Some Stuff

Here's just some random stuff for ya ...

• Back to Dell Laptops
  I've switched us back to Dell for laptops.  We've had a bad rash of hardware issues with the Lenovo's I got last year.  We've also found that they require more user training ... the access connection tool is sweet, but it's not intuitive.  So it's back to Latitude D830's as our standardized laptop. 
  
  
• We drop Symantec and Webroot for Sophos
  As we were gearing up for implementing Vista, I took a close look at our anti-malware solutions (Symantec and Webroot).  We evaluated several other solutions and narrowed it down to Microsoft's Forefront Client Security and Sophos Endpoint Security.  I wanted a solution that would give us a single interface to manage all things client virus/spyware related.  Forefront was a beast on backend requirements and it was still in RC1 when we were testing it.  Sophos in comparison didn't require all sorts of backend beef and has been around for years.  I know many giant school systems using Sophos and their IT guys always give it good reviews.  Long story short ... we're using and liking Sophos.  I got a killer deal at under $11/PC.  Sophos is very resource friendly and the console is also easy to navigate to manage/push/update end clients.  Sophos can also manage client firewall settings and block file types from launching ... handy if you don't want certain apps being loaded/installed.  The new version 8, now in beta, even includes NAC ... nice!  The other nifty feature is that your licensing includes at home use rights.  So all your staff can install Sophos at home if they want for free.
  (yes yes, Macs don't need to run malware software ... yet.  When it becomes profitable to do so Macs will be targeted).
  
  
• Done with Facebook
  I've pretty much given up on Facebook.  My account is still out there and my blog gets pulled into it, and I will respond to messages people leave, but I'm not go to do anything more in Facebook.  Not enough ROI for the time.
  
  
• Reduced Blog Reading
  Along the lines of Facebook, I've cut my blog reading back to ~10 blogs I try to check daily.  The rest of the list just piles up for a while until I get some spare time.  At least during this season in my life blog reading has taken a back seat.
  
  
• We've started watching LOST
  All my friends are big LOST fans, but since I didn't get in on the ground floor I've not bothered to watch.  Now that you can watch, for FREE, all the past episodes via abc.com my wife and I decided to see what all the fuss is about.  The HD streaming from abc.com is sweet!  I installed the abc client on the macbookpro, connected a DVI-HDMI cable to our 30" HD Sony and it looks amazing.  Yes, my wife and I are now hooked on LOST :-)  We watch an episode or 2 every night ... and are now just starting season 3.  What a great husband/wife show ... action, drama, suspense, romance, mystery ... actually I think my wife is more hooked than I am.  I wish you could skip the commercials in the stream, but alas no.  For free HD streaming I can live with annoying commercials ... for now.  I hope all the networks get on this free HD stream bandwagon.
  
  
• Goodbye Cable?
  Recently Comcast yanked The Discovery Channel from their basic cable package ... which has made me very ticked.  The only real reason to have cable for our family was Discovery ... GRRRR!!!  I'm bummed to miss some of our favorite shows, but I can't see forking out an additional $ 35+ per month.  So I plan to dump cable, dump Tivo and build my own PVR.  More on that later.

Comments

[Dave]

My wife and I got hooked on Lost via ABC.com as well. I installed Safari AdBlock and discovered that it blocks the commercials...so now we watch Lost in HD commercial free. I don't understand why this works but it does (as long as you're running Leopard).

[David Drinnon]

GOOD FOR YOU POWELL!!! Simplicity is key for the technologist.

[Bill]

Jason,

Do you have a contact with Sophos? I would love to talk to them and get some pricing.

[carl]

I never have anything to contribute to the conversation but I wanted to let you know that I enjoy your blog. When you head a small fellowship, you wear lots of hats, so the fact that you talk about things I have no time to research really helps.

[phil stokes]

hey Jason i'm right there with ya on comcast! they just keep going downhill fast! luckily we have extended basic so discovery hasn't been pulled from our lineup yet. when it does thought we plan on switching to DirecTV. its worth a little extra money if you ask me!

[Tom Templin]

Isn't Discovery still on cable 36?

[Stacie]

I've gotta say I love LOST! It's amazing...

I have a question. Do you guys have different levels when it comes to laptops? Or do you use the Latitude D830's as your standard for everybody?