As someone who works with both especially large and numerous files on a daily basis, “storage” is a very important issue. Working in a design studio, you quickly see how important it is to have sufficient storage to hold ALL the “live” files AND for adequate backups.
Although we do archive (to DVDs) and delete older projects periodically, it is quite staggering how many gigs of information we currently have in active use. As the company IT guy at Intrigue, it is my responsibility to make sure we have the storage space that we need and that all critical files are backed up on a regular basis. This is no small task as more files are created than deleted on a regular basis. This means that over time, our storage needs will always continue to increase. That requires a plan of action.
Yesterday, I had an interesting experience with an Apple Airport based wireless network. There’s a pre-existing network based on an Airport Extreme base station as well as an Airport Express, functioning as an extension to widen the reach of the network. This particular network was one I had set up a few years ago and it has been functioning just fine for the longest time. It’s had Macs connected via standard wired ethernet as well as using the wireless access.
But yesterday, a Dell laptop came to town. The goal was to get it online using the wireless, password protected, airport network. Sure, it could connect using an empty ethernet port on the network switch, but that’s the easy way out. With all this hi-tech wireless stuff, it should be able to login to the wireless network, right? All I needed was the password key for the network and then, voila! Well, that’s pretty straightforward, except for one problem.
Today, Intrigue is giving a big business presentation. We have a meeting with a potential client that we would really like to work with on an ongoing basis. Actually, we’ve already done a few small projects for this client before, but we’re interested in diversifying and increasing the work we do for them.
The basic premise of the presentation is to show the client what we at Intrigue do, and more importantly, CAN DO. Sometimes, even when a person knows you, it can be very beneficial to prepare a small presentation to package your services and talents. Our client allowed us the opportunity to come in and “show our stuff”. It was a very welcome moment as it would be wonderful to be working with this account on a regular basis.
However, the problem was that we had less than a week to prepare the presentation and a budget of ZERO. Well, ok then! We’re a creative group – this should be straightforward. All we needed was a plan. So the idea was to create a slideshow with some of our best work.
Am I the only one? With all of the hype and hoopla surrounding the electronic gadget of the century (aka, Apple’s iPhone), you’d think that everyone in the world had one by now. Just not including me.
It’s been out a couple of years now and it seems like everywhere you go, somebody is using an iPhone. Sure, there have been popular gadgets that have come and gone over the years – the Sony Walkman being a perfect example.
I remember those days (back in the ’80s) very well. Being a gadget fanatic, I watched how this one little device changed how people listen to their music. But I didn’t jump on the bandwagon when it was catching on “fire”. No, I waited a bit – I just didn’t see the rush to be on the cutting edge.
As the “tech support guy” for Intrigue, I do a lot of maintenance on the workstations for the art department. By no means should this imply that we have considerable downtime. Rather it’s mostly proactive or preventative maintenance that is intended to PREVENT downtime.
My philosophy from a system support perspective is to stay on top of things BEFORE molehills turn into mountains. This applies to whatever brand or type of equipment that might be at hand. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Windows box or the latest and greatest Mac. They will all develop issues over time that will need to be addressed and fixed. It’s like normal wear and tear that comes from driving a car. Over time, a car will get nicks, scratches and dings – that’s to be expected if it gets driven on a daily basis. Oil does need to be changed at regular intervals to prevent having the engine fry itself.
Same thing with computers. Just by running them on a daily basis for hours on end, they WILL develop a problem or two (or three) over time.
Just going to vent a little about a minor frustration regarding a feature of the new (to me) Leopard OS on the Mac. What’s bugging me is the fact that finding files is something that should be a “no brainer” for the ubiquitous application “Finder”, right? In the old days of the Macintosh, that was [...]
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