Review: dbrand Prism 2.0 Screen Protector & Grip Case

Posted in Products with tags on November 8, 2024 by itnerd

Given dbrand’s recent issues with racism, I wasn’t going to do business with them again. But I needed a new case for my iPhone 14 Pro which just had its battery replaced under AppleCare. You see I don’t find the iPhone 16 series a compelling upgrade. And the case that I have been using since I got the iPhone is on its last legs. Likely because it is being used pretty hard for anything like my daily activities, to being in the back of my cycling jersey, to cross country skiing. Seeing as this phone has to last me one more year, I thought about it and decided to give dbrand another chance by ordering their Grip Case. And while I was at it, I also decided to get their Prism 2.0 screen protector as the one on my iPhone has been there since the day I got it.

Let’s start with the Prism 2.0 screen protector. This is billed as an “idiot proof” screen protector. Now I was skeptical of this as if you make something idiot proof, God or whatever deity you worship will build a better idiot. But I think that maybe dbrand is on to something. And it starts with the packaging.

The screen protector comes in a box that feels like it’s oozing quality. Open it up and you get this:

In the middle, you get the screen protector and some documentation along with the cleaning kit which is under the scree protector. dbrand has also made accommodations for all types of users. For those who can read instructions, you’re covered on the left side of the box. But on the right side there’s a QR code that takes you to an installation video. Handy for those who live in places like Florida and Texas where they ban books and by extension don’t want you to read things.

Now I could describe how insanely easy it is to install this screen protector, but I’ll use the video that is aimed at those who can’t read instructions.

Now I have installed lots of screen protectors in my time. This by far was the easiest that I have ever installed. There were no bubbles or dust or smudges after installation. The Prism 2.0 features premium tempered glass which dbrand claims hits a 7 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. I didn’t test that. Thus I will take their word for it. I also note that the coverage of the screen protector looks like it hits the limit of what the size of a screen protector can be on a phone without interfering with a case. I did try the dbrand case and a case from another brand to see if the case interfered with the screen protector and found no issues. You get two of these screen protectors for a rather pricey $34.95 USD.

Now let’s move on to the Grip case. You can buy the case for $59.90 USD and add a skin to it so that it stands out. In my case, I did order a carbon fibre skin as if you’ve seen my most recent Everyday Carry article, is on brand for me. The case is MagSafe compatible which means that it will work with MagSafe devices, but when you put it on your phone it won’t do the MagSafe animation. That I suspect is a non-issue for most. The magnets felt decently strong without the skin on it. But they felt a bit weaker with the skin on it.

Putting on the skin is easy if you watch this video first. I didn’t so I sort of YOLO’ed it. But I have installed enough dbrand products over the years that I know how to do it without screwing up.

Here’s the result:

The case adds minimal bulk to the phone. It’s really thin and it is grippy as dbrand says it is. Here’s why:

The case is textured and has an almost but not quite sandpaper feel to it. Plus the shiny bits are additional “grip strips” as dbrand calls them. Seeing I suffer from “butterfingers”, this case might help with that. Speaking of drops, dbrand claims that this case has “military grade” drop protection. But they never say what that actually means. And for the record, I have not dropped my phone since getting this case. Which implies that the grippy part of this case works as advertised. I should also mention that the buttons on the case have a very tactile feel to them.

There’s as lip around the back of the case that not only protects the camera lenses, but it allows the phone to lie flat on a table. That’s brilliant. And you can see that I applied the carbon fibre skin not only on the case, but around the camera lenses as well. And the carbon fibre feels really nice in the hand. It actually feels like carbon fibre.

One thing that you can’t see from these images is the fact that this case comes with chamfered edges which is along the case’s front lip. That gives you full access to the top and bottom of your screen. And the sides are a bit lower in the middle than on the edge. All of this allows you to navigate your phone a bit easier.

I should note that the inside of the case is lined with microfibre. That’s something should help to make sure that your case doesn’t scratch your phone. The fit of the case is tight which means that it’s more likely to be able to better protect your phone should you drop it.

The only downside to this case is that it collets lint like a lint roller. Well maybe not that bad. But it’s not uncommon for me to pull my phone out of my pocket and have lint all around the edges. If that’s something that you think might bother you, you might want to look elsewhere for your phone case needs. Plus it is a pricey case. That will turn some people off for sure.

