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How to Install an HD Antenna for Outdoors

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Cutting the chord is not completely realistic for several reasons.  You are more than likely still require internet from your cable or phone (telecom) provider.   Cable providers typically provide internet through coax while phone providers use to provide services through old school twisted pair (copper) phone land lines AKA POTS lines.  Twisted pair has proven to be a poor medium, utilizing a DSL connection to the internet.  Most phone providers are now offering a fiber connection into the home, replacing the old twisted pair/DSL connection.  Anyway, these internet and traditional cable providers are losing their traditional cable revenue stream to content primarily being served through streaming media devices.

Streaming Media Device Limitations

My dad spent 3k, on 77”, 120Hz native refresh, 4k Television.   The first complaint, why does the picture look poor?  Not knowing what he was referring to do, I investigated during my next visit home.  Sure enough, he was using SlingTV and NBC Sports apps for viewing live TV.  There is no point in getting a fancy new television if 50% of your television viewing is on live TV.

What is live TV?

Live TV is content (typically, sports content) that is broadcasted real time.   Live content can look pretty distorted when streamed over the internet rather distributed through traditional cable TV. However, the free alternative to live TV through traditional cable tv is delivered through a Over the Air, HD antenna.  The lingo going forward is called “OTA” or Over the Air.  We want OTA setup to capture all the broadcast television networks.  These networks consist of Fox, NBC, CBS, ABC, and PBS.  There are several ways to receive your local broadcast network live content.

  • App
    • Download each app on one of your Stream Devices and view the live content there. I have not had much experience with this setup.  I do know the live stream with look choppy and distorted.  So it’s not ideal
  • Order “Traditional” Cable TV
    • This lingo is used amongst the cable TV providers. Internet alone is $25 for 25 megabits down from Comcast Xfinity.  The price ballooned to approximately $100mo as soon we considered ESPN and cable “entertainment” news.
  • OTA HD Antenna
    • Who doesn’t want to avoid spending more than $25 from one of the cable providers? OTA is perfect for people in Texas because it doesn’t require much effort to receive a good OTA signal.  San Diego required me to place my HD antenna on the roof and I was good to go.  The Bay Area (Novato) is different story,  the geography can be challenging for obtaining a good signal.

Assess Your OTA Signal

We can’t install an HD antenna, unless we perform some basic research.  Utilize www.nocable.org for assessing how “challenging” it will be to receive an OTA signal.   “Challenging” areas can achieve all the core OTA broadcast network channels, barring no large obstructions. Ie buildings, mountains, etc.  Download and run “TV towers” app once you have a pretty good chance of getting a signal.  This will literally point you in the right direction.  More than likely, most if not all towers will be in the same general direction.   Make a decision based off of your assessment if it’s worth the purchase and the install an HD antenna.

 

Bay Area Results – “challenging”

Danville, CA – TV Channels & OTA Antenna Map (nocable.org)

Novato, CA – TV Channels & OTA Antenna Map (nocable.org)

Walnut Creek, CA – TV Channels & OTA Antenna Map (nocable.org)

Tiburon, Bay Area – “likely to receive”

Belvedere Tiburon, CA – TV Channels & OTA Antenna Map (nocable.org)

The signal is better for Tiburon because it has a clear line of site to San Francisco.  Most transmitters are located by major cities.

San Diego – “likely to receive”

San Diego, CA – TV Channels & OTA Antenna Map (nocable.org)

Important Bay Area OTA channels:

  • 2.1 – KTVU
  • 5.1 – KPIX
  • 7.1 KGO
  • 9.1 – PBS
  • 11.1 – NBC

How to Test and Install an HD antenna

Upgrading the HD antenna from a basic interior mount to an exterior mount depends on how “challenging” the HD antenna signal.  I had to upgrade to an exterior RCA HD antenna mount in San Diego, even though San Diego says it’s “likely to receive”.   My brother in Colleyville, Tx received hundreds of OTA channels with an interior mount.  The same RCA HD antenna in Novato, CA was extremely challenged by its own geography .  I am now recommending an upgrade there from the RCA HD antenna to the Direct DB82.  There are other notable HD antennas based on your situation that are reviewed here.  It’s recommended you scope out the cable run before purchasing any equipment.   You can decide how much coax cable you will need and any additional accessories.  Run a signal test by utilizing the purchase list items below.  Specifically, test the HD antenna on the roof with your coax cable to your TV.

Hardware & Accessories

HD Antenna Options:

DVR

Streaming Devices

 

Accessories:

Exterior HD antenna run Challenges

The test cable run was funneled from the entertainment room,  through the window, and on to the roof.  It took the Tivo Bolt signal strength to test above 50 on all important OTA broadcast channels for a clear signal.  Please observe how the coax wrapped around the vent and the HD antenna tilt were all carefully placed for a successful test.   Obviously, this means more complications when a professional comes if the signal was a good hour or two worth of fickleness.  It’s definitely worth the HD antenna upgrade.

How to Install an HD Antenna

How to Install an HD Antenna

How to Install an HD Antenna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Increase your Antenna Coverage

We found a pole to mount to the eve’s for elevating your coverage.

TV Antenna eave mount bracket (dennystvantennare.com)

5 Foot by 1.5″OD TV antenna Mast Pipe (dennystvantennare.com)

How to Install an HD Antenna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mapping out your Cable Run

Take plenty of pictures if you plan to have a professional run your cable and mount your equipment.

How to Install an HD Antenna

How to Install an HD Antenna

How to Install an HD Antenna

 

 

 

 

 

How to Install an HD AntennaHow to Install an HD Antenna

 

 

 

How to Install an HD Antenna for Outdoors Summary

I will create a list of cable management installers when I have more time to produce a list of qualified individuals.

 

Additional Resources:

The how to Guide of Network Installation Setup – Network Antics

WiFi Troubleshooting Support Tips – Network Antics

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Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

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Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site requires some basic understanding of sites before proceeding.

  • #1: Try to maintain a solid point of view of what Teams is at the end of the day.
    • Teams is a box where people chat.
    • Teams contains many links to many locations but is not a place to store files.  Teams show your team’s files that are store on your team’s “team site” in SharePoint
    • Teams greatness is that you have the chat room, and then you have other tabs at the top that allow to see things from other parts of M365 or outside your tenant completely,
  • #2: Every action may have a consequence
    • Educate the people that are going to use Teams
    • Maybe they don’t need need a new team, maybe they need a new channel…
      • Do they really need a channel?  Implications of that…
  • #3: Keep it simple.   Don’t complicate things.
    • Too often organizations try to roll out Teams and focus on the big picture—which can lead to frustration and low user adoption.
    • Don’t overwhelm them.  Teams is simply a tool we use to get an existing job done, so make it easy for users to get started.  It grows over time.
  • #4: Make sure default settings meet your default needs
    • not all default settings are configured to what most people want.
    • There is no reason to start using private teams if all users can find them and can probably extract some kind of information from the team name alone.
  • #5: Look to the needs of the user
  • #6: Implementation does not equal a mass adoption
    • If users do not get training, they will create unnecessary teams and, eventually, feel overwhelmed. This is classic ‘over adoption’, just like we did with folders in Outlook as well as nested folders in file shares.
    • Minimalized teams being created.  Less is more.  Users need to have training to understand what happens in the background when a team is created or what the purpose of Microsoft Teams is, and fully utilize all the features.
      • If they’re not enjoying using Microsoft Teams, belong to gazillions of unnecessary teams, and it doesn’t make their lives easier—then we’re doing this wrong.

 

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

The best practice is to create a Team Site via Microsoft 365 Group.  The reason behind this method is you can see and edit all the settings, roles, and permissions in one place.  By default, the first M365 Group is made when you first received Office 365 as illustrated below in Microsoft Admin Center.

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every time you create a NEW team in Teams, you’re also creating a NEW Office 365 GroupCalendarPlanner, and SharePoint team site.
Then you need to be careful because with a new Team site several entities will add to the Microsoft 365.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are automatically creating a Microsoft 365 Group when clicking “From Scratch”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sync Your Desktop to SharePoint

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sync allows to sync files from desktop to cloud but make sure you have the latest version of the desktop

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Authenticate with you M365 credentials for desktop to SharePoint cloud sync

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As per usual, Microsoft likes to confuse the situation by having two products with the same name.

 

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do not forget the path on your desktop. It for communal sharing of data with your peers. It is synced to SharePoint.

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good to know file sync statuses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s some on to go mobile app services too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A building is a shortcut for all your SharePoint data for that site.

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Microsoft Teams Support for your first SharePoint Site Summary

You are all set!  There are many ways to setup your SharePoint site and sync it to your desktop but this is clearly the easiest.  Check out How to use Microsoft Teams with SharePoint & other key features – Network Antics for a complete understanding of what exactly Teams is.

