Newsletter

January 2018 Newsletter

January 2, 2018 By Rob Marlowe

Best wishes for a safe and Happy New Year.

We’ve been a bit quiet the last month, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been busy. We’ve been preparing for the new year. There are some interesting new computer products out and technology continues to race forward.

NEWS FROM THE SHOP

We’ve been checking out some cool new hardware. We recently got our hands on one of Intel’s new Compute Sticks. This thing is a bit larger than a pack of gum, but is actually a computer, complete with Windows 10 Home. It uses an HDMI port to plug into a monitor or TV and has bluetooth connectivity for a keyboard & mouse. It appears to be perfect for a home entertainment system if your TV needs something that can stream content to it. Our business clients may find it of interest as a “thin client” that will let them connect remotely to their business network. With prices starting around $200, the Compute Stick is an interesting device.

In our November newsletter, we introduced the new preconfigured Intel NUC system. We’ve now started delivering them to clients and the response has been very positive. It is amazing how much power can be packed into a computer that you can hold in your hand.

American Express ran a campaign a few years back with the tag line: “Membership Has Its Privileges”. That is quite true. Gulfcoast Networking provides support packages for both individuals and businesses.

For individuals, our Safe Computing Packages are a great bargain. Instead of waiting for something to break, sign up today and quit worrying about your computer. Just one phone call from “Microsoft Support” claiming that your computer is infected will cost you more than our most expensive Safe Computing Package. Our Safe Computing clients know that they can just pick up the phone and let us worry about making sure that their computer is okay.

Many of our business clients sign up for a managed IT contract that covers our support of their computers and their network. Telephone and remote support is completely covered. We also monitor the network and individual computers on a real-time basis. Where necessary, we also manually check up on critical systems. Allow me to explain how this works:

Before writing this newsletter on a brisk Saturday morning, I logged into one client’s server and performed a system reboot to clear a backup issue we’ve been troubleshooting. After the server came back up, I then stopped and restarted various services in a specific order to work around a known Quickbooks bug. Once finished, I retested the backup routine. All of this scheduled weekend maintenance, along with the service calls I’ve made to the client in the past month, have been completely covered under a single fixed price contract.

The alternative is to pay for service as it is needed. Some months are inexpensive, but others can be very expensive. Smart computer owners appreciate being able to predict what their monthly cost is going to be, without any unpleasant surprises.

Be a smart computer owner and sign up for one of our individual or business support plans.

Happy New Year.

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek

February 2017 Newsletter

February 14, 2017 By Rob Marlowe

Welcome to our February 2017 Newsletter

NEWS FROM THE SHOP

If you’ve been thinking about a new computer, come see us. We’ve got access to a number of different name brand systems and we also build custom systems.

Nice basic systems can be had in the $500 range and really super systems will generally fall in the $1000-1200 range.

MICROSOFT SUPPORT

I have lost track of the number of times I’ve heard of someone getting a call from “Microsoft” or seeing a popup on their screen telling them to call an 800 number to deal with an infected computer. These are almost ALWAYS scams designed to separate you from your money. If you let the scammers into your computer, they will typically lock things up until you pay them some outrageous amount of money to fix your computer.

We offer Safe Computing Packages for our residential clients. For a single fixed price each year, we’ll install anti-malware software on your computer and be just a phone call away so you can call US when you get one of those phone calls or popups. Trust me, any of our Safe Computing packages will be less expensive thanpaying the scammers to get your control of your computer back.

ALL THINGS GEEK

I’m going to depart from pure computer / Internet stuff this month and talk about something else I’ve been watching. Given that I’m both a geek and a car nut, the topic shouldn’t surprise anyone:

One of the more interesting tech developments over the past few years is the way that electric vehicle (EV) sales have started to take off. It used to be that someone driving a hybrid or an EV could easily be classified as a “tree hugger”. That isn’t the case anymore. People looking for cars that are economical to operate are starting to give EVs and hybrids a closer look. Toyota brought hybrids to the mainstream with their line of Prius models. Other car companies have followed suit with a range of hybrids to suit just about any need.

