SMB IT | Curtis Franklin | June 2006

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June 2006

June 26, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Palm's been busy putting out new Treo versions and gear. The new version really doesn't thrill me. They're calling it the Treo Black Tie Edition. It amounts to a new shell with black coloring, a new black hardshell case and a new stylus that doubles as a pen. All of that surrounding a Treo 650 and going for...$599? Makes no sense.

The Treo TripKit is a little more sensical, and it's compatible with all model Treos from the 650 to the 700p. It's a useful kit, containing a Bluetooth wireless headset, a car charger, an extra battery, a new stylus that doubles as a pen and an international charger with attachments. All of that in a leather roll-up case that goes for $199. A little pricey, but still a better value than the Black Tie version.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 26, 2006 07:18 AM

June 23, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Bye Bye Home Phone

Well, it's official: I'm switching to all-VoIP at home. Linksys was kind enough to send me their new WIP330 Wireless-G IP Phone, and so far I can't get enough.

It's a pretty simple $220 (street) device with a lot of room for feature improvement, but what's making me gush about it is that it manages to do two things right: (1) I have no trouble connecting to wireless APs and hotspots. WEP, no WEP, whatever, the Linksys finds it and establishes link. (2) And this is probably a function of the SIP provider as much as anything--voice quality is killer. Except for the occasional hiccup, folks can't tell I'm on anything other than my standard home phone.

On the feature side, it does pretty well for a first-time device. The display is nicely sized and bright, it's got great WiFi range and it can (supposedly) support QoS settings--I still have to test that. A few of the features need some maturation: The embedded Web browser, for example, is way too kludgy to use. It should be better optimized for this device, and the pointing device control needs a re-think. Steal Apple's engineer if you can't think of anything else. A few smart Web site choices wouldn't hurt either--like a direct link to the support page for the phone would be good. A decent typepad would be nice--if there was ever a device that's going to go nuts with text message this is it. Sticking with the standard phone keypad is nuts. And Linksys should setup an atomic date/time server somewhere and let the phone sync to that over the Web.

All minor dings, 'tis true, but dings nonetheless. Still, the phone is overall a winner in my book.

Best part is that using a SIP provider like BroadVoice I'm looking at about $20/mo for pretty much unlimited nationwide calling. And that includes all the fancy stuff (voice mail, caller ID, three-way calling, call forwarding, etc.).

Yeah, if my cable modem takes a dive, this thing does too. But that's happened exactly twice in the last six years and I've got my cell phone as backup. So far, no downside.

Should SMBs think about this? Definitely. This is an amazing cost saver for smaller companies, especially startups. Larger companies probably want to consider such a move more carefully, but fully outsourced SIP call managers are available and they do offer a number of benefits.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 23, 2006 09:09 AM

June 20, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Emerging Enterprise Podcast

It's our first live interview. We get a chance to talk with Pradeep Parmar, Sun Microsystems' Product Line Marketing Manager for Sun's servers. We're talking about what Sun considers an SMB (get ready for the big company party line) and then go discuss buying advice for SMBs considering new server purchases. Listen!

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 20, 2006 01:57 PM

June 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Coming Home from Paradise

I'll be dragging my sorry geek posterior home from paradise for the next couple of days, so posting will be intermittent. Back in full swing on Thursday.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 14, 2006 03:04 AM

June 12, 2006 | Comments: (0)

MySpace More Than Just a Dating Site

Who knows, MySpace might actually become a worthwhile place to visit for even the SMB management set. Seems the company has just launched a job search site, called appropriately MySpace Jobs. She's powered by the Simple Hired search engine and will probably wind up becoming a player due to sheer volume--it already boasts 5 million listings.

Of course, whether it'll wind up being a job site for professionals or a site that gets high school kids pizza delivery jobs in the summer remains to be seen.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 12, 2006 09:12 PM

June 09, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Emerging Enterprise Podcast

Vista Vista everywhere. And why upgrading your desktops might not be such a stupid idea after all. And then a rant on stopping the unsecured laptop madness. Listen!

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 9, 2006 03:22 PM

June 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Gateway M255-E SB: A Real SMB Notebook

Okay, Gateway can't name a notebook worth beans, but they sure built a functional winner this time around. I really like this thing, tho quantifying why is going to be a little difficult. There's not much snazzy about this machine, but it just works. And for a frequent traveler with enough headaches in his life, that's a huge plus. Just works.

Gateway sent me the M255-E after they decided it was the quickest way to get back their M280 tablet notebook. Figured if they fed me one, I'd fork the other one back over. They were right, and I don't for a moment regret it.

