March/April 2013- Issue 36
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Quicklinks |
CIO Solutions
Website
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Birthdays
Mike Shinn - 3/7
Nic Neilson - 4/4
Eric Egolf - 4/8
Nicho Loza - 4/25
Eric Engmyr - 4/27
Richard Clark - 4/27
St. Patrick's Day
Sunday, March 17th
Passover (Seder)
Tuesday, March 26th (Sundown)
Easter
Sunday, March 31st
Earth Day
Monday, April 22nd
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Spring is in the air!
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Dear ,
The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and we have a whole additional hour of glorious daylight!
Growth is the name of the game and we are thriving here at CIO. New clients, new employees, new adventures!
Here's to a fruitful and rejuvenating spring and summer.
Cheers, John Petote CEO, CIO Solutions |
Check with the Tech: Tips for Cleaning out Your Inbox
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Q: What are some tips for cleaning out my email inbox?
A:Managing your email inbox can seem daunting but here are some tips to help with this necessary task. This was adapted from LifeHacker, click here to read the full LifeHacker article.
1. Work in Disconnected Mode 2. Don't Reply to Anybody 3. Sort Your Inbox by Sender 4. Use a Filing System that Makes Sense for You 5. Be Ruthless About Deleting Stuff 6. Know Your Keyboard Shortcuts
For your business email account make sure to discuss with Central Support your archive and auto-archive options.
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CIO TRI-COUNTY CLOUD GIVEAWAY CONTEST - WINNER
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For months you have been nominating, voting, and promoting, and now it's over. The Tri-Counties have spoken, and you have selected Hearts Therapeutic as the winner of this massive technology makeover. CIO Solutions will be partnering with Hearts Therapeutic to deliver a large scale, industry leading hybrid solution of Cloud Computing and premise-based IT, which will support this organization for years. On top of all that, we will be providing computer and network support, further relieving Hearts Therapeutic from the burden and cost of managing technology in house. It has been our privilege to be associated with each of the wonderful finalists, and we hope to continue the relationships we began. We at CIO Solutions would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who nominated, voted for and helped promote your favorite non-profit in the Cloud Giveaway. It has truly been amazing to see the response, which we believe is indicative of your passion for the our home here on the Central Coast. |
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CIO In the News
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Nine Lives Media Names CIO Solutions on the MSPmentor 501 Global Edition
March 21, 2013 - CIO Solutions has ranked 187 on Nine Lives Media's sixth-annual MSPmentor 501 Global Edition (http://www.mspmentor.net/top501), a distinguished list and report identifying the world's top 501 managed service providers (MSPs).
The MSPmentor 501 report is based on data from MSPmentor's global online survey conducted October-December 2012. The MSPmentor 501 report recognizes top managed service providers based on a range of metrics, including annual managed services revenue growth, revenue per employee, managed services offered and customer devices managed.
"We are happy to be recognized as one of the best in our industry by an organization that specializes in reviewing managed services companies," said Eric Egolf, President of CIO Solutions. "This is especially meaningful after being included on the Inc5000 fastest growing IT company list as well."
"MSPmentor congratulates CIO Solutions on this honor," said Amy Katz, president of Nine Lives Media, a division of Penton Media. "Qualifying for our MSPmentor 501 Global Edition puts CIO Solutions in rare company."
About CIO Solutions
CIO Solutions has been providing IT management and design services to the Tri-County Area since 1986. CIO specializes in helping businesses focus on their core business by designing and managing their IT department. In addition to managing IT networks, CIO also provides consultation on Private Cloud Services, Enterprise Storage, Virtualization, VoIP Phone Systems and other solutions. More information can be found at http://www.ciosolutions.com or by calling their office 805-692-6700.
About Nine Lives Media Nine Lives Media, a division of Penton Media (http://www.penton.com), defines emerging IT media markets and disrupts established IT media markets. The company's IT channel-centric online communities include MSPmentor (http://www.MSPmentor.net), The VAR Guy (http://www.TheVARguy.com) and Talkin' Cloud (http://www.TalkinCloud.com).