Although only about 1% of all cars sold currently are EVs or Plug-In Hybrids, with January’s sales being 59% over January 2016 numbers, things won’t stay that way for long. Cars that you plug in are already at the point where they are less expensive to operate than conventional gasoline powered cars. With battery prices continuing to decline, electric cars will become a very attractive option.

The 2017 Chevy Bolt, which won’t arrive here in Florida until mid-summer, has been named the Motor Week Car of the Year. With a 230+ mile range, it will fill the needs of most people. It is the first mass market pure EV that would work as a daily driver for me. Up until now, the range of affordable EVs has been too low to cover my periodic drives around the Tampa Bay area. A 70 mile range doesn’t cover my round trips to St. Pete or Tampa. A 200+ mile range covers it with range to spare.

Plug-In Hybrids are also very attractive. The second generation Chevy Volt uses regular gas instead of premium and promises to have a 1000 mile range between fillups. I can believe Chevy’s range claim. My son’s first generation Prius Plug-In, which a much shorter pure EV range, is easily capable of 700 plus miles between fillups. The biggest advantage of a plug-in hybrid over a pure EV is that you get the best of both worlds: Economical EV power around town and no limit on how far you can drive on a road trip. My son drove his Prius Plug-In all the way from California to Florida!

Most folks plug their cars in at home overnight to recharge. Public charging stations are popping up around the Tampa Bay area and they will make it easier to drive around without burning dead dinosaurs. We’ve got a handful of charging stations around town now and I expect that number to grow.

Where will this all go? My prediction is that we are looking at a sea change in cars similar to what we saw with the Internet over the last 20 years or so. Regardless of what we, or our leaders, believe about global warming, the economic benefits associated with electric vehicles will drive the sales growth of these vehicles.

We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It’s our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our shop.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

Rob Marlowe
Gulfcoast Networking, Inc.
6335 Grand Blvd
New Port Richey, FL 34652

727-847-2424

(We have used our best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, we do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.)

January 2017 Newsletter

January 2, 2017 By Rob Marlowe

Welcome to our January 2017 Newsletter

Can we already be in a new year? It is hard to believe, but 2017 is already upon us. Everyone here at Gulfcoast Networking wants to wish you and yours the absolute best in the coming year.

NEWS FROM THE SHOP

2016 was easily our best year since the start of the Great Recession. Your referrals of new clients made all the difference. Thank you.

A lot of what we did during 2016 was “under the hood” stuff that wasn’t particularly apparent to a casual viewer, but it was important nonetheless.

The single most important project was to develop a new disaster recovery process for our corporate clients. We’ve tested it on our own network and we had one client that actually had to use it. Needless to say, being able get a business network back up and fully functional on a backup server in a very sort time frame and then roll them back to their primary production server overnight with no data loss is a MAJOR accomplishment.

Last year saw us update our remote support tools, making it even easier to fix most issues without you having to unplug everything and bring it to the shop or have us make an expensive trip to your home or office.

Watch for more changes in the coming months. We’re looking to make 2017 an even better year than 2016.

CLASSES

We are looking at the possibility of offering some computer classes in 2017. Please let us know if there is a specific topic or topics that we should cover.

RUSSIAN HACKERS

There has been a lot of press over the past few months about Russian hackers attacking various computer systems. Vladimir Putin’s army of hackers are not the only ones out there. China, North Korea, and Iran, to name just a few, are all looking for ways to hack into US systems. Sometimes it is political, sometimes it is financial. The key is that it is continuous.

Our public IP addresses and those of our clients are probed regularly by computers from all over the world, rattling the digital door knobs to see if anything is unlocked. We also get our share of bogus emails trying to trick us into giving the bad guys the keys to the kingdom. You have no reason to believe that you and your computer are immune.

