IT Consultants's topics - tribe.net

health insurance?

2008-03-03T05:54:41Z

Anyone got any tips on where I might find decent health insurance? I'm a sysadmin and self-emplyed. I'm cobra-ing off my last full-time job right now and I'm looking to switch to something a little cheaper (and ideally not just catastrophic). I'd like to be able to join some sort of group and get on a group plan because I'm not satisfied with the individual plans available so far. Anyone got any leads?

posted in IT Consultants - 11 replies

Win/system32/config issues

2007-10-16T02:42:44Z

I'm home visiting and my uncle has my old computer and I offered to try to fix the issues they're having. When turned on it stops halfway into the boot and says:

"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: Windows/system32/config/system

You can attempt to repair this file by starting the windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM. Select "r" at the first screen to start repair"

I've never seen this issue with my old pc before. They aren't even online - they just use it to play card games. Everytime I hit "r" it re-boots and ends up back at the same page again.

Any thoughts?

posted in IT Consultants - 4 replies

Outlook and ACT!

2007-06-15T16:05:21Z

I am at work right now trying to get something to work in ACT! email. ACT! piggybacks off of outlook. I want to create a search folder in ACT! email, so that emails with certain words can go into that folder. However, it's not working in ACT! email while I have successfully accomplished it in Outlook.

Help!

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Interested in an IT related education.

2007-03-24T03:40:05Z

I'm 18 years old and have grown up on computers. Tweaking, fixing, building, and all the other -ing's that go along with computing. Its come to the point where I want to step beyond it being my hobby, and hopefully making a career out of it.

I'll be attending Santa Barbara City College this coming Spring, but I have no idea what kind of courses I should be taking. Network engineering interests me, but I'm not sure how saturated that market is, or what my possible pay could be.

How neccessary is it for me to learn programming languages to survive in this field, assuming my goal is not to be a programmer? If you were starting your education today, where would you start? Any and all input would be great.

posted in IT Consultants - 5 replies

Art Database

2007-02-22T18:20:53Z

Ok first things first, I am not an IT consultant, and I hope that admission won´t get thrown of this tribe. But I do have an IT conundrum and well I am looking for some help.

I am working on an extensive art collection and they need to build a database. So far the proposals they have been given seem fishy. Overpriced, not the right technology, and no sense of what a gallery or art rep needs. So I am thinking there has to be a software for galleries out there in this world, and so far no cigar. So if anybody knows how to point me in the right direction, it would save me the next six months of ¨this just doesn´t work!¨ headaches.

posted in IT Consultants - 3 replies

Many PCs Won't Be Able To Run Vista When It Comes Out, Gartner Advises (This means Money in our Pockets)

2006-09-09T09:35:15Z

Many PCs Won't Be Able To Run Vista When It Comes Out, Gartner Advises

About half of corporate PCs won't be equipped to run Microsoft's upcoming operating system and companies need to take a hard look at which are worth replacing.

By <A HREF="mailto:antoneg@pacbell.net">Antone Gonsalves</A>, InformationWeek
April 17, 2006
URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=185302665

About half of corporate PCs aren't equipped to run all the features of Windows Vista, and companies should gradually deploy the upcoming operating system on new computers, rather than take the more costly alternative of upgrading older ones, Gartner said last week.

Desktops or notebooks with less than half of their useful life left when Microsoft ships Vista shouldn't be upgraded, since the cost would exceed replacing it with a new Vista-enabled machine at the end of the older computer's life cycle, according to Gartner. Microsoft is promising the operating system in January, and assuming it doesn't suffer another delay, the cutoff point would be computers bought in 2006 or earlier.

Gartner advises companies to replace notebooks every three years and desktops every four years. Given that most companies will take at least 18 months from the time Vista ships for planning and testing, by the time they're ready to deploy it, the useful life left on 2006 PCs would be about 17% on laptops and 37.5% on notebooks.

