CablesAndKits Blog

It’s Friday—we made it! Today is National Dumpling Day, and honestly, is there a better way to wrap up the week than with comfort food? Steamed, fried, or soup-filled—what’s your dumpling style?

In This Issue: Introducing Estela Brill, Our New Director of Ecommerce! | Deal of the Day | RJ11 Shielded DSL Modem Cable | T620-MID3 Server Series | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Introducing Estela Brill, Our New Director of Ecommerce! ✨

Let’s give a warm welcome to Estela Brill, our newest Director of Ecommerce! Here’s a glimpse into what drives her and why we’re thrilled she’s joined the team.

About Estela: Born and raised in Miami, FL before moving to Atlanta during high school. After studying abroad, she attended the University of Maryland where she majored in Government & Politics, but life took her in a different direction. She’s now drawn to the world of Merchandising & Marketing.

Fun Fact: She is double-jointed in all her fingers.

Q&A with Estela

Q: What sparked your interest in tennis, and how’s your game coming along?
A: I’ve always wanted to learn how to play tennis! I love other racket sports like Raquetball and pickle ball and I figured now’s the time to learn! Tennis is teaching me patience more than anything because as soon as I get one thing, something else needs to be worked on.

Q: What’s your approach to mentoring and leading your team?
A: I believe in creating lanes and building moats around my team members so they can focus on deep work and innovation. I am also a big believer in not being afraid to experiment with ideas and “failing up” by learning through iteration. It’s important to me that my team feels empowered to question each other’s ideas and my own ideas! I believe this fosters a culture of innovation and critical thought.

Q: What do you hope to bring to the CK community through your role?
A: I aim to elevate the CablesAndKits customer experience by making it effortless for people to find the right equipment and expand their knowledge of network solutions, cabling, hardware, etc. Whether someone is a seasoned professional with specific requirements or newcomer exploring options, I want to ensure our digital platform delivers real value at every touchpoint.

We’re beyond excited to have Estela on board and can’t wait to see how she elevates the CK experience! Be sure to give her a warm welcome and stay tuned for the exciting initiatives she’ll lead to make shopping with us even easier and more enjoyable. ✨

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Deal of the Day

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Boost your internet connection with this 7Ft RJ11 Shielded Modem Cable, engineered for DSL setups requiring reliable, high-speed data transmission. Designed to deliver speeds up to 10x faster than standard phone cables, this premium RJ11 cable features a durable, ultra-flexible transparent jacket and corrosion-resistant gold-plated connectors for maximum performance and longevity.

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Learning Center Article – Why the T620-MID3 Server Series is Perfect for Local Organizations Running Enterprise-Class Operations

The Dell PowerEdge T620 provides datacenter computing features that fit easily in a small business or satellite office, or even a home office that requires some serious horsepower and is planning to expand. Configurations include:

• One or two advanced Intel Xeon processors that support modern features such as virtualization
• Large hard drive storage and memory capacity for great performance now and the storage-hungry needs of tomorrow
• Reliability features including RAID options and hot-swappable drives, fans, and power supplies
• Remote management capabilities that work proactively to ensure you get the most out of your system, including uptime

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• ‘Cyborg’ beetles being developed to help in rescue efforts. 
• Amazon to refund millions of Prime customers in $2.5 billion FTC settlement.
• ​​United Airlines has received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification to operate its first mainline aircraft equipped with Starlink Wi-Fi.
• Panera Bread is celebrating fall with six new menu items — including the all-new Crème Brulee Latte and Harvest Medley Chicken Salad.

Hello, Thursday! It’s National Comic Book Day, so if you’re a fan of superheroes, storylines, or stunning art, today’s for you! Got a favorite comic or graphic novel?

In This Issue: A Classic Weekend | Deal of the Day | HDMI 90-Degree Adapter | Basics of Network Switches | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – A Classic Weekend

Happy Thursday everyone!

This weekend was a classic one, even if it was a little busy! After classes wrapped up on Friday, my boyfriend and I drove back to our hometown to spend the weekend with his family. We had plenty to celebrate with his mom’s birthday and my end of GMAT stress, so we ordered pizza, Caesar salad, and Nothing Bundt Cakes for dessert! It was delicious and it’s always nice to have a nice relaxing meal with family.

