5 Network Management Tools That Make You Look Good
Recently I found myself in the position of having to manage a large number of Cisco routers spread out across a very large geographic area. Initially I was not aware of any tools other than Ciscoworks that were capable of managing these devices. I figured that other products existed but since cost was a factor I was empowered to build an entire management process from the ground up with virtually no budget (sound familiar?). Situations such as this have their disadvantages, not the least being the cost of the tools required compared to how much management one really needs. In this case I really needed to automate as much as possible since I was an “army of one” with little to no funding to back up large software or hardware purchases.
I am happy to report that not only did I find many free or low-cost products to accomplish my goal of better network management, I was also able to far exceed expectations for an automated network management setup that ended up costing less than $2000. In addition to making my life easier these tools also made me look good since now my boss could show off all kinds of screen eye-candy to upper management which is a win-win for all involved.
As I have mentioned before, I am a huge fan of using a multimedia projector for watching movies and TV. These is just something about having a 100″+ screen that makes the whole process much more enjoyable! Up until recently my favorite projector was the Epson S1, which performed great for about 3 years with no problems whatsoever. My only real complaint was the rather low resolution (800×600) and the brightness on the Panoview Greywolf screen I have been using. To address these two issues I decided to save up and purchase a new projector that had at least 2000 lumens and was at least able to display native XGA (1024×768) resolution. After a 
Several 
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Just today I was checking out the latest releases on iTunes and I ran across some very scary stuff. First thing I noticed was the new section for PBS, particularly the section for NOVA. Check out the pricing, what’s up with that? They are asking $7.99 per episode! Hey, these are hour long shows that are no different than any other content on iTunes, so what’s with the highway robbery pricing?
Many of you already know the hassles one must endure to fly someplace in today’s post-September 11th world. The long security lines, the baggage inspections, and not to mention what happens if they don’t like the 
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