Archives for December 2023

Happy Friday! We hope you have had a great week and are looking forward to a wonderful weekend ahead. Stay warm!

In This Issue: Got Bundles? | Meraki Access Point, Dual-band | CK Care Maintenance | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Got Bundles?

Happy Friday, folks! As we are nearing the end of the NFL season, this means one thing: the Super Bowl is coming along with the best TV commercials of the year!

I enjoy watching the commercials that the big insurance carriers create. GEICO introduced us to their gecko mascot way back in 1999, and he has yet to age! We have Flo from Progressive, Mayhem from Allstate, and what appears to be the entire Kansas City Chiefs team for State Farm!

The commercials created by State Farm are some of my favorites! The most recent one gives out the Most Valuable Bundler award. It’s a creative way to describe the bundling process that all insurance carriers offer.

But they’re not the only ones offering bundles…we offer bundles here at CablesAndKits. Our bundles were created to save you both time and money. Over the next 12 days, we will highlight 12 Bundles of Christmas. Stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

Chris

PS. Our team is taking a break from contributing to the CK Daily until the new year! Don’t worry, our writers will be back in full force in 2024! I can’t believe I’m writing 2024 now.

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Meraki MR33 is an entry-level, quad-radio, cloud-managed, 2×2:2, 802.11ac Wave 2 access point with MU-MIMO support. It provides a maximum 1.3 Gbps aggregate frame rate with concurrent 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios. It also features a dedicated third radio that provides real-time WIDS/WIPS with automated RF optimization.

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Learning Center Article – CK Care Maintenance

Your business network is critical to daily operations and your general success. If the network struggles, you struggle. Naturally, you want to keep your network in top shape, and to do that, you need IT resources.

What you might not know is that Cables and Kits now offers the exact support your networking hardware needs in order to thrive. As industry experts in all things networking, we’re proud to offer this new service as the ultimate solution to networking support. We call it CK Care, and it’s worth a few minutes of your day to learn exactly how it works.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Nonfarm payrolls rose by 199,000 for the month, slightly better than the 190,000 Dow Jones estimate and ahead of the October gain of 150,000. The unemployment rate declined to 3.7%, compared to the forecast for 3.9%.
• Elon Musk is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a settlement agreement that he and Tesla struck with the SEC. The settlement required Musk to have a “Twitter sitter” approve his tweets about Tesla before posting them.
• Amazon will no longer allow users to pay with Venmo beginning Jan. 10, according to a notice sent to users.
• Amazon is betting members of its Prime program will want to pay a separate monthly fee for unlimited grocery delivery on some orders. Trial service will give Prime members in three cities the option to pay $9.99 a month for access to free Fresh and Whole Foods deliveries on orders more than $35.

Happy Thursday! Can you feel it? That unmistakable Friday vibe is already in the air, making today’s energy all the more exciting. Cheers to making the most of today!

In This Issue: How can we help? | Cisco StackWise-480 Stacking Cable | North-South and East-West Traffic Explained | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – How can we help?

Happy Thursday!

The year is quickly coming to an end. Do you have projects you’re working double time to complete? We understand the urgency and importance of wrapping up the year on a high note. As your trusted partner, we’re here to help you finish your projects on time, all while staying within your budget.

Here are a few additional things to help seal the deal as well:

Lifetime Warranty: Everything you purchase from CablesAndKits is covered by our industry-leading LIFETIME Warranty including a LIFETIME Advance Replacement Guarantee.

Free Shipping: Enjoy FREE Shipping on orders $39+ and $8.99 flat-rate shipping on all other orders!

Same-Day Shipping: As long as your desired items are in stock and you place your order before 6 pm ET, we’ll guarantee your order will ship out on the same day. This ensures you can breathe easy, knowing that last-minute project additions or crucial equipment will be promptly delivered to your doorstep.

Let us help you conquer your deadlines and end-of-year goals. Let us know how we can help!

The CK Team

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Stack it up with CablesAndKits. Cisco Stackwise-480 stacking cables can connect a combination of Catalyst 3850 stackable switches to form a single switching unit. Our Cisco data cables are specifically intended to work with Gigabit Ethernet, while also making it easy to allow switch additions, deletions, and redeployment without interruption.

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Learning Center Article – North-South and East-West Traffic Explained

When you design a network, you want endpoint devices to be able to reach the internet. But, you often need devices inside your network to be able to communicate with each other easily and freely.

Those two ideas form the foundation of north-south and east-west networking traffic. If you take a minute to learn a little more about these concepts, you’ll see how they can help you with network design and security.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve exa-cel gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease.
• McDonald’s expects to hike its capital spending through 2027 as it accelerates its new restaurant openings.The company also wants to add 100 million members to its loyalty program as part of its strategy to grow its global sales.
• Disney is beginning to roll out a Hulu integration on its Disney+ streaming platform.
• Meta reported that the personal calls and chats of every Messenger user will be encrypted by default, representing a major privacy update that makes the service more similar to its sibling WhatsApp.