That night, I also worked at a wedding at the venue where I worked throughout high school. I don’t get to go back very often during the school year, but they needed help, I was already home, and it’s always fun to return. Weddings are a whirlwind of hustle and bustle, but they remind me how much I love the energy and excitement of it all. The bride was sweet enough to leave us with flowers at the end of the night, so now I have beautiful fresh flowers brightening up my space!

On Sunday, it was time to head back to campus and settle into our usual study routine. The day was full of errands, work, and football. It was a lot of sitting, which I don’t love, but I’m grateful I had the time to catch up on assignments and get ahead. With the UGA-Alabama game coming up this weekend, I wanted to clear my to-do list as much as possible since I have tickets to the game! Fingers crossed for another win and nice weather!

Rachel

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Deal of the Day

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Product Spotlights & Updates

Optimize your HDMI cable setup with this compact HDMI Male to Female 90-Degree Adapter. Perfect for tight spaces, wall-mounted displays, or rear-facing ports, this adapter lets your HDMI cable bend at a right angle without damaging the cable or stressing the port. Featuring a standard 19-pin HDMI connection with gold-plated connectors, it supports resolutions up to 4K, as well as 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.

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Learning Center Article – Understanding the Basics of Network Switches

Networking is a big topic. In fact, it’s too big for a single conversation. In order to distill such a massive concept into manageable bites, it’s best to look at one component of a network at a time. This time around, that bite is network switches. They come in many shapes and sizes, but you can navigate through the field of options pretty easily when you break switch features into three categories.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Starting in October, Meta will open new stores where people can try its upcoming display-equipped smart glasses, along with other smart glasses and VR hardware. 
• Google is rolling out its bold, colorful Material 3 Expressive design to the Pixel Watch app, updating the interface and icon with smoother animations and a look that better fits the watch’s circular face.
• ​Uber Eats is rolling out “Fresh Days,” offering up to 50% off groceries like fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy in multiple countries.
• Starbucks will cut about 900 jobs and close its worst performing stores in the US as well as some in the UK as part of a cost-saving restructure.

Midweek check-in! It’s National Women’s Health & Fitness Day—a great reminder to move your body and take care of yourself. What’s your go-to wellness activity?

In This Issue: Stormy Skies, Cozy Vibes | Deal of the Day | Loopback Fiber Optic Adapter | 100G Transceivers | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Stormy Skies, Cozy Vibes

Hello CK friends!

It’s midweek. How’s your week going so far?

My weekend was a bit quiet because of the typhoons here in the Philippines. Not just one, but two! I’m grateful for the privilege of working remotely, especially during seasons like this when going out can be risky. My prayers are with those who still have to work outside despite the strong winds, heavy rains, and constant flooding.

On the brighter side, typhoon season also means more time for diamond painting. Pair that with a bowl of hot, milky champorado, cozy weather, and a comfy sofa, and that makes for a pretty good weekend in my book.

How’s the start of fall on your side?

Kat

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Deal of the Day

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The SC Multimode OM3 50/125 Loopback Fiber Optic Adapter is an essential tool for testing and troubleshooting in fiber optic networks. Designed for applications such as LAN, CATV, and telecom environments, this loopback device enables technicians to isolate faults and verify signal integrity by looping the signal back into the network.

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Learning Center Article – All About 100G Transceivers and Uses in Data Centers

As networking continues to evolve, it has become apparent that data centers are going to do all of the heavy lifting, regardless of who the network serves. In fact, that’s already the case. Networking hubs handle virtually all digital traffic before requests eventually filter down to individual users. Because of this, data center networking is only going to demand more from its hardware and design. Meeting the needs today and tomorrow will require 100G transceivers.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• ​Walmart’s six-day sales event kicks off Oct. 7 with deals on toys, electronics, decor, and more. All shoppers can join, but Walmart+ members get early access starting Oct. 6. 
• Disney is raising the price of Disney+, Hulu subscriptions next month.
• ​Spirit Airlines to furlough 1,800 flight attendants amid bankruptcy.
• Chick-fil-A is opening a drinks-focused spinoff called Daybright in the coming months, with its first location set for Hiram, GA, about 30 miles from Atlanta.

