CablesAndKits

Happy Monday & Happy first day of Spring! While it may still feel a bit chilly outside, warmer weather is on the horizon. What do you enjoy most about the spring weather?

In This Issue: Quality Time & a Shoutout to Moms | Kendall Howard Small Form Factor CPU Wall Mount Shelf | What is CAT6A and How Is It Being Used Today? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Quality Time & a Shoutout to Moms

Good morning, it’s Monday!

I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my children as my wife went on a weekend women’s retreat over the weekend. Luckily the girls behaved quite well while their mom was out, so I didn’t have to stress too much.

We had a fairly low-key weekend with our normal trip to piano lessons for my oldest and our tradition of getting a donut at the local bakery. We also went to the library and celebrated my Mom’s birthday at their place, the grandparents were a welcome distraction!

I am very thankful my wife is back and this kind of separation made me appreciate her more. Thank you to all the mom’s out there, you rock! That’s all for today ~ Wishing you a productive and positive Monday!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Kendall Howard’s Small-Form-Factor Wall Mount CPU Brackets are designed to get the computer off the floor and the desktop. The brackets make it easy to secure and mount any small-form-factor PC to the wall or side of the desk. The velcro strap secures the PC to the bracket.

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Learning Center Article – What is CAT6A and How Is It Being Used Today?

What is the most important component of network design? Cost and performance certainly dictate the final result, but such general concepts don’t really pinpoint a place to start. In reality, a network’s capacity and reliability are built upon the cables that connect everything. When cost and performance are used to select a cable, most network engineers try to stuff as much Ethernet into their system as they can.

While Cat6A is neither the newest nor most advanced Ethernet on the market today, it is a staple in the industry and services a wide range of networks.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Microsoft and its Nuance Communications subsidiary announced Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Express, a clinical notes application for healthcare workers that is powered by artificial intelligence. DAX Express aims to help reduce clinicians’ administrative burdens by automatically generating a draft of clinical notes after a patient visit. 
• Virgin Orbit is furloughing nearly all its employees and pausing operations for a week as it looks for a funding lifeline.
• Parkgoers at Disneyland will finally be able to return to Mickey’s Toontown this weekend after a yearlong closure for refurbishment. The reimagined Toontown honors the space that first opened in 1993, keeping existing structures like Mickey and Minnie’s houses in tact, albeit with a paint touch-up. The redesigned land, which opens to the public March 19, is entirely wheelchair accessible and is visually and auditorily approachable for kids who are easily overwhelmed by loud or bright sensory stimuli.
• After 15 years in space, NASA’s AIM mission is ending. The AIM team has announced they are ending operational support for the spacecraft due to a battery power failure. NASA first noticed issues with AIM’s battery in 2019, but the probe was still sending a “significant amount of data” back to Earth. Following another recent decline in battery power, NASA says AIM has become unresponsive. 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We hope you remembered to wear green today! 🍀

In This Issue: More than 150,000 IT Pros like You Agree! | Cisco ASA 5512-X Firewall | What is Switch Stacking & Why is it Important? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – More than 150,000 IT pros like you agree!

Happy Friday, folks! It’s rainy here in Georgia, but it’s still Friday!

Let’s face it: completing IT projects is hard, especially when those network infrastructure projects get complicated. We’ve all opened a box only to find that the equipment was DOA out of the box or we’re missing a power cord. It’s incredible how much of an impact a small thing can have on a project.

That’s why you need a vendor you trust. Someone who helps you figure out exactly what you need, ships fast, and handles customer service questions with ease.

It’s one thing to hear it from us; it’s another thing to hear from a few of the 150,000+ customers we’ve served over the years.

“Great experience. Needed lots of CAT6 cables at the last moment. Placed an order for next-day shipping after 4pm (Pacific). Order arrived the next day, and our install was able to stay on schedule.” – Mark R.