Hopefully this combo will keep my phone protected for another year until hopefully a compelling iPhone comes out that will entice me to upgrade. Do I recommend the dbrand Prism 2.0 and Grip Case? Well, in the few days that I had them, they seem like they deliver on what the company promises. We’ll see long term if that changes. But in the here and now, both products seem like winners to me.

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Nikon Announces The Nikon Z50II

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 7, 2024 by itnerd

Today Nikon Canada Inc. announced the new Z50II, a compact, fully featured mirrorless camera that lets your creativity run free while enabling the effortless capture of amazing photos and video. This camera is the lifestyle accessory for those that seek innovative creative features like film-inspired looks and easy sharing, giving the freedom to capture the feeling of a fleeting moment, or conveying core memories with brilliant colours that are uniquely you. 

The Z50II combines a full range of fun, creativity-enhancing features with the superior performance of Nikon’s latest mirrorless technology. This is the simple to use yet powerful camera that creators will always want to bring along, whether shooting portraits, landscapes, a great night out or an epic trip. This is Nikon’s first APS-C / DX format camera to feature the powerful EXPEED 7 processing engine, the same found in the pro-grade Nikon Z8 and Z9. The Z50II makes it easier than ever to experience immersive image quality, with blazing fast and precise autofocus, fast frame rates up to 30 fps, superb low-light capabilities, advanced video features and extensive control of colours. 

Discover Colour

Relive the warm glow of a summer day at the beach with friends or convey the peacefully sombre tones of your favourite spot in the forest. The Z50II is the first Nikon camera to feature a dedicated Picture Control button, opening new possibilities for expressive colour, with imaginative film-inspired looks. In a single press, the user can see in real-time the effects of up to 31 built-in colour presets, which instantly change the colour, tone and feeling of the scene. Using this camera encourages the user to experiment and play with colour settings to develop a truly distinct look and feel to images and video, using tones and colour to evoke a feeling like never before.

Imaging Recipes can also be directly downloaded to their camera as Cloud Picture Controls directly through the Nikon Imaging Cloud. These recipes are custom presets with changes to colour, brightness, hue and more, which have been developed by notable creators. Additionally, users can make their own Imaging Recipes and Flexible Picture Controls for truly limitless creative possibilities. Images can also be sent instantly to a user’s own cloud-based storage using the Nikon Imaging Cloud, or easily share images to a phone with Nikon SnapBridge.

Simply Powerful

The Z50II’s EXPEED 7 processing engine delivers surprisingly powerful performance in your pocket or purse. Advanced autofocus with nine types of subject detection quickly tracks and locks on to humans, pets, vehicles and more. The system is user-friendly and extremely precise, rapidly detecting and maintaining razor-sharp focus on a subject’s eyes, even as they move. Not only is it powerful, but it’s also smart, simplifying the operation of advanced camera functions. When in AUTO shooting mode, Nikon’s proprietary deep learning technology makes it possible for the camera to analyze and recognize the subject and scene, automatically optimizing autofocus, flash control, and exposure control values such as aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity settings.

Tell Stories with Video

The Z50II empowers all types of content creators to make amazing videos that stands out, with 4K footage that’s oversampled1 from 5.6K for rich and beautiful details. The camera records in various frame rates and resolutions up to 4K60p, delivering colourful and sharp video with high-quality audio. The Z50II makes it simple to capture high-quality video with a 3.2” vari-angle LCD screen, which helps to keep you and your subjects perfectly in frame, in addition to a video self-timer to begin recording to minimize time spent editing. The Z50II also features a Product Review Mode that focuses on objects in the foreground, which is helpful for products, cosmetics, fashion and beauty reviewers.

For those looking to go to the next level in production quality, the Z50II affords full flexibility with the recording of N-Log video that offers subtle and rich tonal gradation for higher-quality video recording with more exposure latitude for grading. It also has other helpful video features like a tally lamp, waveform monitor, headphone jack and a continuous record time of up to more than 2 hours.

