CablesAndKits Blog

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Jason Gazaway

CEO Daily Update – 9.29.2020

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Change is Constant | Learning Center | CP-PWR-CUBE-4′ S | Growing as a Leader

Happy Tuesday! 

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. Read more about this email by scrolling to the very bottom.

I hope you had a great start to your week yesterday and that your Tuesday is starting off strong. 

As you guessed, I am not Craig. There is only one Craig, and no one can replace him. Haha! Craig is still lurking around but I am filling in for him today on the CEO email and will be off and on for the next month or so. (If you missed yesterday’s email, please take a look at it.)  There will be a few people stepping in to fill Craig’s shoes while he is out. One of the ones you will hear from a good bit will be his lovely wife, Christin. Besides being the wife to Craig, which will probably inspire plenty of entertaining discussions in and of itself, she is also the Co-Founder/Co-CEO, Chief Advisor, our CK “Mama Bear”, a Homeschool Mom / Working Mom, and just an all-round cool woman. You will def want to join us daily to get her insights and perspective on things. (Probably along with a funny story or two about Craig.)

Real quick intro for me…my name is Jason and I am the eCommerce Manager here at CK. I oversee the website and content for the business. I like long walks on the beach, Italian food, and…oh sorry…wrong intro…

This is my second stint here at CK, but I have been here for almost 8 years in total. I love interacting with people and really digging into what “helps” a person out, personally and professionally. I mean, any website can sell a product, but I want us (CK) to do more than just sell a product, I want us to HELP people. All of this was the big idea behind creating the CK Learning Center. I wanted a place to provide helpful information to the public that will help them make educated decisions, answer questions, and just be better at their jobs. This is our vision for the whole website – the product pages, homepage, or really any page on the site is beneficial to anyone who ends up there. 

All that being said, if you have any ideas for our site or topics you would like for us to write about or provide info on, please let me know. (You can respond to this email…Craig is still reading responses, so feel free to say hello to him as well) I would appreciate the feedback and ideas! 

Thanks for reading today,
Jason

Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca (our “Rock Star” Product manager):

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 9.29.2020

CEO Daily Update – 9.28.2020

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Craig’s Sabbatical | GLC-LH-SMD | Cleaning Wipes | Did you Know?


Happy Monday!  – I have a special message for everyone today.

Welcome to the CablesAndKits CEO daily email. 

I had an MRI on my knee last week. It still hurts pretty bad, even though I’ve had the steroid shot. The results came back as Bursitis which is:

…a painful condition that affects the small, fluid-filled sacs — called bursae (bur-SEE) — that cushion the bones, tendons and muscles near your joints. Bursitis occurs when bursae become inflamed.
 
Apparently, the treatment is RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), and it can take up to a couple of MONTHS to clear up! Life is definitely more challenging when walking, or bending your leg, is painful.
 
In the meantime, I still struggle with the Crohn’s every day. I’ve gotta focus on getting that under control. It’s prob going to take some very intentional effort with food, supplements, doc visits, etc. I’m also tired more than I should be (likely Crohn’s related) and my brain also doesn’t seem to be fully in gear.
 
I tend to ignore my health issues expecting them to go away and focus on work or getting things done instead. When I was younger, they usually did go away but not so much anymore! Focusing on work while constantly dealing with the health issues has really worn me down and I have a hard time staying as motivated as usual.
 
So, I came to the conclusion that I’m going to take some time off. I don’t know how much yet. Probably a month, and more if needed. I’ve got a great team that can keep on keeping on without me just fine. I just need to get off the treadmill for a little while and do a reset. I am hopeful that I could make some significant progress with healing and come back as good as new.

I may still do a couple things CK related, but for the most part I am parking everything for a while. I need to. I’m sure I’ll be mentally processing strategy which always happens when I take time off, and that’s a good thing anyway. Many leaders take a sabbatical at some interval. Perhaps that’s what this is.  

This email will carry on, but without me for a little while. I have a handful of people who want to contribute to it in my absence and I’m sure you’ll enjoy what they have to say. Replies to this or other emails will be seen so don’t be shy if you need something!

Pray for my health …. And I’ll see you again soon.

 – Craig

Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca (our “Rock Star” Product Manager):

[Read more…] about CEO Daily Update – 9.28.2020

Detangling the mystery of network cabling

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Even in light of this seemingly wireless-everything world in which we live, network cables still have a place—and a rather important one at that. Whether you are the administrator of a large corporate network or simply in charge of your own home network cabling kingdom, you will be faced with the task of selecting cables. CK Ethernet

Because there are different types of cables with specific benefits tied to specific situations, it is important to get a good understanding of what’s available to help you make the right choice the first time.

Who let the CAT’s out?

If you’ve spent any time at all looking for Ethernet cables, whether in-store or online, you’ll no doubt have seen a lot of mention of cats. Choosing Cat 5, Cat 6 or versions thereof should be the first order of business when cable shopping.

  • Cat 5

You can consider this the slow cooker of cables not just because it is slow but because it’s so on its way out that you may only find it in your grandmother’s house and the old-fashioned corner barbershop owned and operated by Art (who has owned and operated it for the past 60 years).

Ok, well maybe it’s not that almost-obsolete but it’s getting there. What you need to know about Cat 5 cables is that they provided Ethernet and Fast Ethernet compatibility and, while once the golden standard for speed and reliability these are likely the cables you will now be replacing. Fortunately, newer versions are backward compatible with these.

