Nex-Tech Blog | Technology Tips and Tricks | Industry News

The beginning of the year is always a refreshing time for me.  The cold, brisk, winter air is a fresh feeling as I step outside, no matter what time of day. The new year is a time to start with a blank slate to build from – whether that be ideas, processes, improvements or changes. Now is the time to look at what you are doing, where you want to be and what you want to accomplish in 12 months.

I have always been an early adopter of technology, even way back. I remember being in grade school programming in BASIC on my Commodore 64.  Technology has changed a lot since then. It is much more obvious the impact it can have on learning. When the iPad 1 came out in 2010 I was one of the first to have one. The iPad was not the first tablet in our house (tablet being defined by a touch screen computer in slate form); however, it was the first that was truly refined and did what it promised.

With my job, I am blessed to be able to travel the country and tour some impressive facilities.  Facilities such as large central offices, carrier hotels and recently, an underground data center.  I had a preconceived notion of what to expect in an underground data center as I have toured several above ground.  I assumed we would enter a building above ground and an elevator would take us below.  After receiving driving directions to the facilities and being told “Once you enter the cave”, I had to ask for clarification.  After confirming that I would be driving into the cave, I still assumed we would park just inside the entrance and take an elevator down.  Was I ever wrong.

2019 is off to a great start. Nex-Tech just learned in January that the Advertising Solutions division has achieved Google Partner status and is listed on the Google Ads partner page. In addition, we are now able to display the Google Partner badge on our materials.

Calix, Inc. has announced the winners of its 2018 Calix Innovation Awards. The winners, who represent six broadband leaders from three different countries, were honored at the sold-out Calix ConneXions Innovation and User Conference in October, 2018. Now in its eighth year, the Calix Innovation Awards recognize Calix customers who demonstrate outstanding creativity when leveraging Calix technology to deploy best-in-class services over the past 12 months. The awards showcase innovation in the use of cloud and software platforms, systems and services to transform business models, networks and the subscriber experience.

I recently attended an IT conference, and I am sad to say this was the first of its kind for me. With the reality that Nex-Tech has been in the “Technology” business, I realized I was not where I needed to be with understanding the vital needed of advanced IT support and cybersecurity in today’s business. To be fair, I have had the luxury of leaning on our talented staff and our Chief Operating Officer, Mike Pollock, to understand how this is important to our company as well as our customers. Once immersed in the world of IT, I learned that they speak a different language than I had learned in the traditional telecommunications world. I found myself taking a lot of notes and then following that up with a lot of questions to my team.

1. Edit PDFs

 Your PDF files open by default in Adobe. But, what if you want to edit them? You cannot do that within Adobe Reader, and the Adobe software that does let you make changes to PDFs is not cheap. Microsoft Word to the rescue!

Often, when I ask telecommunication providers who they use for their CALEA compliancy, I usually get that deer in the headlights look. Most remember hearing the acronym CALEA, but aren’t familiar with what it stands for, or they say, “I remember approving the bills, but not sure with who or why.”

1. The Start Menu

For you Windows 7 users, rest easy, because this is here to stay. For the Windows 8 users, the start menu is back with its full functionality – and then some. The aesthetics of the new start menu combine the basics of the start menu from Windows 7 with the sleek tiles that were a part of Windows 8. The customization of this helps you to access what you need much faster and boosts productivity. Open the Start Menu, click on Settings, Personalization, and then Start. Make the Start Menu work for you. Microsoft created a helpful onboarding resource for this feature as well.