Having a convertible notebook, like the M280, was cool. Helped during sales presentations the most--the ability to shift the display around to show our application in action was keen. I almost never took notes on it as a tablet, however, because after 15 years as a journalist I type faster than I write anyway. But that's just me.

So I didn't miss the convertible screen when I unboxed the M255-E. I also didn't miss the M280's screen size. The M255-E is 14-inches across, whereas the M280 was 15-inches. Next to a slightly smaller screen, however, the 255-E also has a noticeably smaller case design. Read: thinner. The M280 is chubbier by itself and Gateway had shipped me the M280's long-life batteries, which fattened it up even more. Just a regular l-ion battery with the M255-E, but it gave me plenty of juice on my cross country flights (about three and a half hours on average depending on what you're doing) and it slipped into my knapsack/briefcase with the greatest of ease.

Another key benefit here, tho, is that it's light. Way lighter than the big-battery-equipped M280 and even noticeably lighter than my own ThinkPad T42p. 'Bout 5.2lbs with battery installed. Almost a pound less then my ThinkPad with its longlife battery installed.

But that doesn't mean it skimps on features. It has everything I wanted out of a decent workhorse SMB notebook: nice clear screen, 60GB SATA hard disk, CD/RW+DVD-ROM drive, full-size keyboard. No super gaming system video card, just an Intel Graphics Accelerator 950, but that's plenty for folks who need to work, not play Half-Life 2. And finally, Gateway stuck a 1.6Ghz Core Duo Mobile in there as well as 512MB RAM. Overall, noticeably snappier performance than on the M280 which only had a single-core 1.6GHz T1300 Single Core CPU. I would have liked to have upgraded the RAM to 1GB or more, but you can get it upgraded that way for only $90 extra.

Day-to-day performance was uneventful--which is good. If I needed to do it as part of a business trip, the M255-E could handle it. Four USB ports, one firewire, an s-video port, and a 6-in-1 memory card reader. (The last I discovered AFTER I went to loads of trouble to hook an external Sony Memory Stick reader to the box. That'll teach me: RTFM.)

Wireless is Intel 802.11a/b/g, wired is Broadcom 10/100/1000. Neither gave me trouble, except for a few minutes when I first started wireless. Seems there's a BIOS setting on the M255-E that permanently turns the wireless radio off--so not even the function key combo (Fn+F2) works. I'm not sure why that's there, but it gave me some trouble till I found it. Check this first before you report to Gateway that the wireless radio is fried. Just set it to Disable Radio and the radio will default to off when the machine powers on, but you can turn it on/off via the function key set.

I also like the optional GatewayShield security features. Again tho, these are optional features, so be sure to order them when buying. Once you do, however, you get the McAfee or Symantec desktop suites (your choice) as well as the BigFix update scanner--this thing works pretty well, too.

Additionally, you can configure the TPM security chip with Computrace's Complete data delete feature. This means the system will automatically delete all onboard data should it realize it's been stolen via CompuTrace's BIOS-level LoJack capability. A nice feature set, but I wish they had some built-in data encryption above and beyond Windows like the ThinkPad people do.

Overall, I really, really like it. Not as uber-powerful as my Thinkpad, not quite as snazzy as the M280 convertible; but the M255-E's addition of Core Duo gives it all the juice it needs in the perfect form factor for the traveler that really needs to do work. And a nicely decked out unit costs little enough that you won't mind equipping several employees. Real win for Gateway.

M255-E SB
Gateway
Price: With Microsoft Office Small Business 2003, a 3-year service on-site service plan, and GatewayShield security services, $1729.96. Without any of that, $1284.99.
Verdict: I love it. For a guy who keep dropping a PC into a bag and heading off to the airport, having something both light and fast enough for desktop work is great. No fancy bells and whistles, but enough expansion so you can add whatever you want later. And it's a nice price, too.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 8, 2006 05:08 PM

June 08, 2006 | Comments: (0)

SBA Extends Disaster Loans for SMBs

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has extended the filing deadline for their Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This is still for businesses affected primarily by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Specific deadlines are determined by where you're located, but you can get all the skinny at the SBA's disaster loan web site.

They've also got some more news up (PDF file) about how ready they are for the upcoming hurricane season, which the NOAA is forecasting as yet another doozy.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 8, 2006 04:43 PM

June 07, 2006 | Comments: (0)

One 'Mo Vista Feature Goes to Boot Hill

See, this is one I was kinda looking forward to. Unless your whole life is on one PC, you've got the issue of keeping data current on more than one box--notebook and desktop usually. Vista promised to make this easier with a wizard-drive, dead-simple to use PC Sync feature that would keep data current on multiple PCs for any single user.

