LaCie, based in Paris, has for most of its existence made premium hard drives for Macs, but has also recently moved into the small business market with a line of Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices. Lacie was also a pioneer of Apple’s Thunerbolt technology (like USB, but faster). The connection technology known for fast transfer rates has been popular for a while on Macs, but is just now starting to roll out on PCs as well.

The acquisition gives Seagate a boost in both their Thunderbolt and NAS lines just as both of these technologies are becoming even more popular with small business users.

The purchase comes after a tough year for Seagate, which saw its storage supply hit hard by the floods in Thailand. With the LaCie purchase, Seagate will have a new foothold in expanding into the Mac market, where it has traditionally struggled to penetrate.

“With the proliferation of devices and content being shared and stored today, consumer demand for high-quality branded storage solutions continues to grow,” said Philippe Spruch, LaCie’s chairman and CEO. “We are excited about the potential for this combination to benefit customers and employees by creating significant scale and opening up new markets. We look forward to making the resources of a much larger company available to our customers around the world.”

Information and products from both manufacturers are available in our online store or by contacting a PMI rep today.

Keep reading: Seagate gets into the NAS business with LaCie acquisition

Being in the printer supply business, I hear comments about the prices of ink and toner cartridges all the time. Each time, I explain that if you look past the total price of the cartridge for a moment, and instead divide it by the page yield, you would find that on a cost per page basis, you are getting good value.

I have even used science here on our website to reinforce this point, demonstrating that printer ink is actually more of a bargain than it may seem.

Whether all the advice is truly appreciated or not, I and everyone else here at PMI try to make sure our customers know that when they buy ink and toner cartridges from us, of any make or model, they are getting appropriate value for their money.

You can imagine my surprise, then when I saw a report from a UK-based site called The HP Ink Cartridges Blog that claimed HP has been putting less and less ink into their printer cartridges due to a change in the size of the sponge inside the cartridge.

They took apart some cartridges made in different years and tested them, and said they found that the size of the hydrophobic sponge, and in turn the amount of ink in each cartridge, had been reduced by at least 50% over time. (By the way, a hydrophobic sponge is the sponge-like foam inside an ink cartridge that absorbs ink but repels water to prevent it from soaking up ambient water in the air; this ensures humidity in the air won’t affect the chemical balance of the ingredients in the ink.)

If you read the article in question closely, there was clearly not much science involved in the testing, and perhaps the whole article was simply an attempt to drum up some attention. That said, several tech blogs here in the US ran with the story, portraying it as if this was some vast conspiracy on the part of HP to dupe their customers – even though The HP Ink Cartridge Blog made no mention of any attempt to contact HP and ask if there was, in fact, a perfectly good explanation for the reduction in the size of the sponge.

Well, I did contact my sources at HP, and it turns out there is a perfectly good explanation.

Here is what HP had to say:

The size of foam inside of a cartridge does not directly correlate with the amount of ink in the cartridge or the number of pages that each cartridge will be able to print. Over time the design of HP printers and ink cartridges are upgraded to make them more efficient with ink and able to deliver the same number of prints with less materials. However, the outer physical design of the cartridge has to remain the same to fit in the compatible printers.

So, in case you read the original article, or any of the resulting anti-HP responses, and got the wrong impression about how HP makes its ink cartridges or how companies like PMI market and sell them, I felt it was important to set the record straight: HP’s ink and toner cartridges have actually become more efficient and environmentally friendly over time, not less.

PMI goes to great lengths to do business in an ethical manner, and to always deliver value to our customers (in fact, we were recently named one of St. Louis’ most reliable companies), and I didn’t want there to be any question about that.

If you have any questions, please contact PMI or leave me a comment below. Also, if you found this post informative, please consider sharing it with your network using the buttons below.

Keep reading: HP Is Not Ripping You Off On Printer Ink; Here’s The Real Story

Connecting mobile workers and their devices to the company has become such an ingrained part of our everyday work life that VMware’s entire new end user strategy – VMware View 5.1, Horizon App Manager 1.5, and the beta of Project Octopus – revolves around connecting virtual desktops and applications to mobile devices.

VMware View is software used by many companies for desktop virtualization. The new version, 5.1, will be great for IT administrators struggling with how to implement BYO policies because it emphasizes enhanced mobile device security. VMware View 5.1 has also added a couple of features from VMware Vsphere that have been adapted for virtual desktops and make IT administrator’s lives much easier.

The first new feature is VMware vCenter Operations for View – a management tool that gives IT administrators a look at desktop performance that will allow them to troubleshoot problems and allocate resources more efficiently.

This should allow the IT admins to consolidate software, as they must currently use multiple programs to accomplish these tasks.

