teenagers student wearing mouth mask against smog in city
China has officially raised restrictions by the government
giving them a head start towards the production line meanwhile the United
States and Italy, including other countries world-wide go through the changes
of restrictive living limiting the ability to produce. China has been the focal
point of the virus since original outbreak in December of 2019. However, with
the virus reaching its peak and in steady decline, the country is now back to
business as stores and workers are back to work. The country suffered drastic
loss in production and border restrictions during the course of the epidemic.
In some ways, they are still having economic difficulty due to the border
restrictions internally and internationally. Internally the country may be
getting back on course, but externally, the world is not yet up to speed as
countries like the United States brace for the worst.
95% off all large enterprises in China have resumed
productivity and are trying to catch up to the economy as their businesses were
halted during this period. The Information Technology field as many thought
would be immune, has suffered globally during this period and continues to
suffer. Without clients that are willing to release the hold on finances during
this period, it is hard for any industry to be resilient to this period.
Grocery stores are overwhelmed with keeping stocks on the shelf as mass panic
keeps the shelves emptied weekly and stocked daily. The cleaning and grocery
industry are survivors during this world-wide struggle and will come out
profitable.
Information technology is said to have hit the pause button
as no production outlets are there to allow ideas to be launched and most
technology experts are currently siloed around the world. The beauty of
technology is even though many are siloed, technological advancement is still
taking place right under our noses. Researchers and developers are still
connecting virtually via platforms such as Microsoft Teams which allow for
streaming video conferencing and collaborative features for document sharing
that place everyone in a virtual conference room with Realtime input. As the world gears up to go through the worst
of the virus, the Information Technology realm is steady building and developing
in the background preparing to hit the ground running.
Microsoft is one of the greatest technological leaders in
the world. They have been ramping up business as many industry leaders which
are on-premise only rapidly go towards the cloud platform. Microsoft data
centers which are some of the most secure in the world are the key access
points for housing data, and they have a 99.99 percent up time with a plethora
of redundancy. It Gurus Of Atlanta is here to assist all clients globally
during this transition. One thing is for sure is that the world will never be
the same after this pandemic pass. However, the world will continue just as
China has. The world will follow suit and get back on the tracks as we have
done in the past.
“All Your Company Information Technology Needs Under One Company”
Many
companies and organizations have been affected by the recent events of
COVID19/Corona virus. Information Technology is of no different with the recent
withdrawal of companies being closed. From manufacturing plants, educational
facilities, government, healthcare, to food/beverage industries have closed
doors. Many would think that the information technology arena would be immune
to this virus threat, but even in technology we feel the blunt blow of this
threat. With organizations leery of their spending due to uncertainty about the
economy, many have been forced to diversify their portfolio to include long
lost strategies for survival of their business. Many have had to reinvent what
they consider the “norm” when prospecting and going after what is necessary for
their organization to survive.
Virtual
schooling and businesses which were once on-premise only are now scrambling to
find virtual options to keep their employees mobile, agile, and working. The
problem is that with the decrease in spending and production, it is difficult
to maintain the pace. It is the business that manage to feed the current need
for virtual and remote work that will strive in this arena. It is the
businesses that come up with new innovative ideas which will come out on top.
The businesses which are stuck to being on-premise are currently unable to
produce, which in effect is depleting their financial resources and essentially
eliminating their ability to produce.
Business
in today’s society is built on diversity and helping to provide solutions.
Solutions drive the economy and develop productivity. The information
technology arena allows for companies with a passion for the future to still
connect and culminate new methodologies. Microsoft is such a company with data
center around the world. Their cloud platform of Azure, InTune, System Center
Configuration Manager (SCCM), Office 365, Microsoft 365, and Dynamics 365 put
diversity and remote options in the hands of organizations. Educational
facilities can host online learning conferences and classrooms through Teams.
They can share documents with SharePoint and OneDrive, including have grading
sessions with Microsoft classrooms.
