IT News - July 2013 - Downtime, P drive issues, Smarboards, Videoconferencing

News and good stuff to know from your IT Department.

Downtime – NOT!

Have you noticed? No recent emails from me that the network and internet will be down! FINALLY our phone quality issues in San Jose have been fixed. THANK YOU all for your patience as we went through the agonizing process of elimination it took to finally find the solution. {For those of you interested in techie details, it had to do with the version of firmware on our switch.)

Can’t get to the P drive? Fix it in 3 easy steps. Read this!

We’ve noticed quite a few tickets with VPN issues where the network drives are not showing up, or show up with only part of the directory structure. Sometimes this even happens without VPN in the office. We’ve discovered that this is caused by using “Offline Files” or “Briefcase”.  Incidentally, this also causes excessive traffic when it tries to replicate with the server, which also slows down your computer.

     If you are in doubt whether you have it on, or if somehow it accidentally turned it on, you can check and disable by following the 3 easy steps below (Details and screenshots at this link: http://www.liberiangeek.net/2012/07/turn-on-off-offline-files-in-windows-7/)

1. Go to Start –> and search for Sync Center and select to open it
2. Next, click Manage offline files
3. Finally, choose to disable it and restart.

Update on SmartBoards, LifeSize videoconferencing, etc.

By the end of August:

ClickShare will be installed at all locations.

What does that mean to you and our customers?

·        You’ll be able to walk into the conference room, plug a ClickShare device into your computer, run a small program, and share your screen! No more figuring out which adapater you need, where that adapter is, what cable to use – just plug and play!

All Smartboard computers will be replaced.

What does that mean to you and our customers?

·        You’ll be able to walk into the conference room and use the SmartBoard pretty much the way you use your own computer.

·        It will be hooked to the network so you can save files to the Scratch drive, or email them if you’d rather, as well as retrieve files from the Scratch drive.

·        Most commonly used programs will be installed on the SmartBoard computers.

By the end of September

LifeSize phone will have the ability to place external calls. 

What does that mean to you and our customers?

·        Only one phone in the room (no need for Polycoms any more)

·        You can include customers, vendors, non-Pivot people in your videoconference calls

Crestron will be complete in San Jose

What does that mean to you and our customers?

·        In San Jose, you’ll be able to control screens, calls, and lighting with click & drag on a small control panel on the table or wall

·        Speakers, microphones and the phones themselves will be in the ceiling. Just talk & they’ll hear you!

As always, let us know if you have questions, suggestions or concerns.

Mavis Moon   Director Information Systems   Pivot Interiors, Inc.
T 408 432 5658   C 408 318 2037   E mmoon@pivotinteriors.com

Ted Lo   IT Manager   Pivot Interiors, Inc.
T 323 801 2002   C 310 876 2880   E tlo@pivotinteriors.com

Anne Pham   Technical Support Administrator   Pivot Interiors, Inc.
T 949 988 5402   C 714 588 8892   E apham@pivotinteriors.com