Is this important to you? Absolutely. As a computer owner, you need to take steps to make sure that your computer doesn’t become one of the “zombies” that the bad guys use for attacking critical US systems. Theft of your identity is painful and clearing up your credit after your identity has been stolen is an involved process, but it is nothing compared to what may happen if your computer is hijacked by the bad guys.

Consider the mess you’ll have if various three letter federal agencies descend on your home because your computer was being used to hack a military network, the White House, or a power company. Watching guys jump out of black SUVs, automatic weapons drawn, is not something you want to see as you open your front door first thing in the morning.

Protect yourself: At a bare minimum, you need to run a QUALITY anti-malware program. We recommend commercial products from the likes of Avira, F-Secure, and AVG. The free stuff typically comes with limitations that are simply not acceptable in today’s dangerous cyber environment.

You also need to THINK before you click on a link or open an email attachment. Don’t fill out forms supposedly sent by your bank or credit card company. Call them using the number on your statement. Don’t let some stranger into your computer. Practice Safe Computing. When in doubt, CALL US.

Business owners face some special challenges. If you have a business network, let us help you secure it and train your employees on how to avoid disaster. We can also show you how to tell when someone is rattling the digital locks that protect your network from the outside world. Better yet, let us monitor your network for you.

AROUND TOWN

The West Pasco Chamber of Commerce’s annual Business Development Week will be coming January 21st through January 27th. We should have flyers at our shop early this week. Feel free to drop by and pick one up. There will be lots of free programs for business owners and some exciting meal events as well (you have to pay for the meals). The BDW will kick off on January 21st with a Business Expo and Health Fair at the Gulfview Square Mall.

We hope you found this newsletter to be informative. It’s our way of keeping you posted on the happenings at our shop.

Thanks for your business!

Best regards,

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek
Gulfcoast Networking, Inc.
6335 Grand Blvd
New Port Richey, FL 34652

727-847-2424

December 2016 Newsletter

December 1, 2016 By Rob Marlowe

Welcome to our December 2016 Newsletter

The holiday season is upon us and all of us at Gulfcoast Networking would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

NEWS FROM THE SHOP

Check with us for stocking stuffers, such as computer mice and other accessories.

For that special person in your life, consider giving them a Safe Computing subscription from Gulfcoast Networking.

Not sure what they might like? We can provide you with a gift certificate to put in their stocking.

NEW COMPUTERS

nuc — Many new Gulfcoast systems are barely wider than 4×4 inches and barely 2″ in height.

We build custom systems and we can get a wide variety of brand name systems. If you are looking for a high quality or business grade system, come see us. Our systems are built to much higher specs than the stuff you will find at the big box stores. For example, a typical desktop system we sell comes with a 480gb solid state drive, 16gb of memory built in WiFi, gigabit ethernet, multiple monitor support and Windows 10 Pro…all in a box small enough for you to hold in one hand.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a simple home system, the big box stores have some very attractive deals on low end stuff. The performance isn’t the same, but you may well not care. For personal use, they are likely okay. Feel free to call us and let us help you shop for the best computer for your needs.

We can also spin up your new computer, regardless of where you got it, and make sure that it is running properly and has proper anti-malware protection installed.

AROUND TOWN

We encourage you to check out all the cool stuff around town this month. We will have the tree lighting at 6pm on Friday the 2nd, the Riverlights Boat Parade is Saturday the 3rd, and the Holiday Rotary Street Parade is the evening of Saturday the 10th.

HOLIDAY HOURS

We currently anticipate being closed Saturday -Monday, December 24-26th and Saturday – Monday, December 31st-January 2nd.

Please stay safe this holiday season and remember to call us or visit for all your computer needs.

Rob Marlowe, Senior Geek
Gulfcoast Networking, Inc.
6335 Grand Blvd
New Port Richey, FL 34652
727-847-2424

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