Archives for July 2024

Happy Monday! What a weekend. We hope you had a chance to relax and recharge. As we kick off a new week, know that we’re praying for you! Cheers to a great week ahead.

In This Issue: Any Bluey Lovers Out There? | Cisco 10GBASE-CU Twin-Ax SFP+ Active Cable | The Benefits of Using a Managed Switch | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Any Bluey lovers out there?

Happy Monday!

What a crazy weekend. Aside from the big national news story (if you live under a rock, there was an assassination attempt on former President Trump, our family headed to our local ballpark, Coolray Field, to see two special friends visiting from Australia. The kids absolutely loved their short interaction with Bluey and Bingo from the hit children’s TV show Bluey. We took a family photo and gave high fives! Luckily, we got there early enough to avoid the huge line that formed and having to wait hours.

Afterwards we watched some of the games enjoying some burgers and fries, and the kids got their faces painted. Ironically the wait for face painting was twice as long as the Bluey and Bingo line. Kids love to have their faces painted. Only for the paint to smudge off shortly after because of the heat, haha. The things we do for our kids!

Anyways, I’m hoping some rain will cool things down this week, but it still looks like it’s going to be a scorcher! Stay cool my friends!

I hope you had a great day and a wonderful week!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus passive copper cables are a high performance connectivity solution supporting 10Gb Ethernet and Fiber Channel applications. SFP+ cables were developed as cost effective, low power alternatives to fiber optic cables in high speed interconnect applications, such as network storage and enterprise networking.

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Learning Center Article – How to Choose A Rackmount Server

When you’re choosing networking equipment, one concept you will come up against is managed and unmanaged switches.

Which is better?

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• A launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites suffered a rare midflight failure. The rocket’s upper second stage failed to reignite its engine as planned and was destroyed.
• Department store Macy’s reported its board has unanimously decided to end negotiations with the activist group that had been looking to take the retailer private for roughly $6.9 billion.
• Startups are building balloons to hoist tourists 100,000 feet into the stratosphere. Read more here.
• Philadelphia’s stacked lineup now includes Chipotle Whipped Cream Cheese Spread and French Onion Whipped Cream Cheese Spread.

Happy Friday & Happy National French Fry Day! There are lots of places where you can score a free order of french fries today, so be sure to take advantage. What’s your favorite style of french fries to enjoy?

In This Issue: Are you ready for the Olympics? | Cisco ISR 4320 Series Rack Mount Kit | How to Choose A Rackmount Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Are you ready for the Olympics?

Happy Friday, folks!

The Olympics start in a couple of weeks! I’m excited to watch the best competitors on the planet compete in their respective events. I had an opportunity to go to a couple of Olympic events and remember the energy inside and outside the venues!

Here is the official list of Olympic Sports. Which Olympic events will you be watching?

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Cisco ISR 4320 Router 19″ Rack Mount Kit, ACS-4320-RM-19, is a purpose-built accessory designed only to facilitate the integration of the Cisco 2801 Router into standard 19-inch racks. By securely mounting the Cisco 2801 Router, this rack mount kit offers a reliable and efficient solution that optimizes space utilization and enhances overall organizational effectiveness.

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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. There are several different types of servers and various form factors, however a rackmount server is ideal for many businesses.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The National Football League is considering allowing private equity team ownership of up to 10%.
• Apple has expanded its Vision Pro to more countries outside the U.S. The Vision Pro will hit stores in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the U.K. today!
• Universal Orlando Resort introduces the Mega Movie Parade, celebrating iconic films and franchises. Read more about them here.
• The Beastie Boys are suing the parent company of Chili’s in a case that accuses the chain restaurant of running an advertisement that used the hip-hop trio’s smash hit “Sabotage” without permission.

Happy Thursday! The weekend is just around the corner. Do you have any plans? Cheers to a great rest of the week!

In This Issue: Tech Throwbacks | Wireless Qi Cellphone Charger | Zone-based Firewalls Overview | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Tech Throwbacks

Happy Thursday!

Did you know that today marks the anniversary of the very first email ever sent? That’s right! Way back in 1971, Ray Tomlinson sent the first electronic message, and look how far we’ve come! To honor this milestone, we’re diving into our favorite tech throwbacks. Remember dial-up internet? Or the sweet sound of a modem connecting? Ah, the good ol’ days! 😂

Here are a few more!

