A Business Computer Consulting Blog

On Monday Apple kicked off it’s WWDC, the highlight of which was a couple of announcements regarding the iPhone.

First, the iPhone 2.0 software will be available as a free download to all existing iPhone users and includes full activesync support.  Along with activesync, Apple is also offering a hosted sync service through a company they acquired called Me.com.  This will allow users who do not have exchange to sync their iPhone with Apple Mail, iCal, and the Address Book wirelessly and in real-time.

Additionally, the new 3G iPhone was announced.  This version comes with the 2.0 software preinstalled, is slightly thinner than the original iPhone, includes a GPS chip, and supposedly boasts better battery life (this one I’m not so sure about).  Other than 3G compatibility the major announcement was the new pricing.  The 8GB iPhone will be priced at $199 with the 16GB at $299.

Both of these will be available on July 11^th and I imagine that many of our customers that have been holding off based on our advice regarding IMAP syncing will now definitely want one.  In watching the demo the activesync configuration looks very similar to that on windows mobile phones, however, there was no mention of how to integrate a self signed ssl cert (might be a good time to push any customers getting one to purchase a public cert).

Just some information because I am sure it will be discussed frequently…

Job Description:

This is a full time, senior level consulting position requiring expert knowledge of the entire Microsoft product line for small and medium size businesses. This is a fast-paced environment, and those who join the team will be expected to have a very strong personal drive to succeed, to be able to contribute independently within a close team, and to be rewarded for their effort. The successful candidate will join our team operation within the Dallas area, providing both project and support services.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

As a representative of BNC, you will be responsible for:

- Working as a consultant to our clients to support primarily Microsoft networks, desktops, and servers.

- Managing system and/or network issues to resolution within our client base.

- Managing new installations and migrations.

- Identifying ways to improve our clients’ systems and infrastructure (upgrades to hardware, software, and network).

You must:

- Possess strong technical abilities and troubleshooting skills.

- Be able to effectively operate within set guidelines, policies, and procedures.

- Have excellent communication skills.

- Have exceptional customer facing skills.

- Have a high degree of demonstrated professionalism.

- Be able to excel in a fast paced team environment.

Qualifications:

- MCSE 2000/2003 and proven experience working as a systems/network engineer

- Progressive work experience in desktop support followed by a systems administrator position in 2-4 different network environment

- Previous consulting experience with small and medium size businesses is a plus

Compensation:

- Salary Negotiable

- 401K Plan

- Travel Reimbursement

- Cell Phone and Laptop for Business Use - Health Insurance- 3 Weeks Personal Time Per Year

Do not miss this great opportunity! Please send your resume to careers@bncsystems.com.

As part of ongoing efforts to improve Amicus products and address issues as they arise, Amicus has now posted 3 new patches for Amicus Attorney 2008. 

For Premium Edition 2008:

A cumulative Patch addressing a variety of issues has been posted for download from the Consultant’s site. As with Version 7 Patches, it requires manual installation at both the Server and the Workstations. The download, instructions and details of the fixed issues are available from:http://www.amicusattorney.com/var/cons_tech_downloads_pe08.asp Additionally, an updated Amicus.dot is available from the public download page. It contains updated macros that will resolve an issue occurring when using the Save and Add function after generating a document template that was originally converted from a version prior to 7. The download and instructions are available from:http://www.amicusattorney.com/support/downloads/support_dl_08pe.html 

For Small Firm Edition 2008:

A Patch addressing several Outlook link issues has been posted for download from the Consultant’s site. This Patch also requires manual update of Amicus Administrator and each Team Member Workstation. The download, instructions and a list of the fixed issues are available from:http://www.amicusattorney.com/var/cons_tech_downloads_SFE08-outlook.asp

The respective Known Issues and Knowledge Base for Amicus Attorney 2008 have also been updated.

The disco-era File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is making a comeback, but not in a good way  spammers are now using the old-school file transfer technology to serve up bot malware, and even as a backdoor into some enterprises that neglect to lock down their oft-forgotten FTP servers. Researchers at F-Secure have spotted a new wave of exploits that use FTP  rather than a malicious URL, or an email attachment  to deliver their malware payloads because few gateways scan for FTP attachments these days.

Read more here - http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/250169260/article.pl

Okay, this may make your brain hurt!

On application installed instances of SQL Server 2005 Express or Embedded edition, you cannot connect to them or manage them with commandline or SQL management studio tools.

But you can connect, using windows authentication, if you set the server\instance to: \\.\pipe\mssql$microsoft##ssee\sql\query

It’s kind of important because if the server isn’t backing up the embedded app dbs, the transaction logs will overrun all your disk space. And the OS/Veritas can’t back up the instance because they don’t know about the \\.\pipe\mssql$microsoft##ssee\sql\query connection string…

Sharepoint and other web applications that use the embedded SQL have their own web-based backup/restore tools that talk to SQL, but at least in Sharepoint, there is no scheduling component for this as of WSS V3 (possibly in MOSS or Sharepoint 2007).

You may want to check your backup start times - on two different servers, BackupExec changed the job start time by an hour.�

Recently we had the error “DNE installation requires reboot first. Please run this install again after restarting the computer.” while trying to install Cisco VPN client on an XP (SP2) box. Even after several reboots the same error message came up!

Per DNE, the way to resolve this issue is as follows -

1. Uninstall the Cisco client

2. Reboot

3. Go to the website http://www.deterministicnetworks.com/Downloads/dneupdate.asp and download the update

4. Install and reboot - this will upgrade DNE to the latest version

5. Reinstall the Cisco VPN client - it will just install the Cisco plugin, it won’t install an older version of DNE

We’d like to welcome our newest client, Denver Industrial Sales & Service, Co.  DISSCO has supplied quality material, parts and customer service to the Rocky Mountain Region since 1949.  Their staff is well-trained and has over 100 years of combined experience in the construction and material manufacturing industries.  Take the time to check them out at www.dissco.net.

We’d like to take this blog to welcome a few more new customers we have been given the opportunity to work with -

Sounds True - your direct source for audio courses, books, videos, and music for personal and spiritual transformation. Please visit their website at www.soundstrue.com.

Impact Legal Technologies - helping to effectively manage the power of your legal information with document strategies. Check out www.impactlegaltech.com for more information.

Worldwide Interactive Services - provides voice and internet based solutions that connect people and information. Their website is www.w-w-i-s.com.

St. John Chrysostom Episcopal Church - a Christian community for anyone seeking the love of God and fellowship of others. For more information, please check out www.stjohngolden.org.

JWA Financial Group - an independent financial advisory firm specializing in direct-pay, fee only financial planning and portfolio management. To learn more, visit www.jwafinancialgroup.com.

Gomez Floor Covering, Inc. - offers many types of commercial flooring including tile, hardwood, vinyl products, carpet, and specialty products. Please take a look at their website, www.gomezfc.com.

Now you may legally downgrade Vista Business & Ultimate OEM to XP Pro! Please visit this site for more information:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/f/4/5f4c83d3-833e-4f11-8cbd-699b0c164182/royaltyoemreferencesheet.pdf