Cool, no? Too bad it's dead. Just got announced today, not going to happen--in the first release, at least. Maybe never.

Sucketh Majorus, but at least it's not something more critical, like the file system--oh wait, we already canceled that. What I'm waiting for is some announcement saying they're trimming some of the feature fat off Aero. That's what's rumored to be behind the release delay anyway.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 7, 2006 06:03 PM

June 06, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Print Sharing for Multi-Functionals

When setting up a small office, multi-function printers (printer, scanner, copier, fax machine) are usually a boon. Not quite as quick as devices individually dedicated to these tasks, they nevertheless usually do a decent job and they cost way less than four separate machines.

But sharing them is either a pain or downright impossible. Too many drivers, not enough networking.

Until I found this lil gadget. The D-Link RangeBooster G Multifunction Print Server (DPR-1260). A fantastically boring name for a pretty useful gadget (provided it works--have yet to see one in the field, so I'm putting that out as a disclaimer).

It's a wireless print server that gets real fast and sexy if you're using D-Link's semi-proprietary RangeBooster system, but should work fine over standard 802.11g. It's got four USB ports to latch onto multiple printers. If they're multi-function, it enables both printing and scanning across the network. There's an Ethernet port for use as a bridge back to other Ethernet connected devices or the network itself.

It's not a router or Internet sharing gateway, so you'll still need a separate box for that; but it's been tested with over 100 of the most popular printers out there and they've even pubbed a compatiblity list here (just put DPR in the first search box and 1260 in the second and click "go"). For $120, this looks like a handy box to have for those smaller branch offices.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 6, 2006 11:49 AM

June 05, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Vista Hardware: What to Buy Today for Tomorrow's OS

When you're talking about a 20,000-user enterprise, doing a desktop operating system upgrade generally gets tossed out. Even with smart deployment and OS push tools, dropping a new OS with fully tested application support on several thousand desktops just costs so much in extra man-hour dollars that most CIOs simply let their next PC purchase take care of things for them.

Servers get upgraded first and as the leases on desktop hardware run out, the new desktops coming in have the new OS already pre-installed so sys admins only have to deploy and test the required business applications before sending them out into the field. Your users may wind up using the previous-generation operating system for a year or more, but that's a small price to pay for not breaking the budget or your CIO's blood pressure.

SMBs, however, can be a different situation. A smaller number of machines coupled with (sometimes) a competitive need to be right out there on the bleeding edge mean these organizations sometimes do take the trouble to perform company-wide desktop OS upgrades.

So with this in mind, we started testing the Vista Beta 2 software out here at the ANCL Lab in Honolulu. I'll talk about Vista's coolness somewhere else (probably the Enterprise Windows column), but here I want to talk about what we think the hardware requirements for Vista really are. That way, if you're buying XP desktops today that may be turned into Vista desktops tomorrow, you know you'll have enough hardware stuff to make the conversion work.

So Redmond's recommended hardware specs go like this (and this is straight from Microsoft's Get Ready for Vista Web site):

*512MB RAM (1GB for Premium)
*A 'modern processor (at least 800MHz)", which later becomes more specific for "Vista Premium" as 1GHz x86 or x64 processor
*A graphics processor that can run DirectX 9 with support for WDDM, Pixel Shader 2 and 32-bits per pixel as well with 64MB of video RAM to support a basic desktop monitor resolution 1024x1280
*A 40GB hard disk with 15GB of free space
*DVD-ROM drive

Okay, no offense Microsoft, but after playing with this OS for a while, that's a fairy tale. And for the record, we did try this with a 900MHz CPU-equipped PC that also had 512MB of RAM, a 40GB hard disk (with all 40GBs free) and a 64MB Intel-based graphics sub-system. The only thing that probably came up short here was the Intel graphics card. But even so, that configuration was pitifully slow.

Our next try was a converted Acer 9500. This is a behemoth Windows XP Media Center Edition notebook with a 17-inch screen, a 128MB ATI Mobility video system with all the bells and whistles, a 2GHz Pentium M CPU, 2GB of system RAM and a 80GB hard disk.

Much better. Our video card definitely had an impact on the Windows Aero desktop performance, and it should be able to support DirectX 10, which is expected to ship with Vista as well. 2GB of RAM also seems to be our recommended minimum, not 1GB.

