Stories by David Strom

Prepare your network for VOIP

Companies wanting to get the most use of voice over IP (VOIP) need to know the steps involved in hardening their network and Internet infrastructure to get the best results out of their digital voice deployment projects.

Complex setup hurts Linksys VOIP PBX

Linksys' first low-end entry into the IP-PBX world is a capable system whose diminutive size hides a high level of complexity. Called the Linksys SPA9000, it's smaller than your average sandwich but packs plenty of features. Getting some of them to work will require a great deal of patience, reading the manual and trial-and-error experimenting in the brave new world of business IP telephony.

Why Bluetooth in the enterprise is still a pain

Bluetooth products have a certain cache. They are sexy and smart-looking, they are small and they can be fun to use. But supporting them from an enterprise IT perspective can be a real toothache, and may require some significant extractions, or at least careful planning.

Build your own corporate IM system

Corporate IT managers who haven't joined the instant messaging wagon need to start paying attention -- and evaluating how they will design their own IM systems.

Storage in a Snap

Even the most diligent of us run out of storage for our precious files, and sooner or later we have to add new storage servers or upgrade our existing servers with larger hard disks. Enter network-attached storage (NAS) devices: Low-end, self-contained appliances that don't need keyboards, monitors or much else besides an Ethernet connection and AC power jacks to deliver gigabytes of disk space to your workgroup or remote office.

Product review: Remote control, file transfer: comparing champs

New versions of LapLink.com's LapLink and Symantec's pcAnywhere make the products close competitors in terms of performing remote control and transferring files. The products, from Bothell, Washington-based LapLink.com (formerly Traveling Software) and Santa Monica, California-based Symantec, are useful for setting up a new computer or grabbing information from your office machine when on the road or at home.

Product Review: Scanner smorgasbord

Scanning technology has reached the point of being useful for every corporate worker. A few years ago, scanners were expensive and fussy units used strictly by graphic arts professionals. But today, even an inexperienced computer user can deliver high-quality scans with a minimum of hassle.

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