Features of the Nikon Z50II

  • 20.9-megapixel APS-C/ DX format sensor lets you capture high quality photos and videos, with gorgeous colours and amazing low light ability. 
  • Dedicated Picture Control button allows for one-touch access to inspiring colour presets, Imaging Recipes and custom Flexible Picture Controls, all in real-time. 
  • EXPEED 7 image processing engine gives users access to powerful features and performance, including an advanced AF system with subject detection and 3D Tracking.
  • Bright electronic viewfinder at 1000 cd/m2 (nits), is roughly twice as bright as the one built into the Nikon Z50, allowing users to easily check focus and compose even on the brightest of days.
  • Rapid photo burst shooting with up to 30 fps with electronic shutter, or up to 11 fps with the mechanical shutter. 
  • Features a Pre-Release Capture function capable of recording images buffered up to one second before the shutter-release button is fully pressed.
  • Excellent low light capability produces sharp photos in minimal light with less grain thanks to a wide ISO range from 100–512002.
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  • Features made for all types of video content creators, such as N-LOG recording, product review mode, waveform monitor, microphone and headphone jacks.
  • Built-in flash is useful in backlit situations as a fill-flash or in dark surroundings.
  • Hi-Res Zoom3 during video recording, which allows users to zoom in on their subject with no loss in image quality, even when using a prime lens.
  • An illuminated REC lamp (tally light) notifies the user and the subject when video recording is in progress.
  • Support for USB streaming (UVC/UAC) allows plug and play connectivity for online meetings and live video streaming by simply connecting the camera to a computer or smartphone.
  • Equipped with a large and clear 3.2-inch vari-angle monitor with a touch screen for intuitive operation and recording yourself and others.

MC-DC3 Remote Cord

The MC-DC3 is a remote cord compatible with the Z50II and later models equipped with a headphone/remote cord connector (3.5mm jack). The cord is approximately 3.1 ft/1m in length. It is useful in minimizing the effects of camera shake when using a tripod to photograph starry skies and nighttime scenes, or with commercial (product) photography. It can also be used for remote photography to release the shutter at a distance from the camera. The shutter-release button can be locked in the fully pressed position for long exposures (bulb shooting) or held down for continuous shooting. It can also be held halfway down for shooting with less release time-lag.

Price and Availability

The new Nikon Z50II will be available in late November 2024 for a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $1,249.95 for the body only or with a NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 lens for an MSRP of $1,449.95. The MC-DC3 Remote Cord is scheduled for release later in 2024, for an MSRP of $49.95.

For more information about the latest Nikon products, including the vast collection of NIKKOR Z lenses and the entire line of Z series cameras, please visit www.nikon.ca.

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Can the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 increase your business’s productivity?

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 7, 2024 by itnerd

Did you know that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 not only has fun and creative features for the everyday user, but can also help businesses and professionals work more efficiently?

From allowing you to communicate whenever and wherever to completing multiple tasks at once, users of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 have productivity hacks at their fingertips:

  • Eliminate menial tasks: Employees can transcribe, translate and summarize voice recordings with Transcript Assist.
  • Have a personal digital assistant: Employees can translate, summarize and auto format meeting notes with Note Assist.
  • Multi-task like the pro you are: Staff can join a video call on the top half of the screen and jot down notes on the bottom half of the screen with FlexMode.
  • Communicate anytime, anywhere: With the dual screen, professionals on both sides of the conversation can speak, then see and hear real-time translation when networking or attending international work functions, helping them communicate their needs clearly to one another.
  • Productivity on the go: PDF texts in other languages can be translated and overlaid perfectly when opening the file through PDF overlay translation in Notes. This feature even supports texts in images and graphs.

These hacks have also been vetted and embraced by business owners, including Fatima Zaidi – founder and CEO of award-winning female-led Canadian podcasting agency Quill Inc, who said “In my experience, the time and cost savings helped me level up, build momentum and really scale my company,”  when speaking about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6.

For more insights on how  the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 can take a business’s productivity to the next level, check out Samsung’s business page here.