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Lenovo Business Laptops

Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management

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Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management is a bit wonky when attempting remove shares without deleting the data.  Shared data is a bit of a sensitive subject.  You never know when someone comes out of the woodwork to request that data “hey, I needed that data, panda jerk!”  With that said, it is probably best to use HyperBackup for storing data on some external drives.

What’s a share folder?

What’s Hyper Backup?

The Shared Folders are Backed Up!

Great!  You have reliable backup with a test restore in a lock box.  The next step for removing shares without deleting the data is a bit wonky because Synology DSM does not offer an easy way to remove shares without deleting the data inside them.  Performing these steps will place a lock on the shared folder you encrypted and remove the folder so it’s no longer visible from file station.  The data will return if you use “encryption” option under “shared folder” to mount.

Encrypting Data

Log into the Synology DiskStation Manager, select control panel,  Shared folder, select the folder you wish to remove (not delete its data) the share for, select edit, and click the “encryption” tab.

 

Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management

 

You will encounter a feature to download filename.key for recovering the encrypted folder.  The other option is to simply remember the password.  Some people struggle with this task but I digress.  You must select “encryption” followed by “unmount” to complete the encryption process or for us, remove the network share.  Goofy?  Yes, what can I say?

 

Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management

 

Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management

 

The network Share folder is no available and no longer visible in “file station”

 

Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management

Share Folders are Removed!  Why would I ever use the encryption feature?

Say like you had a retail shop on Main Street and you had a hat on display in the window.  For whatever reason, someone really wants that hat but can’t afford it.   Encrypting is like not only taking away the hat from the display,  but placing it on layaway in the back in storage with a combination lock on it.

 

Remove Shared Folder from Synology File Station Management Summary

Yes, this is not ideal.  This is a feature request for the Synology development team but there is nothing set in motion as of yet.

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Bitlocker keys missing but I never installed IT support

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I had problem recently where I encountered a prompt for Bitlocker keys missing but I never installed it.  Bitlocker allows encryption on your hard drive so no one can access the data.  Encryption on Mac hard drives are enabled by default.  Microsoft license agreement with PC manufacturers is that systems must ship with BitLocker DISABLED.  Microsoft ultimate plan is to enable it and have a encryption key.

How does Microsoft enable Bitlocker encryption when it is disable by default?

The new computer setup asks if you want to setup a Microsoft account.  Most people choose yes by default.  This enables features line OneDrive, find my PC, and other online features.  They neglect to mention that they enable Bitlocker.

Great, where do I find my missing Bitlocker keys?

It depends.  I know a business account that the individual manages can be found in Windows settings.

Bitlocker keys missing but I never installed IT

You are then redirected to a website… https://myaccount.microsoft.com/device-list

Bitlocker keys missing but I never installed IT

What if I don’t have a Business account?

Check out this video

 

Bitlocker keys missing but I never installed IT support Summary

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Using Business VoIP Phone Apps & International Data Plans plus Grasshopper FAQ

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Using Business VoIp Phone Apps can definitely optimize your time for those always on the go.  Grasshopper phone app is definitely the most reasonably priced VoIP business service designed for micro businesses.   All these business VoIP phone apps come with their set of pros and cons to wrap your head around.  We tend to steer small businesses to more robust services like Jive or DialPad for avoiding the quirks and receiving more robust features.  With that said, a micro business in its early stages should be paying no more than $40 or $50 monthly for using Grasshopper services.  That’s some significant cost saving that cannot be overlooked for a cash strapped new business.  Many businesses start out with Google Voice and port that number over to Grasshopper phone app when they have outgrown Google Voice.   We have some business VoIP phone apps tips with emphasis on Grasshopper but a lot of this discussion can be applied to other services too.

What makes Grasshopper the de-facto Business VoIP Phone Apps leader besides Price?  Any reason to avoid it?

Grasshopper specifically designed for the always on the go team.  They are not relegated to the desk all day.  Therefore, the default and most used feature is call forwarding to employee’s cell phone.  They in turn use the Grasshopper app for making outbound calls w/ the business line caller ID.  The app is a bit wonky and support is pretty bad.   They tell you to log off the app or delete the app rather than fix their buggy app.  This is an every 3 or 6 month ordeal where I utilize those steps for fixing the phone app.  Meanwhile, the desktop app never remains logged in.  Most businesses never use Grasshopper for integrating a physical desk VoIP phone.  While I knock it, the price can’t be beat and we review the quirks below so those issues become less annoying.  ProTip!  You may want to generate phone call reports for relaying to support if you feel like your missing phone calls.