The other new feature is called View Storage Accelerator – known as Content-Based Read Cache in Vsphere, this feature helps prevent bottlenecks and reduces storage costs by caching image blocks while reading View desktop images, which helps prevent storage overloads. I realize that is fairly technical, so let me suggest that you also take a look at a more thorough explanation of this feature, including some video, on the VMware blog

Embracing BYOD

VMware has also announced the Project Octopus beta. This is an enterprise cloud storage and file sharing service, similar to consumer products like Dropbox or Google Drive, that lets employees share data and work together on files from any device.

The difference between Project Octopus and the consumer products is that it allows IT administrators to set security for access and sharing.

For businesses still not comfortable with the public cloud, a new version of Horizon Application Manager 1.5, is also now available as an on-premises alternative.

Horizon allows companies to provide apps and corporate Windows applications from one location, while defining security and access policies. End users access Horizon App Manager through a Web browser.

Companies trying to accommodate BYOD policies will like Horizon because it’s easy for their employees to use, yet it provides robust security for IT administrators, allowing them to keep their network secure.

PMI Computer Supplies is an authorized VMware distributor.

We’re ready to help answer any VMware questions you may have. Please use the links below to get in touch with us.

Keep reading: VMware View 5.1 Embraces BYOD

To be called an Ultrabook a laptop has to meet a set of specific requirements set by Intel

When it comes to getting work done on a portable device, tablets and smartphones are powerful options for mobile computer users, but as convenient as those devices are, there is still a useful place for laptops in most users’ hardware arsenal. However, traditional laptops are giving way to a new type of slimmed-down, high performance notebook computer known as an Ultrabook.

Prior to Ultrabooks, PC makers tried to develop another class of portable device with the netbook, but these small notebook computers were clunky, underpowered and never gained any traction with users.

Apple then came along and got the idea right with the MacBook Air, a powerful and sleek laptop that showed high-end performance was possible while still reducing the size of the notebook. Intel took notice, and wanting to bring similar technology to PC users, came up with the concept they called an Ultrabook.

Now, virtually every PC maker in existence is coming to market with their version of an Ultrabook.

While I think most people have a general idea of what an Ultrabook is, I thought it might be a good time to define exactly what an Ultrabook is, because they are actually held to a fairly specific standard, set forth by Intel.

An Ultrabook must:

• cost less than $1000
• have a minimum 5 hour battery life
• be thinner than 1.8 centimeters if the screen is less than 14", or
• be 2.1 centimeters thick if the screen is larger than 14″
• wake up from hibernation in less than 7 seconds

There are no minimum connectivity or storage requirements as of yet, but Intel will likely be adding these to the spec for future generations.

There are new models of Ultrabooks hitting the market all the time. If you would like to research one, a great place to do that is in PMI’s online store — you can open our store and launch an Ultrabook search all in one click by pressing here.

Keep reading: What Is An Ultrabook? Intel sets the guidelines.

Learn to securely erase your hard drive before recycling it – Studies have shown a surprising number of hard drives turned over for resale or recycling still contain personal information on them. Deleting the files on your disk is not enough to protect yourself. This post shows you a few ways to securely erase your hard drives.

How to find the right printer for your office or workgroup – There are so many printers on the market these days that buying the right one for your office can be a daunting task; not to mention getting a right-sized printer for your team can save you money in the long run and help your workers be more productive. This post helps you figure out how to narrow down your search.

The DNS Changer Virus Could Knock You Off The Internet — Here’s What You Need To Know – The DNS Changer virus is not a particularly malicious one, but left unchecked, an infection from it could cause you to lose your internet connection this summer. This post shows you how to tell if your computer is infected, and if so, how to remove the virus.

Lenovo Cuts Slow Boot Up Times in Half With EE3 Upgrade – Lenovo has some new Windows 7 computers that are souped up with some nice features – particularly the one that shaves up to half the normal time off of slow boot ups. If you are ever annoyed by how long it takes to start or reboot your PC, you may want to have a look at this post.

That’s all for now. Please come back next week as we continue to bring you information, news, and tips about how to get the most out of the technology we provide. Have a great weekend.

Keep reading: This Week on the PMI Blog: DNS Changer fix; finding the right printer, and more…

Eliminate slow boot up times for good with Lenovo’s new EE3 enhancements

One of the biggest annoyances with Windows PCs is surely the slow boot up time. Lenovo is trying to help us users out. They have just announced a slew of enhancements, collectively known as Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3 (or EE3 for short), to their Windows 7 based Thinkpad and Ideapad computers.

EE3 certified computers will feature improved Windows start-up performance and other optimization features, the most prominent of which is faster boot up times. Lenovo said ThinkPads and IdeaPads bearing the new EE3 brand will boot up 40 percent faster than non-certified Windows 7 devices.

This improvement is due to Lenovo’s RapidBoot technology, which enables a PC to boot up, on average, in 24 seconds vs. 41 seconds for non-certified Windows 7 PCs.