  • Cat 5e

Cat 5e moved cable speed from the slow cooker to the stovetop and added compatibility for up to 1 Gigabit Ethernet transmissions over short distances. The advent of Cat 5e offers [Read more…] about Detangling the mystery of network cabling

All Wireless Standards are NOT Created Equal

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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 wireless_logoneeds. From fiber cabling to Wi-Fi routers, the choices abound and each one can have direct impact on your overall network performance.

Today, we are going to take a look at the foundational 802.11 technologies that can power your network. Despite very similar nomenclature, the varying forms of 802.11 are all quite different.

How to Make Your Choice

Being able to clearly articulate the differences between Wi-Fi options is a must in order to help your management and procurement teams approve the right products for your applications. Following are the factors you will want to educate teams about so that they can effectively evaluate any new wireless purchase:

  • Bandwidth

Bandwidth, measured in terms of Mbps or Gbps, determines the speed with which data can be transmitted across a network. As can be expected, a higher bandwidth rating delivers faster data transmission. Today’s 802.11 technologies offer bandwidths ranging from 11 Mbps to as high as 300 Mbps.

It can be easy to immediately believe you want the maximum bandwidth range but it is important to keep in mind your own use. The higher bandwidths are generally only needed by larger networks or those running intensive applications such as streaming video.

  • Frequency

The frequency, measured in Gigahertz, determines a network’s range. It also directly affects interference by other wireless elements such as cell phones or microwaves or by physical obstacles such as walls. Standard Wi-Fi networks run on either 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz (commonly referred to as only 5 GHz) frequencies.

Frequency is one of those features that definitely does not comply with the “bigger is better” concept. A shorter frequency actually has a longer range, although it is more susceptible to interference from other wireless devices. A longer frequency flip-flops those benefits to provide a shorter range but better protection against other wireless interference. However, 5.8 GHz networks are more likely to be impeded by solid interference.

  • Single or Dual Band

Most Wi-Fi technologies run on only one frequency but some tout the ability to run on both. Before you jump for joy and assume that is the best way to go, you better get the facts.

Technology that includes only one signal but says it is dual band does not actually give you both 2.4 and 5.8 GHz functionality at once—it simply gives you the ability to choose which one you want at any given time. Only 802.11n which leverages multiple antennas actually supports both frequencies simultaneously.

Knowing the different functionalities offered by the key Wi-Fi network features can [Read more…] about All Wireless Standards are NOT Created Equal

Why Fiber Cabling Should Be Your Future – Today

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Is it time to upgrade your network? Perhaps you are installing an all-new network. Either way, one of the primary decisions you must make is what type of cable you will use. Copper cables have led the way for traditional computer networks but in recent years, an increase in the use of fiber cabling has been seen.Fiber Cables

Should your business build its network based on fiber technology? We think the answer is a resounding “yes”. But, we don’t want you to just take our word for it and we’re pretty sure your CEO won’t either. Instead, we want you to understand what a Fiber To The Office (FTTO) network can do for your business.

The Wonders—or Not—of Copper Cabling

To truly understand the benefits of fiber cabling, it is important to understand copper cabling. Copper rose to the top as the choice for computer networking professionals in part due to its affordable price tag. Even as fiber optic cables entered the marketplace, copper continued to dominate largely for this reason. In recent years, however, the rising cost of copper cabling coupled with the decreased cost of purchasing, installing and maintaining fiber cabling has all but eliminated this benefit.

Without a clear-cut cost benefit, the limitations of structured copper cabling have become more apparent to CEOs concerned with both performance and price, furthering the search for alternatives.

Among the problems noted with copper are:

Space Requirements
Copper can only transmit data up to roughly 100 meters. This requires multiple nodes to be placed throughout a building, taking up valuable space—and money.

High Energy Consumption
The hardware demands of a structured copper cable network necessitate additional hardware and infrastructure for cooling due to the level of heat produced. The heating and cooling both contribute to high energy use and costs.

Poor Expansion Options
Upgrades of a copper-based network require all new-cabling, making this option anything but a way of future-proofing your network.

Unpredictable Performance
Copper’s conductibility makes it highly susceptible to electrical interference, resulting in a higher-than-satisfactory risk of network interruptions.

When no other options existed, copper filled the bill well. Perhaps for some smaller businesses that have [Read more…] about Why Fiber Cabling Should Be Your Future – Today

Service Project: Rainbow Village

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If you know anything about CablesAndKits or have been around us for any amount of time, you know that service is at the heart of who we are – whether that is serving our customers, our community, or each other. The concept of serving means so much to us that we stated it as one of our core values:

Serve Others
We act with an “I’m for you” mentality and perpetually seek ways to assist others. We collaborate with humility and appreciation to positively impact our team, our customers, our vendors, and others within our sphere of influence.

This past month, CablesAndKits hosted the 2nd Annual Family Fun Day supporting Rainbow Village, a transitional housing community for homeless families with children. This organization is doing an incredible job of serving families by providing long-term solutions and support, and we loved having the opportunity to serve them as well. Parents and kids of all ages came out to enjoy the fun as CablesAndKits employees and families hosted various activities, games and contests. The day was filled with finger painting, jewelry making, corn hole, ladder ball, and [Read more…] about Service Project: Rainbow Village