Financial
institutions can now utilize and diversify their platform with Dynamics 365
with the NAV and ERP platforms of Dynamics 365 Business Central, Dynamics 365
Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365
Commerce, Dynamics 365 Human Resources, Dynamics 365 Finance, Dynamics 365
Retail and Dynamics 365 Operations. Each of the unique blended platforms give a
complete control of business from any mobile or stationary device with a web
browser and internet connectivity. The security of the platform is unbeaten to
capture the latest in multi-factor, role-based security, record based security,
and field-level security. The security with the platform is unmatched and state
of the art when it comes to data protection.
For businesses that rely upon email, calendaring,
document/file sharing, security, servers for applications, and collaboration,
Microsoft 365 provides the solutions.
Microsoft 365 combines the scalability of Office 365 applications,
security, and mobility. The platform security includes System Center
Configuration Management (SCCM), InTune (mobile device management), Azure for
Active Directory User Management (Virtual machines), Windows 10 upgrade for
each user, Identity and Access Management, Threat protection, information
protection, Security Management, and Advanced compliance. These suite of
products provide a long line of accessibility for production including
collaboration and task management.
It is time to diversify and build in this time of the
COVID19 while others close doors and relax. Business is constant, so is
education, government, and fundamentally, all aspects of day to day life in
order for us to advance as a society. We have a duty to continue our activities
as best possible given the current circumstances. Information technology is our
tool, Microsoft is the platform, and It Gurus Of Atlanta can be the guide.
“All Your Company Information Technology Needs Under
One Company”
With the Coronavirus becoming an epidemic and reaching surmountable odds with damaging not only the livelihoods of citizens across the globe, but also the workforce. This essentially has caused almost complete economic shut down across nations worldwide. Where containment was once an option, it seems more along the lines of running its course before anyone can see a glimmer of hope towards a normal life again. Children are at home with no certain time for return to schools and grocery stores with long lines are being inundated with people trying to buy cleaning supplies, water, rice, and canned goods. It is times such as these that people try to use moderation in spending including their daily habits that are adjusted to accommodate this new way of life.
Virtualization which is now becoming the way of the world
has now hit a new home front due to the virus epidemic. Where once businesses
which did not or could not fathom the idea of working remotely are all now
scrambling to get their staff working from home. This presents a problem within
itself if your organization is not poised for such a drastic change. Microsoft
has offered its hand in the mix for Office 365 which allows virtual business
operations from Office applications such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, email
through Outlook, and security features that allow everyone to work from just
about anywhere. Their recent integration of Teams allows for the workforce to
collaborate via video, voice, or even through conferencing and sharing
documents via SharePoint. Other Microsoft products which are taking like wild
fire are Microsoft 365 which offers everything in Office 365 plus added
security, mobile device management through InTune and also Server management
through SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager). If you are in the financial
world, then you will find that Dynamics 365 offers everything from financial
full blown ERP systems to CRM, encompassing Sales, Marketing, Customer Service,
Field Services, Supply Chain, and Retail – POS.
There are other tech companies which have their own flavor
of virtualization, but Microsoft has definitely rose to the occasion by
prepping businesses with their product line. Microsoft partner such as It Gurus
Of Atlanta are certified Microsoft partners which can virtualize an entire
workforce in a matter of hours. We offer up to 15 hours of Architectural work
time for free during these trying times, plus an additional guaranteed 15-20%
discount below MSRP with Microsoft and guaranteed pricing lower than any other
CSP or MSP out there. Saving money is crucial in this time and time is of the
essence to keep business moving meanwhile the world goes through this phase.
This time shall pass like every other time has. However, its is imperative for
businesses and organization to either be ahead of the curve or behind the curve
when the economy and our way of life readjusts itself. The norm that was there
in place before the Corona Virus is not the norm that will be there after the
virus has gone. We all should be prepared and do our own due diligence in order
to maintain or families, our business, educational institute and government.
Preparation and doing what is needed is key in order for us all to be
successful and come out triumphant in what we do.
“All
Your Company Information Technology Needs Under One Company”
Essentially it is genetic recoding and embryotic designing
which is to accredit for this new development. More importantly, it’s the minds
behind the University of Vermont, Tufts University, and Wyss Institute at
Harvard that have culminated this new species. Their findings have been
published in scientific journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences”. They have dubbed this new species that they developed as “soft
robots”. This is the first essential robot that has been developed from soft tissue
and are completely programmable.