EE3 ThinkPads will also come with the company’s new BootShield technology, which ensures optimal boot times over the course of a PC’s lifetime, regardless of how many apps are added to the system.

According to Lenovo, BootShield can check the availability of a ThinkPad’s resources during the boot-up process and selectively “pause” the launch of additional software or apps until resources are freed up.

EE3 Thinkpads will also boast enhanced security features like self-encrypting hard drives; a fingerprint reader that can be used to power the PC on and login with a swipe of the finger; and USB Blocker, which can block the use of any USB device connected to the PC.

As for their IdeaPads, Lenovo said their EE3 versions will offer audio and video enhancements as well, including new round chamber speakers that eliminate unwanted vibrations and Dolby-certified sound quality. A 720-pixel webcam is also included for clearer video conferencing.

PMI’s online customers will be able to find the Lenovo Enhanced Experience 3 for Windows 7 logo pictured alongside the certified product in our online store. A full list of currently available EE3 certified products can be found at www.lenovo.com/ee3.

Lenovo’s upcoming IdeaPad U310 and U410 Ultrabooks and IdeaCentre A720 all-in-one desktop are among the models that will feature EE3’s ultra-responsive performance with fast boot times and quick resume from sleep.

Keep reading: Lenovo Cuts Slow Boot Up Times in Half With EE3 Upgrade

For millions of computer users worldwide, and several hundred thousand right here in the US, a quick visit to a government website before July 9 could be the difference between being able to use the internet and losing their connection altogether due to the DNS Changer virus.

Most of these users are not even aware that they have a problem. A group of international hackers ran an online advertising scam designed to take control of computers around the world. The FBI apprehended the criminals, and put a stop to their illegal activities, but they also had to take the unusual step of setting up a safety net to prevent an abrupt loss of internet access for the infected users.

That safety net, however, is about to go away, and unless affected users take steps to fix the problem, their ability to visit the internet will go away, too.

The FBI is encouraging all computer users to visit a website, http://www.dcwg.org to discover whether they are infected with the DNS Changer Virus, and if so, how to fix the problem.

Like I said, most infected users are not even aware their computer has been compromised, although if they are, there has almost certainly been some loss of speed online.

Back in November, the FBI raided the hacker group, who were running an ad scam, powered by the massive network of infected computers. Had the FBI just taken down the hacker’s servers, every one of the infected computers would suddenly lose internet connectivity.

What the FBI decided to do instead was to replace the malicious servers with good ones for a few months to give victims a chance to clean their computers. The original deadline to turn off the clean FBI servers was in March, but that has now been extended until July 9, 2012.

Wait. What happened?

Hackers built up a network of infected computers by exploiting operating system vulnerabilities, mostly in Microsoft Windows machines, that turned off antivirus updates and changed the way these computers connected to websites on the Internet’s domain name system — thus the name DNS Changer Virus.

The DNS system takes the normal internet address users type into their web browsers, like www.pmicomputersupplies.com, and changes it into a numerical IP address that other computers along the internet can recognize.

The hackers used rogue DNS servers to direct unwitting victims to fraudulent versions of websites that they had created, thus netting the hackers millions from the advertisements they displayed on the fake sites. The victims computers also became dependent on the rogue DNS servers for their internet connection.

The government set up and ran the clean servers as a service for the victims, but will be shutting them down on July 9. Please visit the aforementioned site to make sure your computer is not infected.

If you think someone you know may be able to benefit from this post, please share it with your network using the buttons below.

Keep reading: DNS Changer Virus Could Knock You Off The Internet. Here’s What You Need To Know

So you have decided that your small office or group would benefit from having a workgroup printer. The good news is that there are a lot of choices. With a little homework, you are sure to get a printer that fits your team like a glove.

By using the phrase good news in the previous paragraph, you may be thinking that I must now give you the corresponding bad news — not this time. However, the abundance of choices can be overwhelming, making it hard to know where to start with your product research.

There are monochrome printers, as well as color and multifunction varieties. You will probably want laser technology, but there are some high-end inkjet printers trying to get in on this section of the market.

Then there are the considerations of your office or group – how much speed do you need the printer to have? How much memory? How many pages do you print per month? Do you need paper-handling capabilities like collating, stapling, folding, etc.?

Like I said, it can be hard to even know where to begin.

If you are in this situation, you’re in luck. I am going to let you in on a little secret that PMI’s customers already know: the dedicated account reps here at PMI help our customers sort through these kinds of printer choices every day.

The key is to identify your can’t-live-without printer features, match those with your requirements, and to narrow down the printer choices from there.

Here are the steps PMI uses to help our customers get started drilling down to the right printer.

1. Analyzing Volume – I mentioned the importance of knowing how many pages you print per month for a reason. Matching the new printer’s capabilities with your workgroups output saves you from both having an under-powered printer trying to do too much and from spending more than necessary on too much printer for your situation.

