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1/10/2010

Wrap Your Head Around The Cloud!

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last year or so, you have probably heard about The Cloud, or Cloud Computing.

"A cloud is a workload optimized service management platform enabling new consumption and delivery models." -current IBM Commercial


I thought I'd take a few minutes and explain what the "Cloud" really is for those computer users out there that don't have a CS degree. The truth is the cloud concept is awesome but is not exactly new. Sure, there are innovations every day and the ability and methods of accessing, sharing and aggregating on-line data are continually evolving. But, accessing, sharing and aggregating online data is certainly nothing new.

In simple terms, if you store any data on the internet and pull that data down to your workstations using a browser, email client, customized software, etc., you are using the "Cloud." If your website has a database connected to it, that database is essentially "in the Cloud." If you use email, you use the Cloud – you email server. If you have a SharePoint site, other CMS, or shared on-line calendar, you are working in the Cloud. The Cloud is essentially another term for "Web Service."

But, be careful not to confuse the term "Web Service" with "Internet Service Provider." Some common Internet Service Provider (ISP) are AT&T, Comcast, C-Beyond, etc. Web Service, as defined by Wikidedia and the W3C is "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network." In simple terms, a server on the internet providing something of use to other servers or workstations also connected to the internet is "in the Cloud."

Posted at 1:36 PM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

10/29/2009

The Best IT Firm In Houston - The PC Paramedics, Inc.
If you are in the Greater Houston Area and need a reputable IT firm for your Small to Mid-Size business, call The PC Paramedics, Inc. today!  They are the best in town!
 
Office: (281) 412-7183
 
 
 
 
Posted at 3:00 PM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

10/20/2009

Why Pay For the 411 Service?

We received this communication in our inbox today and are re-posting here as an FYI…

 

Just leave it up to Google to come up with something like this!!!

Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone, or your home phone speed dial: 1-800-goog411 or 1-800-466-4411.  This is an awesome service from Google, and it's free -- great when you are on the road.  Don't waste your money on information calls and don't waste your time manually dialing the number.  I am driving along in my car and I need to call the golf course and I don't know the number.  I hit the speed dial for information that I have programmed (1-800-goog411).  The voice at the other end says, "Say the name of the business and the City & State.."  I say, "Firewheel Golf Course, Garland ,   Texas ..'  He says, "Connecting," and Firewheel answers the phone.  How great is that?  This is nationwide and it is absolutely free!  Works on cell and landline phones.

Click on the link below and watch the short clip for a quick demonstration.

http://www.google.com/goog411/

Posted at 10:13 AM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General; News; Tips & Tricks | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

10/19/2009

BNI Networking Page Added to mikewittmer.com

I’ve spent a little time the last few days setting up a sub-site on mikewittmer.com for my BNI information.  BNI is an international networking organization.  I am a member of the local BNI Friendswood Power Partners chapter.  We meet at 8am on Fridays at the Hope Village Tea Room in Friendswood, TX.  I have found membership to be beneficial in growing The PC Paramedics, Inc. client base.  The group is a spirited, light hearted, energetic, and diverse selection of local business professionals.

At any rate, the page is setup for the purpose of sharing content I have collected related to the group.  The point is to share the content on-line with the membership.  Since there is no confidential information contained on the site, I have chosen to not secure it.  Having the site “wide-open” only increases the membership’s internet visibility as the site is indexed by the popular search engines (google, yahoo!, bing, etc.). 

 

To view the site, visit http://bni.mikewittmer.com/

If you are intested in visiting the chapter, please leave a comment on this post.

Posted at 8:05 AM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

9/15/2009

Weekly Update #1

We are starting this new concept of "Weekly Update." This feature is intended to provide a brief update to our readers on what we have going on and what they can expect from WITTMER Group in the future. We hope you like the concept!

Our development team has been diving deep into a new project which should serve as fodder for several new articles in the near future. A few articles we plan to release soon are:

  • REVIEW: Windows 7 User Experience
  • Incorporating Spry Into SharePointGoogle Analytics
  • SharePoint Feature Highlights

If you have any recommendations for new blog entries/articles, please email us at info@wittmergroup.com.

