Archives for May 2022

Happy Thursday! Sometimes we love them and sometimes we wish we would have taken a second glance at them but today is National Odometer Day! Odometers have been around since the 1600s tracking our speed and much more. Happy driving and happy speed monitoring!

In This Issue: Greetings From Chicago | Dell PowerEdge T710 | How to Choose A Rackmount Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Greetings From Chicago

Hey everyone! Happy Thursday!

Well, today is our last full day up in Chicago. It has been a phenomenal trip. Tons of strategy, discussions, learning, meeting new people, and, of course, the most important part, lots of amazing food! I am really going to have to do some extra running this weekend and next week to make up for all of the food I have eaten, but it has been completely worth it!

We have had a great week of discussing and getting ideas of how we can make the company and site even better, which is always exciting. Most of our discussions took place over food. Haha! The deep-dish at Giordano’s did not disappoint. The tiramisu at Rosebud on Rush was great again. We visited the largest Starbucks in the world – 4 stories and it was like Disney World for coffee lovers. lol! We tried out a new place recommended by Jim, in response to my email last week, called Chicago Pizza & Oven Grinders. They have a Pizza Pot Pie that was absolutely amazing! Thanks, Jim for the recommendation!

One more day of meetings, workshops, vendors, and Chicago food, then we head back tomorrow. Looking forward to a great day here in the Windy City. I hope you have an awesome Thursday and a great weekend!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Dell PowerEdge T710 servers were developed with purposeful design, energy-optimized technology, advanced virtualization capabilities, and simplified systems management. These servers provide awesome performance and are a perfect fit for enterprises, remote workgroups, and expanding businesses.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose A Rackmount Server

Hosting a server on premises at your small business comes with many advantages. It gives you full control of the server, software, and elements related to the server such as the ability to add more terminals and grant access to the right individuals inside and outside of the premises.

Rackmount servers take up a small space in your building and are generally easy to install. These servers can offer increased security and require few resources to get up and running. Here is a quick guide on choosing the right rackmount server for your business.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Airbnb announced a handful of updates to its platform billing it as “the biggest change to Airbnb in a decade.” The features, announced during its virtual summer event, include a new way to search, splitting stays between homes and guest protections.
• The United States have been confirmed as the host of both the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup and the 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
• The moon will plunge into darkness this weekend to create a celestial spectacle that has not been seen in the sky over the entire contiguous United States since the turn of the decade. Just as the sun sets over North America on Sunday evening, the sun, Earth and moon will begin to align to create a total lunar eclipse.
• Oil giant Saudi Aramco is now the world’s most valuable company over Apple.

Happy Wednesday! We’ve made it to the middle of the week and what a week it has been! As Friday sneaks up on us, know that we are praying for a fruitful rest of the week!

In This Issue: Family Recipes | Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series 48 Port IP PoE Switching Module | Should I upgrade from 3750X switch to the 3850 Series switch? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Family Recipes

Happy Wednesday! The past two weeks have been quite a roller coaster but I’ve cherished the time I’ve been able to spend with family. This week has been full of learning to cook many of my grandma’s favorites! She is an incredible cook, so we’ve spent some time this week learning how to make some of the classic recipes she always made as we were growing up.

My favorite so far has been her coconut cake recipe! It’s full of fresh coconut and it’s truly chef’s kiss! I think what made it even more fun to make is that we harvested the coconuts, used the coconut milk from the inside, and shaved the coconut right out of it! It was quite a feat getting the coconut out of the husks, but very rewarding!

What are some of your favorite recipes to make? Do you have any recipes that have been passed down through your family?

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Inline Power 10/100BaseT Ethernet switching module enables the Catalyst 6500/6000 family to be the first platform of the industry that can support new Fast Ethernet features necessary for campus network convergence. You can use this module to supply inline power for Cisco IP Phones and Cisco Wireless Access Points supplied with Fast Ethernet.

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Learning Center Article – Should I upgrade from 3750X switch to the 3850 Series switch?

Cisco has established its brand through consistency, innovation, and performance. It’s no accident that the Cisco name remains one of the most recognizable and respected brands in networking. Even though the Cisco label is enough to inspire certain confidence in the quality of their products, it’s not always enough to determine which device really is the best option for a given network.