Dial-Up Internet: Remember the screeching sound of a modem connecting? It was the soundtrack of the early internet days.

Floppy Disks: These once-essential storage devices could hold a whopping 1.44 MB of data. We’ve come a long way since then!

Landline Phones: Before smartphones, having a cordless landline phone was the height of tech luxury.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM): AIM was the go-to for online chatting before social media took over.

The Original Nokia 3310: Famous for being virtually indestructible and having an epic battery life, this phone was a classic.

Which ones would you add? Have a great rest of your week!

The CK Team

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Experience the utmost in convenience and tangle-free charging with our in a sleek red design. This wireless charger effortlessly powers up your Qi-enabled devices by simply placing them on the chargers surface. This incredible Qi technology ensures safe and efficient charging while eliminating the hassle of frustrating cords and connectors.

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Learning Center Article – Zone-based Firewalls Overview

If you have any important information or tools attached to devices in your network, then you need good network security. An essential tool for security is the firewall.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• The Summer Olympics in Paris are the first games that will take place since legal gambling became widespread in the U.S. Sportsbooks and gambling operations like market leaders FanDuel and DraftKings are preparing for increased betting on the games during what is typically a slow season for sports gambling in the U.S.
• Pfizer said it will continue to develop the once-daily version of its weight loss pill, danuglipron, after it saw “encouraging” data in an early-stage trial.
• Apple has just launched a new marketing website, promoting the Apple Watch as a way for parents to stay in touch with their kids.
• EU antitrust regulators accepted commitments from Apple to allow access to its tap and go payments technology to rivals.

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through the week. We hope you’re to-do list is shrinking and that you’ve successfully dug out of your inbox from being out of the office.

In This Issue: Painting, Painting & More Painting 🤪 | AC Power Cord, C14 to C13, 18 AWG | Do Ethernet Couplers Reduce Speed? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Painting, Painting & More Painting 🤪

Happy Wednesday!

I hope you’re having a great week! This weekend was all sorts of crazy and fun! We had a fun family gathering on Saturday to celebrate the 4th of July and also the July birthday’s in our family. It was a great time!

Most of my end of week and weekend was spent painting. I think I shared last week, but we’re moving! We’ve moved what feels like a million times, so this move feels like a cake walk (kind of…lol). But with moving comes painting and fixing up and all the fun things, so we did that! We painted our little guys room and then we painted the master bedroom and then we cleaned out and clean-up a bunch of stuff. It likely wouldn’t have been so bad if the walls weren’t basically black causing us to have to paint 3+ coats to cover the walls!

Anyways – the big move is this weekend. On Saturday, we’ll be loading up and making the move. We’re excited but of course a move always comes with nerves, so any and all prayers are appreciated.

Hope you all have a great week! Cheers to no flat tires in our grand adventure. 🚚

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Power cords are commonly used to connect a piece of equipment to a power distribution unit and many other uses. Whether the cords are used in a basic or dense instillation, these heavy duty power cords save time and money.

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Learning Center Article – Do Ethernet Couplers Reduce Speed?

Have you ever been stuck with an Ethernet cable that was just too short? You have to go out and buy a new cable, just to cover that distance. Did you know that there’s another way to approach this problem?

You can use a coupler and extend your cable reach, and the process is simple and usually very cost-effective.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Walmart is opening five automated distribution centers for fresh food across the country.
  The European-built Ariane 6 rocket launched for the first time on Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana.
• Starbucks is leading a new program to offer customers free, reusable, returnable to-go cups in Petaluma, California, which becomes the first U.S. city to make reusable cups the default option.
• The three-month pilot, which also involves 30 other local and national restaurants — including Starbucks’ competitors — will remove the need for hundreds of thousands of single-use cups.
• Starting July 10, McDonald’s is bringing back its Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder with Cheese and its Smoky BLT Double Quarter Pounder.

Happy Tuesday & Happy Cow Appreciation Day! Have you herd? Things go udderly awry in the middle of July each year. People dress like bovines for free food. It’s a moo-ving experience to witness designed to save the lives of cows everywhere for just one day. How? By eating chicken instead, that’s how.

