1.
Best Buy = Bad Deal
One golden rule every VAR and vendor on the planet should remember:
Those who live by the price die by the price. Just look at the market
troubles experienced by the likes of Best Buy, CompUSA and Dell.
http://crn.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=198001024
2.
NEW PRODUCT - CPU
Help now offers a new firewall appliance called the
Sentry Security Platform from Wiresoft that is American made and
American support. The Sentry provides granular
control over packets entering or leaving the network and can be
customized for a company’s needs. The Sentry includes Virus Protection
that scans inbound and outbound HTTP, FTP, POP3 and SMTP data streams.
There is also a Spam Blocker that eliminates virtually 100% of all SPAM
messages. The Sentry also offers seamless connectivity as well as
site-to-site tunneling via the builtin VPN support feature. A
revolutionary ANA system (Automated Network Administrator) monitors
24/7/365 and ensures that each Sentry has the latest virus signatures
and the latest software version and notifies the customer of problems.
The Sentry installs in less than 15 minutes and runs transparently in
front of an existing network. Seamless integration of the Sentry
protects any network: Windows, Mac or Linux and offers best-of-breed
software, hardware, and managed service at a fraction of the cost for
comparable capability. The Sentry's Three-year cost of ownership is the
lowest in the industry.
3.
CPU Help online Computer Hardware Store -
We now have a new online computer hardware store where you can order a new Desktop computer, Notebook
computer, file server, etc. with current hardware pricing. We also
have instructions to assist you in using our new online Computer
Hardware Store. The
CPU
Help Computer online hardware store makes it easy to configure
and order a desktop
computer system or notebook computer right from your own computer desktop
with the options of your choice along with the current day's pricing. All
of the computer systems are kept up to date with new systems and options
appearing on the configurator as they become available.
And remember, as always, 2nd Day shipping
on the
Notebook Computers is
FREE!.
4. UPS shipping:
UPS has changed their pricing to what they call a dimensional
weight structure. It's basically a sliding scale that says for "X" size
(length + girth), they charge a minimum required weight. In the old
system, you paid for "true weight" until a package reached a certain
size. In the new system, the size-to-minimum-weight requirement starts
earlier. The bottom line is that the size of our desktop shipping
containers now require a minimum 44 pound charge and servers under $2K
have been adjusted to 60 pounds.
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/prepare/dimweight2007.html
Our vendors checked with FEDex and UPS, using 33# box, $800 value, 25 x
21 x 16--shipped to Linn, MO and Vero Beach, FL. UPS was consistently
cheaper than FEDex--about $.50 on ground to Linn, about $3 on ground to
FL. Both sites showed that the box size made the shipping calculation
by dimensional weight instead of actual weight. Looks like both
shippers changed shipping calculation in January.
5.
INTEL Motherboards - It has been reported
that very few Intel motherboards now have an onboard serial port.
However, if you check Intel's website a serial port is listed. So far,
all checked motherboards do have an internal serial header which needs
an adaptor bracket to make it work.
6.
OFFICE PROFESSIONAL EDITION 2003 - NOTE:
NOT FULLY VISTA COMPATIBLE. It has been determined that the BCM
(Business Contact Manager) part of Outlook uses a type of SQL that
doesn't work with Vista. As far as has been determined, everything else
works fine.
7.
NEWS FROM EPSON - Epson America has settled
a class action lawsuit about its printers saying an ink cartridge is
empty when it wasn't:
http://www.epsonsettlement.com/Notice.htm
8.
MORE VISTA INFORMATION - You may be
prompted to activate Windows Vista on a computer on which Windows Vista
activation was not previously required.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;931573
After all the hype surrounding its January launch, Microsoft's new Vista
operating system has yet to brighten the outlook for PC makers and could
even lead to oversupplies for those who had built up inventory.
http://crn.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleId=198701022
According to a customer who has been working extensively with Vista,
it's "The perfect OS for a five year old." Possible advertising
point--You can still do XP. It's very hard to find XP from Dell, Best
Buy, and others. Looks like CPU Help have
XP available for another 9 months or so.
We will try to keep you up to date as the news becomes available.
Please feel free to check back often - Have a Great Day!
CPU Help, ltd. - Kansas City, MO 64119
http://www.cpuhelp.net