Comcast Service Interruptions
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Mar 10, 2010
Comcast and Comcast Business customers in the Middle Tennessee area are experiencing connectivity problems at this time. These problems are currently affecting PCS’s operations, so there will be a delay in working with our customers this morning.
Win7 RC Pre-Expiration
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Feb 4, 2010
Beginning March 1, the Windows 7 Release Candidate will start to shut down every two hours in preparation for the product’s expiration on June 1, 2010. What this means is that you will need to backup and migrate your data to a RTM (released to manufacturing) version of Windows 7 or your system’s previous operating system.
The Windows Team blog has a post where you can find more information on this topic.
MS Office 2010 Pricing
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Jan 7, 2010
Microsoft revealed pricing on its various Office 2010 retail lines this week. So, without further ado..
The Product Key Card will only be available for purchase via OEMs and electronic retail outlets. The Product Key Card is a single-license card with a key that lets users unlock Office 2010 software preloaded by the PC manufacturer. Please note that this option does not come with media (IE: a DVD install disc), which accounts for the lower price tag.
MobileMe Outages
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Nov 10, 2009
Today multiple customers reported issues with Apple’s MobileMe service in that they could either not get their emails or emails happened to get “stuck” in their accounts and never juggled properly to their mobile devices.
PCS confirmed that there was indeed a problem with the service as reported on the MobileMe web site.
If you own an iPhone or Macintosh system and experience issues with MobileMe from time to time, we invite you to check MobileMe’s status page at..
http://www.apple.com/support/mobileme/
..before making any changes to your personal configurations. If problems persist, feel free to contact us for assistance.
Display Cleaning
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Oct 18, 2009
A long-time customer and friend asked PCS for advice on the best way to clean his computer displays:
..what should I use to clean monitor screens? Is Windex OK? How about on my laptop, which is covered with fingerprints?
Our first response is to NEVER USE Windex to clean LCD displays. Windex contains a substantial amount of ammonia, which over time will damage the protective coating that lies on top of most LCD displays.
Another reason not to use Windex for display cleaning is that a lot of people like to go hog-wild with it, allowing it to collect on the display and “drip down” before wiping. If the Windex happens to reach the bottom of the display, enough could collect and damage the LCD’s electronics, causing distortion and pixel-loss.
Another “do NOT do” is to not use paper towels to clean a display. Paper towels contain a lot of fibers and particles that could scratch a display, especially those displays with anti-glare surfaces.
So what is the best way to clean a display?
- Grab a microfiber cloth and gently wipe your screen to free it of dust, fingerprints and any other smudges.
- If cleaning solution is required, sometimes wetting one side of the microfiber cloth with water and gently wiping the screen will provide enough moisture and allow you to clean the screen with the dry side of the cloth. If your display is really “gunky”, you can make your own cleaning solution using a half-and-half mix of 70 percent isopropyl alcohol and distilled water.
If you have any questions, feel free to post comments on this post by registering on our site.
Smelly Phish
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Oct 14, 2009
This week e-mail users have been getting bombarded with messages that read like the following:
Dear user of the phoenix-now.com mailing service!
We are informing you that because of the security upgrade of the mailing service your mailbox (your@emailaddress.com) settings were changed. In order to apply the new set of settings click on the following link:
The above is a phishing attack, meant to get you to divulge private information to someone that definitely does not have your best interests at heart.
If you receive something like this and are unsure whether it is valid, please contact us, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or the mail service provider you use.
Win7 Tip: Go 64 Bit
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Oct 7, 2009
Windows 7 is the second major Windows release to fully support 64-bit, which means that the x64 architecture has definitely arrived on the desktop.
If you’re contemplating an upgrade to Windows 7, make sure that your system can handle it by either referencing your computer’s documentation or getting with a PCS representative to run a hardware audit.
The 64 bit version of Windows 7 is snappy both on boot times an in program execution. You won’t be disappointed.
Win2K Support Going Away
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Sep 19, 2009
Microsoft alerted customers on Thursday that they will retire Windows 2000 support next summer. M$ also mentioned that they will shift the newer Server 2003 line to what they call “limited support.”
Even though Self-Help Online Support and Knowledge Base articles will be available, don’t expect any more patches or updates for the dated OS.
More information can be found on the Windows Server Division Blog here:
Labor Day 2009 Hours
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Sep 7, 2009
PCS has no Labor Day hours - we’re closed. What are you doing working on a day specifically engineered to where you don’t have to work?
Enjoy the long weekend and we’ll see you on Tuesday.
Win7 Upgrade Paths
Posted by Brian Gallutia on Aug 18, 2009
Want to know how to get there from here with Windows 7? The following outlines supported and unsupported upgrade paths for multiple editions of the Windows 7 OS:
Unsupported Upgrade Scenarios
Upgrades to Windows 7 from the following operating systems are not supported:
- Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP, Windows Vista® RTM, Windows Vista Starter, Windows 7 M3, Windows 7 Beta, Windows 7 RC, or Windows 7 IDS
- Windows NT® Server 4.0, Windows 2000 Server, Windows Server® 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2
- Pre-release in-place upgrades across milestones (for example, Windows 7 RC to Windows 7 RTM) are not supported.
Supported Upgrade Scenarios
| From Vista | Upgrade to Windows 7 |
| Business | Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate |
| Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Home Basic | Home Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate |
| Home Premium | Home Premium, Ultimate |
| Ultimate | Ultimate |
| From Windows 7 | Upgrade to Windows 7 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise |
| Home Basic | Home Basic |
| Home Premium | Home Premium |
| Professional | Professional |
| Starter (x86 only) | Starter (x86) |
| Ultimate | Ultimate |
| From Windows 7 | Anytime Upgrade to Windows 7 |
| Home Basic | Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate |
| Home Premium | Professional, Ultimate |
| Professional | Ultimate |
| Starter | Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate |
