CablesAndKits

Happy Wednesday & Happy National Thesaurus Day! Whether you’re looking for a more accurate word or trying to improve your writing, the thesaurus is your best friend.

In This Issue: Classic Board Games | 1080p Full-HD Webcam | Importance of a Disaster Recovery Plan for Your Network | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Classic Board Games

Happy Wednesday! I hope you’re having a great week!

This weekend my husband and I spent some time at home with my family. We found ourselves playing hours of board games and had so much fun doing so. Between a classic game of Monopoly and the strategy-filled game of Catan, we have spent some time debating over which one we enjoyed most.

Monopoly is such a classic and it had been so long since we had played! I didn’t have the best luck in the game and kept ending up in jail but my mom and husband fought for the victory each time. Catan was a mix of who won depending on how the board was set up and the order we were able to build. Overall, it was such a great time relaxing and enjoying time together playing games!

What’s your favorite board game to play with your friends/family?

Ashley

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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 a Disaster Recovery Plan for Your Network

You run a modern business. You use computers, and you’re connected to the internet. That’s just how things work these days, and when things are in fact working, it’s pretty nice.

Networking resources allow for instantaneous communication, easy data management, and a whole bunch of efficiencies that improve your bottom line. Unfortunately, all of those advantages come with a hidden downside. What happens if your network goes down? How can your business deal with such a problem?

The answer to that is typically found in a network disaster recovery plan, and when you understand exactly what is involved, you’ll see that a good recovery plan can be truly priceless.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• General Motors’ first-ever “electrified” Corvette will be available later this year, starting at more than $104,000. The 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray hybrid will be the quickest production version ever of the American sports car.
• Netflix is looking for a new flight attendant to join its “dream crew,” and it’s willing to pay over a quarter million dollars for the right candidate.
• Twitter is auctioning off espresso machines, kegerators, computers, and even oversized neon displays with the company’s logo as the social messaging service reportedly has fallen behind on office rent payments. Interested buyers can peruse an assortment of goods that Twitter wishes to sell via the website of Heritage Global Partners
• Apple announced new Macs that can be purchased with either M2 Pro or M2 Max chips, the most powerful Apple processors for its MacBook Pros yet.

Happy Tuesday! We hope you are having a great week. If we can be praying for you this week in any way, please let us know!

In This Issue: Life Lessons through Sports | Nylon Cable Ties | Choosing the Right Network Card | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Life Lessons through Sports

Good Morning & Happy Tuesday!

Hope everyone is off to a good start this week. On Saturday I was able to attend the UGA National Championship celebration in Athens which was a lot of fun. These truly are the good ol’ days for UGA fans and students! The environment was great and I really enjoyed getting to hear the different speakers, particularly Coach Kirby Smart. He talked about how special this team is and how they were incredibly disciplined and put in countless hours of hard work. It’s always inspiring to hear those stories and see the success that follows the powerful combination of expectations, discipline, and hard work.

I love how sports can be such a great teacher of these values and how, when put into place, these values result in great success. Love the life lessons that sports provide!

Rebecca

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cable ties are an extremely versatile way to organize and bundle wires and cables. They are easy to install and can be cut off for rework very easily. Locks tightly – won’t stretch or slide.

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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:

• China’s population declined in 2022 for the first time in decades. Mainland China’s population, excluding foreigners, fell by 850,000 people in 2022 to 1.41 billion.
• Matt Rogers helped to usher in the era of the smart home device as co-founder of Nest Labs, the smart home thermostat that was ultimately acquired by Google. After the Google deal, Rogers began work on several philanthropic projects, many focusing on climate-related initiatives. The tech engineer is back with a new venture and design for the home to help with a very big problem: food waste.
• Multiple releases allegedly sent from Adidas are fake. The hoax campaign announced a new fashion line and that a Cambodian worker-turned-whistleblower was named co-CEO.
• Goldman Sachs posted its largest earnings miss in a decade as revenue fell and expenses and loan-loss provisions came in higher than expected.

Happy Monday! We hope everyone had a safe and relaxing weekend. Happy MLK Day! How are you observing today?

In This Issue: Friendship & Love | Cisco 2960-X Series 48 Port 740W PoE+ Switch | Managed vs Unmanaged Switches: Which do you need? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Friendship & Love

Happy Monday and Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

The cold weather forced us indoors this weekend, so we decided to go to the mall nearby which has a large indoor playground area. I noticed something for the first time while observing my kids play with other kids. Children aren’t constrained by social rules or anxiety (for the most part) when it comes to playing together and creating a friendship. My 2-year-old who’s turning 3 soon, instantly made a friend with another girl her age, just by proximity.

I was watching closely and saw it happen nearly instantly.

Two total strangers became friends after playing next to each other on a slide for less than a minute. My older daughter seems to do the same thing by asking a few simple questions “what’s your name? Do you want to play together?”. There’s no fear of rejection or hesitation, no prejudice or pride, it happens smoothly and naturally. One second two strangers are playing next to each other, the next second they seem like they’ve been friends for their entire lives.

The whole experience reminded me of the passage in the Bible where Jesus says “…Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” – Matthew 18:3 ESV.

I’ll be reflecting on that little moment in the mall for some time and also be reflecting on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. One of my favorite MLK Jr. quotes is “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that”. The world definitely needs more love.

Cris

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Cisco has always done an amazing job catering to small and medium businesses. The Cisco 2960-X series is another generation of the already popular 2960 series that will enable the typical small to medium business to function at an enterprise level without the enterprise budget. The 2960-X series switches offer a fixed configuration of Ethernet switches that are not only Gigabit but also stackable. The 2960-X was specifically designed for easy deployment and operational efficiency. These switches are also energy cautious and have a large range of IOS software features.

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Learning Center Article – Managed vs Unmanaged Switches: Which do you need?

Switches are one of the core pieces of almost any major network. They manage traffic routing for Ethernet-connected devices. As such, they provide stable, fast means of communication for any device across the network.

If you run a business network, you’ll need some kind of switch, and when you look into it, you’ll find that there are two competing types of switches: managed and unmanaged. Here’s a quick breakdown of each type of switch to help you in that regard.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Hasbro postponed its update of its Dungeons & Dragons licensing terms after thousands of players pushed back on proposed changes, rallying around an #OpenDND petition.
• Shoppers can now purchase deeply discounted secondhand luxury clothing from Rent the Runway through Amazon.
• NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has made its first confirmation of an exoplanet. An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star outside our solar system. The American space agency says the exoplanet is almost exactly the same size as Earth.
• Italy’s most-wanted mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro has been arrested in Sicily after 30 years on the run.

Happy Friday! We’ve officially made it to the end of the week. We’re wishing you a weekend full of adventure – stay safe!

In This Issue: CK Stickers! | Cisco DB9 Female to RJ45 Female Console Adapter | Aruba Switches vs Cisco Switches | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – CK Stickers!

Happy Friday & Happy National Sticker Day! If you’ve been around for a while, it’s likely you’ve gotten a few different stickers from us in your orders over the years. Where do you put them? Which one has been your favorite? Any new designs you want to see?

We’d love to see the ones you have! Send us a photo of where you put your stickers!

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Working in IT, you know how important it is to have flexible solutions to everyday problems. That includes using modular adapters as a cost-effective solution for completing complex connections. This Cisco adapter is a straight-through DB9 Female to RJ45 Female, perfect for connecting desktop terminals back to a central patch panel. This includes equipment like printers, POS terminals, modems and other kinds of serial equipment. You never know when hooking up one of these devices might require an adaptor.

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Learning Center Article – Aruba Switches vs Cisco Switches

When it comes to network switches, the variety of options can be overwhelming. There’s a specific switch for every niche networking role, and there are a dozen different brands making that one class of switch.

Out of all of those options, two leading brands are preferred in many professional networks: Aruba and Cisco. They are industry giants and leaders in many respects. When comparing them directly, it’s clear that you are getting different sets of benefits depending on which you choose.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Russia has taken control of the Ukrainian salt-mine town Soledar after a months-long battle. The victory would allow Russian troops to cut off Ukrainian supply routes in the nearby larger city of Bakhmut.
• The man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students moved on Thursday to delay a preliminary hearing in the case, postponing until June a decision on whether there is sufficient evidence to hold him for trial on the charges.
• At least seven people were killed Thursday as severe storms swept across the South, where ferocious winds sent residents running for cover, blew roofs off homes, and knocked out power to thousands. Recovery efforts will continue Friday after the storms damaged power lines, severed tree limbs and sent debris flying into streets in Alabama, Georgia, and Kentucky, where at least 35 preliminary tornado reports were recorded.
• The Biden Administration released details this week on its plan to overhaul the current income-driven repayment plan known as Revised Pay As You Earn plan (REPAYE) for federal student loan borrowers.

Happy Thursday & Happy Curried Chicken Day! It’s the perfect day to fill your dish with a variety of flavorful spices and enjoy! Do you have a curried chicken recipe that you love? Share it with us!

In This Issue: What does your “new” look like? | Keystone Surface Mount Box | What Are the Differences Between a Switch and a Bridge? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – What does your “new” look like?

Happy New Year! We are back!

Hope you enjoyed reading about all of the different non-profits that are important to us and that we support around the CK office over the last few weeks.

Well, it is a brand new year and this always gets me thinking about the word “New.” (duh…haha!) Never fails, every year, that word becomes more real to me at this time of year, and I imagine a lot of us – New year, new opportunities, new adventures, new starts, new plans, etc. No matter what last year was like, no matter what went on, this is a brand new year to start fresh. Whether you make new year’s resolutions or just want a line in the sand to look forward instead of behind, now’s the time. I love it! It is always invigorating and refreshing. I am already looking forward to things I want to do around the house this year, vacations I want to take, places I want to go, and things I want to do personally.

Over and over the past few weeks, I have felt in my mind and heart this phrase for 2023, “Take a chance and go for it!” Not sure what all that means yet but it is exciting. I mean, hey, it’s a new year with new possibilities!

What exciting, “new” plans do you have for 2023?

Have an awesome rest of the week and weekend!