How do I reach Grasshopper support?

800-820-8210
help@grasshopper.com

Should the Grasshopper Phone App have the “WiFi Calling” feature be on or off?

There is no right or wrong answer to this.  It is purely situational.  Let’s say your home office or work has poor cell phone coverage.  We encourage you to hop on the local WiFi network of your phone.  Then the phone will consistently receive calls over the WiFi if “WiFi Calling” on the Grasshopper app is enabled.  Disclaimer:  Please test the phone quality with someone.  Do not turn on if the caller says it sounds poor.  The same type of setting is in iPhone.  It can sound like garbly goop if that setting is turned and you have terrible WiFi.

business VoIP phone appsbusiness VoIP phone apps

 

Great!  Do I have turn “WiFi Calling” off when my phone is not on good WiFi?

No because your cell phone contains its own data plan.  The “WiFi Calling” feature still works regardless if you are on or off the WiFi because the Grasshopper service will use your own cell phone data plan for conducting VoIP calls.  This is a great feature when travelling internationally.  However, it may not work that well because your phone’s data plan is usually reduced to a really poor and unreliable data plan offering when travelling internationally.  It may be worthy of getting a temporary phone plan overseas if you want to catch all calls.

Why would anyone have the Grasshopper WiFi calling turned off?

Yes, it does sound great to always have this feature on if you are relying on good data coverage from WiFi and cell providers.   Calls our free all through out the world but we all know cellular data plans are still unreliable at times in ’21.   Cellular data plans are more unreliable when roaming around than voice.  So if sales call counts and you are quite the iterant worker, it may worthy of disabling WiFi calling.  Just be aware of what you are getting into if you leave it on during European vacation.

Tell me more about disabling WiFi Calling on Grasshopper

International calls if you are dialing out from Europe, etc may have a cell phone provider charge because it’s calling a US number 8442002779 (call-out access number)   These numbers allow the Grasshopper app to function by recognizing your caller ID and linking it to your Grasshopper account when making outbound calls.  WiFi Calling and the Grasshopper desktop app do not have this problem.  I am not sure how other business phone VoIP apps get around this issue or if they do the same thing

Using Business VoIP Phone Apps & International Data Plans plus Grasshopper FAQ Summary

  • WiFi calling is great most people but I disable it for my own reasons articulated above
  • Consider a temporary phone and MiFi when traveling internationally
    • MiFi Skyroam (separate high speed device from phone)  $8 a day… only when used.
  • The soft phone or also know as Grasshopper desktop app may be great for people that are chained to their desk

The post Using Business VoIP Phone Apps & International Data Plans plus Grasshopper FAQ appeared first on Network Antics.

Teams Phone Conference Dial-in Number and Phone System Greeting

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You can enable Teams Phone Conference dial-in number and phone system greeting features for the Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium

 

Add-ons

Audio Conference

Enables dial in option for Team Conference call.

Teams Phone Conference Dial-in Number

Phone System

Provides a DID and auto-attendant.  The auto attendant allows for a welcome phone system greeting, department and phone extension.  By default, you can make or receive outbound calls through Teams dial pad.

Teams Phone Conference Dial-in Number

 

A pretty good resource for set of the phone system’s auto attendant features are located at docs.microsoft.com.

 

Bundled Plan Option

Finally, you can receive Teams Phone Conference Dial-in Number and phone system greeting features all in one E5 license for $57mo per user.

 

Teams Phone Conference Dial-in Number and Phone System Greeting Summary

 

Additional Resources:

How to use Microsoft Teams with SharePoint & other key features – Network Antics

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How to Create a Calendar Invite in Outlook

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Desktop Outlook was released in ’97 and has made your life miserable ever since.  I kid but not delegating your life to the appropriate personal and shared mailboxes will make managing your mailbox a nightmare.  The same can be said about making every effort to reduce your junk mail or simply adding a junk mail account to your life, cutting down on  LinkedIn notification noise; and in this case, living intentionally by organizing your time for free time through some basic calendar management.  Every working professional can cut down the back and forth jibber jabber and start optimizing their schedule for the way they like to work.  You can too!!

Scheduling Time Through Email

Hi Bill, please suggest some dates/times for our meeting to occur

The same type of question flipped back on you from Bill will require some forward thinking too.  Notice how one carefully constructed email can cut the BS down to a minimum?