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Keeping Data and Systems Secure and Available on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Posted in Commentary with tags , on November 7, 2024 by itnerd

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner, and I don’t know about you, but in addition to being excited about the potential holiday shopping deals, I always feel for the IT professionals who are tasked with keeping their systems and data secure and available. This continues to become an exponentially more difficult task as cyber-criminals become increasingly aggressive and sophisticated. I can only imagine how stressful this responsibility is at this time of year! 

Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder of DH2i and DeeDee Kato, Vice President of Corporate Marketing for Foxit had this to say about these important days and critical topics: 

Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder, DH2i: 

“Let’s talk about VPNs – you know, those tools so many have relied on for secure online connections? Well, here’s the thing – they’re not quite the safety blanket they were back when they were invented over two decades ago. They actually have some serious flaws – like they do not protect your anonymity, they won’t protect you from malware or phishing attacks, and they serve as an access point that can be leveraged to compromise your entire, unsegmented network. Additionally, VPN services can access your personal info (PII), see your IP address, and see what websites you visit and what you do while you are there – and that is just a start! During crazy shopping times like Black Friday, hackers have had a field day with VPNs – messing with prices, running scams, and basically sneaking into business systems like they own the place. 

Here’s the good news! Enter Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) – think of it as your super-smart security guard who trusts no one (in a good way). Instead of just letting people in because they have the right password, SDP does a full background check – every… single… time. It’s like having a bouncer who looks at every ID, does pat-downs, and even checks everyone’s shoes before letting anyone into the club.

What makes SDP really shine is how it keeps an eagle eye on everything happening in your network, sets up specific rules for who can access what, and basically builds virtual walls between different parts of your system. So, when the holiday shopping chaos hits, businesses can breathe easier knowing their own and their customers’ data is not just “VPN secure,” but actually secure and truly locked down.”

DeeDee Kato, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, Foxit: 

“PDFs are oftentimes the unsung heroes, the workhorses in the background, quietly enabling businesses to streamline communication, enhance accessibility, and ensure consistency. Certainly, on Black Friday and Cyber Monday this is true — as the modest PDF makes it possible for retailers/e-tailers to better manage and roll-out large-scale promotions, expedite customer communications, and ensure operational efficiency. From product catalogs, gift cards, and digital coupons to receipts, shipping confirmations, and return policies, PDFs enable businesses to provide customers with clear, consistent, easily accessible and downloadable information across devices. 

My advice for retailers/e-tailers at this make-or-break time of year is to make sure they are able to make the most of PDFs during these shopping days. They must choose a PDF solution that optimizes PDFs for mobile and web viewing to accommodate customers browsing on various devices. They must also have the ability to compress promotions, order summaries, gift guides, etc. for faster download speeds without compromising readability, reducing bounce rates during peak traffic. And, last but certainly not least, retailers/e-tailors much organize PDFs logically – with clear filenames and well-placed links to enhance the customer experience – especially during high-stress moments when users need quick access to coupons or order details. 

Of course, lets not forget the security is essential on Black Friday and Cyber Monday – yes, especially for PDFs. They can become a doorway for phishing and fraud. Retailers/e-tailers must employ PDF solutions that allow for password protection and encryption, and even secure digital signatures – to protect not only their customers personal information, but their employees’ as well. 

So to retailers/e-tailers this year, I say, make PDF efficiency and security your mantra. In doing so you will deliver premium experience for your customers and employees – when it matters most.”

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An Update To My Variable Refresh Rate Issues With macOS Sequoia… This Might Be By Design

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 7, 2024 by itnerd

Over the last few days, I’ve been poking around trying to figure out what is going on with variable refresh rates on macOS Sequoia. And I have come across something interesting. In previous versions of macOS, Sonoma for example, variable refresh rates would be available throughout the operating system. So no matter what you were doing, you would benefit from having a refresh rate that fit the situation. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Sequoia. I’ve observed the following:

  • Simply being in the Finder which for those of you who are on the Windows side of the fence is the macOS version of Windows Explorer, won’t trigger variable refresh rate support.
  • Being in a full screen video on YouTube on Safari will trigger variable refresh rate support.
  • Being in a full screen Microsoft RDP session will trigger variable refresh rate support.
  • Not all applications seem to support variable refresh rates when in full screen mode. For example, my copy of Microsoft Office 2019 doesn’t seem to trigger variable refresh rate support. I need to update it to the latest version as it is end of life, so if I can get around to doing so in the next few days, I’ll retest this scenario.
  • When variable refresh rate isn’t supported, my display is locked at 144 Hz.