Happy Wednesday! Midweek vibes are in full swing, and we hope your day and week continues to be productive. ✅

In This Issue: Reading Goals & Book Recommendations | 8-Outlet Smart PDU with 12 Foot Cord | Why Are Redundant Power Supplies Important | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Reading Goals & Book Recommendations

Hello CK Family!

Happy December! As each new month arrives, I often find myself reflecting on my goal of reading 26 books this year. A few months ago I hit my goal of reading 26 books but have kept going to see how many I can read within the year.

So far, I’ve officially read 33 books! Honestly, I’m pretty proud of myself. When I had a baby, I was worried I wouldn’t achieve my goal or would slow down reading quite a bit. While the number of books I was able to read did slow down, I’ve tried to read when I can! Most of my nights end with me knocking myself in the face with my book from falling asleep, but I try and read as much as I can.

I’ve continued to keep a running list of what I’ve read so far – here is an update of my top 3 recommendations:

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Right now, I’m reading The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand and up next is A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey. If you have any suggestions, send them my way.

I think I’m going to make my goal for next year 50 books! A lofty goal, but I think I’m up for the challenge.

Have a great week!

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Created from durable metal materials, this 8-outlet PDU is the ultimate reliable power distribution unit for all of your electronic needs. This device includes 8 well-spaced outlets along with a generous 12-foot cord giving you flexibility in placement options and freeing you from the limitations of proximity to power sources.

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Learning Center Article – Why Are Redundant Power Supplies Important

When you have to maintain a network, power is important. Obviously, every device needs a source of power, but when you get into more complicated networks where downtime can be extremely expensive and infrastructure costs also run high, power becomes a central part of your planning and strategy.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• CVS Health said it will revamp how it prices prescription drugs, doing away with a complex model that typically determines how much pharmacies get reimbursed and how much patients pay for medications.
• SpaceX plans to attempt a key demonstration for NASA during the third test flight of its towering Starship rocket.
• X.AI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, has filed with the SEC to raise up to $1 billion in an equity offering.
• The rate for the popular 30-year mortgage fell back toward 7% after hitting 8% earlier this fall. Applications to refinance a home loan Index increased 14% from the previous week and were 10% higher than the same week one year ago.

Happy Tuesday! We hope you’re having a great week. Today in history, “Ocean’s Eleven” premiered for the first time and Paul McCartney & Wings album “Band on the Run” was released. Any fans out there?

In This Issue: Do you know your family history? | Dell Lithium-Ion Battery | Cisco Manufacture Date Lookup | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Do you know your family history?

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday!

Hope everyone is off to a great start this week! I mentioned last week that I had spent some time over Thanksgiving week slowing down, but that the rest actually gave me some extra energy to take care of things like cleaning the attic, organizing my closet, etc. I continued the momentum last week and while I was organizing, I ran across a folder of papers labeled “Family History”.

I opened the folder and could hardly believe my eyes. Inside were tons of typed letters that my grandfather (with help from my grandmother) had written to us grandchildren documenting everything he could about our family history, and going back as far as he possibly could. Most of the letters were written in the late 90s to early 2000s. The opening letter acknowledged that, at the time, we likely were not interested in family history but that one day we would be and there would be no one to ask. I’m so glad he had the foresight to do this for us!

I’ve been diving in and reading the letters and have just been fascinated and floored by some of the stories. My Papa was a fantastic storyteller and the way he compiled all the information was very much through story. It has been so fun to read. There was A LOT of tragedy in these stories but, with that, A LOT of overcoming.

Many of the stories were inspirational. One of my favorite stories was about my Papa’s mother. Her father passed away when she was just a young child and her mother couldn’t care for her so she was dropped at an orphanage with her two toddler siblings. She insisted on being in the same cottage as them and helped to look after them while they grew up there. As an adult, she married and had children of her own, but my Papa’s father passed away young as well, and, out of necessity, she had to go to work to support her family. She worked full-time, yet still found a way to get her real estate license on the side. She ended up being one of the first women in South Carolina to go into that profession, even opening her own agency in 1941 which she had for 30 years. Pretty impressive!

The common thread running through these letters was the importance of faith and family. It truly is a treasure to have these stories and to see how faith carried them through the darkest times of life. It certainly has given me perspective on my own “problems” and has inspired me to live in a way that carries on the best traditions of those who came before me!

Do you know your family history?

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Servers are the workhorse of your network. They store your data, act as a web server, house your entire email library, run your applications, and occasionally act as your print server. Sometimes, servers need to have a little backup. This is where a controller battery comes into play. This is a brand-new backup battery for specific Dell servers.