Send Availability in Outlook Mobile App

Fortunately, the Outlook Mobile app makes this response easy.  Don’t have Outlook mobile? Write the email as follows:

“I am available Friday at noon, Tuesday at 1p and 2p”

Create a Calendar Invite in OutlookCreate a Calendar Invite in OutlookCreate a Calendar Invite in Outlook

Got a haircut?

Punch it in on the fly with Outlook Mobile.  Every personal and professional commitment should be entered to not miss a beat.  There’s nothing worse than encountering someone that needs to be reminded of an event, them double booking or a host is not properly communicating the calendar event date.

How to Create the Calendar Invite in Outlook Desktop

Unfortunately, many working professionals do not know how to create an elegant, to the point calendar invite subject line so all parties involve know what to do.

Calendar Subject Line Examples:

Use your business name first followed by the individual you are working with.   Insert a dash after if you more specifics on the event.  Do not crowd the subject line w overwhelming detail.  That’s what the of the message is for.  Here are some Outlook calendar invite examples followed by an illustration of what to insert into the body and possibly the location.

  • NetworkAntics/Bill
  • NetworkAntics/Bill – Happy Hour
  • NetworkAntics/Acme Widgets
  • NetworkAntics/Acme Widgets – Calendar invite training

Create a Calendar Invite in Outlook

Copy and Paste is your best friend

Did someone delegate you the task of relaying meeting information?  Simply copy and paste the meeting details in the body of the calendar invite as illustrated above.

I use Google Calendar

The same technique can be applied.  Simply add the Zoom plugin if you are the host.

Zoom Scheduler – Chrome Web Store (google.com)

How to add Zoom Meetings and Teams Conference Calls to a calendar invite

The predominant meeting platforms you come across for conference calls these days are Microsoft Teams and Zoom.  Desktop Outlook Calendar integration or plugins come by way of installing Teams desktop application and the Outlook plugin for Zoom.  Note:   Do not bother installing the plugin for Zoom unless you are hosting Zoom conference calls.  Watch the Zoom video for scheduling a meeting in Outlook regardless if you are using Teams or Zoom.  You can create a Calendar Invite in Outlook the same way with Teams as you do with Zoom.  Just click the right icon.

 

How to Create a Calendar Invite in Outlook Summary

You can’t achieve free time unless you organize your life.  Follow these steps and you will be well on your way to lounging.  Enjoy!

 

Additional Resources:

Office 356 Outlook Mobile Email & Webmail Setup – Network Antics

Outlook Email Support and Organizational Tips – Network Antics

Optimization and email backup in Outlook – Network Antics

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Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

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Archiving large files like Zoom and sharing to others is not as simple as simply emailing the file to the other individual.  We explore common ways for you to share to other individuals.  Plus, there are some helpful links for some alternative methods.

  1. Go to email containing the link. In this scenario, we are download a Zoom cloud recording from someone’s personal meeting room.
  2. By default, anything saved from a web browser goes to the downloads section of your file explore on Windows
  3. Test the downloaded file, followed by organize the large files, and distribute on a cloud sharing platform like DropBox.

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

Why or why not DropBox?

It’s the most ubiquitous program out there but not necessarily the safest and most secure.  Box is more secure but not many people have it.  Sharepoint in conjunction with OneDrive is another option but this becomes a training issue too.  I highly you use whatever corporate platform is preferred by your organization.  Below is a list of cloud sharing services:

 

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

 

How do I organize a bunch of files?

I personally like using Zip and let the other party deal with the rest.  Zip is known as a compression tool that zips all files into one file but in this case, the Zoom file is already compressed.  Therefore, we are only using zip for organizing for delivery purposes.

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

It’s Zipped… What now?

Keep in mind the zip and all other files are in downloads.   That’s equivalent to the trash can because it just big pile of downloaded stuff that no one tends to organize.  You may want to organize your data in a network share if your organization has a file server or the documents folder if you know your documents folder is being backed up.  However, you have not accomplished the task of sharing to the outside world.  Right now, you can share to people on your local network but not other associates within other organizations.  I would copy the file to DropBox (if using DropBox) and distribute from there.

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

 

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

It’s in the cloud… How do I share?

Depending on the file size, it may not be completely up in the cloud.  Perhaps, it’s easier to share the folder than the folder.  This also helps if your associates will congregate to this location on a frequent basis for accessing updated or new files.

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

Make sure the permissions are set to “only people invited…”

Note: These security settings are not the best but hey, you are now sharing a large file.

