Holiday 2007
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Bardissi Notes:

The staff and management of BARDISSI ENTERPRISES, would like to wish everyone a belated HAPPY THANKSGIVING. It is our hope that the day was filled with FAMILY, FOOD and FUN, with a good time had by all!!

 

The holidays are upon us and CHRISTMAS is almost here. If your Christmas gift wish list involves COMPUTERS, LAPTOPS or AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT, then give us a call and let us make your wish come true. We’ll get you exactly what you want and save you money as well.

 

If you PURCHASED a PC OR LAPTOP from the STORE and you’re waiting for them to come set it up, “WHY WAIT”. Just give US A CALL and WE WILL COME OUT and get your PC OR LAPTOP set up IMMEDIATELY.

 

BARDISSI READER RESPONSE

 

Dave from Lansdale, wrote us regarding our recent column on Vista. His comment is as follows:

 

In response to your statement: "However, you will be at a serious disadvantage in terms of security since Microsoft will also stop creating patches for operating system vulnerabilities, which is a real security concern..."

 

Although mainstream support does end in 2009, XP then goes into extended support till 2014.  This includes security patches.

 

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks for the information you provided regarding the past “Tech Talk” column on Vista. I would submit to you, that our column, on Vista and being prepared to upgrade was very accurate and still holds true. What you are referring to, in your response, is the aspect of “Hotfixes” which would only be provided on a user payment basis.

  

Hotfixes are actually compiled into security patches. Therefore, once into the extended support phase meaning after June 2009, Microsoft will only create "critical" patches for those systems. Hotfix's would be a paid situation. For the general public, unless under agreement from Microsoft, you will be in a situation

where if you’re not paying Microsoft for the hotfixs, then you will still be at risk since Microsoft will not be giving you all "security patches coming from hotfixes"

which many do. If you did not know, many of the service packs that Microsoft releases are a laundry list of hotfixes that come out in one shot hence the whole idea of a service pack.

 

Nonetheless, for the home environment and small to mid range businesses who will not pay Microsoft under a support contract for this "extended support" our recommendation is to stay with a product in "mainstream support". One other thing to note, just because Microsoft offers "extended product support" does not mean that all the other third party software and hardware manufacturers will offer that same support on their products. Again, that's why our recommendation is to stay with products in "mainstream support" meaning for Windows XP users not under contract with Microsoft for "extended support" take the June 2009 deadline very seriously.

 

We thank all of our “Tech Talk” readers, for reading our column and we appreciate your feed back. Feel free to correspond with us anytime as your opinions are well received and always relevant.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

 

ATTORNEY AT LAW JOHN J. MAIORIELLO AND DERRICK C. SOLOMON OF PRE-PAID LEGAL SERVICES will be giving a very important seminar on IDENTITY THIEF AND HOW YOU CAN PROTECT AGAINST IT. The seminar is titled “PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS & PERSONAL LIFE AGAINST IDENTITY THIEF”. Identity thief is one of the fastest growing areas of crime and it can affect anyone, anywhere at any time.

 

The seminar will take place on DECEMBER 13, 2007 AT 12:00 NOON. The location will be 121 IVY LANE, KING OF PRUSSIA, PA  19406. Please RSVP by DECEMBER 12, 2007, TO JOHN J. MAIORIELLO, ESQ. AT (610) 992-0222.

 

BARDISSI BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

 

This month’s business spotlight is on KISTLER TIFFANY BENEFITS and FRANCIS J. MCKENNA, Employee Benefits Consultant for the company in the tri-state area.

 

KISTLER TIFFANY BENEFITS is a full service, comprehensive developer of EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PROGRAMS. As Employer Benefits Program DEVELOPERS AND CONSULTANTS the company ensures the creation of an employee benefits program that will meet your company's goals.

 

You can be assured that FRANCIS J. MCKENNA and his team will evaluate your EXISTING PLAN DESIGN or develop and propose a new plan or plan ADMINISTRATION STRATEGY that meets YOUR COMPANY’S OBJECTIVES. As your KISTLER TIFFANY BENEFITS CONSULTANT, FRANCIS will work directly with you to deliver the best products at the MOST COMPETITIVE RATES, with unmatched skill and service.

 

“If your employee benefits package is lacking and is sending your employees packing”, then you need to give Francis a call and let him get your benefits package back on the ball”.  

 

Contact FRANCIS AT 484 321-5822 or you can email him at fran@ktbenefits.com. You will appreciate his help and commitment to serve you well.