No, they are not looking into human embryos, but that of
Frogs as the science develops. These first batch of “soft robots” are also
called xenobots. They are designed and programmed from frog embryos and mapped
with computer algorithms for them to follow with precision. Even though the
embryos are only 1 millimeter in size, they can move towards targets, amongst
other programmable features which have not been fully disclosed. In a
press-statement, Joshua Bongard, one of the computer scientists on the team
stated that “They’re’ neither a traditional robot nor a known species of
animal. It’s a new class of artifact: a
living, programmable organism.”
Cellular communication is one of the tasks researchers and
scientists are left to uncover with the help of these xenobots. The
possibilities of the xenobots are endless from drug delivery to greener
environment cleanup strategies. The xenobots are not only able to execute
commands and programs successfully, but they are also capable of self-renewing.
The ecological advantages is that these types of robots do not use the
traditional steel, chemicals, plastics, or other such non-biodegradable
products for it to be functional. The
name xenobot come from where the researchers used the embryos, which is from an
African clawed frog. The frog’s scientific name is Xenopus laevis. The
combination of the heart and skin cells, the team were able to get the cells to
merge together which allowed for locomotion and structure.
While these xenobots are extraordinary, they cannot exist or
perform any task without the aid of a computer algorithm. They are solely
dependent on the algorithm to determine what they do and how they function.
This is just another quick tid-bit brought to you by the
team here at It Gurus Of Atlanta. We trust you enjoyed the read and look
forward to you signing up for more.
“All Your Company Information Technology Needs Under
One Company”
When you talk about technology, there is no way that Apple
can be left out of the mix. From laptops to smartphones, Apple has
revolutionized the industry and made waves. We can recognize the iconic
“pinched” screen to zoom in by “pinch out” that started the whole revolution.
Now these simple gestures are part of every smart phone from Android to Apple,
which are now the kings of smartphones, Apple is still left in a class on its
own. By being the trendsetter in technology, Apple has managed to captivate all
audiences from the young to the old in their intricate details to design, to
their over the top performance that places so many technological advancements
in one single device. The ease of use makes it a number one choice when it
comes to ease of access.
Apple on September 20, 2019, they revealed the newly coveted
iPhone 11 which with its deep thrusted designs, and advanced speed, it is set
to take mainstream utilization of the smart phone take new heights. While we
cannot get into every aspect of the device, we will provide an overview of the
features that this new device packs a punch with. We will start with the
obvious outer layer and go inward to speak on the high capacity processor that
is to be the fastest on the market for a smart device.
The iPhone 11 comes in the iPhone Max and the iPhone Max
Pro. What are the differences besides, the name, well lets dig a little deeper.
The iPhone 11 comes with night mode which gives light to many once dark images
taken in low light to seem as if they are being taken in near daylight. Not to
mention the new cropping capability which allows the photos to be cropped with
not only with what you see, but also to crop wider based on aspects of the
image which you before could not see. All videos are taken in stunning $K
quality at 60 fps. Slow motion is no longer limited to the back camera, but now
is part of the front camera as well. The
front camera is now 12 MP and the rear three lense cameras are 12MP. This
matching pixels on the front and back guarantee the optimal depth in pictures
being taken.
The new bionic chip which is dubbed the A13 Bionic CPU, is
slatted to be the fastest for graphics and performance. This increased speed and performance are key
features of this device which is set to make waves in the smartphone market.
The ability to easily process information and run multiple programs without
having to sacrifice performance are key features of this device which places it
as a must have for the iPhone market. Stacked on top of processing power, the upgrade
to the Wifi Capabilities is an advance that needs to be noted. Not only being
able to connect to the 5g network, but also connecting at 4x performance boosts
in crowded areas along with 40% higher data speeds.
We will take things from a high level from here as this
device has way more features that we can cover in this quick article. Now, is
the iPhone 11 worth the upgrade or is it better to wait for the next model?
These are individual decisions that have to be made per individual. The iPhone
11 is prize to have, but are the upgrades worth it to you, well that is
something we all have to decide.