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Learning Center Article – Cisco Manufacture Date Lookup

When building a network, you will shop around and compare plenty of models for each piece of hardware that you need. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of everything and know what items are new and which have been around for a while.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Alaska Airlines has agreed to acquire its rival Hawaiian Airlines in a deal valued at about $1.9 billion.
• Meta will soon remove a feature that lets you chat with Facebook friends on Instagram. Starting mid-December, the company will disconnect the cross-platform integration.
• McDonald’s is on the verge of opening a new spin-off restaurant. Earlier this year, they announced CosMc’s, described as a ‘small-format concept with all the DNA of McDonald’s, but its own unique personality’. The first location is well on the way to opening in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
• The free version of ChatGPT may provide inaccurate or incomplete responses — or no answer at all — to medication-related questions, according to research by pharmacists at Long Island University.

Happy Monday, everyone! Wishing you a fantastic start to the week. Today is National Sock Day and National Dice Game Day! Here’s to a week that’s as vibrant as your favorite pair of socks and as unpredictable as a roll of the dice. 🎲

In This Issue: A Busy Christmas Season | CAB-AC AC Power Cord | Best Way to Connect Multiple Switches | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – A Busy Christmas Season

Happy Monday!

It’s the first week in December and the holiday rush is in full swing. Over the weekend we went to a Christmas event where the kids got to meet the big red man himself, Santa Claus. The kids were excited to meet him and had a lot of fun talking to him. They also made some crafts and enjoyed some hot chocolate and popcorn with lots and lots of candy in it.

This is definitely shaping out to be a busier than usual Christmastime. We have a few parties, a Christmas piano recital, a church event, and a karate belt test covering the next few weekends—a busy, but great time. But, I’m not too stressed about it, I’m thankful that I have these opportunities to be busy, which is strange because if you’d asked me 10 years ago, I’d say the opposite. I suppose that’s part of change and maybe growth.

Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful first week of the month and a great day!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Elevate Your Power Experience with the AC Power Cord! Discover the convenience of the 5-15P plug, a standard NEMA configuration commonly found on power strips, surge protectors, and more. With a robust 18 AWG wire thickness, this cord efficiently handles high current loads while minimizing energy loss. Plus, the secure C13 receptacle ensures a reliable connection for your devices. With a generous 6-foot length, it offers versatility in device setup and promotes tidy cable management for your workspace.

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Learning Center Article – Best Way to Connect Multiple Switches

It’s why many modern switches come pre-designed to work in a stack, cluster, or other configuration. The goal is to connect multiple switches together in order to improve the network.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Southwest and its pilots union are closing in on a labor deal that would end months of contentious negotiations. The new contract will likely include significant pay raises as well as improvements to retirement benefits and scheduling.
• Amazon bought three rocket launches from SpaceX for its Project Kuiper internet satellites.
• Panera Bread has confidentially filed to go public again. The restaurant chain has been signaling for months that it’s interested in an initial public offering.
• Israel ordered people out of swathes of the main southern city in the Gaza Strip on Monday as it pressed its ground campaign deep into the south.

Happy Friday! As we savor the joy of the end of the week, let’s sprinkle a little sweetness into our day—it’s National Pie Day! We hope you can enjoy a slice of your favorite pie. 😋

In This Issue: The Adventures of Online Shopping | Meraki Access Point | What is the difference between Cisco core switches and access switches? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – The Adventures of Online Shopping

Happy Friday, folks! I hope you’re all gearing up for a great weekend. We did some Christmas shopping over the last few days, as I’m sure most of you all did too. 🎄🎁

While doing all my shopping (from the comfort of my couch in my pj’s 😀), I was making purchases from stores I had not purchased from before. I had a couple of questions running through my mind:

When will I receive the product? And will there be any unexpected shipping charges waiting for me at checkout?

Being the conscientious shopper that I am, I naturally turned to our trusty friend Google for answers. It got me thinking—what questions do you consider when purchasing from a new site for the first time? And where do you go to get your questions answered? Google? Facebook? Send up smoke signals?

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Meraki MR33 is an entry-level, quad-radio, cloud-managed, 2×2:2, 802.11ac Wave 2 access point with MU-MIMO support. It provides a maximum 1.3 Gbps aggregate frame rate with concurrent 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios. It also features a dedicated third radio that provides real-time WIDS/WIPS with automated RF optimization. In addition, an integrated Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio delivers beacon and scanning capabilities.

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Learning Center Article – What is the difference between Cisco core switches and access switches?

When you’re designing a large network, you’re going to need multiple different switches, and in many cases, those switches won’t serve the same role. As the demand on a network rises, you can’t just add more switches ad hoc. Instead, you need to layer your switches correctly.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Pending home sales in October dropped to the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking them in 2001.
• A federal judge in Montana has blocked a law that would have resulted in a state-wide ban of TikTok starting on Jan. 1, 2024.
• In May, Google announced that accounts that haven’t been used in the last two years will be deleted under the company’s new inactive account policy. All of the inactive account’s data will be deleted — including any old emails or photos stored there. The change is set to go into effect in December.
• Disney Chief Executive Officer, Bob Iger, said he will no longer tolerate his company’s partners and creative team prioritizing messaging over storytelling.