 

♦         ♦         ♦         ♦         ♦

 

Keep checkin out BARDISSI TECH TALK every Monday, in THE REPORTER on the front page of the BUSINESS SECTION and get the latest information on what’s happening in the WORLD OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

 

 BARDISSI ENTERPRISES wants your business to have THE IT EDGE going into 2008. So we are offering YOU and any COMPANY’S you do BUSINESS with, a FREE SYSTEM DIAGNOSTIC. Just print out the GIFT CERTIFICATE and give it ANOTHER BUSINESS or use it YOURSELF. Give us a CALL and get a FREE SYSTEM REVIEW. You’ll be glad you did!! 

  

Bardissi Enterprises would like to welcome the following new companies who are now using our Managed Information Technology Solutions services for all their business and personal IT needs:

 

LAB TESTING, INC. – Hatfield, PA

VINTAGE COSMO, - Hatfield, PA

APTCOR COMMERCIAL REALTORS, - Lansdale, PA

 

Table of contents

 

Time to Plan for Vista is Now

 

Web Hot list - Websites to check out

 

Time to Plan for Vista is now

By George Bardissi, President Bardissi Enterprises

 

In the past, I have written about Vista and what you need to look for in order to successfully move to it. If you or your business have not already begun planning, which many have not, then now is the time to start getting your plan together for Vista. Many companies cycle computers and computer equipment in a piece meal fashion, meaning they buy as they need rather than buying all their equipment together and financing.

 

I have personally seen that companies are in the process of replacing old equipment gone bad or adding new equipment due to business growth and not understanding what to do when they call or go somewhere to order a system and all that is available to them is Vista! Well, let me actually clarify this. If you go to a retail store like a Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart, etc. you only have the option of buying a computer with Vista. If you were to call up a manufacturer such as Dell, HP/Compaq, IBM, etc., you can still order equipment that will ship with XP but that time to coming to a close very fast!

 

So the question is if you are still purchasing equipment with XP due to compatibility reasons or because you have not started your investigation process on moving to Vista, then be aware that your window to start planning, for the move, before the storm, is starting to close! What do I mean by this? Well, if you remember what we said last time Windows XP is slated to be discontinued, by Microsoft, in June of 2009 in terms of support meaning that Microsoft will no longer be working with, or programming and developing anything for XP. Running off of that timeline we are talking about 14 months remaining before your back is really against the wall.

Now let me also state this, as we said last time even if support ends for XP you can still continue using XP on your computer. However, you will be at a serious disadvantage in terms of security since Microsoft will also stop creating patches for operating system vulnerabilities which is a real security concern in terms of your data especially with the viruses and risks that grow more complex and stronger on the internet everyday.

 

As we draw nearer to the eventual discontinuation of the Microsoft XP operating system and the conversion to Vista, the question of anti – virus protection will become of greater concern. Anti-virus software will block, for the most part, what it already knows about. However, if someone or something where to find a new hole in the Windows software and introduce a new method to gain access to it or attack it after June 2009, you will be on your own! Today when Microsoft finds holes or vulnerabilities in their software they create a “patch” which is a piece of software that gets released approximately every Tuesday, of every week. The patches total function is to close the hole.

Where am I going with all of this? If you are going to spend your money on computer equipment just like anything else you would rather spend it wisely then spend it foolishly. Take the time now to investigate what you or your company needs to do in order to prepare for the not so distant future. Before you know it Vista will be knocking at your door step and I would rather be prepared for it verses having my back against the wall and feeling like its being crammed down my throat.

 

As a reminder, the simple list of things you need to do to move to Vista are the following. One, investigate all of your software packages in use throughout your company. Contact each of the vendors to find out if or when their software will be compatible. Two, audit all of your companies computer hardware to find out what you have and if it will be able to upgrade to and handle Vista. Three, sit down with your IT or computer people and assess all of the above information. Four, after you know your technical information and what needs to be done to move to the next level, sit down with yourself if you are a small business, or your financial department if you are a larger business. Develop a plan on how you would like to approach replacing all of the machines that are not going to be able to upgrade and need to be replaced, as well as the time to replace them. After you get all of this information, your company, if done correctly, will have its own timeline in order to move to the next operating system safely and successfully. The goal is to make sure that you are proactive and plan for the situation rather than let it creep up on you and then force you or your company to make rash and last minute choices that will cost much more than it would have if you had planned a head to begin with!
 

Web Hot list - Websites to check out

By Mike Bianchini - Network Technician Bardissi Enterprises

 

http://fileurls.com/ - Need to share a large file with someone that is too big to email. Try fileurls.com. You upload your file and it gives you a url to send to whom you need to send the file to.