Is it time to upgrade to the newer 3850X switch? Hopefully, this breakdown can help you answer that question.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Traveler satisfaction is down as planes fill up and airfare rises. Planes are more packed, and airline ticket costs are rising by more than 20%.
• Apple has officially announced they are discontinuing the iPod touch, the last version of the portable music player it sells.
• The first teaser trailer for James Cameron’s sequel Avatar: The Way of Water rode a huge wave of interest when debuting online early Monday after playing exclusively in cinemas over the weekend. Did you watch it?
• Volkswagen is planning to resurrect the iconic “Scout” brand as an electric vehicle in the United States.

Today is the perfect day to make the bed, declutter, dust those hard to get areas, and more – it’s National Clean Your Room Day! For some of us, this is the day we’ve been waiting for, and for some, we dread it. However you feel – happy cleaning!

In This Issue: Celebrating Meemaw! | 1 Meter LC-LC OS2 Fiber Patch Cable | The Difference Between Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6a | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Celebrating Meemaw!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is off to a great start to the week! Today is a special day in my family as it’s my grandmother’s birthday. She’s 86 years young today and she’s doing amazing!

She is a mom of 6, a grandmother of 14, and a great grandmother of 7. Needless to say, she’s got quite a large family to celebrate her today! She lives independently and she’s as sharp and quick-witted as ever! I definitely want to be like her when I “grow up”. 😉

I’m truly thankful that we get to celebrate this milestone with her. Grandparents are so special. They are full of wisdom and love which is a winning combination! My “Meemaw” is my last remaining grandparent which makes each birthday and even bigger reason to celebrate and I am looking forward to doing just that!

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

OS2 fiber patch cables are known for their outdoor use and for their loose-tube construction, compared to OS1’s tightly-buffered design and indoor use, this allows OS2 fiber to transmit over longer distances. This also makes OS2 fiber cords best for use with underground and burial applications.

Fiber optic cabling is the medium of choice for longer-distance and challenging cabling runs. These cables are thinner than copper patch cords and immune to EMI (Electromagnetic Interference) making them perfect for riser runs and uplink cables.

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Learning Center Article – The Difference Between Cat5e, Cat6, and Cat6a

New technology, advances in automation, and overflowing opportunities are unlocked every day. For businesses, research teams, and tech projects around the world, there is a constant balance between getting the right amount of power versus spending an exact tech budget wisely.

Cabling and other infrastructure choices are in a precarious position, with many low IT budgets or simply cheap options tempting the cost-conscious planner. At the same time, the newest and faster technology is always a temptation, but can you be sure that your project will use the investment to the highest potential before it fails or becomes obsolete?

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The Marilyn, known as “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,” was one of five versions in different color schemes that Warhol painted in 1964, two years after Marilyn Monroe’s death. It has sold for $195 million setting a record cost for American art.
• A $23.5 million modern mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Southern California is set to officially hit the market on May 14 In doing so, it will become the most expensive home ever up for sale in the town of Encinitas, California.
• El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele revealed that the country bought the dip, adding another 500 bitcoin to government coffers. It is El Salvador’s largest coin purchase since it first began adding digital currency to its balance sheet.
• The nationwide search for a former Alabama corrections officer and the inmate she disappeared with ended Monday. Vicky White, 56, and Casey White, 38, were captured by authorities in Evansville, Indiana, following a car chase with authorities who tracked them down following a tip that came from the public on Sunday.

Happy Monday! What a weekend it was celebrating and honoring all of the incredible Moms in our lives. Moms – we hope you continue to feel loved and appreciated!

In This Issue: Birthday Parties & Memories of Mom | Cisco 3750X Series 48 Port PoE+ Deployment Pack |Understanding the Differences Between MPO and MTP Fiber | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Birthday Parties & Memories of Mom

Happy Monday! I had a busy weekend attending another birthday party and celebrating Mother’s Day. My daughter’s friend had her birthday party at a roller-skating rink here called Skate Country. It may be the music and maybe the arcade games, but there’s something about places like this that are timeless. It was definitely fun to see the skating, my 2-year-old even tried to skate, although she moved on to the arcade games after a few minutes (we’ll try again next year).

