Recent Blog Posts
The Charged-Up History of Electricity As one might imagine, wires have been getting in people?s way since electricity was a widely adopted thing. This was one of the conundrums that Nikola Tesla, the underappreciated inventor and engineer, spent a considerable amount of his life trying to solve. Eventually, he devised a device that would leverage magnetic fields to transfer electricity, a device we know today as the Tesla coil. Unfortunately, some guerilla marketing from his electric rival, Thomas Alva Edison, turned the public opinion away from Tesla?s approach and towards Edison?s. Basically, Edison took a murderous circus elephant named Topsy that was to be put down and volunteered to do it with Tesla?s electricity. However, not even the film Edison produced of Topsy being exposed to alternating current (a key facet to Tesla?s European-inspired approach) was quite enough to prevent AC from becoming the standard. Eventually, Tesla?s coil was improved upon further. It ultimately found a place in contemporary radar systems. Yet, even as the technology became more powerful, it was difficult for a market to be found wherein to use it. This had the apparent effect of wasting the work done by the people of multiple private-sector businesses, as well as NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy. Enter the Smartphone One of the biggest obstacles to the progress of wireless charging was the fact that, while wireless charging is logically connected to mobile devices, there was a lack of truly mobile devices until recent years. Cellular phones changed that, as the device was now meant to be fully portable, or in other words, mobile. Other devices quickly followed suit with charging capabilities. However, even this revitalization of wireless charging due to mobile phones couldn?t change one fact: there was always going to need to be a wire. Even the most recent wireless chargers need to be plugged in before they will work, and really, what?s the real difference between plugging in a device, and setting it down just so? What it Means to Really Be Wireless In order for any technology that we develop to be marketable, it?s pretty much required to meet two key criteria: it has to work, and it shouldn?t do too much damage to the user. While this might seem like a relatively low bar, that bar has yet to be met, or even a product introduced that tries. This lack of trying doesn?t reach quite all the way up the chain, however. Companies like Energous in Silicon Valley, Ossia from Bellevue, Washington, and uBeam from Santa Monica, California, have all worked on technologies that do meet the criteria outlined at the beginning of this section. As they find more success in developing uncoupled power solutions, a new paradigm takes form. Someday, it may not be uncommon to see wireless charging spreading to devices other than smartphones. More and more IoT devices, like wearables, as well as medical devices, like hearing aids, may someday not need a dedicated charge cycle during which it can?t be used. However, until then, we will all have to wait. Until that day comes, wireless charging will either be ineffective or underutilized? but what devices would you like to be able to charge wirelessly in the future? Tell us which and why in the comments!
Voice over Internet Protocol Gone are the days when you would be tethered to your desk using a corded phone. Nowadays, voice chat applications can be downloaded and installed on mobile devices, desktops, or laptops so that users can make or receive calls to their work number on their own personal devices. From a communication standpoint, you simply can?t beat Voice over Internet Protocol, as it allows you to cut out your old phone lines and replace them with services that run on your Internet connection. Since VoIP apps work on mobile devices, communication can happen either in-house or on the go, making it a valuable communication tool. Instant Messaging What about situations where you need an immediate answer on something important, and it can?t wait for an email but it?s not worth making a phone call over? Instant messaging is valuable for this purpose, as it allows your users to communicate in mere seconds without feeling like they are distracting anyone or pulling them away from something important. Instant messaging applications can be used on just about any mobile device, so they can be valuable tools to stay in communication during collaborative projects. Shared Cloud Applications If you?re using cloud storage, you can collaborate on projects quite easily. This is thanks to cloud-based productivity suites like Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. For example, you can work on documents in real time, and they are updated for every other user that is working on it. This helps you edit documents, update spreadsheets, and work on presentations with everyone else who needs to be involved. Plus, information, data, and applications can be accessed on any connected device, allowing for even more flexibility and connectivity than before. This makes communication and collaboration much easier in the long run. Unified communications and cloud software solutions are great ways to ensure your employees are always connected in a plethora of ways, all of which allow them to get in touch with each other whenever it?s needed. To learn more about unified communications, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.
