December 22, 2009
To go along with the Schneider Electric Intelligent Security Symposium featured on the main page this month, I had the distinct honor of meeting former Governor of PA and director of Home Land Security, Tom Ridge. Tom was a guest speaker where he shared about the importance of working smarter through technology to protect and secure our country. The playing field has changed and we all need to take part in adapting. AMRCON is honored to be a part of the Schneider Electric group of partners to play a role in this modernization of municipalities, buildings and the rest of our surroundings through the deployment of smart technology. Look for future posts discussing the ongoing project AMRCON is taking on to further educate local municipalities.
Ok so back to the personal note. What on earth happened to the year 2009? I thought it was going to be around a little longer. As I get older it seems the years go by faster, it doesn’t seem fair. Did you know an average ant only lives 90 days? They must really feel cheated! Thank God the average life expectancy in the US is 78-80. According to my plans I still don’t know if it will be enough time. There are places in the world to stay away from that have life expectancies as low as 40, we need to pray for them! Canada, parts of Europe and Australia are all over 80 in case you’re planning to move. So why these thoughts?
In recent weeks I’ve been affected with various emotions that left me reminded how precious life is. As we get closer to the holidays, life continues to move faster and faster. It’s a fitting time of year to take a second and look around, enjoy the people we have around us. Try to slow life down for just a second and enjoy it. I have much to be thankful for. My wife and my little guys over to the right to name a few. They always seem to have the power to slow me down and get me to remember what it’s all really about. Too bad Deeko really wasn’t about sitting with Santa!
From myself and everyone at AMRCON, we want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season and a Happy and Prosperous New Year! –Dee Rudko
December 12, 2009
In an effort to level the playing field for honest partners, Microsoft continues to file cases against companies and individuals caught selling infringing software and systems. Every month, Microsoft receives hundreds of piracy reports from customers and from the system builder community. These reports enable Microsoft to investigate and address piracy across the country, and they are critical to the success of our anti-piracy efforts.
Almost all of the cases that Microsoft has recently filed resulted from either customer or channel piracy reports. The most recent round of cases were filed against 15 companies and individuals, including:
- VioSoftware (Lafayette, CO)
- Royal Discount (Boulder, CO)
- SaveintheUSA.com (Los Angeles, CA)
- Dallas Computer (Plano, TX)
- Daroc Computers (El Paso, TX)
For a full listing of all of the cases that have been filed this month and in the past, click here.
Genuine Windows: What’s New with Genuine Windows Volume Activation (VA)?
With the availability of Windows 7, Microsoft has further improved the technologies and tools used for volume license activation. Administrative requirements have been reduced making the VA process easier. Improved interfaces support greater usability and customization. VA Services are now more fully integrated, very manageable, and offer you even better administrative control. To improve performance, VA now has a reduced memory footprint for greater system and network efficiency.
For Partners this all means more efficiency and higher quality delivery of Windows 7 license activation for your clients. The key VA tools are still Key Management Service (KMS) and Multiple Activation Key (MAK).
- KMS remains the most efficient way to help your client activate all of their Windows 7 installs automatically, rather than requiring each computer to connect to a hosted service.
- For systems that are not network attached or that don’t have access to a KMS server, you can still also use MAK to independently activate eligible systems directly with Microsoft, either over the Internet or by telephone.
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What happens if I help my customer deploy Windows 7 and the genuine software license is not properly activated?The proper activation of the genuine Windows 7 license is an important part of the deployment process and your services portfolio. If your clients do not activate installations of Windows 7 software within the grace period, their computers will default to a “Notification Mode.” Users will still be able to use their systems, however, they will begin to see activation reminders during Logon and in the Action Center. In addition, their Desktop Background color will be set to black as a further reminder that the license needs to be activated.Microsoft listened to your feedback and worked to improve Volume Activation so that you could provide even better service to your customers. You can find additional resources to help you plan and understand Volume Activation here:
- Video – VA Fundamentals
- VA Expert advice column
- VA planning guides
- VA deployment guides
- VA FAQs
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Re-published from –Genuine News and Tools from Microsoft
Piracy of any kind is a serious offence and not being taken lightly in the industry. Acts of piracy add to cost for law abiding clients like yourselves. Not to mention make our jobs more difficult with managing licensing and activiation. I know I’m glad to hear Windows 7 will make administration easier and more difficult for dishonest OEM’s to pirate. –Dee Rudko, CEO
December 7, 2009
AMRCON’s partnership with Schneider Electric integrates data center technology with all aspects of building management to create
“smart buildings.”
Twenty years ago, just as personal computers were making their presence known, no one could have imagined how intertwined the human and the digital 
world would become.
But now a new digital process debuts almost daily, transforming everything we touch and making the pre-Internet world a distant memory.
The latest digital revolution is “smart building technology,” which uses Internet Protocol to marry all activities within a building’s environment. And at AMRCON, our partnership with industry leader Schneider Electric brings smart building technology to your doorstep.
“In today’s digital world, data centers are not simply operating workstations inside a building – they are running the building from the ground up,” says Dee Rudko, CEO of AMRCON, who is spearheading the company’s smart building offerings. “The best way to reduce costs, decrease energy consumption, and provide a highly secure and efficient work environment is to integrate all of a building’s network systems, security monitoring and power systems.”
To make a building “smart,” AMRCON and Schneider Electric utilize a comprehensive energy auditing process to determine the building’s energy output and efficiency pitfalls. “We then customize and install a data center to monitor and maintain all building systems, including lighting, heating, air conditioning, security monitoring, computer networks, communication systems, and fire detection,” Dee adds. 
Prior to smart building technology, all systems within a building were constructed and maintained separately. The systems did not talk to one another and there was no process to monitor energy usage. Lights were only turned off when a person flicked the switch. Heat and air conditioning ran constantly in all rooms and offices, whether or not people were in those areas. But with smart building technology, the data center operates motion sensors and, to reduce costs and conserve energy, will shut down the lights or heat when it senses that nobody is in the room.
Smart buildings are also safer for its occupants than older buildings. Outdated security systems involved sporadically placed cameras and a video recording process. But in today’s age of heightened security, the highly sophisticated digital monitoring technology is able to detect building breeches and protect the building’s occupants with a much higher rate of success.
“Our experience in data center technology and our partnership with the energy experts at Schneider Electric make us uniquely qualified to consult with our clients on this exciting new technology,” Dee says.
For more information about “smart building” technology, or to see if AMRCON can turn your building into a smart one, feel free to give Dee a call.
Take a look at Schneider’s web space for Smart Building tech.
24x7 Monitoring and Self Healing
Vendor management and liaison services.
Helpdesk and Onsite Support.
Security, Back up and Disaster recovery.