Mother’s Day was great, I am very appreciative of all the moms in my life. We had nice dinners with my mother-in-law and my mom to celebrate. Very thankful I have a great relationship with them both. I know Mother’s Day can be a hard time for some for various reasons and I don’t have words of wisdom or platitudes to share, but if you would like to share a story or a memory about your mom, we’re here for you. Hope you all have a great week!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cablesandkits deployment packs are kind of like your favorite frozen dinner, everything is in one box and all you have to do is turn on the oven. Our Cisco switch bundles are designed for the end-user in mind. From startups to large businesses, our deployment packs will suit the needs for your ever-growing and adapting business.

Cisco 3750 X switches help maximize productivity by giving IT managers the tools needed to support enterprise applications and advanced traffic management. With an array of network modules and redundant power supply options available, these switches can be customized and scaled to support nearly any application.

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Learning Center Article – Understanding the Differences Between MPO and MTP Fiber

When designing high-bandwidth fiber communication systems, you have to pick from a wide range of tools and resources. Optimizing the system is the key to providing the needed performance within budget constraints.

This optimization requires considerable study and comparison, and there are countless opportunities to make small but meaningful upgrades throughout the design. A great example of this is fiber connectors. For any given fiber-optic network, you have plenty of termination options. Among those are MPO and MTP fiber. What makes these connections special? What distinguishes them from each other.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The lone survivor of a 2009 plane crash that killed 152 other people is expected to attend the trial of Yemen’s main airline which is opening Monday in Paris.
• Elon Musk is expected to serve as a temporary CEO of Twitter for a few months after he completes his $44 billion takeover of the social media company
• The state of New York wants to ban new bitcoin mining operations, a move that some industry insiders fear could have a domino effect across the U.S. The bill, which is making its way through Albany, calls for a two-year moratorium on certain cryptocurrency mining operations that use proof-of-work authentication methods to validate blockchain transactions.
• On the night of May 15-16, the attention of millions of people will be drawn skyward, where a mottled, coppery globe — the moon — will be completely immersed in the long, tapering cone of shadow cast into space by our planet.

Today is National Nurses Appreciation Day. We are all grateful for the hard-working women & men serving us and doctors everywhere. A huge THANK YOU to all the Nurses and RNs out there!

In This Issue: It’s Garden Time! | Surge Protector Power Strip | Throughput vs DRAM & Flash Specs | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – It’s Garden Time!

Happy Friday, folks! It’s springtime which also means it’s time to plant our garden. The planting process is quite satisfying! The ground is soft and smooth from recently being tilled. The weather outside is warm, and there is a light breeze in the evenings this time of year.

Panting a garden in the spring is quite comfortable. The hard work will come later when the temps are much warmer, and we’re removing weeds from the garden and trying to keep animals out!

I saw eight deer eating grass around our freshly planted garden earlier this week. 😬 I pictured this humorous scene from the movie Peter Rabbit where the animals consume everything in the garden! So what are some ways you keep animals out of your gardens?

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Protecting your electronics from power surges is a crucial step to keeping them alive and functioning for years to come. Power strips are not only a way to keep them safe, they are a convenient way to add additional outlets where plugs are at a premium.

This six outlet, surge protected power strip is perfect for both guarding electronic surges by adding additional NEMA 5-15R outlets near home entertainment systems or behind the family computer. With its LED power-on indicator, you will never have to guess if it’s on or off. The strip also houses a 15Amp circuit breaker. This device not only serves to protect and add convenience, it comes equipped with a 6 foot, heavy duty extension cord bringing the outlets closer to the devices needing power.

Don’t be caught with fried equipment or frustrated by lack of standard power outlets. This cost effective, reliable power strip will save you time and money.

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Learning Center Article – Throughput vs DRAM & Flash Specs

When it comes to designing and managing networks, there is an endless challenge of trying to improve performance. Inevitably, that includes upgrading and replacing hardware. When you research hardware for upgrades and replacements, you’ll see a lot of different tech specs listed in the descriptions.

Two common terms that come up are throughput and bandwidth. You’ll see bandwidth more in advertising spaces, and you’ll see throughput more when you look up real-world tests of the hardware. Why is throughput so important? Why don’t you see more about flash specs?