“All
Your Company Information Technology Needs Under One Company”
Due to a horrifying combination of low humidity, dry soil, and high winds Southern California has been packed with devastating wild fires in the last five years.
Experts have expressed concerns that infernos to this magnitude will become more and more frequent with climate change gradually making conditions in the Southwest region warmer and drier. Locals have been evacuated and warned to not travel near the path of the recent blaze, but with such dangerous conditions even reporters are threading consciously when attempting to show images of the fire to the public. On Thursday morning NASA’s Earth Observing Data and information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application acquired a closer look to the California blazes using the devices high powered abilities.
NASA’s Landsat 8 (EOSDIS) has the ability to interactively browse over 700 global views, with full resolution satellite imagery layers. The device then downloads the underlying data exceptionally fast for satellite observation. Many of the imagery layers are updated within 3 hours of the observation taking place providing a “real-time” update of the observation sight. Areas of active fire are highlighted and easily pin-pointed with short-infrared light. The EOSIDIS application collects natural-color imaging using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument. Climatologists utilize tools such as VIIRS data to measure cloud and aerosol properties, ocean color, sea, and land surface temperature, and fires. This imaging isn’t only impressive, but necessary to inform locals and safety enforcement officials of actively burning fires detected by thermal bands and shown as red points indicated via the satellite image.
The images captured put the raging wild fires into clear perspective showing the rapid spread of smoke from all three blazes. This device reaches new heights of visualization that the average helicopter view cannot capture. Due to the wide range of the satellite, keeping sight on the multiple fires can be done quickly and clearly. The average satellite sends imaging back to earth in 5-10 hours and even with the longer arrival times the resolution of the images just aren’t as accurate compared to NASA’s EOSDIS Landsat 8.
By 8:00 PM local time, NASA’s Landsat 8 was able to capture the wild fires had consumed 20,000 acres of land and latest reports say 70,00 acres of land have been caught in the fires path. The most concerning fact may be that as of latest reports the fire is only 5 percent contained. With the help of NASA’s Landsat 8 southern California locals and us all over the world have a close eye on the progress made to diminish the blaze in its tracks and any prospective areas that may be affected by this devastating event. This is just one of the many instances where technology and innovation is used to inform and make our lives safer.
IT Gurus of Atlanta continues to prove that we are leaders in the technological field and we will keep providing updates on more innovative and inspiring updates in this arena.
Posted in Government, Technology| Comments Off on NASA’s Satellite Imaging Device Delivers a Powerful View of California Wild Fires
On October 30th in the Brooklyn Academy of Music, instead of their usual home of Cupertino, California, Apple announced three additions to their lineup of innovative gadgets: iPad Pro, MacBook Air and Mac Mini.
The biggest difference to the iPad Pro compared to the earlier model is the screen. The new edge-to-edge liquid retina display includes true to life color for a more vivid and life like display experience. Weighing one pound this iPad is the thinnest one yet making it the most portable choice. Face ID is now featured on the iPad Pro allowing the user to now “pay with a glance” combining the Face ID feature with Apple Pay. Although portable Apple has not compromised on efficiency with the smartest most powerful chip (A12x bionic chip) powering the iPad Pro making it faster than most PC laptops.
The powerful chip allows the iPad to break barriers in tablet usage with five trillion operations per second and enables advanced machine learning. This iPad is so powerful its able to power big software such as Adobe Photo-shop. The multitasking while on FaceTime feature on the iPad allows users to search the web and run apps while having their FaceTime window minimized to the corner of the screen for efficient communication. An exciting add-on to the iPad Pro is the newly released Apple Pencil that can now change writing tools with a double tap and attach to the iPad Pro magnetically for pairing and charging.
It’s been years since the Mac book Air has seen any upgrades, so this new model is much anticipated by Apple consumers. The first upgrade takes play on the display. With four times as many pixels on HD display, text and emails look so clear as if you are reading them on print. If being compared to the previous generation of MacBook Air, the new model has 48% more color making everything more vibrant and life-like. Advanced security is another plus on this new generation MacBook Air with the addition of a Touch ID sensor. The Touch ID sensor enables users to unlock documents, system settings, pay online and many other features without entering another password. This MacBook Air doesn’t only look great it is also great for the environment, made entirely of recycled aluminum.
