Sochi Olympics IT

The Sochi Olympics Winter Games are an outstanding opportunity to showcase the convergence of IT and sports medicine.  I would like to see more IT in the coverage of the games.   TRA Consulting is your number one source for managed services

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IE11 and Buggy Software

~~November 2013 saw the release of Microsoft’s latest version of Internet Explorer, IE 11 for Windows 7. The new web browser’s impact is growing as many Windows 7 and Windows 8 users install this new version of Internet Explorer as part of their regular Windows Updates. As touted by Microsoft, there are a few benefits…

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Desktop Support On An Organizational Level

~~Desktop support is a term that IT professionals use to describe the duties of keeping a desktop computer in tip-top working order. This can be achieved through in-person interactions with computer users, over the phone helpdesks, and remote control from a local computer. In the last ten years more and more of this desktop support…

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Mac Security

~~So, you think you’re automatically safe from viruses and other malicious software because you bought a Mac? Think again.  Savvy Mac users know that some simple basic precautions will go a long way toward keeping their computer system in good working order. While Apple originally tried a few forays into the business world with its…

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The XPocalypse Is Upon Us

~~The XPocalypse: a real threat or a Y2K-like scare? Is the XPocalypse as bad as everyone says it’s going to be? Well, yes and no. With the proper preventative action steps, it doesn’t have to be. All good things must come to an end. On Tuesday, April 8th, 2014, Microsoft will officially stop supporting their…

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Why Updates Are Good For Your Computer

~~Have you ever seen that little yellow shield in the lower right hand corner of your PC screen? You might have just ignored it in the past and kept right on working, but here we’ll explain why that little yellow icon with the exclamation point on it deserves a few moments of your attention even…

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Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance

See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/experts-working-to-fix-healthcaregov-insurance-marketplace-officials-say/2013/10/20/1e1a35ce-39b4-11e3-a94f-b58017bfee6c_story.html The recent and ongoing issues plaguing the Obama Administration's attempt at the website spearheading the Affordable Care Act's initiative is a case-study in poor planning and follow through.  I can relate this to IT in general.  There is an old adage in the IT world which goes, "People never notice IT until something…

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IT Consultant or Computer Tech?

http://www.varjan.com/articles/0912-dec-09-it-consultant-or-computer-technician.shtml Mr. Varjan says"Most people know the difference between a builder and an architect, a bookkeeper and a chartered accountant and an line cook and an executive chef. But there seems to be some confusion about the difference between computer technicians and IT consultants. For some reason there is a preponderance of computer technicians who…

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Who is your desktop support provider?

Our organization has been fighting for years to differentiate ourselves from the rest of our competition.  Our competition has changed over the last 12 years because we have followed a model of continual improvement.  When we began the process, our target audience was the end-consumer.  Beginning with the recession of 2008 and the sharp increase…

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Will the cloud solve all your desktop support problems? Probably not.

See discussion: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/05/31/0332220/it-desktop-support-to-be-wiped-out-thanks-to-cloud-computing For the SMB, many of whom are just beginning to adopt cloud services in their organizations, the cloud will change nothing with respect to desktop support.  The cloud can actually, in some cases, increase the complexity of serving the needs of SMBs.  The modern desktop support tech needs to not only be…

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Protecting your data

From: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/10/17/indonesia_number_one_attack_source/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter "Indonesia has had the dubious honour of supplanting China as the number one source of attack traffic globally in the second quarter, according to the latest stats from content delivery and security firm Akamai. The vendor’s State of the Internet report for Q2 found Indonesia accounted for 38 per cent of the world’s…

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