IT Support Tampa – My Computer Repair Tampa

How To Find My Computer IP Address

Owner — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 20:52:20 +0000

Many many times I have been asked “How do I find the IP address of my PC?” and I have written answers and instructions many time. I unfortunately have never saved my answer and today finally I found time to write a bit more extended manual on how to figure out your PC IP address.

First off, a little bit of theory just in case you are not familiar with the term of the IP Address. An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a special numeric number assigned to each network based device such as computer, printer or WiFi webcam participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing.
The founders of the Internet Protocol designed an IP address as a 32-bit number and this version of the IP prorocol known as Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4). This version is widely use today. Because of the very fast expansion of the Internet and the the rapid decrease of the available IPv4 addresses, a new addressing system (IPv6), which utilizes 128 bits for the address, was developed in 1995 and is being deployed worldwide since the mid-2000s.
So how do we find the IP address of my Windows based PC or a laptop.
Very simple
If you have a Windows XP or Windows 2003 based computer below is a few steps that will help you to find your IP address:
1. Click the Windows Start button
2. Type cmd in the Open field
3. Click the OK button. After that the cmd.exe program window will open.
4. Type ipconfig in and hit the Enter key on your keyboard
5. The results on your screen should display your PC IP Address

Source: Wikipedia

The information provided by the Tampa IT Support company, IB Systems have been founded in 1995 and provides variety if IT related services in Tampa Bay area and a state of Florida including IT/Network Support, Cloud Migration, VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) support, Web application design, Graphic design and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Web Marketing.

Microsoft Office 365 Beta is Available

Owner — Mon, 02 May 2011 04:22:32 +0000

Photo Credit: Microsoft

It’s a great time to give the Microsoft Cloud program a try. New Microsoft Office 365 Beta program is available for public.

Microsoft announced in its Press Release on April 17, 2011 availability of the Office 365 public beta for the small business.

I have setup my own Office 365 beta environment within one hour after which my iPhone and my Outlook were connected to the Exchange server and I was able to send and receive emails. The public website, the Lync for instant messaging, the Team site and the on-line MS Office programs (Eord, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) worked like a charm.

The Office 365 has been priced very affordable as the service costs $6 per month per person. Microsoft will charge another $12 per user for the desktop Office Professional Plus.

Source: PCMag.com

Malware that may steal your computer information

Owner — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 18:31:22 +0000

This is not an ordinary virus and not all anti-virus programs can catch it. When this virus gets into the computer it can not be stopped.

It a new bread of virus called malware. This malware controlled by a “cyber brain,” it gets into your computer, sets up a an environment inside of your PC, and then starts stealing your most important information.

Last Minute iPad 2 Rumors

Owner — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:07:22 +0000

On March 2 Apple will introduce a new iPAd 2 model and rumors already flying. Those are the main ones mentioned in the PCWorld yesterday:

A thinner and lighter iPad
A slightly thinner screen bezel
Flat back design and larger, stereo speakers
A front-facing camera on the iPad 2
A5 dual-core processor and 512MB or 1GB of RAM
A dual-mode GSM CDMA chip inside the 3G iPad 2
SD card slot
Thunderbolt port
A carbon-fiber body

Source: PCWorld

Win 7 SP1 is out

Owner — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:55:50 +0000

Any time Microsoft pushes an update to a few hundred million users, you can expect some hiccups. I’ve been monitoring the progress of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 since it was released to the public earlier this week, both on Microsoft’s official Windows Update forum and via e-mail and Twitter.

Future of Intel’s Thunderbolt Technology

Owner — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:08:34 +0000

A new technology from Intel will allow soon to transfer data between host and external devices at the speed of around 10GB bps. Incredibly fast!
Thunderbolt could compete with connector technologies such as USB, Firewire and HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface), which link PCs to external storage, audio devices and displays. Laptops and devices with USB 3.0 ports started reaching store shelves last year and offer data transfer speeds up to 5GB bps. Intel has held off support for USB 3.0 on its PC chipsets, which has been a topic of concern for PC makers, which have had to implement third-party controllers to add USB 3.0 ports to laptops.

Source: PCWorld

Apple will have the best security on iPhone

Owner — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 05:05:29 +0000

Mobiledia [2011-01-24] – Apple has hired former NSA analyst and author David Rice to be its new director of global security, in a move to beef up encryption on the iPhone and iPad and increase market share among enterprise consumers.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company hasn’t announced Rice’s responsibilities, but people familiar with the matter say he will ramp up its enterprise products to better compete with rival Research in Motion, whose BlackBerry devices are well-known for their encryption services.

Apple has been busy developing backfills for its software shortcomings, and the high-profile addition of Rice adds further credibility as it continues to make inroads into the corporate segment. Many employees, who use or want to use the iPad, have been blocked by IT professionals that worry those devices could leak sensitive information.

Without a broader security push, Apple’s corporate future would be limited.

That’s where Rice comes in. Well-respected among IT professionals, he gives added credibility to Apple’s products.

$100 million to fuel innovative economy

Owner — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 07:13:02 +0000

January 21, 2011|By Gus G. Sentementes, The Baltimore Sun.

Hoping to spur jobs, innovation and economic growth, Gov. Martin O’Malley wants to tap tax revenue to invest $100 million in fledgling technology, life sciences and other companies across the state.

O’Malley, a Democrat, plans to unveil details of the “Invest Maryland” program Monday as a centerpiece of his economic agenda in this year’s General Assembly session. The state would invest in small businesses and start-up companies — partially through the dormant Maryland Venture Fund — and would reap both the risks and rewards.

Five Advantages of Using Cloud Storage for Disaster Recovery

Owner — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:27:23 +0000

Photo credit: http://www.coparsystems.com

We all know what cloud means. I am talking about an internet cloud computing.

Cloud computing is location independent computing, whereby shared servers provide resources, software, and data to computers and other devices on demand, as with the electricity grid. Or more simply, remote computing. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, service-oriented architecture and utility computing. Details are abstracted from consumers, who no longer have need for expertise in, or control over, the technology infrastructure “in the cloud” that supports them.

In October of 2010, the Aberdeen Group, an industry analyst firm, surveyed over 100 organizations with formal DR programs to learn whether they used public cloud storage for DR and if so, what benefits they saw.

Five Compelling Facts from Aberdeen’s Research

Best-in-Class companies that used public cloud storage recovered from downtime almost four times faster, on average than organizations with no storage in the cloud.

Best-in-Class companies using cloud storage met 100% of their recovery time objectives (RTO) while non-adopters of cloud storage reported that on average, their longest downtime event within the last 12 months exceeded their RTO objective.

Even though the Best-in-Class category only represents the top 20% of all survey respondents, almost half (46%) of cloud-users were ranked among these top performers.

Cloud-based disaster recovery times are similar to recovery times for organizations using disk-based devices.

Users of cloud storage reported on average a 9% reduction in the number of DR events over the last 12 months.

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Source:
Wikipedia
Cirtas Blog

Does Hollywood like the technology?

Owner — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:57:19 +0000

Wondering whether at least half of the Hollywood directors are thinking a like with Oliver Stone and Michael Mann. Perhaps it’s just two of them. I think Avatar movie would not be the Avatar movie without current state of the technology.

According to UPI, U.S. film director Oliver Stone said the progression of technology was not necessarily a friend to those who tell stories on film.

Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Stone said he watched his children watching a film on the diminutive screen of a cell phone, while “trying to multitask.”

The experience, he said, was a bummer, “very depressing to people like me,” the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Computer Backup

Owner — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:25:32 +0000

In Information Technology, a backup or the process of backing up refers to making copies of data so that these additional copies may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.
Backups are useful primarily for two purposes. The first is to restore a state following a disaster (called disaster recovery). The second is to restore small numbers of files after they have been accidentally deleted or corrupted. Data loss is also very common. 67% of internet users have suffered serious data loss.
Since a backup system contains at least one copy of all data worth saving, the data storage requirements are considerable. Organizing this storage space and managing the backup process is a complicated undertaking. A data repository model can be used to provide structure to the storage. In the modern era of computing there are many different types of data storage devices that are useful for making backups. There are also many different ways in which these devices can be arranged to provide geographic redundancy, data security, and portability.
Before data is sent to its storage location, it is selected, extracted, and manipulated. Many different techniques have been developed to optimize the backup procedure. These include optimizations for dealing with open files and live data sources as well as compression, encryption, and de-duplication, among others. Many organizations and individuals try to have confidence that the process is working as expected and work to define measurements and validation techniques. It is also important to recognize the limitations and human factors involved in any backup scheme.

Credits: Wikipedia.org

MagicJack is going PC-Free

Owner — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 20:07:23 +0000

Photo credit: MagicJack.com

The new MagicJack plugs into a power outlet and required only a network connection- either to a WiFi or 4G adapter, or an Ethernet port on a router. This will enable VoIP phone services. VocalTec demonstrated the new MagicJack Plus at the Consumer Electronics Show this week. The new device likely to be shipped within 90 days and might be priced of $50 which will also include one year of free local and long distance services.