Marketing Contact:
Hannah Rich
805-692-6700, ext. 105
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Product Review: Tabtops - The Rise of Tablet-Laptops
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Last month we talked about the Surface Pro, Microsoft's first try at a Windows 8 tablet.
| Ryan Popke |
This month we're going to take a look at two new Windows 8 tablets, the Lenovo Yoga and the ASUS Taichi . Both of these tablets are similar to the Surface Pro in both features and price; however both have an attached keyboard which makes them both a tablet and a laptop. A 'Tabtop' so to speak.
Lenovo Yoga:
At first glance the Yoga looks like a traditional laptop, it's less than an inch thick and the design and build quality is what you would expect from Lenovo. The Yoga's claim to fame is the hinge. While most laptops can open to 120 or so degrees the Yoga can open and bend all the way back a full 180 degrees. This allows the Yoga to be used as both a laptop and a tablet.
The Yoga has a 13.3" screen which makes it one of the larger tablets available; however the resolution is only 1600 x 900, that's 30% less desktop space when compared to the Surface Pro. The system includes an Intel Dual Core processor as well as 4GB of memory and the 128GB Solid State hard drive is typical of tablets in this price range. With a great battery life of up to 8 hours the Yoga really makes great use of its larger foot print.
Conclusion: The Yoga is great value for money. At $999 it is priced competitively with the other tablets in this space and I think it remedies the faults with the Surface Pro's battery and keyboard arrangement. The only negative I could find was the low resolution screen; even so I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is on the fence between buying a laptop and a tablet.
Asus Taichi:
The ASUS Taichi is a different beast altogether. At $1199 it is quite a bit more expensive than both the Yoga and the Surface Pro, but you do get the added benefit of an entirely unique feature. When the laptop is open you see a standard 11.6" 1920 X 1080 screen and nice backlit keyboard, everything you would expect from an ultrabook. However upon closing the lid you will find a second 11.6" screen; that's right, the Taichi has two built in screens, the outer one being a touch screen. With the included pen you can use the Taichi as a note pad or even draw up a quick basketball play using the included ASUS paint program. At any time you can switch between screens simply by opening or closing the lid. You can even use both screens at the same time, useful for watching a movie from two opposing seats or doing an impromptu presentation. The added features the Taichi offers don't come without a price, the battery for example, is worse than the Surface Pro's (less than 5 hours) and the included screen switching software can sometimes forget which way is up. The system specs are almost identical to the Yoga and the Surface Pro, the addition of the second screen and the backlit keyboard are the only extras you will find here. The Taichi has a very sleek look to it with its rear glass touchscreen replacing the usual manufacturer logos. Conclusion: The Taichi is quite interesting; in my eyes its greatest feature is the two separate screens but not for the reason your thinking. On the Surface Pro or the Yoga you'll be touching the screen all day and when it's time to get down to business with the keyboard you'll find your screen is completely smudged and dirty. With the Taichi you can simply open it up and your ready to go, it really separates out business from pleasure and for that I think it's worth some consideration. However in the end the added cost of the second screen and poor battery make the Taichi hard to recommend over the Yoga.
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App of the Month: Brewster
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Brewster merges all of your contacts from your favorite social network sites and communication services to create personalized and dynamic profiles -- helping you have quick access to all the information you need in one place (e.g. phone number, email, employment, Twitter handle, etc.), search based on anything from names to interests and view updates that help you keep track of what is going on in the lives of people you know (e.g. birthdays, new jobs, etc.)
Additionally, syncing Brewster to your iPhone address book keeps your contacts' information up-to-date and adds large photos to every contact.
Services included today: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Gmail, iPhone contacts, Foursquare
iphone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/brewster-address-book/id440979190?mt=8
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Employee Spotlight: Tom Prenderville, Remote Engineer
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Full name: Thomas Morgan Prenderville
Family Info: Completely Irish on both sides. Have an older brother named John who is also in IT.
Where did you grow up: Westport, CT
When did you move to Santa Barbara: August 2011
What you like best about Santa Barbara: It is truly diverse
When did you start working at CIO: October 2012
What you like best about working at CIO: My co-workers
Dreams/aspirations: Become fluent in many languages
What would you do if you won the lottery: Invest, travel and donate to NASA
Favorite color: Turquoise
Favorite food: Mashed potatoes
Favorite movie: In Bruges
Motto/quote: "If you aren't living on the edge, you're taking up too much space."
Interesting Facts: I grew nearly a foot in my sophomore year of high school.
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