Take a breather—it’s Tuesday. It’s Innergize Day, a little reminder to recharge your energy. How do you reset when life gets busy?

In This Issue: Running into a Great Weekend | Deal of the Day | LC/APC Singlemode Simplex Fiber Optic Connector | How to Choose a Rackmount Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Running into a Great Weekend

Good morning & Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is having a great week so far!

My weekend was pretty low key, but still a lot of fun! I’ll officially start training for an upcoming half marathon the week of 10/6, but I’ve been trying to build my base in preparation for that, so I woke up Saturday morning and went out for a 6-mile run which felt great! I slacked off on running during the summer, so it’s fun to build back up and start doing some runs longer than 3 miles!

After that, I spent the day with my youngest brother. We hung out in the town we live in, exploring downtown and visiting our town museum. It’s something I had never done before, but he wanted to check it out, so we did, and it was actually quite impressive! Aside from that, we did some shopping, eating, and just enjoyed walking around enjoying the day!

On Sunday we went to church with a friend. It was her church’s homecoming weekend, so they had quite a crowd for a small church! All in all, it was a wonderful weekend! Hoping to carry that into the week!

Rebecca

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Deal of the Day

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The LC/APC Singlemode Simplex Fiber Optic Connector – 3.0mm Green (10 Pack) is engineered for precision and reliability in high-speed fiber optic networks. This connector minimizes signal loss and back reflection, making it ideal for long-distance and high bandwidth singlemode applications.

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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:

• Pfizer to buy weight-loss drug developer Metsera for up to $7.3 billion. 
• T-Mobile COO Srini Gopalan will take over as CEO from Mike Sievert starting this November.
• ​Google rolls out its major “Gemini for Google TV” update, debuting first on TCL QM9K devices before expanding to more later this year.
• Starbucks has launched a new limited-edition drinkware collection featuring five glow-in-the-dark, textured designs in black, purple, and white, priced from $14.95 to $29.95.

Happy Monday! Today marks the Autumnal Equinox, the official start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. As the days and nights balance out, it’s a good time to reset and welcome the new season. 🍂 What’s your favorite part about fall?

In This Issue: Say Hello to Matthew Westlake – Our New Account Manager! | Deal of the Day | Loopback Fiber Optic Adapter | Tips for Maintaining Your Server | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – Say Hello to Matthew Westlake – Our New Account Manager! ✨

We’re excited to introduce Matthew Westlake, who recently joined us as an Account Manager at CablesAndKits. Here’s a quick snapshot of who he is and what makes him unique:

About Matthew: Military brat who grew up mostly on Mainland Japan, passionate about art and soccer, and a proud father of four.

Fun Fact: An announcer for GA Indy Wrestling

Q&A with Matthew

Q: Where do you and your family live today?
A: I did most of my growing up in Mainland Japan, but my parents are now in Warner Robins, GA, while the rest of my extended family is spread across Miami, Florida; Lima, Peru; and parts of Colorado. My wife, our four kids, and I have made our home here in Commerce, GA.

Q: What’s one part of Japanese culture you still carry with you?
A: I really learned the true meaning of trust and family while I was there (both during my time there as a child and while I was stationed in Okinawa as a US Marine) and carry those to this day.

Q: Outside of work, wrestling, art, and soccer, is there another passion or hobby that really defines you? A: The passion that defines me is my family. I would be nothing without them and strive to be who they would be proud of everyday. To not sound so corny, I would probably have to say that movie watching is a close second. I love SCI-Fi and cheesy 80s horror movies like Gremlins and Critters.

Q: How did you get started as an announcer for GA Indy Wrestling? A: I got started in GA Indy Wrestling by taking a chance and getting into a training camp in Thomason GA, through there I was trained and began working matches. I couldn’t continue to have my children scared for my safety but really loved the industry so I began announcing at a promotion that was based out of Athens GA. From there I was able to work with 8 different promotions, announcing old school legends like Wildfire Tommy Rich, Billy Gunn of the New Age Outlaws and Degeneration X and Scott Steiner of the WCW NWO faction to be able to announce a sanctioned TNA Wrestling Internet Championship Match.

