Automation for Business Case Study – TopGolf

Posted on 08. Mar, 2012 by KrebStar [archives]

Control4 recently published a cool story about providing automation for TopGolf, the popular bar/driving range.  We wanted to share this cool story as an example of the potential automation can bring to a business:

It is remarkable and not insignificant that so much creative language has been used to describe TopGolf. As a revolutionary take on the traditional driving range, it has drawn an estimated half-million newbies to the game, stirred up considerable buzz among investors, and is showing no sign of slowing down. Thanks in part to Diem Digital Interiors and Control4, TopGolf CEO Joe Vrankin ranks their latest location as the most advanced one yet.

In his New York Times blog, Bill Pennington described TopGolf as “a cross between the ambiance of a 1950s bowling alley and an episode of The Jetsons.” Bob Carney mused in his Golf Digest column that it was, “a sports bar where golf happens to break out.” Much like one Yelper’s description of “Wii meets golf,” Robb Sidebottom, TopGolf’s national director of sales, calls it “a video game come to life.”

Perhaps the most straightforward handle is the one offered by Vrankin, former CFO of the Arena Football League. He calls it ‘golf entertainment.’ Still wondering exactly what it is? And what’s with all the elusive descriptors? To answer the latter, it is—simply put—the first of its kind. Not just for golf, but sports in general. Continue reading “Automation for Business Case Study – TopGolf” »

MS Office on your iPad – OnLive Desktop

Posted on 05. Mar, 2012 by Elliott White [archives]

Last week I was reading an article by David Pogue at The New York Times, my favorite tech writer, about  a new service for mobile devices called OnLive Desktop.  It lets you access real desktop office applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint right on your iPad – for free!  This isn’t exactly a new idea, as you can download an app from the Apple store to do something similar, but the catch is they require you to remote control a PC that you own separately.  OnLive Desktop changes the game by offering a virtual copy of Windows 7, Microsoft Office apps, Cloud Storage, and an optional insanely fast gigabit-accelerated full Flash browser.  For comparison most home and
office connections are a mere fraction of this speed.  How is this possible?  Here’s the full breakdown with some history:

Once upon a time before Cloud Computing and the iPad, people understood computers as huge mainframes living in the basement with green-screen dumb terminals for the users (or “thin clients” as marketing would prefer).  To put a full computer at each desk in that era was simply not cost efficient, and was unnecessary.  The thin client “pulled” data from the mainframe, and the mainframe “pushed” the request back to the terminal, and everyone was happy.

Flash forward to our era, where this idea is coming around again today via the “Cloud” buzzword everyone uses now.  The Cloud is essentially the same mainframe/terminal setup, but the mainframe has moved to a huge datacenter with a fat bandwidth pipe and the dumb terminal is now many things: Desktop/Laptop/iPad/Android, etc.  Thanks to improvements in bigger pipes for bandwidth for both office and home internet connections, the cloud is able to host services that in the past were just a dream.  The real explosion however is happening now, where faster mobile internet becomes the norm in the form of 4G or other high-speed connections along, with crazy inexpensive cloud storage costs. Continue reading “MS Office on your iPad – OnLive Desktop” »

Everglades Road Trip to Connecticut

Posted on 24. Feb, 2012 by KrebStar [archives]

Elliott White and Jordan Wills recently drove to Hartford Connecticut for a business trip.  Their adventures were captured in the documentary below.

Best List App: Clear

Posted on 17. Feb, 2012 by rosa [archives]

I am a lover of lists.  They bring my life into focus and help prioritize my time.  That said the iPhone is a list-lover’s dream.  While I’ve been moderately satisfied with “notes” and “reminders” they’re not quite as organized as I prefer.  A new gesture based app has stolen my list loving heart; Impending Inc. launched their new app, Clear, this week. Continue reading “Best List App: Clear” »

How to Choose a UPS

Posted on 02. Feb, 2012 by Richard [archives]

If your office has servers, a phone system, or a tendency for power outages, then a UPS is a must.

What is a UPS? A UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) is basically a device that will temporarily power your computers, servers, phone systems and other important devices when power is lost. It will also protect you from spikes and surges (the function of a typical surge protector). In higher-end models, your equipment is also protected from brown outs and over-voltages, which will increase the life of your equipment if your electrical lines tend to fluctuate (think old buildings and rural areas).

You may come across a ton of jargon when researching UPS’s: Frequency rate, transfer time, pure sine wave, online, automatic voltage regulation, etc. After checking the specs of a UPS online you may feel a bit overwhelmed. If you are just looking to keep your equipment running and unsaved data safe during an unlikely outage, then what you need to consider is below.