While the system will run inside of 512MB, you're grabbing almost 400MB of system RAM simply by starting the operating system. That leaves you next to nothing to run multiple applications. 1GB leaves you more room, but business users with five, six or more applications open simultaneously as a matter of course are going to want 2GB--and pretty much right away.

We also installed Vista on an AMD 64-bit Opteron machine that's really specced out as a server. We swapped the video card with an nVidia GeForce 7800 holding 256MB of dedicated RAM, however, and things really perked up. This system had 4GB of RAM, which we simply left installed, and two 200GB SATA drives in a RAID 1 configuration.

This machine rocked. Installation went even more smoothly than on the Acer and performance was slick. We even installed some Office 2007 beta discs that we sneaked from...somewhere...and started surfing and opening applications like crazy. Everything zoomed along, except for the usual hiccups you'd expect from beta software.

Overall, I don't think you need the specs of the Opteron machine. That's a server box that we temporarily turned into a pretty meaty workstation. A config like the Acer machine seems more reasonable and most likely enough to handle day-to-day business desktop stuff.

However, there is a kink. Buying systems with 2GB of RAM and a 128MB-256MB video card isn't a big deal. The question mark happens when you consider CPUs. Purchasing a a 32-bit CPU vs. a 64-bit CPU is the issue. 32-bit silicon is enough to run Vista, but we definitely like the 64-bit performance. Only trouble is, if you buy a 64-bit CPU today, you're either wasting it on Windows XP 32-bit, or you're dealing with loads of driver issues if you opt for Windows XP x64.

My advice is to buy the 64-bit CPU now, run it in 32-bit mode and then move up to a 64-bit OS with the swap to Vista. You suffer for a bit, but it'll be a sunny day when you finally do the upgrade. The only caveat here is that if your desktop users rely on a specific XP-compliant application to get their work done, make sure you've spoken to this vendor(s) about their Vista plans and release dates before doing anything.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 5, 2006 05:16 PM

June 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Exchange 2007 Gets a Premium License

Exchange getting fleshed out. Seems that Microsoft is making some changes to what we've come to expect from Exchange 2007. So instead of just Exchange 2007 Standard and Exchange 2007 Enterprise, there will now be a souped up Enterprise version that will add new features, mostly security stuff like anti-virus and anti-spam. These will be available either in an on-site form or as hosted services via Microsoft's FrontBridge platform.

While I like the new features, especially the hosted options, I'm not so happy that we've got to get yet another higher-priced license for them. That's a higher-priced license plus the ongoing service charge. The story and Microsoft's press info isn't clear on that point. Have a call in to them now to ask whether the CAL gets you access to the AV/AS stuff for the life of the CAL or whether you're still paying a per/mo--per/CAL charge. Also want to know how this affects the new 'compliance' features, which seems to be another way of describing FrontBridge's archiving service. No word on how this is being priced next to the CAL question.

If it's the latter, then I'm cranky. I know they're maximizing profits, but for the SMB set, it would have made more sense to keep the basic license scheme the same and charge for the hosted services as standalone options. Forcing me to get another CAL simply to access them seems like insult on injury.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 2, 2006 06:15 PM

June 02, 2006 | Comments: (0)

External Storage for the Discriminating Road Warrior

Posted on this over at Technology Filter, but it's definitely a fit here, too. There are numerous external USB-based hard disks on the market. Most of them just a straight IDE or notebook drive in a metal shell with a USB-out. That works, but leaves a number of design issues open. Design issues that were recently addressed by an outfit called Rocsecure.

These guys make a number of external hard disk products, but the one I like best is the Rocbit series. Available in sizes from 40GB to 500GB, these puppies also include hardware-level encryption. And not wimp encryption, either, but 40/64/128 or 192-bit DES or Triple DES encryption. Me? I'd opt for at least 128-bit because it's being processed in hardware off the drive anyway--won't slow down my notebook CPU at all. And with 128- or 192-bit the average notebook bag thief is going to get pretty much nada off the drive. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

But the Rocbit also goes beyond the call when it comes to chassis design. Instead of just a simple hard plastic shell, this case is specifically designed for external drive use, incorporating features lik noise reduction, cooling and an anti-shock feature, too.

Finally, you can get every Rocbit in either USB-only or USB + Firewire mode. That covers plug and play under both Windows and the OS X and Rocsecure's also managed to come up with tested Linux support as well.

Starts at $160, but well worth the sheckels.

Posted by Oliver Rist on June 2, 2006 01:04 PM

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