Q: What do you hope to bring to the CK community through your role? A: I hope that I can help re-engage former customers and help the business grow in my role here at CK.

✨ We’re thrilled to have Matthew on board and can’t wait for you to get to know him more!

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Deal of the Day

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The LC Multimode OM3 50/125 Loopback Fiber Optic Adapter is a reliable solution for testing and troubleshooting fiber optic networks. Commonly used in LAN, CATV, and telecom environments, this loopback adapter sends a return signal to identify and isolate connection issues. With 500-cycle durability and a wide operating temperature range, it is ideal for test environments and lab setups.

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Learning Center Article – Tips for Maintaining Your Server

Servers are powerful in every sense of the word, in fact, they can hum for 24 hours a day, seven days a week without having any issues. However, their efficiency can be reduced drastically or even cut short completely if they are deprived of proper maintenance. You can avert server failure or a major disaster by simply having a regular check-up on them.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Microsoft is testing a new feature that lets users set MP4 or MKV files as live desktop backgrounds in the latest Windows 11 builds. 
• Google is rolling out Gemini inside Chrome with tab awareness and a sidebar assistant that can take actions for you. Another new perk: users can now create and share custom versions of Gemini with others.
• ​​​Hurricane Gabrielle rapidly intensified in warm water in the central Atlantic far from land, becoming the second major hurricane of the 2025 season.
• Oracle named insiders Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as co-CEOs, replacing Safra Catz who was named vice chair of the board after 11 years at the helm.

Cheers to a week well done! Take a moment to celebrate your wins—big or small. What’s something you accomplished this week that you’re proud of?

In This Issue: A Week of Surprises and Rainbows | Deal of the Day | Cable Plate with Flexible Opening 2-Gang | VLAN | News to Start Your Day

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The CK Daily – A Week of Surprises and Rainbows

Fri-nally! The weekend is almost here.

This week has been exciting! I had the chance to chat with a new CK team member, and I’m thrilled to introduce her to you next week in our CK Daily. As someone who loves exploring new ways to upskill, I know I’ll learn a lot about marketing from her.

I also had an extended birthday celebration as my brother surprised us by coming home after six months away. Seeing him was wonderful, though we were concerned when he mentioned a severe headache before traveling. He went for a check-up and was referred to a psychiatrist, which worried us further. His stress comes not from his job itself, but from some colleagues after they learned their boss is considering him for a promotion. Living alone seems to add to it. We comforted him, shared stress management tips, and reminded him he can always call us when he needs support.

Before he left, we also bought his first investment, a motorcycle, which we plan to upgrade soon for extra income. In my area, tricycles are a primary means of transportation, and our plan is to build one using this motorcycle. While we’re still breaking it in, we have time to save up for the sidecar, which we hope to buy within the year. 🙏🏻

I truly believe that after the rain comes the rainbow. Just pray, trust the process, and keep moving forward.

Wishing you a relaxing Friday and an even better weekend!

Kat

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Deal of the Day

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Product Spotlights & Updates

The 2-Gang Cable Plate with Flexible Opening in white is a practical and stylish solution for organizing and concealing low-voltage cables behind your TV, entertainment center, or workstation. Designed with a flexible rubber grommet, this plate allows you to pass multiple cables through the wall while maintaining a clean and finished look.

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Learning Center Article – What Is a VLAN?

As you get deeper into networking, you’ll learn about additional tools and techniques that grant you more freedom and flexibility. As networks grow in capacity and complexity, freedom and flexibility become invaluable. On that journey, one of your most valuable tools is the VLAN. It’s a way to group devices in a network pretty much however you want, giving you more control over the flow of information across your whole network.

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Today’s News to Start Your Day:

• Amazon rolls out QoL reading upgrades for 11th & 12th-gen Kindles. 
• ​Panasonic aims to develop groundbreaking EV battery in about two years.
• Queues form in London as Apple’s iPhone 17 goes on sale, boasting big upgrades inside.
• ​Starbucks’ Apple Crisp beverages will return on October 14, 2025, for a limited time and while supplies last.