Vista's requirements include a graphics card that supports the user interface and visual enhancements, which include translucent window frames and task bar, real-time thumbnail previews and task switching, enhanced transitional effects, and animations. These features won't be important for many companies, but others will be, such as better window stability, smoother screen drawing, and interface scaling.

37.5%
The useful life likely to be left on 2006 notebooks when Vista comes out.

PCs also will need at least 1 Gbyte of RAM and an additional 512 Mbytes if companies plan to use PC virtualization during the migration to run an older operating system and Vista simultaneously, Gartner said. Upgrading RAM on a PC costs from $100 to $200 per machine.

"For most large organizations, it will not be possible to fully justify the cost of a full forklift migration of all PCs," Gartner said in its research note. "This is partially because of the cost of most companies' manual migration process."

In terms of upgrades, Vista is comparable to Windows 2000. Windows XP, which fell between the two, was considered a less radical change.

It's too soon to tell if this move will be a more costly hassle than the one to Windows 2000. "If the applications are more compatible with Vista than 2000, then it might be less costly," says Mike Silver, a Gartner analyst. "Migration techniques have gotten better, but most organizations have not automated their migration process."

posted in IT Consultants - 6 replies

wow your client with a Google they've never seen

2006-08-20T19:51:25Z

check out www.colorgoogle.com for a dark sleek or colorful Google interface that is customizable, with a bunch of presets to choose from as well. can be added to websites for that specialized look.

- Damge Control
http://www.colorgoogle.com

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Contract Project Management

2006-07-31T08:17:21Z

Hi all,

I'm in the process of getting my E3 Visa which will allow me to work in USA for 2 years.

I have a solid background in Project/Programme Management and don't really know who the key contract recruitment companies are in USA.

I'm looking to live in the Bay area of SF - but I'm pretty flexible.

Anyone feel like pointing me in the right direction for contacts, web sites etc?

Ta.

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Making the transition?

2006-04-13T05:45:00Z

I'm working as a contractor right now- basically full-time hours- at a company. I'm working towards becoming a consultant, and have a meeting this afternoon with a potential client for a 6 week project (that's what was advertised).

My question is, now that I may be transitioning to a consultant role, how can I explain this to my boss that will not piss her off?
I don't want to quit or leave my current job, but would like to offer them my time a few days a week (and have them for when I don't have other projects going on) while I work with this new client.

How have you transitioned? Must it be a clean break?

posted in IT Consultants - 3 replies

accounting software? taxes?

2005-08-13T21:17:47Z

I just recently incorporated and would like to know what others are using to keep track of their taxes, etc.
Do you file your own quarterly taxes or do you pay a service, like Paychex, to do it for you? Is it difficult?

Can you recommend a good Mac-based app for doing bookkeeping?

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

CD Burning software recommendations

2005-07-19T16:13:03Z

A client is having issues with burning DVD's on their XP machine with the built in burning utility, so I need to find a free third party program, or a trial/shareware version of inexpensive burning software. Nero is a bit too expensive, because I'd like to keep it under $50, if possible. Does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks!

posted in IT Consultants - 2 replies

SQL Server 2005 Roadshow

2005-07-15T13:58:55Z

Hello All,

Here's a worthwhile event:

