Intel wins tablet deal!

Hi folks! Rumor has it that Intel has won a major deal! Apparently Intel will be supplying the processors for the next Samsung tablet!

As you may know, the tablet and smartphone market are full of processors that are not made by Intel. Intel however looks like it’s trying to play catch up and start to compete in something other than the desktop and server market.

This could be a huge deal for the tablet market if this is true and it will be interesting to see how the competition responds.

You can read more here.

-RP

Xbox One

Hi folks! So we all waited with much anticipation and the Xbox One was finally announced! I wasn’t expecting that for the name, but whatever, I can live with it. Sounds a lot like they ripped off the name of the HTC One though.

Anyways, as a big Xbox 360 fan, I am very happy with the features announced. They have really positioned this as an all in one device for control of your living room. I can see many people using a box like this even if they don’t game.

What’s the down side? If you are Canadian, your features are limited. Canadians won’t be able to take advantage of all the cool TV functionality from what I’ve heard.

You can read more here.

-RP

Microsoft Azure to the rescue!

Hi folks! So Microsoft has decided to come to our rescue with Azure! Microsoft is using their powerful cloud platform to help us take down botnets!

Microsoft is using their cloud power to battle the bots and make the IT world a better place. Hats off to Microsoft for helping everyone out!

You can read more here.

-RP

Apple’s World Wide Devloper’s Conference Possible Announcements

Hi folks! so the Apple WWDC is coming soon and there are bound to be some great announcements as usual.

Some people have predicted announcements about new devices, but experts say that this doesn’t make sense because Apple would probably have separate launch events if they were launching new devices.

Instead you are probably going to hear about operating system versions for their computers and smart phones. Stay tuned!

You can read more here.

-RP

Cisco unhappy about Microsoft/Skype deal

Hi folks! So you may have heard that recently Cisco has been vocal about the Microsoft and Skype deal.

Cisco is taking exception to the fact that Microsoft will be taking over the market with the market penetration that Skype has. I find this highly amusing coming from Cisco, considering how much of the rest of the market they own themselves.

You can read more about it here.

-RP

Interesting article on 802.11AC

Hi folks! If you haven’t heard the new upcoming wireless standard is called 802.11AC. This is the standard that promises gigabit wireless.

Unfortunately, most current WiFi vendors are not adequately prepared for it at this time. Meru Networks has a blog where they explain the details of the situation.

You can read more about it here.

-RP

COPE or BYOD?

Hi folks! So most of you are aware of BYOD “Bring Your Own Device”. But do you know about COPE?

COPE stands for “Corporately Owned Personally Enabled”. It’s supposed to be the answer to BYOD for administrators that don’t want users to bring their own devices to the office. Instead you let users use their corporate devices for personal use and keep track of things using MDM software and at the end of the day the company still owns the hardware and retains their rights to it.

Does this mean all IT admins should rush out and push COPE? Not necessarily, i think admins should do an in depth in analysis and make their decisions based on their findings for their environments. No answer is right or wrong, it’s what works for you.

-RP

My thoughts on 10 GbE

Hi folks! So you may have noticed that in the network space that more and more 10 GbE options are becoming available! This is great as it’s pushed it’s way into all sorts of products such as switches, routers and firewalls.

However, I have had a lot of people ask me if they really need 10 GbE. Of course the answer usually is no unless they have heavy bandwidth needs. They don’t need 10 GbE, but they need more than 1 Gb, so you have no choice. Sure 10 GbE is a big jump, but there really is no in between option.

So as newer devices come out and you need to replace old withering ones, consider 10 GbE, it’s becoming much more affordable!

-RP

Mini USB A/B/G/N WiFi Adapter?

Hi folks! So with the horrible showing for A/B/G/N built-in capability in ultrabooks, does anyone have a good recommendation for a mini USB WiFi adapter that supports A/B/G/N?

I can find 2.4 ghz adapters with no problem, but not ones that support both in a small form factor. All of the ones out there that support both seem to be to large for my liking.

If anybody knows of where I can find a mini sized adapter, please post a comment here!

-RP

Sub-par wireless from Ultrabooks

Hi folks! So with the plethora of ultrabook options out there, I’m still dissapointed in the majority of ultrabooks not having great wireless options!

This is a request to all ultrabook makers, please add A/B/G/N WiFi! Most ultrabooks only support 2.4 ghz and don’t support 5 ghz. This is absolutely unacceptable in this day and age with our reliance on wireless.

Ultrabook makers need to stop being so chintzy and need to start putting the right WiFi hardware in their ultrabooks!

-RP