In case you’re wondering how I can tell that it’s working, I turned on the FPS counter on the monitor so that it would report what refresh rate that it was getting from the computer.

Thus this implies that what Apple has done is made a conscious decision to alter how variable refresh rate support works in certain scenarios within macOS on external monitors. I say that because everything that I have written above is somewhat consistent with how I understand Apple’s version of variable refresh rate support which is called ProMotion works. Let me go into the weeds a bit on that.

The way ProMotion works on a MacBook Pro with its built in screen for example is that when the MacBook Pro is performing tasks that don’t require a high refresh rate, such as reading a static webpage or viewing a photo, the refresh rate can be scaled down to conserve battery life. However, when engaging in activities that benefit from a high refresh rate, such as gaming or watching videos, ProMotion ramps up to provide the best possible experience. Or it can vary on the fly to provide the best possible experience. What I am observing is that there’s no attempt to scale back performance in scenarios that don’t require a high refresh rate. As a result, you’re locked in to 144 Hz or whatever the max refresh monitor of your monitor happens to be. Which makes sense as you’re typically using an external monitor while your laptop is plugged in, or you’re using a desktop. Thus there’s no battery life to persevere.

Why they have done this? I have no definitive idea. While you can make an argument that this is a regression, I don’t think that’s the case. I am thinking that that this is a “refinement” of sorts by Apple. It would be nice if Apple came out with a support document that explains this behaviour in greater detail than this one that I found that simply provides a top level overview of variable refresh rates, or as they call it “adaptive sync”. But that’s not the type of company that Apple is and I’ve given up expecting them to do something different a long time ago. Regardless, I consider this to be a closed issue and I will move on with my life unless Apple changes this behaviour again. Which in turn forces me to write about this again.

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Other World Computing Announces Plug-and-Play 10G Ethernet Adapter & Thunderbolt Pro Dock 

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 6, 2024 by itnerd

Other World Computing today announced it is making it easier than ever for Mac users to maximize their devices’ performance with the OWC 10G Ethernet Adapter, delivering lightning-fast 10G Ethernet connectivity to any Mac with Thunderbolt (USB-C), including the latest M4 series. The plug-and-play adapter offers a high-performance, reliable solution for Mac models without built-in 10G Ethernet – allowing users to connect at 10G speeds and leverage faster local networks and network-attached storage (NAS).

To complement this upgrade, Other World Computing offers its OWC Thunderbolt Pro Dock, which transforms any workspace with versatile port expansion and 10G Ethernet capabilities. The Thunderbolt Pro Dock – with the ability to power a Mac laptop and add essential ports through a single Thunderbolt cable – is the ideal accessory for users needing high-speed network connectivity and streamlined connectivity for multiple devices.

Product highlights: 

OWC Thunderbolt 10G Ethernet Adapter – The Portable Ethernet Supercharger

  • Blazing-fast – Over 900MB/s real-world tested transfer speed for large file transfers, video editing, and live-streaming gaming sessions
  • Compatible – Use with any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac or Windows computer
  • Capable – Up to 100-meter cable distance with Cat6a for 10G, Cat6 for 5G, and Cat5e for 2.5G
  • Smart – Supports auto-negotiation for 10Gb/s, 5Gb/s, 2.5Gb/s, 1Gb/s and 100Mb/s Base-T Ethernet standards
  • Accessible – Wake-on-LAN ready for remote access of home or work computer
  • AVB ready – Perfect for use in pro audio and video applications where synchronization of data streams is critical
  • Securable – Features Kensington-compatible lock slot for anti-theft cabling

OWC Thunderbolt Pro Dock – The Best Networking, Media, and Docking Solution for Pro Creatives