Best Regards,

Mike

P.S. Thank you for following us!

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Posted at 8:28 AM by Mike Wittmer | Category: News; General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (1)

9/9/2009

Windows 7 Upgrade Experience

This is a quick and dirty write-up on my experience upgrading a Dell Latitude D630 from Windows Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Ultimate. To the techie's out there, we know historically "Upgrading" is not the desired path; however, I wanted (and needed) to go through this process to educate myself on the feasibility of upgrading Vista to Windows 7 RTM - to better advise any clients wishing to pursue "upgrading to Windows 7." After all, Microsoft offers this upgrade procedure as an option for Windows Vista users, so we need to know exactly how practical the process is.

 

Performing the Upgrade

I first attempted to upgrade from 32 bit to 64 bit and learned quickly that this is not supported.

I downloaded the Windows 7 32-bit RTM version from MSDN and began the upgrade process.

The install wizard informed me that my system bios (A04) was not Windows 7 compatible.

I went to the Dell website and downloaded the latest BIOS (A17) and installed. (Somebody hasn't been keeping up with their BIOS updates L )

I made a third attempt to install the upgrade when the installer warned me that iTunes, along with a few other applications of little consequence to me, would not function properly on the new version.

I cancelled the upgrade to perform a backup of my iTunes media. I noticed that my new HP printer and Adobe software was not on the list of compatibility concerns. These items did not port over well from Windows XP to Windows Vista, so this seemed to be an improvement.

At 10 a.m. on August 29, 2009 I made my fourth and final upgrade attempt. This portion of the upgrade process went slowly but smoothly; it took 7 hours to complete. At 5 p.m. I was back at the Windows desktop to evaluate the status of the system.

 

What Doesn't Work After Upgrading

 

Multi-Monitor Support - I had some issues with multi-monitor support initially. This was a result of installing the upgrade while my system was "docked" and in multi-monitor mode. An undocked boot and tweaking of the display settings seemed to clear this up.

Scanning – Sadly, scanning to my new HP Photosmart Premium printer does not work. Ironically, we bought this all-in-one because our HP Color LaserJet 2820 never consistently scanned after upgrading to Windows Vista. I went to the HP website to download the latest drivers and, Windows 7 drivers are not available. Windows Vista drivers do not install on Windows 7 (I tried), so I appear to be dead in the water with regards to scanning. I also attempted to scan from within Adobe Acrobat; this doesn't work either.

Nero InCD – I periodically receive popup messages indicating the InCD Service could not be started. I disabled the service in Services.msc; however, the message persists. This seems to be minor and I should be able to resolve when I have a little more time.

iTunes Works Fine – OK, I know I'm putting this under the "What Doesn't Work" section but the installer indicated there would be a problem and there wasn't. Fortunately, I didn't need to rely on my backups, but I also wasted some media and my time, in a sense, backing the library up. I'm not going to gripe too much about backing up because my belief is most people don't backup often enough.

 

In conclusion

 

It has only been a day or so since I performed the backup so I'm still evaluating the system. I will update here with any additional issues or findings as they arise. The backup took a long time but basic functionality has been achieved. The big issue is scanning which feels like the Windows Vista experience all over again.

Posted at 6:44 PM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

8/23/2009

WITTMER Group is now on Twitter
 
Follow us on Twitter!
 
Posted at 12:39 PM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

8/20/2009

New Traffic Laws for Texas - Sept. 1, 2009
New driving laws go into effect for Texans starting September 1st.  Here's a document from the State outlining the changes.
 
The 2 big items are:
1.  everyone in your vehicle needs to wear a seatbelt regardless of the location.
2.  No mobile phone use without hands free device in school zones.
 
 
Posted at 3:29 PM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

8/18/2009

What is the "WITTMER Group" anyway?
WITTMER Group is an internet service and development firm specializing in web-based technologies. Our primary focus is Microsoft SharePoint site design and development. We also perform traditional web design, domain registration, and search engine optimization. If you are interested in any of these products, feel free to email us at info@wittmergroup.com or call us direct at (832) 303-WTMR.
Posted at 7:52 AM by Mike Wittmer | Category: General | Permalink | Email this Post | Comments (0)

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