Picture this scenario: A box arrives at the office from Amazon or an office supply store. It's addressed to the department manager. They open up the box and find a power strip inside, with an invoice - fully paid. The manager doesn't remember ordering it but there's been a lot going on. He asks around if anybody needed a power strip and somebody volunteers because they could … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
Shopping smarter online
The recent heatwave of 100+ degrees here in East Central Illinois has me revisiting an old project in my head. I previously tried a window unit air conditioner for my office. The computers and network equipment generate enough heat that the central air isn't able to keep up comfortably. Unfortunately, the window unit allowed too many bugs in to be satisfied, so it got pulled … [Read more...]
Thought The Cloud would end piracy? The BSA disagrees
Many times in recent years, "The Cloud" has been lauded as one solution to ending piracy. There is no software to pirate and everything stays on the server. That seems to have been a pipe dream as the Business Software Alliance discusses 4 emerging trends of copyright infringement in The Cloud seen through a global survey. … [Read more...]
Creating a mandatory profile in Windows 7
It's been a little while since I had to create a mandatory profile. I have done it on Windows XP computers at previous organizations and clients but with a new organization actually using Windows 7, the situation has finally come about for a lab/kiosk environment that could make use of a mandatory profile. To refresh myself, I gathered a few resources on the topic. … [Read more...]
Scripting printer installation through a dynamic shutdown script
Many would think that using scripts to install printers might be a thing of the past thanks to Group Policy Preferences and other methods of deploying the beasts. However, the versatility of using a script and not having to establish a print server is still quite useful in many environments. Part of that project I mentioned previously had me querying printers throughout the … [Read more...]