.

Now that some time has passed since the release of the iPad, we see that many companies and even government organizations have adopted them for real business use. Case in point, the Ontario, CA City Council has begun using the tablet computers and that alone shows how a new technology is changing the way we do business.

I’m seeing more and more interest in these highly portable devices from business users and as more manufacturers develop and release their products, we may see a tablet computing revolution, where the day planners, notebooks, notepads, and even post-it notes go in the trash in favor of this digital ink. And the SaaS (Software as a Service) model will make a lot of providers wealthy.

Businesses who want to get in on this phenomenon should talk to their IT provider to see how easily this technology can be integrated into their networks. Your computer service provider can help you get your pad /tablet computer linked to your corporate Microsoft Exchange mail, setup clients that allow you to remote to your Microsoft Server and much more!

If we can be of any assistance in the Greenville / Upstate area, please call us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com

The Android Wars Are Coming

The tablet computer wars are coming…  The awesome little Apple iPad will soon have serious competition from some big names in desktop, laptop and notebook computers….

Cisco, Lenovo, Toshiba, HP and LG, to name a few have either made plans to release pad / tablet computers, or have actually got a product to offer. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

No longer will you have to choose an Apple iPad, you will be able to select tablets based on the Google Android operating system, which will instantly provide you with tons of apps from the Android scene, and when HP gets their WebOS based system out, which was really part of the Palm lineup, that will be yet another platform for the tablet market. We shouldn’t forget about Microsoft (which some of you would love to), as they have an OS that is working on tablets also.

So how will you decide which is the best solution for you? It may come down to dollars and cents for some, while others may select based upon devices they already own. I was sure that most Mac and iPhone users would opt for an iPad out of owner loyalty to the brand, but the Android offering seems to be getting a lot of attention among the current Apple owners, enough so that they are holding out for the Android pads to hit the market!

Only time will tell who will come out on top, but my money is on the consumer in the end, as they are going to get many choices and the competition between brands and platforms will help bring the prices down!

There may be a few of you who want to be early adopters of the Android tablet and purchase an imported product. Buyer beware here – they may not support the new Android OS due out later this year…

Homeland Secure IT offers tablet computers built on the proven Windows platform currently, and as soon as HP releases their WebOS based product, we will offer that as well as any other products which are suited to business use mainly, like the Android Powered Cisco Cius tablet. Please contact us at 864-990-4748 or email info@homelandsecureit.com for more information

At “high noon”, cooler lids opened, and a fountain of Mentos activated Coke sprayed high into the air… Suddenly, the group pulled out (water) guns and began firing on each other! Some people had modest little water guns, others had fully automatic hydration systems shooting 25+ft. Then the bombing began! Water ballons were launched and many participants were instantly drenched with the barrage of ballons, again in the colors of Google’s famous logo.

Until the video is released, I can’t say for sure who won, but I have a feeling the Blue beat out of the rest =) (They may feel otherwise, but that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it)

The brainchild of Susan Sebotnick / @BitTyrant and Aaron Von Frank / @AaronVonFrank – they thought it up on Friday, made it happen today by using social media to alert a couple thousand people…   Due to the holiday, many were out of town though. Still, the turnout was terrific for Noon on a Monday!!!!

Some photos from James Akers Jr. / @JamesAkersJr are available here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=187731&id=507966821#!/photo.php?pid=4889169&id=507966821

Bring water guns, wear T-Shirts in the color of Google’s logo…

RSVP here: FACEBOOK EVENT

Please read the instructions on that site….

SanDisk SSD hard drive

If you were told you have an “SSD”, you might think you would need a round of antibiotics to clear that up, but in reality, it is a good thing!

SSDs, or Solid State Drives are becoming common place, though they have been around for a while. The price has been what has held back sales since the beginning, but recently we have noted a small decrease, thus making them a little more attractive to our clients.

The cost aside, these drives can replace your current hard drive, or make an excellent primary drive on a new notebook. Some of their features include the fact that they have no moving parts, providing better resistance to shock and vibration encountered when using a notebook in the field, they have fast throughput of data and possibly a huge factor to those who enjoy their quiet or work in music studios, none of that whirrrrrring you hear from your current hard drive! Replacing fans in your current computer with whisper-quiet fans, and its hard drive with an SSD can make for a very quiet work environment!