Here are four topics that you will want to consider when designing and implementing a data backup system. Know What Data You?re Backing Up The biggest question that you will have to ask yourself is how much of your data you?re going to back up. Of course, the answer should always be ?as much as possible.? Having said that, any legal obligations you have for specific compliance regulations must be prioritized, as left unchecked they could cost your business even more in lost revenue as you may be subject to fines and other expenses. Ensure Adequate Security Practices One of the most dangerous backup security practices is to keep them stored on an in-house infrastructure that?s vulnerable to being compromised by external threats. If a hacker can infiltrate your network, it?s likely that they can also infiltrate any unprotected data backups that you have in place. While it?s helpful to have an on-site backup that can be used in the heat of the moment, it?s more effective to keep your backups stored in an off-site data center that is encrypted and protected properly. Know Where Backups Are Stored One of the most critical parts of data backup is where you?re storing your backups. While it?s convenient to store them on-site, you risk damages to them. We recommend that you follow the 1-2-3 data backup rule. You keep three copies of your data in total–one on-site for easy access, and two off-site, either in a secure off-site data center or in the cloud. Remember, the best failsafe for your business? data infrastructure is to have copies of it somewhere where they can reliably be restored. Test the Reliability of Your Systems Speaking of reliability, your backup systems are useless if they don?t work as intended. The last thing you want is to experience a data loss incident and then fail to restore your data when it?s needed most. You should frequently test your business? backups so that you can be confident that they work as intended. Otherwise, you?re simply flirting with disaster, at the mercy of what boils down to luck and hope. White Mountain IT Services can equip you with a Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution that is designed to take frequent backups and store them in safe and secure off-site environment for rapid recovery in a moment?s notice. To find out how you can take advantage of this great solution, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
What is Big Data? The modern-day data revolution is often referred to as big data. Big data is much more than just the data itself; rather, it?s the analysis of this data that matters. If you keep track of how your data changes over time, you?ll be able to better adapt your business practices to meet the changing needs of the industry. These changes mean that businesses are going to have to take an analytical approach to improve operations, and data is the key to unlocking this untapped potential. By taking advantage of big data, you?ll be able to get the most out of your budget and workforce, as well. Small organizations are finally starting to understand data analytics and why they are so important, even if their needs are somewhat simpler than large corporations. Small businesses just simply don?t have the assets to implement strategies as effectively as a large company, or they just don?t have the processes put in place to properly analyze and quantify the data. Even if they are using similar solutions as larger enterprises, it all comes down to whether they know what they are getting out of the solution. There are two questions that need to be asked before you commit to big data, and they are the following: Why haven?t more small businesses implemented big data initiatives? What would it take to get your company?s data to work with you? Small Businesses with Big Data Small businesses have traditionally been major proponents of new technologies, and the reason for this is that they often need them to stay competitive. Thanks to innovations in data analytics, smaller organizations are looking at alternative ways to ensure that their technology efforts aren?t wasted on solutions that don?t offer value. Instead of investing in technology solutions just because it?s a major hit in their industry, they are instead looking at services that provide more practical and customized use for their particular organization. By taking advantage of the right technology, small companies can implement solutions at a moment?s notice. Since they are flexible enough to make decisions on the fly, they don?t have to worry about stepping on anyone?s toes because they didn?t go through the proper channels to implement a new solution. This type of agility allows small businesses to look at data and make decisions much more quickly and efficiently. It just goes to show that you don?t have to be a large organization or enterprise to effectively listen to the what the data tells you. Make Investments in What Matters While it?s great to identify that you need to implement a full-scale big data solution for your organization, it doesn?t matter unless you actually do it. No matter what your business decides to implement for analytics, you?ll inevitably need to invest a considerable amount of time and capital into it. Big data can help your business know when to run promotions, how to react to consumers, and how to judge the value received from your technology investments. Numbers make things much more cut and dry, and allow for a better way to measure value. White Mountain IT Services can help your business better take advantage of technology solutions. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
What the Hard Drive Does The hard drive is one of the computer?s primary devices. Without it, there could be no data storage on the device–at least, not permanently. The computer?s operating system and hardware drivers will typically be installed on the hard drive, as well as any programs, data, and media. Having a large hard drive means that you?ll experience fewer issues with storing all of your data on it. Hard drives typically come in two different types: the traditional hard disk drive (HDD), and the solid-state drive (SSD). How Hard Drives Work The details of how hard drives work will vary depending on which type of drive it is. They are as follows: HDD: A hard disk drive uses several internal components to store data, including the disk controller, the platter, the read/write arm, and the actuator. The disk controller communicates with the rest of the device as to how the data coming in and going out will be dispersed. Guided by the controller, the actuator will position and maneuver the read/write arm over the spinning platter. The platter is where all of the drive?s data is stored in binary code based on the platter?s magnetic polarities. These polarities are then rewritten and read according to the read/write arm. SSD: A solid state drive runs not on moving parts, but on flash memory. This means that they are less prone to damages, much quieter overall, and able to function without nearly as much power. They are the favored memory device found in laptops and mobile devices. Of course, these benefits generally come with a higher price tag, but this inconvenience has lessened somewhat in recent years. What?s the Difference? The biggest difference between HDD and SSD comes from their origin stories. The HDD first hit the market back in 1956 through the ingenuity of IBM, while the SSD was initially developed by SanDisk in 1991. Flash-based SSD also became a thing in 1995 thanks to the developers at M-Systems. There is also a major difference in the overall longevity of each storage method, as the moving parts of the HDD make them more prone to a shorter lifespan. Which One is Better? Depending on your needs, you?ll need to pick one of the two types of devices. The HDD needs stability more than anything else, but it?s more affordable than the alternative. On the other hand, SSD is primarily used for mobile devices like laptops due to their overall durability. In general, if you can afford SSD, you want to go with it. Do you need further help understanding the major differences between SSD and HDD? Give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.