Big power has always come in small packages, and the Mac Mini proves it. This small device has the power to run home automation and giant render farms. New 6-core and quad core processors allow this device to power a desktop to optimum speed despite a large number of programs running. Faster 2666MHz DDR4 memory up to 64GB makes this the perfect tool to store memories and heavy loads of documents.
Apple has announced three new additions to the iPhone family this year: iPhone XS, iPhone XS MAX (which launched September 21st) and their newest addition to the lineup – the iPhone XR – which released October 26th. The first question many may have is – what’s so special about the newest released iPhone? Well to make that decision we have to break down its features and how it compares to the other models.
Price can be the biggest consideration for most apple consumers, and the iPhone XR has the iPhone XS beat in affordability. Priced $250 cheaper than the iPhone XS for starting (64 GB) but cost up to $899 for 256 GB of storage. The iPhone XS MAX starts at $1,099 for 64 GB of storage and cost up to $1,449 for 512 GB of storage. Of course, when you’re looking at something such as storage you really need to decide on which GB to commit purchasing based on your individual needs. The average person simply doesn’t need nor use 512 GB of data, so for the simple iPhone users that just don’t want limitations when it comes to usage, iPhone XR’s 256 GB plan gives you plenty of room to run as many apps as you need and take as many photos to your heart’s desire, while sticking to an affordable plan.
The iPhone XR is available in six different colors: Black, White, Yellow, Red, Blue, and Coral. Apple offers the iPhone XS and XS MAX in three color options: Silver, Space Grey, and Gold.
For those of us who use our phones to stream movies and videos or just want to be able to enjoy a larger display, the iPhone XR offers a larger screen than the iPhone XS with a 6.1 LCD display, compared to the iPhone XS’s 5.8-inch OLED display. While the iPhone XR isn’t as gargantuan as the 6.5-inch display shown on the iPhone XS MAX, both phones do run on the same 7 mp true depth camera on the front to further improve and power face ID. The iPhone XR may have a single lens camera, but the rear camera is near-identical as the camera system as the iPhone XS. The iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS MAX all feature the same 12-megapixel wide-angle lens on the back. Other identical features include optical image stabilization, smart HDR, and approximate portrait mode. The only difference between the phone’s camera is their zoom, the iPhone XR can only achieve 3x digital zoom due to the lack of a telephoto lens. The iPhone XS and iPhone XS MAX do contain the telephoto lens letting them achieve 2x optical zoom and another extra 6x digital zoom. The iPhone XR does, however, lack the portrait lighting effects “stage” and “stage mono”.
Apple has finally acknowledged the cries of so many Apple consumers that demand a phone with longer-lasting battery life with the iPhone XR. The phone features a battery life that is 1.5 hours longer than the iPhone 8 plus and two-to-three hours more than the iPhone XS and XS MAX. For anyone that has ever been in the unfortunate position of having their phone run out of battery when you are nowhere near a charger, these two-to-three hours make all the difference.
IT Gurus of Atlanta continues to stay advanced in technological advancements by keeping track of the latest developments in growing and expanding technological advancements. Stay informed as we keep track of the latest technological developments by keeping up with IT Gurus of Atlanta.
Posted in Gadgets, Technology| Comments Off on iPhone XR: What You Need to Know and How Does it Compare to the iPhone XS
We are entering the era of smart home technology making our lives almost effortless with providing a hands-free help from a digital assistant. With big names such as Apple, Google, and Amazon offering this technology, it’s important to know the key features each company’s device brings to the table.
Apple’s Home Pod (priced at $349.99) the biggest advantage is its powerful sound. Together with Apple Music and Siri this speaker connects you to millions of song titles and albums with just your voice.
Although this device is small, it packs a big punch covering every inch of a room with rich sound.
When you say “Hey Siri” advanced signal processing containing six microphones positioned around the Home Pod takes what you say and is sent anonymously to Apple servers without being tied to your Apple ID. Containing a A8 chip, this speaker has advanced signal processing, so Siri can hear you over the music.