“Great service at a great price. Always so easy to do business with CablesAndKits. Fast and smooth process. Quality products at a great price.” – Reginald C.

“Always get what I ordered. 5 stars for CablesandKits staff, you never fail to amaze me, excellent products and services.” – Andrew N.

“I got the right stuff at the right price without having to wait. Who could ask for more?” – Gordon F.

We have a single goal here at CablesAndKits: to help you be successful. Need help finding something? Need it fast (maybe even same day)? Give us a call!

Have a great weekend!

Chris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco ASA5500-X series next-generation firewall is the new enterprise-class standard in security for the current and emerging security pressures that may threaten your network. The new firewall line will give you the added security that your network needs, but at a cost that will keep an IT budget in line.

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Learning Center Article – What is Switch Stacking & Why is it Important?

There are countless ways to design a network and meet the criteria it needs to follow. Not all of these methods will be as efficient or affordable as others. That’s why network administrators are constantly learning new concepts.

Switch stacking is commonly used in high-end networking, but many small and medium businesses are missing out on the technique. Taking a minute to learn more about it could reveal a better way to run your network that saves time and money while improving network functionality.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Slovakia will send its entire fleet of 13 Soviet-era fighter jets to Ukraine to boost its defense against Russian forces. 
• Amtrak unveiled $5 to $20 late-night train fares for some of its Northeast routes. The cheap prices will be available for select routes between Washington, D.C., and New York running from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• The price of YouTube TV is increasing from $65 per month to $73 per month starting in April.
• Microsoft said the new A.I. features will be available in some of the company’s most popular business apps like Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Happy Thursday & Happy National Panda Day! Today draws attention to one of the world’s most unique bears. Are you a fan of pandas?

In This Issue: Finding a New Love for Reading | CAT6 Ethernet Patch Cables | What are the advantages of OM5 Fiber? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Finding a New Love for Reading

Happy Thursday Everyone!

The other day, I had the most amazing day at the bookstore! As someone who loves to read, spending hours in the bookstore, browsing through all the different genres, and getting lost in the world of literature was pure bliss. I also enjoy the nostalgia of being in a bookstore it’s amazing.

After walking around the store and asking the associates about some books I saw on BookTok, I finally chose four new books that I am eagerly looking forward to reading. There’s just something special about holding a physical book in your hands, flipping through the pages, and immersing yourself in a good story.

I recently rekindled my love for reading about a year ago, and I have been hooked ever since. Last year, I managed to complete about one book a month, but this year, I have already read between two to five books per month! But, I already have about 5 more books in my Amazon cart lol. I can’t get enough of the escapism that reading offers!

By the way, if you have any book recommendations, please send them my way! I’m into horror, mystery, and romance books for fiction, but I’m also into self-help and personal development reads.

So, if you’re in need of a little break from the fast-paced, technology-driven world we live in, I highly recommend taking some time to visit a bookstore. You never know what kind of adventure awaits you between the pages of a book. Happy reading, everyone!

Joi

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Our Cat6 Easyboot Ethernet cables make it simple for you to manage your Ethernet cabling with a tabbed boot which makes it easy to connect or disconnect the cable in hard-to-reach, tight, high-density situations, unlike the older style Half-moon boot cables – UTP, Pure Copper Wire, Lifetime Warranty – Backwards compatible with all Cat5e applications.

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Learning Center Article – What are the advantages of OM5 Fiber?

Information technology has headed in one obvious direction for the past several decades. More people come online every year, and the constant demand is for more speed. As these systems grow, infrastructure will continue to be put under greater strain in order to keep up with the trend.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Kellogg will split into two companies named Kellanova and WK Kellogg Co by the end of the year.
• Virgin Orbit is furloughing nearly all its employees and pausing operations for a week as it looks for a funding lifeline.
• The United States military has released footage it says is of an unsafe interception of a US drone by a Russian jet over the Black Sea. Read more here. 
• Nasa on Wednesday unveiled the first prototype for a newly designed next-generation spacesuit specially tailored and accessorised for the first astronauts expected to venture back to the moon’s surface in the next few years.