In This Issue: A Refreshing Trip to Cedar Key, FL & 4th of July Adventures! | Kendall Howard 1U Finger Duct Cable Manager | What Is OSPF in Routing? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – A Refreshing Trip to Cedar Key, FL & 4th of July Adventures!

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July and weekend!

I was off for a few days last week for a trip to Cedar Key, FL which was beautiful. I mentioned this last week, but Cedar Key is a very small island community that is known for fishing and clamming. It’s quite remote and doesn’t really have any chain stores on the island. In fact, you have to drive over 30 minutes to get to the next town to find a grocery store! We didn’t realize that and didn’t come prepared with food but, fortunately it does have a small market on the island where we were able to purchase a few things to keep us fed the first day!

The house we stayed at was incredible and sat on the marsh. We caught some incredible sunrises and even got to see some fireworks off in the distance on the 4th of July.

We were pretty much going non-stop the whole time we were there. We checked out Poe Springs, tubed the Lchetucknee River, went to Manatee Springs, did a clear bottom kayak tour of Gilchrist Springs, kayaked with dolphins near the house, and even made a day trip down to Honeymoon Island to check out the beach and clear ocean water. It was a lot of driving and I think we’re all still totally exhausted, but it was cool to see these unique locations.

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Designed for easy installation, the 1U Finger Duct Cable Manager provides the structure you need to safely organize and protect your network cables. The narrow open design is ideal for routing cables between patch panels and switches. Steel construction and a 3″ depth make this cable manager perfect for high density cable applications with lasting stability.

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Learning Center Article – What Is OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) in Routing?

As networking design grows more complicated and the scale of your network increases, you need better ways to manage traffic. One tool at your disposal is the routing protocol.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Etsy is overhauling the policies that govern its site to make clear to sellers and buyers what products belong on the platform.
• The changes come as Etsy faces pressure to compete with Amazon and emerging e-commerce players Temu and Shein.
• Amazon launched a new $79 Echo Spot alarm clock, which features a revamped display and better audio quality.
• Oreo has launched several Oreo cookies this year. Check them all out here.
  On July 8, McDonald’s announced a new McFlurry flavor is joining the fold: Kit Kat Banana Split.

Happy Monday & Happy National Freezer Pop Day! These treats are America’s favorite ways to cool off with a frozen sweet treat. What’s your favorite flavor to enjoy?

In This Issue: Cleaning Up & Cleaning Out | 1080p HD Webcam | Power Injectors Vs Power Supplies for IP Phones | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Cleaning Up & Cleaning Out

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a great 4th of July weekend! This weekend I took a slightly different approach to the holiday. Instead of the explosions and fireworks, I opted for a quiet weekend at home spent cleaning and decluttering. I think Marie Kondo, an organizing expert, says it perfectly “Tidying orders and relaxes the mind”. I also like listening to all different types of music while cleaning. Here’s some ambient/electronic music that I listened to while getting organized . It made for some great background music while cleaning!

I hope you had a great day and a wonderful week!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The perfect plug-and-play webcam! Our 1080p HD webcam provides a realistic, crisp, crystal-clear video and features a built-in microphone. Specially designed and optimized for professional quality video this webcam is perfect for meetings as well as for streaming on social and entertainment websites. This HD webcam is compatible with YouTube, Skype, Facetime, Zoom, and more.

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Learning Center Article – Power Injectors Vs Power Supplies for IP Phones

In many business settings, you still need landline phones, but that doesn’t mean you have to use traditional phone lines to fill that role. Many businesses use IP phones, as they are often more affordable and more capable.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Patrick Bertoletti won Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, the annual competition held on July 4, with 58 dogs consumed. Miki Sudo won the women’s division with 51 dogs.
• Taco Bell is continuing its Mountain Dew collaboration with a brand new Baja Blast Gelato which is launching really soon. The ice cream was tested at one store in California last year and will soon be available nationwide after it proved so successful. Are you planning to give it a try?
• The National Women’s Soccer League has allowed private equity firms to take majority control of franchise teams.
• Saks Fifth Avenue parent HBC will acquire Neiman Marcus Group in a $2.65 billion deal combining the storied retailers.