ORGANIZATION NAME: SQL Server Magazine
EVENT NAME: SQL Server 2005 Roadshow
EVENT LOCATIONS: Coming to your city soon!
* Portland, OR - July 26 * Seattle, WA - July 28 * Kansas City, KS - August 9 * St. Louis, MO - August 11 * Minneapolis, MN - August 16 * Washington, DC - August 18 * Phoenix, AZ - August 23 * Denver, CO - August 25 * Atlanta, GA - August 30 * Tampa, FL - September 1 * Los Angeles, CA - September 8 * Detroit, MI - September 13 * Philadelphia, PA - September 15 * Cincinnati, OH - September 20 * Columbus, OH - September 22
------------------------------------------------------------
EVENT THEME: Seminars
EVENT DESCRIPTION: SQL Server 2005 Roadshow
EVENT PURPOSE: Database administrators, Application developers/programmers, Database developers, Business intelligence/data warehousing, architects, Database designers/modelers, IT directors/managers responsible for database migration projects and software upgrades
EVENT COST: $99 includes a one-year subscription to SQL Server Magazine and PASS Membership
EVENT RELATED WEBSITE: http://www.windowsitpro.com/roadshows/sqlserverusa/index.cfm?code=techvenue
EVENT CONTACT NAME: Melody Henning
EVENT CONTACT PHONE: 970-203-2953
CONTACT EMAIL: melody@windowsitpro.com
MUST ONE RSVP?: Yes!
INVITATION ONLY?: No
PROPER ATTIRE: Business Casual
REFRESHMENTS: Full Meal Included
BUSINESS CARDS: YES - Bring Business Cards
EVENT NOTES: Get the facts about migrating to SQL Server™ 2005 in one information-packed day in a city near you! SQL Server experts from Scalability Experts, Solid Quality Learning, and Hitachi Consulting will present practical, real-world information in three tracks—administration, development, and business intelligence. You can find answers to specific questions in the Ask the Experts session. You’ll come away from the Get Ready for SQL Server 2005 Roadshow with a clear understanding of how to implement a best-practices migration to SQL Server 2005 and how to use SQL Server 2005’s new capabilities to improve your database computing environment. Register now for $99 and receive a 1-year membership to Pass and a 1-year subscription to SQL Server Magazine at http://www.windowsitpro.com/roadshows/sqlserverusa/index.cfm?code=techvenue
------------------------------------------------------------
Who Should Attend:
· Database administrators
· Application developers/programmers
· Database developers
· Business intelligence/data warehousing architects
· Database designers/modelers
· IT directors/managers responsible for database migration projects and software upgrades

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Quintessental Career Resources for Consultants

2005-06-09T23:42:37Z

http://www.quintcareers.com/consultant_jobs.html

posted in IT Consultants - 4 replies

Fabric-based intelligence?

2005-04-19T16:29:58Z

Can someone define the terms, fabric-based intelligence, and fabric infrastucture, for me?

posted in IT Consultants - 3 replies

The Nuts and Bolts of Launching a Career in Freelancing or Consulting

2005-03-17T09:10:04Z

http://www.quintcareers.com/freelancing_career.html

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Information for Consultants from Planning.org

2005-03-17T09:04:55Z

http://www.planning.org/consultant/

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Looking for some Info

2005-03-17T08:52:06Z

Hello,

I need some guidance in a project I'm currently working on at my job. My company is moving its offices to another state. And we want to still operate from where we are right now. I have heard of servers and/or systems in which you can have all files and info on your computer be written to a offsite network without keeping any records on your local hard drives.
In other words....What I need is to have all workstation (physically) here using a server and network in another state but all the data needs to get stored in any other place but the hard-drives in the workstation here. So that if someone takes a hard drive out, there is nothing stored there.
So the equipment will remain here but the server and router will be in another place.
Is this possible? Does anyone know of this technology and companies that produce it?

Any info will be helpful....

thanks...

posted in IT Consultants - 1 reply

Want to be a Consultant?

2005-03-17T06:52:35Z

Good article on becoming a consultant:

http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/be-consultant.html

posted in IT Consultants - 4 replies

What should I know to be a QA?

2005-02-23T06:16:10Z

Hi there,

So I'm taking a break from school (majoring in econ and computer science) to do some stuff in the real world. I'm applying for junior QA positions but I really don't have much of a clue. What kind of stuff should I know? To be more specific, in your opinion what are the top 5 skills that a badass QA engineer has and how should I go about getting them? What certs should I go after?

