tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.comments2024-03-09T23:22:40.699-08:00Small Biz Thoughts by Karl W. PalachukKarl W. Palachukhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10854725002875547297noreply@blogger.comBlogger1977125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-34686010507890867142024-02-05T10:28:33.889-08:002024-02-05T10:28:33.889-08:00One comment that I have heard recently from a resp...One comment that I have heard recently from a respected voice, Peter Zeihan. With the coming de-globalization one of the key manufacturing sectors that will take a big hit is semiconductors. His take is that China controls the 90nm chips and that will be not available with the crumbling of China. The 60nm is controlled by the USA and Japan, so no issue. And the 30nm stuff is controlled by the Dutch. but has an extremely complex supply chain (like 9,000 companies) and will likely be extremely limited in distribution - likely mostly DoD AI stuff. As such, AI commerical distribution will be extremely limited. I would like your take. Denis Wilsonhttp://www.dwpia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-64261833628272342962023-08-25T15:12:47.025-07:002023-08-25T15:12:47.025-07:00Same Day Update:
Mr. B is using SuperOps ticketi...Same Day Update: <br /><br />Mr. B is using SuperOps ticketing, which supports "Conditionals." He set custom field in the ticket form: “Contract Work: Yes/No”<br /><br />Conditional custom pricing feature in contracts: Set $0 price if the field is yes, regular price if no. <br /><br />"I think we got it! Now, we do it exactly as you suggest: Service manager hits the check box, or unchecks the box, and it’s included or not. <br />Freakin’ sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"<br /><br />Happy to help! - KPKarl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-68199061629251984642023-07-29T08:10:23.808-07:002023-07-29T08:10:23.808-07:00This would be my approach, too. Musk, IMO, is tryi...This would be my approach, too. Musk, IMO, is trying to re-invigorate a platform that was dying from being overstaffed by time-servers, over-moderated and actively censored. It's understandable that quality will suffer in the short term. Block and move on is my approach, though, thankfully I've not seen anything heinous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-23411282660182529222023-07-13T06:07:40.419-07:002023-07-13T06:07:40.419-07:00Could not agree more on the generally evil nature ...Could not agree more on the generally evil nature of PE in our industry and others (see especially the veterinary industry). And also in wholehearted agreement on the issue of data portability. NSITSP might get involved in the latter, as there seems to be at least a hope that is a dragon that could be slain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-78332486189635335942023-07-11T20:16:09.777-07:002023-07-11T20:16:09.777-07:00I haven't seen that on Twitter, but I have see...I haven't seen that on Twitter, but I have seen animals being hurt on Instagram. WTF? I guess we click on things and the algorithms "think" we like it and send us more of it. So much for AI. I just kept clicking "I don't want to see this" (or something similar) on IG and it went away. That said, why am I on Instagram or Twitter or Facebook AT ALL? We are probably better off without it. So, good for you.Mackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978569536706850246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-74665082305543179002023-07-11T02:56:41.603-07:002023-07-11T02:56:41.603-07:00I to have been seeing a lot of violent videos reco...I to have been seeing a lot of violent videos recommended to my on twitter. It is disturbing. I've muted/blocked many. I don't use the platform that often however I was reading about the level of control FBI and other gov orgs had on censorship of the platform prior to Musk's take over and it's good to know this has now been made public. I think the disturbing videos are just a blip of twitter's roadmap - probably due to the amount of staff they let go. Going forward i'm sure it will get sorted. I feel the platform will help from a freedom of speech perspective and I almost see "threads" as a reaction to that free speech by Meta and probably so other interested parties. Keeping my account and looking forward to improvements. - Scott IT RockstarsScott Millarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-83190825924700084202023-07-10T09:42:53.490-07:002023-07-10T09:42:53.490-07:00I left Twitter many years ago because of their hig...I left Twitter many years ago because of their high level of censorship but returned after Musk took it over. So, I'm not a big Twitter user but I have never seen a video there in which someone died. But, if I had been exposed to such videos, I would simply unfollow whoever it was that was posting them. Seems to me to be a fairly easy fix or am I missing something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-17403261930428497902023-07-06T00:29:16.907-07:002023-07-06T00:29:16.907-07:00Karl -- I'm gutted to see you leave Twitter, b...Karl -- I'm gutted to see you leave Twitter, but *totally* understand your decisions for doing so. Twitter has always had a reputation for being the wild west, but in the past few months the moderation of the platform has reached new lows. It'll be interesting to see how Mark Zuckerberg's new "Theads" Twitter clone takes off!Richard Tubbhttp://www.tubblog.