Total Power of All Equipment Connected to it:  Just check the equipment you’re looking to protect, ie.  phone system, server, computer and monitors. Find out the wattage requirements for those devices and add them up. Make sure the “Output Watt Capacity” of the UPS is rated 20% or more of that total. Otherwise, the battery in the UPS may not be able to keep your equipment powered during an outage. Continue reading “How to Choose a UPS” »

The Ultrabooks of 2012

Posted on 19. Jan, 2012 by KrebStar [archives]

One of the more prominent buzzwords at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was “Ultrabook.”  Like Netbooks, Ultrabooks are all about light weight portability.  But Netbooks are small in both size and power, designed for light personal use such as web browsing and word processing. Ultrabooks, however, match the size and processing speed of a full laptop, while going super thin and shedding a few extras to lighten the load.  Intel coined the term, setting a few criteria one must meet in order to call oneself an “Ultrabook”:

• Have a thin and light design that meansures less than 22mm (0.83″) at its thickest point.
• Include ultra-fast start-up, which can include Intel Rapid Start Tech or third-party solutions.
• Go from hibernate to keyboard interaction in 7 seconds or less, waking up from sleep “much, much faster.”
• Offer between 5 and 8 hours of battery life, even in the sleekest form factor.
• Include features that help protect itself and its user, including Intel Anti-Theft Tech.

So, are Ultrabooks anything more than the PC world trying to catch up to the Macbook Air?  In a word, no.  But that’s okay.  Not every CES can be revolution, so we’ll settle for evolution.  And the Macbook Air alternatives are evolving in some interesting ways:

(*Note: These models are being released in 2012 so pricing is not available yet, but they should all fall between $800 and $1,500.)

The Acer Aspire S5

The Acer Aspire is a super skinny 0.68″ at its thickest point.  It weighs 3 pounds, has a 13.3″ screen, and a handsome magnesium alloy chassis.  For ports, it includes USB 3.0, HDMI, and the super fast Thunderbolt port Apple has made famous.  For sound, Dolby Home Theater audio.

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How to VPN from an iPad

Posted on 09. Jan, 2012 by Ruddy [archives]

Did you know you can VPN to your office computer with an iPad? Check out the video below for a tutorial:

Assessing Office Bandwidth Needs

Posted on 05. Jan, 2012 by Charles [archives]

Many business managers are faced with the daunting task of Internet Service Selection.  From Provider jargon to complicated sales methods, the idea of picking a provider can be complex.

Think of the plumbing throughout your home.  The pipes are wire, and the water running through them is data.  We understand that as the diameter of your pipe increases, the more data, or water, can freely flow through them.  Bandwidth is the rate of transfer of your water, the speed at which you connect to the internet. Continue reading “Assessing Office Bandwidth Needs” »

Turn your old PC hard drive into a USB drive

Posted on 29. Dec, 2011 by Ruddy [archives]

Have an old laptop or desktop that you want to get rid of? If you’re in need of an external drive for backup or travel purposes, don’t toss that computer away! You can repurpose the internal drive on your computer to an external drive. It’s financially feasible and easy to do it yourself. Here is what you need to look out for and how to do it:

• Size: Hard Drives typically come in two sizes, laptops carry 2.5” hard drives and desktops carry 3.5” hard drives. Make a note of what size hard drive your computer has, you’ll need it later.
• Interface: Hard Drives today come in two different interfaces, or connectors – think different type of USB cables for different MP3 players. The same idea applies to hard drives. These interfaces are SATA and IDE. Please refer to the picture below on how to identify the two; IDE is on the left with the wide cable and SATA is on the right with the much thinner cable. Continue reading “Turn your old PC hard drive into a USB drive” »

The Ultimate Conference Room

Posted on 22. Dec, 2011 by KrebStar [archives]

When it comes to the latest conference room fads, we’ve seen the good, the bad, and the scary.  To turn your conference room into the most productive, collaborative place its meant to be, check out our list of the coolest technologies for the ultimate conference room.

Interactive Whiteboards – Popular in education but growing in business, interactive whiteboards combine a computer image projected onto a white board, and a digital pen or stylus allowing you to interact with it.  It’s a powerful tool for collaboration, allowing collective notes and ideas to be printed or emailed to participants. You can even collaborate with other white boards in other locations, sharing ideas in real time.

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Smart Glass – Glass walls are a popular choice for modern conference rooms because they provide a clean, open feel.  Of course the sacrifice with glass is privacy.  Smart glass uses electricity to change the properties of the glass, so that at a push of a button the glass can change from transparent to opaque. Continue reading “The Ultimate Conference Room” »