In addition, what are some good websites and books that I should check out?

thanks

posted in IT Consultants - 1 reply

Longhorn with Seven Ver WOW

2005-02-17T02:07:20Z

http://www.techspot.com/story16782.html

posted in IT Consultants - 1 reply

Mozila and Explorer

2005-01-19T02:48:45Z

Close Window

JANUARY 12, 2005

NEWS ANALYSIS:TECHNOLOGY
By Steve Hamm

Mozilla Is Gaining on Godzilla
With the open-source community on its side and many lessons learned, the browser upstart keeps taking market-share from Microsoft
How's this for a mismatch? On one side, you have Microsoft (MSFT ), the world's largest software company, with $37 billion in revenues and 57,000 employees. On the other is the Mozilla Foundation, a nonprofit with a $2 million budget and just 16 employees wedged into a single room in a Mountain View (Calif.) office park.

It's Godzilla vs. Mozilla, and Mozilla is a midget. Yet the pipsqueak is pulling off a feat that would have seemed preposterous a year ago. It's taking chunks of share from Microsoft in the Internet browsing market. According to a survey released Jan. 12 by Web site analytics firm WebSideStory, Mozilla's free Firefox browser has grabbed a 4.6% share over the past six months and seems well on the way to its stated goal of 10%.

"EMOTIONAL NUMBER." Microsoft's Internet Explorer has slipped 4.9 percentage points over the past six months, to 90.6%, the lowest in three years. "It's an emotional number. When Microsoft drops to 90%, it's big news," says Jeffrey W. Lunsford, WebSideStory's chairman.

Microsoft is hardly on the run. It has an overwhelming lead, and most corporations have adopted its browser for their employees, so it should have staying power. But many of the 16 million consumers who have switched to Firefox view the upstart program as safer from viruses and packed with innovations. Those include a "tabbed browsing" feature that makes it easier to move quickly from one Web site to another, in part by firing up a series of favorite sites all at once.

But Microsoft has been working hard to clamp down on security and vows to make other improvements. "These features, along with Microsoft's world-class customer support, continue to make IE a compelling choice for consumers and enterprise customers," says a spokesman.

BEYOND BROWSERS. Still, analysts say Firefox could have an outsize impact on the Net's future. If Mozilla and the other non-Microsoft browser outfits hold their own or gain share, the 15% of Web sites that aren't completely compatible with non-Microsoft browsers will come under pressure to design their sites to open Net standards. That way, Microsoft won't be able to control how content is presented on the Web.

It would also create opportunities for competitors to sell rival Net software -— since Microsoft wouldn't be able to take advantage of the links between Windows and its Net programs. "We're not out to get Microsoft," says Mozilla Foundation President Mitchell Baker. "Our goal is to offer people a better experience so the Web remains open, and people actually have a choice."

The Mozilla team isn't stopping with browsers. In recent months, it has been hard at work on other kinds of software. An e-mail program called Thunderbird was released in mid-December and has since been downloaded more than 2 million times. The group has a handful of other programs on the drawing board, including an electronic calendar called Sunbird and a small browser for cell phones and personal digital assistants code-named Minimo. These are slated for release in 2005 or 2006.

GUERRILLA TACTICS. Mozilla's provenance is as improbable as its burst of success. It was born inside Web pioneer Netscape Communications in 1998 to harness the budding open-source software movement. The idea was that volunteer programmers from around the world would help make improvements to the company's browser.

After America Online (TWX ) bought Netscape in 1999, Mozilla lost steam. Then a year and a half ago, it was reborn as an independent organization funded by AOL, IBM (IBM ), Sun Microsystems (SUNW ), and Nokia (NOK ).

Independence seems to have been a tonic. Development raced ahead for Firefox, a new browser design. It's free, but Mozilla asks users to make tax-deductible donations to support development efforts. Without a remarkable guerrilla marketing campaign, Firefox adoption might not have leapt ahead so rapidly. The campaign, called SpreadFirefox, was orchestrated by a handful of Mozilla fans and carried out by 58,000 volunteers. The campaign has tapped into Web logs, or blogs, to generate buzz.

LIFE-ALTERING? It not only set up its own blog to coordinate activities but it also hooks up with other ones to expand its reach. If a blogger says nice things about Firefox, for example, he's rewarded with links to his own site. The campaign "is fanning the flames," says analyst Stacey Quandt of researcher Robert Frances Group.