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-21414325453756936552023-05-09T16:26:11.988-07:002023-05-09T16:26:11.988-07:00Thanks for the comments. I have received a LOT of ...Thanks for the comments. I have received a LOT of email on this post, as well as my recent newsletter. One person sent me the following, with a note that he didn't want to post a comment on my blog because it would expose how vulnerable he is relying vendors who dismiss his concerns because it doesn't serve them well:<br /><br />"I decided to take a closer look at Autotask. Exporting the data is not impossible—but it is highly impractical. As you suggested on the blog, exporting data needs to be easy. Exporting Autotask’s data is not. It should basically be a one-button job. I can get all our clients’ passwords fairly easily, but we also have a ton of information attached to configuration items (equipment). There is no way to export all the configuration items all at once. Instead, it looks as though we’d have to select each of 600 or so companies and export each company’s equipment. And then there are innumerable notes and tickets. Maybe they have a way to automate it via an API, because this would have to be done routinely to keep it fresh, but I doubt it. So the question an MSP has to ask is, “How will I provide my services without my PSA?” We ask questions like that of our clients, but we have to ask ourselves as if we were our own client. And even if we could get it down in a CSV file, will another company be able to import it into a usable program?"<br /><br />"You are right—vendors don’t even like to talk about this. If you ask directly about data portability or even just backing up the data, vendors will not answer your question directly. They will say, “We’re not going anywhere,” “You don’t need to do that,” “We have multiple data centers,” or “Don’t worry, be happy.” Rackspace shut down Hosted Exchange permanently without warning. The multiple data centers were useless to clients who had no access to any of them. That should be a wake-up call to everyone that every vendor needs to make provision for the day it goes out of business, even if it never comes. The $64,000 question is how to force them to do this, and just what constitutes useful data portability."<br /><br />I don't want to pick on any specific vendors. I'll just say, the bigger they are, the bigger this problem is for THEM as well as you.<br /><br />It's an interesting analogy. The Internet was built to be open and then we had to secure it. Vendor data was designed to be vendor-specific and now it needs to be open. <br /><br />As I mentioned in my newsletter (quoting from the New York Times), "Companies bought by private equity firms are far more likely to go bankrupt than companies that aren’t." Given that fact, YOU have to be responsible for protecting your data, securing your data, and keeping an up-to-date copy of your data. Right now, zero vendors are making that easy. It needs to be the norm.Karl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-18742435202464884102023-05-06T15:29:11.750-07:002023-05-06T15:29:11.750-07:00The small business owners that sell to PE are to b...The small business owners that sell to PE are to blame as well. They know what happens to their companies when they sell. It’s no secret that PE will try to maximize profits and the companies the owners built are going to be torn apart for a nice check. I know an owner must have an exit plan but selling a company to brand C or brand K will likely mean that the company they poured their blood sweat and tears into is basically going to die or at least be stagnant for years. As being a business owner I can see both sides but I would hate to see my business get killed by PE standard practices. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-63495679157147094362023-05-05T23:40:25.725-07:002023-05-05T23:40:25.725-07:00100% agree Karl100% agree KarlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-84729599387121753752023-05-02T12:13:33.670-07:002023-05-02T12:13:33.670-07:00I have to say this is the most refreshing (and tru...I have to say this is the most refreshing (and truthful) take I've read on the PE problem plaguing the industry. These two points right here: <br /><br />The end user is irrelevant except that they buy "X" widgets<br />You, the IT professional, are irrelevant except that you buy and resell widgets<br /><br />Is, in my humble opinion, exactly the problem. We are no longer being seen by our vendors as value to our clients, we are just resellers and that's not what we signed up for.