This speaker also allows you to connect two Home Pods together to play the same song for bigger sound.
null
Google’s Google Home Debuted November 2016 and has a planned new and improved model coming out November 2018. Priced at $129 this device connects your life with Google assistant. Directly connected to Google search engine, Google Home will answer questions with a simple “Hey Google”.
You can also play songs from YouTube and google play, and with a powerful speaker built in meant to please those die-hard music fans.
The Google Home connects to your Gmail and Google calendar to notify you when events are coming up and scheduling any new obligations you may want to add on a whim, while updating your shopping list upon request. Hands-free calling is a feature that most smart home devices contain, and the Google Home is not excluded.
Amazons echo (2nd Generation) beats all other smart home devices when it comes to color choice with 5 different neutral color choices. The Echo connects to Alexa to play music, make calls, set music alarms and timers, ask questions and control smart home devices.
You can ask for a song, artist, or genre from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, and more. Allowing you to connect to other echo devices, you can play different music in each device by give one command on a single echo device.
Now with Dolby processing for crisp vocals and dynamic bass response. Containing seven microphones and noise cancellation Echo hears you over any level of music. You can also ask Alexa to check your calendar, weather, traffic, and sports score. This device can even request you an UBER and order you a pizza.
Posted in Gadgets, Technology| Comments Off on Connect Your Home Better Than Ever with Smart Home Technology and Compare Models
We have officially entered the era of foldable phones with the Galaxy Infinity Flex.
Samsung has finally introduced to the world its first foldable phone this week. This announcement was not like others with every detail of the device being displayed as they were for the Galaxy S9 or Note 9 prototype showing. Instead, Samsung decided to hide details behind a lot of smoke and mirrors by only teasing the phone through a short video and by having a prototype hoisted on stage by an executive.
Although Samsung has never displayed the device up-close, they did disclose the dimension of the display being 4.5- and 7.3-inch screen sizes. The device is fully backed by Google and Android support for all of the foldable phones, regardless of the manufacturer.
Samsung’s marketing point for this phone is that it’s a device with cellular connection that with a simple gesture can be unfolded into a fully functioning tablet. The prototype has your basic tablet-like features but folds inward similar to a book, while Royole’s Flex Pal, another foldable phone, folds outward. The foldable phone has a unibody display folding at its midpoint. Samsung has developed an entirely new display for this phone, the infinity Flex Display. Because usual displays have layers that are stacked and made to be unmoving. Samsung created a new adhesive that laminates the display layers, so they can fold thousands of times without any external or internal damage made to the phone and the display.
The advantages to a foldable screen are clear to most of us asking for more screen space, but also value compact ability. For example, Samsung’s model shows a 4.5-inch display when its closed and that is your phone display. Then the inside can be flipped open to be a fully functioning tablet allowing you to have that screen space to stream videos, read, and display pictures with a radiant and larger screen. Samsung is also giving us the ability to multitask in three areas at once, allowing us to open different apps a separate area of the screen. Many questions what happens when you open and close the phone when you’re using an app? The foldable phone will automatically transfer the app or screen you were previously on to fit the screen you have opened.
Battery life is a concern being that there is now more active screen to drain your battery. Samsung has let us know that they aim to give their foldable phone as much battery life as their Note 9. The US version of the Note 9 lasts for an average of 19 hours.
Samsung has been holding back many details about this phone leaving us anxious and awaiting more info including how much the device costs. As of now Samsung has not announced the price of this foldable phone but when trying to get an idea we look at other foldable phones that have released and their starting prices. The Royole FlexPal costs $1,318 for their 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage. We can assume that the Samsung infinity Flex will be a bit pricier given the latest technology.
Apple has announced three new additions to the iPhone family this year: iPhone XS, iPhone XS MAX (which launched September 21st) and their newest addition to the lineup – the iPhone XR – which released October 26th. The first question many may have is – what’s so special about the newest released iPhone? Well to make that decision we have to break down its features and how it compares to the other models.
Amazons echo (2nd Generation) beats all other smart home devices when it comes to color choice with 5 different neutral color choices. The Echo connects to Alexa to play music, make calls, set music alarms and timers, ask questions and control smart home devices.