All of this has been a pinch-yourself experience for Mozilla's Baker. A former Netscaper, she became accustomed to laboring in obscurity during the Mozilla project's early days. Now she's struggling with the group's recognition. She gets buttonholed by parents at her son's school and approached by strangers at exercise class.

Recently, after Baker handed a Mozilla T-shirt to a friend at Trapeze Arts, the circus-skills gym where she works out, a nearby woman burst out: "Are you from Mozilla? Firefox changed my life!" She then kneeled and bowed before a stunned Baker.

These may be heady times for the Mozilla crew, but they know not to take their sudden success for granted. They remember how Netscape was crushed by the Microsoft juggernaut. But now, the game is different. Mozilla has the vast and vibrant open-source movement on its side. This time, Godzilla may not dominate the way it has in the past.

posted in IT Consultants - 1 reply

erratum: Consider me as a resource for you

2004-12-06T19:06:59Z

Hello,

My name is Philippe,

I just joined your tribe. I am not a IT specialist
even if I was a key account manger in an IT company.
I am a coach, coach for IT managers when they face
some relationship difficulties with their staff and clients.

I got good results so I wrote a ebook about one method.
Because it is the first one, if some of you are facing some
conflicts, I will be happy to offer it to you.

I am available for any kind of questions.

Cheers,

Philippe
lifedesignersnetwork.com

posted in IT Consultants - 3 replies

Consider me resource

2004-12-04T08:23:20Z

Hello,

My name is Philippe,

I just joined your tribe. I am not a IT specialist
even if I was a key account manger in an IT company.
I am a coach, coach for IT managers when they face
some relationship difficulties with their staff and clients.

I got good results so I wrote a ebook about one method.
Because it is the first one, if some of you are facing some
conflicts, I will be happy to offer it to you.

I am available for ay kind of questions.

Cheers,

Philippe
http://lifedesignersnetwork.com

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

International Experience - a good thing?

2004-12-04T08:11:20Z

After ~6 years working in IT in Europe, Asia, and Australasia I am ready to come back to the good old USA. Does anyone have an opinion whether my International networks, operations, and security experience will be a positive, negative, or neutral factor in finding work?

posted in IT Consultants - 2 replies

ContractedWeb.com

2004-10-12T01:07:03Z

I would like to let you know about a new service that connects employers with freelance professionals.

www.ContractedWeb.com is a new service that connects project owners with freelancers from around the world.

Those looking for work to be completed post projects for free, review bids and select the right freelancer for a job. Freelance Professionals post bids for free, create online portfolios to showcase work as well as a list of many other features.

I hope that you find www.ContractedWeb.com as useful as many others have.

If you have any questions please let me know.

-Peter Ferrigan
www.ContractedWeb.com

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

Looking for Sysadmins in the Philly area!

2004-09-08T17:38:50Z

...for social and career networking. Don't be shy! Whether you work with Solaris (like I do), Linux, OSX, Windows or something else entirely, all are welcome. I'm thinking about monthly meetings someplace fun. Drop me a message to let me know your interest. Thanks!

posted in IT Consultants - 1 reply

Horror stories

2004-07-22T01:44:44Z

What are some of your worst experiences with clients' computers? Maybe you accidentally reformatted their NTFS partition with Ext2fs, then found that it contained the only copy of their customer db. Maybe you shorted out their DLT tape drive by putting your screwdriver in the wrong place.

What's your horror story?

posted in IT Consultants - 9 replies

D'oh

2004-07-21T20:26:57Z

3 hours the other day trying to figure out why 1/2 the office at a company who's infrstructure we rebuilt couldn't get online..

Gotta love tone generators..

two cisco switches acting as a glorified patch panel in the attic.

Whee!

Documentation? We don't need no stinkin documentation.

posted in IT Consultants - 1 reply

Need to hire someone for Our Network

2004-07-09T10:32:44Z

I am looking for someone in the LA area to come in a fix our network.

any takers.

posted in IT Consultants - 3 replies

Looking for IT Consultants in Twin Cities

2004-04-29T20:10:15Z

Hi,

My name is Jon, and I own a company called Point and Click Consulting Services. I'm looking for IT Professionals to network with and possibly join a consortium of independent IT professionals - to share leads, possible assignments, etc.

