Posts made by NerdyDad

My one through an error. I guess I'll see what happens to it next Friday.

The current DNS is unnecessarily slow and suffers from inability to deploy new features. To remediate these problems, vendors of DNS software and also big public DNS providers are going to remove certain workarounds on February 1st, 2019.

This change affects only sites which operate software which is not following published standards. Are you affected?

https://dnsflagday.net/

First I've heard about this. I've always thought that DNS was fast enough, but of course, it was designed 40 years ago. Is this really concern now?

@jmoore said in Miscellaneous Tech News:

@mlnews I use the Google Tv platform and its been decent. I haven't used anything else though so not much to base that on. Anything that is better than Google TV?

Do you mean YouTube TV, or is there a separate service called Google TV?

Thought this was both funny and helpful, thus had to share.

https://twitter.com/b0rk/status/1087936439470444544?s=09

@scottalanmiller said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

Driving back to Dallas.

How was the Unitrends conference?

Just finished HOL-1910-01-SDC - Virtualization 101: Introduction to vSphere

@wrx7m said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

Gah! Veeam 9.5 Update 4 is being annoying. Veeam One won't let me connect from my client system, but will work fine from the server. Disabled Windows firewall, same result. Had this issue after an update in Dec 2017, but the case notes don't show the resolution. I referenced the previous case and am still getting canned responses from level 1 asking if I had verified the versions were the same on both (I told them that they were in the opening notes). Webex scheduled, but I think we are going to be reinventing the wheel.

Also, tried upgrading to update 4 for backup and recovery, but the enterprise manager upgrade needs to take place first. It fails.

Two open tickets.

Ehh...I'll just wait a couple of weeks. Let them get all of the bugs worked out first.

@LilAng said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

@scottalanmiller said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/podborka-prikolnyx-kartinok-31.jpg?quality=85&strip=info&w=650

How does that happen, lol.

maybe a show car? i always wonder how they put the cars in the mall.

Pretty sure that's not the way to do it.

@LilAng said in What Are You Doing Right Now:

i'm jealous but im really excited to play in the snow. Also might build a snowman on a tree trunk LOL

Did a car hit it in retaliation?

@JaredBusch said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

@tonyshowoff said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

@JaredBusch said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

@dafyre said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

@tonyshowoff Thanks. You just saved me a ton of money on more bleach.

I can post another picture of me at the water park if you want.

Jared, come on man, don't be a tease.

btw, you can blame @BRRABill for that

Hey @dafyre, where is that bleach at?

So basically we need to not purchase Windows boxes unless necessary. That answered one of my 3 questions. I think security was answered there somewhere. Maybe the resources question was answered? I'm not sure on that because my thread was hijacked AGAIN!!

@LilAng said in What did you have for lunch or dinner today?:

chik-fil-a chicken noodle soup. Tastes good on a cold rainy day.

That actually sounds good. Will have to try that out.

@scottalanmiller said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/rubbing-temple-children-are-blessing-children-are-a-blessing-children-are-a-blessing-chi-18.jpg?quality=85&strip=info&w=600

He might want to get that 3-year-old's ears checked.

@scottalanmiller said in Random Thread - Anything Goes:

https://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/rubbing-temple-children-are-blessing-children-are-a-blessing-children-are-a-blessing-chi-22.jpg?quality=85&strip=info&w=600

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@JaredBusch said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@JaredBusch said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@NerdyDad said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

Normally, we have been deploying Dell OptiPlex's SFF in place because they don't consume a lot of power, small desktop footprint, and still does the job. However, I have been thinking that it just may still be overkill and cost a lot at $1k/computer + internal support.

Our high power quad core, 16GB RAM, WD SSD desktops are only $405 new. If we needed low power clerical systems, they would cost a bit less. What's causing that high cost?

I pay $1000 for a similar spec from HP.

Right, but why? That's a lot of extra money to get something kinda blah.

Share your source?

He is ignoring

• the Windows License
• the assembly time of the hardware
• the purchasing of the hardware pieces

No Windows license at all, so nothing ignored. It's for non-Windows boxes.

Assembling time, yes, that's ignored.

Purchasing? that's all in the cost. I just send an email, the box shows up.

You are comparing a non windows licensed white box to a Windows licensed box. You are most definitely ignoring it.

I'm not. In this use case, that license is vestigial. You can't get away from it, even when it is not needed. Just like if there was extra, useless hardware added to that one but isn't needed. In no way whatsoever is it ignored, it's an unnecessary cost that is just wasted money in this use case.

Are you saying you're getting a Windows (home or pro) license with your whitebox?

I am not. I am saying that the thread is about non-Windows machines. ChromeOS or Fedora have no need for that license.

If you are comparing HP or Dell in this thread, you either have to assume that that license is wasted and pointless; or you have to assume that you are able to get that gear at a lower price without the license.

aww ok, I get it.

I need it in my case. So that $1000 for the OP it can likely be a waste, if Chrome or Fedora works for him, as you said.

Of course - he can't get MS Office on Fedora normally - can he? Does it work will enough with WINE?