  • Fast & diverse – Transfer files in a blink, daisy chain up to five Thunderbolt devices, use USB-C accessories, and add an HDMI display with two Thunderbolt (USB-C) ports
  • Full throttle bandwidth – Share and stream up to 90% faster with a 10Gb/s Ethernet port
  • AVB ready – Perfect for use in pro audio and video applications where synchronization of data streams is critical
  • Ingest content – Easily handle multiple video and photo card uploads at up to 1630MB/s with CFexpress and SD card readers
  • Full-speed connectivity – Use your devices and accessories at their max speed with one USB-C and three USB Type-A 10Gb/s ports
  • Add more viewspace – Connect two 4K displays or up to a single 8K display via Displayport 1.4
  • Powerful – Keep your notebook mobile use ready with 85W charging power
  • Silent and secure – Fanless cooling mode and locking power connection for on-set use
  • Certified – Thunderbolt certified for Mac and Windows
  • Dante compatible – Easy Plug and Play – no software needed – into networks designed for bit-perfect audio with super low latency and sample-accurate synchronization

The OWC Thunderbolt 10G Ethernet Adapter is available now for $199.99 – learn more and purchase here: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB3ADP10GBE/.

The OWC Thunderbolt Pro Dock is available now for $349.99 – learn more and purchase here: https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/owc-thunderbolt-pro-dock. 

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Arcitecta to Showcase New Data Management Solutions and Collaborative Presentations at SC24

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 6, 2024 by itnerd

Arcitecta, a creative and innovative data management software company, will host a visually-immersive booth at the SC24 show in Atlanta, Georgia, November 17-22, 2024. The company will showcase and demonstrate breakthroughs in data management for high-performance computing, research data and supercomputing environments. 

Arcitecta Co-LAB: Future Thinking

Arcitecta Co-LAB is an exciting joint endeavor with the company’s customers, partners and friends. The lab offers a unique opportunity to engage with HPC thought leaders, including Cerabyte, Princeton University, the University of Melbourne and many others, who will ‘take over’ the Arcitecta booth. They will delve into forward-thinking ideas, share insights and experiences, present groundbreaking research, and discuss topics ranging from the future of big data to strategies for resilience against loss. 


Date & Time: November 19-21, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Arcitecta Booth #2851

Customer Spotlight – User Group Meeting

Arcitecta’s User Group meeting will feature presentations from Princeton University and the University of Melbourne highlighting Mediaflux’s adaptable capabilities in HPC environments for any system. This event will also include an open discussion on a variety of topics and provides an opportunity to connect with fellow Mediaflux users, share insights and experiences, and explore innovative approaches to common challenges. 

Date & Time: Monday, November 18, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: W Hotel, Studio 5, 45 Ivan Allen Jr Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA

Product Spotlight – Mediaflux Bundles

Arcitecta will provide demonstrations at SC24 of Mediaflux Multi-Site, Mediaflux Edge and Mediaflux Burst, bundled with Dell PowerScale and ECS/ObjectScale tooptimize data workflows and foster collaboration in geographically distributed workforces. Mediaflux is built for any environment to handle data anytime, at any scale, and in any location, enabling organizations to leverage additional resources, boost computational power, access data instantly, optimize storage for cost-effectiveness, and ensure resilience against data loss. 

Beowulf Bash Event 

Arcitecta is proud to sponsor the fabulous Beowulf Bash event again this year. Join the Arcitecta team for food and beverages and a great time. For more details, visit: https://beowulfbash.com/

Date & Time: Monday, November 18, 2024, from 9:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Location: World of Coca-Cola, 121 Baker Street NW, Atlanta, GA
 

Active Archive Alliance Cocktail Reception

The Active Archive Alliance will host a cocktail reception on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Stop by the Arcitecta Booth #2851 for details and an invitation.

Immersive Booth Experience

Once again, the Arcitecta booth will provide an immersive space for connection and inquiry. Sit back and immerse yourself in the ideas circulating on its state-of-the-art LED screens. Enter an environment where a diverse team of in-house artists respond to new ideas in creative computing, exploring the transformative relationship between technology and art. 

To schedule a meeting with the Arcitecta team at SC24, visit: https://www.arcitecta.com/events/2024/sc/chat/

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Review: TP-Link Deco X50 AX3000 WiFi Router/Access Point

Posted in Products with tags on November 6, 2024 by itnerd

When I signed up for Distributel, one of the things that I was offered was what they described to me as a “WiFi pod”. I only took one as I had zero intention of using the gear that an ISP provides as that’s a form of lock in by said ISP. But what I got was a pre-configured TP-Link Deco X50 WiFi router/Access point as opposed to something unique and custom made for the ISP. That piqued my interest.