Many manufacturers of laptops, notebooks and netbooks are including SSDs as an option. This is really the time to purchase, as the system comes to you with the drive already installed and the operating system loaded, so it is ready to go.

There are two types of SSD drives currently; One is the SLC, or single level cell which allows one bit per memory cell, and shines with speed and reliability. The downside to the SLC would be the bulk and cost. Then there is the MLC or multi level cell devices, which store more than one bit in a single cell, are smaller in size, and cost less. The downside to MLC devices are that you sacrifice some speed.

Either way, it is worth considering an SSD for your next notebook purchase…

If you would like more information about these devices, please shoot us an email at info@homelandsecureit.com or call 864-990-4748. Feel free to reply here as well!

Network surveillance camera giveaway

I present to you: July’s freaky fun thing from Homeland Secure IT…

We are going to give away a cool color WiFi IP surveillance camera!

These network security cameras are pretty nifty! They feature wireless 802.11b/g connectivity, or wired CAT-5 to your network, as well as full color via a 1/4″ CMOS sensor, with 640×480 resolution at 30fps (full motion). They support WEP and WPA encryption.

These babies can automatically email you a snapshot at the first sign of activity, so you can get it on your smart phone, or you can log in and watch the video feed live with a web browser or some mobile smart phones…  It comes with software to turn a computer into a DVR to record the video.

Oh, did I mention that it features infrared illumination so it can see it total darkness?  Yep… pretty cool!

All you have to do is to attach the little mount it comes with to a wall and then attach the camera to that, connect the power supply and your network cable, or you can program it to connect wirelessly to your network.

What’s the catch?  There is none…  Absolutely no purchase, no obligation to enter our giveaway, other than to get connected to us via our mailing lists or this blog.  On this blog you can look to the right, and enter your email address in the “Follow Me” section and then hit subscribe and you can sign up for our email mailing lists HERE.

We combine the subscription lists from the blog and our two mailing lists into one list and draw randomly, which creates a loophole that can work to someone’s benefit – If you are subscribed to all 3 places, you have 3 chances to win…

Legal mumbo-jumbo: This offer is void where prohibited. Winner must pick up prize at our office in Greenville SC, or make arrangements for it to be shipped at his/her expense.

We will select the winner on July 31st 2010 and announce it the following week via a blog post, social media, etc!

In the meantime, if you want to purchase one of these snazzy cameras, we sell them as well as a full line of security and surveillance cameras and DVRs, so shoot us an email at info@homelandsecureit.com or call us at 864-990-4748….

You have to play the game to win… To play, you need only sign up for our mailing lists and/or subscribe to this blog. While everyone in the USA is eligible (except where prohibited by law) our mailing lists are primarily of interest to computer and technology enthusiasts, business owners, entrepreneurs, our clients & future clients of course, friends, family and individuals, mostly in and around the Greenville and Upstate South Carolina area. If you live outside of the local area and cannot pick up the cool stuff you win from our office, then you will be responsible for the shipping and handling costs.

WHAT CAN YOU WIN? Just what are we planning to give away to those who subscribe? In no particular order: A wireless network / IP surveillance camera complete with night vision, Trend Micro Anti-Virus, APC & Eaton UPS, free computer service & support, gift cards to various places around the Upstate and more! (Who knows, maybe a cool Android device, or netbook, etc)

We will announce the giveaways as we start them. The next one will be for July 2010.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? Because we want to increase awareness of our products and services, but we also want to have fun and to give something back to those who support us!

HOW TO ENTER: On our blog simply enter your email address & click on the subscribe button on the right-hand side where it says “Follow Me” to subscribe to this blog, which will be emailed to you each day there is new content, or you can sign up for either one or all of our mailing lists. There are currently two mailing lists, the “NewsBytes” ML which has minimal traffic, no more than once per week, and the “Secure IT Alerts” mailing list, which has only postings that regard to security, such as vulnerabilities and patches – traffic varies on that list. (There is a form below)

HOW WE SELECT A WINNER: At the time of the drawings, ALL lists are combined together and a name is selected randomly using a random number generator to get a number that corresponds to a name on that list.

LOOPHOLE ALERT: There is one flaw that can be used in your favor… If you are on multiple lists and subscribed to the blog, your name is going to be in the list multiple times, increasing your chances of winning.

Sign up now using this form:

Click on the video player and go to YouTube to check out their other videos while you are at it.