We are planning on moving our files to SharePoint (because that is what the boss wants to do), so I would just push the user to the Web Based version of the applications and save the $5/user/month difference between the 2 licenses instead of trying to support MS apps that seems to change all of the time on WINE.

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@NerdyDad said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@NerdyDad said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

All this user really needs is RDP to our ERP system and Outlook, maybe a printer, and a one-off app here or there, such as UltraVNC or Excel or something.

ChromeOS cannot run Outlook, Excel, etc.

VNC might work, here is an example.

https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/chrome/

We're pulling Outlook and Excel from the Google Play store, just like you would on your Android phone.

how well does those work on ChromeOS?

About as well as you would expect on an Android phone, similar to the Chromebook. Not much functionality in comparison to Outlook in Windows. These users aren't doing PivotTables, but just data entry at best for Excel.

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

Printer... that throws a wrench in the works. Chromebooks do not use printers in a traditional way. You might be okay, or might have a complication. If you want traditional printing, you'll want traditional Linux desktops instead of ChromeOS.

That might be a possibility. The only 2 things really blocking us from doing this is tech familiarity and user retraining. Otherwise, I would put in a Salt Master inside the trusted zone and minions on the desktops. OWS for Outlook (which would lower costs for us, from $15/user to $10/user) and Reminna for RDP to the ERP.

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@NerdyDad said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

All this user really needs is RDP to our ERP system and Outlook, maybe a printer, and a one-off app here or there, such as UltraVNC or Excel or something.

ChromeOS cannot run Outlook, Excel, etc.

VNC might work, here is an example.

https://www.realvnc.com/en/connect/download/viewer/chrome/

We're pulling Outlook and Excel from the Google Play store, just like you would on your Android phone.

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@Dashrender said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@scottalanmiller said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

@NerdyDad said in Chromebox for Clerks and Data Entry:

Normally, we have been deploying Dell OptiPlex's SFF in place because they don't consume a lot of power, small desktop footprint, and still does the job. However, I have been thinking that it just may still be overkill and cost a lot at $1k/computer + internal support.

Our high power quad core, 16GB RAM, WD SSD desktops are only $405 new. If we needed low power clerical systems, they would cost a bit less. What's causing that high cost?

I pay $1000 for a similar spec from HP.

Right, but why? That's a lot of extra money to get something kinda blah.

Share your source?

I don't buy many desktops - though quick count - we have... 46 - damn.. more than I realized.. we have around 60 laptops.

We're probably split in desktops versus laptops. We don't do enterprise-wide client refreshes. We purchase laptops and desktops as requested by the user's manager (we internally charge the requesting department for the equipment in order to keep requests down).

@dafyre said in Simple Resume Fails:

@CCWTech said in Simple Resume Fails:

@scottalanmiller Putting where you served a church mission, statements under Interests & Skills - Outgoing father for my daughters are wholly inappropriate as well.

I don't care what your religious beliefs are or if you are proud of being a father when I consider your resume'.

The exception to the church rule should be if what you did is directly related to the job you are applying for ie: PC Technician or Sound Technician... Paid or not, that should be listed under Previous jobs and not under interests & skills.

Does $Work -eq 'Yes' && $Pay -eq 'Yes' {
then { $Work -> $Experience.Work }
Else { $Work -> $Experience.Volunteer }

Business Use Case

I have some users in my organization that does clerical work / data entry. All this user really needs is RDP to our ERP system and Outlook, maybe a printer, and a one-off app here or there, such as UltraVNC or Excel or something. Normally, we have been deploying Dell OptiPlex's SFF in place because they don't consume a lot of power, small desktop footprint, and still does the job. However, I have been thinking that it just may still be overkill and cost a lot at $1k/computer + internal support.

We recently purchased Chromebooks for a small quick project for the HR department that is about to be finished. I was considering either repurposing these Chromebooks for mobile users that still don't require anything really heavy (not doing Excel PivotTables, data analysis, or anything) but still needs a laptop of some kind.

I know that I can get the apps from the Google Play store to do what we need. I am looking at Chrome Enterprise Licensing to manage the security of the devices.

Question
With looking at deploying a few apps, how much resources do I really need (RAM, CPU, Storage)? I doubt I need 8 GB of RAM to run Outlook and RDP, plus printers and another app. 4 GB should do just fine, unless I'm overestimating the capabilities of the device. i3 or Celeron should do just fine. Doubt an i7 would be necessary. Stock 32 GB of storage as nothing should be stored on the devices and everything on the servers.

Is there really an ROI by going from a Windows box to a Chromebox? I doubt I would be spending any more of my time troubleshooting chromeboxes in comparison to windows boxes. I would just have some spare chromeboxes on hand that I could quickly replace troublesome boxes with and work on the troubled boxes in the server room. $1k/Windows box and may last 1-2 (maybe 3-5) years plus internal support versus $250-500/chromebox + $50 annual licensing fee to Google for managing the chromebox + internal support (maybe less than before with the Windows box, but support would still have to be there).

With this change, would we be reducing our security footprint and begin the slow movement to a LANless model? Not as many attack vectors for a Chromebox in comparison to a Windows box, as we all know, eventually could I migrate client devices in general to a DMZ/untrusted networkzone and treat it that way while keeping the servers in a trusted network zone?