The Deco X50 is a WiFi 6 dual band router that when you have two or more of these can also deliver mesh WiFi. Let’s have a look at it:

From the front, it’s rather unremarkable. Which is good as it will fit into any decor.

From the back you get three gigabit ethernet ports. Any port can be used to connect to your ISP. But because they are all gigabit, you’re limited to gigabit speeds. Which makes the X50 not the correct choice if you have faster than gigabit service.

Now each X50 unit has only two radios. A 2.4GHz one and a 5GHz transmitter that handles both client connections and backhaul traffic. Having a third radio for backhaul traffic would be better for a lot of people who have a lot of devices in a mesh setup as that will create some amount of congestion between each unit if the traffic between the two is high enough. But only having two radios keeps the price down which I suspect was the priority here.

Power users will be disappointed with the fact that there’s no web page with advanced configuration options as everything is done through the Deco app, although there is a web based status page. To be fair you can configure a number of things via the app form the initial setup, which by the way is easy enough for the average person to do, to some more complex tasks as turning on QoS or using their parental controls subscription service. In terms of the parental controls service, the fact that parental controls are a subscription service that you have to pay for is a bit of #fail as competitors ASUS offer that for free.

Now in my testing, performance was actually decent. Let’s start with the performance from the Optical Networking Terminal that Distributel supplied to the X50:

Now I had to test this via plugging in an Ethernet cable to my MacBook Pro because I couldn’t find a speed test built into the router or the Deco app. But this result is better, especially on the upload end of things than my ASUS Zen WiFi XT8 which isn’t that good when it comes to upload in PPPoE scenarios. Further validating that I need to dump the ASUS gear for something better as I am clearly leaving some speed on the table by using the ASUS hardware.

From a WiFi perspective, the performance was also decent. This result was from about 5 feet from the X50:

That’s competitive with the XT8 which also supports WiFi 6. So from a performance perspective, it doesn’t suck. Though I do wonder how it would perform with multiple units and a lot of traffic given that there’s no dedicated backhaul.

So would I recommend the X50? It depends on the type of user your are. If your needs are modest. As in you need WiFi 6 in your home and you’re not doing anything crazy, this might be an option for you. If you’re a power user or you have faster than gigabit internet, you should likely look elsewhere. At least the price is better than decent as I found a pair of these for $179 CAD on Amazon. Thus if you fit the use case for this WiFi router/access point, it’s worth looking at in my opinion.

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Fortra Discovers A Nearly 200% Spike in Abuse of Cloudflare’s Trusted Platforms

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 6, 2024 by itnerd

Fortra, has uncovered a significant surge in cybercriminal abuse of Cloudflare Pages (198% increase) and Workers (104%) over the past year. The data also reveals that monthly incidents on Cloudflare Pages alone could surpass 1,600 by year’s end—a 257% year-over-year increase.

What’s surprising?

While it’s primarily used legitimately, Cloudflare Pages can be exploited for malicious purposes due to its reputation, free hosting, ease of use, and global Content Delivery Network (CDN). Threat actors can create convincing malicious sites, using custom domains and secure HTTPS connections to deceive victims. Similarly, while designed to help developers to deploy and run JavaScript code directly at the edge of Cloudflare’s CDN, Cloudflare Workers can be exploited to bypass security controls or automate various attacks like brute-force login attempts. In short, they’re using Cloudflare’s strengths to lure victims into a false sense of security.

Cybersecurity teams may need to change their approach

While Cloudflare does implement threat detection and phishing prevention mechanisms, Fortra’s report suggests a growing trend of abuse on reputable platforms, highlighting the need for more vigilant monitoring, even in environments perceived as secure. Security teams should be aware of these increased attacks and proactively monitor for suspicious activity, as the platform can often be misused before detection of these attacks occur.

Tips for cybersecurity teams:

Cloudflare has several security measures in place to combat abuse, including threat detection systems, phishing detection, and user reporting mechanisms to take down malicious content. Despite these efforts, cybercriminals can still exploit the platform before malicious content is detected. The risk is in how cybercriminals are misusing the service, and not in the technology itself.