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Tech sell-off pushes Nasdaq to steepest drop since June 2020. Cloud and e-commerce stocks were among the biggest losers on Thursday on disappointing earnings reports and after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. Big Tech also got hammered, led by a plunge in shares of Amazon and Facebook parent Meta. Investors were particularly down on e-commerce after Shopify, which ballooned during the pandemic, reported disappointing first-quarter earnings and revenue.
• U.S. oil prices rose roughly 1.5% on Friday, around $110 per barrel, shrugging off concerns about global economic growth as proposed European Union sanctions on Russian oil raised the prospect of tighter supply. West Texas Intermediate crude, the American benchmark, and the Brent crude global benchmark were both on track for second straight weekly gains.
• Russia has announced a three-day cease-fire at the blockaded steel plant in Mariupol, allowing Ukrainian civilians who have been holed up there for weeks to evacuate along humanitarian corridors.
• The Washington Commanders (formerly Washington Redskins) NFL team reached back into their past to continue a tradition that became a hallmark at home games, restoring their marching band after a two-year absence, the team announced Thursday. The marching band has been a franchise staple since the team moved to Washington in 1937 and became famous for playing its fight song after touchdowns. They became commonplace in the Washington area, routinely marching in area parades.

Feliz cinco de Mayo a todos! While Mexico’s Independence day is In September, Mexican-Americans (and everyone else) have embraced this day as another chance to celebrate their heritage. Are you celebrating Cinco de Mayo today?

In This Issue: Off to Chicago | Webcam 1080p Full-HD | Importance of Fiber Cleaning | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Off to Chicago!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

This has been a wild and crazy week. I feel like I might say that every week. lol! This week has seemed to be a non-stop barrage of pop-up tasks and things I didn’t have on my radar. It’s been a great week, just super busy both personally and professionally.

Next week, Craig, Chris, and I will be heading up to Chicago for an ecommerce event. This is always one of my favorite trips of the year. Besides going with some great people, it is an awesome time to strategize, learn, and see if there is anything new that we could use on the website. BUT…most of all, we get to eat deep-dish Chicago pizza…multiple times. Haha! Oh, and I can’t forget the tiramisu at Rosebud on Rush. There goes all the hard work I have put into workouts and running.

If you’re from the area or travel to Chicago, what are some recommendations that you have for restaurants that we need to hit up while there?

Have a great Thursday & rest of the week!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our 1080p HD webcam gives a realistic, crisp image and crystal-clear video. A specially designed camera that is optimized for professional-quality video streaming, this HD webcam is compatible with YouTube, Skype, Facetime, Zoom, and more! Perfect for online teaching, video calling, recording, and conferencing. On top of these features is a built-in noise reduction microphone that captures natural stereo audio and filters annoying background noises to give you clear conversations.

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Learning Center Article – Importance of Fiber Optic Cleaning

Installing fiber optic systems is not easy. It requires multiple levels of expertise in design and application, and its why fiber optics experts are always in high demand. While installations will vary heavily depending on the components and applications at play, there is one thing that is necessary for every installation, and it’s easy to overlook. Every system needs fiber optic cleaning to ensure that it will work properly.

As the name implies, fiber optic cleaning is the process of cleaning fiber connector end faces and components that are prone to contamination. Contamination can hurt fiber optic performance and even lead to test failures. Cleaning resolves one of the leading causes of these failures and produces a pristine fiber optic network that performs as expected.

To put it in simple terms, fiber optic cleaning is necessary to allow the components to perform as intended.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Worker productivity fell 7.5% in the first quarter, the fastest decline since 1947. At the same time, labor costs as measured against productivity increased 11.6%, the fastest rise in about 40 years. Weekly jobless claims increased to 200,000, well above the Wall Street estimate.
• Intuit, which owns TurboTax, has agreed to pay $141 million in restitution to 4.4 million low-income customers who were charged for using the TurboTax Free Edition, according to an announcement Wednesday. These customers should have gotten the tax filing services for free. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are party to the agreement.
• Workers raised a large fence around the U.S. Supreme Court building late Wednesday night, two days after Politico published a leaked draft opinion striking down the abortion precedent Roe v. Wade (1973). The same night, Justice Samuel Alito, the author of the draft, canceled a public appearance.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy said Thursday morning that an extended ceasefire was necessary in Mariupol to allow civilians to be dug out of the bunkers in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, which remains under attack.Wealthy Russians are moving to Dubai in large numbers to avoid the impacts of sanctions imposed by the West, according to a report.