I WANT an e-book reader and I must have one!  I am tired of all the books I buy and having to keep up with them.  I have broke down my thoughts and would love any comments to help me finally decide.

Kindle 

The kindle with its low price has me wanting to go that direction more than any other.  I know what type of books I like to read and amazon book store has most of the titles available for the Kindle.  The e-ink and battery life of the new generation is very attractive.  The big downside, I don't get all the cool features of the iPad.  Apps, web surfing and so on.

Nook

In my opinion, I feel like this is a very similar product to the Kindle.  Barnes and Nobles saw the success of the Kindle, tweaked and added some features and called in Nook.  To me, there just does not seem to be enough originality to make me want to chose one over the other.  Additionally, when I searched the BN site for books I like to read, less were available for the nook than the Kindle.  I welcome someone to prove me wrong on this one and bring up some points I have missed.

iPad

Total awesomeness.  I want it!  But wait, reports I have read say two things bad.  1. it's not that great of a platform to read books on.  2. because of the light it emits, the iPad is more like watching TV than reading a book.  Meaning that my sure fire way of getting sleepy, reading, now is going to keep me awake.  Apple's selection doesn't seem to be that great right now (at least for the books I like to read).  But it is Apple, that will change.  I can't remember that last time I bought music anywhere but iTunes.  We all know Steve Jobs wish is for the same thing to happen with books and media in general.  We are now saying, "what's a CD?", but Steve Jobs wants us saying "What's a book" or "What's a Magazine".      

Wrapping it up

What's makes this the hardest for me to decide is that I am cheap.  I want to be a cool kid and have an iPad.  But it's the most expensive option. My other issue in general is that a recent report shows that people read much slower on the "ebooks" than real paper.

With all of the new features of XenServer 5.6, I have been very excited about rolling it out.  There has been one thing though.  OpenManage and XenServer haven't been the best pals.  When we had been trying to rollout any XenServer on a Dell Server, it seems that we had to jump through hoops to make OpenManage work.  Well Dell has really worked on being more XenServer Friendly and released a Supplemental Pack for XenServer. 

A Supplemental Pack is an install package that can be slipstreamed into the install of XenServer.  So if you were installing XenServer you would simply start with the install CD, then use the Linux Templates Supplemental CD, and then use the Dell OpenManage CD when it asks for you to continue the install.  It is great!

I had to call Dell to get a copy of the ISO because it was not yet available on the website.  Here is the link so that you too can enjoy some Dell and Citrix Xen!

http://ftp.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.3.0-2075.XenServer56_A00.10.iso

By the way, Thank You! Johanness Far (Dell Enterprise Technical Support Senior Analyst) for getting me the link. 

This past year I have spent much time trying to work more efficiently and find excellent solutions for my clients that will not break the bank.  In my pursuit I have tested Linux and Windows software.  Some have been duds and others have been GOLD.  Below you will find my top ten for 2009 and receive David Shoffitt's seal of approval. 

XenServer - http://www.citrix.com

Wow.  Let me say it again, WOW.  Citrix has released a wonderful Virtualization Solution with a robust HyperVisor that allows companys to start a virutalization initiative at NO COST, provided that you have the hardware to run it on.WHen we first started trying it out we ran it on a PC class machine with a Core2Duo at 2.4 GHz.  We ran 6 servers on the small computer with no speed problems.  We then migrated them to an enterprise class environment.  We also converted 2 baremetal machines to virtual in the process all at no cost.  Let me say again WOW.  We have no need for VMWare at our business because we have a enterprise class solution at again no cost.  There are some added features that you can get that cost money like enhanced Storage Link Technologies, and email alerts and notifications, and rapid server provisioning which still would come in at a fraction of the cost of VMWares solutions. Cost :Free

True Crypt - http://www.truecrypt.org

I use this software on my laptop.  It works great!  I use preboot authentication so that if someone were to steal my laptop they would have to know a password that is well over 20 characters before they could access the files or even boot the computer.  My data is safe.  You can also create virtual HardDisks on your computer that are encrypted if you just want to encrypt some data but not all data.  I recently had corrupted my OS on my computer and was able to plug my HardDrive into another computer to recover my files.  The harddrive was not readable until I used the TrueCrypt software on my PC and mounted the drive as an encypted volume and then I was able to read it.  Very Powerful product. Cost :Free

Drop Box - http://www.dropbox.com

This is a nice synchronization tool that allows you to synchronize a folder on your computer with other computers over the internet.  Very useful!  Also it will allow you to go to the website and download your files directly in case you are not around any of your subscribing PCs or laptops. Cost :Free

CloneZilla - http://clonezilla.org/

 In my line of work it is almost a daily necessity to take a point in time fully restorable backup of a PC before you potentialy kill it with some update or possible fix to resolve a problem that would require you to rebuild the computer.  Well with this software you can reapidly redeploy a computer with its configuration prior to when you formatted it along with all of the partitions that were on the harddrive originally. I like the version based on Ubuntu. Cost :Free

Ultimate Boot CD - http://www.ubcd4win.com/

The Ultimate Boot CD is a must have for any technician.  It will empower you to be able to reset the local admin password if you ever forget it.  It will also allow you to browse the HardDrive of a computer that is broken and allow you to fix partition tables and even copy files to a network resource or USB Drive. There are many, many more utilities on this disk that are useful for a technician.  Cost :Free