Happy Wednesday! We’ve made it halfway through the week. If we can be praying for you in any way, please let us know! Wishing you a great rest of the week ahead.

In This Issue: Tips & Tricks to Traveling | RCA Cable 2-Male to 2-Male | Basics of MPO / MTP Fiber Cables | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Tips & Tricks to Traveling

Good morning CK Family!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far and that you are starting to enjoy this extra day light towards the end of the evening.

Lately, I’ve been doing lots of traveling. Traveling for work, to see family, to go on adventures, for vacation, and more! I’ve always found myself so exhausted from a full day of traveling whether I’m driving or flying and have been trying to find the best ways to navigate away from feeling that way. Do you have any tips?

Overall, travel days can be stressful. If you’re driving and hit traffic, you’re delayed. If you’re flying, the nerves of getting through security always hit me at some point, even if I’m super early. What are your tips and tricks to traveling in hopes for a stress free experience?

Hope you have a great rest of the week!

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

RCA male to RCA male double cable for audio connections are excellent for professional, industrial, and residential applications where sound quality and durability are important for TV, VCR, DVD, projector, and home theater applications.

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Learning Center Article – Basics of MPO / MTP Fiber Cables

Fiber optic cables drive modern communication. They are the only viable means for arranging the ultra-high-speed systems that run the backbones of digital communication. Long-range internet connectivity is dominated by fiber optic cables. Perhaps more importantly, the massive data processing that goes on at data centers does the majority of the workload for internet communications and digital information handling.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Google announced a series of new health initiatives and partnerships at its annual event called “The Check Up. The Google Health team shared updates about features coming to search, tools for building health apps and the latest in AI-powered health research.
• An iconic pair of Air Jordan sneakers is going up for sale at Sotheby’s. It’s expected to be the most expensive pair of sneakers ever to appear at auction, estimated to sell for between $2 million and $4 million.
• Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks, filed for bankruptcy protection, toppled by a more than $8 billion debt load.
• Amazon revealed a trio of satellite antennas, as the company prepares to take on SpaceX’s Starlink with its own Project Kuiper internet network. The tech giant will offer a standard, ultra-compact and pro versions of its antennas, with speeds ranging from about 100 megabits per second to as much as 1 gigabit per second.

Happy National Pi Day! 🥧 Today recognized the mathematical constant of pi but is also a good day to enjoy your favorite slice of pie. What’s your favorite flavor of pie to enjoy?

In This Issue: Facts About Daylight Savings | Cisco 2960 Series Catalyst Rack Mount Kit | All Wireless Standards are NOT Created Equal | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Facts About Day Light Savings Time

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone’s having a great start to the week! The change over to Daylight Savings Time is something I know many people dread (who loves losing an hour of sleep!?) but it’s something I look forward to every year! The longer days and the excitement for spring coming far outweigh feeling a little sleepy for a few days in my mind! That said, I handled it fairly well for the first 2 days but I think it has finally caught up with me this morning! Nothing a little caffeine can’t fix 😉

I can’t take credit for these, but here are a few fun facts I saw on Instagram regarding Daylight Savings! Enjoy!

1. Daylight Saving Time affects night owls more than early birds.
2. Benjamin Franklin first conceived of the idea of daylight savings in 1784.
3. Daylight savings became a national standard in 1966.
4. Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that don’t observe daylight savings time.
5. Less than 40% of the world observes daylight savings time.

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

A couple brackets and some screws is all you really need to update your switch. The Cisco 2960 Series Catalyst Rack Mount Kit is compatible with a variety of models and designed to help you mount your switches for safety and efficiency. Make more room in your network with our rack mount kits and other optional accessories. The choice is a no-brainer for your IT department.