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others

 

Make sure the permissions are set to “only people invited…”

Note: These security settings are not the best but hey, you are now sharing a large file.

 

Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others Summary

There’s no one method for sharing files that works for everyone’s workflow.  Find the one that suits you and your client’s needs

 

 

 

 

The post Archiving Large files like Zoom and Sharing to Others appeared first on Network Antics.

How to be a Network IT Professional in the San Diego scene

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Many of us did not choose the Network IT Professional field, it chose us.  I joke but many of us simply wanted our games to work.  It was 1990 and the PC game was missing audio and it was also short on RAM.  I learned how to install and configure a Sound Blaster audio card, adjust the conventional memory, and later add more memory.

Passion = Curiosity + Grit

This is an important equation.  Many people quit (including myself) pursuing something because we somehow failed to acquire the foundational knowledge necessary to pursue their class, hobby, or career.

Network IT Professional Foundational Knowledge

It’s hard to build a house without strong and stable foundation.  The same can be said about any hobby or career you wish to pursue.  Here was my timeline for building more knowledge in the Network IT Professional scene.

1991 – Broke my dad’s computer because I decided to goof around with some toggles on the back of the video card.  It was all downhill from there.

1994 – I joined a computer architecture class at my high school.  We repaired computers and provided basic help desk support to students and faculty.

1996 – Obtained my first Network IT Professional position for student loan collections firm.  I believe the title was Junior System Administrator.  It was a glorified help desk position based on the skills I obtained troubleshooting things in high school.

1999 – Acquired a new position as a Remote Access Specialist.   I was able to get this position because I goofed around a lot trying to get my dial modem to communicate with a friend’s dialup modem across town.  During this period, many corporations had their employees dial into the company network.

The Most Important Experience doesn’t always come from work or school

The introduction to becoming a Network IT Professional and advancement weren’t in a classroom. It’s my curiosity for resolving a technical roadblock and grit to not quit until the problem was resolved.  I could not play across town unless I learn about modems and network communication protocols.  I could not get the next job had I stopped growing or waited until the information was spoon fed to me.  I went to vocational schooling only after I exhausted my ability to learn on my own or at work; and I knew exactly what class to pursue once I got there.

Build Your Passion

Building your very own PC is still important for seeing if this line work resonates with you.  It’s imperative to take that passion to the next step by building your own file server, application server, and web server for serving up your own personal content.  Whether it be personal, work, or school related data.  Post that data on there.  It will now be up to you to not only make the content be easily accessible for you to access but it’s now up to you to secure and back it up from would be bad actors and other types of disaster.

What are my resources?

The people you surround yourself with.  Hopefully, you are making an effort to surround yourself with smart individuals who never get complacent.   As for resources on the internet, Reddit for one is the ultimate resource for posting questions and getting really valuable answers back.  Reddit will most likely tell you to get a Synology NAS for building your own file server, application server, and web server.

What’s a Synology?

It’s a toaster shaped networking device.  The standard starter version is the DiskStation with two bays for two hard drives.  The two hard drives create the redundant data necessary for retaining information without the system failing but there are more budget friendly options.  The Synology DiskStation Manager or DSM is a user friendly GUI running on Linux.  You can install application packages related to the services discussed already once you have setup the basics.

Knowing the Technology is half the Battle

Network IT Professionals may start out on the front lines for delivering help desk support to an organization.  But questions should begin to arise once the Network IT professional understand how a peripheral or application interacts with the employee on a daily basis.  Asking the right questions for troubleshooting the individuals does not come naturally.  The more you know a product, the better the line of questioning begins to take hold.  Creating introductory documentation in a documentation system will take your knowledge of the product to the next level.

Communication is KingNetwork IT Professional

As discussed, compiling GOOD documentation is next level skill that should be developed early in your career to not only score points with your colleagues but also enhance your own tech know-how.  I use my blog and documentation system to not only communicate the needs to a customer but build off my own foundational knowledge.

The Ticketing System

Your career will be cut short if you are unable to inquire with the client about the basic issues they are having whether it be a computer or new a project they want done.  Much of this is tracked now through a ticketing system.  You must be able reflect on what you just accomplished “I performed x, y, and z steps” but also be forward thinking with your intentions for the next steps in troubleshooting “scheduling another call after I discuss with someone”  or  “waiting for x to download, then proceed with y”

How to be a Network IT Professional in the San Diego tech scene Summary

Reaching the level of a really good network IT professional takes years of practice and developing great habits.  Incorporate many of the skills above and you can fast track your way to success.

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