RichCopy - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx

I often have the responsibility of moveing large numbers of files and large amounts of data from location to another and Windows File Copy rarely fits the bill.  What I have found is RichCopy which offers a large amount of options so that you can leverage multiple threads to copy more than one file at a time.  I love this tool and user atleast once a week! Cost :Free

USB to SATA -  http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329300&CatId=3770

A wonderful tool that will allow you to hook your SATA or IDE HardDrive of another computer up to your computer via USB without having to open the case of your computer to use it..  Simple tool, great flexibility. Cost :~$20

CD Burner XP - http://cdburnerxp.se/

My favorite CD Burner application.  Can burn audio or data.  Can make ISOs and burn them too.  Everything I need a nice little package.  Cost :Free

FileZilla Server - http://filezilla-project.org/

FileZilla is a simple and robust FTP server that allows for Secure Encrypted FTP along with normal FTP.  The best thing about this software is that it comes with all the necessary bells and whistles to setup a small business FTP Server.  The big feature I would like to see would be Active Directory Lookups or LDAP Authentication.  Cost :Free

PrtScr - http://www.fiastarta.com/PrtScr

Nice and easy screen capture utility that allows you to do freeform captures and markups.  Cost :Free

I was one of THOSE people who held my breath for the new apple tablet dubbed the iPad.  I won't say I was obsessed with it, but I did follow the it awfully closely, devouring any kind of rumor about specs or leaks of its capabilities.  On the day of the launch, I had three tabs of my firefox open to different livebloggers who were at the event and I would cycle through them to see the product pictures or specs.  

In the interest of full disclosure, The Strickland Group is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.  I have worked with and advocated for Microsoft technologies for more than half my life.  I was an early adopter of Windows 95, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 7.  I used a Windows Mobile phone for years, though I have an iPhone currently.  I really wanted to love the iPad.

I think the iPad will be a great device for the average well-to-do consumer.  I'd even go so far as to say that when the common home user is looking to replace their XP laptop in a year or two, the iPad might be a good enough choice for them.  And at an entry point price of $499, it's not too shabby.  If you were to buy it as a top of the line e-book reader and that's all you wanted to use it for, it would be a great device.

However, despite all my efforts, I just don't love the iPad. Sure, it's not all bad - at least it's got it's looks.  Also, the websites they demoed rendered beautifully.  I believe it would be a pleasure to read the New York Times on the device.  But it's what the thing won't do that's stands out for me.

• No support for flash.  Are you kidding me Apple?  You're going to release an device that "puts the internet in your hands" that doesn't play flash.  Dumbfounded.
• No camera.  Would have been an amazing video conferencing device.
• No multi-tasking.  I can't listen to pandora while I'm surf?  I can't  pause a game I'm playing and go google something I just saw on TV? I can't keep IM going in the background? 

Oh well.  Holding my breath for iPad 2.0...

It seems that everywhere I go I am being inundated with Cloud Computing.  It's on radio talk shows, magazine advertisements, sitcoms, websites, and billboards.  Much like the marketing phase we all suffered through a couple of years ago where any product could be granted hipness by slapping an "i" or an "e" on the front of it's name, marketing executives seem to think that any product can be transfored into cutting edge or revolutionary by placing the word "cloud" somewhere in the product's name.  But what does this buzz word du jour really mean?  Why do I care if something is in "the cloud?"

At the most basic, cloud computing means that you can access data from your computer or phone where the data is hosted by someone on a server somewhere.  The server is in the cloud.  The beauty of cloud computing is that you don't care who manages the servers, what software runs them or where they're located.  The important part is that you can access your data or application very easily.

We all use the cloud in at least a limited sense.  For instance, Google.com is a cloud based app.  When you type in a search for best cheese curl recipe your query is sent of to banks and banks of servers somewhere.  You may be getting results from a server down the street or across the world.  It doesn't really matter.  As far as we're concerned, who cares what database system is processing my recipe request - as long as the answer to my question comes back fast and is the answer in the ballpark for what I wanted.

Although websites are the most obvious cloud application we run into, they're not the only game in town.  At The Strickland Group, we've been using a cloud based backup product for a couple of years now.  It's a server that sits on a client's network and takes periodic backups throughout the day.  At night - or whenever the client's off-peak internet bandwith hours are - this server compresses the day's backups into one file, encrypts it with AES 256 bit encryption and sends it to a datacenter on the East Coast US.  From there the data is replicated to another datacenter on the West Coast.  This gives the client emergency disaster recovery capabilities if something happens to their server room.  This product has several other killer features such as the ability to create a virtual server from the most recent backups - if your mail server has a hardware issue, this device can build a virtual mail server that your employees can use without any action on their part until you can get the hardware issues repaired.  Really amazing technology.

Another up and coming cloud app is Cloud based antivirus.  This is a new slant on anti-virus software.  Essentially, your files are sent to the AV providers servers where they are scanned.  Your PC is not spending valuable CPU time scanning files because it's all done on a server somewhere in the cloud.  You don't have to keep virus definitions up to date, you don't have to install the latest version, you don't have to keep your computer on certain nights of the week so a scan will run.  All you really need is a very fast internet connection.

It will be interesting to see what comes of the cloud computing trend.  I think it's safe to say that the buzz worthiness of the concept will wear off, but the technology of cloud computing is here to stay.  More and more of our online lives will be in the cloud.