Jason

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Give your network a makeover. These attractive boxes will perfectly blend into your home or office decor and can hold a multitude of jacks. Unloaded 1-Position Keystone Surface Mount Box, the easiest way to install a network outlet, is perfect for office cubicles or installations where the cable is run along a baseboard. Protects and hides your network connections, mounts with 2-sided tape or screws unloaded single-position keystone mount box.

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Learning Center Article – What Are the Differences Between a Switch and a Bridge?

Putting together a single, small network is relatively easy. Things really get complicated when you need to join multiple networks together. That’s where concepts like bridging come into play, and understanding the specific technology options available for this aspect of network design is essential to success.

To that end, you’ll find a simplified breakdown of bridges and switches below. It will help you see how devices can be leveraged to join networks and the trade-offs attached to those devices.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• More than 10,000 flights were delayed on Wednesday after the FAA’s ground stop. The agency traced the problem to a damaged data file. The FAA and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said they plan to investigate.
• Walmart wants to sell more of its own technology and services to other retailers. To do so, they have struck a deal with Salesforce to attempt to get in front of more potential customers.
• Climeworks says it has successfully taken carbon dioxide out of the air and put it in the ground where it will turn into rock.
• Bitcoin has climbed $18,000 for the first time since Dec. 14, increasing in value by about 5% in the last 24 hours.

Happy Wednesday! We’ve made it to the middle of the week! Hopefully, your week is going well and you’ve accomplished several tasks on your to-do list for the week. Cheers to wrapping up the week with everything checked off and being at inbox zero.

In This Issue: Rest, Read & Retreat | OM5 Fiber Optic Cable | Layer 2 vs Layer 3 Switches: Which is best for your network? | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Rest, Read & Retreat

Good morning CK Family!

Happy New Year! What an eventful year it’s been already. I took another lap around the sun and celebrated another birthday, have spent a ton of time with family, and am starting to get back into the swing of the day-to-day.

I’m not much of a new year’s resolutions gal, but this year I spent a good amount of time reflecting on 2022. To be honest, it was one of the hardest years for my family in quite some time. We experienced some of the most difficult loss, shifted the way we lived to care for those we love, and so much more. But when I stopped to reflect on what that all looked like, I am grateful for the growth and sense of closeness that our family has developed because of these experiences.

Going into 2023, three words came to mind: Rest, Read & Retreat. I guess you can say those are my resolutions, but they are the three things I’m going to focus on this year.

I want to learn to truly rest. It’s going to be another big year and learning the true meaning of what it means to actively rest feels so important to my overall health.

I want to read. I love reading but last year, the busyness of everything around me pulled me away from it and I didn’t accomplish the goal I had set for the year.

I want to enjoy spiritual retreats. I’m not sure what this will look like in the year quite yet, but my goal here is to find time to focus on my soul and spirit. To find time to be with the Lord and just experience his presence. As I said above, last year was tough. When you experience loss in certain ways or go through things that you truly feel you can’t handle – doubt takes over. Doubt that you are capable, doubt that God really does have your back, doubt that you were made to be here in the moment for this. It’s tough and it takes time to truly heal. So I hope to be able to deepen my spirit and relationship with the Lord in intentional ways this year.

In the end, whether you’re a resolutions person or not or just have words that keep surfacing I hope your goal(s) of 2023 is just to be a better you. Glad to be back! Have a great week!

Ashley

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Product Spotlights & Updates

OM5 fiber cables, the first approved as WBMMF (Wide Band Multimode Fiber), have been created to specifically handle high-speed data center applications using two fibers to transmit from 40GBs up to 100GBs. With the emergence of SWDM (Shortwave Wavelength Division Multiplexing) applications in data centers, OM5 fiber cables provide optimal support and performance at higher speeds. Even with the high speed, OM5 fiber cables are backward compatible with existing OM4 applications and networks.

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Learning Center Article – Layer 2 vs Layer 3 Switches: Which is best for your network?

When it comes to network switches, you have a lot of options. Finding the perfect switch for every occasion can be a monstrous task. Sometimes, the easiest way to find a good choice is to take a step back and learn more about the primary differences that exist between switches.

One major difference that you will see is the OSI connection layer. Most of the switches you will see will be labeled as either Layer 2 or Layer 3. When you take a deeper look at the key aspects of each layer, you can make an informed decision that ensures you have the right equipment for the job at hand.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Thousands of U.S. flights were delayed Wednesday morning after the Federal Aviation Administration suffered an outage of the system that sends messages to pilots. As of now, it is not showing that there were any signs of it being a cyber attack. 
• Bed Bath & Beyond has begun its latest round of layoffs, as it fights to stay in business. The home goods retailer told employees that it is eliminating the chief transformation officer role on the same day it reported disappointing fiscal third-quarter results.
• Disney is making a number of modifications to its reservation and ticketing system, as well as its annual pass membership perks, at its domestic theme parks. At Disneyland Resort, park hopper ticket buyers will be able to change parks at 11 a.m. At Walt Disney World Resort, annual passholders can enter the parks at 2 p.m., with some restrictions, without a reservation.
• Tesla has registered with the state of Texas to expand its electric vehicle factory in Austin this year.