Users can protect themselves from phishing by following several best practices. First, they should be cautious when interacting with unfamiliar websites, especially those requesting personal or sensitive information. Verifying the legitimacy of URLs and ensuring that the domain matches the expected source can help identify phishing attempts. Additionally, enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for accounts adds an extra layer of security.Developers using Cloudflare Pages should implement strong security measures such as regularly updating their site’s dependencies, using HTTPS for secure connections, and monitoring for suspicious activity. It’s also important to report any phishing attempts or malicious activity to Cloudflare for further investigation and takedown, helping to prevent wider abuse.

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StorageMAP 7.1 launch adds more solutions to solve unstructured data challenges

Posted in Commentary with tags on November 6, 2024 by itnerd

Today, Datadobi is launching the latest version of their powerful heterogeneous unstructured data management platform. When they announced StorageMAP 7.0 in June, they talked about offering enterprises insights to drive better control, portability, optimization, and management of their unstructured data. StorageMAP 7.1 takes it a step further and solves some focused challenges facing their customers globally, including offering an innovative HDI Archive Appliance Bypass feature, example dashboards, and the most important one, improvements to scalability and performance. Here’s a closer look:

Solving for: Scalability and performance 

StorageMAP is constantly evolving and improving. With the release of version 7.1, this trend continues with many behind-the-scenes improvements in scalability and performance.

For example, the Unstructured Data Mobility Engine (uDME) at the core of StorageMAP has been updated with new enhancements to address ever-growing scalability and performance challenges present in modern, unstructured data environments.

Why this matters

Scale is one of the most critical factors in dealing with unstructured data management in today’s large and complex environments. The challenge has two dimensions: 1) the capacity being managed and 2) the number of items (i.e., files and objects) being managed. Capacity and item count combine to create a challenge only StorageMAP can address. In contrast, trying to manage a large environment with a solution that cannot handle scale will result in disappointment, failed projects, and a sunk cost in software that doesn’t deliver the desired value. With its industry-best ability to handle scale, StorageMAP solves the problem altogether.

Solving for: Migration inefficiencies and performance bottlenecks

StorageMAP 7.1 employs an HDI Archive Appliance Bypass feature to drastically increase migration performance for archived data using the Hitachi Data Ingestor (HDI).

The “bypass” involves using multiple StorageMAP connections to the storage systems – one connection to the primary storage system and a second connection to the archive storage system. These connections effectively bypass the middleware HDI archiving appliance, which is responsible for both relocating data to the archive storage system and retrieving it when a client application requests archived data.

Why this matters

The problem with the middleware archiving appliance is its significant performance limitations that make migrating all active and archived data an extremely slow process typically riddled with errors. Additionally, the migration workload on the archiving appliance hinders continued archival and retrieval operations. In bypassing the middleware and reading data directly from the primary and archive storage systems, StorageMAP greatly accelerates and enhances the accuracy of an otherwise problematic migration.

Solving for: Onboarding and usability

StorageMAP 7.1 offers sample dashboards to help customers get started with the creation of custom dashboards.

While StorageMAP version 7.0 introduced the ability to create a library of custom dashboards, version 7.1 provides example dashboards to seed the library for a new installation. These can be used out-of-the-box with a new installation of StorageMAP so customers can realize value even before they create their own custom dashboards.

Why this matters

With the 7.1 release, Datadobi is providing example dashboards that a customer can refer to for both ideas to include in their own custom dashboards. Customers can also refer to the definition of the widgets included in the example dashboards as a training aid that will help them derive value from StorageMAP quickly.

The bottom line

Datadobi continues to raise the bar on what it means to deliver the world’s most powerful, comprehensive, and real-world proven unstructured data management platform – not to mention the only true vendor-neutral option on the market today. Whether you’re dealing with complex migrations, working to lower risk and/or cost, or looking for a seamless way to gain greater value and insights from your data, StorageMAP 7.1 is the answer.

Ready to experience the difference? Reach out today — https://datadobi.com/contact/ — to schedule a demo and to learn more about how StorageMAP can transform your cloud data file management strategy.

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