<br /><br />Great article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-73404303816902198142023-02-27T11:38:11.451-08:002023-02-27T11:38:11.451-08:00If it's proposed by a politician in California...If it's proposed by a politician in California, especially one from the Bay Area (and I see my useless SF representative there), it's usually a dumb idea. <br /><br />I'm not totally opposed to the idea: I have a perfectly good zero client monitor gathering dust in my basement. I bought it from a reseller. Neither Dell nor Teradici will give me the code to unlock it. So it's going to a landfill. THAT is sad. Guarantee you this bill won't do anything about that though.Mackerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978569536706850246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-44294678117075596732022-12-07T10:56:13.500-08:002022-12-07T10:56:13.500-08:00Thanks, Phil!Thanks, Phil!Karl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-25822720451986464252022-12-07T10:47:05.926-08:002022-12-07T10:47:05.926-08:00Thanks, Anon. Everyone needs to find the right fit...Thanks, Anon. Everyone needs to find the right fit. PLUS, I hope you reclaimed some part of your house. :-)Karl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-43901936900977188822022-12-07T09:32:10.827-08:002022-12-07T09:32:10.827-08:00Excellent advice!Excellent advice!Phil Ricehttps://www.prrcomputers.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-45312414404739184742022-10-21T17:50:25.831-07:002022-10-21T17:50:25.831-07:00Or was your comment what identified the fix (encry...Or was your comment what identified the fix (encrypted web scanning by firewall or EDR software)?David Thttps://www.linkedin.com/in/david-tschoepe/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-2486452494856486382022-10-21T17:48:43.062-07:002022-10-21T17:48:43.062-07:00It wasn't clear to me what the "fix"...It wasn't clear to me what the "fix" ended up being here? Can you elaborate? There were a multitude of possible "fixes" listed as being potentially the in play on this issue. Which one got it working for you?David Thttps://www.linkedin.com/in/david-tschoepe/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-74260049825200606402022-10-12T06:29:19.402-07:002022-10-12T06:29:19.402-07:00Example about the last item - Verify that your fir...Example about the last item - Verify that your firewall or virus scanner/malware agent is not performing encrypted web scanning - Bitdefender has had problems with this recently.<br />Karl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-37008980146132852642022-10-01T08:54:57.606-07:002022-10-01T08:54:57.606-07:00I agree! But his previous podcast has no Apple fee...I agree! But his previous podcast has no Apple feed (or other we could find). I've been communicating with Marvin via email to get updated info on the brand new podcast. Page is here: <a href="https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/episodes/" rel="nofollow">https://www.itbusinesspodcast.com/episodes/</a><br />With luck, an RSS feed soon.<br /><br />Thanks for the note.<br />Karl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-39887977988726937762022-09-30T09:40:32.974-07:002022-09-30T09:40:32.974-07:00Nice list with the exception of one omission IMHO ...Nice list with the exception of one omission IMHO - the IT Business Podcast by Marvin Bee www.itbusinesspodcast.comDiana Gileshttp://skylineitmgmt.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-50294188592395447892022-09-23T16:22:31.915-07:002022-09-23T16:22:31.915-07:00Thank you so much for this transparency! Beautiful...Thank you so much for this transparency! Beautiful story even though it was a hard lesson. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-78437586411029177422022-09-13T10:49:51.913-07:002022-09-13T10:49:51.913-07:00Didn’t mean for it to be anonymous. Didn’t mean for it to be anonymous. Harvey Schoenmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-30184416657696754652022-09-13T10:48:16.819-07:002022-09-13T10:48:16.819-07:00Wow Rayanne!! That must have not only been difficu...Wow Rayanne!! That must have not only been difficult to write but even more difficult to live through, own it, change it, and make things better. Kudos to you!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22311364.post-63468827837138914742022-07-20T11:09:32.446-07:002022-07-20T11:09:32.446-07:00Thanks for the note, John. I agree with your point...Thanks for the note, John. I agree with your point - and that is a very legitimate area of anger/frustration. In all relationships, parties need to be sensitive to the difference between "what you do" and "how you do it."Karl W. Palachukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02996369956333956993noreply@blogger.com