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Learning Center Article – All Wireless Standards are NOT Created Equal

Everything is wireless these days so upgrading your Wi-Fi hardware is critical to future-proofing your network. When the time for new components is at hand, it is important to select the products that fully support your communication and data transfer needs. From fiber cabling to Wi-Fi routers, the choices abound and each one can have a direct impact on your overall network performance. Despite very similar nomenclature, the varying forms of 802.11 are all quite different.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• SpaceX plans to begin testing its Starlink satellite-to-cell service with T-Mobile this year.
• Rivian and Amazon are in discussions to adjust the exclusivity clause of their agreement for the EV maker’s electric delivery trucks. Rivian last month touted 10 million packages delivered via the Amazon vans.
• The Biden administration is asking Congress to pass legislation that would ban airlines from charging fees for families who are traveling with children under the age of 14 to sit together, its latest attempt to crack down on add-on charges for consumers.
• Amazon revealed a trio of satellite antennas, as the company prepares to take on SpaceX’s Starlink with its own Project Kuiper internet network.

Happy Monday & Happy National Napping Day! What better day than the Monday after daylight savings to have an excuse to take a nap! 😉

In This Issue: Spring Markets | HPE Aruba 530 Series Indoor Access Point | Choosing the Right Network Card | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Spring Markets

Good Monday morning!

Spring is almost here! On Saturday I had the opportunity to attend a Spring festival of sorts in the city I grew up in. It was a bit chilly in the morning but warmed up through the afternoon. The festival was a fundraising event for the high school baseball team and had a good selection of vendors.

It was a tasting festival where you purchased tickets to try different small dishes at different restaurant booths. My kids enjoyed getting their faces painted and the inflatable bounce houses and slides. I enjoyed different types of tacos and some great spicy hummus!

I love going to these outdoor town festivals, in a way this one felt different. Things seem to be getting back to what they were pre-pandemic, it makes a world of a difference seeing people’s faces, rather than talking to them behind a mask while they are wearing a mask. There’s an uncanny anonymity feeling that I’ve never quite gotten used to while wearing a mask, as if I were a nameless machine talking to another nameless machine.

The cold weather has come back with a vengeance today, reminding us Spring has not quite made its debut, so I’ll be enjoying two cups of coffee this morning (to help with the time change). I hope you have a great day and a wonderful week!

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The Aruba 530 Series of Indoor Access Points were designed to provide an optimized user experience offering a combined peak data rate of up to 2.97 Gbps. These AP’s maximize Wi-Fi efficiency to deliver both speed and reliability for users. The 530 series of campus access points is suitable for high-density mobile as well as IoT deployments.

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Learning Center Article – Choosing the Right Network Card

When you think about networking, there’s a lot of focus on switches, panels, racks, cables, and the backbone infrastructure that makes it all work.

It’s easy to forget about devices that enable individual networking components to function. One such case is a network interface card (NIC). They allow your computerized devices to connect to the network, so they’re absolutely essential. Many devices have NICs built into them, which is why they are easy to overlook. But, there are times when you need to purchase NICs. When that happens, this guide will help you choose the right option.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Ford is recalling 18 electric F-150 Lightning pickups that the company has identified as potentially having a battery cell defect that caused a truck to catch fire last month.
• According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing can resume deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners as early as next week. Boeing said it completed the work on the wide-body jetliners required in order to resume deliveries, which were halted Feb. 23 after a data-analysis error was detected.
• Ukraine and Russia have reported inflicting heavy losses as the battle for Bakhmut rages on. Moscow has been trying to take the eastern Ukrainian city for months in a grinding war of attrition. Read more here. 
• Regulators approved plans Sunday to backstop both depositors and financial institutions associated with Silicon Valley Bank. Officials will unwind both SVB and Signature Bank, ensuring that depositors will have full access to their funds on Monday. The Federal Reserve stepped in with a separate facility that will provide loans up to one year for institutions affected by the bank failures.