2. Does the group need color? – Sure, everybody wants color – but does everybody need color? Probably not. Color printers are becoming a must-have option for offices these days, I am not arguing that fact, but in many offices color is only an occasional requirement. If this is the case, you may be better off with a monochrome workhorse printer for the group, and a smaller color laser (or even inkjet) around for the occasional color print run.

3. Single or Multifunction- A multifunction printer may be able to replace several other machines in the office – the copier, scanner, and/or fax machines. This can often be the desired outcome for customers. But sometimes replacing those machines is not the desired outcome. Sometimes a stand-alone, monochrome printer is all that is required to get the job done. It sounds simple, but remember, your goal is to buy exactly as much printer as you need.

4. Total Cost of Ownership – The total cost of ownership, or TCO, is more than just the cost of the printer. You need to also calculate all the supplies, maintenance and other components that may need to be replaced over time. This is where picking the right printer for the job will optimize your expense over time. Too small a printer, and your TCO will increase because you will be replacing the toner cartridge much more often than you would be with a right-sized printer. (And possibly buying more drums and other components that wear out normally with use).

Keep reading: How to find the right printer for your office or workgroup

Recycling your hard drive is becoming standard procedure these days. Whether reselling an old drive as part of an upgrade, or simply seeing that your unneeded drive stays out of a landfill, these practices have led to tons of second-hand hard drives floating around.

A huge number of these used hard drives are turning up with their previous owner’s personal information still on them. Research shows that up to half of all used hard drives and USB thumb drives are not being properly wiped before being turned over for recycling or resale.

According to a study from the UK’s Information Commissioners Office, 48 percent of the hard drives acquired for their study had not been wiped properly as they still contained some of their original owners’ data. Out of those “dirty drives,” 11 percent of them contained personally identifiable information that could be leveraged for identity theft or fraud.

In all, the computer forensics company hired by the ICO in its 2010 investigation recovered 34,000 files containing personal or corporate information. At least two of the secondhand hard drives contained scanned bank statements and passports and medical details — “enough information to enable someone to steal the former owner’s identity,” the ICO said in announcing the results of the investigation.

So my point here is to make sure you know to delete everything on your hard drive before you get rid of it, right?

If it were that easy, none of this would be an issue.

Did you know?

• Deleting a file does not erase it from your hard drive.
• Formatting a hard drive does not erase the hard drive.
• It’s possible (and sometimes easy) for someone else to recover files if you don’t dispose of data properly.

How do you protect yourself?
There are only a few sure ways to really make sure your data is not accessible. The most reliable is to physically damage or destroy the drive. This is great if you are recycling your drive, but it is obviously not practical if you are passing down your drive or donating it. In that case, you can try these hard drive erasing tips from ZDNet. (You should definitely read through that process first and be completely comfortable with it before trying it out.)

Last, you can try one of these, available in the PMI online store:

WiebeTech Drive eRazer Ultra Hard drive eraser.
It’s a quick and easy multi-function device that completely erases all data from a hard drive. It features:

More than 10 preset erase methods – or create your own

Includes DOD spec erase methods

Supports Secure Erase

Attaches natively to SATA and IDE/PATA drives

Optionally connect to a printer for verification labels

LCD menus make setup and erasure simple

Functions as a USB drive dock

Keep reading: Learn to securely erase your used hard drive before recycling it

The iPad as an IT professional’s tool: Here’s an article talking about how the Apple iPad makes a nice addition to the IT system administrator’s tool kit. It’s in response to another article written on the same topic. So make sure you also read the links and comments on both, as there a lot of good suggestions for apps that system admins might be interested in.

SSD prices have dropped, and one manufacturer thinks they are heading even lower: SSD maker OCZ said that NAND memory price reductions and technological advances allowed them to drop SSD prices to roughly $0.65 per gigabyte, and even better, they’re calling for this trend to continue.
(See my take on the same topic: How to choose the best SSD for your needs)

Consumerization trend driving IT shops ‘crazy,’ Gartner analyst says: This one looks at the coming explosion in the BYOD trend among workers and the difficulty IT departments will have keeping up with all the added security requirements:

IT managers who grapple with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies can expect to see an explosion of different smartphones and tablets used by their workers in the next few years.

As a result, IT shops won’t be able to keep up with the support demands needed to protect company data used on the various devices.

(See my take on the same topic: A look at the true cost of BYOD in the enterprise.)

The Microsoft Office 15 beta is coming in a few weeks. You probably can’t get your hands on it yet, but you can see it, as some new screenshots have leaked.

Speaking of Microsoft, Windows 8 is coming soon, too, but no one is ready to say what it’s going to take to run it.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Keep reading: IT Week in Review — May 6, 2012