Let me know if you or someone you know may be interested...

Thanks!

Jon
jzak1972@yahoo.com

posted in IT Consultants - 2 replies

Looking for IT Consultants in Twin Cities

2004-04-26T16:42:31Z

posted in IT Consultants - 0 replies

tech support software?

2004-04-13T09:03:11Z

Hi,

I am looking for a good free/open-source tech-support software package to fullfil a sort of help-desk system. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks!

posted in IT Consultants - 8 replies

Hello!

2004-03-16T23:28:13Z

Hey, I just joined this tribe. My name is Jon and I'm a self-employed computer consultant! I'm glad I found a tribe that suits my interest...Look forward to talking to you,

Jon

posted in IT Consultants - 10 replies

Resumes?

2004-02-17T21:52:11Z

I've been 1/2 and 1/2 on this. I've sent my resume out
a good amount oftimes, and gotten a fair amount of work.. It
seems to me though, that as a consultant, I don't need a resume,
and should be putting out a profile that summarizes, but does not
list my customer's names.

How have other people approached this aspect of marketing themselves?

posted in IT Consultants - 3 replies

Evil temptations..

2004-01-25T12:23:46Z

I have 3 offers ranging from $100k-$120k.. Consulting
has slowed down a bit over the past couple of months..

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan it's hard to turn down a $120k offer that's
only an 8 minute commute on principle.

posted in IT Consultants - 4 replies

Business cards/old media?

2004-01-23T05:51:56Z

A few of the datacenters I have servers & customers in have
asked me to put some marketing information, and business cards
in their lobby, so they can refer me to some of their customers
who need infrastructure work..

Does anybody actually do this type of stuff anymore? I've never had business cards printed up, never even considered having a logo design..

posted in IT Consultants - 7 replies

To incorporate or Not to incorporate, for that is the question.

2004-01-18T00:01:48Z

This seems to be the most age-old question on realrates.com.

Unfortuantely realrates has long-since died from lack of activity (sure, it's still there, but who uses it?)..

It seems to be a good topic to continue over here.

Who here has battled this question, and what was your outcome?

I'm debating right now on whether to incorporate my consulting business, or whether to just get a fictitious business name, and register as a sole proprietorship.

The benefits to a sole proprietorship seem clear : I can still accept money under a fictitious business name, and the paperwork is pretty simple. The negatives seem to be not getting the "prestige" of a corporation, and not getting the liability protection.

The benefits to an LLC are less clear : Potentially good tax savings, prestige, asset protection (who knows if this means anything anymore, since corporate lawyers are experts at piercing the corporate veil). The negative side seems to be high cost ($1500-$2500 to have a lawyer, plus $250+ in filing costs, and $800 a year in californian state franchise tax). Some of the negatives get offset with certain SF city tax credits like creating a new job in an enterprise zone, which I think is a few hundred dollars.

posted in IT Consultants - 9 replies

Freelance v. Partners

2003-12-30T16:23:43Z

I'm curious to know what type of business arrangement people prefer.

I'm a freelance consultant and I always have been. I enjoy the flexibility of setting my own hours and rates. There have been times though, when I've thought that it would be easier if I had a partner or two.

What do you think works best for you?

posted in IT Consultants - 2 replies

SEEKING Information Technology Internship

2003-12-23T14:36:47Z

Hi

this is Muhammad, I will be getting my CCNA, Cisco-Certified-Netowrk-Associate soon and am looking to do an unpaid Internship some place in the Philadelphia, Southern NJ, Northern Delaware area. looking to aquire the hands on I will need to really do well. available for paid Internmship Now, for unpaid one only on sat and sundays....pass the word Tribesmen and women!! Thanks.
mnbey@yahoo.com

posted in IT Consultants - 2 replies