Comments for blog.auctionflex.com http://blog.auctionflex.com Auction Flex Blog Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:33:25 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 Comment on Backups, Backups, Backups by Brandon http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=173&cpage=1#comment-80 Brandon Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:33:25 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=173#comment-80 Ed, for the ultimate real-time backup you want to go with mirrored hard drives, using a hardware mirroring controller. In this setup you have 2 identical hard drives in your computer attached to the mirroring controller. These hard drives are always kept in an identical state automatically (this setup is referred to as Raid 1). Now, in the event of a hard drive failure, your computer automatically fails over to the backup hard drive and never skips a bit. You literally have absolutely ZERO down time. Obviously you still need to keep off-site backups of your data, but this setup is, by far, the best in terms of protection from a hard drive failure. Ed, for the ultimate real-time backup you want to go with mirrored hard drives, using a hardware mirroring controller. In this setup you have 2 identical hard drives in your computer attached to the mirroring controller. These hard drives are always kept in an identical state automatically (this setup is referred to as Raid 1). Now, in the event of a hard drive failure, your computer automatically fails over to the backup hard drive and never skips a bit. You literally have absolutely ZERO down time. Obviously you still need to keep off-site backups of your data, but this setup is, by far, the best in terms of protection from a hard drive failure.

]]> Comment on Backups, Backups, Backups by Ed http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=173&cpage=1#comment-79 Ed Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:20:30 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=173#comment-79 Brandon: What I want is a "blueprint" of my hard drive not just back up the files. If my HD goes down I want to be able to throw in a new HD and transfer the blueprint with all the software and files. Heck the software may have several years of updating that I would have to redo if I had to reinstall the software from scratch. Got any recommendations? Brandon: What I want is a “blueprint” of my hard drive not just back up the files. If my HD goes down I want to be able to throw in a new HD and transfer the blueprint with all the software and files. Heck the software may have several years of updating that I would have to redo if I had to reinstall the software from scratch. Got any recommendations?

]]> Comment on The Zen of Multiple Monitors by Brandon http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=162&cpage=1#comment-54 Brandon Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:14:08 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=162#comment-54 <a href="#comment-52" rel="nofollow">@John </a> Great point about the power supply. I've never run into an issue before, but, generally speaking, the more "budget" your computer is, the greater your chance at having this issue. @John
Great point about the power supply. I’ve never run into an issue before, but, generally speaking, the more “budget” your computer is, the greater your chance at having this issue.

]]> Comment on The Zen of Multiple Monitors by John http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=162&cpage=1#comment-52 John Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:31:22 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=162#comment-52 I just installed a second monitor for a new Auction Flex customer - for basic office use, the EVGA 8400GS (PCI express)is inexpensive, easy to setup, and works great. Not a great choice for gamers, but works well for most users. VGA, DVI, and s-video jacks, and DX10 support for HDTV. Retails for as little as $50 - about the lowest price out there. Another consideration before choosing a video card is your computer's power supply - many business machines, especially older ones, have power supplies that may be inadequate. Most dual monitor capable video cards specify a minimum of 350W power supplies, but many Dell, HP/Compaq and IBM business desktops max out at 300-305W. Dell Optiplex power supplies tend to be under-rated, and I haven't encountered a problem with them. Some desktop machines (especially older ones) have proprietary power supplies, and trying to upgrade them may be difficult (and expen$ive!) That said, once you add a second monitor, you'll never go back to one! I just installed a second monitor for a new Auction Flex customer – for basic office use, the EVGA 8400GS (PCI express)is inexpensive, easy to setup, and works great. Not a great choice for gamers, but works well for most users. VGA, DVI, and s-video jacks, and DX10 support for HDTV. Retails for as little as $50 – about the lowest price out there.
Another consideration before choosing a video card is your computer’s power supply – many business machines, especially older ones, have power supplies that may be inadequate. Most dual monitor capable video cards specify a minimum of 350W power supplies, but many Dell, HP/Compaq and IBM business desktops max out at 300-305W. Dell Optiplex power supplies tend to be under-rated, and I haven’t encountered a problem with them. Some desktop machines (especially older ones) have proprietary power supplies, and trying to upgrade them may be difficult (and expen$ive!)
That said, once you add a second monitor, you’ll never go back to one!

]]> Comment on Safe Computing is a Choice by Brandon http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=147&cpage=1#comment-49 Brandon Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:48:09 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=147#comment-49 That's a great tool/website. Thanks for the suggestion. That’s a great tool/website. Thanks for the suggestion.

]]> Comment on Safe Computing is a Choice by Aaron Traffas http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=147&cpage=1#comment-46 Aaron Traffas Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:55:03 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=147#comment-46 Great article, Brandon. Might I also suggest Secunia. They offer a free, Java-based scanning service that checks the programs and suggests updates for non-Windows components like Java, Flash, iTunes, OpenOffice.org. They provide instructions on how to fix the vulnerabilities and explanations of those vulnerabilities. Here's a write-up that explains it in more detail. http://www.auctioneertech.com/secunia-checks-your-pc-for-vulnerabilities/ Here's the direct link to their site. http://www.secunia.com Great article, Brandon. Might I also suggest Secunia. They offer a free, Java-based scanning service that checks the programs and suggests updates for non-Windows components like Java, Flash, iTunes, OpenOffice.org. They provide instructions on how to fix the vulnerabilities and explanations of those vulnerabilities.

Here’s a write-up that explains it in more detail.
http://www.auctioneertech.com/secunia-checks-your-pc-for-vulnerabilities/

Here’s the direct link to their site.
http://www.secunia.com

]]> Comment on Self-Checkin Kiosk by Brandon http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=143&cpage=1#comment-45 Brandon Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:11:27 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=143#comment-45 <a href="#comment-44" rel="nofollow">@Mac </a> I foresee adding signature capture in a future version which will also include self checkout. @Mac
I foresee adding signature capture in a future version which will also include self checkout.

]]> Comment on Self-Checkin Kiosk by Mac http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=143&cpage=1#comment-44 Mac Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:30:35 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=143#comment-44 Wow Brandon that is nicer than anything I was expecting. I can't wait to see what options there are for it. It would be nice to have them sign a signature pad while checking in though. Wow Brandon that is nicer than anything I was expecting. I can’t wait to see what options there are for it. It would be nice to have them sign a signature pad while checking in though.

]]> Comment on Plain text email vs “fancy” HTML email by Brandon http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=135&cpage=1#comment-42 Brandon Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:42:19 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=135#comment-42 <a href="#comment-41" rel="nofollow">@Jim </a> That is a very good point. Yes, we do send our newsletters formatted as HTML. I am careful to keep the width very narrow and the HTML formatting very minimal to ensure maximum readability across email clients... but perhaps I should take my own advice! I can say, however, that all other email communication from us is formatted as plain text... by design. @Jim
That is a very good point. Yes, we do send our newsletters formatted as HTML. I am careful to keep the width very narrow and the HTML formatting very minimal to ensure maximum readability across email clients… but perhaps I should take my own advice! I can say, however, that all other email communication from us is formatted as plain text… by design.

]]> Comment on Plain text email vs “fancy” HTML email by Jim http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=135&cpage=1#comment-41 Jim Thu, 27 Aug 2009 01:30:33 +0000 http://blog.auctionflex.com/?p=135#comment-41 This is a curious notation, as AuctionFlex sends out an email newsletter every few months and it's always in html. This is a curious notation, as AuctionFlex sends out an email newsletter every few months and it’s always in html.

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